To create her most memorable work, "A Midnight Race on the Mississippi ," Frances Palmer relied on a sketch of the Natchez by F. D. Manning , and surely she used other illustrative material f or the Eclipse. But her ability to capture the magic of moonlight and to create an irresistable scene was her unique gift. Mark Twain
wrote: "Two red-hot steamboats raging along . . . quaking and straining and groaning from stem to stern , spouting white steam from the pipes, pouring black smoke from the chimneys, raining down sparks , parting the river into long streaks of hissing f oam-this is sport that makes a body's very liver curl with enjoyment."
"Th e Clipper Yacht America," shows th e fam ous yacht in classic profile, enlivened by the inclusion of oth er vessels. ::>
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SEA HISTORY 74, SUMMER 1995
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