The four are seated around the table. There is a sailor who is acting as the server, who is going around with a decanter of wine, as the curtain goes up. As he comes to Mary, then Simon, then Blake, each indicate that they do not drink wine. He pours the Captain’s glass full, and then continues with another decanter to put water in the others’ glasses.
 
Captain Trueman: (holding up his glass of wine) I wish to offer a toast to you all, for helping us to have such a successful journey. (They all raise their glasses, take a small drink and then put the glasses down.)
 
Simon: Tell us Captain, a bit about this ship we are on, the SS Wisconsin.
 
Captain: Well, it was built in 1870, so it is fairly new. It carries a gross tunnage of 3238 and it was built by Palmer’s Shipbuilidng Iron Co. Ltd. As you know it is run by the Guion Line, which is officially the Liverpool and Great Western Steamship Company, and we do most of the runs with Mormons.  
 
Simon: Tell us Captain Trueman, when do thee expect us to dock in New York Harbour?
 
Captain: All being well, by mid afternoon tomorrow. It has been an arduous journey, with some sadness, due to the smallpox deaths, which were inevitable, but thanks to you and your team of nurses, Mrs. Weston, we saved the majority of our sufferers, and the result might have been much more tragic. On the last trip across, we had fourteen deaths. This time, we have only had two.
 
(He starts to eat his meal, without having offered grace. You can see the others are worried by this, and don’t want to offend him by calling his attention to his lack in this regard, so with Blake’s suggestion, the three bow their heads and make their own silent grace. Captain carries on eating, not paying any attention to this at all. Mary and Simon start to eat, and Blake picks up his fork)
 
Blake: Mrs. Weston and her ladies were an example to all of us, Captain. They worked morning and night for the last few weeks, protecting the rest of us from any sort of contamination from the patients. I had not realised until Mrs. Weston told of it, how each helper’s clothing might have been a source of contamination to the rest of the boat. Her suggestion for each to put on a separate overdress while in the sick room, and then leave it behind when she left, was no doubt what made all the difference. Thee would do well to tell others of this, and see that they do similarly in the ships from now on.
 
(They all carry on eating, with the exception of whoever is talking.)
 
Captain: Excellent suggestion. I wonder if you all heard about one of our passengers, Charles Penrose, who awoke one morning to find that a mother rat had given birth in his shoe during the night. (everyone laughs) Now, tell us, President Blake, more about your background. I know that you have been a Mormon for some time. When did you get the call - if that is what you call it?

Blake: It was 1850 when I first came into contact with the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My conversion was rapid and complete, and I was baptized 8 February, 1851, as was my wife, Elizabeth. I was appointed second councilor to President Armstrong of Whitechapel Branch in 1852 and set apart as President of Whitechapel Branch 5 February, 1854. Then I was appointed clerk of London, England Conference 7 August, 1854, where we were encouraged to migrate to Utah. So, in the spring of 1856, we and our four children, Richard, Thomas, James Jr. and Mary, began to make preparations to go to Utah, which we did on May 23rd on the ship Horizon.

Simon: Had thee been consecrated by that time?

Captain: What does that mean?

Simon: It is the special rite by which one becomes fully into membership in the church. One receives a special garment as a visible sign of being amongst the chosen.

Blake: On March 16 of the year that we left, I was baptized into the Law of Consecration and was promised by the Elders of the church that I would bring my family safely to Utah.

Captain: How can anyone promise that?

Blake: We were at prayers one day, and a women stood to bear her testimony. As she did, she spoke in tongues and the other woman receiving the interpretation of tongues said that the Lord promised James Blake that he and his family would arrive safely to Utah.

Captain: Surely you don’t believe in tongues and things like that?

Blake: Well, as I continue with my story, thee will see how important her speech was to me.

Mary: How many were on your ship?

Blake: Nearly nine hundred. and all of us pilgrims travelling to Utah.

Captain: Who was your captain?

Blake: He was called Edward Martin, and by the time the trip was over, we had 54 new converts from among the crew.

Captain: I like having you Mormons on my ship, but don’t you even think of trying to convert me!

Blake: The grace to convert is a gift from God, and thee have to be open to receiving it. No one can force true conversion on thee.

Simon: I expect thy trip was longer than this one will be. Presumably the Horizon was a sailing ship.

Blake: Yes indeed, and one that was converted for taking emigrants to the United States, and returning with goods - so it was not exactly the standard of comfort that we have experienced on this ship, Captain.

Captain: A happy ship is a healthy ship, but I must say that my work is so much easier when I have a load of Mormons to take with me. You do much of the work for me. You have heard about what Charles Dickens had to say on the subject haven’t you?

Simon: No, what was that.

Captain: Well, the story goes like this. The Amazon, a passenger ship with 891 Latter-day Saints aboard, was due to set sail from London in June of 1863. Just before the voyage, many Londoners - government officials and clergymen included - came for a firsthand look at the Mormons and their traveling arrangements. Among the visitors was Charles Dickens, who spent several hours on board the ship questioning British Mission President George Q. Cannon and quietly observing the Saints.

Mary: And what did he say?

Captain: Well, no one knew what he thought at the time, but a month later Dickens published an account of his visit. He pointed out that these were primarily working-class people, including craftsmen in many trades. Though he remained skeptical about what the Mormons would find when they reached Utah, he was impressed by their thoroughgoing organization, their calmness, and their quiet self-respect.

“I went on board their ship,” he said, “to bear testimony against them if they deserved it, as I fully believed they would; to my great astonishment they did not deserve it; and my predispositions and tendencies must not affect me as an honest witness. I went over the Amazon’s side feeling it impossible to deny that, so far, some remarkable influence had produced a remarkable result, which better known influences have often missed. The most of these came aboard yesterday evening. They came from various parts of England in small parties that had never seen one another before. Yet they had not been a couple of hours on board, when they established their own police, made their own regulations, and set their own watches at all the hatchways. Before nine o'clock, the ship was as orderly and quiet as a man-of-war. If I had not known they were Mormons, I would have described them as, in their degree, the pick and flower of England.”

Simon: But he didn’t become a pilgrim himself, then?

Captain: No, although all of us sea captains have noticed a remarkable influence had indeed produced a remarkable result. The influence enables the emmigrants to become a large family that works successfully together toward a difficult goal.

Blake: I suppose that people think our success is due to our organisation, which is very thorough.

Captain: Interestingly enough, Dickens said the following. “What was behind the organization and its smooth operation? Only through the Spirit of the Lord could the full answer be found.”

Mary: He was indeed inspired by God to say those very words. But we have got thee off thy subject of thy first trip to Utah, President Blake. Do carry on.

Blake: Our voyage took 26 days, and we had a smooth uneventful crossing. We docked at Boston, and then spent a week there, and continued to Iowa City where we were 17 days getting ready to cross the plains with our handcarts.

Simon: Did thee not go in a covered wagon?

Blake: Some who could afford it travelled in wagons. But most of the pilgrims were going in a sponsored group, and it was found that much money could be saved, if each of us carried our own possessions in a small hand cart and we walked all the way to Zion. It was called the Mormon trail - and others continued with this up until the time when the railways could take us all the way to Salt Lake City.

Mary: I expect thee had many hardships on thy journey.

Blake: I wrote a diary, not that I would have ever forgotten anything about that journey. We left Iowa City on July 26. After three weeks, we had reached Florence, Missouri, 300 miles. By the end of the month we were still 992 miles from Salt Lake City. We traveled as many as 23 miles a day but in early September a violent storm limited us to six miles and some days we were snow bound, not moving a step for days.

Simon: I expect some didn’t make it all the way.

Blake. First, we left a cripple behind. Then, I took ill with bloody flux. I was very sick. Because of the early snow and thus slow traveling, cold, short rations, etc. many became ill and died. I was so ill the others thought I was dead and members of the company told my wife that I must be left behind so the company could keep going. Reluctantly she wrapped me in a blanket and left me beside the road. When they pulled into camp that night a sister in the company came to inquire of their well being and when she found out that I had been left for dead back on the trail she reminded them of the promise that had been made when she had spoken in tongues back in England and the Lord had promised me I’d reach Utah safely with my family. A wagon was sent back for me and they nursed me back to health. The Lord's promise to me was fulfilled.

Mary: Hallelujah. Thank thee Lord.

Blake: But the story isn’t over yet. Later on we passed scattered blood-stained articles, and parts of a human body and remains of the Babbit wagon which had been burned by the Indians.

Mary: Indians? I thought they were friendly to the Mormons.

Blake: For the most part they are. It was very cold. We were immobilized nine days because of heavy snows. One day we traveled ten miles but in early November a great deal of snow fell and in eight days, we moved only nine miles. Rations were reduced again to four ounces of flour for adults and two for children. That made a pound for six of us compared to when we started when we had a pound and a half each. But through the blessings of our Father, we felt contented.

Simon: You must have been nearly there.

Blake: Sunday, November 9th , the company traveled five miles but nearly all of those on foot were left behind. However, I walked the five miles and as a result my feet were  frozen very badly and I was forced to ride the rest of the way to Salt Lake City, and Elizabeth had to pull the handcart.

Captain: Surely things must have got better by then.

Blake: Not really. On Friday, November 21, we reached the Green River. Our five year old, Thomas, fell into the river, and when we recovered him, he appeared to be dead. Elizabeth and I and others of the company worked over him trying to revive him; but it was apparently hopeless and members of the company pleaded with me to bury the child. I refused. I remembered that I had been promised in England that I would bring my family safely to Utah.

Captain: Promised by that mad woman who spoke in tongues, you mean?

Blake: Both Elizabeth and I prayed fervently and finally Thomas revived. Finally supplies and wagons came to help us and the company entered emigration square in Salt Lake City November 30th, six months one week after we left our homes in England. It was two and a half months before I was able to walk again, but as God promised, I had been allowed to bring myself and all my family to Zion.

Simon: Where did thee live when thee got there?

Blake: In Ogden, where most likely thee will be settling. And then after a few years, we went to Salt Lake City.

Captain: Remarkable story, President Blake, and I congratulate you on your faith and your hard work that got you there. Tell me something, how many wives do you have?

Blake: I will be honest with thee. I now have three wives. (Mary looks quite upset at hearing this. )But I want to tell thee another story. You know how thee asked earlier, Mrs. Weston about the Indians and how thee thought that they treated us better than other settlers?

Mary: Yes.

Blake: Well, a group of men and some of the boys in the family who were old enough, would go to the mountains to get wood for the winter. One time, when we went, some Indians came upon us. The others thought they could talk the Indians out of fighting them, but I went up to each one of the men and told them to open their shirts, to show their garments. The leader of the Indians told all of us who were wearing garments they could go on their way, but they took the others who were not wearing the garments away with them and later we found out they had scalped them. The Mormon people are usually good to the Indians so they are willing to leave us alone.

Captain: So what do these garments look like anyway? Are you wearing yours now?

Blake: Yes, indeed, Captain. I wear it every day. It is proof that I took part in the Endowment ceremony. It is a one-piece undergarment extending to the ankles and the wrists, resembling a union suit, with an open crotch and a collar. It is made of unbleached cotton, and is held together with ties in a double knot. The garment has four marks that are embroidered into the cloth: a reverse-L-shaped symbol on the right breast, “The Compasses”, representing the North Star, a V-shaped symbol on the left breast, “The Square”, representing the justice and fairness of our Heavenly Father, and horizontal marks at the navel and over the right knee. These marks are sacred symbols. The collar represents the idea that the Lord's "yoke is easy and His burden is light", the double-knotted strings represent "the Trinity" and "the marriage covenant"; the navel mark represents "strength in the navel and marrow in the bones"; and the knee mark represents "that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ".

Mary: (testily) Going back to your wives, were thee forced to take them, and what did Elizabeth think - after she had done all those things with thee to help thee get safely to Utah?

Blake: My second wife, Caroline, I took in 1860. She needed the care of a man. It would be disloyal to her to comment farther on that, and I was asked to do this thing for her. Elizabeth was accepting.

Mary: (critically and disbelieving) And then thee took a third as well?

Blake: In 1861, Jane Thompson, the daughter of Joseph Lewis Thompson, my old time friend and companion, had recently arrived in Salt Lake City and was staying with the us. Brigham Young suggested that I make the fifteen year old, Jane, my third wife. We were reluctant, but obeyed his council and were married in the Endowment House on 26 October of that year. 

Mary: (very upset) Fifteen, a mere child, and married to an old man like thee? That is very wrong! What did she think about it? Or wasn't she given a choice?

Simon: (softly) Mary, remember who it is thee are speaking to.

Mary: (back softly to Simon) What if it is asked of thee? (Then decides to ask boldly.) Will Simon be expected to take plural wives, President Blake?

Blake: I cannot say. It he wishes to rise in the hierarchy of the church, he might be.

Simon: (Changing the subject as he suspects Mary might continue to be an embarrassment)  And when did thee come here to England for thy missionary duties?

Blake: I was asked by Brigham Young to take a major part in the setting up of a new city, St. George, and eventually I was set apart as Counselor in the St. George Third Ward Bishopric. In 1869 I became a Counselor to Stake President John W. Young and held this position until I went on my mission to England in 1872, and part of my mission was to edit the Millennial Star, our group’s publication. It was a hard time to leave, because just as I was going, Jane was expecting our sixth child.

Mary: (still being critical) Just how many children does thee have altogether, President Blake?

Blake: At last count, it was 25. I had a daughter born on the day I arrived for my English mission.

Captain: (half jokingly) Good heavens. I expect you’ll be a Bishop or whatever you call your bigwigs before long.

Blake: God’s will be done.

Mary: Oh, look at the time. We must be off to bed. Thank thee, Captain, for this lovely supper, and I have enjoyed hearing all about your hand cart experience, and have pity for your first wife, President Blake. And Captain, I also enjoyed hearing about how Charles Dickens took our part.

Captain: Oh, he did his share of blasting you too, but that was before he visited the ship.

Simon: What does thee mean?

Captain: Dickens made a trip to America in 1842. When he published American Notes, he made a passing reference to Joseph Smith and “his benighted disciples,” although he admitted he never did any investigative reporting on the subject. Nine years later, in his magazine, Household Words, he derided Mormons for their “fanaticism” and “the absurdity of seeing visions in the age of railways.” But he did make a distinction between what you believe and practical accomplishments. He said, “What the Mormons do, seems to be excellent, what they say is mostly nonsense.”

Mary: Well nonsense, or not, we do what we must and right now, we must say good night and thank thee Captain, for thy support on our voyage.

Captain: It has been a pleasure, and I thank you all for sharing this humble meal with me tonight. It is important that you Mormons teach Christian ship owners how to send poor people decently, cheaply and healthfully across the Atlantic. If I am too busy to speak with you again, I hope you will find the happiness that you expect when you get to Utah.

(They all shake hands, and the three others start to leave as the curtain goes down.)