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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Freedmen's Book, by Lydia Maria Child
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Freedmen's Book
+
+Author: Lydia Maria Child
+
+Release Date: January 3, 2012 [EBook #38479]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREEDMEN'S BOOK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Henry Flower and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    THE
+
+    FREEDMEN'S BOOK.
+
+    By L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+    O dark, sad millions,--patiently and dumb
+    Waiting for God,--your hour, at last, has come,
+            And Freedom's song
+    Breaks the long silence of your night of wrong.
+
+                        JOHN G. WHITTIER.
+
+    [Illustration]
+
+    BOSTON:
+    TICKNOR AND FIELDS.
+    1865.
+
+
+
+
+    Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by
+    L. MARIA CHILD,
+    in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District
+    of Massachusetts.
+
+
+    UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, & CO.,
+    CAMBRIDGE.
+
+
+
+
+    _TO_
+
+    THE LOYAL AND BRAVE
+
+    CAPTAIN ROBERT SMALL,
+
+    _Hero of the Steamboat Planter_,
+
+    THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY
+
+    L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+
+
+TO THE FREEDMEN.
+
+
+I have prepared this book expressly for you, with the hope that those of
+you who can read will read it aloud to others, and that all of you will
+derive fresh strength and courage from this true record of what colored
+men have accomplished, under great disadvantages.
+
+I have written all the biographies over again, in order to give you as
+much information as possible in the fewest words. I take nothing for my
+services; and the book is sold to you at the cost of paper, printing,
+and binding. Whatever money you pay for any of the volumes will be
+immediately invested in other volumes to be sent to freedmen in various
+parts of the country, on the same terms; and whatever money remains in
+my hands, when the book ceases to sell, will be given to the Freedmen's
+Aid Association, to be expended in schools for you and your children.
+
+    Your old friend,
+                    L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                          AUTHOR.                PAGE
+
+  IGNATIUS SANCHO                    _L. Maria Child_               1
+
+  EXTRACT FROM THE TENTH PSALM                                     12
+
+  PREJUDICE REPROVED                 _Lydia H. Sigourney_          13
+
+  BENJAMIN BANNEKER                  _L. Maria Child_              14
+
+  ETHIOPIA                           _Frances E. W. Harper_*       24
+
+  THE HOUR OF FREEDOM                _William Lloyd Garrison_      25
+
+  WILLIAM BOEN                       _L. Maria Child_              26
+
+  ANECDOTE OF GENERAL WASHINGTON                                   31
+
+  PRAYER OF THE SLAVE                _Bernard Barton_              32
+
+  TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE              _L. Maria Child_              33
+
+  THE ASPIRATIONS OF MINGO           _Mingo, a Slave_*             84
+
+  BURY ME IN A FREE LAND             _Frances E. W. Harper_*       85
+
+  PHILLIS WHEATLEY                   _L. Maria Child_              86
+
+  A PERTINENT QUESTION               _Frederick Douglass_*         93
+
+  THE WORKS OF PROVIDENCE            _Phillis Wheatley_*           94
+
+  THE DYING CHRISTIAN                _Frances E. W. Harper_*       96
+
+  KINDNESS TO ANIMALS                _L. Maria Child_              97
+
+  JAMES FORTEN                       _L. Maria Child_             101
+
+  THE MEETING IN THE SWAMP           _L. Maria Child_             104
+
+  A REASONABLE REQUEST               _Peter Williams_*            110
+
+  THE SLAVE POET                     _George Horton, a Slave_*    111
+
+  RATIE                              _Mattie Griffith_            114
+
+  THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST              _James Montgomery_           123
+
+  PROGRESS OF EMANCIPATION IN THE
+  BRITISH WEST INDIES                _L. Maria Child_             124
+
+  THE LAST NIGHT OF SLAVERY          _James Montgomery_           146
+
+  MADISON WASHINGTON                 _L. Maria Child_             147
+
+  EXTRACT FROM THE VIRGINIA BILL OF RIGHTS                        154
+
+  PRAISE OF CREATION                 _George Horton_*             155
+
+  FREDERICK DOUGLASS                 _L. Maria Child_             156
+
+  HOW THE GOOD WORK GOES ON                                       176
+
+  DEDICATION HYMN                    _J. M. Whitefield_*          177
+
+  A PRAYER                           _John G. Whittier_           178
+
+  WILLIAM AND ELLEN CRAFTS           _L. Maria Child_             179
+
+  SPRING                             _George Horton_*             205
+
+  THE GOOD GRANDMOTHER               _Harriet Jacobs_*            206
+
+  THE COLORED MOTHER'S PRAYER                                     219
+
+  WILLIAM COSTIN                                                  220
+
+  EDUCATION OF CHILDREN              _L. Maria Child_             221
+
+  THANK GOD FOR LITTLE CHILDREN      _Frances E. W. Harper_*      226
+
+  SAM AND ANDY                       _Harriet Beecher Stowe_      227
+
+  JOHN BROWN                         _L. Maria Child_             241
+
+  THE AIR OF FREEDOM                 _Frances E. W. Harper_*      243
+
+  EMANCIPATION IN THE DISTRICT
+  OF COLUMBIA                        _James Madison Bell_*        244
+
+  THE LAWS OF HEALTH                 _L. Maria Child_             246
+
+  PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION
+  OF EMANCIPATION                    _Frances E. W. Harper_*      250
+
+  NEW-YEAR'S DAY ON THE ISLANDS
+  OF SOUTH CAROLINA                  _Charlotte L. Forten_*       251
+
+  SONG OF THE NEGRO BOATMEN AT
+  PORT ROYAL, S. C.                  _John G. Whittier_           257
+
+  EXTRACT FROM SPEECH TO COLORED
+  PEOPLE IN CHARLESTON               _Hon. Henry Wilson_          259
+
+  EXTRACT FROM SPEECH TO COLORED
+  PEOPLE IN CHARLESTON               _Hon. Judge Kelly_           261
+
+  BLACK TOM                          _A Yankee Soldier_           263
+
+  LETTER FROM A FREEDMAN             _Jourdon Anderson_*          265
+
+  COLONEL ROBERT G. SHAW             _Eliza B. Sedgwick_          268
+
+  ADVICE FROM AN OLD FRIEND          _L. Maria Child_             269
+
+  DAY OF JUBILEE                     _A. G. Duncan_               277
+
+* The names of the colored authors are marked with an asterisk.
+
+
+
+
+THE FREEDMEN'S BOOK.
+
+
+
+
+IGNATIUS SANCHO.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+This was the name of a remarkable African, who excited a good deal of
+interest in his day. His father and mother were stolen from Africa and
+put on board a slave-ship in 1729, which was one hundred and thirty-six
+years ago. He was born during the passage, and when the vessel arrived
+at Carthagena, in South America, he was baptized by the name of
+Ignatius. His mother died soon after, and his father, seeing no means of
+escape from slavery, killed himself in a fit of despair. The man who
+took possession of the little orphan, and claimed to be his master,
+carried him to England, and gave him to three unmarried sisters who
+lived at Greenwich. He was then about two years old, a bright, lively,
+funny little creature. As he grew older, he showed such an inquisitive
+mind, said so many droll things, and was so full of mischief, that the
+ladies named him Sancho, after a very comical character in a famous old
+Spanish novel. He was very eager in the pursuit of knowledge; but this
+commendable disposition was not approved by the ladies. They thought
+that all a black servant had occasion to know was how to obey orders,
+and that it was not necessary or proper for him to learn to read and
+write. But nature had given Ignatius a very lively mind, and a very
+susceptible heart, and neither of them could be kept quiet. He early
+plunged into love affairs, and was always overrunning with fun and
+frolic. Doubtless he was a great trial to the respectable maiden ladies,
+who were training him for a servant; and he, on his part, thought them
+very sour, severe, and disagreeable. Sometimes, when they were angry
+with him, they reminded him that he had been a slave, and threatened to
+send him into slavery again. This excited uneasiness in his mind, and
+kindled resentment.
+
+The Duke of Montagu lived in the neighborhood, and his attention was
+attracted by the bright, frank countenance of the black boy. He entered
+into conversation with him occasionally, and was so much struck by his
+intelligence and wit, that he told the ladies their servant was a
+remarkable lad, and that his earnest desire to improve his mind ought to
+be gratified. They persisted in their opinion that knowledge was a very
+improper and dangerous thing for a black servant. But the Duke
+introduced him to the Duchess, and they both encouraged him to learn to
+read and write. They lent him books, and were greatly entertained by his
+bright remarks concerning what he read.
+
+It was a great grief to Ignatius when the friendly Duke died. He
+besought the Duchess to receive him into her service, and she consented.
+He remained in her household as long as she lived. At her death, she
+left him an annuity of about one hundred and fifty dollars a year; and
+he had three hundred and fifty dollars, which he had laid up from his
+wages. He might have made this sum the foundation of a comfortable
+little property. But nature had made him very full of fun and frolic. He
+had such lively manners, and uttered so many pleasant jokes, that his
+company was much sought for. This proved a temptation too strong for
+him. He accepted invitations to go to taverns, where he gambled away his
+earnings. He had a great passion for going to the theatre; and his
+conduct with regard to women was far from being correct.
+
+But he soon saw the error of his ways, and resolved to reform. He went
+to the Chaplain of Montagu House, and begged to be taken into his
+service, where he remained several months. The descendants of his old
+friend, the Duke, encouraged him to persevere in his good resolutions;
+and when the young Duke saw that he continued sober and industrious, he
+took him into his employ. By the blessing of the Heavenly Father,
+another saving influence came to help him into the paths of virtue. He
+formed a serious attachment for a very worthy young woman from the West
+Indies, to whom he was soon after married. He remained in the employ of
+the Duke of Montagu until he was about forty-four years old. Frequent
+attacks of the gout, and clumsiness resulting from an hereditary
+tendency to corpulence, rendered him unfit to continue in the service to
+which he had so long been accustomed. His good friend and patron the
+Duke assisted him to establish a small shop for groceries. By economy
+and industry, he and his good wife managed to rear and educate well a
+numerous family of children.
+
+He always retained his love of learning, and was such a diligent reader,
+that he was well acquainted with the current literature of that time. He
+was treated with respect and attention by many intelligent and educated
+people. Though not so full of fun as he was in his younger days, his
+conversation was entertaining. The letters he wrote to various persons
+abound with good sense, and show that he was very affectionate and
+devoted as a husband and father. He evidently regarded his wife as the
+best blessing of his life. In one of his letters to a friend he says:
+"The hot weather does not befriend Mrs. Sancho, but time will, I hope.
+If true worth could plead exemption from pain and sickness, she would,
+by right divine, enjoy the best of health." On another occasion he
+writes: "I can compare her to nothing so properly as a diamond in the
+dirt. But, my friend, that is Fortune's fault, not mine; for had I the
+power, I would case her in gold." Years later, he writes: "Dame Sancho
+would be better in health, if she cared less. I am her barometer. If a
+sigh escapes me, it is answered by a tear in her eye. I often assume
+gayety to illume her dear sensibility with a smile, which twenty years
+ago almost bewitched me, and which still constitutes my highest
+pleasure. May such be your lot, my friend. What more can friendship wish
+you than to glide down the stream of time with a partner of congenial
+principles and fine feelings, whose very looks speak tenderness and
+sentiment."
+
+After a severe illness he wrote to a friend: "I had excruciating pains
+and great lack of patience. Mrs. Sancho had a week of it. Gout did not
+sweeten my temper. It was washing week, and she had to attend the shop.
+God bless her, and reward her. She is good; good in heart, good in
+principle, good by habit."
+
+The children appear to have been the delight of his heart. He called
+them "Sanchonettas," which would be the Italian way of saying Little
+Sanchos. He was never tired of describing their little winning ways. At
+the end of a letter to one of his friends he wrote: "Lydia trots about
+amazingly; and Kitty imitates her, with this addition, that she is as
+mischievous as a monkey." But little William, his youngest, was
+evidently his pet. To another of his friends he wrote: "You cannot
+imagine what hold little Billy gets of me. He grows, he prattles, every
+day he learns something new. The rogue is fond of me to excess. By his
+good-will he would be always in the shop with me. The little monkey! He
+clings round my legs; and if I chide him, or look sour, he holds up his
+little mouth to kiss me."
+
+Ignatius Sancho had a very kind heart. It hurt his feelings very much to
+see any animal tormented. He tried to get some laws passed to prevent
+cruel market-men from abusing their donkeys; and he always tried to be a
+friend to everybody that was in distress. In one of his letters he says:
+"The joy of giving and of making happy is almost the attribute of a god.
+There is as much sweetness conveyed to the senses by doing a right
+good-natured deed as our frame can consistently bear."
+
+Such a disposition is better than a remarkable intellect. But he had a
+quick intellect also, and generally took sensible views of things.
+Writing to a young colored friend, who had been somewhat wild, he
+says:--
+
+"Look round upon the miserable fate of almost all of our unfortunate
+color. See slavery added to ignorance. See the contempt of the very
+wretches who roll in affluence from our labors. Hear the ill-bred,
+heart-racking abuse of the ignorant vulgar. If you tread as cautiously
+as the strictest rectitude can guide you, you must suffer from this. But
+if you are armed with truth and conscious integrity, you will be sure of
+the plaudits and countenance of the good.
+
+"You are a happy lad. You have kind benefactors, to whom you ought to
+look up with reverence, and humbly beg the Almighty to give you strength
+to imitate them in doing good. Your parts are as quick as most men's. If
+you urge your speed in the race of virtue with the same zeal you have
+exhibited in error, you will recover, to the satisfaction of your noble
+patrons, and to the glory of yourself.
+
+"Some philosopher, whose name I forget, wished for a window in his
+breast, that the world might see his heart. I recommend him to your
+imitation. Vice is a coward. To be truly brave, a man must be truly
+good. You hate the name of cowardice; then detest a lie and shun liars.
+Be above revenge. If others have taken advantage either of your guilt or
+your distress, punish them only with forgiveness; and if you can serve
+them at any future time, do it.
+
+"I sincerely congratulate thee upon thy repentance. It is thy birthday
+to real happiness."
+
+To one of the white gentlemen who liked to correspond with him, he
+wrote:--
+
+"There is something so amazingly grand and affecting in contemplating
+the works of the Divine Architect, either in the moral or the
+intellectual world, that I think one may rightly call it the cordial of
+the soul, the best antidote against pride and discontent. The friendly
+warmth of that glorious planet the sun, the leniency of the air, the
+cheerful glow of the atmosphere, make me involuntarily cry, 'Lord, what
+is man, that thou, in thy mercy, art so mindful of him? or what is the
+son of man, that thou so parentally carest for him?'
+
+"Sometimes, when I endeavor to turn my thoughts inward, to review the
+powers or properties the indulgent all-wise Father has endowed me with,
+I am struck with wonder and with awe; poor, insignificant worm as I am,
+in comparison with superior beings, mortal like myself. At the head of
+our riches I reckon the power of reflection. Where doth it lie? Search
+every member, from the toe to the nose,--they are all ready for action,
+but they are all dead to thought. It is that breath of life which the
+Sacred Architect breathed into the nostrils of the first man. We feel
+and acknowledge it, but it is quite past the power of definition. Then
+to think of the promise of never-ending existence! To rise, perhaps, by
+regular progression from planet to planet, to behold the wonders of
+immensity, to pass from good to better, increasing in goodness, in
+knowledge, in love. To glory in our Redeemer, to joy in ourselves, to be
+acquainted with prophets, sages, heroes, and poets of old times, and to
+join in the symphony with angels."
+
+To a white young friend, who had obtained a situation in India, he
+wrote:--
+
+"It is with sincere pleasure I hear you have a lucrative establishment.
+Your good sense will naturally lead you to a proper economy, as distant
+from frigid parsimony as from heedless extravagance. As you may have
+some time for recreation, give me leave to obtrude my poor advice. I
+have heard it more than once observed of fortunate adventurers, that
+they come home rich in purse, but wretchedly barren in intellect. My
+dear Jack, the mind wants food as well as the stomach. Why, then, should
+not one wish to increase in knowledge as well as in money? The poet
+Young says,--
+
+    'Books are fair Virtue's advocates and friends.'
+
+My advice to you is, to lay by something every year to buy a little
+library. You have to thank God for strong natural parts; you have a
+feeling, humane heart; you write with sense and discernment. Improve
+yourself, my dear Jack. Then if it should please God to return you to
+your friends with a fortune, the embellishments of your mind may be ever
+considered as greatly superior to your riches, and only inferior to the
+goodness of your heart. This is a good old adage: 'A few books and a few
+friends, and those well chosen.'"
+
+The same young friend wrote a letter to his father, from Bombay, in
+India, in which he wrote: "The inhabitants here, who are chiefly blacks,
+are a set of canting, deceitful people, of whom one must have great
+caution."
+
+Ignatius Sancho was always ready to defend the despised and the
+oppressed, and his sympathy was all the more lively if they were of his
+own color. He at once wrote to his young friend:--
+
+"In one of your letters to your father, you speak with honest
+indignation of the treachery and chicanery of the natives of India. My
+good friend, you should remember from whom they learned those vices. The
+first visitors from Christian countries found them a simple, harmless
+people. But the cursed avidity for wealth urged those first visitors,
+and all the succeeding ones, to such acts of deception and wanton
+cruelty, that the poor, ignorant natives soon learned their knavish
+arts, and turned them upon their teachers. As a resident of your
+country, Old England, I love it. I love it for its freedom. For the many
+blessings I enjoy in it England shall ever have my warmest wishes,
+prayers, and blessings. But I must observe, and I say it with
+reluctance, that the conduct of your country has been uniformly wicked
+in the East Indies, in the West Indies, and on the coast of Guinea. The
+grand object of English navigators, and indeed of all the navigators of
+Christian nations, has been money, money, money. Commerce was meant by
+the goodness of Deity to diffuse the various goods of the earth into
+every part; to unite mankind with the blessed bonds of brotherly love
+and mutual dependence. Enlightened Christians should diffuse the riches
+of the Gospel of Peace together with the commodities of their respective
+lands. If commerce were attended with strict honesty and religion for
+companions, it would be a blessing to every shore it touched at.
+
+"The poor wretched Africans are blessed with a most fertile and
+luxuriant soil; but they are rendered miserable by what Providence meant
+for a blessing. The abominable traffic in slaves, and the horrid cruelty
+and treachery of the petty kings, is encouraged by their Christian
+customers. They carry them strong liquors, powder, and bad fire-arms to
+inflame them to madness, and to furnish them with the hellish means of
+killing and kidnapping. It is a subject that sours my blood. I mention
+these things to guard my friend from being too hasty in condemning a
+people who have been made much worse by their Christian visitors.
+
+"Wherever thou residest, make human nature thy study. Whatever may be
+the religion or the complexion of men, study their hearts. Let
+simplicity, kindness, and charity be thy guides; and with these, even
+savages will respect you, while God will bless you."
+
+The writings of the Rev. Laurence Sterne, who was living in England at
+that time, were well calculated to inspire humanity toward animals and
+kindly feelings toward the poor. These writings were very popular, and
+two of the characters conspicuous in them, called Uncle Toby and
+Corporal Trim, were great favorites with the public. Ignatius Sancho
+especially delighted in the writings of Sterne; and in 1776, when he was
+about forty-seven years old, he addressed a letter to him as follows:--
+
+     "REVEREND SIR,--It would perhaps look like an insult upon your
+     humanity to apologize for the liberty I am taking. I am one of
+     those people whom the vulgar and illiberal call 'Negurs.' The first
+     part of my life was rather unlucky, as I was placed in a family who
+     judged ignorance to be the best and only security for obedience. By
+     unwearied application I got a little reading and writing. Through
+     God's blessing, the latter part of my life has been truly
+     fortunate, for I have spent it in the service of one of the best
+     families in the kingdom. My chief pleasure has been books. How very
+     much, good sir, am I, among millions, indebted to you for the
+     character of your amiable Uncle Toby! I declare I would walk ten
+     miles, in dog-days, to shake hands with the honest Corporal. Your
+     sermons have touched me to the heart, and I hope have amended it.
+     In your tenth discourse I find this very affecting passage:
+     'Consider how great a part of our species, in all ages, down to
+     this, have been trodden under the feet of cruel and capricious
+     tyrants, who would neither hear their cries nor pity their
+     distresses. Consider Slavery, what a bitter draught it is, and how
+     many millions are made to drink of it.'
+
+     "I am sure you will forgive me if I beseech you to give some
+     attention to Slavery, as it is practised at this day in the West
+     Indies. That subject, handled in your striking manner, would
+     perhaps ease the yoke of many; but if only of one, what a feast for
+     a benevolent heart! and sure I am, you are an Epicurean[1] in acts
+     of charity. You, who are universally read and as universally
+     admired, could not fail. Dear sir, think that in me you behold the
+     uplifted hands of thousands of my brother Moors. You pathetically
+     observe that grief is eloquent. Figure to yourself their attitudes,
+     hear their supplications, and you cannot refuse."
+
+Mr. Sterne wrote the following reply:--
+
+                                                 "July 27th, 1766.
+
+     "There is a strange coincidence, Sancho, in the little events of
+     this world, as well as the great ones. I had been writing a tender
+     tale of the sorrows of a poor, friendless negro girl, and my eyes
+     had scarce done smarting with it, when your letter, in behalf of so
+     many of her brethren and sisters, came to me. But why _her_
+     brethren or _your_ brethren, Sancho, any more than _mine_? It is by
+     the finest tints, and the most insensible gradations, that nature
+     descends from the fairest face to the sootiest complexion. At which
+     of these tints are the ties of blood to cease? and how many shades
+     lower in the scale must we descend, ere mercy is to vanish with
+     them?
+
+     "It is no uncommon thing, my good Sancho, for one half of the world
+     to _use_ the other half like brutes, and then endeavor to _make_
+     them so. For my part, I never look Westward, when I am in a pensive
+     mood, without thinking of the burdens our brothers and sisters are
+     there carrying. If I could ease their shoulders from one ounce of
+     them, I declare I would this hour set out upon a pilgrimage to
+     Mecca for their sakes. It casts a sad shade upon the world, that so
+     great a part of it are, and have so long been, bound in chains of
+     darkness and chains of misery. I cannot but respect you and
+     felicitate you, that by so much laudable diligence you have broken
+     the chains of darkness, and that by falling into the hands of so
+     good and merciful a family, you have been rescued by Providence
+     from the chains of misery.
+
+     "And so, good-hearted Sancho, adieu. Believe me, I will not forget
+     your letter.
+
+            "Yours,
+                      "LAURENCE STERNE."
+
+The last sickness of Ignatius Sancho was very painful, but he was
+tenderly cared for by his good wife. He was fifty-two years old when he
+died. After his death, a small volume was published, containing a number
+of his letters, some articles he had written for newspapers, and an
+engraved likeness of him, which looks very bright and good-natured. The
+book was published by subscription, in which a large number of the
+English nobility and some distinguished literary men joined.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[1] Epicureans were the followers of a philosopher in ancient Greece who
+taught that pleasure was the great object in life,--an excellent
+doctrine, if confined to the highest kind of pleasure, which consists in
+doing good.
+
+
+
+
+EXTRACT FROM THE TENTH PSALM.
+
+"The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor. He hath said in his
+heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth his face; He will never see it.
+Thou _hast_ seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite
+it with thy hand. The poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the
+helper of the fatherless. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the
+humble. Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; thou wilt prepare their heart
+to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may
+no more oppress."
+
+
+
+
+PREJUDICE REPROVED.
+
+BY LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY.
+
+
+    God gave to Afric's sons
+      A brow of sable dye;
+    And spread the country of their birth
+      Beneath a burning sky.
+
+    With a cheek of olive He made
+      The little Hindoo child;
+    And darkly stained the forest tribes,
+      That roam our Western wild.
+
+    To me He gave a form
+      Of fairer, whiter clay;
+    But am I, therefore, in his sight,
+      Respected more than they?
+
+    No;--'tis the hue of _deeds_ and _thoughts_
+      He traces in his book;
+    'Tis the complexion of the _heart_
+      On which He deigns to look.
+
+    Not by the tinted cheek,
+      That fades away so fast,
+    But by the color of the _soul_,
+      We shall be judged at last.
+
+
+
+
+BENJAMIN BANNEKER.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+This remarkable man was born near the village of Ellicott's Mills,
+Baltimore County, Maryland, in 1732. That was one hundred and
+thirty-three years ago, when there were very few schools and very few
+books in this country, and when it was not as easy as it now is for even
+white people to obtain a tolerably good education. His parents were both
+black, and though they were free, they were too poor to do much for
+their bright boy. They sent him to a school in the neighborhood, where
+he learned reading and writing and a little of arithmetic.
+
+His father was a slave at the time of his marriage, but his wife was a
+free woman; and she was so energetic and industrious, that she soon
+earned money enough to buy his freedom. Then they worked together, and
+earned enough to buy a few acres of land, and build a small cabin.
+
+Benjamin was obliged to labor diligently when he was at home from
+school, but every spare moment he could catch he was ciphering, and
+planning how to make things. As his parents grew old, he had to work
+early and late, to support himself and help them. His mother always
+continued active enough to do the in-door work. When she was seventy
+years old, if she wanted to catch a chicken she would run it down
+without appearing to be tired. The place was thinly peopled, and the few
+neighbors they had took no particular notice of Benjamin, though he had
+the name of being a bright, industrious lad. His hands worked hard, but
+his brain was always busy. He was particularly fond of arithmetic, and
+was always working out sums in his head. He took notice of everything
+around him, observed how everything was made, and never forgot one word
+of what he had learned at school. In this way, he came to have more
+knowledge than most of his white neighbors; and they began to say to one
+another, "That black Ben is a smart fellow. He can make anything he sets
+out to; and how much he knows! I wonder where he picked it all up."
+
+At thirty years old, he made a clock, which proved an excellent
+timepiece. He had never seen a clock, for nobody in that region had such
+an article; but he had seen a watch, and it occupied his thoughts very
+much. It seemed to him such a curious little machine, that he was very
+desirous to make something like it. The watch was made of gold and
+silver and steel; but Benjamin Banneker had only wood for material, and
+the rudest kind of tools to work with. It was a long while before he
+could make the hand that marked the hours, and the hand that marked the
+minutes, and the hand that marked the seconds, correspond exactly in
+their motions; but by perseverance he succeeded at last. He was then
+about thirty years old. This was the first clock ever made in this
+country. It kept time exactly, and people began to talk about it as a
+wonderful thing for a man to do without instruction. After a while, the
+Ellicott family, who owned the Mills, heard of it, and went to see it.
+Mr. Elias Ellicott, a merchant in Baltimore, became very much interested
+in the self-taught machinist. He lent him a number of books, among which
+were some on astronomy,--a science which treats of the sun, moon, and
+stars. Banneker was so interested in this new knowledge that he could
+think of nothing else. He sat up all night to watch the planets, and to
+make calculations about their motions. Mr. Ellicott went to see him to
+explain to him how to use some of the tables for calculations contained
+in the books he had lent him; but he found, to his great surprise, that
+the earnest student had studied them all out himself, and had no need of
+help. It was not long before he could calculate when the sun or the moon
+would be eclipsed, and at what time every star would rise and set. He
+was never known to make a mistake in any of his astronomical
+calculations; and he became so exact, that he pointed out two mistakes
+made by celebrated astronomers in Europe.
+
+In order to pursue his favorite studies without interruption, he sold
+the land which his parents had left him, and bought an annuity with the
+money, on which he lived in the little cabin where he was born. He was
+so temperate and frugal, that he needed very little to support him; and
+when it was necessary to have more than his annuity, he could always
+earn something by going out to work. But, as he was no longer seen in
+the fields late and early, his ignorant white neighbors began to talk
+against him. They peeped into his cabin and saw him asleep in the
+daytime. They did not know that he had been awake all night watching the
+stars, and ciphering out his calculations. In fact, they did not know
+that the planets moved at all; and if he had told them that he could
+calculate their movements exactly, they would only have laughed at him.
+I suppose they felt some ill-will toward him because he was black, and
+yet knew so much more than they did; and perhaps it excited their envy
+that the Ellicott family and other educated gentlemen liked to go to
+his cabin and talk with him about his studies and observations.
+
+But Banneker was wise enough not to enter into any quarrels because they
+called him a lazy, good-for-nothing fellow. He endeavored to live in
+such a way that they could not help respecting him. He was always kind
+and generous, ready to oblige everybody, and not at all inclined to
+boast of his superiority.
+
+When he was fifty-nine years old, he made an Almanac. It is a very
+difficult job to calculate all about the changes of the moon, and the
+rising and ebbing of the tides, and at what time the sun will rise and
+set every day, all the year round; and it was a much more difficult task
+then than it is now; because now there is a great improvement in
+astronomical books and instruments. But notwithstanding Banneker's
+limited means and scanty education, he made an excellent Almanac. It was
+published by Goddard and Angell of Baltimore. In a Preface, they say:
+"We feel gratified to have an opportunity of presenting to the public,
+through our press, what must be considered an extraordinary effort of
+genius,--a complete and accurate Ephemeris[2] for the year 1792,
+calculated by a sable son of Africa. It has met the approbation of
+several of the most distinguished astronomers of America; and we hope a
+philanthropic public will give their support to the work, not only on
+account of its intrinsic merit, but from a desire to controvert the
+long-established illiberal prejudice against the blacks."
+
+This was the first Almanac ever made in this country. It contained much
+useful information of a general nature, and interesting selections in
+prose and verse. Before it was printed, Banneker sent a manuscript
+copy, in his own handwriting, to Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of
+State, and afterward President of the United States. After apologizing
+for the liberty he took in addressing a person whose station was so far
+above his own, he says:--
+
+     "Those of my complexion have long been considered rather brutish
+     than human,--scarcely capable of mental endowments. But, in
+     consequence of the reports that have reached me, I hope I may
+     safely admit that you are measurably friendly and well-disposed
+     toward us. I trust that you agree with me in thinking that one
+     Universal Father hath given being to us all; that He has not only
+     made us all of one flesh, but has also, without partiality,
+     afforded us all the same sensations, and endowed us all with the
+     same faculties; and that, however various we may be in society or
+     religion, however diversified in situation or color, we are all of
+     the same family, and all stand in the same relation to Him. Now,
+     sir, if this is founded in truth, I apprehend you will readily
+     embrace every opportunity to eradicate the absurd and false ideas
+     and opinions which so generally prevail with respect to us.
+
+     "Suffer me, sir, to recall to your mind, that when the tyranny of
+     the British crown was exerted to reduce you to servitude, your
+     abhorrence thereof was so excited, that you publicly held forth
+     this true and invaluable doctrine, worthy to be recorded and
+     remembered in all succeeding ages: 'We hold these truths to be
+     self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are
+     endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that
+     among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'
+
+     "Your tender feelings for yourselves engaged you thus to declare.
+     You were then impressed with proper ideas of the great value of
+     Liberty, and the free possession of those blessings to which you
+     were entitled by nature. But, sir, how pitiable it is to reflect
+     that, although you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of
+     the Father of mankind, and of his equal and impartial distribution
+     of those rights and privileges which He had conferred upon them,
+     that you should at the same time counteract his mercies in
+     detaining, by fraud and violence, so numerous a part of my brethren
+     under groaning captivity and cruel oppression; that you should at
+     the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act which you
+     detested in others with respect to yourselves.
+
+     "Sir, I freely and most cheerfully acknowledge that I am of the
+     African race; and in that color which is natural to them I am of
+     the deepest dye. But, with a sense of most profound gratitude to
+     the Supreme Ruler of the universe, I confess that I am not under
+     that state of tyrannical thraldom and inhuman captivity to which so
+     many of my brethren are doomed. I have abundantly tasted of those
+     blessings which proceed from that free and unequalled liberty with
+     which you are favored.
+
+     "Sir, I suppose your knowledge of the situation of my brethren is
+     too extensive for it to need a recital here. Neither shall I
+     presume to prescribe methods by which they may be relieved,
+     otherwise than by recommending to you and others to wean yourselves
+     from those narrow prejudices you have imbibed with respect to them,
+     and to do as Job proposed to his friends,--'Put _your_ souls in
+     _their_ souls' stead.' Thus shall your hearts be enlarged with
+     kindness and benevolence toward them, and you will need neither the
+     direction of myself nor others in what manner to proceed.
+
+     "I took up my pen to direct to you, as a present, a copy of an
+     Almanac I have calculated for the succeeding year. I ardently hope
+     that your candor and generosity will plead with you in my behalf.
+     Sympathy and affection for my brethren has caused my enlargement
+     thus far; it was not originally my design.
+
+     "The Almanac is the production of my arduous study. I have long had
+     unbounded desires to become acquainted with the secrets of Nature,
+     and I have had to gratify my curiosity herein through my own
+     assiduous application to astronomical study; in which I need not
+     recount to you the many difficulties and disadvantages I have had
+     to encounter. I conclude by subscribing myself, with the most
+     profound respect, your most humble servant,
+
+                                      "B. BANNEKER."
+
+To this letter Jefferson made the following reply:--
+
+     "SIR,--I thank you sincerely for your letter, and for the Almanac
+     it contained. Nobody wishes more than I do to see such proofs as
+     you exhibit that Nature has given to our black brethren talents
+     equal to those of the other colors of men, and that the appearance
+     of a want of them is owing only to the degraded condition of their
+     existence, both in Africa and America. I can add, with truth, that
+     no one wishes more ardently to see a good system commenced for
+     raising the condition, both of their body and mind, to what it
+     ought to be, as fast as the imbecility of their present existence,
+     and other circumstances which cannot be neglected, will admit. I
+     have taken the liberty of sending your Almanac to Monsieur
+     Condorcet, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and to
+     members of the Philanthropic Society, because I considered it a
+     document to which your whole color had a right, for their
+     justification against the doubts which have been entertained of
+     them. I am, with great esteem, sir, your most obedient servant,
+
+                                      "THOMAS JEFFERSON."
+
+In 1803, Mr. Jefferson invited the astronomer to visit him at
+Monticello, but the increasing infirmities of age made it imprudent to
+undertake the journey. His Almanacs sold well for ten years, and the
+income, added to his annuity, gave him a very comfortable support; and
+what was a still greater satisfaction to him was the consciousness of
+doing something to help the cause of his oppressed people, by proving to
+the world that Nature had endowed them with good capacities.
+
+After 1802 he found himself too old to calculate any more Almanacs, but
+as long as he lived he continued to be deeply interested in his various
+studies.
+
+He was well informed on many other subjects besides arithmetic and
+astronomy. He was a great reader of history; and he kept a Journal,
+which shows that he was a close observer of the vegetable world, of the
+habits of insects, and of the operations of Nature in general. That his
+busy mind drew inferences from what he observed is evident from the
+following entry in his Journal:--
+
+"Standing at my door to-day, I heard the discharge of a gun, and in four
+or five seconds of time the small shots came rattling about me, which
+plainly demonstrates that the velocity of sound is greater than that of
+a common bullet."
+
+After the Constitution of the United States was adopted, in 1789,
+commissioners were appointed to determine the boundaries of the District
+of Columbia. They invited Banneker to be present and assist them in
+running the lines; and he was treated by them with as much respect as
+if he had been of their own color. His Almanacs were much praised by
+scientific men, and they often visited him in his humble little cabin.
+But these attentions never made him pert and vain. He rejoiced in his
+abilities and acquisitions, because he thought they might help to raise
+the condition of his oppressed brethren; but he always remained modest
+and unobtrusive in his manners.
+
+He died in 1804, in the seventy-second year of his age. His friend, Mr.
+Benjamin H. Ellicott, collected various facts concerning him, which have
+been published. In a letter on this subject, Mr. Ellicott says: "During
+the whole of his long life he lived respectably, and was much esteemed
+by all who became acquainted with him; more especially by those who
+could fully appreciate his genius and the extent of his acquirements.
+His mode of life was extremely regular and retired. Having never
+married, he lived alone, cooking his own victuals and washing his own
+clothes. He was scarcely ever absent from home, yet there was nothing
+misanthropic in his character. A gentleman who knew him speaks of him
+thus: 'I recollect him well. He was a brave-looking, pleasant man, with
+something very noble in his appearance. His mind was evidently much
+engrossed in his calculations, but he was glad to receive the visits we
+often paid him.' Another writes: 'When I was a boy, I became very much
+interested in him. His manners were those of a perfect gentleman. He was
+kind, generous, hospitable, humane, dignified, and pleasing. He abounded
+in information on all the various subjects and incidents of the day, was
+very modest and unassuming, and delighted in society at his own house.
+Go there when you would, by day or night, there was constantly in the
+middle of the floor a large table covered with books and papers. As he
+was an eminent mathematician, he was constantly in correspondence with
+other mathematicians in this country, with whom there was an interchange
+of questions of difficult solution. His head was covered with thick
+white hair, which gave him a venerable appearance. His dress was
+uniformly of superfine drab broadcloth, made in the old style of a plain
+coat with strait collar, a long waistcoat, and a broad-brimmed hat. His
+color was not jet black, but decidedly negro. In size and personal
+appearance he bore a strong resemblance to the statue of Benjamin
+Franklin, at the Library in Philadelphia.'"
+
+The good which Banneker did to the cause of his colored brethren did not
+cease with his life. When the Abbe Gregoire pleaded for emancipation in
+France, and when Wilberforce afterward labored for the same cause in
+England, the abilities and character of the black astronomer were
+brought forward as an argument against the enslavement of his race; and,
+from that day to this, the friends of freedom have quoted him everywhere
+as a proof of the mental capacity of Africans.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "They _found_ them slaves! but who that title _gave_?
+    The God of Nature never formed a slave!
+    Though fraud or force acquire a master's name,
+    Nature and justice must remain the same;--
+    Nature imprints upon whate'er we see,
+    That has a heart and life in it, BE FREE!"
+
+                                      COWPER.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[2] A daily journal of the state of the planets.
+
+
+
+
+ETHIOPIA.
+
+BY FRANCES E. W. HARPER.
+
+
+    Yes, Ethiopia yet shall stretch
+      Her bleeding hands abroad;
+    Her cry of agony shall reach
+      Up to the throne of God.
+
+    The tyrant's yoke from off her neck,
+      His fetters from her soul,
+    The mighty hand of God shall break,
+      And spurn the base control.
+
+    Redeemed from dust and freed from chains,
+      Her sons shall lift their eyes;
+    From cloud-capt hills and verdant plains
+      Shall shouts of triumph rise.
+
+    Upon her dark, despairing brow
+      Shall play a smile of peace;
+    For God shall bend unto her woe,
+      And bid her sorrows cease.
+
+    'Neath sheltering vines and stately palms
+      Shall laughing children play,
+    And aged sires with joyous psalms
+      Shall gladden every day.
+
+    Secure by night, and blest by day,
+      Shall pass her happy hours;
+    Nor human tigers hunt for prey
+      Within her peaceful bowers.
+
+    Then, Ethiopia, stretch, O stretch
+      Thy bleeding hands abroad!
+    Thy cry of agony shall reach
+      And find redress from God.
+
+
+
+
+THE HOUR OF FREEDOM.[3]
+
+BY WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON.
+
+
+    The hour of freedom! come it must.
+      O hasten it, in mercy, Heaven!
+    When all who grovel in the dust
+      Shall stand erect, their fetters riven;
+
+    When glorious freedom shall be won
+      By every caste, complexion, clime;
+    When tyranny shall be o'erthrown,
+      And _color_ cease to be a _crime_.
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[3] Written in 1832.
+
+
+
+
+WILLIAM BOEN.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+William Boen was born in 1735, one hundred and thirty years ago. He was
+the slave of a man who lived near Mount Holly, in New Jersey. His master
+and most of the neighbors belonged to the Society of Friends, commonly
+called Quakers. That Society made it a rule that none of their members
+should hold a slave, long before the people of any other sect were
+convinced that slavery was wrong. But at the time William Boen was born
+some of the Quakers did hold slaves, though many of their members were
+preaching against it.
+
+They were a very friendly and conscientious people, and as William grew
+up among them he naturally imbibed many of their ideas. However, like
+most boys, he did not think very seriously about religion, until the
+importance of it was impressed upon his mind by the following
+circumstance. In the time of the old French war, when he was a mere lad,
+his master sent him into the woods to cut down trees. The Indians were
+fighting on the side of the French, and they often killed the Americans.
+Some of them came into the neighborhood of Mount Holly; and when he went
+home at night, after his day's work in the woods, he would often hear
+that Indians had been lurking about in the neighborhood, and that
+somebody had been shot by their sharp arrows. This made him very much
+afraid to work alone in the woods. He was always thinking that Indians
+might be hidden among the bushes; and if a bird flew off her nest it
+sounded to him like the whizzing of an arrow. It was very still in the
+forest, and it seemed very solemn to look up at the sky through the tall
+trees. William thought to himself, "What if the Indians should kill me
+before I have any time to think about it? Am I fit to die?" He thought
+he was not fit to die, and he longed earnestly to know what he ought to
+do to become fit to die. He had heard the Quakers talk about a light
+which God had placed in the soul, to show men what was wrong. And he
+said it went through his mind "like a flaming sword," that if he would
+be fit to die he must follow this inward light in every particular, even
+in the most trifling things. So he began to be very thoughtful about
+every action of his life; and if he felt uneasy about anything he was
+tempted to do, he said to himself, "This is the inward light, showing me
+that the thing is wrong. I will not do it." Pursuing this course, he
+became careful not to do anything which did not bring peace to his soul;
+and as the soul can never be peaceful when it disobeys God, he was
+continually travelling toward Zion while he strove to follow this inward
+light in his soul; and the more humbly he tried to follow it, the
+clearer the light became. He did not always keep in the straight path.
+Sometimes he did or said something wrong; then peace went away from his
+mind. But he confessed his sin before God, and prayed for strength not
+to do wrong any more. By humility and obedience he again found the path
+of peace. Religion comes in many different ways to human souls. This was
+the way it came to William Boen.
+
+All who knew him saw that his religious feeling was deep and sincere,
+for it brought forth fruit in his daily life. He never made others
+unhappy by indulging freaks of temper. He was extremely temperate,
+scrupulously honest, and very careful never to say anything but the
+exact truth. His character was so excellent that all the neighbors
+respected and trusted him. Many said it was a shame to keep him in
+slavery, and his master became uneasy about it. People said to him, from
+time to time, "William, thy master talks of letting thee be free." He
+heard it so often, that it became an old story, and he thought nothing
+would ever come of it. But one day his master was walking with him as he
+went to his work in the fields, and suddenly he inquired whether he
+would like to be free. William was silent for a while, and then began to
+talk about the work he was to do. But the question dwelt on his mind and
+excited his hopes. He told one of his friends about it, and when he was
+asked, "What didst thou say, William?" he replied, "I did not say
+anything; for I thought he might _know_ I would like to be free."
+
+When he was nearly twenty-eight years old his master offered to make a
+contract with him by which he could obtain his freedom. He was soon
+after married to a worthy young woman, and by industry and strict
+economy they were able in a few years to buy a few acres of land, and
+build a comfortable house. He led a peaceful and diligent life, doing
+good to others whenever he could, and harming no one. His conscience was
+extremely tender. He would never eat anything made of sugar manufactured
+by slaves, and he never would wear any garments made of cotton raised by
+slave labor. He thought Slavery was so wrong, that he did not feel easy
+to connect himself with it, even in the remotest degree.
+
+He was equally scrupulous about telling the truth. One of his
+neighbors, a rich white man, was very much in the habit of borrowing his
+tools. One day, when he had been using his grindstone, he thanked him
+for it, and William answered, in the customary way, "Thou art welcome."
+But soon he began to ask himself, "Was that the exact truth?" His mind
+was troubled by doubts about it, and finally he went to his neighbor,
+and said, "When I told thee thou wert welcome, I spoke mere
+complimentary words, according to custom; for the truth is, I do
+honestly think thou art better able to have a grindstone of thy own,
+than I am."
+
+He had also a very nice sense of justice with regard to the rights of
+property. Nothing would induce him to use what belonged to another
+person without first obtaining leave. One day, when he was mowing in the
+meadows, he accidentally killed a fat partridge with his scythe. The
+other workmen advised him to take it home for his wife to roast. But he
+replied, "Nay, the partridge does not belong to me, it belongs to the
+owner of the meadow." Accordingly he carried it to his employer. Another
+time, when he was working with others in the woods, they found an empty
+cabin, wherein they stowed their provisions, and lodged for a fortnight,
+till they had finished cutting the timber. After William returned home
+he took an early opportunity to tell the owner of the cabin what he had
+done, and to offer payment for the accommodation.
+
+He constantly attended Quaker meetings, and followed their peculiar
+customs in dress and language; but he was not admitted into full
+membership with that religious society till he was nearly eighty years
+old, though he had made application to join it thirty years before.
+
+He was scrupulously neat in his person. His linen was always very
+white, and his light drab-colored clothes showed no speck of dirt. He
+wore his beard long, and as he grew old it became very white; his curly
+hair also was white as snow. His dark face was very conspicuous in the
+midst of all this whiteness, and gave him an odd appearance. But he had
+such a friendly, pleasant expression of countenance, and there was so
+much modest dignity in his manners, that he inspired respect. A stranger
+once said to one of his wealthy neighbors, "I wonder that boys and giddy
+young folks don't ridicule that old black man, his dress and appearance
+are so very peculiar." The neighbor replied, "William Boen is a
+religious man, and everybody respects him. The light-minded are so much
+impressed by his well-known character, that they are restrained from
+making fun of his singular appearance."
+
+He died in his ninetieth year; not from any disease, but the mere
+weakness of old age. His faculties were clear, and his mind serene and
+cheerful to the last. He spoke of his approaching death with the
+greatest composure; saying that he had no wish about the manner of his
+exit from this life, that he was resigned to the Divine will in all
+things.
+
+One of the last things he said was, "I am glad to see that the feeling
+against slavery is growing among the Society of Friends. Once I felt as
+if I was alone in my testimony against that wicked system."
+
+After his death, the Society of Friends at Mount Holly wrote a Memorial
+concerning his character, which was read in their Yearly Meeting. It
+concluded thus: "In early life, he was concerned 'to do justly, love
+mercy, and walk humbly with his God.' By close attention to the light of
+Christ within, he was enabled, not only to bear many precious
+testimonies faithfully to the end of his days, but also to bring forth
+those fruits of the spirit which redound to the glory of God and the
+salvation of the soul. As he lived, so he died,--a rare pattern of a
+self-denying follower of Christ. 'Mark the perfect man, and behold the
+upright; for the end of that man is peace.'"
+
+
+
+
+ANECDOTE OF GENERAL WASHINGTON.
+
+
+During the war of the Revolution, Primus Hall was the colored servant of
+Colonel Pickering, with whom General Washington often held long
+consultations. One night, finding they must be engaged till late, he
+proposed to sleep in the Colonel's tent, provided there was a spare
+blanket and straw. Primus, who was always eager to oblige the
+Commander-in-Chief, said, "Plenty of straw and blankets."
+
+When the long conference was ended, the two officers lay down to rest on
+the beds he had prepared. When he saw they were asleep, he seated
+himself on a box, and, leaning his head on his hand, tried to take as
+comfortable a nap as he could. General Washington woke in the night, and
+seeing him nodding there, called out, "Primus!" The servant started to
+his feet, and exclaimed, "What do you wish for, General?"
+
+"You told me you had plenty of straw and blankets," replied Washington;
+"but I see you are sitting up all night for the sake of giving me your
+bed."
+
+"It is no matter about me," rejoined Primus.
+
+"Yes, it is," replied General Washington. "If one of us must sit up, I
+will take my turn. But there is no need of that. The blanket is wide
+enough for two. Come and lie down with me."
+
+Primus, who reverenced the Commander-in-Chief as he did no other mortal,
+protested against it. But Washington threw open the blanket, and said,
+"Come and lie down, I tell you! There is room enough for both, and I
+insist upon it."
+
+The tone was too resolute to admit of further parley, and the General
+and his colored friend slept comfortably under the same blanket till
+morning.
+
+
+
+
+PRAYER OF THE SLAVE.
+
+BY BERNARD BARTON.
+
+
+    O Father of the human race!
+      The white, the black, the bond, the free,
+    Thanks for thy gift of heavenly grace,
+      Vouchsafed through Jesus Christ to me.
+
+    This, 'mid oppression's every wrong,
+      Has borne my sinking spirits up;
+    Made sorrow joyful, weakness strong,
+      And sweetened Slavery's bitter cup.
+
+    Hath not a Saviour's dying hour
+      Made e'en the yoke of thraldom light?
+    Hath not thy Holy Spirit's power
+      Made bondage freedom? darkness bright?
+
+    Thanks then, O Father! for the gift
+      Which through thy Gospel thou hast given,
+    Which thus from bonds and earth can lift
+      The soul to liberty and heaven.
+
+    But not the less I mourn their shame,
+      Who, mindless of thy gracious will,
+    Call on the holy Father's name,
+      Yet keep their brethren bondmen still.
+
+    Forgive them, Lord! for Jesus' sake;
+      And when the slave thou hast unbound,
+    The chains which bind the oppressor break!
+      Thus be thy love's last triumph crowned.
+
+
+
+
+TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE.
+
+          "Everywhere thy name shall be
+    Redeemed from color's infamy;
+    And men shall learn to speak of thee
+    As one of earth's great spirits, born
+    In servitude and nursed in scorn,
+    Casting aside the weary weight
+    And fetters of its low estate,
+    In that strong majesty of soul
+    Which knows no color, tongue, or clime,
+    Which still hath spurned the base control
+          Of tyrants, through all time."
+
+                        JOHN G. WHITTIER.
+
+
+On the western coast of Africa, a tribe called the Arradas are said to
+be superior to most of the other tribes in intelligence and strength of
+will. The son of their chief, named Gaou-Guinou, was seized by a
+prowling band of slave-traders, one day when he was out hunting. He was
+packed in the hold of a European ship, with a multitude of other
+unfortunate victims, and carried to the island of Hayti to be sold. This
+is one of the largest of the West India Islands, and lies between Cuba
+and Porto Rico. It was first discovered by Spaniards, who found it
+inhabited by mild-tempered Indians, leading a very simple and happy
+life. These natives called their island Hayti, which in their language
+signified a Land of Mountains. A lofty ridge of mountains runs across
+it, and gives it a solemn, dreary appearance, when seen in the distance.
+But it is a very beautiful and fertile island. The high, rocky
+precipices, piled one above another, look down on broad flowery plains,
+flowing with water, and loaded with tropical fruits. When the Spaniards
+established a colony there, they introduced the cultivation of sugar,
+cotton, and coffee, to supply the markets of Europe. They compelled the
+native Indians to work so hard, and treated them so badly, that the poor
+creatures died off very fast. Then they sent men in ships to Africa to
+steal negroes to work for them. They founded a city in the eastern part
+of the island, and named it St. Domingo; and the whole island came to be
+called by that name by European nations.
+
+The French afterward took possession of the western part of the island.
+Their principal city was named Cap Francois, which means French Cape.
+The African prince Gaou-Guinou was sold in the market of that city. He
+was more fortunate than slaves generally are. He was bought by the
+manager of a sugar plantation belonging to a French nobleman, named the
+Count de Breda. He was kind-hearted, and was very careful to employ none
+but humane men to take charge of his laborers. The condition of the
+young African was also less desolate than it would have been, by reason
+of his finding on the Breda estate several members of the Arradas tribe,
+who, like him, had been stolen from their homes. They at once recognized
+him as the son of their king, and treated him with the utmost respect.
+In process of time he married a black slave, who is said to have been
+handsome and virtuous. They joined the Roman Catholic Church, which was
+the established religion of France and the French islands. Of their
+eight children, the oldest, born in 1743, one hundred and twenty-two
+years ago, was named Toussaint. The day of his birth is not certainly
+known. It has been said to have been on the 20th of May. But, from his
+name, it seems more likely that it was on the 1st of November. In
+Catholic countries, almost every day of the year is set apart to the
+worship of some saint; and a child born on the day of any particular
+saint is very apt to receive his name from that day. The first of
+November is a festival of the church, called All Saints' Day; and
+Toussaint, in the French language, means All Saints.
+
+In the neighborhood of Gaou-Guinou lived a very honest, religious old
+black man, named Pierre Baptiste. He had been in the service of Jesuit
+missionaries, and had there learned to read and write, also a little of
+geometry. By help of the Catholic Prayer-Book he learned some prayers in
+Latin, and found out their meaning in French. This man stood godfather
+for Toussaint at his baptism, and as the boy grew older it was his
+pleasure to teach him what little he himself knew. The language of the
+Arradas tribe was always spoken in the family of Gaou-Guinou, but from
+his godfather Toussaint learned to speak tolerably good French, which
+was the language of the whites in the western part of St. Domingo. It is
+said that Gaou-Guinou was allowed to cultivate a little patch of ground
+for his family, and that some of his fellow-slaves were permitted to
+assist him occasionally. This indulgence indicates that he stood well in
+his master's opinion. But, in common with other slaves, it is probable
+that he and his wife toiled early and late in the fields or the
+sugar-house, and that their family were huddled together in a hut too
+small to allow of their observing the laws of cleanliness or modesty.
+
+For several years Toussaint was so feeble and slender that his parents
+called him by a name which signified "The Little Lath." But he gained
+strength as he grew older; and by the time he was twelve years old he
+could beat all the boys in running, jumping, and leaping.
+
+It was the business of young slaves to tend the flocks and herds. They
+generally neglected and abused the creatures under their care, because
+they themselves were accustomed to hard treatment. But Toussaint was of
+a kindly disposition, and there was less violence on his master's
+plantation than elsewhere. It was remarked in the neighborhood that he
+differed from other boys in his careful and gentle treatment of the
+animals under his care. He was naturally a silent and thoughtful child,
+and probably this tendency was increased by being much alone, watching
+the browsing cattle in the stillness of the great valleys. Perhaps also
+the presence of the mountains and the sky made him feel serious and
+solemn. His pious godfather told him legends of Catholic saints, which
+he had heard among the missionaries. All these things combined to give
+him a religious turn of mind, even in his boyhood. From his own father
+he learned a great deal about Africa and the customs that prevailed in
+the tribe of his grandfather, King of the Arradas; also the medicinal
+qualities of many plants, which afterward proved very useful to him.
+Nothing is recorded of the moral and intellectual character of his
+father; but Toussaint always respected him highly, and when he was
+himself an old man he spoke of him as a good parent, who had trained him
+well by lessons of honor and virtue.
+
+Toussaint Breda, as he was called, from the name of the estate on which
+he worked, early acquired a reputation for intelligence, sobriety, and
+industry. The Manager of the estate, M. Bayou de Libertas, was so much
+pleased with his conduct and manners that he made him his coachman, a
+situation much coveted by the slaves, as being more easy and pleasant
+than most of their tasks. His kindness to animals fitted him for the
+care of horses, and he was found as faithful in this new business as he
+had been while he was herds-boy. He was afterward promoted to an office
+of greater trust, being made steward of the sugar-house.
+
+Having arrived at manhood, he began to want a home of his own. Most of
+the slaves took up together without any form of marriage, that being one
+of the bad customs which grows out of Slavery. But Toussaint was
+religious, and it would have troubled his conscience to live in that bad
+way. He had become attached to a widow named Suzan, who had one little
+son called Placide. She was not handsome, but he loved her for her good
+sense, good temper, and modest manners. They were married according to
+the ceremonies of the Catholic Church. He adopted her little boy, and
+brought him up as tenderly as he did his own children. The Manager
+allowed him a small patch of ground for vegetables, and all the hours
+they could snatch from plantation labors he and his wife devoted to the
+cultivation of their little garden. M. Bayou de Libertas was such a
+humane and considerate man that life in his service seems to have been
+as happy as the condition of slaves can be. Long afterward, Toussaint,
+speaking of this period of his life, said: "My wife and I went hand in
+hand to labor in the fields. We were scarcely conscious of the fatigues
+of the day. Heaven always blessed our toil. We had abundance for
+ourselves, and the pleasure of giving to other blacks who needed it. On
+Sundays and festival days my wife, my parents, and myself went to
+church. Returning to our cottage we had a pleasant meal, passed the
+remainder of the day in family intercourse, and closed it by prayer, in
+which all took part."
+
+Thus contented in his humble station, and faithfully performing its
+duties, he gained the respect and confidence of both blacks and whites.
+Many of the slaves in the French colonies were cruelly treated, as is
+always the case wherever Slavery exists. Toussaint could not avoid
+seeing a great deal of wrong and suffering inflicted on people of his
+color, and he was doubtless grateful to God that his lot was so much
+better than theirs. But he was too intelligent and thoughtful not to
+question in his own mind why either he or they should be held in bondage
+merely on account of the complexion which it had pleased God to give
+them. He was fond of reading, and M. Bayou de Libertas, contrary to the
+usual custom, allowed him the use of his books. He read one volume at a
+time, and tried to understand it thoroughly. He devoted every spare
+moment to it, and while he was at work he was busily thinking over what
+he had read. It took complete possession of his soul for the time, and
+he would repeat extracts from it to his companions for weeks after. In
+this earnest way he read several books of ancient history, biography,
+and morals, and a number of military books. There was a French author,
+called the Abbe Raynal, who was much opposed to Slavery. In some way or
+other, one of his books fell into the hands of Toussaint Breda, and made
+a deep impression on him. It contained the following sentence: "What
+shall be done to overthrow Slavery? Self-interest alone governs kings
+and nations. We must look elsewhere. A courageous chief is all the
+negroes need. Where is he? Where is that great man whom Nature owes to
+her vexed, oppressed, and tormented children? He will doubtless appear.
+He will come forth and raise the sacred standard of Liberty. This
+venerable signal will gather round him his companions in misfortune.
+More impetuous than the torrents, they will everywhere leave the
+indelible traces of their just resentment. Everywhere people will bless
+the name of the hero who shall have re-established the rights of the
+human race."
+
+When the Abbe Raynal wrote those prophetic words, he did not foresee
+that they would meet the eye of the very man he called for; and the
+humble slave, when he read them, did not hear in them the voice of his
+own destiny.
+
+While he was diligently toiling for his humane masters, and seizing
+every opportunity to increase his small stock of knowledge, the island
+of St. Domingo was growing very rich by agriculture and commerce. The
+planters acquired enormous wealth, built splendid houses, and lived in
+luxury, laziness, and dissipation, upon the toil of the poor unpaid
+negroes. Twenty thousand slaves were imported from Africa every year, to
+make up the deficiency of those who were killed by excessive toil and
+cruel treatment. These new victims, men and women, had the name of their
+purchaser branded on their breast-bones with red-hot iron.
+
+But men never violate the laws of God without suffering the
+consequences, sooner or later. Slavery was producing its natural fruits
+of tyranny and hatred, cruelty and despair. The reports of barbarity on
+one side and suffering on the other attracted attention in Europe; and
+benevolent and just men began to speak and write against Slavery as a
+wicked and dangerous institution. The Abbe Gregoire, a humane Bishop of
+the Catholic Church, introduced the agitating question into the French
+Assembly, a body similar to our Congress. He also formed a society
+called _Les Amis de Noirs_, which means "The Friends of the Blacks." Of
+course, this was very vexatious to slaveholders in the French colonies.
+They knew very well that if the facts of Slavery were made known, every
+good man would cry out against it. Political parties were formed in St.
+Domingo. Some of the planters wanted to secede from France, and set up
+an independent government. Others wanted to increase their political
+power by having a Colonial Assembly established in the island, by means
+of which they could mainly manage their own concerns as they chose. For
+this purpose they sent deputies to France. But their request gave rise
+to the question who should have the right to be members of such an
+Assembly; and, for the following reasons, that question was very
+annoying to the haughty slaveholders of St. Domingo.
+
+In the United States of America, slaveholders made a law that "the child
+shall follow the condition of the _mother_"; consequently, every child
+of a slave-woman was born a slave, however light its complexion might
+be. This was a very convenient arrangement for white fathers, who wanted
+to sell their own children. In the French colonies, the law was, "the
+child shall follow the condition of its _father_." The consequence was,
+that all the children the planters of St. Domingo had by their slaves
+were born free. This was, of course, a numerous class. In fact, their
+numbers were two thirds as great as those of the whites. There were at
+that time in St. Domingo thirty thousand whites, twenty thousand free
+mulattoes, and five hundred thousand black slaves. Not unfrequently the
+white planters sent their mulatto children to France to be educated like
+gentlemen. Many of them acquired great wealth and held numerous slaves.
+But they were a class by themselves. However rich and educated they
+might be, they were kept trampled down in a degraded and irritating
+position, merely on account of their color. They despised the negro
+slaves, from whom they had descended on the mother's side; and they in
+their turn were despised by the whites, whose children they were,
+because their color connected them with the enslaved race. They were not
+allowed to be doctors, lawyers, or priests; they could hold no public
+office; they could not inherit the name or the property of their
+fathers; they could not attend school with white boys, or sit at a white
+man's table, or occupy the same portion of a church with him, or be
+buried in the same graveyard. They were continually insulted by whites,
+but if they dared to give a blow in return, the penalty was to have the
+right hand cut off. This class of free mulattoes claimed that, being
+numerous and wealthy, and the payers of taxes, they had a right to send
+representatives to the Colonial Assembly to look after their interests.
+They had the more hopes of gaining this point, because a great
+Revolution was then going on in France, and the friends of liberty and
+equality were daily growing stronger there. When the white planters sent
+deputies to France, the mulattoes sent deputies also, with a present of
+more than a million of dollars, and an offer to mortgage a fifth part of
+all their property toward the payment of the French national debt. All
+they asked in return was that the law should put them on an equality
+with white men. Being slaveholders, they manifested the same selfishness
+that white slaveholders did. They declared that they asked redress of
+grievances only for oppressed _freemen_; that they had no wish to change
+the condition of the negroes, who were slaves.
+
+This petition was drawn up in 1790, and sent to Paris by a wealthy
+colored man named Oge. It excited lively discussion in the National
+Assembly of France. One of the members, named Lamoth, who owned large
+estates in St. Domingo, said: "I am one of the largest proprietors in
+that island; but I would lose all that I possess there rather than
+disown principles which justice and humanity have consecrated. I am not
+only in favor of admitting men of color into the Colonial Assemblies,
+but I also go for the emancipation of the negro slaves." After animated
+discussion, the reply received by the mulatto deputies from the
+President of the Assembly was: "No portion of the French nation shall in
+vain claim its rights from the representatives of the French people."
+
+When the white planters of St. Domingo heard of this, they were filled
+with wrath. In one place, a mulatto named Lacombe, whose only crime was
+that he had signed the petition, was seized and hung. In another place,
+the mob seized a highly respected old white magistrate and cut off his
+head, because he had drafted for the mulattoes a very moderate petition,
+begging to be released from some of the hardships under which they had
+so long suffered. When the colored deputy Oge returned from France and
+demanded that mulattoes should have the rights of citizenship, which had
+been decreed to them by the French Assembly, soldiers were sent to seize
+him, and he was sentenced to have all his limbs broken on a wheel, and
+then to have his head cut off.
+
+Besides the classes of which I have spoken there was another class in
+St. Domingo called _petit blancs_, which means small whites. They were
+so called to distinguish them from the large landed proprietors. They
+occupied a position not unlike that of the class known as "poor whites"
+in the slaveholding portion of the United States. They were ready
+instruments to carry out the vengeance of the infuriated planters. They
+seized every opportunity to insult the free mulattoes, and to inflict
+cruelty and outrage on the negro slaves. They went about as patrols,
+traversing the plantations, and bursting into negro huts at all times of
+night, under the pretence that they were plotting insurrection. The poor
+ignorant slaves did not understand what all this mobbing and murdering
+was for; but finding themselves so much suspected and abused without
+cause, they became weary of their lives. Many committed suicide, others
+tried to poison their tormentors. At Port au Prince an attempt was made
+to get up an insurrection. Fifty slaves, suspected of being connected
+with it, were beheaded, and their heads, stuck on poles, were set up by
+the hedges in a row.
+
+While the fire was thus kindling under their feet the white planters
+came out in open defiance of the French government, and refused to take
+the oath of allegiance. They called on the English for aid, and offered
+to make the island over to Great Britain. The mulattoes were filled with
+dismay, for the French government was their only hope. They had hitherto
+kept aloof from the negroes; but now, seeing the necessity of curbing
+the power of the white planters, at all hazards, they instigated the
+already exasperated slaves to seize this favorable moment of commotion
+and rise against their masters. They did rise, on the 22d of August,
+1791. All at once the sky was red with the reflection of burning houses
+and cane-fields. The cruelties which they had witnessed or suffered,
+they now, in their turn, inflicted on white men, women, and children. It
+was a horrible scene.
+
+Toussaint was working as usual on the Breda estate, when he heard that
+the planters had called in the aid of the English, and that four
+thousand negroes had risen in insurrection. He exerted his great
+influence with his fellow-slaves to prevent the destruction of houses
+and cane-fields on the Breda estate. For a month, he kept the insurgents
+at bay, while he helped M. Bayou de Libertas to convey a cargo of sugar
+on board a Baltimore ship, for the support of his family, and aided his
+mistress to collect such articles of value as could conveniently be
+carried away. Then he secretly conveyed them to the same ship; and it
+was an inexpressible relief to his heart when he saw them sailing away,
+bound for the shores of the United States.
+
+The armed negroes increased in numbers, and marshalled themselves under
+an intelligent leader named Jean Francois. When the French governor in
+St. Domingo called upon them to lay down their arms, their leaders
+replied for them: "We have never thought of failing in the respect and
+duty we owe to the representatives of the King of France. The king has
+bewailed our lot and broken our chains. But those who should have proved
+fathers to us have been tyrants, monsters, unworthy the fruits of our
+labors. Do you ask the sheep to throw themselves into the jaws of the
+wolf? To prove to you, excellent sir, that we are not so cruel as you
+may think, we assure you that we wish for peace with all our souls; but
+on condition that all the whites, without a single exception, leave the
+Cape. Let them carry with them their gold and their jewels. All we seek
+is our liberty. God grant that we may obtain it without shedding of
+blood. Believe us, it has cost our feelings very much to have taken this
+course. But victory, or death for freedom, is our profession of faith;
+and we will maintain it to the last drop of our blood."
+
+The negroes were mistaken in supposing that Louis XVI., king of France,
+had broken their chains, or that the king's party, called Royalists,
+were trying to do anything for their freedom. It was the revolutionary
+party in France, called Republicans, who had declared themselves in
+favor of emancipating the negro slaves, and giving the free mulattoes
+their civil rights. The main body of the negroes had been kept in the
+lowest ignorance, and of course could not understand the state of
+political parties. The world was ringing with French doctrines of
+liberty and equality, to be applied to men of all colors; and they could
+not help hearing something of what was so universally talked of. The
+Spaniards in the eastern part of St. Domingo were allies of the French
+king, and they wanted the negroes to help them fight the French
+planters, who were in rebellion against the king. In order to give them
+a strong motive for doing so, they told them that Louis XVI. had been
+cast into prison in France, and that they were going to kill him,
+because he wanted to emancipate the slaves in his colonies. They readily
+believed that it was so, because they saw their masters in arms against
+the king. Therefore they called their regiments "The King's Own," and
+carried flags on which were inscribed, "Long live the King," "The
+Ancient System of Government."
+
+The slaveholders mounted the English cockade, and entered into alliance
+with Great Britain, while their revolted slaves joined the Spanish. The
+war raged horribly on both sides. Jean Francois was of a gentle
+disposition, and disposed to be merciful; but the two other leaders of
+the negroes, named Jeannot and Biassou, were monsters of revenge and
+cruelty. The bleeding heads of white men surrounded their camps, and the
+bodies of black men hung on trees round the camps of the planters.
+
+This state of things shocked the soul of Toussaint Breda. Much as he
+desired the freedom of his own race, he was reluctant to join an
+enterprise marked by so many cruelties. Conscience forbade him to enlist
+on the side of the slaveholders, and he would gladly have remained
+neutral; but he found that men of his own color were suspicious of him,
+because he had adhered so faithfully to M. Bayou de Libertas. He joined
+the black insurgents; but, resolved not to take part in their
+barbarities, he occupied himself with healing the wounded,--an office
+for which he was well qualified by his tender disposition and knowledge
+of medicinal plants.
+
+After a while, however, the negroes were compelled to retreat before the
+superior discipline of the white troops; and feeling greatly the need of
+intelligent officers, they insisted upon making Toussaint aide-de-camp
+to Biassou, under the title of Brigadier. He desired, above all things,
+that hostilities should cease, that the negroes should return to their
+work, and that the planters should consent to cease from oppressing
+them. A very little justice and kindness would have pacified the
+revolted slaves; but the slaveholders were so full of rage and pride,
+that if a slave attempted to return to his master, however sincere he
+might be, he was instantly put to death. Three commissioners came from
+France to try to negotiate a peace between the contending parties. The
+blacks sent deputies to the Colonial Assembly to help the French
+commissioners in this good work; but the planters treated their
+overtures with haughtiness and contempt.
+
+It is said that Toussaint wept when he saw the hopes of peace vanish.
+It was plain that his people must resist their tyrants, or be forever
+hopelessly crushed. He was then fifty years old, in the prime of his
+bodily and mental strength. By becoming a leader he felt that he might
+protect the ignorant masses, and restrain those who were disposed to
+cruelty. Perhaps he remembered the prediction of the Abbe Raynal, and
+thought that he was the appointed deliverer,--a second Moses, sent by
+God to bring his people out of bondage. From that time henceforth he
+made it the business of his life to conquer freedom for his race; but
+never in a bloodthirsty spirit.
+
+Biassou was so enraged by the contemptuous manner in which their
+deputies had been treated, that he gave orders to put to death all the
+white prisoners in their camps. But Toussaint remonstrated, and
+succeeded in saving their lives. His superior intelligence gave him
+great influence, and he always exerted it on the side of humanity. He
+also manifested extraordinary courage and sagacity in the very difficult
+position in which he was placed. He was surrounded by conflicting
+parties, fighting against each other, agreeing only in one thing, and
+that was hostility to the negroes; all of them ready to make the fairest
+promises, and to break them as soon as they had gained their object.
+France was in a state of revolutionary confusion, and rumors were very
+contradictory. One thing was certain,--their former masters were
+fighting against the king of France; and instinct led them to take the
+other side. Toussaint deemed it wisest to keep under the protection of
+their Spanish allies, and fight with them for the king's party. By a
+succession of battles, he gained possession of several districts in the
+mountains, where he entrenched his forces strongly, and tried to bring
+them under regular military discipline. He was very strict, and allowed
+no disobedience of orders. He forbade his soldiers to go about
+plundering, or revenging past injuries. His motto was, "No
+Retaliation,"--a noble, Christian motto, totally disregarded by men
+whose opportunities for enlightened education were a thousand times
+greater than his. When he felt himself secure in the mountain districts,
+he invited the white planters of that region to return and cultivate the
+estates which they had abandoned in their terror. He promised them that
+their persons and property should be protected; and he faithfully kept
+his word. In his language and in his actions he was always saying to the
+whites, "Why will you force us to fight? I cherish no revenge against
+you. All I want is the freedom of my race." His energy and ingenuity in
+availing himself of every resource and supplying every deficiency were
+truly wonderful. On one occasion a map was greatly needed, in order to
+plan some important campaign, and no map could be procured. Toussaint,
+having made diligent inquiries of various persons well acquainted with
+the portion of country to be traversed, employed himself in making a
+map. By help of the little geometry taught him by his godfather, he
+projected a map, and marked down the important towns, mountains, and
+rivers, with the distances between them.
+
+No trait in the character of Toussaint Breda was stronger than his
+domestic affections. He was devotedly attached to his wife and children,
+and he had not seen them for seven months. At last an interval of quiet
+enabled him to visit the Spanish part of the island, whither he had sent
+them for security. The Spanish authorities, in acknowledgment of his
+services, received him with the greatest distinction. Toussaint thanked
+them, but humbly ascribed his successes to a superintending Providence.
+Always strict in religious observances, he went to the church to offer
+prayers. His general, the Spanish Marquis Hermona, seeing him kneel to
+partake of the communion, said: "In this lower world God visits no purer
+soul than his."
+
+But the Spaniards had no regard for the rights and welfare of the
+negroes. They used them while they had need of their help, and were
+ready to oppress them when it served their own interests. News came from
+France that the Republican party were triumphant, and that the king had
+been beheaded. The Spanish had nothing further to gain by adhering to
+the defeated Royalist party. Accordingly, Spain and Great Britain
+entered into a league to divide the island of St. Domingo between them,
+and restore Slavery. On the contrary, the Republican party in France,
+assembled in convention at Paris, February, 1794, proclaimed freedom to
+the slaves in all the French colonies; and as the government was now in
+their hands, there was no doubt of their having power to protect those
+they had emancipated. Under these circumstances, there was but one
+course for Toussaint to take. He left the Spanish and joined the French
+forces, by whom he was received with acclamation. His rude bands of
+untaught negroes had now become a well-disciplined army. They were proud
+of their commander, and almost worshipped him. Under his guidance, they
+performed wonders, proving themselves equal to any troops in the world.
+Toussaint was on horseback night and day. It seemed as if he never
+slept. Wherever he was needed, he suddenly appeared; and as he seemed to
+be wanted in twenty places at once, his followers thought he had some
+powers of witchcraft to help him. But the witchcraft consisted in his
+superior intelligence, his remarkable activity, his iron constitution,
+and his iron will. His heart was never of iron. In the midst of constant
+warfare he paid careful attention to the raising of crops; and if women
+and children, black or white, were suffering with hunger, he caused them
+to be supplied with food. He and his brave officers and troops
+everywhere drove the English before them. The French general Laveaux
+appointed him second to himself in command; and, in his proclamation to
+that effect, he declared: "This is the man whom the Abbe Raynal foretold
+would rise to be the liberator of his oppressed race."
+
+One day, when he had gained some important advantage, a white officer
+exclaimed, "General Toussaint makes an opening everywhere." His black
+troops heard the words, and feeling that he had made an opening for
+_them_, from the dungeon of Slavery to the sunlight of Freedom, they
+shouted, "_L'Ouverture_," "_L'Ouverture_"; which, being translated into
+English, means The Opening. From that day henceforth he was called
+Toussaint l'Ouverture.
+
+The English general Maitland, finding him so formidable, wished to have
+a conference with him to negotiate terms of accommodation. The request
+was granted; and such was his confidence in the black chieftain that he
+went to his camp with only three attendants, through miles of country
+full of armed negroes. One of the French officers wrote to General
+Toussaint that it would be an excellent opportunity to take the English
+commander prisoner. General Maitland was informed of this while he was
+on his way; but he said, "I will trust General Toussaint. He never
+breaks his promise." When he arrived, General Toussaint handed him two
+letters, saying, "There is a letter I have received, advising me to
+detain you as prisoner; and there is my reply. I wish you to read them
+before we proceed to business, that you may know I am incapable of such
+a base action." The answer he had written was, "I have promised this
+Englishman my protection, and he shall have it."
+
+The English, seeing little prospect of conquering him by force, or
+outwitting him by stratagem, tried to bribe him to their interest. They
+offered to make him king of St. Domingo, to establish him with a
+sufficient naval force, and give freedom to the blacks, if he would come
+over to their side. But the English still held slaves in the neighboring
+islands, while the French had proclaimed emancipation in all their
+colonies. He felt grateful to the Republican government of France, and
+he resolved to stand by it. The only crown he coveted was the freedom of
+his race. He pursued the English vigorously, till he drove them from the
+island. Yet he had no desire to harm them, any further than was
+inevitable for the protection of his people. An English naval officer,
+named Rainsford, being driven on the coast of St. Domingo by a violent
+storm, was arrested as a spy. A court-martial was held, at which General
+Christophe presided, in the absence of General Toussaint. Rainsford was
+convicted, and sentenced to die. He was put into a dungeon to wait till
+the sentence was signed by General Toussaint. The women of the island
+pitied the stranger, and often sent him fruit and sweetmeats. When
+Toussaint returned, he examined into the case, and said: "The trial
+appears to have been fair, and the sentence just, according to the rules
+of war. But why should we execute this stranger? He is alone, and can do
+us no harm. His death would break his mother's heart. Let us have
+compassion on her. Let us send him home, that he may tell the English
+what sort of people we are, and advise them not to attempt to reduce us
+to Slavery."
+
+Having cleared the island of foreign enemies, Toussaint exerted all his
+abilities to restore prosperity. He discharged the greater part of the
+regular troops, and sent them to till the soil. At that time, men were
+afraid to trust to immediate, unconditional emancipation; they had not
+then learned by experiment that it is the wisest policy, as well as the
+truest justice. Toussaint feared that when the former slaves were
+disbanded from the army they would sink into laziness and vice, and thus
+cause the name of freedom to be evil spoken of. Therefore, with the view
+of guarding public morals, he instituted a kind of apprenticeship. He
+ordained that they should work five years for their masters, on
+condition of receiving one fourth of the produce, out of which the cost
+of their subsistence was to be defrayed. Regulations were made by which
+the laborers became a sort of proprietors of the soil; but I do not know
+what were the terms. He did everything to encourage agriculture, and
+tried to impress on the minds of the blacks that the permanence of their
+freedom depended in a great measure upon their becoming owners and
+cultivators of land. He proclaimed a general amnesty to men of all
+colors and all parties, even to those who had fought with the English
+against their own country. He invited the return of all fugitives who
+were willing to become good citizens, and by public discourses and
+proclamations promised them pardon for the past and protection for the
+future. Before any important measure was carried into execution, he
+summoned all the people to church, where, after prayers were offered,
+he discoursed to them upon the prospects of the republic, and what he
+considered essential to its future peace and prosperity. He ordered
+prayers to be said night and morning at the head of the regiments. The
+discipline of the army was so strict, that some accused him of severity.
+But the soldiers almost idolized him, which I think they would not have
+done, if he had not proved to them that he was just as well as strict.
+After such a long period of foreign and civil war, it required a very
+firm and judicious hand to restore order and security. His troops, once
+lawless and savage, had become perfectly orderly under his regulations.
+They committed no thefts on the plantations and no pillage in the
+cities. He opened to all nations an unrestricted commerce with St.
+Domingo; and he has the honor of being the first ruler in the world who
+introduced a system of free trade. In the distribution of offices, he
+sought out the men that were best fitted, without regard to complexion.
+In many things he seemed to favor the whites more than the blacks;
+probably from his extreme fear of not being impartial; perhaps also
+because he knew the whites distrusted him and needed to be conciliated,
+while people of his own color had entire confidence in him. But the most
+obstinate prejudices gradually gave way before the wisdom and
+uprightness of his government. White planters, who had been accustomed
+to talk of him as a revolted slave and a lawless brigand, began to
+acknowledge that he was a conscientious man and a wise legislator. A
+general feeling of security prevailed, activity in business was
+restored, and wealth began to flow in through its former channels.
+
+But, with all his prudence and efforts at universal conciliation, he
+could not at once heal the old animosities that had so long rankled in
+the breasts of men. Some of the returned French planters resumed their
+old habits of haughtiness and contempt toward the negroes. Some of the
+proprietors, both white and black, in their haste to grow rich,
+overworked their laborers; and, in addition to these causes of
+irritation, it was whispered round that the whites were influencing the
+French government to restore Slavery. In one of the northern districts a
+proposition was made to disband the black troops. This excited
+suspicion, and they rose in rebellion. Buildings were fired, and three
+hundred whites slaughtered. Toussaint hastened to the scene of action,
+and by assurances and threats quelled the tumult. The command of that
+district was in the hands of General Moyse, the son of Toussaint's
+brother Paul. He disliked the system of conciliation pursued toward the
+whites, and had expressed his opinions in terms less respectful than was
+proper toward a man of his uncle's age and character. The agricultural
+returns from his district had been smaller than from other portions of
+the island; and when Toussaint remonstrated with him for neglecting that
+department, he replied: "Whatever my old uncle may see fit to do, I
+cannot consent to be the executioner of my race, by causing them to be
+worked to death. All your orders are given in the name of France. But to
+serve France is to serve the interests of the whites; and I shall never
+love the whites till they give me back the eye I lost in battle." When
+the insurrection broke out in his district, the relatives of the
+slaughtered whites complained to General Toussaint that his nephew had
+not taken any efficient measures to put down the riot; and the black
+insurgents excused themselves by saying General Moyse approved of their
+rising. A court-martial was held, and General Moyse and several of the
+ringleaders were condemned to be shot. The execution of this sentence
+excited a good deal of ill-feeling toward Toussaint. He was loudly
+accused of favoring the whites more than he did his own color; and to
+this day it is remembered against him in the island. It certainly is the
+harshest action recorded of Toussaint l'Ouverture. But it must be
+remembered that he had invited the whites to come back, and had given
+them promises of protection, because he thought the peace and prosperity
+of the island could best be promoted in that way; and having done so, it
+was his duty to see that their lives and property were protected.
+Moreover, he knew that the freedom of his race depended upon their good
+behavior after they were emancipated, and that insurrections would
+furnish the French government with a pretext for reducing them to
+Slavery again. If he punished any of the ringleaders with death, he
+could not, without partiality, pardon his own nephew, who had been
+condemned by the same court-martial. In this matter it is fair to judge
+Toussaint by his general character, and that leaves no room to doubt
+that severity was painful to him, and that when he resorted to it he was
+actuated by motives for the public good.
+
+That he could forgive offences against himself was shown by his
+treatment of the mulattoes, who made trouble in the island about the
+same time. They had never been pleased to see one of the black slaves,
+whom they had always despised, placed in a situation which made him so
+much superior to any of themselves. They manifested their
+dissatisfaction in a variety of ways. They did their utmost to increase
+the feeling that he showed partiality to the whites. In several
+instances attempts were made to take his life. At one time, the plume
+in his military cap was shot away. On another occasion, balls passed
+through his carriage, and his coachman was killed; but he happened to be
+riding off on horseback in another direction. This hostile feeling led
+the mulattoes into an extensive conspiracy to excite rebellion against
+his government. Toussaint was forewarned of it, and the attempt was put
+down. Eleven of the leaders were carried to the Cape and imprisoned.
+Toussaint called a meeting of the civil and military authorities, and
+ordered the building to be surrounded by black troops while the mulatto
+prisoners were brought in under guard. They looked extremely dejected,
+expecting nothing but death. But he announced to them that, deeming the
+forgiveness of injuries a Christian duty, he pardoned what they had
+attempted to do against him. He gave them money to defray their
+travelling expenses, told them they were at liberty to return to their
+homes, and gave orders that they should be protected on the way. As he
+passed out of the building, they showered blessings on his head, and the
+air was filled with shouts of "Long live Toussaint l'Ouverture."
+
+These outbreakings of old hatreds were local and short-lived. The
+confidence in Toussaint's goodness and ability was almost universal; and
+his popularity was so great with all classes, that he might have made
+himself emperor, if he would. But through all the changes in France he
+had been faithful to the French government; and now to the habit of
+loyalty was added gratitude to that government for having proclaimed
+freedom to his race. Next to the emancipation of his people, he sought
+to serve the interests of France. Personal ambition never tempted him
+from the path of duty. When the affairs of the colony seemed to be
+arranged on a secure basis, he manifested willingness to resign the
+authority which he had used with so much wisdom and impartiality. He
+published a proclamation, in which he said:--
+
+"Penetrated with that which is set forth in our Lord's Prayer, 'forgive
+us our transgressions, as we forgive those who transgress against us,' I
+have granted a general amnesty. Fellow-citizens, not less generous than
+myself, endeavor to have the past forgotten. Receive misled brethren
+with open arms, and let them in the future be on their guard against the
+snares of bad men. Civil and military authorities, my task is
+accomplished. It now belongs to you to take care that harmony is no more
+disturbed. Allow no one to reproach those who went astray, but have now
+returned to their duty. But, notwithstanding my proclamation of amnesty,
+watch bad men closely, and do not spare them if they excite disturbance.
+A sense of honor should guide you all. A true, confiding peace is
+necessary to the prosperity of the country. It must be your work to
+establish such a peace. Take no rest until you have accomplished it."
+
+The people refused to accept the resignation of their "friend and
+benefactor," as they styled him. He replied: "If I undertake the
+administration of civil affairs, I must have a solid rock to stand on;
+and that rock must be a constitutional government." Feeling the
+necessity of laws and regulations suited to the altered state of the
+country, he called a meeting of deputies from all the districts to draft
+a constitution. Of these nine deputies eight were white and one a
+mulatto. They were selected for their learning and ability. Very likely
+Toussaint's habitual caution led him to choose men from the two classes
+that had been hostile to him, that there might be no pretext for saying
+he used his popularity with the blacks to carry any measure he wished.
+
+Among other things, this constitution provided that Slavery should never
+more exist in St. Domingo; that all who were born there were free
+citizens of the French republic. It also provided that offices were to
+be distributed according to virtue and ability, without regard to color.
+The island was to be ruled by one governor, appointed for five years,
+with a proviso that the term might be prolonged as a reward for good
+conduct. But "in consideration of the important services rendered to the
+country by General Toussaint l'Ouverture," he was named governor for
+life, with power to appoint his successor. This was early in the summer
+of 1800. The constitution, approved by Toussaint and published, was
+accepted by the people with solemn formalities and demonstrations of
+joy. This new colonial government was to go into operation
+provisionally, until it should receive the sanction of the authorities
+in France.
+
+General Napoleon Bonaparte was then at the head of the French
+government, under the title of First Consul. Governor Toussaint wrote to
+him, that, in the absence of laws, after the revolution in St. Domingo,
+it had been deemed best to draft a constitution. He added: "I hasten to
+lay it before you for your approbation, and for the sanction of the
+government which I serve. All classes of citizens here have welcomed it
+with joy, which will be renewed when it is sent back with the sanction
+of the French government."
+
+Some writers have accused Toussaint of personal ambition because he
+consented to be governor for life. He himself said it was because
+circumstances had given him influence, which he could exert to unite a
+divided people; and that he deemed changes of administration might be
+injurious until the new order of things had become more settled.
+
+He assumed all the outward style that had been considered befitting the
+rank of governor and commander-in-chief. He had an elegant carriage and
+a number of handsome horses. When he rode out, he was followed by
+attendants in brilliant military dress, and he himself wore a rich
+uniform. On stated days, he gave reception-parties, to which
+magistrates, military officers, distinguished strangers, and influential
+citizens were invited. There was a good deal of splendor in the dresses
+on such occasions; but he always appeared in the simple undress uniform
+of a general officer. At these parties, whites, blacks, and mulattoes
+mingled together with mutual politeness, and it is said that the style
+of manners was easy and elegant. All rose when the Governor entered, and
+none seated themselves until he was seated. This was a strange
+experience for a black man, who was formerly a slave; and it had been
+brought about, under the blessing of God, solely by the strength and
+excellence of his own character. All prejudices gave way before his
+uncommon intelligence, well-tried virtues, and courteous dignity of
+manner.
+
+Every evening he gave free audience to all the people who chose to call.
+His dress was such as the landed proprietors usually wore. However weary
+he might be, he made the circuit of the rooms, and said something to
+each one on the subjects most likely to interest them. He talked with
+mothers about their children, and urged upon them the great importance
+of giving them religious instruction. Not unfrequently he examined the
+children in their catechisms, and gave a few words of fatherly advice to
+the young folks.
+
+He has been accused of vanity for assuming so much pomp in his equipage
+and gentility in his dress. Doubtless he had some vanity. No human being
+is free from it. But I believe very few men, of any color, could have
+passed through such extraordinary changes as he did, and preserved their
+balance so well. In the style he assumed he was probably somewhat
+influenced by motives of policy. He was obliged to receive many
+distinguished French gentlemen, and he knew they attached great
+importance to dress and equipage. The blacks also were fond of splendor,
+and it gratified them to see their great chieftain appear in princely
+style. The free mulattoes, who despised his mean birth, would have
+spared no ridicule if he had been neglectful of outward appearances; and
+in his peculiar situation it was important to command respect in every
+way. His person also needed every borrowed advantage that it could
+obtain. His figure was short and slim, and his features were homely,
+though his bright, penetrating eyes gave his face an expression of
+animation and intelligence. With these disadvantages, and a deficiency
+of education, betrayed by imperfect grammar, it is wonderful how he
+swayed assemblies of men whenever he addressed them. The secret lay in
+his great earnestness. Whatever he said, he said it with his whole soul,
+and therefore it took possession of the souls of others.
+
+Though he paid so much attention to external show in public, his own
+personal habits were extremely simple and frugal. There was a large
+public house at the Cape, called The Hotel of the Republic, frequented
+by whites and blacks, officers and privates. Toussaint l'Ouverture often
+took a seat at the table in any chair that happened to be vacant. If any
+one rose to offer him a higher seat, he would bow courteously, and
+reply, "Distinctions are to be observed only on public occasions." His
+food consisted of vegetable preparations, and he drank water only. He
+had a wonderful capacity of doing without sleep. During the years that
+so many public cares devolved upon him, it is said he rarely slept more
+than two hours out of the twenty-four. He thought more than he spoke,
+and what he said was uttered in few words. Surrounded as he was by
+inquisitive and treacherous people, this habit of reserve was of great
+use to him. Enemies accused him of being deceitful. The charge was
+probably grounded on the fact that he knew how to keep his own secrets;
+for there are many proofs that he was in reality honest and sincere. It
+is singular how he escaped the contagion of impurity which always
+pollutes society where Slavery exists. But his respect and affection for
+his wife was very constant, and he was always clean in his manners and
+his language. A colored lady appeared at one of his reception-parties
+dressed very low at the neck, according to the prevailing Parisian
+fashion. When he had greeted her, he placed a handkerchief on her
+shoulders, and said in a low voice, "Modesty is the greatest ornament of
+woman."
+
+His ability and energy as a statesman were even more remarkable than his
+courage and skill as a military leader. He was getting old, and he was
+covered with the scars of wounds received in many battles; but he
+travelled about with wonderful rapidity, inspecting everything with his
+own eyes, and personally examining into the conduct of magistrates and
+officers. Often, after riding some distance in a carriage, he would
+mount a swift horse and ride off in another direction, while the coach
+went on. In this way, he would make his appearance suddenly at places
+where he was not expected, and ascertain how things went on in his
+absence. It was a common practice with him to traverse from one hundred
+to one hundred and fifty miles a day. After giving his evening audience
+to the people, he sat up late into the night answering letters, of which
+he received not less than a hundred daily. He dictated to five
+secretaries at once, so long that he tired them all; and he examined
+every letter when finished, that he might be sure his dictation had not
+been misunderstood.
+
+The eastern part of the island had been ceded to the French by treaty,
+but had never been given up by the Spanish, who still held slaves there.
+Complaints were brought to General Toussaint that the Spaniards
+kidnapped both blacks and mulattoes from the western part of the island,
+where all were free, and carried them off to sell them to slave-traders.
+Resolved to destroy Slavery, root and branch, throughout the island, in
+January, 1801, he marched into the Spanish territory at the head of ten
+thousand soldiers. The Spanish blacks were desirous to come under French
+dominion, in order to secure their freedom, and the whites offered but
+slight resistance. Having taken possession of the territory in the name
+of the French republic, he issued a proclamation, in which he declared
+that all past offences should be forgotten, and that the welfare and
+happiness of Spaniards and Frenchmen should be equally protected. He
+then assembled his troops in the churches and caused prayers of
+thanksgiving to be offered for the success of their enterprise, almost
+without bloodshed. Most of the wealthy Spanish slaveholders made
+arrangements to depart to Cuba and other neighboring islands. But the
+main body of the people received General Toussaint with the greatest
+distinction. As he passed through the principal towns, he was everywhere
+greeted with thunder of artillery, ringing of bells, and loud
+acclamations of the populace.
+
+Under his wise and watchful administration all classes were protected,
+and all parts of the country became prosperous. The desolations
+occasioned by so many years of warfare were rapidly repaired. Churches
+were rebuilt, schools established, waste lands brought under
+cultivation, and distances shortened by new and excellent roads. The
+French commissioner Roume was struck with admiration of his plans, and
+pronounced him to be "a philosopher, a legislator, a general, and a good
+citizen." The Frenchman, Lavoque, who was well acquainted with him and
+the condition of the people, said to Bonaparte, "Sire, let things remain
+as they are in St. Domingo. It is the happiest spot in your dominions."
+The historian Lacroix, though prejudiced against blacks, wrote, "That
+the island was preserved to the French government was solely owing to an
+old negro, who seemed to bear a commission from Heaven." Strangers who
+visited St. Domingo expressed their surprise to see cities rising from
+their ashes, fields waving with harvests, and the harbors filled with
+ships. Planters, who had fled with their families to various parts of
+the world heard such good accounts of the activity of business, and the
+security of property, that many of them so far overcame their repugnance
+to be governed by a negro as to ask permission to return. This was
+easily obtained, and they were received by the Governor without anything
+on his part which they might deem offensive familiarity, but with a
+dignified courtesy which prevented familiarity, or airs of
+condescension, on their side. He had annually sent some token of
+remembrance to M. Bayou de Libertas, then residing in the United
+States. He now wrote to invite him to return to St. Domingo. The
+invitation was gladly accepted. When he arrived, he was received with
+marked kindness, but with dignified reserve. Governor Toussaint
+evidently did not wish bystanders to be reminded of the former relation
+that existed between them as overseer and slave. "Return to the
+plantation," said he, "and take care of the interests of the good old
+master. See that the blacks do their duty. Be firm, but just. You will
+thus advance your own prosperity, and at the same time increase the
+prosperity of the colony."
+
+This return of the old slaveholders excited some uneasiness among the
+black laborers. But Toussaint, who often spoke to them in simple
+parables, sprinkled a few grains of rice into a vessel of shot, and
+shook it. "See," said he, "how few grains of white there are among the
+black."
+
+At that time General Napoleon Bonaparte had become very famous by his
+victories, and had recently been made ruler of France. There were many
+points of resemblance between his career and that of the hero of St.
+Domingo; and it was a common thing for people to say, "Napoleon is the
+First of the Whites, and Toussaint l'Ouverture is the First of the
+Blacks." If General Toussaint had known the real character of Napoleon,
+he would not have felt flattered by being compared with such a selfish,
+tyrannical, and treacherous man. But, like the rest of the world, he was
+dazzled by his brilliant reputation, and felt that it was a great honor
+to him to be called the "The Black Napoleon." The vainest thing that is
+recorded of him is that on one of his official letters to Bonaparte he
+wrote, "To the First of the Whites, from the First of the Blacks." It
+was a departure from his usual habits of dignity, and was also poor
+policy; for Bonaparte had been rendered vain by his great success, and
+he was under the influence of aristocratic planters from St. Domingo,
+who would have regarded it as a great insult to couple their names with
+a negro. General Toussaint soon had reason to suspect he had been
+mistaken in the character of the famous man, whom he had so much
+admired. He wrote several deferential letters to Bonaparte, on official
+business; but the First Consul never condescended to make any reply. It
+was soon rumored abroad that proprietors of estates in St. Domingo,
+residing in France, were urging him to send an army to St. Domingo to
+reduce the blacks again to Slavery. Governor Toussaint could not believe
+that the French government would be persuaded to break the solemn
+promises it had made to the colony. But when he sent General Vincent to
+Paris to obtain Bonaparte's sanction to the new constitution, the wicked
+scheme was found to be making rapid progress. In vain General Vincent
+remonstrated against it as a measure cruel and dangerous. In vain he
+represented the contented, happy, and prosperous state of the island. In
+vain did many wise and good men in Paris urge that such a step would be
+unjust in itself and very disgraceful to France. The First Consul turned
+a deaf ear to all but the haughty old planters from St. Domingo. The
+Legislative Assembly in France, though still talking loudly about
+liberty and the rights of man, were not ashamed to propose the
+restoration of Slavery and the slave-trade in the colonies; and the
+wicked measure was carried by a vote of two hundred and twelve against
+sixty-five. In May, 1801, Bonaparte issued a decree to that effect. But
+he afterwards considered it prudent to announce that the islands of St.
+Domingo and Guadaloupe were to be excepted.
+
+When this news reached St. Domingo, the people were excited and alarmed.
+They asked each other anxiously, "How long shall we be excepted?" On
+that point no assurances were given, and all suspected that the French
+government was dealing with them hypocritically and treacherously. The
+soul of Toussaint was on fire. If the names of the men who voted for the
+restoration of Slavery were mentioned in his presence, his eyes flashed
+and his whole frame shook with indignation. He published a proclamation,
+in which he counselled obedience to the mother country, unless
+circumstances should make it evident that resistance was unavoidable. In
+private, he said to his friends: "I took up arms for the freedom of my
+color. France proclaimed it, and she has no right to nullify it. Our
+liberty is no longer in her hands; it is in our own. We will defend it,
+or perish."
+
+General Toussaint had sent his two eldest sons to Paris to be educated.
+As a part of the plan of deception, General Bonaparte invited the young
+men to visit him. He spoke of their father as a great man, who had
+rendered very important services to France. He told them he was going to
+send his brother-in-law, General Le Clerc, with troops to St. Domingo;
+but he assured them it was not for any hostile purpose; it was merely to
+add to the defence of the island. He wished them to go with General Le
+Clerc and tell their father that he intended him all protection, glory,
+and honor. The next day Bonaparte's Minister of Marine invited the young
+men to a sumptuous dinner, and at parting presented each with a splendid
+military uniform. The inexperienced youths were completely dazzled and
+deceived.
+
+In January, 1802, General Le Clerc sailed with sixty ships and thirty
+thousand of Bonaparte's experienced troops. When Governor Toussaint
+received tidings that a French fleet was in sight, he galloped to the
+coast they were approaching, to take a view of them. He was dismayed,
+and for a moment discouraged. He exclaimed, "All France has come to
+enslave St. Domingo. We must perish." He had no vessels, and not more
+than sixteen thousand men under arms. But his native energy soon
+returned. The people manifested a determination to die rather than be
+enslaved again. He resolved to attempt no attack on the French, but to
+act wholly on the defensive. Le Clerc's army attacked Fort Liberty,
+killed half the garrison, and forced a landing on the island. Toussaint
+entrenched himself in a position where he could harass the invaders; and
+the peaceful, prosperous island again smoked with fire and blood. Le
+Clerc, still aiming to accomplish Bonaparte's designs by hypocrisy,
+scattered proclamations among the blacks of St. Domingo, representing
+that Toussaint kept them in a kind of Slavery on the plantations, but
+that the French had come to set them wholly free. This did not excite
+the rebellion which he intended to provoke, but it sowed the seeds of
+doubt and discontent in the minds of some. At the same time that he was
+playing this treacherous game, he sent Toussaint's two sons to their
+father, accompanied by their French tutor, to deliver a letter from the
+First Consul, which ought to have been sent three months before. The
+letter was very complimentary to General Toussaint; but it objected to
+the constitution that had been formed, and spoke in a very general way
+about the liberty which France granted to all nations under her control.
+It counselled submission to General Le Clerc, and threatened punishment
+for disobedience. The tone of the letter, though apparently peaceful and
+friendly, excited distrust in the mind of General Toussaint, which was
+increased by the fact that the letter had been so long kept from him.
+Knowing the strength of his domestic affections, orders had been given
+that if he surrendered, his sons should remain with him, but if he
+refused they were to return to the French camp as hostages. Though his
+heart yearned toward his children, from whom he had been so long
+separated, he said to their tutor: "Three months after date you bring me
+a letter which promises peace, while the action of General Le Clerc is
+war. I had established order and justice here; now all is confusion and
+misery. Take back my sons. I cannot receive them as the price of my
+surrender. Tell General Le Clerc hostilities will cease on our part when
+he stops the progress of his invading army." His sons told him how
+kindly they had been treated by Bonaparte, and what promises he had made
+concerning St. Domingo,--promises which had been repeated in the
+proclamation brought by General Le Clerc. Toussaint had had too severe
+an experience to be easily deceived by fair words. He replied: "My sons,
+you are no longer children. You are old enough to decide for yourselves.
+If you wish to be on the side of France, you are free to do so. Stay
+with me, or return to General Le Clerc, whichever you choose. Either
+way, I shall love you always." Isaac, his oldest son, had been so
+deceived by flattery and promises, that he declared his wish to return
+to the French camp, feeling very sure that his father would be convinced
+that Bonaparte was their best friend. But Placide, his step-son, said:
+"My father, I will remain with you. I dread the restoration of Slavery,
+and I am fearful about the future of St. Domingo." Who can tell what a
+pang went through the father's heart when he embraced Isaac and bade him
+farewell?
+
+General Le Clerc was very angry when he found that his overtures were
+distrusted. He swore that he would seize Toussaint before he took his
+boots off. He forthwith issued a proclamation declaring him to be an
+outlaw. When General Toussaint read it to his soldiers, they cried out
+with one accord, "We will die with you." He said to his officers: "When
+the rainy season comes, sickness will rid us of our enemies. Till then
+there is nothing before us but flame and slaughter." Orders were given
+to fire the towns as the French army approached, and to deal destruction
+upon them in every way. He gathered his army together at the entrance of
+the mountains, and, aided by his brave generals Christophe and
+Dessalines, kept up active skirmishing with the enemy. Horrible things
+were done on both sides. The Bay of Mancenille was red with the blood of
+negro prisoners slaughtered by the French. The blacks, infuriated by
+revenge and dread of Slavery, killed white men, women, and children
+without mercy. General Dessalines was of a savage temper, and incited
+his troops to the most ferocious deeds.
+
+But the natural kindliness of the negro character was manifested on many
+occasions, even in the midst of this horrible excitement. In many cases
+they guided their old masters to hiding-places in the mountains or
+forests, and secretly conveyed them food.
+
+Toussaint, with only a plank to sleep on and a cloak to cover him, was
+constantly occupied with planning attacks and ambuscades, and preaching
+on Sundays, exhorting the people, with fiery eloquence, to remember
+that the cause of Liberty was the cause of God. General Le Clerc,
+meanwhile, was disappointed to find so many difficulties in the way of
+his wicked project. His troops wilted under the increasing heat of the
+climate, and began to murmur. He issued proclamations, promising, in the
+most solemn manner, that the freedom of all classes in St. Domingo
+should be respected. These assurances induced several black regiments to
+go over to the French. Toussaint's brother Paul, and two of his ablest
+generals, Bellair and Maurepas, did the same. Still the
+Commander-in-Chief, aided by Christophe and Dessalines, kept up a stout
+resistance. But news came that fresh troops were coming from France, and
+Christophe and Dessalines had an interview with General Le Clerc, in
+which, by fair promises, he succeeded in gaining them over to the French
+side. A messenger was then sent to ask for a conference with General
+Toussaint. Solemn assurances were repeated that the freedom of the
+blacks should be protected; and a proposition was made that he should be
+colleague with General Le Clerc in the government of the island, and
+that his officers should retain their rank in the army. With
+reinforcements coming from France, and with his best generals gained
+over, Toussaint had no longer hopes of defeating the invaders, though he
+might send out skirmishers to annoy them. He had too little faith in the
+promises of General Le Clerc to consent to take an oath of office under
+him. He therefore replied: "I might remain a brigand in the mountains,
+and harass you with perpetual warfare, so far as your power to prevent
+it is concerned. But I disdain fighting for mere bloodshed; and, in
+obedience to the orders of the First Consul, I yield to you. For myself,
+I wish to live in retirement; but I accept your favorable terms for the
+people and the army."
+
+With four hundred armed horsemen he set out for the Cape, to hold the
+proposed conference with General Le Clerc. On the way, the people,
+thinking peace was secured without the sacrifice of their freedom,
+hailed him as their benefactor. Girls strewed flowers in his path, and
+mothers held up their children to bless him. General Le Clerc received
+him with a salute of artillery, and made a speech in which he highly
+complimented his bravery, magnanimity, and good faith, and expressed a
+hope that, though he chose to live in retirement, he would continue to
+assist the government of the island by his wise counsels. In the
+presence of the troops on both sides, he took an oath on the cross to
+protect the freedom of St. Domingo. With the same solemn formalities,
+General Toussaint promised that the treaty of peace should be faithfully
+observed.
+
+The next day, he explained fully to his officers and soldiers what were
+the terms of the treaty, and impressed upon their minds that such a
+promise could not be violated without committing the sin of perjury. He
+thanked them all for the courage and devotedness they had shown under
+his command, embraced his officers, and bade them an affectionate
+farewell. They shed tears, and expressed the greatest reluctance to part
+with him; but he told them that such a course would best conduce to
+public tranquillity. The soldiers were inconsolable. They followed him,
+calling out in the saddest tones, "Have you deserted us?" He replied:
+"No, my children. Do not be uneasy. Your officers are all under arms,
+and at their posts."
+
+Twelve years had passed since he was working on the Breda estate, and
+seeing houses and cane-fields on fire in every direction, had said to
+his wife, "The slaves have risen." Since that time, his life had been
+one scene of excitement, danger, ceaseless exertion, and overwhelming
+responsibility. He had been commander-in-chief of the armies of St.
+Domingo during five years, and governor of the island about one year.
+Now, with a heart full of anxiety for his people, but cheered by hopes
+of domestic happiness, he retired, far from the scene of his official
+splendor, to Ennery, a beautiful valley among the mountains. Surrounded
+by his family, he busied himself with clearing up the land and
+cultivating oranges, bananas, and coffee. The people round about often
+came to him for advice, and he freely assisted his neighbors in making
+repairs and improvements. Strangers often visited him, and when he rode
+abroad he was greeted with every demonstration of respect.
+
+General Le Clerc, meanwhile, was attacked by a new and terrible enemy.
+His troops, unused to the climate, were cut down by yellow fever, as a
+mower cuts grass. In this situation, had Toussaint excited the blacks
+against them, they might have been exterminated; but he had sworn to
+observe the treaty, and he was never known to break his word. The
+kind-hearted negroes, in many cases, took pity on the suffering French
+soldiers; they carried them many little comforts, and even took them
+into their houses, and nursed them tenderly.
+
+Meanwhile, General Le Clerc's difficulties increased. His troops were
+dying fast under the influence of the hot season; provisions were
+getting scarce; he wanted to disband the negro troops that had joined
+him, but they were wide awake and suspicious on the subject of Slavery,
+and he dared not propose to disarm them. He was so treacherous himself
+that he could not believe in the sincerity of others. He was always
+suspecting that Toussaint would again take command of the blacks and
+attack the remnant of his army while it was enfeebled by disease.
+Bonaparte also felt that the popularity of Toussaint stood much in the
+way of his accomplishing the design of restoring Slavery. It was
+desirable to get him out of the way upon some pretext. The French
+officers made him the object of a series of petty insults, and wantonly
+destroyed the fruit on his grounds. By these means they hoped to provoke
+him to excite an insurrection, that they might have an excuse for
+arresting him. His friends warned him that these continual insults and
+depredations foreboded mischief, and that he ought not to submit to
+them. He replied, "It is a sacred duty to expose life when the freedom
+of one's country is in peril; but to rouse the people to save one's own
+life is inglorious."
+
+Finding private remonstrances of no use, he reported to the French
+head-quarters that he and his neighbors were much annoyed by the conduct
+of the French troops, and that the people in the valley were made very
+uneasy by their rude manners and their depredations on property. He
+received a very polite answer from General Brunet, inviting him to come
+to his house to confer with him on that and other matters connected with
+the public tranquillity. The letter closed with these words: "You will
+not find all the pleasures I would wish to welcome you with, but you
+will find the frankness of an honorable man, who desires nothing but the
+happiness of the colony, and your own happiness. If Madame Toussaint,
+with whom it would give me the greatest pleasure to become acquainted,
+could accompany you, I should be gratified. If she has occasion for
+horses, I will send her mine. Never, General, will you find a more
+sincere friend than myself."
+
+Toussaint, who was sincerely desirous to preserve the public peace, and
+who was too honest to suspect treachery under such a friendly form, went
+to General Brunet's head-quarters, with a few attendants, on the 10th of
+June, 1802. He was received with the greatest respect and cordiality.
+His host consulted with him concerning the interests of the colony; and
+they examined maps together till toward evening, when General Brunet
+left the room. An officer with twenty armed men entered, saying: "The
+Captain-General has ordered me to arrest you. Your attendants are
+overpowered. If you resist, you are a dead man." Toussaint's first
+impulse was to defend himself; but seeing it would be useless against
+such numbers, he resigned himself to his hard fate, saying, "Heaven will
+avenge my cause."
+
+His papers were seized, his house rifled and burned, his wife and
+children captured, and at midnight they were all carried on board the
+French ship Hero, without being allowed to take even a change of
+clothing. His wrists were chained, he was locked in a cabin guarded by
+soldiers with fixed bayonets, and not permitted to hold any
+communication with his family. As the vessel sailed away from St.
+Domingo, Toussaint, gazing on the outline of its mountains for the last
+time, said, "They have cut down the tree of Liberty; but the roots are
+many and deep, and it will sprout again."
+
+Toussaint l'Ouverture was even then incapable of imagining the base
+designs against him. He supposed that he had been accused of something,
+and was to be carried to France for trial. Conscious of uniform fidelity
+to the French government, he felt no uneasiness as to the result, though
+the treachery and violence with which he had been treated in return for
+his great services made him very sad. Arrived on the shores of France,
+he was removed to another vessel, and allowed only a few moments to say
+farewell to his wife and children. They embraced him with tears, and
+begged him to remember them, who had always loved him so dearly.
+
+From the vessel, instead of being carried to Paris for trial, as he
+expected, he was hurried into a carriage, and, followed by a strong
+guard, was carried to the dismal Castle of Joux, near the borders of
+Switzerland. That ancient castle stands among the mountains of Jura, on
+the summit of a solid rock five hundred feet high. He was placed in a
+deep, dark dungeon, from the walls of which the water dripped
+continually. This was in August, 1802. But though it was summer
+elsewhere, it was damp and cold in Toussaint's dreary cell. The keeper
+was allowed about four shillings a day to provide food for him; and one
+faithful servant, who had accompanied the family from St. Domingo, was
+allowed to remain with him.
+
+His spirits were kept up for some time with the daily expectation of
+being summoned to attend his trial. But time passed on, and he could
+obtain no tidings from the French government, or from his family. In a
+letter to General Bonaparte, beseeching him to let him know of what he
+was accused, and to grant him a trial, he wrote:--
+
+"I have served my country with honor, fidelity, and integrity. All who
+know me will do me the justice to acknowledge this. At the time of the
+revolution, I spent all I had in the service of my country. I purchased
+but one small estate, on which to establish my wife and family. I
+neglected nothing for the welfare of St. Domingo. I made it my duty and
+pleasure to develop all the resources of that beautiful colony. Since I
+entered the service of the republic I have not claimed a penny of my
+salary. I have taken money from the treasury only for public use. If I
+was wrong in forming a constitution, it was through my great desire to
+do good, and thinking it would please the government under which I
+served. I have had the misfortune to incur your displeasure; but I am
+strong in the consciousness of integrity and fidelity; and I dare affirm
+that among all the servants of the state no one is more honest than
+myself."
+
+This letter is still in existence, and some of the words are blotted out
+by tears that fell while the noble captive was writing it. Bonaparte
+paid no attention to this manly appeal. After weary waiting, Toussaint
+wrote again:--
+
+"First Consul, it is a misfortune to me that I am not known to you. If
+you had thoroughly known me while I was in St. Domingo, you would have
+done me more justice. I am not learned; I am ignorant: but my heart is
+good. My father showed me the road to virtue and honor, and I am very
+strong in my conscience in that matter. If I had not been so devoted to
+the French government I should not be here. All my life I have been in
+active service, and now I am a miserable prisoner, without power to do
+anything, sunk in grief, and with health impaired. I ask you for my
+freedom, that I may labor for the support of my family. For my venerable
+father, now a hundred and five years old, who is blind, and needs my
+assistance; for my dearly loved wife, who, separated from me, cannot, I
+fear, endure the afflictions that overwhelm her; and for my cherished
+family, who have made the happiness of my life. I call on your
+greatness. Let your heart be softened by my misfortunes."
+
+This touching appeal met with the same fate as the first. Bonaparte even
+had the meanness to forbid the prisoner's wearing an officer's uniform.
+When he asked for a change of clothing, the cast-off suit of a soldier
+and a pair of old boots were sent him. There seemed to be a deliberate
+system of heaping contempt upon him. The daily sum allowed for his food
+was diminished, and the cold winds of autumn began to howl round his
+dungeon. They doubtless thought that so old a man, accustomed to
+tropical warmth, and the devotion of a loving family, would die under
+the combined influence of solitude, cold, and scanty food. But his iron
+constitution withstood the severe test. The next step was to deprive him
+of his faithful servant, Mars Plaisir. Seeing him weep bitterly,
+Toussaint said to him: "Would I could console thee under this cruel
+separation. Be assured I shall never forget thy faithful services. Carry
+my last farewell to my wife and family."
+
+The farewell never reached them. Mars Plaisir was lodged in another
+prison, lest he should tell of the slow murder that was going on in the
+Castle of Joux. Toussaint's supply of food was gradually diminished,
+till he had barely enough to keep him alive,--merely a little meal
+daily, which he had to prepare for himself in an earthen jug. The walls
+sparkled with frost, and the floor was slippery with ice, except
+immediately around his little fire. Thus he passed through a most
+miserable winter. He was thin as a skeleton; but still he did not die.
+As a last resort, the governor of the castle went away and took the keys
+of the dungeon with him. He was gone three days; and when he returned,
+Toussaint was lying stiff and cold on his heap of straw. Doctors were
+called in to examine him, and they certified that he died of apoplexy.
+This was in April, 1803, after he had been more than eight months in
+that horrid dungeon, and when he was a little more than sixty years old.
+The body was buried in the chapel under the castle. It was given out to
+the world that the deceased prisoner was a revolted slave, who had been
+guilty of every species of robbery and cruelty; and that he had been
+thrown into prison for plotting to deliver the island of St. Domingo
+into the hands of the English.
+
+When the family of Toussaint l'Ouverture were informed of his death,
+they were overwhelmed with grief, though they had no idea of the horrid
+circumstances connected with it. The two oldest sons tried to escape
+from France, but were seized and imprisoned. The French government
+feared the consequences of their returning to St. Domingo. The youngest
+son soon after died of consumption. Madame Toussaint sank under the
+weight of her great afflictions. Her health became very feeble, and at
+times her mind wandered. When the power of Bonaparte was overthrown, and
+a new government introduced into France, a pension was granted for her
+support, and her two sons were released from prison. She died in their
+arms in 1816.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was great consternation in St. Domingo when it was known that
+Toussaint l'Ouverture had been kidnapped and carried off. There was an
+attempt at mutiny among the black soldiers; but the leaders were shot by
+the French, and the spirit of insurrection was put down for a time. No
+tidings could be obtained from Toussaint, and after a while he was
+generally believed to be dead. But his prediction was fulfilled. The
+tree of Liberty, that had been cut down, did sprout again. Bonaparte
+sent new troops to St. Domingo to supply the place of those cut off by
+yellow fever. The French officers frequently subjected black soldiers to
+the lash, a punishment which had never been inflicted upon them since
+the days of Slavery. An active slave-trade was carried on with the other
+French colonies, where Slavery had been restored, and people were
+frequently smuggled away from St. Domingo and sold. The mulattoes found
+out that people of their color were sold, as well as blacks. They had
+formerly acted against their mothers' race, not because they were worse
+than other men, but because they had the same human nature that other
+men have. Being free born, and many of them educated and wealthy, and
+slaveholders also, they despised the blacks, who had always been slaves;
+but when Slavery touched people of their own color, they were ready to
+act with the negroes against the whites. Toussaint's generals, though
+they still held their old rank in the army, grew more and more
+distrustful of the French. When General Christophe accepted an
+invitation to dine with General Le Clerc, he ordered his troops to be in
+readiness for a sudden blow. The French officer who sat next him at
+table urged him to drink a great deal of wine; but Christophe was on his
+guard, and kept his wits about him. At last he repulsed the offer of
+wine with great rudeness, whereupon Le Clerc summoned his guard to be in
+readiness, and began to accuse Toussaint of treachery to the whites.
+"Treachery!" exclaimed the indignant Christophe. "Have you not broken
+oaths and treaties, and violated the sacred rights of hospitality? Those
+whose blood flows for our liberty are rewarded with prison, banishment,
+death. Friends, soldiers, heroes of our mountains, are no longer around
+me. Toussaint, the pride of our race, the terror of our enemies, whose
+genius led us from Slavery to Liberty, who adorned peace with lovely
+virtues, whose glory fills the world, was put in irons, like the vilest
+criminal!"
+
+General Le Clerc deemed it prudent to preserve outward composure, for
+General Christophe had informed him that troops were in readiness to
+protect him. But notwithstanding many ominous symptoms of discontent
+among the blacks and mulattoes, he blindly persevered in carrying out
+the cruel policy of Bonaparte. Shiploads of slaves were brought into St.
+Domingo and openly sold. Then came a decree authorizing slaveholders to
+resume their old authority over the blacks. Bitterly did Toussaint's
+officers regret having trusted to the promises of the French
+authorities. The consciousness of having been deceived made the fire of
+freedom burn all the more fiercely in their souls. The blacks were
+everywhere ready to die rather than be slaves again. In November, 1803,
+General Christophe published a document in which he said:--
+
+"The independence of St. Domingo is proclaimed. Toward men who do us
+justice we will act as brothers. But we have sworn not to listen with
+clemency to any one who speaks to us of Slavery. We will be inexorable,
+perhaps even cruel, toward those who come from Europe to bring among us
+death and servitude. No sacrifice is too costly, and all means are
+lawful, when men find that freedom, the greatest of all blessings, is to
+be wrested from them."
+
+The closing scenes of the revolution were too horrible to be described.
+General Rochambeau, who commanded the French army after the death of
+General Le Clerc, was a tyrannical and cruel tool of the slaveholders.
+Everywhere colored men were seized and executed without forms of law.
+Maurepas, who had been one of Toussaint's most distinguished generals,
+was seized on suspicion of favoring insurrection. His epaulets were
+nailed to his shoulders with spikes, he was suspended from the yard-arm
+of a vessel, while his wife and children, and four hundred of his black
+soldiers, were thrown over to the sharks before his eyes. The trees were
+hung with the corpses of negroes. Some were torn to pieces by
+bloodhounds trained for the purpose; some were burnt alive. Sixteen of
+Toussaint's bravest generals were chained by the neck to the rocks of an
+uninhabited island, and left there to perish. Most of these victims were
+firm in the midst of their tortures, and died with the precious word
+Freedom on their lips. A mother, whose daughters were going to be
+executed, said to them: "Be thankful. You will not live to be the
+mothers of slaves."
+
+I am happy to record that all the whites were not destitute of feeling.
+Some sea-captains, who were ordered to take negroes out to sea and drown
+them, contrived to aid their escape to the mountains, or landed them on
+other shores.
+
+The blacks, driven to desperation, became as cruel as their oppressors.
+They visited upon white men, women, and children all the barbarities
+they had seen and suffered. The wife of General Paul, brother of
+Toussaint, was dragged from her peaceful home, and drowned by French
+soldiers. This murder made him perfectly crazy with revenge. Though
+naturally of a mild disposition, he thenceforth had no mercy on anybody
+of white complexion. His old father, Gaou-Guinou, who survived Toussaint
+about a year, was filled with the same spirit, and the last words he
+uttered were a malediction on the whites. The spirit of the infernal
+regions raged throughout all classes, and it was all owing to the
+wickedness of Slavery.
+
+On the last day of November, 1803, little more than a year after the
+abduction of Toussaint, the French were driven from the island, never
+more to return. The colony, which might have been a source of wealth to
+them, if Toussaint had been allowed to carry out his plans, was lost to
+France forever. St. Domingo became independent, under its old name of
+Hayti; and General Christophe, who was as able as Toussaint, but more
+ambitious, was proclaimed emperor. A law was passed, and still remains
+in force, that no white man should own a foot of soil on the island. But
+white Americans and Europeans reside there, and transact various kinds
+of business under the protection of equal laws.
+
+Perhaps it sometimes seemed to Toussaint, in the loneliness of his
+dungeon, as if all his great sacrifices and efforts for his oppressed
+race had been in vain. But they were not in vain. God raised him up to
+do a great work, which he faithfully performed; and his spirit is still
+"marching on." Slavery becomes more and more odious in the civilized
+world, and nation after nation abolishes it. Fifty years after the death
+of Toussaint all the slaves in the French colonies were emancipated. How
+his spirit must rejoice to look on the West Indies now!
+
+In 1850 the grave of Toussaint l'Ouverture was discovered by some
+engineers at work on the Castle of Joux. His skull was placed on a shelf
+in the dungeon where he died, and is shown to travellers who visit the
+place.
+
+For a long while great injustice was done to the memory of Toussaint
+l'Ouverture, and also to the blacks who fought so fiercely in resistance
+of Slavery; for the histories of St. Domingo were written by prejudiced
+French writers, or by equally prejudiced mulattoes. But at last the
+truth is made known. Candid, well-informed persons now acknowledge that
+the blacks of St. Domingo sinned cruelly because they were cruelly
+sinned against; and Toussaint l'Ouverture, seen in the light of his own
+actions, is acknowledged to be one of the greatest and best men the
+world has ever produced. A very distinguished English poet, named
+Wordsworth, has written an admirable sonnet to his memory. The
+celebrated Harriet Martineau, of England, has made him the hero of a
+beautiful novel. Wendell Phillips, one of the most eloquent speakers in
+the United States, has eulogized his memory in a noble lecture,
+delivered in various parts of the country, before thousands and
+thousands of hearers. And James Redpath has recently published in Boston
+a biography of Toussaint l'Ouverture, truthfully portraying the pure and
+great soul of that martyred hero.
+
+Well may the Freedmen of the United States take pride in Toussaint
+l'Ouverture, as the man who made an opening of freedom for their
+oppressed race, and by the greatness of his character and achievements
+proved the capabilities of Black Men.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is better to be a lean freeman than a fat slave.--_A Proverb in
+Hayti._
+
+
+
+
+THE ASPIRATIONS OF MINGO.
+
+
+A slave in one of our Southern States, named Mingo, was endowed with
+uncommon abilities. If he had been a white man, his talents would have
+secured him an honorable position; but being colored, his great
+intelligence only served to make him an object of suspicion. He was
+thrown into prison, to be sold. He wrote the following lines on the
+walls, which were afterward found and copied. A Southern gentleman sent
+them to a friend in Boston, as a curiosity, and they were published in
+the Boston Journal, many years ago. The night after Mingo wrote them, he
+escaped from the slave-prison; but he was tracked and caught by
+bloodhounds, who tore him in such a shocking manner that he died. By
+that dreadful process his great soul was released from his enslaved
+body. His wife lived to be an aged woman, and was said to have many of
+his poems in her possession. Here are the lines he wrote in his agony
+while in prison:--
+
+    "Good God! and must I leave them now,
+    My wife, my children, in their woe?
+    'Tis mockery to say I'm sold!
+    But I forget these chains so cold,
+    Which goad my bleeding limbs; though high
+    My reason mounts above the sky.
+    Dear wife, they cannot sell the rose
+    Of love that in my bosom glows.
+    Remember, as your tears may start,
+    They cannot sell the immortal part.
+    Thou Sun, which lightest bond and free,
+    Tell me, I pray, is liberty
+    The lot of those who noblest feel,
+    And oftest to Jehovah kneel?
+    Then I may say, but not with pride,
+    I feel the rushings of the tide
+    Of reason and of eloquence,
+    Which strive and yearn for eminence.
+    I feel high manhood on me now,
+    A spirit-glory on my brow;
+    I feel a thrill of music roll,
+    Like angel-harpings, through my soul;
+    While poesy, with rustling wings,
+    Upon my spirit rests and sings.
+    _He_ sweeps my heart's deep throbbing lyre,
+    Who touched Isaiah's lips with fire."
+
+May God forgive his oppressors.
+
+
+
+
+BURY ME IN A FREE LAND.
+
+BY FRANCES E. W. HARPER.
+
+
+    Make me a grave where'er you will,
+    In a lowly plain or a lofty hill;
+    Make it among earth's humblest graves,
+    But not in a land where men are slaves.
+
+    I ask no monument proud and high,
+    To arrest the gaze of the passers by;
+    All that my yearning spirit craves
+    Is, Bury me not in a Land of Slaves.
+
+
+
+
+PHILLIS WHEATLEY.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+Phillis Wheatley was born in Africa, and brought to Boston,
+Massachusetts, in the year 1761,--a little more than a hundred years
+ago. At that time the people in Massachusetts held slaves. The wife of
+Mr. John Wheatley of Boston had several slaves; but they were getting
+too old to be very active, and she wanted to purchase a young girl, whom
+she could train up in such a manner as to make her a good domestic. She
+went to the slave-market for that purpose, and there she saw a little
+girl with no other clothing than a piece of dirty, ragged carpeting tied
+round her. She looked as if her health was feeble,--probably owing to
+her sufferings in the slave-ship, and to the fact of her having no one
+to care for her after she landed. Mrs. Wheatley was a kind, religious
+woman; and though she considered the sickly look of the child an
+objection, there was something so gentle and modest in the expression of
+her dark countenance, that her heart was drawn toward her, and she
+bought her in preference to several others who looked more robust. She
+took her home in her chaise, put her in a bath, and dressed her in clean
+clothes. They could not at first understand her; for she spoke an
+African dialect, sprinkled with a few words of broken English; and when
+she could not make herself understood, she resorted to a variety of
+gestures and signs. She did not know her own age, but, from her shedding
+her front teeth at that time, she was supposed to be about seven years
+old. She could not tell how long it was since the slave-traders tore her
+from her parents, nor where she had been since that time. The poor
+little orphan had probably gone through so much suffering and terror,
+and been so unable to make herself understood by anybody, that her mind
+had become bewildered concerning the past. She soon learned to speak
+English; but she could remember nothing about Africa, except that she
+used to see her mother pour out water before the rising sun. Almost all
+the ancient nations of the world supposed that a Great Spirit had his
+dwelling in the sun, and they worshipped that Spirit in various forms.
+One of the most common modes of worship was to pour out water, or wine,
+at the rising of the sun, and to utter a brief prayer to the Spirit of
+that glorious luminary. Probably this ancient custom had been handed
+down, age after age, in Africa, and in that fashion the untaught mother
+of little Phillis continued to worship the god of her ancestors. The
+sight of the great splendid orb, coming she knew not whence, rising
+apparently out of the hills to make the whole world glorious with light,
+and the devout reverence with which her mother hailed its return every
+morning, might naturally impress the child's imagination so deeply, that
+she remembered it after she had forgotten everything else about her
+native land.
+
+A wonderful change took place in the little forlorn stranger in the
+course of a year and a half. She not only learned to speak English
+correctly, but she was able to read fluently in any part of the Bible.
+She evidently possessed uncommon intelligence and a great desire for
+knowledge. She was often found trying to make letters with charcoal on
+the walls and fences. Mrs. Wheatley's daughter, perceiving her
+eagerness to learn, undertook to teach her to read and write. She found
+this an easy task, for her pupil learned with astonishing quickness. At
+the same time she showed such an amiable, affectionate disposition, that
+all members of the family became much attached to her. Her gratitude to
+her kind, motherly mistress was unbounded, and her greatest delight was
+to do anything to please her.
+
+When she was about fourteen years old, she began to write poetry; and it
+was pretty good poetry, too. Owing to these uncommon manifestations of
+intelligence, and to the delicacy of her health, she was never put to
+hard household work, as was intended at the time of her purchase. She
+was kept constantly with Mrs. Wheatley and her daughter, employed in
+light and easy services for them. Her poetry attracted attention, and
+Mrs. Wheatley's friends lent her books, which she read with great
+eagerness. She soon acquired a good knowledge of geography, history, and
+English poetry; of the last she was particularly fond. After a while,
+they found she was trying to learn Latin, which she so far mastered as
+to be able to read it understandingly. There was no law in Massachusetts
+against slaves learning to read and write, as there have been in many of
+the States; and her mistress, so far from trying to hinder her, did
+everything to encourage her love of learning. She always called her
+affectionately, "My Phillis," and seemed to be as proud of her
+attainments as if she had been her own daughter. She even allowed her to
+have a fire and light in her own chamber in the evening, that she might
+study and write down her thoughts whenever they came to her.
+
+Phillis was of a very religious turn of mind, and when she was about
+sixteen she joined the Orthodox Church, that worshipped in the
+Old-South Meeting-house in Boston. Her character and deportment were
+such that she was considered an ornament to the church. Clergymen and
+other literary persons who visited at Mrs. Wheatley's took a good deal
+of notice of her. Her poems were brought forward to be read to the
+company, and were often much praised. She was not unfrequently invited
+to the houses of wealthy and distinguished people, who liked to show her
+off as a kind of wonder. Most young girls would have had their heads
+completely turned by so much flattery and attention; but seriousness and
+humility seemed to be natural to Phillis. She always retained the same
+gentle, modest deportment that had won Mrs. Wheatley's heart when she
+first saw her in the slave-market. Sometimes, when she went abroad, she
+was invited to sit at table with other guests; but she always modestly
+declined, and requested that a plate might be placed for her on a
+side-table. Being well aware of the common prejudice against her
+complexion, she feared that some one might be offended by her company at
+their meals. By pursuing this course she manifested a natural
+politeness, which proved her to be more truly refined than any person
+could be who objected to sit beside her on account of her color.
+
+Although she was tenderly cared for, and not required to do any
+fatiguing work, her constitution never recovered from the shock it had
+received in early childhood. When she was about nineteen years old, her
+health failed so rapidly that physicians said it was necessary for her
+to take a sea-voyage. A son of Mr. Wheatley's was going to England on
+commercial business, and his mother proposed that Phillis should go with
+him.
+
+In England she received even more attention than had been bestowed upon
+her at home. Several of the nobility invited her to their houses; and
+her poems were published in a volume, with an engraved likeness of the
+author. In this picture she looks gentle and thoughtful, and the shape
+of her head denotes intellect. One of the engravings was sent to Mrs.
+Wheatley, who was delighted with it. When one of her relatives called,
+she pointed it out to her, and said, "Look at my Phillis! Does she not
+seem as if she would speak to me?"
+
+Still the young poetess was not spoiled by flattery. One of the
+relatives of Mrs. Wheatley informs us, that "not all the attention she
+received, nor all the honors that were heaped upon her, had the
+slightest influence upon her temper and deportment. She was still the
+same single-hearted, unsophisticated being."
+
+She addressed a poem to the Earl of Dartmouth, who was very kind to her
+during her visit to England. Having expressed a hope for the overthrow
+of tyranny, she says:--
+
+    "Should you, my Lord, while you peruse my song,
+    Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung,--
+    Whence flow these wishes for the common good,
+    By feeling hearts alone best understood,--
+    I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate,
+    Was snatched from Afric's fancied happy state.
+    What pangs excruciating must molest,
+    What sorrows labor in my parent's breast!
+    Steeled was that soul, and by no misery moved,
+    That from a father seized his babe beloved.
+    Such was my case; and can I then but pray
+    Others may never feel tyrannic sway."
+
+The English friends of Phillis wished to present her to their king,
+George the Third, who was soon expected in London. But letters from
+America informed her that her beloved benefactress, Mrs. Wheatley, was
+in declining health, and greatly desired to see her. No honors could
+divert her mind from the friend of her childhood. She returned to Boston
+immediately. The good lady died soon after; Mr. Wheatley soon followed;
+and the daughter, the kind instructress of her youth, did not long
+survive. The son married and settled in England. For a short time
+Phillis stayed with a friend of her deceased benefactress; then she
+hired a room and lived by herself. It was a sad change for her.
+
+The war of the American Revolution broke out. In the autumn of 1776
+General Washington had his head-quarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts;
+and the spirit moved Phillis to address some complimentary verses to
+him. In reply, he sent her the following courteous note:--
+
+     "I thank you most sincerely for your polite notice of me in the
+     elegant lines you enclosed. However undeserving I may be of such
+     encomium, the style and manner exhibit a striking proof of your
+     poetical talents. In honor of which, and as a tribute justly due to
+     you, I would have published the poem, had I not been apprehensive
+     that, while I only meant to give the world this new instance of
+     your genius, I might have incurred the imputation of vanity. This,
+     and nothing else, determined me not to give it a place in the
+     public prints.
+
+     "If you should ever come to Cambridge, or near head-quarters, I
+     shall be happy to see a person so favored by the Muses,[4] and to
+     whom Nature had been so liberal and beneficent in her
+     dispensations.
+
+        "I am, with great respect,
+            "Your obedient, humble servant,
+                "GEORGE WASHINGTON."
+
+The early friends of Phillis were dead, or scattered abroad, and she
+felt alone in the world. She formed an acquaintance with a colored man
+by the name of Peters, who kept a grocery shop. He was more than
+commonly intelligent, spoke fluently, wrote easily, dressed well, and
+was handsome in his person. He offered marriage, and in an evil hour she
+accepted him. He proved to be lazy, proud, and harsh-tempered. He
+neglected his business, failed, and became very poor. Though unwilling
+to do hard work himself, he wanted to make a drudge of his wife. Her
+constitution was frail, she had been unaccustomed to hardship, and she
+was the mother of three little children, with no one to help her in her
+household labors and cares. He had no pity on her, and instead of trying
+to lighten her load, he made it heavier by his bad temper. The little
+ones sickened and died, and their gentle mother was completely broken
+down by toil and sorrow. Some of the descendants of her lamented
+mistress at last heard of her illness and went to see her. They found
+her in a forlorn situation, suffering for the common comforts of life.
+The Revolutionary war was still raging. Everybody was mourning for sons
+and husbands slain in battle. The country was very poor. The currency
+was so deranged that a goose cost forty dollars, and other articles in
+proportion. In such a state of things, people were too anxious and
+troubled to think about the African poetess, whom they had once
+delighted to honor; or if they transiently remembered her, they took it
+for granted that her husband provided for her. And so it happened that
+the gifted woman who had been patronized by wealthy Bostonians, and who
+had rolled through London in the splendid carriages of the English
+nobility, lay dying alone, in a cold, dirty, comfortless room. It was a
+mournful reverse of fortune; but she was patient and resigned. She made
+no complaint of her unfeeling husband; but the neighbors said that when
+a load of wood was sent to her, he felt himself too much of a gentleman
+to saw it, though his wife was shivering with cold. The descendants of
+Mrs. Wheatley did what they could to relieve her wants, after they
+discovered her extremely destitute condition; but, fortunately for her,
+she soon went "where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the
+weary are at rest."
+
+Her husband was so generally disliked, that people never called her Mrs.
+Peters. She was always called Phillis Wheatley, the name bestowed upon
+her when she first entered the service of her benefactress, and by which
+she had become known as a poetess.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[4] The ancient Greeks supposed that nine goddesses, whom they named
+Muses, inspired people to write various kinds of poetry.
+
+
+
+
+A PERTINENT QUESTION.
+
+BY FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
+
+
+"Is it not astonishing, that while we are ploughing, planting, and
+reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses and
+constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron,
+and copper, silver and gold; that while we are reading, writing, and
+ciphering, acting as clerks, merchants, and secretaries, having among us
+lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators, and
+teachers; that while we are engaged in all manner of enterprises common
+to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the
+Pacific, breeding sheep and cattle on the hillside; living, moving,
+acting, thinking, planning; living in families as husbands, wives, and
+children; and, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christian's
+God, and looking hopefully for immortal life beyond the grave;--is it
+not astonishing, I say, that we are called upon to prove that we are
+_men_?"
+
+
+
+
+THE WORKS OF PROVIDENCE.
+
+BY PHILLIS WHEATLEY.
+
+     [Written at sixteen years of age.]
+
+
+      Arise, my soul! on wings enraptured rise,
+    To praise the Monarch of the earth and skies,
+    Whose goodness and beneficence appear,
+    As round its centre moves the rolling year;
+    Or when the morning glows with rosy charms,
+    Or the sun slumbers in the ocean's arms.
+    Of light divine be a rich portion lent,
+    To guide my soul and favor my intent.
+    Celestial Muse, my arduous flight sustain,
+    And raise my mind to a seraphic strain!
+
+      Adored forever be the God unseen,
+    Who round the sun revolves this vast machine;
+    Though to his eye its mass a point appears:
+    Adored the God that whirls surrounding spheres,
+    Who first ordained that mighty Sol[5] should reign,
+    The peerless monarch of th' ethereal train.
+    Of miles twice forty millions is his height,
+    And yet his radiance dazzles mortal sight,
+    So far beneath,--from him th' extended earth
+    Vigor derives, and every flowery birth.
+    Vast through her orb she moves, with easy grace,
+    Around her Phoebus[6] in unbounded space;
+    True to her course, the impetuous storm derides,
+    Triumphant o'er the winds and surging tides.
+
+      Almighty! in these wondrous works of thine,
+    What power, what wisdom, and what goodness shine!
+    And are thy wonders, Lord, by men explored,
+    And yet creating glory unadored?
+
+      Creation smiles in various beauty gay,
+    While day to night, and night succeeds to day.
+    That wisdom which attends Jehovah's ways,
+    Shines most conspicuous in the solar rays.
+    Without them, destitute of heat and light,
+    This world would be the reign of endless night.
+    In their excess, how would our race complain,
+    Abhorring life! how hate its lengthened chain!
+    From air, or dust, what numerous ills would rise!
+    What dire contagion taint the burning skies!
+    What pestilential vapor, fraught with death,
+    Would rise, and overspread the lands beneath!
+
+      Hail, smiling Morn, that, from the orient main
+    Ascending, dost adorn the heavenly plain!
+    So rich, so various are thy beauteous dyes,
+    That spread through all the circuit of the skies,
+    That, full of thee, my soul in rapture soars,
+    And thy great God, the cause of all, adores!
+    O'er beings infinite his love extends,
+    His wisdom rules them, and his power defends.
+    When tasks diurnal tire the human frame,
+    The spirits faint, and dim the vital flame,
+    Then, too, that ever-active bounty shines,
+    Which not infinity of space confines.
+    The sable veil, that Night in silence draws,
+    Conceals effects, but shows th' Almighty Cause.
+    Night seals in sleep the wide creation fair,
+    And all is peaceful, but the brow of care.
+    Again gay Phoebus, as the day before,
+    Wakes every eye but what shall wake no more;
+    Again the face of Nature is renewed,
+    Which still appears harmonious, fair, and good.
+    May grateful strains salute the smiling morn,
+    Before its beams the eastern hills adorn!
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] _Sol_ is the word for sun in Latin, the language spoken by the
+ancient Romans.
+
+[6] Phoebus was the name for the sun, in the language of the ancient
+Greeks.
+
+
+
+
+THE DYING CHRISTIAN.
+
+BY FRANCES E. W. HARPER.
+
+
+    The silver cord was loosened,
+      We knew that she must die;
+    We read the mournful token
+      In the dimness of her eye.
+
+    Like a child oppressed with slumber,
+      She calmly sank to rest,
+    With her trust in her Redeemer,
+      And her head upon his breast.
+
+    She faded from our vision,
+      Like a thing of love and light;
+    But we feel she lives forever,
+      A spirit pure and bright.
+
+
+
+
+KINDNESS TO ANIMALS.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+There are not many people who are conscientious about being kind in
+their relations with human beings; and therefore it is not surprising
+that still fewer should be considerate about humanity to animals. But
+the Father of all created beings made dumb creatures to enjoy existence
+in their way, as he made human beings to enjoy life in their way. We do
+wrong in his sight if we abuse them, or keep them without comfortable
+food and shelter. The fact that they cannot speak to tell of what they
+suffer makes the sad expression of their great patient eyes the more
+touching to any compassionate heart. Fugitive slaves, looking out
+mournfully and wearily upon a cold, unsympathizing world, have often
+reminded me of overworked and abused oxen; for though slaves were
+endowed by their Creator with the gift of speech, their oppressors have
+made them afraid to use it to complain of their wrongs. In fact, they
+have been in a more trying situation than abused oxen, for they have
+been induced by fear to use their gift of speech in professions of
+contentment with their bondage. Therefore, those who have been slaves
+know how to sympathize with the dumb creatures of God; and they, more
+than others, ought to have compassion on them. The great and good
+Toussaint l'Ouverture was always kind to the animals under his care, and
+I consider it by no means the smallest of his merits.
+
+It is selfish and cruel thoughtlessness to stand laughing and talking,
+or to be resting at ease, while horses or oxen are tied where they will
+be tormented by flies or mosquitos. Last summer I read of a horse that
+was left fastened in a swamp, where he could not get away from the swarm
+of venomous insects, which stung him to death, while his careless,
+hard-hearted driver was going about forgetful of him. It would trouble
+my conscience ever afterward if I had the death of that poor helpless
+animal to answer for.
+
+There is a difference in the natural disposition of animals, as there is
+in the dispositions of men and women; but, generally speaking, if
+animals are bad-tempered and stubborn, it is owing to their having been
+badly treated when they were young. When a horse has his mouth hurt by
+jerking his bridle, it irritates him, as it irritates a man to be
+violently knocked about; and in both cases such treatment produces an
+unwillingness to oblige the tormentor. Lashing a horse with a whip, to
+compel him to draw loads too heavy for his strength, makes him angry and
+discouraged; and at last, in despair of getting any help for his wrongs,
+he stands stock still when he finds himself fastened to a heavy load,
+and no amount of kicking or beating will make him stir. He has
+apparently come to the conclusion that it is better to be killed at once
+than to die daily. Slaves, who are under cruel taskmasters, also
+sometimes sink down in utter discouragement, and do not seem to care for
+being whipped to death. The best way to cure the disheartened and
+obstinate laborer is to give him just wages and kind treatment; and the
+best way to deal with the discouraged and stubborn horse is to give him
+light loads and humane usage.
+
+It is a very bad custom to whip a horse when he is frightened. It only
+frightens the poor creature all the more. Habits of running when
+frightened, or of sheering at the sight of things to which they are not
+accustomed, is generally produced in horses by mismanagement when they
+are colts. By gentle and rational treatment better characters are
+formed, both in animals and human beings. There was a gentleman in the
+neighborhood of Boston who managed colts so wisely, that all who were
+acquainted with him wanted a horse of his training. He was very firm
+with the young animals; he never allowed them to get the better of him;
+but he was never in a passion with them. He cured them of bad tricks by
+patient teaching and gentle words; holding them tight all the while,
+till they did what he wanted them to do. When they became docile, he
+rubbed their heads, and patted their necks, and talked affectionately to
+them, and gave them a handful of oats. In that way, he obtained complete
+control over them. He never kicked them, or jerked their mouths with the
+bridle; he never whipped them, or allowed a whip to be used; and the
+result was that they learned to love him, and were always ready to do as
+he bade them.
+
+I have read of a horse that was so terrified by the sound of a drum,
+that if he heard it, even from a distance, he would run furiously and
+smash to pieces any carriage to which he was harnessed. In consequence
+of this, he was sold very cheap, though he was a strong, handsome
+animal. The man who sold him said he had whipped and whipped him, to
+cure him of the trick, but it did no good. People laughed at the man who
+bought him, and said he had thrown money away upon a useless and
+dangerous creature; but he replied, "I have some experience in horses,
+and I think I can cure him."
+
+He resolved to use no violence, but to deal rationally and humanely with
+the animal, as he would like to be dealt with if he were a horse.
+
+He kept him without food till he had become very hungry, and then he
+placed a pan of oats before him on the top of a drum. As soon as he
+began to eat, the man beat upon the drum. The horse reared and plunged
+and ran furiously round the enclosure. He was led back to the stable
+without any provender. After a while, oats were again placed before him
+on the top of a drum. As soon as the drum was beaten, the horse reared
+and ran away. I suppose he remembered the terrible whippings he had had
+whenever he heard a drum, and so he thought the thing that made the
+noise was an enemy to him. The third time the experiment was tried, he
+had become excessively hungry. He pricked up his ears and snorted when
+he heard the sound of the drum; but he stood still and looked at the
+oats wistfully, while the man played a loud, lively tune. Finding the
+noise did him no harm, he at last ventured to taste of the oats, and his
+owner continued to play all the while he was eating. When the breakfast
+was finished, he patted him on the neck and talked gently to him. For
+several days his food was given to him in the same way. He was never
+afraid of the sound of a drum afterward. On the contrary, he learned to
+like it, because it made him think of sweet oats.
+
+The fact is, reasonable and kind treatment will generally produce a
+great and beneficial change in vicious animals as well as in vicious
+men.
+
+
+
+
+JAMES FORTEN.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+James Forten was born in 1766, nearly a hundred years ago. His ancestors
+had lived in Pennsylvania for several generations, and, so far as he
+could trace them, they had never been slaves. In his boyhood the war of
+the American Revolution began. The States of this Union were then
+colonies of Great Britain. Being taxed without being represented in the
+British Parliament, they remonstrated against it as an act of injustice.
+The king, George the Third, was a dull, obstinate man, disposed to be
+despotic. The loyal, respectful petitions of the Colonies were treated
+with indifference or contempt; and at last they resolved to become
+independent of England. When James Forten was about fourteen years old
+he entered into the service of the Colonial navy, in the ship Royal
+Louis, commanded by Captain Decatur, father of the celebrated commodore.
+It was captured by the British ship Amphion, commanded by Sir John
+Beezly. Sir John's son was on board, as midshipman. He was about the
+same age as James Forten; and when they played games together on the
+deck, the agility and skill of the brown lad attracted his attention.
+They became much attached to each other; and the young Englishman
+offered to provide for the education of his colored companion, and to
+help him on in the world, if he would go to London with him. But James
+preferred to remain in the service of his native country. The lads shed
+tears at parting, and Sir John's son obtained a promise from his father
+that his friend should not be enlisted in the British army. This was a
+great relief to the mind of James; for his sympathies were on the side
+of the American Colonies, and he knew that colored men in his
+circumstances were often carried to the West Indies and sold into
+Slavery. He was transferred to the prison-ship Old Jersey, then lying
+near New York. He remained there, through a raging pestilence on board,
+until prisoners were exchanged.
+
+After the war was over, he obtained employment in a sail-loft in
+Philadelphia, where he soon established a good character by his
+intelligence, honesty, and industry. He invented an improvement in the
+management of sails, for which he obtained a patent. As it came into
+general use, it brought him a good deal of money. In process of time, he
+became owner of the sail-loft, and also of a good house in the city. He
+married a worthy woman, and they brought up a family of eight children.
+But though he had served his country faithfully in his youth, though he
+had earned a hundred thousand dollars by his ingenuity and diligence,
+and though his character rendered him an ornament to the Episcopal
+Church, to which he belonged, yet so strong was the mean and cruel
+prejudice against his color, that his family were excluded from schools
+where the most ignorant and vicious whites could place their children.
+He overcame this obstacle, at great expense, by hiring private teachers
+in various branches of education.
+
+By the unrivalled neatness and durability of his work, and by the
+uprightness of his character, he obtained extensive business, and for
+more than fifty years employed many people in his sail-loft. Being near
+the water, he had opportunities, at twelve different times, to save
+people from drowning, which he sometimes did at the risk of his own
+life. The Humane Society of Philadelphia presented him with an
+engraving, to which was appended a certificate of the number of people
+he had saved, and the thanks of the Society for his services. He had it
+framed and hung in his parlor; and when I visited him, in 1835, he
+pointed it out to me, and told me he would not take a thousand dollars
+for it. He likewise told me of a vessel engaged in the slave-trade, the
+owners of which applied to him for rigging. He indignantly refused;
+declaring that he considered such a request an insult to any honest or
+humane man. He always had the cause of the oppressed colored people
+warmly at heart, and was desirous to do everything in his power for
+their improvement and elevation. He early saw that colonizing free
+blacks to Africa would never abolish Slavery; but that, on the contrary,
+it tended to prolong its detestable existence. He presided at the first
+meeting of colored people in Philadelphia, to remonstrate against the
+Colonization Society. He was an earnest and liberal friend of the
+Anti-Slavery Society; and almost the last words he was heard to utter
+were expressions of love and gratitude to William Lloyd Garrison for his
+exertions in behalf of his oppressed race. He never drank any
+intoxicating liquor, and was a steadfast supporter of the Temperance
+Society. Being of a kindly and humane disposition, he espoused the
+principles of the Peace Society. His influence and pure example were
+also given to those who were striving against licentiousness. Indeed, he
+was always ready to assist in every good word and work.
+
+He died in 1842, at the age of seventy-six years. His funeral procession
+was one of the largest ever seen in Philadelphia; thousands of people,
+of all classes and all complexions, having united in this tribute of
+respect to his character.
+
+
+
+
+THE MEETING IN THE SWAMP.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+In 1812 there was war between the United States and Great Britain; and
+many people thought it likely that a portion of the British army would
+land in some part of the Southern States and proclaim freedom to the
+slaves. The more intelligent portion of the slaves were aware of this,
+and narrowly watched the signs of the times.
+
+Mr. Duncan, of South Carolina, was an easy sort of master, generally
+thought by his neighbors to be too indulgent to his slaves. One evening,
+during the year I have mentioned, he received many requests for passes
+to go to a great Methodist meeting, and in every instance complied with
+the request. After a while, he rang the bell for a glass of water, but
+no servant appeared. He rang a second time, but waited in vain for the
+sound of coming footsteps. Thinking over the passes he had given, he
+remembered that all the house-servants had gone to Methodist meeting.
+Then it occurred to him that Methodist meetings had lately been more
+frequent than usual. He was in the habit of saying that his slaves were
+perfectly contented, and would not take their freedom if he offered it
+to them; nevertheless the frequency of Methodist meetings made him a
+little uneasy, and brought to mind a report he had heard, that the
+British were somewhere off the coast and about to land.
+
+The next morning, he took a ride on horseback, and in a careless way
+asked the slaves on several plantations where was the Methodist meeting
+last night. Some said it was in one place, and some in another,--a
+circumstance which made him think still more about the report that the
+British were going to land. He bought a black mask for his face, and a
+suit of negro clothes, and waited for another Methodist meeting. In a
+few days his servants again asked for passes, and he gave them. When the
+last one had gone, he put on his disguise and followed them over field
+and meadow, through woods and swamps. The number of dark figures
+steering toward the same point continually increased. If any spoke to
+him as they passed, he made a very short answer, in the words and tones
+common among slaves. At last they arrived at an island in the swamp,
+surrounded by a belt of deep water, and hidden by forest-trees matted
+together by a luxuriant entanglement of vines. A large tree had been
+felled for a bridge, and over this dusky forms were swarming as thickly
+as ants into a new-made nest. After passing through a rough and
+difficult path, they came out into a large level space, surrounded by
+majestic trees, whose boughs interlaced, and formed a roof high
+overhead, from which hung down long streamers of Spanish moss. Under
+this canopy were assembled hundreds of black men and women. Some were
+sitting silent and thoughtful, some eagerly talking together, and some
+singing and shouting. The blaze of pine torches threw a strong light on
+some, and made others look like great black shadows.
+
+Mr. Duncan felt a little disturbed by the strange, impressive scene, and
+was more than half disposed to wish himself at home. For some time he
+could make nothing out of the confused buzz of voices and chanting of
+hymns. But after a while a tall man mounted a stump and requested
+silence. "I suppose most all of ye know," said he, "that at our last
+meeting we concluded to go to the British, if we could get a chance; but
+we didn't all agree what to do about our masters. Some said we couldn't
+keep our freedom without we killed the whites, but others didn't like
+the thoughts of that. We've met again to-night to talk about it. An'
+now, boys, if the British land here in Caroliny, what shall we do about
+our masters?"
+
+As he sat down, a tall, fierce-looking mulatto sprang upon the stump, at
+one leap, and exclaimed: "Scourge _them_, as they have scourged _us_.
+Shoot _them_, as they have shot _us_. Who talks of mercy to our
+masters?"
+
+"I do," said an aged black man, who rose up tottering, as he leaned both
+hands on a wooden staff,--"I do; because the blessed Jesus always talked
+of mercy. They shot my bright boy Joe, an' sold my pretty little Sally;
+but, thanks to the blessed Jesus! I feel it in my poor old heart to
+forgive 'em. I've been member of a Methodist church these thirty years,
+an' I've heard many preachers, white and black; an' they all tell me
+Jesus said, Do good to them that do evil to you, an' pray for them that
+spite you. Now I say, Let us love our enemies; let us pray for 'em; an'
+when our masters flog us, let us sing,--
+
+        'You may beat upon my body,
+        But you cannot harm my soul.
+    I shall join the forty thousand by and by.'"
+
+When the tremulous chant ceased, a loud altercation arose. Some cried
+out for the blood of the whites, while others maintained that the old
+man's doctrine was right. Louder and louder grew the sound of their
+excited voices, and the disguised slaveholder hid himself away deeper
+among the shadows. In the midst of the confusion, a young man of
+graceful figure sprang on the stump, and, throwing off a coarse cotton
+frock, showed his back and shoulders deeply gashed by a whip and oozing
+with blood. He made no speech, but turned round and round slowly, while
+his comrades held up their torches to show his wounds. He stopped
+suddenly, and said, with stern brevity, "Blood for blood."
+
+"Would you murder 'em all?" inquired a timid voice. "Dey don't _all_
+cruelize us."
+
+"Dar's Massa Campbell," pleaded another. "He neber hab his boys flogged.
+You wouldn't murder _him_, would you?"
+
+"No, no," shouted several voices; "we wouldn't murder _him_."
+
+"I wouldn't murder _my_ master," said one of Mr. Duncan's slaves. "I
+don't want to work for him for nothin'; I'se done got tired o' that; but
+he sha'n't be killed, if I can help it; for he's a good master."
+
+"Call him a good master if ye like," said the youth with the bleeding
+shoulders. "If the white men don't cut up the backs that bear their
+burdens, if they don't shoot the limbs that make 'em rich, some are
+fools enough to call 'em good masters. What right have they to sleep in
+soft beds, while we, who do all the work, lie on the hard floor? Why
+should I go in coarse rags, to clothe my master in broadcloth and fine
+linen, when he knows, and I know, that we are sons of the same father?
+Ye may get on your knees to be flogged, if ye like; but I'm not the boy
+to do it." His high, bold forehead and flashing eye indicated an
+intellect too active, and a spirit too fiery, for Slavery. The listeners
+were spell-bound by his superior bearing, and for a while he seemed
+likely to carry the whole meeting in favor of revenge. But the aged
+black, leaning on his wooden staff, made use of every pause to repeat
+the words, "Jesus told us to return good for evil"; and his gentle
+counsel found response in many hearts.
+
+A short man, with roguish eyes and a laughing mouth, rose up and looked
+round him with an expression of drollery that made everybody begin to
+feel good-natured. After rubbing his head a little, he said: "I don't
+know how to talk like Bob, 'cause I neber had no chance. But I'se
+_thought_ a heap. Many a time I'se axed myself how de white man always
+git he foot on de black man. Sometimes I tink one ting, and sometimes I
+tink anoder ting; and dey all git jumbled up in my head, jest like seed
+in de cotton. At last I finds out how de white man always git he foot on
+de black man." He took from his old torn hat a bit of crumpled
+newspaper, and smoothing it out, pointed at it, while he exclaimed:
+"_Dat's_ de way dey do it! Dey got de _knowledge_; and dey don't let
+poor nigger hab de knowledge. May be de British lan', and may be de
+British no lan'. But I tell ye, boys, de white man can't keep he foot on
+de black man, ef de black man git de knowledge. I'se gwine to tell ye
+how I got de knowledge. I sot my mind on larning to read; but my ole
+boss he's de most begrudgfullest massa, an' I knows he wouldn't let me
+larn. So when I sees leetle massa wid he book, I ax him, 'What you call
+dat?' He tell me dat's A. So I take ole newspaper, an' ax missis, 'May I
+hab dis to rub de boots?' She say yes. Den, when I find A, I looks at
+him till I knows him bery well. Den I ax leetle massa, 'What you call
+dat?' He say dat's B. I looks at him till I knows him bery well. Den I
+find C A T, an' I ax leetle massa what dat spell; an' he tell me _cat_.
+Den, after a great long time, I read de newspaper. An' dar I find out
+dat de British gwine to lan'. I tells all de boys; and dey say mus' hab
+Methodist meetin'. An' what you tink dis nigger did todder day? You know
+Jim, Massa Gubernor's boy? Wal, I wants mighty bad to tell Jim dat de
+British gwine to lan'; but he lib ten mile off, and ole boss nebber let
+me go. Wal, Massa Gubernor come to massa's, an' I bring he hoss to de
+gate. I makes bow, and says, 'How Jim do, Massa Gubernor?' He tells me
+Jim bery well. Den I tells him Jim and I was leetle boy togeder, an' I
+wants to sen' Jim someting. He tells me Jim hab 'nuff ob eberyting. I
+says, 'O yes, Massa Gubernor, I knows you good massa, and Jim hab
+eberyting he want. But Jim an' I was leetle boy togeder, and I wants to
+sen' Jim some backy.' Massa Gubernor laugh an' say, 'Bery well, Jack.'
+So I gibs him de backy in de bery bit ob newspaper dat tell de British
+gwine to lan'. I marks it wid brack coal, so Jim be sure to see it. An'
+Massa Gubernor hisself carry it! Massa Gubernor hisself carry it! I has
+to laugh ebery time I tinks on't."
+
+He clapped his hands, shuffled with his feet, and ended by rolling heels
+over head, with peals of laughter. The multitude joined loudly in his
+merriment, and it took some time to restore order. There was a good deal
+of speaking afterward, and some of it was violent. A large majority were
+in favor of being merciful to the masters; but all, without exception,
+agreed to join the British if they landed.
+
+With thankfulness to Heaven, Mr. Duncan again found himself in the open
+field, alone with the stars. Their glorious beauty seemed to him clothed
+in new and awful power. Groups of shrubbery took startling forms, and
+the sound of the wind among the trees was like the unsheathing of
+swords. He never forgot the lesson of that night. In his heart he could
+not blame his bondmen for seeking their liberty, and he felt grateful
+for the merciful disposition they had manifested toward their
+oppressors; for alone that night, in the solemn presence of the stars,
+his conscience told him that Slavery _was_ oppression, however mild the
+humanity of the master might make it. He did not emancipate his slaves;
+for he had not sufficient courage to come out against the community in
+which he lived. He felt it a duty to warn his neighbors of impending
+danger; but he could not bring himself to reveal the secret of the
+meeting in the swamp, which he knew would cause the death of many
+helpless creatures, whose only crime was that of wishing to be free.
+After a painful conflict in his mind, he contented himself with advising
+the magistrates not to allow any meetings of the colored people for
+religious purposes until the war was over.
+
+I have called him Mr. Duncan, but I have in fact forgotten his name.
+Years after he witnessed the meeting in the swamp, he gave an account of
+it to a gentleman in Boston, and I have stated the substance of it as it
+was told to me.
+
+
+
+
+A REASONABLE REQUEST.
+
+
+We are natives of this country; we ask only to be treated _as well_ as
+foreigners. Not a few of our fathers suffered and bled to purchase its
+independence; we ask only to be treated _as well_ as those who fought
+against it. We have toiled to cultivate it, and to raise it to its
+present prosperous condition; we ask only to share _equal_ privileges
+with those who come from distant lands to enjoy the fruits of our
+labor.--REV. PETER WILLIAMS, _colored Rector of St. Philip's Church, New
+York_, 1835.
+
+
+
+
+THE SLAVE POET.
+
+
+Mr. James Horton, of Chatham County, North Carolina, had a slave named
+George, who early manifested remarkable intelligence. He labored with a
+few other slaves on his master's farm, and was always honest, faithful,
+and industrious. He contrived to learn to read, and every moment that
+was allowed him for his own he devoted to reading. He was especially
+fond of poetry, which he read and learned by heart, wherever he could
+find it. After a time, he began to compose verses of his own. He did not
+know how to write; so when he had arranged his thoughts in rhyme, he
+spoke them aloud to others, who wrote them down for him.
+
+He was not contented in Slavery, as you will see by the following verses
+which he wrote:--
+
+    "Alas! and am I born for this,
+      To wear this slavish chain?
+    Deprived of all created bliss,
+      Through hardship, toil, and pain?
+
+    "How long have I in bondage lain,
+      And languished to be free!
+    Alas! and must I still complain,
+      Deprived of liberty?
+
+    "O Heaven! and is there no relief
+      This side the silent grave,
+    To soothe the pain, to quell the grief
+      And anguish of a slave?
+
+    "Come, Liberty! thou cheerful sound,
+      Roll through my ravished ears;
+    Come, let my grief in joys be drowned,
+      And drive away my fears.
+
+    "Say unto foul oppression, Cease!
+      Ye tyrants, rage no more;
+    And let the joyful trump of peace
+      Now bid the vassal soar.
+
+    "O Liberty! thou golden prize,
+      So often sought by blood,
+    We crave thy sacred sun to rise,
+      The gift of Nature's God.
+
+    "Bid Slavery hide her haggard face,
+      And barbarism fly;
+    I scorn to see the sad disgrace,
+      In which enslaved I lie.
+
+    "Dear Liberty! upon thy breast
+      I languish to respire;
+    And, like the swan unto her nest,
+      I'd to thy smiles retire."
+
+George's poems attracted attention, and several were published in the
+newspaper called "The Raleigh Register." Some of them found their way
+into the Boston newspapers, and were thought remarkable productions for
+a slave. His master took no interest in any of his poems, and knew
+nothing about them, except what he heard others say. Dr. Caldwell, who
+was then President of the University of North Carolina, and several
+other gentlemen, became interested for him, and tried to help him to
+obtain his freedom. In 1829 a little volume of his poems, called "The
+Hope of Liberty," was printed in Raleigh, by Gales and Son. The pamphlet
+was sold to raise money enough for George to buy himself. He was then
+thirty-two years old, in the prime of his strength, both in mind and
+body. He was to be sent off to Liberia as soon as he was purchased; but
+he had such a passion for Liberty, that he was willing to follow her to
+the ends of the earth; though he would doubtless have preferred to have
+been a freeman at home, among old friends and familiar scenes. He was
+greatly excited about his prospects, and eagerly set about learning to
+write. When he first heard the news that influential gentlemen were
+exerting themselves in his behalf, he wrote:--
+
+    "'Twas like the salutation of the dove,
+    Borne on the zephyr through some lonesome grove,
+    When spring returns, and winter's chill is past,
+    And vegetation smiles above the blast.
+
+    "The silent harp, which on the osiers hung,
+    Again was tuned, and manumission sung;
+    Away by hope the clouds of fear were driven,
+    And music breathed my gratitude to Heaven."
+
+It would have been better for him if his hopes had not been so highly
+excited. His poems did not sell for enough to raise the sum his master
+demanded for him, and his friends were not sufficiently benevolent to
+make up the deficiency. In 1837, when he was forty years old, he was
+still working as a slave at Chapel Hill, the seat of the University of
+North Carolina. It was said at that time that he had ceased to write
+poetry. I suppose the poor fellow was discouraged. If he is still alive,
+he is sixty-seven years old; and I hope it will comfort his poor,
+bruised heart to know that some of his verses are preserved, and
+published for the benefit of those who have been his companions in
+Slavery, and who, more fortunate than he was, have become freemen before
+their strength has left them.
+
+
+
+
+RATIE:
+
+A TRUE STORY OF A LITTLE HUNCHBACK.
+
+BY MATTIE GRIFFITH.
+
+
+I want to tell you a story of a poor little slave-girl who lived and
+died away down South.
+
+This little girl's name was Rachel, but they used to call her Ratie. She
+was a hunchback and a dwarf, with an ugly black face, coarse and
+irregular features, but a low, pleasant voice, and nice manners. Nobody
+ever scolded Ratie, for she never deserved it. She always did her
+work--the little that was assigned her--with a cheerful heart and
+willing hand. This work was chiefly to gather up little bits of chips in
+baskets, or collect shavings from the carpenters' shops, and take them
+to the cabins or the great kitchen, where they were used for kindling
+fires. She had a sweet, gentle spirit, and a low, cheery laugh that
+charmed everybody. Even the white folks who lived up at the great house
+loved her, and somehow felt better when she was near.
+
+Ratie used to go out into the fields on summer days, or in the early
+spring, and pick the first flowers. Later in the season she caught the
+butterflies or grasshoppers, but she never hurt them. She would look at
+the bright spangled wings of the butterflies, or the green coats of the
+pretty, chirping grasshoppers, with an eye full of admiration; and she
+always seemed sorry when she gave them up. The lambs used to run to her,
+and eat from her hands. If she went into the park, the deer came to her
+side lovingly, and the young fawns sported and played around her. No one
+harmed Ratie or expected harm from her.
+
+Poor little hunchback! Many an idle traveller has paused in his slow
+wanderings to listen to her song, as she sat on the wayside stump,
+knitting stockings for the work-people, and singing old snatches of
+songs, and airs that bring back to the heart glimpses of the paradise of
+our lost childhood! No broad-throated robin ever poured out a wilder,
+fuller gush of melody than the songs of this untaught child!
+
+Little Ratie's days were passed in the same even routine, without
+thought or chance of change. Up at the house they loved her; and her
+young mistresses used to supply her with cast-off ribbons and shawls and
+fancy trappings from their own wardrobes, which she prized very
+much,--delighting to deck out her odd little person with these old
+fineries.
+
+Once, as she sat singing on an old stile, and knitting a stocking, a
+rough sort of gentleman, driving by in his neat little tilbury, stopped
+and listened to Ratie's song. When he looked at the strange child he
+felt a little shocked; but he called out in a loud voice, "Halloo,
+Dumpey Blackie! here is a fip for your song"; and he tossed her a small
+coin. "Take that, and give me another song."
+
+The child was pleased with the gift, took it up from where it had rolled
+on the ground at her feet, and soon began another of her wild little
+ditties. As she sang on, she forgot the exact words, and put in some of
+her own, which harmonized just as well with the air. The stranger was so
+much pleased, that he gave her another fip, and called for another
+song, and still another. At length, he asked the child to whom she
+belonged. She told him that she belonged to her old master.
+
+"And what is your old master's name?" asked the gentleman.
+
+Ratie, who had never been two miles beyond the borders of the
+plantation, laughed, thinking it a fine joke that anybody should not
+know the name of her "old master"; for, to her, he was the most
+important personage in the world. So she only laughed and shook her head
+derisively in answer.
+
+"Will you not tell me his name?" again asked the stranger.
+
+But the child smiled still more incredulously; so the gentleman deemed
+it best to follow her home, which he accordingly did, and found that
+Colonel Williams, a rich old planter, was the owner of this little
+melodious blackbird.
+
+The stranger alighted and asked to see Colonel Williams. After a little
+conversation he proposed to buy Ratie from her master. Colonel Williams
+had never thought of selling the little deformity. He kept her on the
+place more through charity than aught else. The extent of her musical
+genius was unappreciated, and even unknown to him; but as she was a
+happy little creature, much liked by all the family, and was only a
+trifling expense, he had never thought of parting with her. Now,
+however, when a handsome price was offered, she assumed something like
+importance and interest in his eyes. He called her into the house, and
+she obeyed with great alacrity, coming in neatly dressed, with a fresh
+white apron, and sundry bits of bright-colored ribbons tied round her
+head and neck.
+
+"Give us one of your best songs, Ratie," said her master.
+
+The girl broke out in a wild, warbling strain, clear, bird-like, and
+musical, filling the long room with gushes of melody, until the lofty
+arches echoed and re-echoed with the wild notes. When she had finished,
+the enthusiastic stranger exclaimed, "That throat is a mint of gold!"
+
+And so little hunchback Ratie sang song after song, until she exhausted
+herself; when her master sent her off to the slave-quarters, where she
+continued her ditties out under the broad, soft light of the low-hanging
+southern moon.
+
+The gentlemen sat up late that night, talking upon different subjects;
+but, before they parted, it was arranged that the stranger should buy
+Ratie at the high price he offered.
+
+The next morning, long before the sun rose, little Ratie was up, walking
+through the quarter. She stooped down to look at every drop of dew that
+glittered and sparkled on the green leaves and shrubs; and when the
+great, round, golden sun began to creep up the eastern sky, and set it
+all ablaze with red and gold and purple clouds, glorious as the pavilion
+of the prophet, Ratie's little spirit danced within her, and broke forth
+in hymns of music such as the wise men long ago--eighteen hundred years
+past--sang at the foot of a little manger in a stable in Bethlehem of
+Judaea.
+
+The child was too young and ignorant to know the meaning of the emotions
+which fluttered and set on fire her own soul, but she was none the less
+happy for this ignorance. God is very good!
+
+As Ratie wandered on, singing to herself, she grew so happy that the
+rush of passionate fervor half frightened her. Tears came to her eyes,
+and choked the song in her throat. She paused in her walk, and seated
+herself on a little rock that lay in one corner of the quarter. As she
+sat there alone, she continued to sing and weep; wherefore she could not
+tell. By and by the great, rusty bell of the quarter rang out from its
+hoarse, iron tongue the morning summons for the slaves to assemble.
+Ragged, tattered, unshorn and unshaven, dirty, ill and angry-looking,
+the negroes--men, women, and children, in large numbers--collected in
+the quarter-yard, where the overseer, an ugly, harsh white man, with a
+pistol in his belt, knife at his side, and whip in hand, stood to call
+the roll. At the mention of each name, a slave came forward, saying with
+a bow, "Here I am, massa."
+
+Ratie, who had no particular work to do, went limping on past the place
+of the roll-call, when she saw her master and the strange gentleman
+coming toward her. She did not, however, notice them. They were talking
+together quite earnestly, and looking at her. Her master called out,
+"Stop, Ratie; come this way."
+
+She obeyed the order with pleasing readiness.
+
+"Ratie," said the master, "how do you like this gentleman?"
+
+The child smiled, but made no answer in words. The master also smiled as
+he added: "He thinks that you sing very prettily, and he has bought you.
+He will be very kind and good to you; and as soon as you have had
+breakfast, you must get your things ready to go off with him. Here is a
+present for you"; and he tossed her a bright, shining, silver coin.
+
+The child seized the money, but did not seem to comprehend her master's
+words. To be sold to her implied some sort of disgrace or hardship,
+which she did not think she deserved; besides, she had always lived on
+the "old plantation." She knew no other home; she did not want to leave
+"the people" of the quarter; nor did she feel happy in going away from
+the "white folks," particularly the "young mistresses," who had always
+been so kind to her. She had also some vague yearning of heart to be
+close to her mammy's grave, rough as it was; and near also to Grandpap's
+cabin, where she roasted apples and potatoes on winter nights.
+
+She looked around upon the familiar quarter, the well-known people, the
+row of cabins; and strained her gaze far away to the rolling fields in
+the distance, where the negroes, like a swarm of crows, were busy at
+their morning's work; and as she gazed, the whole landscape flushed with
+the bloom and beauty of the risen sun. Then the wild, pealing horn
+called the "sons of toil" from their morning hour's work to their frugal
+breakfast.
+
+Ratie's little heart began to beat in its narrow limits as the word
+"sold" wrote itself there, and broke through her comprehension with all
+its horrors. She started quickly after her master, and, with the freedom
+of a petted slave, caught hold of the skirt of his coat. Colonel
+Williams turned suddenly round; and there, crouching on the earth at his
+feet, was the hunchback child. She held up the money which he had given
+her, and, in a sweet, tremulous voice, asked: "Massa, why has you sold
+me? I has not behaved bad, as de boys did dat you sold last year. I
+doesn't steal nor tell lies. Is it bekase I'se lazy? I do all de work
+dey gives me to do. I'll do more. I'll go into de fields. I'll plant and
+pick de cotton. Please don't sell me. I doesn't want to leave de ole
+place. Mammy is buried here; so I wants to be when I dies. I wants
+allers to live here."
+
+The stranger and Colonel Williams were much moved. They did not venture
+to speak to the child, but tried to get away from the sound of her
+plaintive cries.
+
+When the negroes drew around their morning meal, and learned that Ratie
+was sold, they were unhappy, and refused to eat anything. They looked
+sorrowfully at one another, and turned away from their untasted food.
+"Poor Ratie!" exclaimed the old negroes, as they shook their heads in
+mournful discontent, "we shall not hear any more her sweet songs in de
+evenin' time."
+
+The young mistresses came to Ratie with kind gifts and kinder words.
+They told her, with tears in their eyes, how sorry they were to part
+with her, how good they knew she had been, and how much they wished
+their papa would allow her to stay. Words and acts like these softened
+the blow to the unfortunate child, and strengthened her for the coming
+trial. She looked up smilingly through her tears, as she said to her
+young mistresses: "Please not to cry for me. God is good, and de
+preacher says he is everywhar; so I shall not be fur from de ole
+plantation."
+
+When she was starting away, each of the negroes brought her some little
+gift, such as cotton handkerchiefs, old ribbon-ends, bright-colored
+glass beads, or autumn berries, dried and strung on threads for neck
+ornaments. Each of these humble little tokens possessed an individual
+interest which touched some spring in Ratie's little heart. When the
+hour of separation came, she had nerved herself to the highest courage
+of which she was capable. She took leave of each of the slaves, all of
+them calling down the blessings of God upon her life. An old, lame negro
+man, whom the slaves addressed as Grandpap, hobbled from his cabin, on a
+broken crutch, to utter his farewell.
+
+"Good by, Ratie," he began, and his voice choked with emotion; "good by,
+little Ratie, and may de good Lord be wid you. Him dat keres fur de
+poor, de lowly, and de despised, up yonder, way fur and high up dere, is
+a God dat loves all of his chillens alike. He doesn't kere fur de color
+ob de skin or de quality ob de hair. In his sight, wool is jist as good
+as de fair, straight hair. He loves de heart, and looks straight and
+deep into dat, and keres fur nothin' else. Never you be afeard, Ratie,
+Him'll take kere ob you, an' all sich as you, bekase He loves dem dat He
+smites and afflicts. Now, He didn't break your poor little back for
+nothin'. Him has Him's eye upon you. You is a lamb ob de fold, dat de
+great Shepherd will go fur and long to look arter. Him holds you in the
+holler ob Him's hand, an' He'll keep you dar. Mind what I tell you. Good
+by, Ratie. God bless you. Allers trust Him. 'Member my last words; dat
+is, Allers trust Him. Look to Him, and He'll never forget you."
+
+As he uttered these words, in a slow, oracular manner, he brushed a tear
+from his eye with the back of his old, hard hand, and looking tenderly
+toward the child, his lips moved slowly, and the words seemed to melt
+unheard in the thin, morning air. He turned from her and hobbled off in
+the direction of his cabin.
+
+The other slaves were more passionately demonstrative in their
+farewells; but little Ratie bore up with a beautiful and proud
+composure.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The new owner proved very kind to the gentle little creature; but her
+heart had received a blow from which it could not recover.
+
+The master took her to New Orleans, intending to have her taught music,
+that she might make money for him; but the poor child pined for "de ole
+plantation" and "de ole folks at home,"--the kind people--"my people,"
+as she fondly called them--with whom she had been brought up.
+
+In the great city of New Orleans she was literally lost. She missed the
+free country air, the green trees, the sweet singing-birds, the fields
+blooming with early flowers, the meadows and the running brooks. It was
+easy to see that the little hunchback was not happy. She grew thinner
+and thinner, and her voice lost its flexible sweetness, its clear and
+liquid roundness of tone. At last she fell away to a mere skeleton; then
+sharp, burning fever set in, and little Ratie was taken down to her bed.
+Day and night, in the delirium of fever, she raved for "de ole
+plantation" and her own people.
+
+The new master promised, when she got better, to take her back to her
+old home,--at least for a little while. But, alas! she never grew any
+better. She faded slowly away, until one evening, just at sundown, in
+the gay city of New Orleans, little Ratie breathed her last.
+
+Just before she died, she lifted her head from the pillow, and, resting
+on her hand, she pointed eastward, saying: "Over dar is de ole
+plantation. Don't you see? How pretty and nice it looks! Dar is all de
+peoples at work. How busy dey is! But I'se not gwine dar. I doesn't want
+to, any more. Dere up dar is God's plantation, and it is betterer far.
+Dere is no slaves dar, but all is free and happy,--loving friends; and
+it is dar dat I wants to go; and I hopes dat all de plantation folks
+will come to me."
+
+And so little Ratie died.
+
+                    _From the New York Independent._
+
+
+
+
+THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST.
+
+BY JAMES MONTGOMERY.
+
+
+    Hail to the Lord's anointed!
+      Great David's greater Son!
+    Hail, in the time appointed,
+      His reign on earth begun!
+    He comes to break oppression,
+      To set the captive free,
+    To take away transgression,
+      And rule in equity.
+
+    He comes, with succor speedy,
+      To those who suffer wrong;
+    To help the poor and needy,
+      And bid the weak be strong;
+    To give them songs for sighing,
+      Their darkness turned to light,
+    Whose souls, condemned and dying,
+      Were precious in his sight.
+
+    To him shall prayer unceasing,
+      And daily vows ascend;
+    His kingdom still increasing,--
+      A kingdom without end.
+    The tide of time shall never
+      His covenant remove;
+    His name shall stand forever,--
+      That name to us is Love.
+
+
+
+
+THE BEGINNING AND PROGRESS OF EMANCIPATION IN THE BRITISH WEST INDIES.
+
+
+Nothing has ever been done in this world more wicked and cruel than the
+slave-trade on the coast of Africa. But the temptation to carry it on
+was very great; for hundreds of men and women could be bought for a cask
+of poor rum or a peck of cheap beads, and could be sold in the markets
+of America or the West Indies for thousands of dollars. A hundred years
+ago men were not at all ashamed of growing rich in this bad way. They
+were respected in society as much as other men. They were often members
+of churches and professed to be very pious. Perhaps they deceived
+themselves, as well as others, and really thought they were pious,
+because they observed all the ritual forms of religion. But, above all
+their prayers, God heard the groans and the cries of the poor tortured
+Africans. He put it into the heart of a young Englishman, named Thomas
+Clarkson, to inquire into the wicked business, that was going on under
+the sanction of the government, and unreproved by the Church. In the
+course of his investigations, this young man discovered that the most
+shocking cruelties were habitually practised. He found that poor
+creatures stolen from their homes were packed close, like bales of
+goods, in the dark holds of ships, where they were half choked by bad
+odors from accumulated filth, and where they could hardly breathe for
+want of air. The food allotted them was merely enough to keep them
+alive. Many died of grief and despair, and still more of burning fevers
+and other diseases. Living and dead often remained huddled together for
+hours, and when the corpses were removed they were thrown out to the
+sharks. But the sea-captains engaged in this horrid traffic were selfish
+as well as cruel. They did not like to have their victims die, because
+every one they lost on the passage diminished the dollars they expected
+to get by selling them. So at times they brought the poor half-dead
+wretches on deck and drove them round with a whip for exercise, and
+insulted their misery by compelling them to dance, and sing the songs
+they had sung in their native land.
+
+Thomas Clarkson called public attention to the subject by publishing
+these things in a pamphlet. More than thirty years before, the humane
+sect called Quakers had forbidden any of its members to be connected
+with the slave-trade. But though the abominable traffic had been carried
+on more than two hundred and fifty years by various nations calling
+themselves Christian, there had been no attempt to excite general
+attention to the subject till Clarkson published his pamphlet in 1786,
+seventy-nine years ago. He became so much interested in the question
+that he gave up all other pursuits in life, and wrote, and lectured, and
+talked about it incessantly. The assembled representatives of the people
+which we call a Congress, is called a Parliament in Great Britain.[7] He
+tried to bring the subject before that body, and succeeded in gaining
+the attention of some members, among whom the most conspicuous was the
+benevolent William Wilberforce. He soon joined Mr. Clarkson in the
+formation of a Society for the Abolition of the Slave-trade. This of
+course gave great offence to the sea-captains and merchants engaged in
+the profitable traffic. Clarkson met with all manner of insult and
+abuse, and his life was sometimes in danger. The British government did
+as governments are apt to do,--it sided with the rich and powerful as
+long as it was politic to do so. But, though many of the aristocracy
+were haughty and selfish, the generality of the common people were ready
+to sympathize with the poor and the oppressed. When they became aware of
+the outrages committed in the slave-trade, they determined that a stop
+should be put to it. They wrote, and talked, and petitioned Parliament,
+till the government was compelled to pay some attention to their
+demands. When the friends of the infernal traffic found that a
+resolution to abolish it was likely to be passed, they contrived to get
+the word "gradual" inserted into the resolution, and thus defeated the
+will of the people; for the gradual abolition of crime is no abolition
+at all. It was as absurd as it would have been for them to say they
+would abolish murder gradually. But though the law was insufficient to
+accomplish the desired purpose, public opinion against the trade exerted
+an increasing influence. The friends of those who were engaged in it
+began to apologize for it as a necessary branch of trade, and pleaded
+that laborers could not be supplied in the hot climate of the West
+Indies in any other way. They were even shameless enough to defend it
+and praise it as a benevolent scheme to bring savages away from heathen
+Africa and make good Christians of them. Mr. Boswell, a well-known
+English writer of that period, went so far as to pronounce it "a trade
+which God had sanctioned"; and he declared that "to abolish it would be
+to shut the gates of mercy on mankind." Such pretences deceived some.
+But the English people have a great deal of good common sense; and it
+was not easy to convince them that stealing men, women, and children
+from their homes, torturing them on the ocean, and selling them in
+strange lands, to be whipped to incessant toil without wages, was a
+pious missionary enterprise.
+
+Clarkson, Wilberforce, and others continued their unremitting labors to
+suppress the unrighteous traffic; the kindly sect of Quakers everywhere
+assisted them; and benevolent people in other sects became more and more
+convinced that it was their duty to do the same. All manner of obstacles
+were put in the way of the desired reformation; but at last, after
+twenty-two years of violent agitation, the slave-trade was entirely
+abolished by Great Britain, at the commencement of the year 1808.
+Sixteen years later, it was decreed by law that any British subject
+caught in the traffic should be punished as a pirate.
+
+The king, George the Third, was opposed to the abolition, and so were
+all the royal family, except the Duke of Gloucester. The nobility and
+wealthy people, with a few honorable exceptions, took the same side. The
+measure was carried by the good sense and good feeling of the common
+people of Great Britain.
+
+There were no slaves in Great Britain. It had been decided by law that
+any slave who landed in that country became free the moment he touched
+the shore. But many of the West India islands, lying between North and
+South America, were under the British government, and the laborers there
+were held in Slavery. The English people knew very little what was going
+on in those distant colonies. When West India planters visited their
+relatives and friends in Great Britain, they made out a very fair story
+for themselves. They said none but negroes could work in such a hot
+climate, that sugar must be made, and negroes would not work unless they
+were slaves. They represented themselves as very kind masters, and
+described their bondmen as a very contented and merry class of laborers.
+These planters were generally dashing men, who spent freely the money
+they did not earn; and their fine manners and smooth talk gave the
+impression that they must be _gentle_ men.
+
+People were slow to believe the accounts of cruelties practised in the
+West Indies by these polished gentlemen. But more and more facts were
+brought to light to prove that there was little to choose between the
+slave-trade and the system of Slavery. When the honest masses of the
+British people became convinced that the slaves in the West Indies were
+entirely subject to the will of their masters, however licentious that
+will might be, and that they were kept in such brutal ignorance they
+could not read the Bible, they said at once that such a system ought to
+be abolished. They sent missionaries to the West Indies to teach the
+negroes. The planters considered this an impertinent interference with
+their affairs. They said if slaves were instructed they would rise in
+rebellion against their masters. The English people replied that it must
+be a very bad system which made it dangerous for human beings to read
+the Bible. The more closely they inquired into the subject, the more
+their indignation was roused. Brown faces and yellow faces among the
+slaves told a shameful story of licentious masters, while the chains and
+whips and other instruments of torture found on every plantation proved
+that severe treatment was universal. Again the honest masses of the
+English people rose up in their moral majesty and said that wrong
+should be righted. The government was unfavorable to the abolition of
+Slavery, and the aristocracy, with a few honorable exceptions,
+sympathized with the slaveholders. The West-Indian planters were boiling
+over with rage. They pulled down the chapels where the negroes met
+together to hear the words of Jesus; they mobbed the missionaries, they
+thrust them into dungeons, and two or three of them were killed. Some of
+the planters thought Slavery was a bad system, but they had to be very
+cautious in expressing such an opinion; for if they were even suspected
+of favoring abolition, their neighbors were sure to make them suffer for
+it in some way. Even women seemed to be filled with the spirit of
+Furies, whenever the subject of Slavery was mentioned. One of them said,
+if she could get hold of Mr. Wilberforce she would tear his heart out.
+Everywhere one heard mournful predictions of the ruin and desolation
+that would follow emancipation. They insisted that negroes would not
+work unless they were slaves, and of course no crops could be raised;
+and what was still more to be dreaded, they would murder all the whites
+and set fire to the towns. Sometimes they would present the subject from
+a benevolent point of view, and urge that it would be the greatest
+unkindness to the negroes to give them freedom; for when they had no
+kind masters to take care of them they would certainly starve.
+
+The slaves of course found out that something in their favor was going
+on in England. They watched eagerly for the arrival of vessels; they
+took notice of everything that was said; if they could get hold of a
+scrap of newspaper they hid it away, and those who could read would read
+it privately to the others. If their masters were unusually cross, or
+swore more than common, they would wink at each other and say, "There's
+good news for us from England."
+
+The masters, on their part, watched the slaves closely. If they were
+more silent than common, or if they appeared to be in better spirits
+than common, they suspected them of plotting insurrections. But the
+negroes did more wisely than that. They believed that good people in
+England were working for them, and they tried to be patient till they
+were emancipated by law. There was but one exception to this. The
+planters in Jamaica were more bitter and furious than in the other
+islands. They formed societies to uphold Slavery, and made flaming
+speeches against the people and Parliament of Great Britain for "setting
+the slaves loose upon them," as they called it. They did not reflect
+that their colored servants, as they passed in and out, heard this
+violent language and had sense enough to draw conclusions from it. But
+they did draw from it a conclusion very dangerous to their masters. They
+had heard talk of emancipation for several years, and it seemed to them
+that the promised freedom was a long time coming. In 1832, the speeches
+of the planters were so furious against the doings in Parliament, that
+the slaves received the idea that the British government had already
+passed laws for their freedom, and that their masters were cheating them
+out of the legal rights that had been granted them. It was a sad mistake
+for the poor fellows, and brought a great deal of suffering upon
+themselves and others. They rose in insurrection, and it is said
+destroyed property to the amount of six millions of dollars. But instead
+of being protected by the British government, as they had expected,
+soldiers were sent over to put down the insurrection, and many of the
+negroes were shot and hung.
+
+Meanwhile their friends in England were working for them zealously. They
+published pamphlets and papers and made speeches, and urgently
+petitioned Parliament to "let the people go." One petition alone was
+signed by eight hundred thousand women. One of the members, pointing to
+the enormous roll, said: "There is no use in trying longer to resist the
+will of the people. When all the women in Great Britain are knocking at
+the doors of Parliament, something must be done."
+
+The government and the aristocracy were very reluctant to comply with
+the demand of the people. But at last, after eleven years of more
+violent struggle than it had taken to suppress the African slave-trade,
+Slavery itself was abolished in the British West Indies forever. The
+decree was to go into effect on the 1st day of August, 1834. Up to the
+very last day, the planters persisted in saying that the measure would
+ruin the islands. They said the emancipated slaves would do no work, but
+would go round in large gangs, robbing, stealing, murdering the whites,
+burning the houses, and destroying the fields of sugar-cane. If the
+negroes had been revengeful, they might have done a great deal of
+mischief; for there were five times as many colored people in the
+islands as there were whites. But they were so thankful to get their
+freedom at last, that there was no room in their hearts for bad
+feelings. The tears were in their eyes as they told each other the good
+news, and said, "Bress de Lord and de good English people."
+
+But many of the masters really believed their own alarming prophesies.
+When they found that emancipation could not be prevented, numbers left
+the islands. Some of those who remained did not dare to undress and go
+to bed on the night of the 31st of July; and those who tried to sleep
+were generally restless and easily startled.
+
+But while masters and mistresses were dreading to hear screams and
+alarms of fire, their emancipated slaves were flocking to the churches
+to offer up prayers and hymns of thanksgiving.
+
+In the island of Antigua there were thirty thousand slaves when the
+midnight clock began to strive twelve, on the 31st of July, 1834; and
+when it had done striking they were all free men and free women. It was
+a glorious moment, never to be forgotten by them during the remainder of
+their lives. The Wesleyan Methodists kept watch-night in all their
+chapels. One of the missionaries who exhorted the emancipated people and
+prayed with them thus described the solemn scene:--
+
+"The spacious house was filled with the candidates for liberty. All was
+animation and eagerness. A mighty chorus of voices swelled the song of
+expectation and joy; and as they united in prayer, the voice of the
+leader was drowned in the universal acclamations of thanksgiving and
+praise and blessing and honor and glory to God, who had come down for
+their deliverance. In such exercises the evening was spent, until the
+hour of twelve approached. The missionary then proposed that when the
+cathedral clock should begin to strike, the whole congregation should
+fall on their knees, and receive the boon of freedom in silence.
+Accordingly, as the loud bell tolled its first note, the crowded
+assembly prostrated themselves. All was silence, save the quivering,
+half-stifled breath of the struggling spirit. Slowly the tones of the
+clock fell upon the waiting multitude. Peal on peal, peal on peal,
+rolled over the prostrate throng, like angels' voices, thrilling their
+weary heartstrings. Scarcely had the _last_ tone sounded, when
+lightning flashed vividly, and a loud peal of thunder rolled through the
+sky. It was God's pillar of fire. His trump of jubilee. It was followed
+by a moment of profound silence. Then came the outburst. They shouted
+'Glory! Hallelujah!' They clapped their hands, they leaped up, they fell
+down, they clasped each other in their free arms, they cried, they
+laughed, they went to and fro, throwing upward their unfettered hands.
+High above all, a mighty sound ever and anon swelled up. It was the
+utterance of gratitude to God.
+
+"After this gush of excitement had spent itself, the congregation became
+calm, and religious exercises were resumed. The remainder of the night
+was spent in singing and prayer, in reading the Bible, and in addresses
+from the missionaries, explaining the nature of the freedom just
+received, and exhorting the people to be industrious, steady, and
+obedient to the laws, and to show themselves in all things worthy of the
+high boon God had conferred upon them.
+
+"The 1st of August came on Friday; and a release from all work was
+proclaimed until the next Monday. The great mass of the negroes spent
+the day chiefly in the churches and chapels. The clergy and missionaries
+throughout the island actively seized the opportunity to enlighten the
+people on all the duties and responsibilities of their new relation. The
+day was like a Sabbath. A Sabbath, indeed, when 'the wicked ceased from
+troubling and the weary were at rest.'
+
+"The most kindly of the planters went to the chapels where their own
+people were assembled, and shook hands with them, and exchanged hearty
+good wishes.
+
+"At Grace Hill, a Moravian missionary station, the emancipated negroes
+begged to have a sunrise meeting on the 1st of August, as they had been
+accustomed to have at Easter; and as it was the Easter morning of their
+freedom, the request was granted. The people all dressed in white, and
+walked arm in arm to the chapel. There a hymn of thanksgiving was sung
+by the whole congregation kneeling. The singing was frequently
+interrupted by the tears and sobs of the melted people, until finally
+they were overwhelmed by a tumult of emotion.
+
+"There was not a single dance by night or day; not even so much as a
+fiddle played. There were no drunken carousals, no riotous assemblies.
+The emancipated were as far from dissipation and debauchery as they were
+from violence and carnage. Gratitude was the absorbing emotion. From the
+hill-tops and the valleys the cry of a disenthralled people went upward,
+like the sound of many waters: 'Glory to God! Glory to God!'"
+
+Mr. Bleby, one of the Methodist missionaries in Jamaica, thus describes
+the same night in that island:--
+
+"The church where the emancipated people assembled, at ten o'clock at
+night, was very large; but the aisles, the gallery stairs, the
+communion-place, the pulpit stairs, were all crowded; and there were
+thousands of people round the building, at every open door and window,
+looking in. We thought it right and proper that our Christian people
+should receive their freedom as a boon from God, in the house of prayer;
+and we gathered them together in the church for a midnight service. Our
+mouths had been closed about Slavery up to that time. We could not quote
+a passage that had reference even to _spiritual_ emancipation, without
+endangering our lives. The planters had a law of 'constructive treason,'
+that doomed any man to death who made use of language tending to excite
+a desire for liberty among the slaves; and they found treason in the
+Bible and sedition in the hymns of Watts and Wesley, and we had to be
+very careful how we used them. You may imagine with what feelings I saw
+myself emancipated from this thraldom, and free to proclaim 'liberty to
+the captive, and the opening of prison doors to them that were bound.' I
+took for my text, 'Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all
+the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you.'
+
+"A few minutes before midnight, I requested all the people to kneel down
+in silent prayer to God, as befitting the solemnity of the hour. I
+looked down upon them as they knelt. The silence was broken only by sobs
+of emotion, which it was impossible to repress. The clock began to
+strike. It was the knell of Slavery in all the British possessions! It
+proclaimed liberty to eight hundred thousand human beings! When I told
+them they might rise, what an outburst of joy there was among that mass
+of people! The clock had ceased to strike, and they were slaves no
+longer! Mothers were hugging their babes to their bosoms, old
+white-headed men embracing their children and husbands clasping their
+wives in their arms. By and by all was still again, and I gave out a
+hymn. You may imagine the feelings with which these people, just
+emerging into freedom, shouted
+
+    'Send the glad tidings o'er the sea!
+    His chains are broke, the slave is free!'"
+
+But though the dreaded 1st of August passed away so peacefully and
+pleasantly, the planters could not get rid of the idea that their
+laborers would not work after they were free. Mr. Daniell, who managed
+several estates in Antigua, talking of the subject, two years
+afterward, with an American gentleman from Kentucky, said: "I expected
+some irregularities would follow such a prodigious change in the
+condition of the negroes. I supposed there would be some relaxation from
+labor during the week that followed emancipation; but on Monday morning,
+I found all my hands in the field, not one missing. The same day I
+received a message from another estate, of which I was proprietor, that
+the negroes, to a man, had refused to go into the field. I immediately
+rode to the estate, and found the laborers, with hoes in their hands,
+doing nothing. Accosting them in a friendly manner, I inquired, 'What is
+the meaning of this? How is it that you are not at work this morning?'
+They immediately replied, 'It's not because we don't want to work,
+massa; but we wanted to see you, first and foremost, to know what the
+_bargain_ would be.' As soon as that matter was settled, the whole body
+of negroes turned out cheerfully." Another manager declared that the
+largest gang he had ever seen in the field, on his property, turned out
+the week after emancipation. And such in fact was the universal
+testimony of the managers throughout Antigua.
+
+In the days of Slavery, it had always been customary to order out the
+militia during the Christmas holidays, when the negroes were in the
+habit of congregating in large numbers, to enjoy the festivities of the
+season. But the December after emancipation, the Governor issued a
+proclamation, that, "_in consequence of the abolition of Slavery_,"
+there was no further need of taking that precaution. And it is a fact
+that there have been no soldiers out at Christmas from that day to this.
+
+Unfortunately the British government had been so far influenced by the
+representations of the planters, that the plan of emancipation they
+adopted was a gradual one. All children under six years old were
+unconditionally free, the magistrates alone had power to punish, and no
+human being could be sold. But the slaves, under the new name of
+apprentices, were obliged to work for their masters six years longer
+without wages, except one day and a half in the week, which the law
+decreed should be their own. The number of hours they were to work each
+day was also stipulated by law. This was certainly a great improvement
+in their condition; but it was not all they had expected. They were
+peaceable, and worked more cheerfully than they had done while they were
+slaves; for now a definite date was fixed when they should own all their
+time, and they knew that every week brought them nearer to it. Still
+they felt that entire justice had not been done to them. Sometimes white
+men asked them if they would work when they were entirely free. They
+answered, "In Slavery time we work; now we work better; den how you tink
+we work when we _free_, when we get _paid_ for work!" Sometimes people
+said to them, "I suppose you expect to do just as you please when you
+are your own masters?" They replied: "We 'spect to 'bey de law. In oder
+countries where dey is all free dey hab de law. We couldn't get along
+widout de law. In Slavery time, massa would sometimes slash we when we
+do as well as we could; but de law don't do harm to anybody dat behaves
+himself. 'Prenticeship is bad enough; but we know de law make it so, and
+for peace' sake we will be satisfy. But we murmur in we minds."
+
+In the island of Antigua, planters rejected the plan of apprenticeship.
+They said, "If the negroes _must_ be free, let them be free at once,
+without any more fuss and trouble." The result proved that they judged
+wisely for their own interest, as well as for the comfort and
+encouragement of their laborers. When the negroes found that they were
+paid for every day's work, they put their whole hearts into it. So
+zealous were they to earn wages, that they sometimes worked by
+moonlight, or by the light of fires kindled among the dry cane-stalks.
+In all respects, the change from the old order of things to the new went
+on more smoothly in Antigua than it did anywhere else.
+
+In the islands where apprenticeship was tried, the irritability of the
+masters made it work worse than it would otherwise have done. All that
+most of them seemed to care for was to get as much work out of their
+servants as they could, during the six years that they were to work
+without wages, and it vexed them that they could not use the lash
+whenever they pleased. They took away various little privileges which
+they had been accustomed to grant; while during four days and a half of
+the week the apprentices received no wages to compensate them for the
+loss of those privileges. Being deprived of the power to sell the
+children, they refused to supply them with any food. In fact, they
+contrived every way to make the colored people think they had better
+have remained slaves. But if they called out, "Work faster, you black
+rascal, or I'll flog you!" the apprentices would sometimes lose
+patience, and answer, "You can't flog we now." That would make the
+master very angry, and he would send the apprentice to a magistrate to
+be punished for impudence. The magistrates were the associates of the
+planters; they ate their good dinners, and rode about in their
+carriages. Consequently, they were more inclined to believe them than
+they were to believe their servants. The laborers became so well aware
+of this, that they were accustomed to say to each other, "It's of no use
+for us to apply to the magistrates. They are so poisoned by massa's
+turtle-soup." It has been computed by missionaries that, in the course
+of two years, sixty thousand apprentices received, among them all, two
+hundred and fifty thousand lashes, besides fifty thousand other
+legalized punishments, such as the tread-mill and the chain-gang.
+
+The planters were full of complaints to travellers who visited the West
+Indies. If they were asked, "Why don't you emancipate your laborers
+entirely, and give them wages, as they do in Antigua,--they have no such
+troubles there?" the prejudiced men would shake their heads and answer:
+"Negroes will not work without being flogged. We must get what we can
+out of them before 1840; for when they are their own masters they will
+rob, murder, or starve, rather than labor."
+
+Planters who manifested a more kind and considerate disposition had
+pleasanter relations with their servants, and they never found any
+difficulty in procuring as much labor as they wanted. Some made it easy
+for their apprentices to buy the remainder of their time; and it was
+soon observed that those who owned all their time worked faster and
+better than those who were without that stimulus. The idea gained ground
+that unconditional emancipation would be better both for masters and
+servants. The Marquis of Sligo, the humane Governor of Jamaica, set a
+good example by emancipating all his apprentices. People in England
+began to petition Parliament to abolish the apprenticeship, on the
+ground that it proved unsatisfactory and troublesome to all parties. The
+result was that all the apprentices in the British West Indies were
+made entirely free on the 1st of August, 1838. Mr. Phillippo, a Baptist
+missionary in Jamaica, thus describes the observance of the day in that
+island: "On the preceding evening, the missionary stations throughout
+the island were crowded with people, filling all the places of worship.
+They remained at their devotions till the day of liberty dawned, when
+they saluted it with joyous acclamations. Then they dispersed through
+the towns and villages, singing 'God save the queen,' and rending the
+air with their shouts,--'Freedom's come!' 'We're free! we're free!' 'Our
+wives and children are free!' During the day, the places of worship were
+crowded to suffocation. The scenes presented exceeded all description.
+Joyous excitement pervaded the whole island. At Spanish Town, the
+Governor, Sir Lionel Smith, addressed the emancipated people, who formed
+a procession of seven thousand, and escorted the children of the
+schools, about two thousand in number, to the Government House. They
+bore banners and flags with various inscriptions, of which the following
+are samples: 'Education, Religion, and Social Order'; 'August First,
+1838,--the Day of our Freedom'; 'Truth and Justice have at last
+prevailed.' The children sang before the Government House, and his
+Excellency made a speech characterized by simplicity and kindness, which
+was received with enthusiastic cheers. The procession then escorted
+their pastor to his house. In front of the Baptist Chapel were three
+triumphal arches, decorated with leaves and flowers, and surmounted by
+flags bearing the inscriptions, 'Freedom has come!' 'Slavery is no
+more!' 'The chains are broken, Africa is free!' There were many flags
+bearing the names of their English benefactors,--Clarkson, Wilberforce,
+Sligo, Thompson, etc. When these were unfurled, the enthusiasm of the
+multitude rose to the highest pitch. For nearly an hour the air rang
+with exulting shouts, in which the shrill voices of two thousand
+children joined, singing, 'We're free! we're free!' Several of the
+kindly disposed planters gave rural _fetes_ to the laborers. Long tables
+were spread in the lawns, arches of evergreens were festooned with
+flowers, and on the trees floated banners bearing the names of those who
+had been most conspicuous in bringing about this blessed result. Songs
+were sung, speeches made, prayers offered, and a plentiful repast eaten."
+Mr. Phillippo says: "The conduct of the newly emancipated peasantry
+would have done credit to Christians of the most civilized country in
+the world. They were clean in their persons, and neat in their attire.
+Their behavior was modest, unassuming, and decorous in a high degree.
+There was no crowding, no vulgar familiarity, but all were courteous and
+obliging to each other, as members of one harmonious family. There was
+no dancing, gambling, or carousing. All seemed to have a sense of the
+obligations they owed to their masters, to each other, and to the civil
+authorities. The masters who were present at these _fetes_ congratulated
+their former dependents on the boon they had received, and hopes were
+mutually expressed that all past differences and wrongs might be
+forgiven."
+
+On some of the estates where these festivals were held the laborers,
+with few individual exceptions, went to work as usual on the following
+day. _Many of them gave their first week of free labor as an offering of
+good-will to their masters._ Thus the period from which many of the
+planters had apprehended the worst consequences passed away in peace and
+harmony.
+
+It is now twenty-seven years since the laborers in the British West
+Indies have been made entirely free; and the missionaries, the
+magistrates, and even the masters agree that the laborers are much more
+faithful and industrious under the new system than they were under the
+iron rule of Slavery. It is true, some of the old planters growled as
+long as they lived. They had always predicted that freedom would bring
+ruin on all classes, and it vexed them to see the negroes behaving so
+well. They, however, made the most of the fact that there was less sugar
+made than in former years. It was their own fault. The emancipated
+slaves wanted to stay and work on the plantations where they had always
+lived. But the masters could not give up their old habits of meanness
+and tyranny. Their laborers could scarcely support life with the very
+small wages they received; and yet they took from them the little
+patches of provision-ground which they had formerly had, and charged
+them enormously high rent for their miserable little huts. It seemed as
+if they wanted to drive them to robbery, that they might say, "We told
+you it would be so, if you set them free."
+
+But the freedmen disappointed them. Under all discouragements, they
+persisted in behaving well. When they found that they could not get a
+living on the old plantations where they wanted to stay, they went to
+work on railroads, and wherever they could find employment. They laid up
+as much as they could of their wages, and bought bits of land, on which
+they built comfortable cabins for themselves, and laid out little
+gardens. Their wives and children raised poultry and tended a cow, and
+carried vegetables and butter and eggs to market, in baskets poised on
+their heads. With the money thus earned they bought more land and added
+to their little stock of furniture. Though the men received only from
+eighteen to twenty-four cents a day, out of which they boarded
+themselves, they were so industrious and saving that in four years the
+freedmen in Jamaica alone had bought and paid for one hundred thousand
+acres of land, and put up dwellings thereon. Mr. Phillippo states, that
+during that time as many as two hundred new villages of freedmen were
+formed. These villages generally received the names of benefactors, such
+as Clarkson, Wilberforce, Thompson, &c. To their own little homes they
+also gave names indicative of their gratitude and contentment. They
+called them "Save Rent," "A Little of My Own," "Heart's Love," "Liberty
+and Content," "Happy Retreat," "Jane's Delight," "Thank God to see It,"
+&c.
+
+Mr. Phillippo says:--
+
+"These free villages are regularly laid out. The houses are small, many
+of them built of stone or wood, with shingled roofs, green blinds, and
+verandahs, to shield them from the sun. Most of them are neatly
+thatched, and generally plastered and whitewashed both outside and in.
+They now have looking-glasses, chairs, and side-boards decorated with
+pretty articles of glass and crockery. Each dwelling has its little plot
+of vegetables, generally neatly kept; and many of them have
+flower-gardens in front, glowing with all the bright hues of the
+tropics. The groups often presented are worthy of the painter's pencil
+or the poet's song. Amid the stillness of a Sabbath evening, many
+families, after their return from the house of God, may be seen gathered
+together in the shadow of the trees, which overhang their cottages,
+singing hymns, or listening to the reading of the Scriptures, with none
+to molest or make them afraid."
+
+Mr. Charles Tappan of Boston, who visited Jamaica several years after
+emancipation, writes:--
+
+"On landing at Kingston, I must confess I was half inclined to believe
+the story so industriously circulated, that the emancipated slave is
+more idle and vicious than any other of God's intelligent creatures; but
+when I rode through the valleys and over the mountains, and found
+everywhere an industrious, sober people, I concluded all the vagabonds
+of the island had moved to the sea-shore, to pick up a precarious living
+by carrying baggage, begging, &c.; and such, upon inquiry, I found to be
+the fact. Wherever I went in the rural districts, I found contented men
+and women, cultivating sugar-cane, and numerous vegetables and fruits,
+on their own account. Their neat, well-furnished cottages compared well
+with the dwellings of pioneers in our own country. I found in them
+mahogany furniture, crockery and glass ware, and shelves of useful
+books. I saw Africans, of unmixed blood, grinding their own sugar-cane
+in their own mills, and making their own sugar.
+
+"I attended a large meeting called to decide the question about inviting
+a schoolmaster to settle among them. There was only one man who doubted
+the expediency of taking the children from work and sending them to
+school. One said, 'My little learning enabled me to see that a note,
+given to me in payment for a horse was not written according to
+contract.' Another said, 'I should have been wronged out of forty pounds
+of coffee I sold in Kingston the other day, if I hadn't known how to
+cipher.' Another said, 'I shall not have much property to leave my
+children; but if they have learning they can get property.' Another
+said, 'Those that can read will be more likely to get religion.' All
+these people had been slaves, or were the children of slaves. I saw no
+intoxicated person in Jamaica; and when it is considered that every man
+there can make rum, it strikes me as very remarkable."
+
+One of the most striking characteristics of this colored peasantry is
+their desire to obtain education for themselves and their children.
+After a hard day's work, women would often walk miles, with babies in
+their arms, to learn the alphabet. With the first money they can spare
+they build school-houses and chapels and hire teachers. They also form
+charitable societies and contribute money to help the aged and sick
+among them. In the days of Slavery they herded together like animals;
+but now it is considered disreputable and wrong to live together without
+being married. In the days of Slavery they wore ragged and filthy
+garments, but freedom has made them desirous of making a neat
+appearance. Their working-clothes are generally well mended and clean,
+and they keep a pretty suit to attend meeting and other festival
+occasions. They are very careful of their best clothes. When they go to
+dances, or social gatherings, they carry them in a basket, nicely folded
+and covered up, and put them on when they arrive; and when they are
+about to return home they again pack them up carefully. When they have
+far to walk to meeting, over rough and dusty roads, they carry their
+shoes and stockings till they come in sight of the church.
+
+This is not at all like what the old planters prophesied, when they said
+that if the negroes were freed they would skulk in the woods and steal
+yams to keep them from starving. But all that silly talk has passed
+away. Everybody in the British West Indies acknowledges that
+emancipation has proved a blessing both to the white and the black
+population. There is not a planter to be found there who would restore
+Slavery again, if his own wish could do it.
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[7] The northern part of Great Britain is called Scotland, the southern
+part England. The entire people are called British.
+
+
+
+
+THE LAST NIGHT OF SLAVERY.
+
+BY JAMES MONTGOMERY.
+
+
+          Let the floods clap their hands!
+            Let the mountains rejoice!
+          Let all the glad lands
+            Breathe a jubilant voice!
+    The sun, that now sets on the waves of the sea,
+    Shall gild with his rising the land of the free!
+
+          Let the islands be glad!
+            For their King in his might,
+          Who his glory hath clad
+            With a garment of light,
+    In the waters the beams of his chambers hath laid,
+    And in the green waters his pathway hath made.
+
+          Dispel the blue haze,
+            Golden Fountain of Morn!
+          With meridian blaze
+            The wide ocean adorn!
+    The sunlight has touched the glad waves of the sea,
+    And day now illumines the land of the FREE!
+
+
+
+
+MADISON WASHINGTON.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+This man was a slave, born in Virginia. His lot was more tolerable than
+that of many who are doomed to bondage; but from his early youth he
+always longed to be free. Nature had in fact made him too intelligent
+and energetic to be contented in Slavery. Perhaps he would have
+attempted to escape sooner than he did, had he not become in love with a
+beautiful octoroon slave named Susan. She was the daughter of her
+master, and the blood of the white race predominated in several of her
+ancestors. Her eyes were blue, and her glossy dark hair fell in soft,
+silky ringlets. Her lover was an unmixed black, and he also was
+handsome. His features were well formed, and his large dark eyes were
+very bright and expressive. He had a manly air, his motions were easy
+and dignified, and altogether he looked like a being that would never
+consent to wear a chain.
+
+If he had hated Slavery before, he naturally hated it worse after he had
+married Susan; for a handsome woman, who is a slave, is constantly
+liable to insult and wrong, from which an enslaved husband has no power
+to protect her. They laid plans to escape; but unfortunately their
+intention was discovered before they could carry it into effect. To
+avoid being sold to the far South, where he could have no hopes of ever
+rejoining his beloved Susan, he ran to the woods, where he remained
+concealed several months, suffering much from privation and anxiety. His
+wife knew where he was, and succeeded in conveying some messages to him,
+without being detected. She persuaded him not to wait for a chance to
+take her with him, but to go to Canada and earn money enough to buy her
+freedom, and then she would go to him.
+
+He travelled only in the night, and by careful management, after a good
+deal of hardship, he reached the Northern States, and passed into
+Canada. There he let himself out to work on the farm of a man named
+Dickson. He was so strong, industrious, intelligent, and well behaved,
+that the farmer hoped to keep him a long time in his employ. He never
+mentioned that he was born a slave; for the idea was always hateful to
+him, and he thought also that circumstances might arise which would
+render it prudent to keep his own secret. He showed little inclination
+for conversation, and occupied every leisure moment in learning to read
+and write. He remained there half a year, without any tidings from his
+wife; for there are many difficulties in the way of slaves communicating
+with each other at a distance. He became sad and restless. His employer
+noticed it, and tried to cheer him up. One day he said to him: "Madison,
+you seem to be discontented. What have you to complain of? Do you think
+you are not treated well here? Or are you dissatisfied with the wages I
+give you?"
+
+"I have no complaint to make of my treatment, sir," replied Madison.
+"You have been just and kind to me; and since you manifest so much
+interest in me, I will tell you what it is that makes me so gloomy."
+
+He then related his story, and told how his heart was homesick for his
+dear Susan. He said she was so handsome that they would ask a high price
+for her, and he had been calculating that it would take him years to
+earn enough to buy her; meanwhile, he knew not what might happen to her.
+There was no law to protect a slave, and he feared all sorts of things;
+especially, he was afraid they might sell her to the far South, where he
+could never trace her. So he said he had made up his mind to go back to
+Virginia and try to bring her away. Mr. Dickson urged him not to attempt
+it. He reminded him of the dangers he would incur: that he would run a
+great risk of getting back into Slavery, and that perhaps he himself
+would be sold to the far South, where he never would be able to
+communicate with his wife. But Madison replied, "I am well aware of
+that, sir; but freedom does me no good unless Susan can share it with
+me."
+
+He accordingly left his safe place of refuge, and started for Virginia.
+He had free-papers made out, which he thought would protect him till he
+arrived in the neighborhood where he was known. He also purchased
+several small files and saws, which he concealed in the lining of his
+clothes. With these tools he thought he could effect his escape from
+prison, if he should be taken up on the suspicion of being a runaway
+slave. Passing through the State of Ohio, he met several who had
+previously seen him on his way to Canada. They all tried to persuade him
+not to go back to Virginia; telling him there were nine chances out of
+ten that he would get caught and carried back into Slavery again. But
+his answer always was, "Freedom does me no good while my wife is a
+slave."
+
+When he came to the region where he was known, he hid in woods and
+swamps during the day, and travelled only in the night. At last he came
+in sight of his master's farm, and hid himself in the woods near by.
+There he remained several days, in a dreadful state of suspense and
+anxiety. He could not contrive any means to obtain information
+concerning his wife. He was afraid they might have sold her, for fear
+she would follow him. He prowled about in the night, in hopes of seeing
+some old acquaintance, who would tell him whether she was still at the
+old place; but he saw no one whom he could venture to trust. At last
+fortune favored him. One evening he heard many voices singing, and he
+knew by their songs that they were slaves. As they passed up the road,
+he came out from the woods and joined them. There were so many of them
+that the addition of one more was not noticed. He found that they were
+slaves from several plantations, who had permits from their masters to
+go to a corn-shucking. They were merry, for they were expecting to have
+a lively time and a comfortable supper. Being a moonless evening, they
+could not see Madison's face, and he was careful not to let them
+discover who he was. He went with them to the corn-shucking; and,
+keeping himself in the shadow all the time, he contrived, in the course
+of conversation, to find out all he wanted to know. Susan was not sold,
+and she was living in the same house where he had left her. He was
+hungry, for he had been several days without food, except such as he
+could pick up in the woods; but he did not dare to show his face at the
+supper, where dozens would be sure to recognize him. So he skulked away
+into the woods again, happy in the consciousness that his Susan was not
+far off.
+
+He resolved to attempt to see her the next night. He was afraid to tap
+at her window after all the people in the Great House were abed and
+asleep; for, as she supposed he was in Canada, he thought she might be
+frightened and call somebody. He therefore ventured to approach her room
+in the evening. Unfortunately, the overseer saw him, and called a number
+of whites, who rushed into the room just as he entered it. He fought
+hard, and knocked down three of them in his efforts to escape. But they
+struck at him with their bowie-knives till he was so faint with loss of
+blood that he could resist no longer. They chained him and carried him
+to Richmond, where he was placed in the jail. His prospects were now
+dreary enough. His long-cherished hope of being reunited to his dear
+wife vanished away in the darkness of despair.
+
+There was a slave-trader in Richmond buying a gang of slaves for the
+market of New Orleans. Madison Washington was sold to him, and carried
+on board the brig Creole, owned by Johnson and Eperson, of Richmond, and
+commanded by Captain Enson. The brig was lying at the dock waiting for
+her cargo, which consisted of tobacco, hemp, flax, and slaves. There
+were two separate cabins for the slaves: one for the men and the other
+for the women. Some of the poor creatures belonged to Johnson and
+Eperson, some to Thomas McCargo, and some to Henry Hewell. Each had a
+little private history of separation and sorrow. There was many a
+bleeding heart there, beside the noble heart that was throbbing in the
+bosom of Madison Washington. His purchasers saw that he was intelligent,
+and they knew that he was sold for having escaped to Canada. He was
+therefore chained to the floor of the cabin and closely watched. He
+seemed quiet and even cheerful, and they concluded that he was
+reconciled to his fate. On the contrary, he was never further from such
+a state of mind. He closely observed the slaves who were in the cabin
+with him. His discriminating eye soon selected those whom he could
+trust. To them he whispered that there were more than a hundred slaves
+on board, and few whites. He had his saws and files still hidden in the
+lining of his clothes. These were busily used to open their chains,
+while the captain and crew were asleep. They still continued to wear
+their chains, and no one suspected that they could slip their hands and
+feet out at their pleasure.
+
+When the Creole had been nine days out they encountered rough weather.
+Most of the slaves were sea-sick, and therefore were not watched so
+closely as usual. On the night of November 7, 1841, the wind was blowing
+hard. The captain and mate were on deck, and nearly all the crew. Mr.
+Henry Hewell, one of the owners of the cargo of slaves, who had formerly
+been a slave-driver on a plantation, was seated on the companion,
+smoking a cigar. The first watch had just been summoned, when Madison
+Washington sprang on deck, followed by eighteen other slaves. They
+seized whatever they could find to use as weapons. Hewell drew a pistol
+from under his coat, fired at one of the slaves and killed him. Madison
+Washington struck at him with a capstan-bar, and he fell dead at his
+feet. The first and second mates both attacked Madison at once. His
+strong arms threw them upon the deck wounded, but not killed. He fought
+for freedom, not for revenge; and as soon as they had disarmed the
+whites and secured them safely, he called out to his accomplices not to
+shed blood. With his own hands he dressed the wounds of the crew, and
+told them they had nothing to fear if they would obey his orders. The
+man who had been a chained slave half an hour before was now master of
+the vessel, and his grateful companions called him Captain Washington.
+Being ignorant of navigation, he told Merritt, the first mate, that he
+should have the freedom of the deck, if he would take an oath to carry
+the brig faithfully into the nearest port of the British West Indies;
+and he was afraid to do otherwise.
+
+The next morning Captain Washington ordered the cook to prepare the best
+breakfast the store-room could furnish, for it was his intention to give
+all the freed slaves a good meal. The women, who had been greatly
+frightened by the tumult the night before, were glad enough to come out
+of their close cabin into the fresh air. And who do you think was among
+them? Susan, the beautiful young wife of Madison, was there! She had
+been accused of communicating with her husband in Canada, and being
+therefore considered a dangerous person, she had been sold to the
+slave-trader to be carried to the market of New Orleans. Neither of them
+knew that the other was on board. With a cry of surprise and joy they
+rushed into each other's arms. The freed slaves threw up their caps and
+hurrahed again and again, till the sea-gulls wondered at the noise. O,
+it was a joyful, joyful time! Captain Washington was repaid for all he
+had suffered. He had gained his own liberty, after having struggled for
+it in vain for years; he had freed a hundred and thirty-four of his
+oppressed brethren and sisters; and he had his beloved Susan in his
+arms, carrying her to a land where the laws would protect their domestic
+happiness. He felt richer at that moment than any king with a golden
+crown upon his head.
+
+There had been but two lives lost. One white man was killed in the
+affray, and he was the slave-driver who shot down one of the slaves.
+Captain Enson and others who were wounded were kindly cared for by
+Captain Washington. They proved ungrateful, and tried to regain
+possession of the vessel and the slaves. The blacks were so exasperated
+by this attempt, that they wanted to kill all the whites on board. But
+Captain Washington called out to them: "We have got our liberty, and
+that is all we have been fighting for. Let no more blood be shed! I have
+promised to protect these men. They have shown that they are not worthy
+of it; but let us be magnanimous."
+
+Next morning the Creole arrived at Nassau, in the island of New
+Providence. Captain Washington and his companions sprang out upon free
+soil. There he and his beloved Susan are living under the protection of
+laws which make no distinctions on account of complexion.
+
+
+
+
+EXTRACT FROM THE VIRGINIA BILL OF RIGHTS.
+
+
+"The election of members to serve as representatives of the people in
+Assembly ought to be free; and all men having sufficient evidence of
+permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community have
+the right of suffrage; and they cannot be taxed, or deprived of their
+property for public uses, without their own consent, or that of their
+representatives so elected; nor can they be bound by any law to which
+they have not assented, in like manner, for the public good."
+
+The Virginia Bill of Rights was unanimously adopted by the people, in
+June, 1776; and when they met, in January, 1830, to amend the
+constitution of the State, they voted that the Bill of Rights needed no
+amendment.
+
+
+
+
+PRAISE OF CREATION.
+
+BY GEORGE HORTON.
+
+
+    Creation fires my tongue!
+      Nature, thy anthems raise,
+    And spread the universal song
+      Of thy Creator's praise.
+
+    When each revolving wheel
+      Assumed its sphere sublime,
+    Submissive Earth then heard the peal,
+      And struck the march of time.
+
+    The march in heaven begun,
+      And splendor filled the skies,
+    When Wisdom bade the morning sun
+      With joy from chaos rise.
+
+    The angels heard the tune
+      Throughout creation ring;
+    They seized their golden harps as soon,
+      And touched on every string.
+
+    When time and space were young,
+      And music rolled along,
+    The morning stars together sung,
+      And heaven was drowned in song.
+
+
+
+
+FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+Captain Anthony owned two or three farms on the eastern shore of
+Maryland, and held about thirty slaves. One of them, a black woman named
+Betsy, married a free black man named Isaac Baily; and they had a
+numerous family of children, all of whom were, of course, slaves to
+Captain Anthony. When she became an old widow she lived in a hut
+separate from the other slaves, and was principally employed in nursing
+troops of babies, which her children brought into the world for the
+benefit of their master. Somewhere about the year 1817, Harriet, the
+youngest of her five daughters, gave birth to a boy, on whom she
+bestowed the high-sounding name of Frederick Augustus Washington Baily.
+As she could not be spared from field-work, baby Frederick joined the
+band of little slaves that were under his grandmother's care. Her hut
+was made of logs, with no windows, a clay floor, and a mud chimney. But
+the children were as well satisfied with it as if it had been a palace.
+They were too young to know that they were slaves, and they were as
+happy as little wild animals. They imitated the noises made by cats,
+dogs, pigs, and barn-yard fowls, and rolled over and over on the ground,
+laughing at their own fun. If the mud or dust made them uncomfortable,
+they walked into the river without undressing; for the short tow shirt,
+which was their only garment, was washed by swimming, and soon dried in
+the sunshine. There was a wood close by, and it was one of their
+greatest pleasures to watch the squirrels as they frisked about, or sat
+on the stumps eating nuts. Near the hut was a well, with its beam placed
+between the boughs of an old tree, and so well balanced that the
+children could easily help themselves to water. Down in a valley, not
+far off, was a water-mill, where people went to get their corn ground.
+It was capital sport to play at fishing in the mill-pond, with thread
+lines, and hooks made of bent pins; and they were never tired of seeing
+the big wheel turn round, throwing off great drops of water that
+sparkled in the sunshine. They lived mostly on corn mush, which they ate
+from a big wooden tray, with oyster-shells for spoons. But they were as
+healthy as little pigs, and enjoyed their coarse food as well.
+
+The greatest of their blessings was their good grandmother, who nursed
+them kindly and did all she could to make them happy. They loved her
+dearly; and when she was obliged to leave them for a short time, they
+greeted her return with merry shouts. She was advanced in years, and the
+hair that peeped from under the folds of her turban was very gray. But
+she was remarkably strong for her age, straight in her figure, and quick
+in her motions. She was very expert at catching fish, and sometimes
+spent half the day in the water. She also made excellent nets to catch
+shad and herring; and, as these nets sold extremely well, Captain
+Anthony still found the old slave profitable. She had the name of being
+born to good luck, because whatever business she undertook prospered in
+her hands. She raised such excellent sweet potatoes that people often
+sent for her to plant for them, saying, "If Gran'ma Betty touches them
+they'll be sure to flourish." But the secret of her good luck was her
+intelligence and carefulness. When she dug potatoes she took pains not
+to cut or bruise them; and in winter she protected them from frost in a
+hole under her hearth.
+
+Freddy's poor mother was not allowed the comfort of being with her
+child. She was let out to work in the fields, twelve miles off. Whenever
+she went to see her little boy she had to walk over all those miles
+twice in the night-time, after a hard day's work; for if she was not
+back in the field by sunrise she was severely whipped. Freddy saw her
+but four or five times, and never by daylight. Sometimes she would lie
+down beside him and talk to him till he fell asleep, but when he woke
+she was always gone. He always remembered that she once took him on her
+knee and gave him a cake in the shape of a heart. Her rare visits made
+such an impression on him that he never forgot her personal appearance.
+She was tall and finely proportioned, with regular features and a deep
+black glossy complexion. Her manners were very sedate, her countenance
+downcast, and her eyes very sad. When he was nearly seven years old she
+died; but he knew nothing about it till long afterward. In later years
+he heard that she could read, and that she was the only one of all the
+slaves in the neighborhood who possessed that advantage. He never
+discovered how she had learned. When she died he was too young to have
+heard anything from her lips concerning his father. He was always told
+that he was the son of a white man, and some whispered the name of his
+master. But he never knew who was his father, and could only conjecture
+why the eyes of his poor mother had such a sad expression.
+
+Captain Anthony did not carry on any of his own farms. He employed
+overseers for that purpose; and however cruelly the slaves might be
+treated by the overseers, they never could obtain any protection by
+applying to the "old master," as they called him. All the interest he
+took in them was to have as much work as possible forced out of them,
+and to sell one every year to add to his income. He himself managed the
+affairs of Colonel Lloyd, a wealthy gentleman with numerous plantations
+and a thousand slaves. His home-plantation, on the river Miles, where he
+resided with his family, was about twelve miles from the hut where
+Frederick had been nursed. His manager, Captain Anthony, lived in a
+house on the same plantation, and was personally a stranger to his own
+little slaves. But the children had seen and heard of things which made
+the name of the "old master" a terror to them. Frederick's first great
+trouble was when he discovered that he was a slave, and that, as soon as
+he was big enough to work, he would have to go to "old master." Nothing
+could exceed his dread of leaving the dear old home, and being separated
+from the kind friend of his childhood. When he was about eight years
+old, Captain Anthony sent for him; but his grandmother kept it a secret,
+knowing how it would frighten him. One bright summer morning she told
+him she was going to Colonel Lloyd's plantation, and invited him to go
+with her. He had a curiosity to see the grand place of which he had
+heard so much; so she took him by the hand and led him away from the
+happy home of his childhood, to which he never returned. She carefully
+concealed from him how her heart was swelling, and her tender ways did
+not lead him to suspect it. When the unconscious little boy began to be
+overcome with fatigue she "toted" him on her strong shoulders. She
+scarcely seemed to feel the burden, and insisted upon carrying him a
+long way; but he felt too much of a man to permit it. He was, however,
+a little afraid as they walked through the thick, dark woods; for
+sometimes the old knotted and gnarled stumps, when seen from a distance,
+looked like creatures with eyes and legs; and he kept a tight hold of
+her gown till the monstrous things were safely passed.
+
+It was afternoon before they reached the famous Home Plantation of
+Colonel Lloyd. There he found everything very different from the
+solitude and poverty to which he had been accustomed. The plantation
+seemed like a village, there were so many large houses, and stables, and
+out-buildings, and mechanics' shops, and such a long row of huts for the
+"slaves' quarters." Children were shouting and singing, and a great many
+men and women were hoeing in the fields. The children came crowding
+round Frederick, and asked him to go and play with them. He looked in
+his grandmother's face, and seeing that she seemed very sad, he begun to
+suspect that he was going to live with the "old master." He was
+unwilling to lose sight of her for a moment; but she patted him on the
+head, and said, "Be a good boy, and go and play with the children. That
+one is your brother Perry, that is your sister Sarah, and that is your
+sister Eliza." He had heard of these brothers and sisters before, but he
+had never seen them, and they seemed like strangers. He kept close to
+his grandmother; but at last she persuaded him to follow the children to
+the back part of the house. He felt so shy that he stood leaning against
+the wall, looking on, while the others played. After a while, a little
+boy, who had been left in the kitchen, ran up to him, exclaiming, "Fed!
+Fed! Grandmammy's gone!" He rushed after her, and when he found that she
+was gone far out of sight, he threw himself on the ground and sobbed.
+His brother and sisters brought him peaches and pears, but he flung them
+away, and continued sobbing, till, overcome with sorrow and fatigue, he
+fell into a deep sleep.
+
+As Colonel Lloyd's plantation was not near any town, the barrels,
+wheels, shoes, and cloth that were needed by the numerous slaves were
+manufactured by themselves. Large crops of grain and tobacco were raised
+and shipped for Baltimore. All the business of twenty or thirty other
+farms was transacted at this plantation, which was distinguished by the
+name of "The Great House Farm"; and as Captain Anthony was overseer of
+all the overseers, he was kept very busy all the time. He took no notice
+of Freddy at first, but when told who the newcomer was, he patted him on
+the head and said, "You are my little Indian boy." Occasionally when he
+met him he would speak affectionately to him; but he was a
+violent-tempered man, and Freddy soon learned to watch him closely when
+he saw him coming. If he was shaking his head or muttering to himself,
+he hastened to get out of his way, lest he should catch a blow without
+knowing what it was for. The slave children had no one to care for them
+but cross Katy, the cook, who cuffed them about, and kept all, except
+her own children, in such a half-starved condition, that Freddy often
+had a tussle with the dogs and cats for the bones that were thrown to
+them. Summer and winter, they had no clothing but a coarse tow shirt
+that reached to the knees. They were provided with two a year; and if
+they wore out before allowance-day came round, they went naked. They
+slept anywhere on the floor without covering. Freddy suffered much from
+cold. His naked feet were cracked open in great gashes in the winter.
+When he could get a chance, he would creep into the meal-bag at night.
+So much for the care taken of their bodies; and it fared no better with
+their souls. All the instruction they received was from Uncle Isaac, a
+crippled slave, who, being unable to work, taught the children to say
+the Lord's Prayer after him by rote, and switched them whenever they
+made a mistake.
+
+But Freddy was at an age to bear privations and troubles lightly, and to
+enjoy thoughtlessly whatever pleasant things came in his way. He had
+never seen anything so grand as The Great House, in which Colonel Lloyd
+resided. It was a large white building, with piazza and columns in
+front, surrounded by arbors, and grain-houses, and turkey-houses, and
+pigeon-houses, interspersed with grand old trees. There was an extensive
+lawn, kept as smooth as velvet, and ornamented with flowering shrubs.
+The carriage-road to and from the house made a circle round the lawn,
+and was paved with white pebbles from the beach. Outside of this
+enclosed space were extensive parks, where rabbits, deer, and other wild
+animals frisked about. Flocks of red-winged blackbirds made the trees
+look gay, and filled the air with melody. Vessels on their way to
+Baltimore were continually in sight, and a sloop belonging to Colonel
+Lloyd lay in the river, with its pretty little boat bobbing about in the
+sparkling water. There was a windmill not far off, and the little slaves
+were never tired of watching the great wings go whirling round. There
+was a creek to swim in, and crabs and clams and oysters to be got by
+wading and digging and raking for them. Freddy was glad enough to catch
+them when he had a chance, for he never had half enough to eat. He had
+one friend at The Great House. Daniel Lloyd, the Colonel's youngest
+son, liked to have him assist in his sports. He protected him when
+bigger boys wanted to make war upon him, and sometimes he gave him a
+cake. Captain Anthony's family consisted of a son, Andrew, and a
+daughter, Lucretia, who had married Captain Thomas Auld. Mrs. Lucretia
+took a fancy to bright little Freddy. She liked to hear him sing, and
+often spoke a kind word to him. This emboldened him so much, that when
+he was very hungry he would go and sing under the window where she sat
+at work, and she would generally give him a piece of bread, sometimes
+with butter on it. That was a great treat for a boy who was fed all the
+time on corn mush, and could not get half enough of that. His business
+was to clean the front yard, to keep fowls out of the garden, to drive
+the cows home from pasture, and to run of errands. He had a good deal of
+time to play with his little relatives, and with the young slaves at
+Colonel Lloyd's, who called him "Captain Anthony Fed." He was such a
+mere boy, that it is no wonder so many new people and things soon cured
+him of homesickness for his grandmother, who could very seldom get time
+to trudge twelve miles to see him.
+
+But though his slave-life was not without gleams of enjoyment, he saw
+and heard much that was painful. At one time he would see Colonel Lloyd
+compel a faithful old slave get down upon his knees to be flogged for
+not keeping the hair of his horses sufficiently smooth. At another time,
+the overseer would shoot a slave dead for refusing to come up to be
+whipped. Ever and anon some of them were sold to Georgia slave-traders,
+and there was weeping and wailing in the families they left behind. On
+the premises of his own master, he was not unfrequently wakened in the
+night by the screams and groans of slaves who were being lashed. One of
+Captain Anthony's slaves, named Esther, was the sister of Freddy's
+mother. She had a pretty face and a graceful shape. She and a handsome
+young slave of Colonel Lloyd's were much attached, and wished to marry.
+But her old master, for reasons of his own, forbade her to see her
+lover, and if he suspected them of meeting he would abuse the poor girl
+in a most shocking manner. Freddy was too young at the time to
+understand the full significance of this cruel treatment; but when he
+thought of it in after years, it explained to him why his poor mother
+had always looked so downcast and sad. As for himself, he managed to
+escape very severe punishment, though Captain Anthony not unfrequently
+whipped him for some carelessness or mischief. But when he saw the
+plantation-laborers, even of so rich a man as Colonel Lloyd, driven out
+to toil from early morning to dusk, shivering in the cold winds, or
+dripping with rain, with no covering but a few coarse tow rags, he could
+not help thinking that such was likely to be his fate when he was older.
+Young as he was, he had a great dread of being a field-hand. Therefore
+he was rejoiced when Mrs. Lucretia told him he was to be sent to
+Baltimore, to live with her husband's brother, Mr. Hugh Auld. She told
+him if he would make himself very clean, she would give him a pair of
+new trousers. The prospect of exchanging his little tow shirt for new
+trousers delighted him so much that he was ready to scrub his skin off
+to obtain them. He was, moreover, very eager to see Baltimore; for
+slaves who had been there told fine stories about the grand houses and
+the multitude of ships. He had been only two years at Captain Anthony's,
+and he had formed no attachment so strong as that he had felt for his
+old grandmother. It was with a joyful heart that he went forth to view
+the wonders of the city. When he arrived in Baltimore, his new mistress
+met him at the door with a pleasant smile. She said to her son, "There's
+little Freddy, who has come to take care of you"; and to him she said,
+"You must be kind to little Tommy." Mrs. Sophia Auld had earned her own
+living before her marriage, and she had not yet acquired the ways of
+slaveholders toward servants. While her own little Tommy was on her
+knee, Freddy was often seated by her side, and sometimes her soft hand
+would rest upon his head in a kind, motherly way. He had never been
+treated so since he left his good old grandmother. In a very short time
+he loved her with all his heart, and was eager to do anything to please
+her. It was his business to go of errands and take care of Tommy. The
+boys became as much attached to each other as if they were brothers.
+There was nothing to remind Freddy of being a slave. He had plenty of
+wholesome food to eat, clean clothes to wear, and a good straw bed with
+warm covering. Mrs. Auld was much in the habit of singing hymns and
+reading the Bible aloud; and Freddy, who was not at all afraid of "Miss
+Sophy," as he called her, said to her one day that he wished she would
+teach him to read. She consented; and he was so quick at learning that
+he was soon able to spell small words. His kind mistress was so much
+pleased with his progress, that she told her husband about it, and
+remarked, with much satisfaction, that Freddy would soon be able to read
+the Bible. Mr. Auld was displeased, and forbade her giving any more
+lessons. "It is contrary to law to teach a nigger to read," said he. "It
+is unsafe, and can only lead to mischief. If you teach him to read the
+Bible, it will make him discontented, and there will be no keeping him.
+Next thing, he will be wanting to learn to write; and then he'll be
+running away with himself." This was said in the presence of Freddy, and
+it set his active mind to thinking. He had often before wondered why
+black children were born to be slaves; and now he heard his master say
+that if he learned to read it would spoil him for a slave. He resolved
+that he _would_ learn to read. He carried a spelling-book in his pocket
+when he went of errands, and persuaded some of the white boys who played
+with him to give him a lesson now and then. He was soon able to read.
+With some money that he earned for himself, he bought a book called "The
+Columbian Orator." It contained many speeches about liberty. The reading
+of them made him discontented. He was no longer light-hearted and full
+of fun. He became thoughtful and serious. When he played with white
+boys, he would ask, "Why haven't I as good a right to be free, and go
+where I please, as you have?" And sometimes a generous-hearted boy would
+answer, "I believe, Fred, you _have_ just as good a right to be free as
+I have."
+
+He knew that his present situation was uncommonly favorable; but the
+idea of being a slave for life became more and more hateful to him. He
+had not been in Baltimore quite four years when an event occurred which
+proved to him the extreme uncertainty of a slave's condition, even when
+circumstances seemed the most favorable. His old master, Captain
+Anthony, died; and his slaves were to be divided between his son Andrew
+and his daughter Mrs. Lucretia Auld. Frederick was in terror lest it
+should be decided that he belonged to Andrew, who was a confirmed
+drunkard, and excessively cruel to the slaves. It was a month before the
+division of the estate was decided by law; and the anxiety of his mind
+was so great that it seemed to him half a year. He felt as if saved from
+sentence of death, when he was informed that he belonged to Mrs.
+Lucretia, who had been kind to him in his hungry boyhood. As she had no
+occasion for his services, it was agreed that he should remain in Mr.
+Hugh Auld's family; a circumstance which pleased Master Tom and his
+mother about as much as it did Freddy.
+
+But in a short time he was again painfully reminded of the uncertainty
+of his condition. Mrs. Lucretia and her brother Andrew both died, each
+of them leaving one child. Neither Captain Anthony nor his children left
+any of the slaves free. Even Frederick's old grandmother, who had nursed
+her master when he was a baby, waited upon him through his boyhood,
+worked faithfully for him during all her life, and reared up a multitude
+of children and grandchildren to toil for him,--even she was left in
+Slavery, with no provision made for her. The children she had tended so
+lovingly were sold, or let out in distant places; all were unable to
+write to inform her where they had gone; all were unable to help her,
+because they were not allowed to have their own earnings. When her old
+master and his children were dead, the owners of the property thought
+Gran'ma Betty was too old to be of any further use; so they put up a hut
+with a mud chimney in the woods, and left her there to find food for
+herself as she could, with no mortal to render her any service in her
+dying hour. This brutal proceeding increased the bitterness of
+Frederick's feeling against Slavery.
+
+By the blessing of God the consolations of religion came to him, and
+enabled him to look beyond this troubled and transitory world. A pious
+colored man, called Uncle Lawson, became interested in him. They
+attended prayer-meetings together, and Frederick often went to his house
+on Sundays. They had refreshing times together, reading the Bible,
+praying, and singing hymns. Uncle Lawson saw that his young friend had
+uncommon intelligence, and he often said to him, "The Lord has a great
+work for you to do, and you must prepare yourself for it." Frederick
+replied that he did not see how a slave could prepare himself for any
+great work; but the pious old man always answered, "Trust in the Lord.
+He will bring it about in his own good time. You must go on reading and
+studying Scripture." This prophecy inspired him with hope, and he seized
+every opportunity to improve himself. But he had many obstacles to
+contend with. His master, Mr. Hugh Auld, was made irritable by an
+increasing love for brandy. When he found out that Frederick read and
+spoke at religious meetings, he threatened to flog him if he continued
+to do it. His kind mistress, who used to pat him on the head and call
+him "Little Freddy," was changed by the habit of having slaves and
+talking with slaveholders. The pleasant, motherly expression of her face
+had become severe. She watched Frederick very closely, and if she caught
+him with a book or newspaper in his hand, she would rush at him in a
+great rage and snatch it away. Master Tommy had grown to be a tall lad,
+and began to feel that he was born to be a master and Fred to be a
+slave. Frederick would probably have tried to run away, had it not been
+for the friendships he had formed for Uncle Lawson and the religious
+young men he met at the meetings. Notwithstanding his master's threat,
+he contrived to find opportunities to read and pray with good Uncle
+Lawson; and it had a blessed influence on his spirit, making him feel at
+peace with all men. Now that he had a taste of knowledge, it was
+impossible to prevent his getting more. His master sent him of errands
+to the shipyard almost daily. He noticed that the carpenters marked
+their boards with letters. He asked the name of the letters, and copied
+them with a bit of chalk. When the family went from home, he diligently
+copied from the writing-books Master Tommy had brought from school; and
+his zeal was so great that in a short time he could write as well as his
+master. He picked up bits of newspapers wherever he could find them, and
+he listened attentively when he heard slaveholders talking about the
+Northern States and cursing the Abolitionists. He did not at first know
+what was the meaning of "abolitionists"; but when he read in a newspaper
+that petitions were sent into Congress for the abolition of Slavery,
+light dawned upon him. He told trustworthy colored friends about it, and
+they were comforted by the thought that there were people at the North
+trying to help them out of bondage.
+
+But a new blow fell upon him. Captain Thomas Auld married again, after
+the death of his wife Mrs. Lucretia, and removed to St. Michael's,--an
+old village, the principal business of which was oyster fishing. He got
+into a quarrel with his brother, Mr. Hugh Auld of Baltimore, and
+demanded that Frederick should be sent back to him. So he was put on
+board a ship for St. Michael's. When swift steamboats on their way to
+Philadelphia passed the sloop that carried him, he bitterly regretted
+that he had not escaped to the Free States from Baltimore, where he
+could have had so many more opportunities for doing it than he could at
+the old fishing-village. Captain Thomas Auld and his new wife were both
+great professors of religion. He was an exhorter and class-leader in the
+Methodist Church. But their religion was not of a kind that taught them
+humanity to their fellow-creatures. They worked their slaves very hard,
+and kept them half fed and half clothed. Scolding and flogging were
+going on incessantly. Frederick soon discovered that they were violently
+opposed to colored people's knowing how to read; but when a pious young
+man in the neighborhood asked him to assist in a Sunday school for
+colored children, he resolved to seize the opportunity of being useful.
+When his master found out what he was doing, he was very angry; and the
+next Sunday he and two other Methodist class-leaders went to the school,
+armed with clubs and whips, and drove off both teachers and scholars. It
+was agreed that Frederick had been spoiled by living in Baltimore, and
+that it was necessary to cure him of his dangerous thirst for knowledge.
+For that purpose he was sent to a famous "negro-breaker" in the
+neighborhood named Covey. He was a great professor of religion, but a
+monster of cruelty. Frederick was almost killed by hard labor, and not a
+week passed without his being cruelly cut up with the whip. Escape was
+impossible, for Covey was on the watch at all times of day and night.
+Six months of such treatment wellnigh crushed all manhood out of him.
+But cruelty was carried so far that at last he became desperate, and
+when his master attempted to beat him, he struggled with him and threw
+him down. He expected to be hung for it, according to the laws of
+Maryland; but Covey prided himself on his reputation as a
+"negro-breaker," and he was ashamed to have it known that he had been
+conquered by a lad of seventeen. Frederick's time was not out for six
+months longer, but Covey never attempted to whip him again.
+
+The next two years Frederick was let out to do field-work for Mr.
+Freeland, who fed his slaves well, and never worked them beyond their
+strength. Some of his slaves were intelligent, and desirous to learn to
+read. On Sundays they had meetings in the woods, and twenty or thirty
+young men were taught by Frederick. After a while they formed a plan of
+escaping in a canoe. But some unknown men excited suspicion against
+them, and they were seized and thrust into prison. They kept their
+secrets so well, however, that no proof could be obtained against them,
+and they were released without even a whipping. But some of the
+neighboring slaveholders said Frederick was a dangerous fellow; that he
+knew too much,--they would not have him tampering with their slaves; and
+if he was not sent out of the neighborhood they would shoot him. Captain
+Thomas Auld talked of selling him to Alabama; but he finally concluded
+to let him out again to his brother Hugh, with a promise that if he
+behaved well he should be free at twenty-five years old.
+
+When he returned to Baltimore he was let out to work at calking vessels;
+and he soon became so expert at the business that he earned from seven
+to nine dollars a week. He was trusted to make his own contracts, but
+was required to pay Mr. Hugh Auld his earnings every Saturday night. On
+such occasions a sixpence or a shilling was sometimes given him, for
+which he was expected to be grateful; but it naturally occurred to him
+that the whole of the money rightfully belonged to him who earned it. He
+was attached to a worthy girl named Anna, but he was reluctant to form
+family ties while he was subject to the vicissitudes of Slavery. He
+often thought of escaping to the Free States, but the regulations were
+so strict that it seemed a hopeless undertaking, unless he had money.
+When Captain Thomas Auld visited Baltimore, he tried to make a bargain
+with him to buy his time for a specified sum each week, being free to
+earn as much more as he could. The reply was, "You are planning to run
+away. But, wherever you go, I shall catch you." The master then tried to
+coax him with promises of freedom in the future; but Frederick thought
+it very uncertain when they would be willing to give up a man who
+brought them in nine dollars a week. He concluded to go to the Free
+States. How he accomplished it he never told, for he was afraid of
+bringing trouble upon those who helped him.
+
+When he arrived in New York, he says he felt as he should suppose a man
+would feel who had escaped from a den of hungry lions. But the joyful
+feeling was soon checked. He met an acquaintance who had recently
+escaped from Slavery. He told him the city was full of Southerners, who
+had agents out in every direction to catch runaway slaves; and then he
+hurried away, as if afraid of being betrayed. This made Frederick feel
+very desolate. He was afraid to seek employment as a calker, lest spies
+from his master should be on the watch for him. He bought a loaf of
+bread, and hid away for the night among some barrels on a wharf. In the
+morning, he met a sailor, who looked so good-natured and honest that he
+ventured to tell him he was a fugitive slave, and to ask him for advice.
+He was not deceived in the expression of the man's face. He invited him
+to his house, and went in search of Mr. David Ruggles, a worthy colored
+man, well known as a zealous friend of his oppressed race. The fugitive
+was kept hidden for a few days, during which time Anna was sent for, and
+they were married. By help of Mr. Ruggles, employment at calking was
+obtained in New Bedford, a large town in Massachusetts, where a great
+many ships are constantly employed. There he found many intelligent
+colored people, not a few of whom had been slaves. They lived in
+convenient houses, took newspapers, bought books, and sent their
+children to good schools. They had various societies for improvement;
+and when he attended their meetings, he was surprised to hear their
+spirited discussions on various subjects. His bright mind was roused
+into full activity by the influences around him. He changed his name to
+Frederick Douglass. He was called Mr. Douglass now, and felt like it. He
+worked hard, but that was a pleasure, now that he could enjoy his own
+earnings. He felt safe; for there were so many Abolitionists and so many
+intelligent colored people in New Bedford, that slaveholders did not
+venture to go there to hunt for fugitives. The cruel treatment he had
+received from hypocritical professors of religion had not destroyed his
+faith in the excellence of real religion. He joined a church of colored
+people, called Zion Methodists, and became a class-leader and preacher
+among them. He took a newspaper called "The Liberator," edited by
+William Lloyd Garrison, wherein he found the rights of the colored
+people vindicated with great zeal and ability. His wife proved a neat
+and industrious helpmate, and a little family of children began to
+gather round him. Thus furnished with healthy employment for his mind,
+his heart, and his hands, he lived over three years in New Bedford.
+
+At the end of that period, in the year 1841, a great Anti-Slavery
+meeting was held in the vicinity, and Mr. Douglass went to hear Mr.
+Garrison and others speak. He did not suppose that any one in the
+meeting knew him; but a gentleman was present who had heard him preach
+in Zion Church, and he went to him and urged him to address the
+Anti-Slavery meeting. He was bashful about speaking before such a large
+and intelligent audience; and when he was persuaded to mount the
+platform he trembled in every limb. But what he said flowed right out
+from the depths of his heart; and when people of any intelligence speak
+in that way, they are always eloquent. The audience were greatly moved
+by what he told them of his experiences. It was the beginning of a great
+change in his life. The Anti-Slavery Society employed him to travel in
+the Free States to lecture against Slavery; and that you may be sure he
+could do with a will. Crowds went to hear him, and his ministration was
+greatly blessed. The prophecy of good Uncle Lawson was fulfilled. The
+Lord _had_ a great work for him to do; and in His own good time he had
+brought it about.
+
+People who were in favor of Slavery said he was an impostor; that he did
+not look like a slave, or speak like a slave; and that they did not
+believe he had ever been in the Southern States. To prove that he was
+not an impostor he wrote and published an account of his life, with the
+names of his masters and the places where they resided. The book was
+ably written, and produced almost as great an effect as his lectures.
+Slaveholders were very angry that one of their escaped chattels should
+produce such an excitement. There was great danger that some of their
+agents would kidnap him as he went about the country lecturing. It was
+therefore concluded that he had better go to England. In 1845 he took
+passage for Liverpool in the English steamship Cambria. He was invited
+to deliver a lecture on deck. Some slaveholders from New Orleans and
+Georgia, who were a little under the influence of brandy, swore they
+would throw him overboard if he did; but the captain of the vessel
+threatened to put them in irons if they behaved in a disorderly manner.
+When they arrived in England they tried to injure Mr. Douglass by
+publishing that he was an insolent, lying negro; but their efforts only
+served to make him famous. He delivered a great number of lectures, and
+attracted crowds everywhere. In the Free States of his own country he
+had been excluded from many places of improvement, and often insulted on
+account of his color; but he had no such prejudice to encounter in
+England. He behaved like a gentleman, and was treated like a gentleman.
+Many distinguished and wealthy people invited him to their houses, as a
+mark of respect for his natural abilities and the efforts he had made to
+improve himself. But he felt that his labors were needed in America, in
+behalf of his oppressed brethren, and he wanted to return. His friends
+in England entered into negotiations with Captain Thomas Auld for the
+purchase of his freedom, which they succeeded in obtaining for little
+more than seven hundred dollars.
+
+After an absence of two years he returned to the United States a
+freeman. He established himself with his family in Rochester, New York.
+There he edited a weekly newspaper, called "The North Star," and from
+time to time travelled about the country to deliver lectures, which were
+always fully attended. After he was free he wrote a spirited letter to
+his old master, Captain Thomas Auld, in which he asks: "What has become
+of my dear old grandmother, whom you turned out, like an old horse, to
+die in the woods? If she is still alive, she must be near eighty years
+old,--too old to be of any service to you. O, she was father and mother
+to me, so far as hard toil for my comfort could make her so. Send her to
+me at Rochester, and it shall be the crowning happiness of my life to
+take care of her in her old age." I never heard that any answer was
+received to this letter.
+
+During the Rebellion Mr. Douglass labored zealously to raise colored
+regiments, and one of his sons enlisted in the service of the United
+States. After the Proclamation of Emancipation he was invited to
+Baltimore, where he delivered an address before a large audience of
+respectable citizens. How different was free Maryland from the
+Slavery-ridden State which he had left, secretly and in terror, nearly
+thirty years before!
+
+
+
+
+HOW THE GOOD WORK GOES ON.
+
+
+In the spring of 1865 an association of colored men was formed in
+Baltimore for moral and intellectual improvement. They bought a building
+formerly used by the Newton University, for which they paid sixteen
+thousand dollars. In honor of their able pioneer, Frederick Douglass,
+they named it "The Douglass Institute." On the day of its dedication he
+delivered an address before the association in Baltimore, in the course
+of which he said: "The mission of this institution is to develop
+manhood; to build up manly character among the colored people of this
+city and State. It is to teach them the true idea of manly independence
+and self-respect. It is to be a dispenser of knowledge, a radiator of
+light. In a word, we dedicate this institution to virtue, temperance,
+knowledge, truth, liberty, and justice."
+
+
+
+
+DEDICATION HYMN.
+
+BY J. M. WHITEFIELD.
+
+     Written for the Vine Street Methodist Episcopal Church of colored
+     people, in Buffalo, N. Y.
+
+
+    God of our sires! before thy throne
+      Our humble offering now we bring;
+    Deign to accept it as thine own,
+      And dwell therein, Almighty King!
+    Around thy glorious throne above
+      Angels and flaming seraphs sing;
+    Archangels own thy boundless love,
+      And cherubim their tribute bring.
+
+    And every swiftly rolling sphere,
+      That wends its way through boundless space,
+    Hymns forth, in chorus loud and clear,
+      Its mighty Maker's power and grace.
+    It is not ours to bear the parts
+      In that celestial song of praise;
+    But here, O Lord! with grateful hearts,
+      This earthly fane to Thee we raise.
+
+    O let thy presence fill this house,
+      And from its portals ne'er depart!
+    Accept, O Lord! the humble vows
+      Poured forth by every contrite heart!
+    No sacrifice of beast or bird,
+      No clouds of incense here shall rise,
+    But, in accordance with thy word
+      We'll bring a holier sacrifice.
+
+    Here shall the hoary-headed sire
+      Invoke thy grace, on bended knee;
+    While youth shall catch the sacred fire,
+      And pour its song of praise to Thee.
+    Let childhood, too, with stammering tongue,
+      Here lisp thy name with reverent awe;
+    And high and low, and old and young,
+      Learn to obey thy holy law.
+
+    And when our spirits shall return
+      Back to the God who gave them birth,
+    And these frail bodies shall be borne
+      To mingle with their kindred earth,--
+    Then, in that house not made with hands,
+      New anthems to thy praise we'll sing,
+    To Thee, who burst our slavish bands,
+      Our Saviour, Prophet, Priest, and King.
+
+
+
+
+A PRAYER.
+
+
+        Grant, O Father, that the time
+      Of earth's deliverance may be near,
+    When every land and tongue and clime
+      The message of Thy love shall hear;
+    When, smitten as with fire from heaven,
+      The captive's chain shall sink in dust,
+    And to his fettered soul be given
+      The glorious freedom of the just.
+
+                  JOHN G. WHITTIER.
+
+
+
+
+WILLIAM AND ELLEN CRAFTS.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+William Crafts is a black man, born in Georgia. His master had the
+reputation of being a humane man and a pious Christian. Yet, when some
+of his slaves were getting old, he had no scruples about selling them
+away from their families, and buying a young lot. Among those sold were
+the father and mother of William. They were sold to different purchasers
+from different places, and never saw each other again. They were much
+attached to each other, and it was a consolation to their son to think
+how happy would be their reunion in another world; for he says he never
+knew people who more humbly placed their trust in God than his parents
+did. William was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker, and his brother to a
+blacksmith; because slaves who worked well at a trade could be let out
+with more profit to their masters, and would also bring a higher price
+if sold. Before their time was out, their master became hard pressed for
+money. Accordingly, he sold the young blacksmith, and mortgaged William
+and his sister, a girl of fourteen. When the time of the mortgage was
+up, their master had no money to redeem them, and they were placed on
+the auction-block, to be sold to the highest bidder. The girl was sold
+first, and bought by a planter who lived some distance in the country.
+William was strongly attached to his sister; and when he saw her put
+into a cart, to be carried away from him forever, it seemed as if his
+heart would burst. He knelt down and begged and entreated to be allowed
+to go and speak to her before she was taken away; but they handled him
+roughly, and ordered him to stay on the auction-block. As he stood there
+awaiting his own fate, he saw the cart moving slowly away. The tears
+were rolling down his sister's cheeks, and she stretched her hands
+toward him with a movement of despair. The thought that he could do
+nothing for her, and that they might never meet more, almost killed him.
+His eyes were blinded with tears; and when he could see again, the cart
+was gone.
+
+He was bought by the man to whom he had been mortgaged, and ordered to
+return to the cabinet-maker's shop to work. After a while his new master
+took him to Macon, where he was let out to work at his trade. There he
+became acquainted with a quadroon girl named Ellen, whom he afterward
+married.
+
+Ellen was the daughter of her master, but her mother was a slave. Her
+handsome dark eyes were apt to attract attention; her hair was straight,
+and her skin was so nearly white that strangers often mistook her for
+one of her master's own white family. This was very vexatious to her
+mistress, who treated her so harshly that the poor child had no comfort
+of her life. When she was eleven years old she was given to a daughter
+of her mistress, who was about to be married to a gentleman living in
+Macon. It was painful to part from her poor mother, but she was glad to
+get away from the incessant cruelty of her old mistress. Her new
+mistress proved more humane. In her service Ellen grew up without being
+exposed to some of the most degrading influences of Slavery.
+
+She and the intelligent young cabinet-maker formed an attachment for
+each other soon after they were acquainted. But Ellen had seen so much
+of the separation of families in Slavery, that she was very reluctant to
+marry. Whenever William said anything about it, she reminded him that
+they were both slaves; and that if they were married either of their
+masters could separate them whenever they chose. William remembered,
+with bitterness of heart, how his father and mother and brother had been
+sold, and how his sister had been torn from him without his being
+allowed to bid her good by. He had not been tortured in his own person,
+but he had seen other slaves cruelly whipped and branded with hot iron,
+hunted and torn by bloodhounds, and even burned alive, merely for trying
+to get their freedom. In view of these things, he had a great horror of
+bringing children into the world to be slaves. He and Ellen often talked
+together about escaping to the North and being married there. But they
+reflected that they would have to travel a thousand miles before they
+could reach any Free State. They knew that bloodhounds and slave-hunters
+would be put upon their track; that if they were taken, they would be
+subjected to terrible tortures; and that, even if they succeeded in
+reaching the Free States, they would still be in danger of being
+delivered up to their masters. They talked over a variety of plans; but
+the prospect of escape seemed so discouraging, that at last they
+concluded to ask their owner's consent to their marriage; and they
+resolved to be as contented as they could in the situation to which they
+were born. But they were too intelligent not to know that a great wrong
+was done to them by keeping them in slavery. William shuddered to think
+into what cruel and licentious hands his dear wife might fall if she
+should be sold by her present owners; and Ellen was filled with great
+anguish whenever she thought what might happen to her children, if she
+should be a mother. They were always thinking and talking about freedom,
+and they often prayed earnestly to God that some way of escape might be
+opened for them.
+
+In December, 1848, a bold plan came into William's mind. He thought that
+if his wife were dressed in men's clothes she could easily pass for a
+white gentleman, and that he could accompany her on her travels as her
+negro slave. Ellen, who was very modest and timid, at first shrank from
+the idea. But, after reflecting more upon their hopeless situation, she
+said: "It seems too difficult for us to undertake; but I feel that God
+is on our side, and with His help we may carry it through. We will try."
+
+It was contrary to law for white men in the Southern States to sell
+anything secretly to slaves; but there were always enough ready to do it
+for the sake of getting money,--especially as they knew that no colored
+man was allowed to testify against a white man. William was skilful and
+diligent at his trade; and though his wages all went to his master, he
+had contrived to lay up money by doing jobs for others in extra hours.
+He therefore found little difficulty in buying the various articles of a
+gentleman's dress, at different times and in different parts of the
+town. He had previously made Ellen a chest of drawers, with locks and
+key; and as she was a favorite and trusted slave, she was allowed to
+keep it for her own use in the little room where she slept. As fast as
+the articles were bought they were secretly conveyed to her, and she
+locked them up. The next important thing was to obtain leave of absence
+for a few days. It was near Christmas-time, when kind slaveholders
+sometimes permit favorite slaves to be absent on a visit to friends or
+relatives. But Ellen's services were very necessary to her mistress, and
+she had to ask many times before she could obtain a written permission
+to be gone for a few days. The cabinet-maker for whom William worked was
+persuaded to give him a similar paper, but he charged him to be sure and
+return as soon as the time was up, because he should need him very much.
+There was still another difficulty in the way. Travellers were required
+to register their names at the custom-houses and hotels, and to sign a
+certificate for the slaves who accompanied them. When Ellen remembered
+this, it made her weep bitterly to think that she could not write. But
+in a few moments she wiped her eyes and said, with a smile, "I will
+poultice my right hand and put it in a sling, and then there will be a
+good excuse for asking the officers to write my name for me." When she
+was dressed in her disguise, William thought she could easily pass for a
+white gentleman, only she looked young enough for a mere boy; he
+therefore bought a pair of green spectacles to make her look older. She,
+on her part, was afraid that the smoothness of her chin might betray
+her; she therefore resolved to tie a bandage round her face, as if she
+were troubled with toothache.
+
+In four days after they first thought of the plan, all was in readiness.
+They sat up all night, whispering over to each other the parts they were
+to act in case of various supposable difficulties. William cut off
+Ellen's glossy black hair, according to the fashion of gentlemen. When
+all was carefully arranged, they knelt together and prayed that God
+would protect them through their perilous undertaking. They raised the
+latch of the door very softly, and looked out and listened. Nobody was
+stirring abroad, and all was still. But Ellen trembled and threw herself
+on her husband's breast. There she wept for a few moments, while he
+tried to comfort her with whispered words of encouragement, though he
+also felt that they were going forth into the midst of terrible dangers.
+She soon recovered her calmness, and said, "Let us go." They stepped out
+on tiptoe, shook hands in silence, and parted to go to the railway
+station by different routes. William deemed it prudent to take a short
+cut across the fields, to avoid being recognized; but his wife, who was
+now to pass for his young master, went by the public road. Under the
+name of Mr. William Johnson, she purchased tickets for herself and slave
+for Savannah, which was about two hundred miles off. The porter who took
+charge of the luggage at the station had formerly wished to marry Ellen;
+but her disguise was so complete that he called her "Young massa," and
+respectfully obeyed her orders concerning the baggage. She gave him a
+bit of money for his trouble, and he made his best bow.
+
+The moment William arrived at the station, he hid himself in the "negro
+car" assigned to servants. It was lucky that he did so; for, just before
+the train started, he saw upon the platform the cabinet-maker, who had
+given him a pass for quite a different purpose than an excursion to
+Savannah. He was looking round, as if searching for some one; and
+William afterward heard that he suspected him of attempting to escape.
+Luckily, the train started before he had time to examine the "negro
+car."
+
+Ellen had a narrow escape on her part; for a gentleman who took the seat
+beside her proved to be Mr. Cray, who frequently visited at her
+master's house, and who had known her ever since she was a child. Her
+first thought was that he had come to seize her and carry her back; but
+it soon became evident that he did not recognize her in a gentleman's
+dress, with green spectacles, bandaged face, and her arm in a sling.
+After the cars started, he remarked, "It is a very fine morning, sir."
+Ellen, being afraid that her voice would betray her, continued to look
+out of the window, and made no reply. After a little while, he repeated
+the remark in a louder tone. The passengers who heard him began to
+smile, and Mr. Cray turned away, saying, "I shall not trouble that deaf
+fellow any more." To her great relief, he left the cars at the next
+station.
+
+They arrived at Savannah early in the evening, and William having
+brought his master something to eat, they went on board a steamer bound
+for Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Johnson, as Ellen was now called,
+deemed it most prudent to retire to his berth immediately. William,
+fearing this might seem strange to the other passengers, made a great
+fuss warming flannels and opodeldoc at the stove, informing them that
+his young master was an invalid travelling to Philadelphia in hopes of
+getting cured. He did not tell them the disease was Slavery; he called
+it inflammatory rheumatism. The next morning, at breakfast, Mr. Johnson
+was seated by the captain of the boat, and, as his right hand was tied
+in a sling, his servant, William, cut up his food for him. The captain
+remarked, "You have a very attentive boy, sir; but I advise you to watch
+him like a hawk when you get North. Several gentlemen have lately lost
+valuable niggers among them cut-throat Abolitionists."
+
+A hard-looking slave-trader, with red eyes, and bristly beard, was
+sitting opposite. He laid down a piece of chicken he was eating, and
+with his thumbs stuck in the arm-holes of his waistcoat, said: "I
+wouldn't take a nigger North under no consideration. Now, if you'd like
+to sell that 'ere boy, I'll pay you for him in silver dollars, on this
+'ere board. What do you say, stranger?" Mr. Johnson replied, "I do not
+wish to sell him, sir; I could not get on well without him." "You'll
+_have_ to get on without him, if you take him to the North," continued
+the slave-trader. "I am an older cove than you are, and I reckon I have
+had more dealings with niggers. I tell you, stranger, that boy will
+never do you any good if you take him across Mason and Dixon's line. I
+can see by the cut of his eye that he is bound to run away as soon as he
+can get a chance." Mr. Johnson replied, "I think not, sir. I have great
+confidence in his fidelity." Whereupon the slave-trader began to swear
+about niggers in general. A military officer, who was also travelling
+with a servant, said to Mr. Johnson: "Excuse me, sir, for saying I think
+you are likely to spoil that boy of yours by saying 'thank you' to him.
+The only way to make a nigger toe the mark, and to keep him in his
+place, is to storm at him like thunder. Don't you see that when I speak
+to my Ned, he darts like lightning? If he didn't, I'd skin him."
+
+When the steamboat arrived at Charleston, the hearts of the fugitives
+beat almost loud enough to be heard; they were so afraid their flight
+had been discovered, and a telegraph sent from Savannah to have them
+arrested. But they passed unnoticed among the crowd. They took a
+carriage and drove to a fashionable hotel, where the invalid gentleman
+received every attention befitting his supposed rank. He was seated at a
+luxurious table in a brilliant dining-room, while William received some
+fragments of food on a broken plate, and was told to go into the
+kitchen. Mr. Johnson gave some pieces of money to the servants who
+waited upon him; and they said to William, "Your massa is a big-bug. He
+is de greatest gentleman dat has been dis way dis six months."
+
+Notwithstanding the favorable impression he had made, Mr. Johnson found
+some difficulty in obtaining tickets to Philadelphia for himself and his
+slave. The master of the ticket-office refused to write the invalid
+gentleman's name for him. But the military officer who had breakfasted
+with him stepped up and said he knew the gentleman, and all was right.
+The captain of the North Carolina steamer hearing this, and not wishing
+to lose a passenger, said, "I will register the gentleman's name, and
+take the responsibility upon myself." Mr. Johnson thanked him politely,
+and the captain remarked: "No disrespect was intended to you, sir; but
+they are obliged to be very strict in Charleston. Some Abolitionist
+might take a valuable nigger along with him, and try to pass him off as
+his slave."
+
+They arrived safely at Wilmington, North Carolina, and took the cars to
+Richmond, Virginia. On the way, an elderly lady in the cars, seeing
+William on the platform, cried out, in great excitement, "There goes my
+nigger Ned!" Mr. Johnson said, very politely, "No, madam, that is my
+boy." But the lady, without paying any attention to what he said, called
+out, "Ned, you runaway rascal, come to me, sir." On nearer inspection
+she perceived that she was mistaken, and said to Mr. Johnson: "I beg
+your pardon, sir. I was sure it was my Ned. I never saw two black pigs
+look more alike."
+
+From Petersburg, a Virginia gentleman with two handsome daughters were
+in the same car with Mr. Johnson. Supposing him to be a rich,
+fashionable young Southerner, they were very attentive and sympathizing.
+The old gentleman told him he knew how to pity him, for he had had
+inflammatory rheumatism himself. He advised him to lie down to rest;
+which he was very willing to do, as a good means of avoiding
+conversation. The ladies took their extra shawls and made a comfortable
+pillow for his head, and their father gave him a piece of paper which he
+said contained directions for curing the rheumatism. The invalid thanked
+him politely; but not knowing how to read, and fearing he might hold the
+paper upside down, prudently put it in his pocket. When they supposed
+him to be asleep, one of the ladies said, "Papa, he seems to be a very
+nice young gentleman"; and the other responded, "I never felt so much
+for any gentleman in my life."
+
+At parting the Virginian gave him his card and said: "I hope you will
+call upon me when you return. I should be much pleased to see you, and
+so would my daughters." He gave ten cents to William, and charged him to
+be attentive to his master. This he promised to do, and he very
+faithfully kept his word.
+
+They arrived at Baltimore with the joyful feeling that they were close
+upon the borders of a Free State. William saw that his master was
+comfortably placed in one of the best cars, and was getting into the
+servants' car when a man tapped him on the shoulder and asked where he
+was going. William replied humbly, "I am going to Philadelphia, sir,
+with my master, who is in the next car." "Then you had better get him
+out, and be mighty quick about it," said the man; "for the train is
+going to start, and no man is allowed to take a slave past here till he
+has satisfied the folks in the office that he has a right to take him
+along."
+
+William felt as if he should drop down on the spot; but he controlled
+himself, and went and asked his master to go back to the office. It was
+a terrible fright. As Mr. Johnson stepped out he whispered, in great
+agitation, "O William, is it possible we shall have to go back to
+Slavery, after all we have gone through?" It was very hard to satisfy
+the station-master. He said if a man carried off a slave that did not
+belong to him, and the rightful owner could prove that he escaped on
+that road, they would be obliged to pay for the slave. Mr. Johnson kept
+up a calm appearance, though his heart was in his throat. "I bought
+tickets at Charleston to pass us through to Philadelphia," said he;
+"therefore you have no right to detain us here." "Right or no right, we
+shall not let you go," replied the man. Some of the spectators
+sympathized with the rich young Southerner, and said it was a pity to
+detain him when he was so unwell. While the man hesitated, the bell rang
+for the cars to start, and the fugitives were in an agony. "I don't know
+what to do," said the man. "It all seems to be right; and as the
+gentleman is so unwell, it is a hard case for him to be stopped on the
+way. Clerk, run and tell the conductor to let this gentleman and his
+slave pass."
+
+They had scarcely time to scramble into the cars, before the train
+started. It was eight o'clock in the evening, and they expected to
+arrive in Philadelphia early the next morning. They did not know that on
+the way the passengers would have to leave the cars and cross the river
+Susquehanna in a ferry-boat. They had slept very little for several
+nights before they left Georgia, and they had been travelling day and
+night for four days. William, overcome with fatigue, and feeling that
+their greatest dangers were now over, fell sound asleep on a heap of
+baggage. When they arrived at the ferry, it was cold, dark, and rainy;
+and for the first time during their hazardous journey the invalid found
+no faithful servant at hand when the cars stopped. He was in great
+distress, fearing that William had been arrested or kidnapped. He
+anxiously inquired of the passengers whether they had seen his boy.
+There were a good many Northerners on board, and, supposing his slave
+had run away, they rather enjoyed his perplexity. One gruffly replied,
+"I am no slave-hunter." Another smiled as he said, "I guess he is in
+Philadelphia before now."
+
+When they had crossed the ferry one of the guard found William still
+sound asleep on the baggage, which had been rolled into the boat. He
+shook him and bawled out: "Wake up, you boy! Your master has been half
+scared to death. He thought you had run away." As soon as William was
+enough awake to understand what had happened, he said, "I am sure my
+good master does not think that of me." He hastened to explain to Mr.
+Johnson how he happened to be out of the way. He was received with a
+great leap of the heart; but the passengers only thought that the master
+was very glad to recover his lost property. Some of them took a
+convenient opportunity to advise William to run away when they reached
+Philadelphia. He replied, "I shall never run away from such a good
+master as I have." They laughed, and said, "You will think differently
+when you get into a Free State." They told him how to proceed in case he
+wanted to be free, and he thanked them. A colored man also entered into
+conversation with him, and told him of a certain boarding-house in
+Philadelphia, the keeper of which was very friendly to slaves who
+wanted their freedom.
+
+On Christmas-day, just as morning was about to dawn, they came in sight
+of the flickering lights of Philadelphia. William procured a cab as
+quick as possible, hurried their baggage into it, and told the driver to
+take them to the boarding-house which had been recommended to them.
+While Ellen had been obliged to act the part of Mr. Johnson, she had
+kept her mind wonderfully calm and collected. But now that she was on
+free soil she broke down with the excess of her emotions. "Thank God,
+William, we are safe, we are safe!" she exclaimed; and sinking upon her
+husband's breast, she burst into a passion of tears. When they arrived
+at the boarding-house, she was so faint she had no further occasion to
+act being an invalid. As soon as a room was provided, they entered and
+fastened the door. Then kneeling down side by side, folded in each
+other's arms, with tears flowing freely, they thanked God for having
+brought them safely through their dangerous journey, and having
+permitted them to live to see this happy Sabbath day, which was
+Christmas-day also.
+
+When they had rested and refreshed themselves with a wash, Ellen put on
+her womanly garments and went to the sitting-room. When the landlord
+came at their summons, he was very much surprised and perplexed. "Where
+is your master?" inquired he; and when William pointed to his wife, he
+thought it was a joke; for he could not believe she was the same person
+who came into the house in the dress of a gentleman. He listened to
+their singular story with great interest and sympathy. He told them he
+was afraid it would not be safe for them to remain in Philadelphia, but
+he would send for some Abolitionists who knew the laws better than he
+did. Friends soon came, and gave them a hearty welcome; but they all
+agreed that it would not be safe for them to remain long in
+Philadelphia, and advised them to go to Boston. Barclay Ivens, a
+kind-hearted Quaker farmer, who lived some distance in the country,
+invited them to rest a few weeks at his house. They went accordingly.
+But Ellen, who had not been accustomed to receive such attentions from
+white people, was a little flurried when they arrived. She had received
+the impression that they were going to stay with colored people; and
+when she saw a white lady and three daughters come out to the wagon to
+meet her, she was much disturbed, and said to William, "I thought they
+were colored people." "It is all the same as if they were," replied he.
+"They are our good friends." "It is _not_ all the same," said Ellen,
+decidedly. "I have no faith in white people. They will be sending us
+back into Slavery. I am going right off." She had not then become
+acquainted with the Abolitionists. She had heard her master and other
+Southerners talk about them as very bad men, who would make slaves
+believe they were their friends, and then sell them into distant
+countries. The Quaker lady saw that she was afraid, and she went up to
+her and took her very kindly by the hand, saying: "How art thou, my
+dear? We are very glad to see thee and thy husband. We have heard about
+thy marvellous escape from Slavery. Come in and warm thyself. I dare say
+thou art cold and hungry after thy journey." Ellen thanked her, and
+allowed herself to be led into the house. Still she did not feel quite
+safe in that strange place, away from all her people. When Mrs. Ivens
+attempted to remove her bonnet, she said, "No, I thank you. I am not
+going to stop long." "Poor child!" said the good Quaker mother, "I
+don't wonder thou art timid. But don't be afraid. Thou art among friends
+who would as soon sell their own daughters into Slavery as betray thee.
+We would not harm a hair of thy head for the world." The kindly face and
+the motherly tones melted the heart of the poor frightened fugitive, and
+the tears began to flow. They stayed several weeks in that hospitable
+house, and the son and daughters took so much pains to teach them to
+read and write, that before they left they could spell a little, and
+write their names quite legibly. They were strongly urged to stay
+longer, and would have done so had they not been very desirous to be
+earning their own living. When they left this excellent family it seemed
+like parting with near and dear relatives.
+
+In Boston they were introduced to William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell
+Phillips, Francis Jackson, Rev. Theodore Parker, and other good men, who
+had for years been laboring for the emancipation of the slaves. The
+fugitives made a favorable impression on strangers at first sight. They
+both looked intelligent and honest. William had a very manly air, and
+Ellen was modest and ladylike in her manners.
+
+Their marriage in Georgia had been, like other slave marriages, without
+a certificate; therefore they were desirous to have the ceremony
+performed again, with all the forms of law, now that they were in a free
+land. They were accordingly married by the Rev. Mr. Parker, at the house
+of a respectable colored citizen of Boston, named Lewis Hayden. Mr.
+Crafts was employed at his trade, and his wife obtained work as a
+seamstress. They lived in Boston two years, during which time they
+established an excellent character by their honest industry and correct
+deportment. They earned a comfortable living, and might have laid by
+some money if circumstances had permitted them to remain in
+Massachusetts.
+
+But in 1850 the Congress of the United States, under the influence of
+slaveholders, passed a very wicked act called the Fugitive Slave Bill.
+There was in Boston at that time a celebrated lawyer named Daniel
+Webster. He wanted to be President of the United States, and for many
+years no man had been able to get elected to that office unless he
+pleased the slaveholders. He accordingly used his great influence to
+help the passage of the bill, and advised the people of Massachusetts to
+get over their scruples about hunting slaves. He died without being
+President; and I hope God forgave the great sin into which his ambition
+led him. By that cruel act of Congress, everybody, all over the country,
+was required to send back fugitive slaves to their masters. Whoever
+concealed them or helped them in any way became liable to a year's
+imprisonment and a fine of a thousand dollars, besides paying the price
+of the slave. In all the Northern cities there were many honest,
+industrious colored people who had escaped from Slavery years before,
+and were now getting a comfortable living. Many of them had married at
+the North and reared families. But when slaveholders gained this victory
+over the conscience of the North, they were compelled to leave their
+business and their homes, and hide themselves wheresoever they could.
+Mr. and Mrs. Crafts had many zealous friends in Boston, but the friends
+of the slaveholders were more numerous. For some time past, Southerners
+had been rather reluctant to hunt slaves in Massachusetts, because the
+public opinion of the people was so much opposed to Slavery, that they
+found it a difficult and disagreeable job. But after the passage of
+that unrighteous bill, they and their pro-slavery accomplices at the
+North became more bold.
+
+One day, while Mr. Crafts was busy in his shop, he received a visit from
+a man by the name of Knight, who used to work in the same shop with him
+in Georgia. He professed to be much pleased to see William again, and
+invited him to walk round the streets and show him the curiosities of
+Boston. Mr. Crafts told him he had work to do, and was very busy. The
+next day he tried again; but finding Mr. Crafts still too busy to walk
+with him, he said: "I wish you would come to see me at the United States
+Hotel, and bring your wife with you. She would like to hear from her
+mother. If you want to send letters to Georgia, I will take them for
+you." This was followed by a badly spelled note to Mr. Crafts, informing
+him that he was going to leave Boston early the next morning, and if he
+wanted to send a letter to Georgia he must bring it to him at the hotel
+after tea. Mr. Crafts smiled that he should think him silly enough to
+walk into such an open trap. Mr. Knight had told him that he came to
+Boston alone; but when he questioned the hotel-servant who brought the
+note, he was told that a Mr. Hughes from Georgia accompanied him. Mr.
+Hughes was a notorious slave-catcher, and the jailer of Macon. Mr.
+Crafts continued to work at his shop; but he kept the door locked, and a
+loaded pistol beside him.
+
+Finding that his intended victim was too much on his guard to be caught
+by trickery, Mr. Hughes applied to the United States Court in Boston and
+obtained a warrant to arrest William and Ellen Crafts as fugitive
+slaves. This produced tremendous excitement. The Abolitionists were
+determined that they should not be carried back into Slavery. They had
+people everywhere on the watch, and employed lawyers to throw all manner
+of difficulties in the way of the slave-hunters, whose persons and
+manners were described in the newspapers in a way by no means agreeable
+to them. The colored people held large meetings, and passed various
+spirited resolutions, among which was the following: "_Resolved_, Man
+wills us slaves, but God wills us free. We will as God wills. God's will
+be done." Two hundred of them armed themselves and vowed that they would
+defend William and Ellen Crafts to the death. Mr. Crafts said very
+calmly, but very resolutely, that they should never take him alive.
+Hughes the slave-catcher swore: "I'll have 'em if I stay in Boston to
+all eternity. If there a'n't men enough in Massachusetts to take 'em,
+I'll bring men from Georgia." Merchants in Boston, thinking only of
+their trade with the South, sympathized with those men engaged in such a
+base calling; and the United States officials did all they could to help
+them. But though they received countenance and aid from many influential
+men in Boston, those hirelings of Slavery could not help feeling ashamed
+of their business. They complained that the boys in the streets hooted
+after them, and that wherever they made their appearance, people called
+out, "There go the slave-hunters!" They heard that the Abolitionists
+were preparing to arrest them and try them as kidnappers; and the number
+of colored people who watched their movements with angry looks made them
+wish themselves back in Georgia. During all this commotion, the conduct
+of Mr. Crafts excited universal admiration. He was resolute, but very
+calm. If there had been any law to protect him, he would have appealed
+to the law, rather than have harmed a hair of any man's head; but left
+defenceless as he was among a pack of wolves hunting him and his
+innocent wife, he was determined to defend his freedom at any cost.
+
+Ellen was secretly conveyed out of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Gray
+Loring of Boston were excellent people, always kind to the poor and true
+friends to the oppressed slaves. They spent their summers in the
+neighboring town of Brookline. A Boston physician, who was an
+Abolitionist, carried Ellen to their house in the evening. Mr. and Mrs.
+Loring were both absent from home for a few days, but a lady who was
+staying in the house received her with great kindness. She stayed there
+two days, assisting the lady very industriously and skilfully with her
+needle. Her mind was full of anxiety about her husband, whom she had
+left in the city exposed to the most fearful danger. She was very
+wakeful through the night, listening to every noise. As soon as she
+became drowsy, she would wake with a sudden start from some bad dream.
+She dreamed that she and William were running from the Georgia
+slave-catcher, and that Daniel Webster was close behind them, pointing a
+pistol at them. It was a sad thing that a man of such intellectual
+ability as Mr. Webster, and with so much influence in society, should
+make such bad use of his great power that he haunted the dreams of the
+poor and the oppressed. Ellen rose in the morning with a feeling of
+weariness and a great load upon her heart. But she kept back the tears
+that were ready to flow, and was so quiet and sweet-tempered that she
+completely gained the hearts of her protectors. Early the next evening,
+the same friend who carried Ellen from the city brought her husband to
+her. He also had been sleepless, and was worn down with fatigue and
+anxiety. They were advised to retire to rest immediately, to remain in
+their room with the door locked, and be careful not to show themselves
+at the window. They followed these directions, and the lady was hoping
+they would both have peaceful and refreshing slumber, when Ellen came to
+say that her husband wanted to speak with her. She found him standing by
+the fireplace looking very sad, but with a dignified calmness that
+seemed to her truly noble in the midst of such dreadful danger. As she
+entered he said, "Ellen has just told me that Mr. and Mrs. Loring are
+absent from home. If we should be found in his house, he would be liable
+to imprisonment and a heavy fine. It is wrong for us to expose him to
+this danger without his knowledge and consent. We must seek shelter
+elsewhere." The lady replied: "Mr. Loring would feel troubled to have
+you leave his house under such circumstances. He is the best and kindest
+of men, and a great friend of the colored people." "That makes it all
+the more wrong for us to bring him into trouble on our account, without
+his knowledge," replied Mr. Crafts. Ellen had kept up bravely all day,
+but now her courage began to fail. She looked up with tears swimming in
+her handsome eyes and said: "O William, it is so dark and rainy
+to-night, and it seems so safe here! We may be seen and followed, if we
+go out. You said you didn't sleep last night. I started up from a little
+nap, dreaming that Daniel Webster was chasing us with a loaded pistol. I
+thought of all manner of horrid things that might be happening to you,
+and I couldn't sleep any more. Don't you think we might stay here just
+this one night?" He looked at her with pity in his eyes, but said, very
+firmly, "Ellen, it wouldn't be right." Without another word she
+prepared to go, though the tears were falling fast. The lady, finding
+his mind too fixed to be changed by her persuasions, sent a guide with
+them to the house of Mr. Philbrick, a worthy, kind-hearted gentleman,
+who lived about half a mile off. She herself told me the story; and she
+said she never felt so much respect and admiration for any human beings
+as she did for those two hunted slaves when she saw them walk out into
+the darkness and rain because they thought it wrong to endanger, without
+his consent, a friend of their persecuted people. She felt anxious lest
+the slave-catcher or his agents might seize them on the road, and it was
+a great relief to her mind when the guide returned and said Mr.
+Philbrick received them gladly.
+
+After a few more days of peril they were secretly put on board a vessel,
+which conveyed them to England. They carried letters which introduced
+them to good people, who contributed money to put them to school for a
+while. Their intelligence, industry, and good conduct confirmed the
+favorable impression made by their first appearance. In 1860, Mr. Crafts
+published a little book giving an account of their "Running a Thousand
+Miles for Freedom." They have now been living in England fifteen years.
+By their united industry and good management they earned a comfortable
+living, and laid by a little, year after year, until they had enough to
+buy a small house in the village of Hammersmith, not far from the great
+city of London. There they keep their children at the best of schools,
+and pay taxes which help to support the poor in the country which
+protected them in their time of danger and distress.
+
+The honesty, energy, and good sense of Mr. Crafts inspired so much
+respect and confidence in England, that the Quakers and other
+benevolent people, who wish to do good to Africa, also merchants, who
+want to open trade with that region, sent him out there with a valuable
+cargo of goods, in November, 1862. The mission he is performing is very
+important to the well-being of the world, as you will see by the
+following explanation.
+
+Africa is four thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean from the United
+States. It is inhabited by numerous tribes of black people, each tribe
+with a separate government. These tribes vary in degrees of intelligence
+and civilization; but they are generally of a peaceable and kindly
+disposition, unless greatly provoked by wrongs from others. Where they
+are safe from attack they live in little villages of huts, and raise
+yams, rice, and other grain for food. They weave coarse cloth from
+cotton, merely by means of sticks stuck in the ground, and in some
+places they color it with gay patterns. They make very pretty baskets
+and mats from grasses, and some of the tribes manufacture rude tools of
+iron and ornaments of gold. But a constant state of warfare has hindered
+the improvement of the Africans; for men have very little encouragement
+to build good houses, and make convenient furniture, and plant grain, if
+enemies are likely to come any night and burn and trample it all to the
+ground. These continual wars have been largely caused by the
+slave-trade. Formerly the African chiefs sold men into Slavery only in
+punishment for some crime they had committed, or to work out a debt they
+had failed to pay, or because they were prisoners taken in war. These
+customs were barbarous enough, but they were not so bad as what they
+were afterward taught to do by nations calling themselves Christians. In
+various countries of Europe and America there were white people too
+proud and lazy to work, but desirous to dress in the best and live on
+the fat of the land. They sent ships out to Africa to bring them
+negroes, whom they compelled to work without wages, with coarse, scanty
+food, and scarcely any clothing. They grew rich on the labor of these
+poor creatures, and spent their own time in drinking, gambling, and
+horse-racing. Slave-traders, in order to supply them with as many
+negroes as they wanted, would steal all the men, women, and children
+they could catch on the coast of Africa; and would buy others from the
+chiefs, paying them mostly in rum and gunpowder. This made the different
+tribes very desirous to go to war with each other, in order to take
+prisoners to sell to the slave-traders; and the more rum they drank, the
+more full of fight they were. This mean and cruel business has been
+carried on by white men four hundred years; and all that while African
+villages have been burned in the night, and harvests trampled, and men,
+women, and children carried off to hopeless Slavery in distant lands.
+This continual violence, and intercourse with such bad white men as the
+slave-traders, kept the Africans barbarous; and made them much more
+barbarous than they would otherwise have been. Such a state of things
+made it impossible for them to improve, as they would have done if the
+nations called Christians had sent them spelling-books and Bibles
+instead of rum, teachers instead of slave-traders, and tools and
+machinery instead of gunpowder.
+
+Of all the African chiefs the King of Dahomey is the most powerful. He
+sends armed men all about the country to carry off people and sell them
+to Europeans and Americans. In that bad way he has grown richer than
+other chiefs, and more hard-hearted. Benevolent people in England have
+long desired to stop the ravages of the slave-trade and to teach the
+Africans better things. The dearth of cotton in the United States,
+occasioned by the Rebellion of the planters, turned the attention of
+English merchants in the same direction. It was accordingly agreed to
+send Mr. Crafts to Dahomey to open a trade, and try to convince the king
+that it would be more profitable to him to employ men in raising cotton
+than to sell them for slaves. He was well received by the King of
+Dahomey, who shows a disposition to be influenced by his judicious
+counsels. This is a great satisfaction to Mr. Crafts, desirous as he is
+of elevating people of his own color. Numbers who were destined to be
+sold into foreign Slavery are already employed in raising cotton in
+their native land. Wars will become less frequent; and the African
+tribes will gradually learn that the arts of peace are more profitable,
+as well as more pleasant. This will bring them into communication with a
+better class of white men; and I hope that, before another hundred years
+have passed away, there will be Christian churches all over Africa, and
+school-houses for the children.
+
+Mr. Crafts sold all the goods he carried out in the first vessel, and
+managed the business so well that he was sent out with another cargo. He
+is now one of the most enterprising and respected merchants in that part
+of the world; and his labors produce better results than mere money, for
+they are the means of making men wiser and better. How much would have
+been lost to himself and the world if he had remained a slave in
+Georgia, not allowed to profit by his own industry, and forbidden to
+improve his mind by learning to read!
+
+Mr. M. D. Conway, the son of a slaveholder in Virginia, but a very able
+and zealous friend of the colored people, recently visited England, and
+sent the following letter to Boston, where it was read with great
+interest by the numerous friends of William and Ellen Crafts:--
+
+                                     "LONDON, October 29th, 1864.
+
+     "A walk one pleasant morning across a green common, then through a
+     quiet street of the village called Hammersmith, brought me to the
+     house of an American whom I respect as much as any now in Europe;
+     namely, William Crafts, once a slave in Georgia, then a hunted
+     fugitive in Massachusetts, but now a respected citizen of England,
+     and the man who is doing more to redeem Africa from her cruel
+     superstitions than all other forces put together. He lately came
+     home from Dahomey, the ship-load of goods that he had taken out to
+     Africa from Liverpool having been entirely sold. The merchants who
+     sent him are preparing another cargo for him, and he will probably
+     leave the country this week. His theory is, that commerce is to
+     destroy the abominations in the realm of Dahomey. He is very black,
+     but he finds the color which was so much against him in America a
+     leading advantage to him in Africa. Ellen, his wife, told us that
+     she was too white to go with him. He was absent on business in
+     Liverpool, and thus, to my regret, I missed the opportunity of
+     seeing him. There was a pretty little girl, and three unusually
+     handsome boys. They all inherit the light complexion and beauty of
+     their mother. We found Mrs. Crafts busy packing her husband's trunk
+     for his next voyage. She showed us a number of interesting things
+     which he had brought from Africa. Among them were birds of bright
+     plumage, a belt worn by the Amazons in war, a sword made by the
+     Africans, breastpins, and other excellent specimens of work in
+     metals. I remembered that years ago the sight of similar things
+     inspired Clarkson with his strong faith in the improvability of the
+     African race.
+
+     "William and Ellen Crafts own the house in which they live. After
+     that brave flight of a thousand miles for freedom, after the
+     dangers which surrounded them in Massachusetts, it did my heart
+     good to see them enjoying their own simple but charming home, to
+     see them thus living under their own vine and fig-tree, none daring
+     to molest or make them afraid.
+
+                                            "M. D. CONWAY."
+
+Mrs. Crafts has used her needle diligently to make garments for the
+colored people of the United States emancipated by President Lincoln's
+Proclamation. She has had the pleasure of hearing that her mother is
+among them, healthy, and still young looking for her years. As soon as
+arrangements can be made she will go to England to rejoin her daughter,
+whom she has not seen since her hazardous flight from Georgia.
+
+I think all who read this romantic but true story will agree with me in
+thinking that few white people have shown as much intelligence, moral
+worth, and refinement of feeling as the fugitive slaves William and
+Ellen Crafts.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In February, 1861, the Emperor of Russia proclaimed freedom to
+twenty-three millions of serfs. Finding their freedom was not secure in
+the hands of their former masters, he afterward completed the good work
+by investing the freedmen with civil and political rights; including the
+right to testify in court, the right to vote, and the right to hold
+office.
+
+
+
+
+SPRING.
+
+BY GEORGE HORTON.
+
+
+    Hail, thou auspicious vernal dawn!
+    Ye birds, proclaim that winter's gone!
+        Ye warbling minstrels, sing!
+    Pour forth your tribute as ye rise,
+    And thus salute the fragrant skies,
+        The pleasing smiles of spring!
+
+    Coo sweetly, O thou harmless dove,
+    And bid thy mate no longer rove
+        In cold hybernal vales!
+    Let music rise from every tongue,
+    Whilst winter flies before the song
+        Which floats on gentle gales.
+
+    Ye frozen streams, dissolve and flow
+    Along the valley sweet and slow!
+        Divested fields, be gay!
+    Ye drooping forests, bloom on high,
+    And raise your branches to the sky;
+        And thus your charms display!
+
+    Thou world of heat! thou vital source!
+    The torpid insects feel thy force,
+        Which all with life supplies.
+    Gardens and orchards richly bloom,
+    And send a gale of sweet perfume,
+        To invite them as they rise.
+
+    Near where the crystal waters glide
+    The male of birds escorts his bride,
+        And twitters on the spray;
+    He mounts upon his active wing,
+    To hail the bounty of the spring,
+        The lavish pomp of May.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOOD GRANDMOTHER.
+
+BY HARRIET JACOBS.
+
+
+I had a great treasure in my maternal grandmother, who was a remarkable
+woman in many respects. She was the daughter of a planter in South
+Carolina, who, at his death, left her and her mother free, with money to
+go to St. Augustine, where they had relatives. It was during the
+Revolutionary War, and they were captured on their passage, carried
+back, and sold to different purchasers. Such was the story my
+grandmother used to tell me. She was sold to the keeper of a large
+hotel, and I have often heard her tell how hard she fared during
+childhood. But as she grew older she evinced so much intelligence, and
+was so faithful, that her master and mistress could not help seeing it
+was for their interest to take care of such a valuable piece of
+property. She became an indispensable person in the household,
+officiating in all capacities, from cook and wet-nurse to seamstress.
+She was much praised for her cooking; and her nice crackers became so
+famous in the neighborhood that many people were desirous of obtaining
+them. In consequence of numerous requests of this kind, she asked
+permission of her mistress to bake crackers at night, after all the
+household work was done; and she obtained leave to do it, provided she
+would clothe herself and the children from the profits. Upon these
+terms, after working hard all day for her mistress, she began her
+midnight bakings, assisted by her two oldest children. The business
+proved profitable; and each year she laid by a little, to create a fund
+for the purchase of her children. Her master died, and his property was
+divided among the heirs. My grandmother remained in the service of his
+widow, as a slave. Her children were divided among her master's
+children; but as she had five, Benjamin, the youngest, was sold, in
+order that the heirs might have an equal portion of dollars and cents.
+There was so little difference in our ages, that he always seemed to me
+more like a brother than an uncle. He was a bright, handsome lad, nearly
+white; for he inherited the complexion my grandmother had derived from
+Anglo-Saxon ancestors. His sale was a terrible blow to his mother; but
+she was naturally hopeful, and she went to work with redoubled energy,
+trusting in time to be able to purchase her children. One day, her
+mistress begged the loan of three hundred dollars from the little fund
+she had laid up from the proceeds of her baking. She promised to pay her
+soon; but as no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding,
+she was obliged to trust solely to her honor.
+
+In my master's house very little attention was paid to the slaves'
+meals. If they could catch a bit of food while it was going, well and
+good. But I gave myself no trouble on that score; for on my various
+errands I passed my grandmother's house, and she always had something
+to spare for me. I was frequently threatened with punishment if I
+stopped there; and my grandmother, to avoid detaining me, often stood at
+the gate with something for my breakfast or dinner. I was indebted to
+her for all my comforts, spiritual or temporal. It was _her_ labor that
+supplied my scanty wardrobe. I have a vivid recollection of the
+linsey-woolsey dress given me every winter by Mrs. Flint. How I hated
+it! It was one of the badges of Slavery. While my grandmother was thus
+helping to support me from her hard earnings, the three hundred dollars
+she lent her mistress was never repaid. When her mistress died, my
+master, who was her son-in-law, was appointed executor. When grandmother
+applied to him for payment, he said the estate was insolvent, and the
+law prohibited payment. It did not, however, prohibit him from retaining
+the silver candelabra which had been purchased with that money. I
+presume they will be handed down in the family from generation to
+generation.
+
+My grandmother's mistress had always promised that at her death she
+should be free; and it was said that in her will she made good the
+promise. But when the estate was settled, Dr. Flint told the faithful
+old servant that, under existing circumstances, it was necessary she
+should be sold.
+
+On the appointed day the customary advertisement was posted up,
+proclaiming that there would be "a public sale of negroes, horses, &c."
+Dr. Flint called to tell my grandmother that he was unwilling to wound
+her feelings by putting her up at auction, and that he would prefer to
+dispose of her at private sale. She saw through his hypocrisy, and
+understood very well that he was ashamed of the job. She was a very
+spirited woman; and if he was base enough to sell her, after her
+mistress had made her free by her will, she was determined the public
+should know it. She had, for a long time, supplied many families with
+crackers and preserves; consequently "Aunt Marthy," as she was called,
+was generally known; and all who knew her respected her intelligence and
+good character. It was also well known that her mistress had intended to
+leave her free, as a reward for her long and faithful services. When the
+day of sale came, she took her place among the chattels, and at the
+first call she sprang upon the auction-block. She was then fifty years
+old. Many voices called out: "Shame! shame! Who's going to sell _you_,
+Aunt Marthy? Don't stand there. That's no place for _you_." She made no
+answer, but quietly awaited her fate. No one bid for her. At last a
+feeble voice said, "Fifty dollars." It came from a maiden lady, seventy
+years old, the sister of my grandmother's deceased mistress. She had
+lived forty years under the same roof with my grandmother; she knew how
+faithfully she had served her owners, and how cruelly she had been
+defrauded of her rights, and she resolved to protect her. The auctioneer
+waited for a higher bid; but her wishes were respected; no one bid above
+her. The old lady could neither read nor write; and when the bill of
+sale was made out, she signed it with a cross. But of what consequence
+was that, when she had a big heart overflowing with human kindness? She
+gave the faithful old servant her freedom.
+
+My grandmother had always been a mother to her orphan grandchildren, as
+far as that was possible in a condition of Slavery. Her perseverance and
+unwearied industry continued unabated after her time was her own, and
+she soon became mistress of a snug little home, and surrounded herself
+with the necessaries of life. She would have been happy, if her family
+could have shared them with her. There remained to her but three
+children and two grandchildren; and they were all slaves. Most earnestly
+did she strive to make us feel that it was the will of God; that He had
+seen fit to place us under such circumstances, and though it seemed
+hard, we ought to pray for contentment. It was a beautiful faith, coming
+from a mother who could not call her children her own. But I and
+Benjamin, her youngest boy, condemned it. It appeared to us that it was
+much more according to the will of God that we should be free, and able
+to make a home for ourselves, as she had done. There we always found
+balsam for our troubles. She was so loving, so sympathizing! She always
+met us with a smile, and listened with patience to all our sorrows. She
+spoke so hopefully, that unconsciously the clouds gave place to
+sunshine. There was a grand big oven there, too, that baked bread and
+nice things for the town; and we knew there was always a choice bit in
+store for us. But even the charms of that old oven failed to reconcile
+us to our hard lot. Benjamin was now a tall, handsome lad, strongly and
+gracefully made, and with a spirit too bold and daring for a slave.
+
+One day his master attempted to flog him for not obeying his summons
+quickly enough. Benjamin resisted, and in the struggle threw his master
+down. To raise his hand against a white man was a great crime, according
+to the laws of the State; and to avoid a cruel, public whipping,
+Benjamin hid himself and made his escape. My grandmother was absent,
+visiting an old friend in the country, when this happened. When she
+returned, and found her youngest child had fled, great was her sorrow.
+But, with characteristic piety, she said, "God's will be done." Every
+morning she inquired whether any news had been heard from her boy. Alas!
+news did come,--sad news. The master received a letter, and was
+rejoicing over the capture of his human chattel.
+
+That day seems to me but as yesterday, so well do I remember it. I saw
+him led through the streets in chains to jail. His face was ghastly
+pale, but full of determination. He had sent some one to his mother's
+house to ask her not to come to meet him. He said the sight of her
+distress would take from him all self-control. Her heart yearned to see
+him, and she went; but she screened herself in the crowd, that it might
+be as her child had said.
+
+We were not allowed to visit him. But we had known the jailer for years,
+and he was a kind-hearted man. At midnight he opened the door for my
+grandmother and myself to enter, in disguise. When we entered the cell,
+not a sound broke the stillness. "Benjamin," whispered my grandmother.
+No answer. "Benjamin!" said she, again, in a faltering tone. There was a
+jingling of chains. The moon had just risen, and cast an uncertain light
+through the bars. We knelt down and took Benjamin's cold hands in ours.
+Sobs alone were heard, while she wept upon his neck. At last Benjamin's
+lips were unsealed. Mother and son talked together. He asked her pardon
+for the suffering he had caused her. She told him she had nothing to
+forgive; that she could not blame him for wanting to be free. He told
+her that he broke away from his captors, and was about to throw himself
+into the river, but thoughts of her came over him and arrested the
+movement. She asked him if he did not also think of God. He replied:
+"No, mother, I did not. When a man is hunted like a wild beast, he
+forgets that there _is_ a God."
+
+The pious mother shuddered, as she said: "Don't talk so, Benjamin. Try
+to be humble, and put your trust in God."
+
+"I wish I had some of your goodness," he replied. "You bear everything
+patiently, just as though you thought it was all right. I wish I could."
+
+She told him it had not always been so with her; that once she was like
+him; but when sore troubles came upon her, and she had no arm to lean
+upon, she learned to call on God, and he lightened her burdens. She
+besought him to do so likewise.
+
+The jailer came to tell us we had overstayed our time, and we were
+obliged to hurry away. Grandmother went to the master and tried to
+intercede for her son. But he was inexorable. He said Benjamin should be
+made an example of. That he should be kept in jail till he was sold. For
+three months he remained within the walls of the prison, during which
+time grandmother secretly conveyed him changes of clothes, and as often
+as possible carried him something warm for supper, accompanied with some
+little luxury for her friend the jailer. He was finally sold to a
+slave-trader from New Orleans. When they fastened irons upon his wrists
+to drive him off with the coffle, it was heart-rending to hear the
+groans of that poor mother, as she clung to the Benjamin of her
+family,--her youngest, her pet. He was pale and thin now, from hardships
+and long confinement; but still his good looks were so observable that
+the slave-trader remarked he would give any price for the handsome lad,
+if he were a girl. We, who knew so well what Slavery was, were thankful
+that he was not.
+
+Grandmother stifled her grief, and with strong arms and unwavering faith
+set to work to purchase freedom for Benjamin. She knew the slave-trader
+would charge three times as much as he gave for him; but she was not
+discouraged. She employed a lawyer to write to New Orleans, and try to
+negotiate the business for her. But word came that Benjamin was missing;
+he had run away again.
+
+Philip, my grandmother's only remaining son, inherited his mother's
+intelligence. His mistress sometimes trusted him to go with a cargo to
+New York. One of these occasions occurred not long after Benjamin's
+second escape. Through God's good providence the brothers met in the
+streets of New York. It was a happy meeting, though Benjamin was very
+pale and thin; for on his way from bondage he had been taken violently
+ill, and brought nigh unto death. Eagerly he embraced his brother,
+exclaiming: "O Phil! here I am at last. I came nigh dying when I was
+almost in sight of freedom; and O how I prayed that I might live just to
+get one breath of free air! And here I am. In the old jail, I used to
+wish I was dead. But life is worth something now, and it would be hard
+to die." He begged his brother not to go back to the South, but to stay
+and work with him till they earned enough to buy their relatives.
+
+Philip replied: "It would kill mother if I deserted her. She has pledged
+her house, and is working harder than ever to buy you. Will you be
+bought?"
+
+"Never!" replied Benjamin, in his resolute tone. "When I have got so far
+out of their clutches, do you suppose, Phil, that I would ever let them
+be paid one red cent? Do you think I would consent to have mother turned
+out of her hard-earned home in her old age? And she never to see me
+after she had bought me? For you know, Phil, she would never leave the
+South while any of her children or grandchildren remained in Slavery.
+What a good mother! Tell her to buy _you_, Phil. You have always been a
+comfort to her; and I have always been making her trouble."
+
+Philip furnished his brother with some clothes, and gave him what money
+he had. Benjamin pressed his hand, and said, with moistened eyes, "I
+part from all my kindred." And so it proved. We never heard from him
+afterwards.
+
+When Uncle Philip came home, the first words he said, on entering the
+house, were: "O mother, Ben is free! I have seen him in New York." For a
+moment she seemed bewildered. He laid his hand gently on her shoulder
+and repeated what he had said. She raised her hands devoutly, and
+exclaimed, "God be praised! Let us thank Him." She dropped on her knees
+and poured forth her heart in prayer. When she grew calmer, she begged
+Philip to sit down and repeat every word her son had said. He told her
+all, except that Benjamin had nearly died on the way and was looking
+very pale and thin.
+
+Still the brave old woman toiled on to accomplish the rescue of her
+remaining children. After a while she succeeded in buying Philip, for
+whom she paid eight hundred dollars, and came home with the precious
+document that secured his freedom. The happy mother and son sat by her
+hearthstone that night, telling how proud they were of each other, and
+how they would prove to the world that they could take care of
+themselves, as they had long taken care of others. We all concluded by
+saying, "He that is _willing_ to be a slave, let him be a slave."
+
+My grandmother had still one daughter remaining in Slavery. She belonged
+to the same master that I did; and a hard time she had of it. She was a
+good soul, this old Aunt Nancy. She did all she could to supply the
+place of my lost mother to us orphans. She was the _factotum_ in our
+master's household. She was house-keeper, waiting-maid, and everything
+else: nothing went on well without her, by day or by night. She wore
+herself out in their service. Grandmother toiled on, hoping to purchase
+release for her. But one evening word was brought that she had been
+suddenly attacked with paralysis, and grandmother hastened to her
+bedside. Mother and daughter had always been devotedly attached to each
+other; and now they looked lovingly and earnestly into each other's
+eyes, longing to speak of secrets that weighed on the hearts of both.
+She lived but two days, and on the last day she was speechless. It was
+sad to witness the grief of her bereaved mother. She had always been
+strong to bear, and religious faith still supported her; but her dark
+life had become still darker, and age and trouble were leaving deep
+traces on her withered face. The poor old back was fitted to its burden.
+It bent under it, but did not break.
+
+Uncle Philip asked permission to bury his sister at his own expense; and
+slaveholders are always ready to grant _such_ favors to slaves and their
+relatives. The arrangements were very plain, but perfectly respectable.
+It was talked of by the slaves as a mighty grand funeral. If Northern
+travellers had been passing through the place, perhaps they would have
+described it as a beautiful tribute to the humble dead, a touching proof
+of the attachment between slaveholders and their slaves; and very likely
+the mistress would have confirmed this impression, with her handkerchief
+at her eyes. _We_ could have told them how the poor old mother had
+toiled, year after year, to buy her son Philip's right to his own
+earnings; and how that same Philip had paid the expenses of the funeral
+which they regarded as doing so much credit to the master.
+
+There were some redeeming features in our hard destiny. Very pleasant
+are my recollections of the good old lady who paid fifty dollars for the
+purpose of making my grandmother free, when she stood on the
+auction-block. She loved this old lady, whom we all called Miss Fanny.
+She often took tea at grandmother's house. On such occasions, the table
+was spread with a snow-white cloth, and the china cups and silver spoons
+were taken from the old-fashioned buffet. There were hot muffins,
+tea-rusks, and delicious sweetmeats. My grandmother always had a supply
+of such articles, because she furnished the ladies of the town with such
+things for their parties. She kept two cows for that purpose, and the
+fresh cream was Miss Fanny's delight. She invariably repeated that it
+was the very best in town. The old ladies had cosey times together. They
+would work and chat, and sometimes, while talking over old times, their
+spectacles would get dim with tears, and would have to be taken off and
+wiped. When Miss Fanny bade us "Good by," her bag was always filled with
+grandmother's best cakes, and she was urged to come again soon.
+
+[Here follows a long account of persecutions endured by the
+granddaughter, who tells this story. She finally made her escape, after
+encountering great dangers and hardships. The faithful old grandmother
+concealed her for a long time at great risk to them both, during which
+time she tried in vain to buy free papers for her. At last there came a
+chance to escape in a vessel Northward bound. She goes on to say:--]
+
+"All arrangements were made for me to go on board at dusk. Grandmother
+came to me with a small bag of money, which she wanted me to take. I
+begged her to keep at least part of it; but she insisted, while her
+tears fell fast, that I should take the whole. 'You may be sick among
+strangers,' said she; 'and they would send you to the poor-house to
+die.' Ah, that good grandmother! Though I had the blessed prospect of
+freedom before me, I felt dreadfully sad at leaving forever that old
+homestead, that had received and sheltered me in so many sorrows.
+Grandmother took me by the hand and said, 'My child, let us pray.' We
+knelt down together, with my arm clasped round the faithful, loving old
+friend I was about to leave forever. On no other occasion has it been my
+lot to listen to so fervent a supplication for mercy and protection. It
+thrilled through my heart and inspired me with trust in God. I staggered
+into the street, faint in body, though strong of purpose. I did not look
+back upon the dear old place, though I felt that I should never see it
+again."
+
+[The granddaughter found friends at the North, and, being uncommonly
+quick in her perceptions, she soon did much to supply the deficiencies
+of early education. While leading a worthy, industrious life in New
+York, she twice very narrowly escaped becoming a victim to the infamous
+Fugitive Slave Law. A noble-hearted lady purchased her freedom, and
+thereby rescued her from further danger. She thus closes the story of
+her venerable ancestor:--]
+
+"My grandmother lived to rejoice in the knowledge of my freedom; but not
+long afterward a letter came to me with a black seal. It was from a
+friend at the South, who informed me that she had gone 'where the
+wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest.' Among
+the gloomy recollections of my life in bondage come tender memories of
+that good grandmother, like a few fleecy clouds floating over a dark and
+troubled sea."
+
+                                                       H. J.
+
+NOTE.--The above account is no fiction. The author, who was thirty years
+in Slavery, wrote it in an interesting book entitled "Linda." She is an
+esteemed friend of mine; and I introduce this portion of her story here
+to illustrate the power of character over circumstances. She has intense
+sympathy for those who are still suffering in the bondage from which she
+escaped. She has devoted all her energies to the poor refugees in our
+camps, comforting the afflicted, nursing the sick, and teaching the
+children. On the 1st of January, 1863, she wrote me a letter, which
+began as follows: "I have lived to hear the Proclamation of Freedom for
+my suffering people. All my wrongs are forgiven. I am more than repaid
+for all I have endured. Glory to God in the highest!"
+
+                                                 L. M. CHILD.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"THEY CANNOT TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES."
+
+    Our tobacco they plant, and our cotton they pick,
+      And our rice they can harvest and thrash;
+    They feed us in health, and they nurse us when sick,
+      And they earn--while we pocket--our cash.
+    They lead us when young, and they help us when old,
+      And their toil loads our tables and shelves;
+    But they're "niggers"; and _therefore_ (the truth must be told)
+      They cannot take care of _themselves_.
+
+                                REV. JOHN PIERPONT.
+
+
+
+
+THE COLORED MOTHER'S PRAYER.
+
+
+    Great Father! who created all,
+      The colored and the fair,
+    O listen to a mother's call;
+      Hear Thou the negro's prayer!
+
+    Yet once again thy people teach,
+      With lessons from above,
+    That they may _practise_ what they _preach_,
+      And _all_ their neighbors love.
+
+    Again the Gospel precepts give;
+      Teach them this rule to know,--
+    Such treatment as ye should _receive_,
+      Be willing to _bestow_.
+
+    Then my poor child, my darling one,
+      Will never feel the smart
+    Of their unjust and cruel scorn,
+      That withers all the heart.
+
+    Great Father! who created all,
+      The colored and the fair,
+    O listen to a mother's call;
+      Hear Thou the negro's prayer!
+
+
+
+
+WILLIAM COSTIN.
+
+
+Mr. William Costin was for twenty-four years porter of a bank in
+Washington, D. C. Many millions of dollars passed through his hands, but
+not a cent was ever missing, through fraud or carelessness. In his daily
+life he set an example of purity and benevolence. He adopted four orphan
+children into his family, and treated them with the kindness of a
+father. His character inspired general respect; and when he died, in
+1842, the newspapers of the city made honorable mention of him. The
+directors of the bank passed a resolution expressive of their high
+appreciation of his services, and his coffin was followed to the grave
+by a very large procession of citizens of all classes and complexions.
+Not long after, when the Honorable John Quincy Adams was speaking in
+Congress on the subject of voting, he said: "The late William Costin,
+though he was not white, was as much respected as any man in the
+District; and the large concourse of citizens that attended his remains
+to the grave--as well white as black--was an evidence of the manner in
+which he was estimated by the citizens of Washington. Now, why should
+such a man as that be excluded from the elective franchise, when you
+admit the vilest individuals of the white race to exercise it?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Strain every nerve, wrestle with every power God and nature have put
+into your hands, for your place among the races of this Western
+world.--WENDELL PHILLIPS.
+
+
+
+
+EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+People of all colors and conditions love their offspring; but very few
+consider sufficiently how much the future character and happiness of
+their children depend on their own daily language and habits. It does
+very little good to teach children to be honest if the person who
+teaches them is not scrupulous about taking other people's property or
+using it without leave. It does very little good to tell them they ought
+to be modest, if they are accustomed to hear their elders use unclean
+words or tell indecent stories. Primers and catechisms may teach them to
+reverence God, but the lesson will lose half its effect if they
+habitually hear their parents curse and swear. Some two hundred years
+ago a very learned astronomer named Sir Isaac Newton lived in England.
+He was so devout that he always took off his hat when the name of God
+was mentioned. By that act of reverence he taught a religious lesson to
+every child who witnessed it. Young souls are fed by what they see and
+hear, just as their bodies are fed with daily food. No parents who knew
+what they were doing would give their little ones poisonous food, that
+would produce fevers, ulcers, and death. It is of far more consequence
+not to poison their souls; for the body passes away, but the soul is
+immortal.
+
+When a traveller pointed to a stunted and crooked tree and asked what
+made it grow so, a child replied, "I suppose somebody trod on it when
+it was little." It is hard for children born in Slavery to grow up
+spiritually straight and healthy, because they are trodden on when they
+are little. Being constantly treated unjustly, they cannot learn to be
+just. Their parents have no power to protect them from evil influences.
+They cannot prevent their continually seeing cruel and indecent actions,
+and hearing profane and dirty words. Heretofore, you could not educate
+your children, either morally or intellectually. But now that you are
+freemen, responsibility rests upon you. You will be answerable before
+God for the influence you exert over the young souls intrusted to your
+care. You may be too ignorant to teach them much of book-learning, and
+you may be too poor to spend much money for their education, but you can
+set them a pure and good example by your conduct and conversation. This
+you should try your utmost to do, and should pray to the Heavenly Father
+to help you; for it is a very solemn duty, this rearing of young souls
+for eternity. That you yourselves have had a stunted growth, from being
+trodden upon when you were little, will doubtless make you more careful
+not to tread upon them.
+
+It is necessary that children should be made obedient to their elders,
+because they are not old enough to know what is good for themselves; but
+obedience should always be obtained by the gentlest means possible.
+Violence excites anger and hatred, without doing any good to
+counterbalance the evil. When it is necessary to punish a child, it
+should be done in such a calm and reasonable manner as to convince him
+that you do it for his good, and not because you are in a rage.
+
+Slaves, all the world over, are generally much addicted to lying. The
+reason is, that if they have done any mischief by carelessness or
+accident, they dare not tell the truth about it for fear of a cruel
+flogging. Violent and tyrannical treatment always produces that effect.
+Wherever children are abused, whether they are white or black, they
+become very cunning and deceitful; for when the weak are tortured by the
+strong, they have no other way to save themselves from suffering. Such
+treatment does not cure faults; it only makes people lie to conceal
+their faults. If a child does anything wrong, and confesses it frankly,
+his punishment ought to be slight, in order to encourage him in habits
+of truthfulness, which is one of the noblest attributes of manhood. If
+he commits the same fault a second time, even if he confesses it, he
+ought not to be let off so easily, because it is necessary to teach him
+that confession, though a very good thing, will not supply the place of
+repentance. When children are naughty, it is better to deprive them of
+some pleasant thing that they want to eat or drink or do, than it is to
+kick and cuff them. It is better to attract them toward what is right
+than to drive them from what is wrong. Thus if a boy is lazy, it is
+wiser to promise him reward in proportion to his industry, than it is to
+cuff and scold him, which will only make him shirk work as soon as you
+are out of sight. Whereas, if you tell him, "You shall have six cents if
+you dig one bushel of potatoes, and six cents more if you dig two," he
+will have a motive that will stimulate him when you are not looking
+after him. If he is too lazy to be stimulated by such offers, he must be
+told that he who digs no potatoes must have none to eat.
+
+The moral education which you are all the time giving your children, by
+what they hear you say and see you do, is of more consequence to them
+than reading and writing and ciphering. But the education they get at
+school is also very important; and it will be wise and kind in you to
+buy such books as they need, and encourage them in every way to become
+good scholars, as well as good men. By so doing you will not only
+benefit them, but you will help all your race. Every colored man or
+woman who is virtuous and intelligent takes away something of prejudice
+against colored men and women in general; and it likewise encourages all
+their brethren and sisters, by showing what colored people are capable
+of doing.
+
+The system of Slavery was all penalty and no attraction; in other words,
+it punished men if they did _not_ do, but it did not reward them for
+_doing_. In the management of your children you should do exactly the
+opposite of this. You should appeal to their manhood, not to their
+fears. After emancipation in the West Indies, planters who had been
+violent slaveholders, if they saw a freedman leaning on his hoe, would
+say, "Work, you black rascal, or I'll flog you"; and the freedman would
+lean all the longer on his hoe. Planters of a more wise and moderate
+character, if they saw the emancipated laborers idling away their time,
+would say, "We expect better things of free men"; and that appeal to
+their manhood made the hoes fly fast.
+
+Old men and women have been treated with neglect and contempt in
+Slavery, because they were no longer able to work for the profit of
+their masters. But respect and tenderness are peculiarly due to the
+aged. They have done much and suffered much. They are no longer able to
+help themselves; and we should help them, as they helped us in the
+feebleness of our infancy, and as we may again need to be helped in the
+feebleness of age. Any want of kindness or civility toward the old
+ought to be very seriously rebuked in children; and affectionate
+attentions should be spoken of as praiseworthy.
+
+Slavery in every way fosters violence. Slave-children, being in the
+habit of seeing a great deal of beating, early form the habit of kicking
+and banging each other when they are angry, and of abusing poor helpless
+animals intrusted to their care. On all such occasions parents should
+say to them: "Those are the ways of Slavery. We expect better things of
+free children."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+AN HONORABLE RECORD.
+
+In 1837 the colored population in Philadelphia numbered eighteen
+thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight. Many of them were poor and
+ignorant, and some of them were vicious; as would be the case with any
+people under such discouraging influences. But, notwithstanding they
+were excluded by prejudice from all the most profitable branches of
+industry, they had acquired property valued at one million three hundred
+and fifty thousand dollars; five hundred and fifty thousand was in real
+estate, and eight hundred thousand was personal property. They had built
+sixteen churches, valued at one hundred and fourteen thousand dollars,
+for the support of which they annually paid over six thousand dollars.
+The pauper tax they paid was more than enough to support all the colored
+paupers in the city. They had eighty benevolent societies, and during
+that year they had expended fourteen thousand one hundred and
+seventy-two dollars for the relief of the sick and the helpless. A
+number of them who had been slaves had paid, in the course of that year,
+seventy thousand seven hundred and thirty-three dollars to purchase
+their own freedom, or that of their relatives.
+
+
+
+
+THANK GOD FOR LITTLE CHILDREN.
+
+BY FRANCES E. W. HARPER.
+
+
+    Thank God for little children!
+      Bright flowers by earth's wayside,--
+    The dancing, joyous life-boats
+      Upon life's stormy tide.
+
+    Thank God for little children!
+      When our skies are cold and gray,
+    They come as sunshine to our hearts,
+      And charm our cares away.
+
+    I almost think the angels,
+      Who tend life's garden fair,
+    Drop down the sweet wild blossoms
+      That bloom around us here.
+
+    It seems a breath of heaven
+      "Round many a cradle lies,"
+    And every little baby
+      Brings a message from the skies.
+
+    The humblest home, with children,
+      Is rich in precious gems;
+    Better than wealth of monarchs,
+      Or golden diadems.
+
+    Dear mothers, guard these jewels
+      As sacred offerings meet,--
+    A wealth of household treasures,
+      To lay at Jesus' feet.
+
+
+
+
+SAM AND ANDY.
+
+BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.
+
+
+A beautiful slave in Kentucky, named Eliza, had a very handsome little
+boy. One day she overheard her master making a bargain with a
+slave-trader by the name of Haley to sell them both. She made her escape
+that night, taking her child with her. Her mistress, who was much
+attached to her, and did not want to have her sold, was glad when she
+heard that Eliza was gone; but her master, who was afraid the trader
+would think he had helped her off after he had taken the money for her,
+ordered the horses Bill and Jerry to be brought, and two of his slaves,
+called Sam and Andy, to go with the slave-trader in pursuit of the
+fugitive. The way they contrived how _not_ to overtake Eliza is thus
+told in "Uncle Tom's Cabin":--
+
+"'Sam! Halloo, Sam!' said Andy. 'Mas'r wants you to cotch Bill and
+Jerry.'
+
+"'High! what's afoot now?' said Sam.
+
+"'Why I s'pose you don't know that Lizy's cut stick, and clared out,
+with her young un?'
+
+"'You teach your granny!' replied Sam, with infinite contempt; 'knowed
+it a heap sooner than _you_ did. This nigger a'n't so green, now.'
+
+"'Wal, anyhow, Mas'r wants Bill and Jerry geared right up; and you and
+I's to go with Mas'r Haley, to look arter her,' said Andy.
+
+"Sam, who had just been contriving how he could make himself of
+importance on the plantation, exclaimed: 'Good, now! dat's de time o'
+day! It's Sam dat's called for in dese yere times. _He_'s de nigger.
+Mas'r'll see what Sam can do!'
+
+"'Ah, you'd better think twice,' said Andy; 'for Missis don't want her
+cotched, and she'll be in yer wool.'
+
+"'High! how you know dat?' said Sam, opening his eyes.
+
+"'Heard her say so, my own self, dis blessed mornin', when I bring in
+Mas'r's shaving-water. She sent me to see why Lizy didn't come to dress
+her; and when I telled her she was off, she jes ris up, and ses she,
+"The Lord be praised!" Mas'r he seemed rael mad; and ses he, "Wife, you
+talk like a fool." But, Lor! she'll bring him to. I knows well enough
+how that'll be. It's allers best to stand Missis's side the fence, now I
+tell yer,' said Andy.
+
+"Sam scratched his woolly pate, and gave a hitch to his pantaloons, as
+he had a habit of doing when his mind was perplexed. 'Der a'n't never no
+sayin' 'bout no kind o' thing in dis yere world,' said he at last. 'Now
+I'd a said sartin that Missis would a scoured the varsal world after
+Lizy.'
+
+"'So she would,' said Andy; 'but can't ye see through a ladder, ye black
+nigger? Missis don't want dis yer Mas'r Haley to get Lizy's boy; dat's
+de go. And I 'specs you'd better be making tracks for dem
+hosses,--mighty sudden too,--for I hearn Missis 'quirin' arter yer; so
+you've stood foolin' long enough.'
+
+"Sam, upon this, began to bestir himself in earnest, and after a while
+appeared, bearing down gloriously towards the house, with Bill and Jerry
+in a full canter. Adroitly throwing himself off before they had any
+idea of stopping, he brought them up alongside the horse-post like a
+tornado. Haley's horse, which was a skittish young colt, winced and
+bounced, and pulled hard at his halter.
+
+"'Ho! ho!' said Sam, 'skeery, ar ye?' and his black face lighted up with
+a curious, mischievous gleam. 'I'll fix ye now,' said he.
+
+"There was a large beech-tree overshadowing the place, and the small,
+sharp, triangular beech-nuts lay scattered thickly on the ground. Sam
+stroked and patted the colt, and while pretending to adjust the saddle,
+he slipped under it a sharp little nut, in such a manner that the least
+weight brought upon the saddle would annoy the nervous animal, without
+leaving any perceptible wound.
+
+"'Dar, me fix 'em,' said he, rolling his eyes with an approving grin.
+
+"At this moment Mrs. Shelby appeared on the balcony and beckoned to him.
+'Why have you been loitering so, Sam?' said she. 'I sent Andy to tell
+you to hurry.'
+
+"'Bress you, Missis, hosses won't be cotched all in a minit. They done
+clared out down to the south pasture, and everywhar,' said Sam.
+
+"'Well, Sam,' replied his mistress, 'you are to go with Mr. Haley to
+show him the road, and help him. Be careful of the horses, Sam. You know
+Jerry was a little lame last week. _Don't ride them too fast._' She
+spoke the last words in a low voice, and with strong emphasis.
+
+"'Let dis chile alone for dat,' said Sam, rolling up his eyes with a
+look full of meaning. 'Yes, Missis, I'll look out for de hosses.'
+
+"Sam returned to his stand under the beech-tree, and said to Andy, 'Now,
+Andy, I wouldn't be 't all surprised if dat ar gen'lman's crittur should
+gib a fling, by and by, when he comes to be a gettin' up. You know,
+Andy, critturs _will_ do such things'; and Sam poked Andy in the side,
+in a highly suggestive manner.
+
+"'High!' exclaimed Andy, with an air that showed he understood
+instantly.
+
+"'Yes, you see, Andy, Missis wants to make time,' said Sam; 'dat ar's
+cl'ar to der most or'nary 'bserver. I jis make a little for her. Now,
+you see, get all dese yere hosses loose, caperin' permiscus round dis
+yere lot, and down to de wood dar, and I 'spec Mas'r won't be off in a
+hurry.'
+
+"Andy grinned.
+
+"'You see, Andy,' said Sam, 'if any such thing should happen as that
+Mas'r Haley's hoss _should_ begin to act contrary, and cut up, you and I
+jist lets go of _our'n_ to help him! O yes, we'll _help_ him!' And Sam
+and Andy laid their heads back on their shoulders, and broke into a low,
+immoderate laugh, snapping their fingers, and flourishing their heels
+with exquisite delight.
+
+"While they were enjoying themselves in this style, Haley appeared on
+the verandah. Some cups of very good coffee had somewhat mollified him,
+and he came out smiling and talking in tolerably restored humor. Sam and
+Andy clawed for their torn hats, and flew to the horse-posts to be ready
+to 'help Mas'r.' The brim of Sam's hat was all unbraided, and the
+slivers of the palm-leaf started apart in every direction, giving it a
+blazing air of freedom and defiance. The brim had gone entirely from
+Andy's hat; but he thumped the crown on his head, and looked about well
+pleased, as if to ask, 'Who says I haven't got a hat?'
+
+"'Well, boys,' said Haley, 'be alive now. We must lose no time.'
+
+"'Not a bit of him, Mas'r,' said Sam, putting Haley's rein into his
+hand and holding his stirrup, while Andy was untying the other two
+horses.
+
+"The instant Haley touched the saddle the mettlesome creature bounded
+from the earth with a sudden spring, that threw his master sprawling
+some feet off, on the dry, soft turf. With frantic ejaculations Sam made
+a dive at the reins, but only succeeded in brushing the torn slivers of
+his hat into the horse's eyes, which by no means tended to allay the
+confusion of his nerves. With two or three contemptuous snorts he upset
+Sam, flourished his heels vigorously in the air, and pranced away toward
+the lower end of the lawn. He was followed by Bill and Jerry, whom Andy
+had not failed to let loose, according to contract, speeding them off
+with various direful cries. And now there was a scene of great
+confusion. Sam and Andy ran and shouted; dogs ran barking here and
+there; Mike, Mose, Mandy, Fanny, and all the smaller specimens on the
+place, raced, whooped, shouted, and clapped their hands with outrageous
+zeal. Haley's fleet horse entered into the spirit of the scene with
+great gusto. He raced round the lawn, which was half a mile in extent,
+and seemed to take a mischievous delight in letting his pursuers come
+within a hand's breadth of him, and then whisking off again with a start
+and a snort.
+
+"Sam's torn hat was seen everywhere. If there seemed to be the least
+chance that a horse could be caught, down he bore upon him full tilt,
+shouting, 'Now for it! Cotch him! cotch him!' in a way that set them all
+to racing again.
+
+"Haley ran up and down, stamped, cursed, and swore. The master in vain
+tried to give some directions from the balcony, and the mistress looked
+from her chamber window and laughed. She had some suspicion that Sam was
+the cause of all this confusion.
+
+"At last, about twelve o'clock, Sam appeared, mounted on Jerry, leading
+Haley's horse, reeking with sweat, but with flashing eyes and dilated
+nostrils, showing that the spirit of freedom had not yet entirely
+subsided.
+
+"'He's cotched!' exclaimed Sam, triumphantly. 'If it hadn't been for me
+they might a bust themselves, all on 'em; but I cotched him.'
+
+"'_You!_' growled Haley. 'If it hadn't been for _you_, this never would
+have happened.'
+
+"'Bress us, Mas'r!' exclaimed Sam; 'when it's me that's been a racin'
+and chasin' till the swet jist pours off me.'
+
+"'Well, well!' said Haley, 'you've lost me near three hours with your
+cursed nonsense. Now let's be off, and have no more fooling.'
+
+"'Why, Mas'r,' said Sam, in a deprecating tone, 'I do believe you mean
+to kill us all clar,--hosses and all. Here we are all jist ready to drop
+down, and the critturs all in a reek o' sweat. Sure Mas'r won't think of
+startin' now till arter dinner. Mas'r's hoss wants rubben down. See how
+he's splashed hisself!--and Jerry limps, too. Don't think Missis would
+be willing to have us start dis yere way, no how. Bress you, Mas'r, we
+can ketch up, if we stop. Lizy nebber was no great of a walker.'
+
+"The mistress, who, greatly to her amusement, overheard this
+conversation from the verandah, now came forward and courteously urged
+Mr. Haley to stay to dinner, saying that the cook should bring it on the
+table immediately. All things considered, the slave-trader concluded it
+was best to do so. As he moved toward the parlor, Sam rolled his eyes
+after him with unutterable meaning, and gravely led the horses to the
+stable.
+
+"When he had fairly got beyond the shelter of the barn, and fastened
+the horse to a post, he exclaimed, 'Did you see him, Andy? _Did_ yer see
+him? O Lor', if it warn't as good as a meetin', now, to see him a
+dancin' and a kickin', and swarin' at us! Didn't I hear him? Swar away,
+ole fellow! says I to myself. Will you have yer hoss now, or wait till
+you cotch him? says I.' And Sam and Andy leaned up against the barn, and
+laughed to their hearts' content.
+
+"'Yer oughter seen how mad he looked when I brought the hoss up. Lor',
+he'd a killed me if he durs' to; and there I was a standin' as innercent
+and humble.'
+
+"'Lor', I seed you,' said Andy. 'A'n't you an old hoss, Sam?'
+
+"'Rather 'specs I am,' said Sam. 'Did you see Missus up stars at the
+winder? I seed her laughin'.'
+
+"'I'm sure I was racin' so I didn't see nothin,' said Andy.
+
+"'Wal, yer see, I'se 'quired a habit o' bobservation,' said Sam. 'It's a
+very 'portant habit, Andy; and I 'commend yer to be cultivatin' it, now
+yer young. Bobservation makes all de difference in niggers. Didn't I see
+what Missis wanted, though she never let on? Dat ar's bobservation,
+Andy. I 'specs it's what yer may call a faculty. Faculties is different
+in different peoples; but cultivation of 'em goes a great way.'
+
+"'I guess if I hadn't helped your bobservation dis mornin', yer wouldn't
+have seen yer way so smart,' said Andy.
+
+"'You's a promisin' chile, Andy, der a'n't no manner o' doubt,' said
+Sam. 'I think lots of yer, Andy; and I don't feel no ways ashamed to
+take idees from yer. Let's go up to the house now, Andy. I'll be boun'
+Missis'll give us an uncommon good bite dis yere time.'"
+
+"The mistress had promised that dinner should be brought on the table in
+a hurry, and she had given the orders in Haley's hearing. But the
+servants all seemed to have an impression that Missis would not be
+disobliged by delay. Aunt Chloe, the cook, went on with her operations
+in a very leisurely manner. Then it was wonderful what a number of
+accidents happened. One upset the butter; another tumbled down with the
+water, and had to go to the spring for more; another spilled the gravy;
+then Aunt Chloe set about making new gravy, watching it and stirring it
+with the greatest precision. If reminded that the orders were to hurry,
+she answered shortly that she 'warn't a going to have raw gravy on the
+table, to help nobody's catchin's.'
+
+"From time to time there was giggling in the kitchen, when news was
+brought that 'Mas'r Haley was mighty oneasy, and that he couldn't set in
+his cheer no ways, but was a walkin' and stalkin' to the winders and
+through the porch.'
+
+"'Sarves him right!' said Aunt Chloe. 'He'll git wus nor oneasy, one of
+these days, if he don't mend his ways.'
+
+"At last the dinner was sent in, and the mistress smiled and chatted,
+and did all she could to make the time pass imperceptibly.
+
+"At two o'clock, Sam and Andy brought the horses up to the posts,
+apparently greatly refreshed and invigorated by the scamper of the
+morning. As Haley prepared to mount, he said, 'Your master don't keep no
+dogs, I s'pose?'
+
+"'Heaps on 'em,' said Sam, triumphantly. 'Thar's Bruno,--he's a roarer;
+and besides that, 'bout every nigger of us keeps a pup o' some natur' or
+uther.'
+
+"'But does your master keep any dogs for tracking out niggers?' said
+Haley.
+
+"Sam knew very well what he meant, but he kept on a look of desperate
+simplicity. 'Wal,' said he, 'our dogs all smells round considerable
+sharp. I 'spect they's the _kind_, though they ha'n't never had no
+_practice_. They's far dogs at most anything though, if you'd get 'em
+started.' He whistled to Bruno, a great lumbering Newfoundland dog, who
+came pitching tumultuously toward them.
+
+"'You go hang!' exclaimed Haley, mounting his horse. 'Come, tumble up,
+now.'
+
+"Sam tumbled up accordingly, contriving to tickle Andy as he did so.
+This made Andy split out into a laugh, greatly to Haley's indignation,
+who made a cut at him with his riding-whip. 'I'se 'stonished at yer,
+Andy,' said Sam, with awful gravity. 'This yere's a seris bisness, Andy.
+Yer mustn't be a makin' game. This yere a'n't no way to help Mas'r.'
+
+"When they came to the boundaries of the estate, Haley said: 'I shall
+take the road to the river. I know the way of all of 'em. They always
+makes tracks for the underground.'
+
+"'Sartin, dat's de idee,' said Sam. 'Mas'r Haley hits de thing right in
+de middle. Now, der's two roads to de river,--de dirt road and der pike.
+Which Mas'r mean to take?'
+
+"Andy looked up innocently at Sam, surprised at hearing this new
+geographical fact; but he instantly confirmed what Sam said.
+
+"'I'd rather be 'clined to 'magine that Lizy'd take der dirt road, bein'
+it's the least travelled,' said Sam. Though Haley was an old bird, and
+inclined to be suspicious of chaff, he was rather brought up by this
+view of the case. He pondered a moment, and said, 'If yer wasn't both on
+yer such cussed liars, now!'
+
+"The pensive tone in which this was spoken amused Andy prodigiously. He
+fell a little behind, and shook so with laughter as to run a great risk
+of falling from his horse. But Sam's face was immovably composed into
+the most doleful gravity.
+
+"'Course, Mas'r can do as he'd ruther,' said Sam. 'It's all one to us.
+When I study 'pon it, I think de straight road is de best.'
+
+"'She would naturally go a lonesome way,' said Haley.
+
+"'I should 'magine so,' said Sam; 'but gals is pecular. Dey nebber does
+nothin' ye thinks they will; mose gen'lly de contrar; so if yer thinks
+they've gone one road, it's sartin you'd better go t'other, and then
+you'll be sure to find 'em. So I think we'd better take de straight
+road.'
+
+"Haley announced decidedly that he should go the other, and asked when
+they should come to it.
+
+"'A little piece ahed,' said Sam, giving a wink to Andy. He added
+gravely, 'I've studded on de matter, and I'm quite clar we ought not to
+go dat ar way. I nebber been over it no way. It's despit lonesome, and
+we might lose our way. And now I think on't, I hearn 'em tell dat ar
+road was all fenced up down by der creek. A'n't it, Andy?'
+
+"Andy wasn't certain; he'd only 'hearn tell' about that road, but had
+never been over it.
+
+"Haley thought the first mention of the road was involuntary on Sam's
+part, and that, upon second thoughts, he had lied desperately to
+dissuade him from taking that direction because he was unwilling to
+implicate Eliza. Therefore he struck briskly into the road, and was
+followed by Sam and Andy.
+
+"The road in fact had formerly been an old thoroughfare to the river,
+but after the laying of the new pike it had been abandoned. It was open
+for about an hour's ride, and after that it was cut across by various
+farms and fences. Sam knew this perfectly well; indeed, the road had
+been so long closed that Andy had never heard of it. He therefore rode
+along with an air of dutiful submission, only groaning occasionally, and
+saying it was 'desp't rough, and bad for Jerry's foot.'
+
+"'Now, I jest give yer warning, I know yer,' said Haley. 'Yer won't get
+me to turn off this yere road, with all yer fussin'; so you shet up.'
+
+"'Mas'r will go his own way,' said Sam, with rueful submission, at the
+same time winking portentously to Andy, whose delight now was very near
+the explosive point. Sam was in wonderful spirits. He professed to keep
+a very brisk lookout. At one time he exclaimed that he saw 'a gal's
+bunnet' on the top of some distant eminence; at another time, he called
+out to Andy to ask if 'that thar wasn't Lizy down in the holler.' He was
+always sure to make these exclamations in some rough or craggy part of
+the road, where the sudden quickening of speed was a special
+inconvenience to all parties concerned, thus keeping Haley in a state of
+constant commotion.
+
+"After riding about an hour in this way, the whole party made a
+precipitate and tumultuous descent into a barn-yard belonging to a large
+farming establishment. Not a soul was in sight, all the hands being
+employed in the fields; but as the barn stood square across the road,
+it was evident that their journey in that direction had reached its end.
+
+"'You rascal!' said Haley; 'you knew all about this.'
+
+"'Didn't I _tell_ yer I knowed, and yer wouldn't believe me?' replied
+Sam. 'I telled Mas'r 't was all shet up, and fenced up, and I didn't
+'spect we could git through. Andy heard me.'
+
+"This was too true to be disputed, and the unlucky man had to pocket his
+wrath as well as he could. All three faced to the right about, and took
+up their line of march for the highway."
+
+[The consequence of all these delays was, that they reached the Ohio
+River only in season to see Eliza and her child get safely on the other
+side, by jumping from one mass of floating ice to the other.]
+
+"'The gal's got seven devils in her I believe,' said Haley. 'How like a
+wild-cat she jumped!'
+
+"'Wal, now,' said Sam, scratching his head, 'I hope Mas'r 'scuse us
+tryin' dat ar road. Don't think I feel spry enough for dat ar, no way';
+and Sam gave a hoarse chuckle.
+
+"'_You_ laugh!' exclaimed the slave-trader, with a growl.
+
+"'I couldn't help it now, Mas'r,' said Sam, giving way to the long
+pent-up delight of his soul. 'She looked so curis, a leapin' and
+springin'; ice a crackin'--and only to hear her! plump! ker chunk! ker
+splash!' and Sam and Andy laughed till the tears rolled down their
+cheeks.
+
+"'I'll make yer laugh t'other side yer mouths!' exclaimed the trader,
+laying about their heads with his riding-whip. Both ducked, and ran
+shouting up the bank. They were on their horses before he could come up
+with them.
+
+"With much gravity Sam called out: 'Good evening, Mas'r Haley. Won't
+want us no longer. I 'spect Missis be anxious 'bout Jerry. Missis
+wouldn't hear of our ridin' the critturs over Lizy's bridge to-night.'
+With a poke into Andy's ribs, they started off at full speed, their
+shouts of laughter coming faintly on the wind.
+
+"Sam was in the highest possible feather. He expressed his exultation by
+all sorts of howls and ejaculations, and by divers odd motions and
+contortions of his whole system. Sometimes he would sit backward with
+his face to the horse's tail; then, with a whoop and a somerset, he
+would come right side up in his place again; and, drawing on a grave
+face, he would begin to lecture Andy for laughing and playing the fool.
+Anon, slapping his sides with his arms, he would burst forth in peals of
+laughter, that made the old woods ring as they passed. With all these
+evolutions, he contrived to keep the horses up to the top of their
+speed, until, between ten and eleven, their heels resounded on the
+gravel at the end of the balcony.
+
+"His mistress flew to the railings, and called out, 'Is that you, Sam?
+Where are they?'
+
+"'Mas'r Haley's a restin' at the tavern,' said Sam. 'He's drefful
+fatigued, Missis.'
+
+"'And Eliza, where is she, Sam?'
+
+"'Wal, Missis, de Lord he persarves his own. Lizy's done gone over the
+river into 'Hio; as 'markably as if de Lord took her over in a chariot
+of fire and two hosses.'
+
+"His master, who had followed his wife to the verandah, said, 'Come up
+here, and tell your mistress what she wants to know.'
+
+"Sam soon appeared at the parlor-door, hat in hand. In answer to their
+questions, he told his story in lively style. 'Dis yere's a providence,
+and no mistake,' said Sam, piously rolling up his eyes. 'As Missis has
+allers been instructin' on us, thar's allers instruments ris up to do de
+Lord's will. Now if it hadn't been for me to-day, Lizy'd been took a
+dozen times. Warn't it I started off de hosses, dis yere mornin', and
+kept 'em chasin' till dinner time? And didn't I car Mas'r Haley five
+miles out of de road dis evening? else he'd a come up with Lizy, as easy
+as a dog arter a coon. Dese yere's all providences!'
+
+"With as much sternness as he could command under the circumstances, his
+master said, 'They are a kind of providences that you'll have to be
+pretty sparing of, Sam. I allow no such practices with gentlemen on my
+place.'
+
+"Sam stood with the corners of his mouth lowered, in most penitential
+style. 'Mas'r's quite right,' said he. 'It was ugly on me; thar's no
+disputin' that ar; and of course Mas'r and Missis wouldn't encourage no
+such works. I'm sensible ob dat ar. But a poor nigger like me's 'mazin'
+tempted to act ugly sometimes, when fellers will cut up such shines as
+dat ar Mas'r Haley. He a'n't no gen'l'man no way. Anybody's been raised
+as I've been can't help a seein' dat ar.'
+
+"'Well, Sam,' said his mistress, 'as you seem to have a proper sense of
+your errors, you may go now and tell Aunt Chloe she may get you some of
+that cold ham that was left of dinner to-day. You and Andy must be
+hungry.'
+
+"'Missis is a heap too good for us,' said Sam, making his bow with
+alacrity and departing.
+
+"Having done up his piety and humility, to the satisfaction of the
+parlor, as he trusted, he clapped his palm-leaf on his head with a sort
+of free-and-easy air, and proceeded to the dominions of Aunt Chloe, with
+the intention of flourishing largely in the kitchen."
+
+
+
+
+JOHN BROWN AND THE COLORED CHILD.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+     [When John Brown went from the jail to the gallows, in Charlestown,
+     Virginia, December 2, 1859, he stooped to kiss a little colored
+     child.]
+
+
+    A winter sunshine, still and bright,
+    The Blue Hills bathed with golden light,
+    And earth was smiling to the sky,
+    When calmly he went forth to die.
+
+    Infernal passions festered there,
+    Where peaceful Nature looked so fair;
+    And fiercely, in the morning sun,
+    Flashed glitt'ring bayonet and gun.
+
+    The old man met no friendly eye,
+    When last he looked on earth and sky;
+    But one small child, with timid air,
+    Was gazing on his hoary hair.
+
+    As that dark brow to his upturned,
+    The tender heart within him yearned;
+    And, fondly stooping o'er her face,
+    He kissed her for her injured race.
+
+    The little one she knew not why
+    That kind old man went forth to die;
+    Nor why, 'mid all that pomp and stir,
+    He stooped to give a kiss to _her_.
+
+    But Jesus smiled that sight to see,
+    And said, "He did it unto _me_."
+    The golden harps then sweetly rung,
+    And this the song the angels sung:
+
+    "Who loves the poor doth love the Lord;
+    Earth cannot dim thy bright reward:
+    We hover o'er yon gallows high,
+    And wait to bear thee to the sky."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+John Brown, on his way to the scaffold, stooped to take up a
+slave-child. That closing example was the legacy of the dying man to his
+country. That benediction we must continue and fulfil. In this new
+order, equality, long postponed, shall become the master-principle of
+our system, and the very frontispiece of our Constitution.--HON. CHARLES
+SUMNER.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Christ told me to remember those in bonds as bound with them; to do
+toward them as I should wish them to do toward me in similar
+circumstances. My conscience bade me to do that. Therefore I have no
+regret for the transaction for which I am condemned. I think I feel as
+happy as Paul did when he lay in prison. He knew if they killed him it
+would greatly advance the cause of Christ. That was the reason he
+rejoiced. On that same ground "I do rejoice, yea, and will
+rejoice."--JOHN BROWN.
+
+
+
+
+THE AIR OF FREEDOM.
+
+BY FRANCES E. W. HARPER.
+
+     [Written at Niagara Falls in 1856.]
+
+
+I have just returned from Canada. I have gazed for the first time upon
+free land. Would you believe it? the tears sprang to my eyes, and I
+wept. It was a glorious sight to gaze, for the first time, on the land
+where a poor slave, flying from our land of boasted liberty, would in a
+moment find his fetters broken and his shackles loosed. Whatever he was
+in the land of Washington, in the shadow of Bunker Hill Monument, or
+even upon Plymouth Rock, _here_ he becomes "a man and a brother."
+
+I had gazed on Harper's Ferry, or rather the Rock at the Ferry, towering
+up in simple grandeur, with the gentle Potomac gliding peacefully at its
+feet; and I felt that it was God's masonry. My soul expanded while
+gazing on its sublimity. I had heard the ocean singing its wild chorus
+of sounding waves, and the living chords of my heart thrilled with
+ecstasy. I have since seen the rainbow-crowned Niagara, girdled with
+grandeur and robed with glory, chanting the choral hymn of omnipotence;
+but none of these sights have melted me, as did the first sight of free
+land.
+
+Towering mountains, lifting their hoary summits to catch the first faint
+flush of day, when the sunbeams kiss the shadows from morning's drowsy
+face, may expand and exalt your soul; the first view of the ocean may
+fill you with strange delight; the great, the glorious Niagara may hush
+your spirit with its ceaseless thunder,--it may charm you with its robe
+of crested spray, and with its rainbow crown: but the land of freedom
+has a lesson of deeper significance than foaming waves and towering
+mountains. It carries the heart back to that heroic struggle in Great
+Britain for the emancipation of the slaves, in which the great heart of
+the people throbbed for liberty, and the mighty pulse of the nation beat
+for freedom, till eight hundred thousand men, women, and children in the
+West Indies arose redeemed from bondage and freed from chains.
+
+
+
+
+EMANCIPATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, APRIL 16, 1862.
+
+BY JAMES MADISON BELL.
+
+
+    Unfurl your banners to the breeze!
+      Let Freedom's tocsin sound amain,
+    Until the islands of the seas
+      Re-echo with the glad refrain!
+    Columbia's free! Columbia's free!
+      Her teeming streets, her vine-clad groves,
+    Are sacred now to Liberty,
+      And God, who every right approves.
+
+    Thank God, the Capital is free!
+      The slaver's pen, the auction-block,
+    The gory lash of cruelty,
+      No more this nation's pride shall mock;
+    No more, within those ten miles square,
+      Shall men be bought and women sold;
+    Nor infants, sable-hued and fair,
+      Exchanged again for paltry gold.
+
+    To-day the Capital is free!
+      And free those halls where Adams stood
+    To plead for man's humanity,
+      And for a common brotherhood;
+    Where Sumner stood, with massive frame,
+      Whose eloquent philosophy
+    Has clustered round his deathless name
+      Bright laurels for eternity;
+
+    Where Wilson, Lovejoy, Wade, and Hale,
+      And other lights of equal power,
+    Have stood, like warriors clad in mail,
+      Before the giant of the hour,--
+    Co-workers in a common cause,
+      Laboring for their country's weal,
+    By just enactments, righteous laws,
+      And burning, eloquent appeal.
+
+    To them we owe and gladly bring
+      The grateful tributes of our hearts;
+    And while we live to muse and sing,
+      These in our songs shall claim their parts.
+    To-day Columbia's air doth seem
+      Much purer than in days agone;
+    And now her mighty heart, I deem,
+      Hath lighter grown by marching on.
+
+
+
+
+THE LAWS OF HEALTH.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+There are three things peculiarly essential to health,--plenty of fresh
+water, plenty of pure air, and enough of nourishing food.
+
+If possible, the human body should be washed all over every day; but if
+circumstances render that difficult, the operation should be performed
+at least two or three times a week. People in general are not aware how
+important frequent bathing is. The cuticle, or skin, with which the
+human body is covered, is like fine net-work, or lace. By help of a
+magnifying-glass, called a microscope, it can be seen that there are a
+thousand holes in every inch of our skin. In the skin of a middle-sized
+man there are two millions three hundred and four thousand of these
+holes, called pores. Those pores are the mouths of exceedingly small
+vessels made to carry off fluids, which are continually formed in the
+human body, and need to be continually carried off. This process is
+going on all the time, whether we are sleeping or waking, hot or cold.
+When we are cool and at rest, that which passes off is invisible; and
+because we see no signs of it, and are not sensible of it, it is called
+insensible perspiration. But in very hot weather, or when we exercise
+violently, a saltish fluid passes through our pores in great drops,
+which we call sweat; and because we can see and feel it, it is called
+sensible perspiration. If the pores of the body are filled up with dust,
+or any kind of dirt, the fluids cannot pass off through them, as Nature
+intended; and, being shut up, they become corrupt and produce fevers and
+bad humors. This is the reason why physicians always advise people to be
+careful and keep their pores open. In order to do this, dust and dirt
+should be frequently washed away. Many a fever and many a troublesome
+sore might be prevented by frequent bathing. Moreover, the skin looks
+smoother and handsomer when it is washed often. If a pond or river is
+near by, it is well to swim a few minutes every day or two; if not, the
+body should be washed with a pail of water and a rag. But it is not safe
+to go into cold water, or to apply it to the skin, when you are very
+much heated; nor is it safe to drink much cold water until you get
+somewhat cool. The best way is to plunge into water when you first get
+up in the morning, and then rub yourself with a cloth till you feel all
+of a glow. It takes but a few minutes, and you will feel more vigorous
+for it all day. Cool water is more healthy to wash in than warm water.
+It makes a person feel stronger, and it is not attended with any danger
+of catching cold afterward. But water directly from the well is too
+chilly; it is better to use it when it has been standing in the house
+some hours. Garments worn next to the skin, and the sheets in which you
+sleep, imbibe something of the fluids all the time passing from the
+body; therefore they should be washed every week. I am aware that, as
+slaves, you had no beds or sheets; but as free men I hope you will
+gradually be able to provide yourselves with such comforts. Meanwhile,
+sleep in the cleanest way that you can; for that is one way to avoid
+sickness. When the skin is hot and feverish, it does a great deal of
+good to wipe the face, arms, and legs with a cloth moistened with cool
+water, changed occasionally. Headache is often cured by placing the feet
+in cool water a minute or two, and then rubbing them smartly with a dry
+cloth. Sitting in cool water fifteen or twenty minutes is also a remedy
+for headache or dizziness. A cut or bruise heals much quicker if it is
+soaked ten or fifteen minutes in cool water, then wrapped in six or
+eight folds of wet rag, and covered with a piece of dry cloth. The rag
+should be moistened again when it gets dry. This simple process subdues
+the heat and fever of a wound. When the throat is sore, it is an
+excellent thing to wash the outside freely with cold water the first
+thing in the morning, and then wipe it very dry. A wet bandage at night,
+covered with a dry cloth, to keep it from the air, often proves very
+comforting when the throat is inflamed. Indeed, it is scarcely possible
+to say too much in favor of using cool water freely, at suitable times.
+
+Fresh air is as important as good water. The lungs of the human body are
+all the time drawing in air and breathing out air. What we breathe out
+carries away with it something from our bodies. Therefore it is
+unhealthy to be in a room with many people, without doors or windows
+open; for the people draw in all the fresh air, and what they breathe
+out is more or less corrupted by having passed through their bodies. It
+is very important to health to have plenty of pure fresh air to breathe.
+No dirty things, or decaying substances, such as cabbage leaves or
+mouldy vegetables, or pools of stagnant water, should be allowed to
+remain anywhere near a dwelling. The pools should be filled up, and the
+decaying things should be carried away from the house, heaped up and
+covered with earth to make manure for the garden. If there is not room
+enough to do that, they should be buried in the ground. Whole families
+often have fevers from breathing the bad odors that rise from such
+things. It is morally wrong to indulge in any habits that injure the
+health or well-being of others. The bed, and the coverings of the bed,
+should have fresh air let in upon them every day; otherwise, they retain
+the fluids which are passing from the body all the time. In England,
+children that worked in large manufactories became pale and sickly and
+died off fast. When doctors inquired into it, they found that the poor
+little creatures crept into the same bedclothes week after week, and
+month after month, without having them washed or aired.
+
+Occasional change in articles of food is healthy, as well as agreeable;
+but it is injurious to eat a great variety of things at the same meal.
+There are two good rules, so very simple that everybody, rich or poor,
+can observe them: First, never indulge yourself in eating what you have
+found by experience does not agree with you; secondly, when you have
+eaten enough, do not continue to eat merely because the food tastes
+good. It is foolish to derange the stomach for a long time to please the
+palate for a short time.
+
+If you have oppressed feelings in the head, or sour and bitter tastes in
+the mouth, or a tendency to sickishness, take nothing but bread and
+water for two or three days, and you will be very likely to save
+yourself from a fever.
+
+People might spare themselves many a toothache if they would rinse their
+mouths after every meal, and every night, before going to bed, remove
+every particle of food from between the teeth, and rinse them thoroughly
+with water. New toothpicks should be made often, for the sake of
+cleanliness.
+
+Dirt was a necessity of Slavery; and that is one reason, among many
+others, why freemen should hate it, and try to put it away from their
+minds, their persons, and their habitations.
+
+
+
+
+PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION OF
+EMANCIPATION, JANUARY 1, 1863.
+
+BY FRANCES E. W. HARPER.
+
+
+    It shall flash through coming ages,
+      It shall light the distant years;
+    And eyes now dim with sorrow
+      Shall be brighter through their tears.
+
+    It shall flush the mountain ranges,
+      And the valleys shall grow bright;
+    It shall bathe the hills in radiance,
+      And crown their brows with light.
+
+    It shall flood with golden splendor
+      All the huts of Caroline;
+    And the sun-kissed brow of labor
+      With lustre new shall shine.
+
+    It shall gild the gloomy prison,
+      Darkened by the nation's crime,
+    Where the dumb and patient millions
+      Wait the better-coming time.
+
+    By the light that gilds their prison
+      They shall see its mouldering key;
+    And the bolts and bars shall vibrate
+      With the triumphs of the free.
+
+    Though the morning seemed to linger
+      O'er the hill-tops far away,
+    Now the shadows bear the promise
+      Of the quickly coming day.
+
+    Soon the mists and murky shadows
+      Shall be fringed with crimson light,
+    And the glorious dawn of freedom
+      Break refulgent on the sight.
+
+
+
+
+NEW-YEAR'S DAY ON THE ISLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1863.
+
+BY CHARLOTTE L. FORTEN.
+
+
+A few days before Christmas we were delighted at receiving a beautiful
+Christmas Hymn from John G. Whittier, written especially for our
+children. They learned it very easily, and enjoyed singing it. We showed
+them the writer's picture, and told them he was a very good friend of
+theirs, who felt the deepest interest in them, and had written this Hymn
+expressly for them to sing. This made them very proud and happy.
+
+Early Christmas morning we were wakened by the people knocking at the
+doors and windows, and shouting "Merry Christmas!" After distributing
+some little presents among them, we went to the church, which had been
+decorated with holly, pine, cassena, mistletoe, and the hanging moss,
+and had a very Christmas-like look. The children of our school assembled
+there, and we gave them the nice comfortable clothing and the
+picture-books which had been kindly sent by some Philadelphia ladies.
+There were at least a hundred and fifty children present. It was very
+pleasant to see their happy, expectant little faces. To them it was a
+wonderful Christmas-day, such as they had never dreamed of before. There
+was cheerful sunshine without, lighting up the beautiful moss drapery of
+the oaks, and looking in joyously through the open windows; and there
+were bright faces and glad hearts within.
+
+After the distribution of the gifts, the children were addressed by some
+of the gentlemen present. Then they sang the following Hymn, which their
+good friend Whittier had written for them:--
+
+    "O, none in all the world before
+      Were ever so glad as we!
+    We're free on Carolina's shore,
+      We're all at home and free.
+
+    "Thou Friend and Helper of the poor,
+      Who suffered for our sake,
+    To open every prison-door,
+      And every yoke to break,--
+
+    "Bend low thy pitying face and mild,
+      And help us sing and pray;
+    The hand that blest the little child
+      Upon our foreheads lay.
+
+    "We hear no more the driver's horn,
+      No more the whip we fear;
+    This holy day that saw thee born
+      Was never half so dear.
+
+    "The very oaks are greener clad,
+      The waters brighter smile;
+    O, never shone a day so glad
+      On sweet St. Helen's Isle.
+
+    "We praise Thee in our songs to-day,
+      To Thee in prayer we call;
+    Make swift the feet and straight the way
+      Of freedom unto all.
+
+    "Come once again, O blessed Lord!
+      Come walking on the sea!
+    And let the mainlands hear the word
+      That sets the islands free!"
+
+Then they sang John Brown's Hallelujah Song, and several of their own
+hymns.
+
+Christmas night, the children came in and had several grand shouts. They
+were too happy to keep still. One of them, a cunning, kittenish little
+creature, named Amaretta, only six years old, has a remarkably sweet
+voice. "O Miss," said she, "all I want to do is to sing and shout!" And
+sing and shout she did, to her heart's content. She reads nicely, and is
+very fond of books. Many of the children already know their letters. The
+parents are eager to have them learn. They sometimes say to me: "Do,
+Miss, let de children learn eberyting dey can. We neber hab no chance to
+learn nuttin'; but we wants de chillen to learn." They are willing to
+make many sacrifices that their children may attend school. One old
+woman, who had a large family of children and grandchildren, came
+regularly to school in the winter, and took her seat among the little
+ones. Another woman, who had one of the best faces I ever saw, came
+daily, and brought her baby in her arms. It happened to be one of the
+best babies in the world, and allowed its mother to pursue her studies
+without interruption.
+
+New-Year's Day, Emancipation Day, was a glorious one to us. General
+Saxton and Colonel Higginson had invited us to visit the camp of the
+First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers on that day, "the greatest
+day in the nation's history." We enjoyed perfectly the exciting scene on
+board the steamboat Flora. There was an eager, wondering crowd of the
+freed people, in their holiday attire, with the gayest of headkerchiefs,
+the whitest of aprons, and the happiest of faces. The band was playing,
+the flags were streaming, and everybody was talking merrily and feeling
+happy. The sun shone brightly, and the very waves seemed to partake of
+the universal gayety, for they danced and sparkled more joyously than
+ever before. Long before we reached Camp Saxton, we could see the
+beautiful grove and the ruins of the old fort near it. Some companies of
+the First Regiment were drawn up in line under the trees near the
+landing, ready to receive us. They were a fine, soldierly looking set of
+men, and their brilliant dress made a splendid appearance among the
+trees. It was my good fortune to find an old friend among the officers.
+He took us over the camp and showed us all the arrangements. Everything
+looked clean and comfortable; much neater, we were told, than in most of
+the white camps. An officer told us that he had never seen a regiment in
+which the men were so honest. "In many other camps," said he, "the
+Colonel and the rest of us would find it necessary to place a guard
+before our tents. We never do it here. Our tents are left entirely
+unguarded, but nothing has ever been touched." We were glad to know
+that. It is a remarkable fact, when we consider that the men of this
+regiment have all their lives been slaves; for we all know that Slavery
+does not tend to make men honest.
+
+The ceremony in honor of Emancipation took place in the beautiful grove
+of live-oaks adjoining the camp. I wish it were possible to describe
+fitly the scene which met our eyes, as we sat upon the stand, and looked
+down on the crowd before us. There were the black soldiers in their blue
+coats and scarlet pantaloons; the officers of the First Regiment, and of
+other regiments, in their handsome uniforms; and there were crowds of
+lookers-on, men, women, and children, of every complexion, grouped in
+various attitudes, under the moss-hung trees. The faces of all wore a
+happy, interested look. The exercises commenced with a prayer by the
+chaplain of the regiment. An ode, written for the occasion, was then
+read and sung. President Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation was then
+read, and enthusiastically cheered. The Rev. Mr. French presented
+Colonel Higginson with two very elegant flags, a gift to the First
+Regiment, from the Church of the Puritans, in New York. He accompanied
+them by an appropriate and enthusiastic speech. As Colonel Higginson
+took the flags, before he had time to reply to the speech, some of the
+colored people, of their own accord, began to sing,--
+
+    "My country, 'tis of thee,
+    Sweet land of liberty,
+        Of thee we sing!"
+
+It was a touching and beautiful incident, and sent a thrill through all
+our hearts. The Colonel was deeply moved by it. He said that reply was
+far more effective than any speech he could make. But he did make one of
+those stirring speeches which are "half battles." All hearts swelled
+with emotion as we listened to his glorious words, "stirring the soul
+like the sound of a trumpet." His soldiers are warmly attached to him,
+and he evidently feels toward them all as if they were his children.
+
+General Saxton spoke also, and was received with great enthusiasm.
+Throughout the morning, repeated cheers were given for him by the
+regiment, and joined in heartily by all the people. They know him to be
+one of the best and noblest men in the world. His unfailing kindness and
+consideration for them, so different from the treatment they have
+sometimes received at the hands of United States officers, have caused
+them to have unbounded confidence in him.
+
+At the close of Colonel Higginson's speech, he presented the flags to
+the color-bearers, Sergeant Rivers and Sergeant Sutton, with an earnest
+charge, to which they made appropriate replies.
+
+Mrs. Gage uttered some earnest words, and then the regiment sang John
+Brown's Hallelujah Song.
+
+After the meeting was over, we saw the dress-parade, which was a
+brilliant and beautiful sight. An officer told us that the men went
+through the drill remarkably well, and learned the movements with
+wonderful ease and rapidity. To us it seemed strange as a miracle to see
+this regiment of blacks, the first mustered into the service of the
+United States, thus doing itself honor in the sight of officers of other
+regiments, many of whom doubtless came to scoff. The men afterward had a
+great feast; ten oxen having been roasted whole, for their especial
+benefit.
+
+In the evening there was the softest, loveliest moonlight. We were very
+unwilling to go home; for, besides the attractive society, we knew that
+the soldiers were to have grand shouts and a general jubilee that night.
+But the steamboat was coming, and we were obliged to bid a reluctant
+farewell to Camp Saxton and the hospitable dwellers therein. We walked
+the deck of the steamer singing patriotic songs, and we agreed that
+moonlight and water had never looked so beautiful as they did that
+night. At Beaufort we took the row-boat for St. Helena. The boatmen as
+they rowed sang some of their sweetest, wildest hymns. It was a fitting
+close to such a day. Our hearts were filled with an exceeding great
+gladness; for although the government had left much undone, we knew that
+Freedom was surely born in our land that day. It seemed too glorious a
+good to realize, this beginning of the great work we had so longed for
+and prayed for. It was a sight never to be forgotten, that crowd of
+happy black faces from which the shadow of Slavery had forever passed.
+"Forever free! forever free!"--those magical words in the President's
+Proclamation were constantly singing themselves in my soul.
+
+
+
+
+SONG OF THE NEGRO BOATMEN AT PORT ROYAL, S. C.
+
+BY JOHN G. WHITTIER.
+
+
+    O praise and tanks! De Lord he come
+      To set de people free;
+    An' massa tink it day ob doom,
+      An' we ob jubilee.
+    De Lord dat heap de Red Sea waves,
+      He jus' as 'trong as den;
+    He say de word: we las' night slaves;
+      To-day, de Lord's free men.
+          De yam will grow, de cotton blow,
+            We'll hab de rice an' corn:
+          O nebber you fear, if nebber you hear
+            De driver blow his horn!
+
+    Ole massa on he trabbels gone;
+      He leaf de land behind:
+    De Lord's breff blow him furder on,
+      Like corn-shuck in de wind.
+    We own de hoe, we own de plough,
+      We own de hands dat hold;
+    We sell de pig, we sell de cow,
+      But nebber chile be sold.
+
+    We pray de Lord: he gib us signs
+      Dat some day we be free;
+    De Norf-wind tell it to de pines,
+      De wild-duck to de sea;
+    We tink it when de church-bell ring,
+      We dream it in de dream;
+    De rice-bird mean it when he sing,
+      De eagle when he scream.
+
+    We know de promise nebber fail,
+      An' nebber lie de Word;
+    So, like de 'postles in de jail,
+      We waited for de Lord:
+    An' now he open ebery door,
+      An' trow away de key;
+    He tink we lub him so before,
+      We lub him better free.
+          De yam will grow, de cotton blow,
+            He'll gib de rice an' corn:
+          O nebber you fear, if nebber you hear
+            De driver blow his horn!
+
+
+
+
+EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY HON. HENRY WILSON TO THE COLORED PEOPLE IN
+CHARLESTON, S. C., APRIL, 1865.
+
+
+"For twenty-nine years, in private life and in public life, at all times
+and on all occasions, I have spoken and voted against Slavery, and in
+favor of the freedom of every man that breathes God's air or walks His
+earth. And to-day, standing here in South Carolina, I feel that the
+slave-power we have fought so long is under my heel; and that the men
+and women held in bondage so long are free forevermore.
+
+"Understanding this to be your position,--that you are forever
+free,--remember, O remember, the sacrifices that have been made for your
+freedom, and be worthy of the blessing that has come to you! I know you
+will be. [Cheers.] Through these four years of bloody war, you have
+always been loyal to the old flag of the country. You have never
+betrayed the Union soldiers who were fighting the battles of the
+country. You have guided them, you have protected them, you have cheered
+them. You have proved yourselves worthy the great situation in which you
+were placed by the Slaveholders' Rebellion. Four years ago you saw the
+flag of your country struck down from Fort Sumter; yesterday you saw the
+old flag go up again. Its stars now beam with a brighter lustre. You
+know now what the old flag means,--that it means liberty to every man
+and woman in the country. [Cheers.]
+
+"You have been patient, you have endured, you have trusted in God and
+your country; and the God of our fathers has blessed our country, and
+He has blessed you. The long, dreary, chilly night of Slavery has passed
+away forevermore, and the sun of Liberty casts its broad beams upon you
+to-day.
+
+"But your duties commence with your liberties. Remember that you are to
+be obedient, faithful, true, and loyal to the country forevermore.
+[Cheers, and cries of 'Yes!' 'Yes!' 'Yes!'] Remember that you are to
+educate your children; that you are to improve their condition; that you
+are to make a brighter future for _them_ than the past has been to
+_you_. Remember that you are to be industrious. Freedom does not mean
+that you are not to work. It means that when you do work you shall have
+pay for it, to carry home to your wives and the children of your love.
+Liberty means the liberty to work for yourselves, to have the fruits of
+your labor, to better your own condition, and improve the condition of
+your children. I want every man and woman to understand that every
+neglect of duty, every failure to be industrious, to be economical, to
+support yourselves, to take care of your families, to secure the
+education of your children, will be put in the faces of your friends as
+a reproach. Your old masters will point you out and say to us, 'We told
+you so.' For more than thirty years we have said that you were fit for
+liberty. We have maintained it amid obloquy and reproach. For
+maintaining this doctrine in the halls of Congress our names have been
+made a by-word. The great lesson for you in the future is to prove that
+we were right; to prove that you were worthy of liberty. We simply ask
+you, in the name of your friends, in the name of our country, to show by
+your good conduct, and by efforts to improve your condition, that you
+were worthy of freedom; to prove to all the world, even to your old
+masters and mistresses, that it was a sin against God to hold you in
+Slavery, and that you are worthy to have your names enrolled among the
+freemen of the United States of America. [Great cheering.]
+
+"We want you to respect yourselves; to walk erect, with the
+consciousness that you are free men. Be humane and kind to each other,
+always serving each other when you can. Be courteous and gentlemanly to
+everybody on earth, black and white, but cringe to nobody.
+
+"You have helped us to fight our battles; you have stood by the old
+flag; you have given us your prayers; and you have had the desire of
+your hearts fulfilled. The cause of freedom has triumphed; and in our
+triumph we want all to stand up and rejoice together."
+
+
+
+
+EXTRACT FROM A SPEECH BY HON. JUDGE KELLY TO THE COLORED PEOPLE IN
+CHARLESTON, S. C., APRIL, 1865.
+
+
+"I will not, my colored friends, talk to you of the past. You understand
+that all too well. I turn to the hopeful future; not to flatter you for
+the deeds you have done during the last four years, but to remind you
+that, though you no longer have earthly masters, there is a Ruler in
+heaven whom you are bound to obey,--that Great Being who strengthened
+and guided your eminent friend William Lloyd Garrison, who trained
+Abraham Lincoln for his great work, in honest poverty and
+simple-mindedness; that good God whose stars shine the same over the
+slaves' huts and the masters' palaces. His laws you must obey. You must
+worship Him not only at the altar, but in every act of your daily life.
+It will not be enough to observe the Sabbath, to go to Him with your
+sorrows, and remember Him in your joys. You must remember that He has
+said to man, 'In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread.' Labor
+is the law of all. Your friends in the North appeal to you to help them
+in the great work they undertook to do for you. We want you to work
+_with_ us. We want you to do it by working here in South Carolina,
+earning wages, taking care of your money, and making profit out of that
+money. Work on the plantation, if that is all you can do. If you can
+work in the workshop, do it, and work well. He who does a day's work not
+so well as he might have done it, cheats himself. Strive that your work
+on Monday shall be better done than it was on Saturday; and when
+Saturday comes round again, you will be able to do a still more skilful
+day's work. We at the North sometimes learn three or four trades. If any
+one of you feels sure that he can do better for himself and his family
+by changing his pursuit, he had better change it."
+
+"I like to look at the women assembled here. Remember, my friends, that
+you are to be mothers and wives in the homes of free men. You must try
+to make those homes respectable and happy. You are to be the mothers of
+American citizens. You must give them the best education you can. You
+must strive to make them intelligent, educated, moral, patriotic, and
+religious men. Many of you cannot read, but you are not too old yet to
+learn. A mother who knows how to read can half educate her own child by
+helping him with his lessons; and the mother who has but little learning
+will get a great deal more by trying to hear the child's lessons; and so
+it is with the father.
+
+"You need no longer live in slave huts, now that you are to have your
+own earnings. I charge you, men, to make your homes comfortable, and
+you, women, to make them happy. Work industriously. Be faithful to each
+other; be true and honest with all men. If you respect yourselves,
+others will respect you. There are Northerners who are prejudiced
+against you; but you can find the way to their hearts and consciences
+through their pockets. When they find that there are colored tradesmen
+who have money to spend, and colored farmers who want to buy goods of
+them, they will no longer call you Jack and Joe; they will begin to
+think that you are Mr. John Black and Mr. Joseph Brown." [Great
+laughter.]
+
+
+
+
+BLACK TOM.
+
+BY A YANKEE SOLDIER.
+
+
+    Hunted by his Rebel master
+      Over many a hill and glade,
+    Black Tom, with his wife and children,
+      Found his way to our brigade.
+
+    Tom had sense and truth and courage,
+      Often tried where danger rose:
+    Once our flag his strong arm rescued
+      From the grasp of Rebel foes.
+
+    One day, Tom was marching with us
+      Through the forest as our guide,
+    When a ball from traitor's rifle
+      Broke his arm and pierced his side.
+
+    On a litter white men bore him
+      Through the forest drear and damp,
+    Laid him, dying, where our banners
+      Brightly fluttered o'er our camp.
+
+    Pointing to his wife and children,
+      While he suffered racking pain,
+    Said he to our soldiers round him,
+      "Don't let _them_ be slaves again!"
+
+    "No, by Heaven!" spoke out a soldier,--
+      And _that_ oath was not profane,--
+    "Our brigade will still protect them;
+      They shall ne'er be slaves again."
+
+    Over old Tom's dusky features
+      Came and stayed a joyous ray;
+    And with saddened friends around him,
+      His free spirit passed away.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At Rodman's Point, in North Carolina, the United States troops were
+obliged to retreat before Rebels, who outnumbered them ten to one. The
+scow in which they attempted to escape stuck in the mud, and could not
+be moved with poles. While the soldiers were lying down they were in
+some measure protected from Rebel bullets; but whoever jumped into the
+water to push the boat off would certainly be killed. A vigorous black
+man who was with them said: "Lie still. I will push off the boat. If
+they kill me, it is nothing; but you are soldiers, and are needed to
+fight for the country." He leaped overboard, pushed off the boat, and
+sprang back, pierced by seven bullets. He died two days after.
+
+I wish I knew his name; for it deserves to be recorded with the noblest
+heroes the world has known.
+
+
+
+
+LETTER FROM A FREEDMAN TO HIS OLD MASTER.
+
+     [Written just as he dictated it.]
+
+                                DAYTON, OHIO, August 7, 1865.
+
+    _To my old Master_, COLONEL P. H. ANDERSON, _Big
+    Spring, Tennessee_.
+
+Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten
+Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again,
+promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt
+uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before
+this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never
+heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier
+that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me
+twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and
+am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear
+old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther,
+Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will
+meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see
+you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the
+neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a
+chance.
+
+I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give
+me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month,
+with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy,--the
+folks call her Mrs. Anderson,--and the children--Milly, Jane, and
+Grundy--go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has
+a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend
+church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others
+saying, "Them colored people were slaves" down in Tennessee. The
+children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was
+no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys
+would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you
+will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to
+decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.
+
+As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be
+gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the
+Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she
+would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to
+treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity
+by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will
+make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and
+friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years,
+and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two
+dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand
+six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time
+our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our
+clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for
+Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to.
+Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq.,
+Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we
+can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good
+Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have
+done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations
+without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in
+Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for
+the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those
+who defraud the laborer of his hire.
+
+In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for
+my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls.
+You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay
+here and starve--and die, if it come to that--than have my girls brought
+to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will
+also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored
+children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to
+give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.
+
+Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you
+when you were shooting at me.
+
+    From your old servant,
+                JOURDON ANDERSON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+SERGEANT W. H. CARNEY, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was very severely
+wounded when the famous Fifty-Fourth Regiment attacked Fort Wagner; but
+he resolutely held up the Stars and Stripes, as he dragged his wounded
+limb along, amid a shower of bullets; and when he reached his comrades
+he exclaimed exultingly, "The dear old flag has never touched the
+ground, boys!"
+
+
+
+
+COLONEL ROBERT G. SHAW.
+
+BY ELIZA B. SEDGWICK.
+
+
+     [In the summer of 1863 an attack was made on Fort Wagner, in South
+     Carolina, by the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, composed of colored
+     troops. Their leader, COLONEL SHAW, belonging to one of the best
+     white families in Boston, was killed. When his friends asked for
+     his body, the reply of the Rebels was, "He is buried with his
+     niggers."]
+
+    Buried with a band of brothers,
+    Whom for him would fain have died;
+    Buried with the gallant fellows
+    Who fell fighting by his side.
+
+    Buried with the men God gave him,--
+    Those whom he was sent to save;
+    Buried with the martyred heroes,
+    He has found an honored grave.
+
+    Buried where his dust so precious
+    Makes the soil a hallowed spot;
+    Buried where by Christian patriot
+    He shall never be forgot.
+
+    Buried in the ground accursed,
+    Which man's fettered feet have trod;
+    Buried where his voice still speaketh,
+    Appealing for the slave to God.
+
+    Fare thee well, thou noble warrior!
+    Who in youthful beauty went
+    On a high and holy mission,
+    By the God of battles sent.
+
+    Chosen of Him, "elect and precious,"
+    Well didst thou fulfil thy part;
+    When thy country "counts her jewels,"
+    She shall wear thee on her heart.
+
+
+
+
+ADVICE FROM AN OLD FRIEND.
+
+BY L. MARIA CHILD.
+
+
+For many years I have felt great sympathy for you, my brethren and
+sisters, and I have tried to do what I could to help you to freedom. And
+now that you have at last received the long-desired blessing, I most
+earnestly wish that you should make the best possible use of it. I have
+made this book to encourage you to exertion by examples of what colored
+people are capable of doing. Such men and women as Toussaint
+l'Ouverture, Benjamin Banneker, Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass,
+and William and Ellen Crafts, prove that the power of _character_ can
+overcome all external disadvantages, even that most crushing of all
+disadvantages, Slavery. Perhaps few of you will be able to stir the
+hearts of large assemblies by such eloquent appeals as those of
+Frederick Douglass, or be able to describe what you have seen and heard
+so gracefully as Charlotte L. Forten does. Probably none of you will be
+called to govern a state as Toussaint l'Ouverture did; for such a
+remarkable career as his does not happen once in hundreds of years. But
+the Bible says, "He that ruleth his own spirit is greater than he that
+ruleth a kingdom"; and such a ruler every man and woman can become, by
+the help and blessing of God. It is not the _greatness_ of the thing a
+man does which makes him worthy of respect; it is the doing _well_
+whatsoever he hath to do. In many respects, your opportunities for
+usefulness are more limited than those of others; but you have one great
+opportunity peculiar to yourselves. You can do a vast amount of good to
+people in various parts of the world, and through successive
+generations, by simply being sober, industrious, and honest. There are
+still many slaves in Brazil and in the Spanish possessions. If you are
+vicious, lazy, and careless, their masters will excuse themselves for
+continuing to hold them in bondage, by saying: "Look at the freedmen of
+the United States! What idle vagabonds they are! How dirty their cabins
+are! How slovenly their dress! That proves that negroes cannot take care
+of themselves, that they are not fit to be free." But if your houses
+look neat, and your clothes are clean and whole, and your gardens well
+weeded, and your work faithfully done, whether for yourselves or others,
+then all the world will cry out, "You see that negroes _can_ take care
+of themselves; and it is a sin and a shame to keep such men in Slavery."
+Thus, while you are serving your own interests, you will be helping on
+the emancipation of poor weary slaves in other parts of the world. It is
+a great privilege to have a chance to do extensive good by such simple
+means, and your Heavenly Father will hold you responsible for the use
+you make of your influence.
+
+Your manners will have a great effect in producing an impression to your
+advantage or disadvantage. Be always respectful and polite toward your
+associates, and toward those who have been in the habit of considering
+you an inferior race. It is one of the best ways to prove that you are
+not inferior. Never allow yourselves to say or do anything in the
+presence of women of your own color which it would be improper for you
+to say or do in the presence of the most refined white ladies. Such a
+course will be an education for them as well as for yourselves. When you
+appoint committees about your schools and other public affairs, it would
+be wise to have both men and women on the committees. The habit of
+thinking and talking about serious and important matters makes women
+more sensible and discreet. Such consultations together are in fact a
+practical school both for you and them; and the more modest and
+intelligent women are, the better will children be brought up.
+
+Personal appearance is another important thing. It is not necessary to
+be rich in order to dress in a becoming manner. A pretty dress for
+festival occasions will last a long while, if well taken care of; and a
+few wild-flowers, or bright berries, will ornament young girls more
+tastefully than jewels. Working-clothes that are clean and nicely
+patched always look respectable; and they make a very favorable
+impression, because they indicate that the wearer is neat and
+economical. And here let me say, that it is a very great saving to mend
+garments well, and before the rents get large. We thrifty Yankees have a
+saying that "a stitch in time saves nine"; and you will find by
+experience that neglected mending will require more than nine stitches
+instead of one, and will not look so well when it is done.
+
+The appearance of your villages will do much to produce a favorable
+opinion concerning your characters and capabilities. Whitewash is not
+expensive; and it takes but little time to transplant a cherokee rose, a
+jessamine, or other wild shrubs and vines, that make the poorest cabin
+look beautiful; and, once planted, they will be growing while you are
+working or sleeping. It is a public benefit to remove everything dirty
+or unsightly, and to surround homes with verdure and flowers; for a
+succession of pretty cottages makes the whole road pleasant, and cheers
+all passers by; while they are at the same time an advertisement, easily
+read by all men, that the people who live there are not lazy, slovenly,
+or vulgar. The rich pay a great deal of money for pictures to ornament
+their walls, but a whitewashed cabin, with flowering-shrubs and vines
+clustering round it, is a pretty picture freely exhibited to all men. It
+is a public benefaction.
+
+But even if you are as yet too poor to have a house and garden of your
+own, it is still in your power to be a credit and an example to your
+race: by working for others as faithfully as you would work for
+yourself; by taking as good care of their tools as you would if they
+were your own; by always keeping your promises, however inconvenient it
+may be; by being strictly honest in all your dealings; by being
+temperate in your habits, and never speaking a profane or indecent
+word,--by pursuing such a course you will be consoled with an inward
+consciousness of doing right in the sight of God, and be a public
+benefactor by your example, while at the same time you will secure
+respect and prosperity for yourself by establishing a good character. A
+man whose conduct inspires confidence is in a fair way to have house and
+land of his own, even if he starts in the world without a single cent.
+
+Be careful of your earnings, and as saving in your expenses as is
+consistent with health and comfort; but never allow yourselves to be
+stingy. Avarice is a mean vice, which eats all the heart out of a man.
+Money is a good thing, and you ought to want to earn it, as a means of
+improving the condition of yourselves and families. But it will do good
+to your character, and increase your happiness, if you impart a portion
+of your earnings to others who are in need. Help as much as you
+conveniently can in building churches and school-houses for the good of
+all, and in providing for the sick and the aged. If your former masters
+and mistresses are in trouble, show them every kindness in your power,
+whether they have treated you kindly or not. Remember the words of the
+blessed Jesus: "Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
+despitefully use you and persecute you."
+
+There is one subject on which I wish to guard you against
+disappointment. Do not be discouraged if freedom brings you more cares
+and fewer advantages than you expected. Such a great change as it is
+from Slavery to Freedom cannot be completed all at once. By being
+brought up as slaves, you have formed some bad habits, which it will
+take time to correct. Those who were formerly your masters have acquired
+still worse habits by being brought up as slaveholders; and they cannot
+be expected to change all at once. Both of you will gradually improve
+under the teaching of new circumstances. For a good while it will
+provoke many of them to see those who were once their slaves acting like
+freemen. They will doubtless do many things to vex and discourage you,
+just as the slaveholders in Jamaica did after emancipation there. They
+seemed to want to drive their emancipated bondmen to insurrection, that
+they might have a pretext for saying: "You see what a bad effect freedom
+has on negroes! We told you it would be so!" But the colored people of
+Jamaica behaved better than their former masters wished them to do. They
+left the plantations where they were badly treated, or poorly paid, but
+they worked diligently elsewhere. Their women and children raised
+vegetables and fowls and carried them to market; and, by their united
+industry and economy, they soon had comfortable little homes of their
+own.
+
+I think it would generally be well for you to work for your former
+masters, if they treat you well, and pay you as much as you could earn
+elsewhere. But if they show a disposition to oppress you, quit their
+service, and work for somebody who will treat you like freemen. If they
+use violent language to you, never use impudent language to them. If
+they cheat you, scorn to cheat them in return. If they break their
+promises, never break yours. If they propose to women such connections
+as used to be common under the bad system of Slavery, teach them that
+freedwomen not only have the legal power to protect themselves from such
+degradation, but also that they have pride of character. If in fits of
+passion, they abuse your children as they formerly did, never revenge it
+by any injury to them or their property. It is an immense advantage to
+any man always to keep the right on his side. If you pursue this course
+you will always be superior, however rich or elegant may be the man or
+woman who wrongs you.
+
+I do not mean by this that you ought to submit tamely to insult or
+oppression. Stand up for your rights, but do it in a manly way. Quit
+working for a man who speaks to you contemptuously, or who tries to take
+a mean advantage of you, when you are doing your duty faithfully by him.
+If it becomes necessary, apply to magistrates to protect you and redress
+your wrongs. If you are so unlucky as to live where the men in
+authority, whether civil or military, are still disposed to treat the
+colored people as slaves, let the most intelligent among you draw up a
+statement of your grievances and send it to some of your firm friends in
+Congress, such as the Hon. Charles Sumner, the Hon. Henry Wilson, and
+the Hon. George W. Julian.
+
+A good government seeks to make laws that will equally protect and
+restrain all men. Heretofore you had no reason to respect the laws of
+this country, because they punished you for crime, in many cases more
+severely than white men were punished, while they did nothing to protect
+your rights. But now that good President Lincoln has made you free, you
+will be legally protected in your rights and restrained from doing
+wrong, just as other men are protected and restrained. It is one of the
+noblest privileges of freemen to be able to respect the law, and to rely
+upon it always for redress of grievances, instead of revenging one wrong
+by another wrong.
+
+You will have much to put up with before the new order of things can
+become settled on a permanent foundation. I am grieved to read in the
+newspapers how wickedly you are still treated in some places; but I am
+not surprised, for I knew that Slavery was a powerful snake, that would
+try to do mischief with its tail after its head was crushed. But,
+whatever wrongs you may endure, comfort yourselves with two reflections:
+first, that there is the beginning of a better state of things, from
+which your children will derive much more benefit than you can;
+secondly, that a great majority of the American people are sincerely
+determined that you shall be protected in your rights as freemen. Year
+by year your condition will improve. Year by year, if you respect
+yourselves, you will be more and more respected by white men. Wonderful
+changes have taken place in your favor during the last thirty years, and
+the changes are still going on. The Abolitionists did a great deal for
+you, by their continual writing and preaching against Slavery. Then this
+war enabled thousands of people to see for themselves what a bad
+institution Slavery was; and the uniform kindness with which you treated
+the Yankee soldiers raised you up multitudes of friends. There are still
+many pro-slavery people in the Northern States, who, from aristocratic
+pride or low vulgarity, still call colored people "niggers," and treat
+them as such. But the good leaven is now fairly worked into public
+sentiment, and these people, let them do what they will, cannot get it
+out.
+
+The providence of God has opened for you an upward path. Walk ye in it,
+without being discouraged by the brambles and stones at the outset.
+Those who come after you will clear them away, and will place in their
+stead strong, smooth rails for the steam-car called Progress of the
+Colored Race.
+
+
+
+
+DAY OF JUBILEE.
+
+BY A. G. DUNCAN.
+
+
+    Roll on, thou joyful day,
+    When tyranny's proud sway,
+          Stern as the grave,
+    Shall to the ground be hurled,
+    And Freedom's flag unfurled
+    Shall wave throughout the world,
+          O'er every slave!
+
+    Trump of glad jubilee,
+    Echo o'er land and sea,
+          Freedom for all!
+    Let the glad tidings fly,
+    And every tribe reply,
+    Glory to God on high,
+          At Slavery's fall!
+
+
+                        THE END.
+
+
+Cambridge: Stereotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been repaired. Spelling
+and accented letters, as well as inconsistent chapter headings in the
+Contents and the body of the text, have otherwise been retained as
+they appear in the original publication.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Freedmen's Book, by Lydia Maria Child
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FREEDMEN'S BOOK ***
+
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