,,the ,,works ,,of ,,john ,,greenleaf   
,,whittier1 ,volume ,,vii4 7of ,,vii7   
,,the ,,conflict ,,with ,,slavery1      
,,politics ,,and ,,reform1 ,,the ,,inner
 ,,life and ,,criticism   ,by ,john     
,greenleaf ,whittier        ,,contents3 
,,the ,,conflict ,,with ,,slavery       
,,justice ,,and ,,expediency            
,,the ,,abolitionists2 ,,their          
,,sentiments ,,and ,,objects            
,,letter ,,to ,,samuel ,e4 ,,sewall     
,,john ,,quincy ,,adams           ,,the 
,,bible ,,and ,,slavery           ,,what
 ,,is ,,slavery           ,,democrat    
,,and ,,slavery           ,,the ,,two   
,,processions           ,a ,,chapter    
,,of ,,history           ,,thomas       
,,carlyle ,,on ,,the ,,slave ,,question 
,,formation ,,of ,,the ,,american       
,,anti-,,slavery ,,society              
,,the ,,lesson ,,and ,,our ,,duty       
,,charles ,,sumner ,,and ,,the ,,state  
,,department           ,,the            
,,presidential ,,election ,,of #ahgb    
,,the ,,censure ,,of ,,sumner           

,,the ,,anti-,,slavery ,,convention ,,of
 #ahcc           ,,kansas               
,,william ,,lloyd ,,garrison            
,,anti-,,slavery ,,anniversary          
,,response ,,to ,,the ,,celebration ,,of
 ,,my ,,eightieth ,,birthday            
,,reform ,,and ,,politics4              
,,utopian ,,schemes ,,and ,,political   
,,theorists           ,,peculiar        
,,institutions ,,of ,,massachusetts     
,,lord ,,ashley ,,and ,,the ,,thieves   
,,woman ,,suffrage           ,,italian  
,,unity           ,,indian              
,,civilization           ,,reading ,,for
 ,,the ,,blind           ,,the ,,indian 
,,question           ,,the ,,republican 
,,party           ,,our ,,dumb          
,,relations           ,,international   
,,arbitration           ,,suffrage ,,for
 ,,women       ,,the ,,inner ,,life4    
,,the ,,agency ,,of ,,evil              
,,hamlet ,,among ,,the ,,graves         
,,swedenborg           ,,the ,,better   
,,land           ,,dora ,,greenwell     
,,the ,,society ,,of ,,friends          

,,john ,,woolman',s ,,journal           
,,the ,,old ,,way           ,,haverford 
,,college       ,,criticism4            
,,evangeline           ,,mirth ,,and    
,,medicine           ,,fame ,,and       
,,glory           ,,fanaticism          
,,the ,,poetry ,,of ,,the ,,north       
,,the ,,conflict ,,with ,,slavery       
,,justice ,,and ,,expediency  ,,or1     
,,slavery ,,considered ,,with ,a ,,view 
,,to ,,its ,,rightful ,,and ,,effectual 
,,remedy1 ,,abolition4                  
7#ahcc47       ,there is a law above all
 the enactments of human codes1 the same
      throughout the world1 the same in 
all time1--such as it was before        
the daring genius of ,columbus pierced  
the night of ages1 and opened      to   
one world the sources of wealth and     
power and knowledge1 to      another all
 unutterable woes2 such as it is at this
 day3 it is the      law written by the 
finger of ,god upon the heart of man2   
and by that      law1 unchangeable and  
eternal while men despise fraud1 and    

loathe      rapine1 and abhor blood1    
they shall reject with indignation the  
wild      and guilty fantasy that man   
can hold property in man4      --,,lord 
,,brougham4  ,,it may be inquired of me 
why ,i seek to agitate the subject of   
,slavery in ,new ,england1 where we all 
acknowledge it to be an evil4  ,because 
such an acknowledgment is not enough on 
our part4  ,it is doing no more than the
 slave-master and the slave-trader4  ,we
 have found1 says ,james ,monroe1 in his
 speech on the subject before the       
,virginia ,convention1 that this evil   
has preyed upon the very vitals of the  
,union2 and has been prejudicial to all 
the states in which it has existed4     
,all the states in their several        
,constitutions and declarations of      
rights have made a similar statement4   
,and what has been the consequence of   
this general belief in the evil of human
 servitude8  ,has it sapped the         
foundations of the infamous system8     
,no4  ,has it decreased the number of   

its victims8 ,quite the contrary4       
,unaccompanied by philanthropic action1 
it has been in a moral point of view    
worthless1 a thing without vitality1    
sightless1 soulless1 dead4  ,but it may 
be said that the miserable victims of   
the system have our sympathies4         
,sympathy the sympathy of the ,priest   
and the ,levite1 looking on1 and        
acknowledging1 but holding itself aloof 
from mortal suffering4 ,can such hollow 
sympathy reach the broken of heart1 and 
does the blessing of those who are ready
 to perish answer it8  ,does it hold    
back the lash from the slave1 or sweeten
 his bitter bread8  ,one's heart and    
soul are becoming weary of this         
sympathy1 this heartless mockery of     
feeling2 sick of the common cant of     
hypocrisy1 wreathing the artificial     
flowers of sentiment over unutterable   
pollution and unimaginable wrong4  ,it  
is white-washing the sepulchre to make  
us forget its horrible deposit4  ,it is 
scattering flowers around the           

charnel-house and over the yet festering
 grave to turn away our thoughts from   
the dead men's bones and all            
uncleanness1 the pollution and          
loathsomeness below4  ,no6 let the truth
 on this subject1 undisguised1 naked1   
terrible as it is1 stand out before us4 
,let us no longer seek to cover it2 let 
us no longer strive to forget it2 let us
 no more dare to palliate it4  ,it is   
better to meet it here with repentance  
than at the bar of ,god4  ,the cry of   
the oppressed1 of the millions who have 
perished among us as the brute          
perisheth1 shut out from the glad       
tidings of salvation1 has gone there    
before us1 to ,him who as a father      
pitieth all ,his children4  ,their blood
 is upon us as a nation2 woe unto us1 if
 we repent not1 as a nation1 in dust and
 ashes4  ,woe unto us if we say in our  
hearts1 ,the ,lord shall not see1       
neither shall the ,god of ,jacob regard 
it4  ,he that planted the ear1 shall ,he
 not hear8  ,he who formed the eye1     

shall ,he not see8  ,but it may be urged
 that ,new ,england has no participation
 in slavery1 and is not responsible for 
its wickedness4  ,why are we thus       
willing to believe a lie8  ,new ,england
 not responsible6 ,bound by the ,united 
,states constitution to protect the     
slave-holder in his sins1 and yet not   
responsible6  ,joining hands with crime1
 covenanting with oppression1 leaguing  
with pollution1 and yet not responsible6
 ,palliating the evil1 hiding the evil1 
voting for the evil1 do we not          
participate in it8       7,messrs4      
,harvey of ,new ,hampshire1 ,mallary of 
,vermont1 and ,ripley of      ,maine1   
voted in the ,congress of #ahbi against 
the consideration of a      ,resolution 
for inquiring into the expediency of    
abolishing slavery      in the ,district
 of ,columbia47  ,members of one        
confederacy1 children of one family1 the
 curse and the shame1 the sin against   
our brother1 and the sin against our    
,god1 all the iniquity of slavery which 

is revealed to man1 and all which crieth
 in the ear1 or is manifested to the eye
 of ,jehovah1 will assuredly be visited 
upon all our people4  ,why1 then1 should
 we stretch out our hands towards our   
,southern brethren1 and like the        
,pharisee thank ,god we are not like    
them8  ,for so long as we practically   
recognize the infernal principle that   
man can hold property in man1 ,god will 
not hold us guiltless4  ,so long as we  
take counsel of the world's policy      
instead of the justice of heaven1 so    
long as we follow a mistaken political  
expediency in opposition to the express 
commands of ,god1 so long will the      
wrongs of the slaves rise like a cloud  
of witnesses against us at the          
inevitable bar4  ,slavery is protected  
by the constitutional compact1 by the   
standing army1 by the militia of the    
free states4       7,j4 ,q4 ,adams is   
the only member of ,congress who has    
ventured to      speak plainly of this  
protection4  ,see also his very able    

,report      from the minority of the   
,committee on ,manufactures4  ,in his   
speech      during the last session1    
upon the bill of the ,committee of ,ways
 and      ,means1 after discussing the  
constitutional protection of slavery1 he
      says3 ,but that same interest is  
further protected by the ,laws of       
the ,united ,states4  ,it was protected 
by the existence of a standing          
army4  ,if the ,states of this ,union   
were all free republican ,states1       
and none of them possessed any of the   
machinery of which he had      spoken1  
and if another portion of the ,union    
were not exposed to      another danger1
 from their vicinity to the tribes of   
,indian savages1      he believed it    
would be difficult to prove to the      
,house any such      thing as the       
necessity of a standing army4  ,what in 
fact was the      occupation of the     
army8  ,it had been protecting this very
 same      interest4  ,it had been doing
 so ever since the army existed4  ,of   

what use to the district of ,plymouth   
7which he there represented7      was   
the standing army of the ,united        
,states8  ,of not one dollar's      use1
 and never had been47  ,let us not      
forget that should the slaves1 goaded by
 wrongs unendurable1 rise in            
desperation1 and pour the torrent of    
their brutal revenge over the beautiful 
,carolinas1 or the consecrated soil of  
,virginia1 ,new ,england would be called
 upon to arrest the progress of         
rebellion1--to tread out with the armed 
heel of her soldiery that spirit of     
freedom1 which knows no distinction of  
cast or color2 which has been kindled in
 the heart of the black as well as in   
that of the white4  ,and what is this   
system which we are thus protecting and 
upholding8  ,a system which holds two   
millions of ,god's creatures in bondage1
 which leaves one million females       
without any protection save their own   
feeble strength1 and which makes even   
the exercise of that strength in        

resistance to outrage punishable with   
death6 which considers rational1        
immortal beings as articles of traffic1 
vendible commodities1 merchantable      
property1--which recognizes no social   
obligations1 no natural                 
relations1--which tears without scruple 
the infant from the mother1 the wife    
from the husband1 the parent from the   
child4  ,in the strong but just language
 of another3 ,it is the full measure of 
pure1 unmixed1 unsophisticated          
wickedness2 and scorning all competition
 or comparison1 it stands without a     
rival in the secure1 undisputed         
possession of its detestable            
preeminence4  ,so fearful an evil should
 have its remedies4  ,the following are 
among the many which have been from time
 to time proposed3--  #a4  ,placing the 
slaves in the condition of the serfs of 
,poland and ,russia1 fixed to the soil1 
and without the right on the part of the
 master to sell or remove them4  ,this  
was intended as a preliminary to        

complete emancipation at some remote    
period1 but it is impossible to perceive
 either its justice or expediency4  #b4 
,gradual abolition1 an indefinite term1 
but which is understood to imply the    
draining away drop by drop1 of the great
 ocean of wrong2 plucking off at long   
intervals some1 straggling branches of  
the moral ,upas2 holding out to unborn  
generations the shadow of a hope which  
the present may never feel gradually    
ceasing to do evil2 gradually refraining
 from robbery1 lust1 and murder3 in     
brief1 obeying a short-sighted and      
criminal policy rather than the commands
 of ,god4  #c4  ,abstinence on the part 
of the people of the free states from   
the use of the known products of slave  
labor1 in order to render that labor    
profitless4  ,beyond a doubt the example
 of conscientious individuals may have a
 salutary effect upon the minds of some 
of the slave-holders2 ,i but so long as 
our confederacy exists1 a commercial    
intercourse with slave states and a     

consumption of their products cannot be 
avoided4       7,the following is a     
recorded statement of the venerated ,sir
 ,william      ,jones3 ,let sugar be as 
cheap as it may1 it is better to eat    
none1      better to eat aloes and      
colloquintida1 than violate a primary   
law      impressed on every heart not   
imbruted with avarice2 than rob one     
human creature of those eternal rights  
of which no law on earth can      justly
 deprive him47  #d4  ,colonization4 ,the
 exclusive object of the ,american      
,colonization ,society1 according to the
 second article of its constitution1 is 
to colonize the free people of color    
residing among us1 in ,africa or such   
other place as ,congress may direct4    
,steadily adhering to this object it has
 nothing to do with slavery2 and ,i     
allude to it as a remedy only because   
some of its friends have in view an     
eventual abolition or an amelioration of
 the evil4  ,let facts speak4  ,the     
,colonization ,society was organized in 

#ahag4  ,it has two hundred and eighteen
 auxiliary societies4  ,the legislatures
 of fourteen states have recommended it4
  ,contributions have poured into its   
treasury from every quarter of the      
,united ,states4  ,addresses in its     
favor have been heard from all our      
pulpits4  ,it has been in operation     
sixteen years4  ,during this period     
nearly one million human beings have    
died in slavery3 and the number of      
slaves has increased more than half a   
million1 or in round numbers1 #eej1jjj  
,the ,colonization ,society has been    
busily engaged all this while in        
conveying the slaves to ,africa2 in     
other words1 abolishing slavery4  ,in   
this very charitable occupation it has  
carried away of manumitted slaves #fac  
,balance against the society 4  4  4  4 
#edi1chg6  ,but enough of its abolition 
tendency4  ,what has it done for        
amelioration8 ,witness the newly enacted
 laws of some of the slave states1 laws 
bloody as the code of ,draco1 violating 

the laws of ,cod and the unalienable    
rights of ,his children8--7,it will be  
seen that the society approves of these 
laws47--,but why talk of amelioration8  
,amelioration of what8 of sin1 of crime 
unutterable1 of a system of wrong and   
outrage horrible in the eye of ,god ,why
 seek to mark the line of a selfish     
policy1 a carnal expediency between the 
criminality of hell and that repentance 
and its fruits enjoined of heaven8  ,for
 the principles and views of the society
 we must look to its own statements and 
admissions2 to its ,annual ,reports2 to 
those of its auxiliaries2 to the        
speeches and writings of its advocates2 
and to its organ1 the ,african          
,repository4  #a4  ,it excuses slavery  
and apologizes for slaveholders4        
,proof4  ,slavery is an evil entailed   
upon the present generation of          
slave-holders1 which they must suffer1  
whether they will or not6  ,the         
existence of slavery among us1 though   
not at all to be objected to our        

,southern brethren as a fault1 etc8  ,it
 7the society7 condemns no man because  
he is a slave-holder4 ,recognizing the  
constitutional and legitimate existence 
of slavery1 it seeks not to interfere1  
either directly or indirectly1 with the 
rights it creates4  ,acknowledging the  
necessity by which its present          
continuance and the rigorous provisions 
for its maintenance are justified1 etc4 
,they 7the ,abolitionists7 confound the 
misfortunes of one generation with the  
crimes of another1 and would sacrifice  
both individual and public good to an   
unsubstantial theory of the rights of   
man4  #b4  ,it pledges itself not to    
oppose the system of slavery4  ,proof4  
,our society and the friends of         
colonization wish to be distinctly      
understood upon this point4  ,from the  
beginning they have disavowed1 and they 
do yet disavow1 that their object is the
 emancipation of slaves4--7,speech of   
,james ,s4 ,green1 ,esq41 ,first ,annual
 ,report of the ,new ,jersey            

,colonization ,society47  ,this         
institution proposes to do good by a    
single specific course of measures4     
,its direct and specific purpose is not 
the abolition of slavery1 or the relief 
of pauperism1 or the extension of       
commerce and civilization1 or the       
enlargement of science1 or the          
conversion of the heathen4  ,the single 
object which its constitution           
prescribes1 and to which all its efforts
 are necessarily directed1 is ,african  
colonization from ,america4  ,it        
proposes only to afford facilities for  
the voluntary emigration of free people 
of color from this country to the       
country of their fathers4  ,it is no    
abolition society2 it addresses as yet  
arguments to no master1 and disavows    
with horror the idea of offering        
temptations to any slave4 ,it denies the
 design of attempting emancipation1     
either partial or general4  ,the        
,colonization ,society1 as such1 have   
renounced wholly the name and the       

characteristics of abolitionists4  ,on  
this point they have been unjustly and  
injuriously slandered4  ,into their     
accounts the subject of emancipation    
does not enter at all4  ,from its       
origin1 and throughout the whole period 
of its existence1 it has constantly     
disclaimed all intention of interfering1
 in the smallest degree1 with the rights
 of property1 or the object of          
emancipation1 gradual or immediate4  4  
4  4  ,the society presents to the      
,american public no project of          
emancipation4--7 ,mr4 ,clay's ,speech1  
,idem1 vol4  vi4 pp4  #ac1 #ag47  ,the  
emancipation of slaves or the           
amelioration of their condition1 with   
the moral1 intellectual1 and political  
improvement of people of color within   
the ,united ,states1 are subjects       
foreign to the powers of this society4  
,the society1 as a society1 recognizes  
no principles in reference to the slave 
system4  ,it says nothing1 and proposes 
to do nothing1 respecting it4 4 4 4 ,so 

far as we can ascertain1 the supporters 
of the colonization policy generally    
believe that slavery is in this country 
a constitptional and legitimate system1 
which they have no inclination1         
interest1 nor ability to disturb4  #c4  
,it regards ,god's rational creatures as
 property4  ,proof4  ,we hold their     
slaves1 as we hold their other property1
 sacred4  ,it is equally plain and      
undeniable that the society1 in the     
prosecution of this work1 has never     
interfered or evinced even a disposition
 to interfere in any way with the rights
 of proprietors of slaves4  ,to the     
slave-holder1 who has charged upon them 
the wicked design of interfering with   
the rights of property under the        
specious pretext of removing a vicious  
and dangerous free population1 they     
address themselves in a tone of         
conciliation and sympathy4  ,we know    
your rights1 say they1 and we respect   
them4  #d4  ,it boasts that its measures
 are calculated to perpetuate the       

detested system of slavery1 to remove   
the fears of the slave-holder1 and      
increase the value of his stock of human
 beings4  ,proof4  ,they 7the ,southern 
slave-holders7 will contribute more     
effectually to the continuance and      
strength of this system 7slavery7 by    
removing those now free than by any or  
all other methods which can possibly be 
devised4  ,so far from being connected  
with the abolition of slavery1 the      
measure proposed would be one of the    
greatest securities to enable the master
 to keep in possession his own          
property4--7,speech of ,john ,randolph  
at the first meeting of the             
,colonization ,society47  ,the tendency 
of the scheme1 and one of its objects1  
is to secure slave- holders1 and the    
whole ,southern country1 against certain
 evil consequences growing out of the   
present threefold mixture of our        
population4  ,there was but one way 7to 
avert danger71 but that might be made   
effectual1 fortunately4  ,it was to     

provide and keep open a drain for the   
excess beyond the occasions of          
profitable employment4  ,mr4 ,archer had
 been stating the case in the           
supposition1 that after the present     
class of free blacks had been exhausted1
 by the operation of the plan he was    
recommending1 others would be supplied  
for its action1 in the proportion of the
 excess of colored population it would  
be necessary to throw off1 by the       
process of voluntary manumission or     
sale4  ,this effect must result         
inevitably from the depreciating value  
of the slaves1 ensuing their            
disproportionate multiplication4  ,the  
depreciation would be relieved and      
retarded at the same time by the        
process4  ,the two operations would aid 
reciprocally1 and sustain each other1   
and both be in the highest degree       
beneficial4  ,it was on the ground of   
interest1 therefore1 the most           
indisputable pecuniary interest1 that he
 addressed himself to the people and    

legislatures of the slave-holding       
states4  ,the slave-holder1 who is in   
danger of having his slaves contaminated
 by their free friends of color1 will   
not only be relieved from this danger1  
but the value of his slave will be      
enhanced4  #e4  ,it denies the power of 
,christian love to overcome an unholy   
prejudice against a portion of our      
fellow-creatures4  ,proof4  ,the        
managers consider it clear that causes  
exist and are operating to prevent their
 7the blacks7 improvement and elevation 
to any considerable extent as a class1  
in this country1 which are fixed1 not   
only beyond the control of the friends  
of humanity1 but of any human power4    
,christianity will not do for them here 
what it will do for them in ,africa4    
,this is not the fault of the colored   
man1 nor ,christianity2 but an          
ordination of ,providence1 and no more  
to be changed than the laws of          
,nature6--7,last ,annual ,report of the 
,american ,colonization ,society47  ,the

 habits1 the feelings1 all the          
prejudices of society--prejudices which 
neither refinement1 nor argument1 nor   
education1 nor religion itself1 can     
subdue--mark the people of color1       
whether bond or free1 as the subjects of
 a degradation inevitable and incurable4
  ,the ,african in this country belongs 
by birth to the very lowest station in  
society1 and from that station he can   
never rise1 be his talents1 his         
enterprise1 his virtues what they may4 4
  4  4  ,they constitute a class by     
themselves1 a class out of which no     
individual can be elevated1 and below   
which none can be depressed4  ,is it not
 wise1 then1 for the free people of     
color and their friends to admit1 what  
cannot reasonably be doubted1 that the  
people of color must1 in this country1  
remain for ages1 probably forever1 a    
separate and inferior caste1 weighed    
down by causes1 powerful1 universal1    
inevitable2 which neither legislation   
nor ,christianity can remove8  #f4  ,it 

opposes strenuously the education of the
 blacks in this country as useless as   
well as dangerous4  ,proof4  ,if the    
free colored people were generally      
taught to read it might be an inducement
 to them to remain in this country 7that
 is1 in their native country74  ,we     
would offer then no such inducement4--  
7,southern ,religious ,telegraph1       
,february #ai1 #ahca47  ,the public     
safety of our brethren at the ,south    
requires them 7the slaves7 to be kept   
ignorant and uninstructed4  ,it is the  
business of the free 7their safety      
requires it7 to keep the slaves in      
ignorance4  ,but a few days ago a       
proposition was made in the legislature 
of ,georgia to allow them so much       
instruction as to enable them to read   
the ,bible2 which was promptly rejected 
by a large majority4--7,proceedings of  
,new ,york ,state ,colonization ,society
 at its second anniversary47  ,e4 ,b4   
,caldwell1 the first ,secretary of the  
,american ,colonization ,society1 in his

 speech at its formation1 recommended   
them to be kept in the lowest state of  
ignorance and degradation1 for 7says he7
 the nearer you bring them to the       
condition of brutes1 the better chance  
do you give them of possessing their    
apathy4  ,my limits will not admit of a 
more extended examination4  ,to the     
documents from whence the above extracts
 have been made ,i would call the       
attention of every real friend of       
humanity4  ,i seek to do the            
,colonization ,society no injustice1 but
 ,i wish the public generally to        
understand its character4  ,the tendency
 of the society to abolish the          
slave-trade by means of its ,african    
colony has been strenuously urged by its
 friends4  ,but the fallacy of this is  
now admitted by all3 witness the        
following from the reports of the       
society itself3--  ,some appalling facts
 in regard to the slave-trade have come 
to the knowledge of the ,board of       
,managers during the last year4  ,with  

undiminished atrocity and activity is   
this odious traffic now carried on all  
along the ,african coast4  ,slave       
factories are established in the        
immediate vicinity of the colony2 and at
 the ,gallinas 7between ,liberia and    
,sierra ,leone7 not less than nine      
hundred slaves were shipped during the  
last summer1 in the space of three      
weeks4  ,april #f1 #ahcb1 the ,house of 
,commons of ,england ordered the        
printing of a document entitled         
,slave-,trade1 ,sierra ,leone1          
containing official evidence of the fact
 that the pirates engaged in the        
,african slave-trade are supplied from  
the stores of ,sierra ,leone and        
,liberia with such articles as the      
infernal traffic demands6  ,an able     
,english writer on the subject of       
,colonization thus notices this         
astounding fact3--  ,and here it may be 
well to observe1 that as long as negro  
slavery lasts1 all colonies on the      
,african coast1 of whatever description1

 must tend to support it1 because1 in   
all commerce1 the supply is more or less
 proportioned to the demand4  ,the      
demand exists in negro slavery2 the     
supply arises from the ,african         
slave-trade4  ,and what greater         
convenience could the ,african          
slave-traders desire than shops well    
stored along the coast with the very    
articles which their trade demands4     
,that the ,african slave-traders do get 
thus supplied at ,sierra ,leone and     
,liberia is matter of official evidence2
 and we know1 from the nature of human  
things1 that they will get so supplied1 
in defiance of all law or precaution1 as
 long as the demand calls for the       
supply1 and there are free shops stored 
with all they want at hand4  ,the       
shopkeeper1 however honest1 would find  
it impossible always to distinguish     
between the ,african slave-trader or his
 agents and other dealers4  ,and how    
many shopkeepers are there anywhere that
 would be over scrupulous in questioning

 a customer with a full purse8  ,but we 
are told that the ,colonization ,society
 is to civilize and evangelize ,africa4 
,each emigrant1 says ,henry ,clay1 the  
ablest advocate which the society has   
yet found1 is a missionary1 carrying    
with him credentials in the holy cause  
of civilization1 religion1 and free     
institutions4  ,beautiful and           
heart-cheering idea6  ,but stay who are 
these emigrants1 these missionaries8    
,the free people of color4  ,they1 and  
they only1 says the ,african            
,repository1 the society's organ1 are   
qualified for colonizing ,africa4  ,what
 are their qualifications8  ,let the    
society answer in its own words3-- ,free
 blacks are a greater nuisance than even
 slaves themselves4-- 7,african         
,repository1 vol4 ii4  p4 #cbh47  ,a    
horde of miserable people--the objects  
of universal suspicion-- subsisting by  
plunder4  ,an anomalous race of beings  
the most debased upon earth4--7,african 
,repository1 vol4 vii4 p4 #bcj47  ,of   

all classes of our population the most  
vicious is that of the free             
colored4--7,tenth ,annual ,report of the
 ,colonization ,society47  ,i might go  
on to quote still further from the      
credentials which the free people of    
color are to carry with them to         
,liberia4  ,but ,i forbear4  ,i come now
 to the only practicable1 the only just 
scheme of emancipation3 ,immediate      
abolition of slavery2 an immediate      
acknowledgment of the great truth1 that 
man cannot hold property in man2 an     
immediate surrender of baneful prejudice
 to ,christian love2 an immediate       
practical obedience to the command of   
,jesus ,christ3 ,whatsoever ye would    
that men should do unto you1 do ye even 
so to them4  ,a correct understanding of
 what is meant by immediate abolition   
must convince every candid mind that it 
is neither visionary nor dangerous2 that
 it involves no disastrous consequences 
of bloodshed and desolation2 but1 on    
the1 contrary1 that it is a safe1       

practicable1 efficient remedy for the   
evils of the slave system4  ,the term   
immediate is used in contrast with that 
of gradual4  ,earnestly as ,i wish it1  
,i do not expect1 no one expects1 that  
the tremendous system of oppression can 
be instantaneously overthrown4  ,the    
terrible and unrebukable indignation of 
a free people has not yet been          
sufficiently concentrated against it4   
,the friends of abolition have not      
forgotten the peculiar organization of  
our confederacy1 the delicate division  
of power between the states and the     
general government4  ,they see the many 
obstacles in their pathway2 but they    
know that public opinion can overcome   
them all4  ,they ask no aid of physical 
coercion4  ,they seek to obtain their   
object not with the weapons of violence 
and blood1 but with those of reason and 
truth1 prayer to ,god1 and entreaty to  
man4  ,they seek to impress indelibly   
upon every human heart the true         
doctrines of the rights of man2 to      

establish now and forever this great and
 fundamental truth of human liberty1    
that man cannot hold property in his    
brother2 for they believe that the      
general admission of this truth will    
utterly destroy the system of slavery1  
based as that system is upon a denial or
 disregard of it4  ,to make use of the  
clear exposition of an eminent advocate 
of immediate abolition1 our plan of     
emancipation is simply this3 ,to        
promulgate the true doctrine of human   
rights in high places and low places1   
and all places where there are human    
beings2 to whisper it in chimney        
corners1 and to proclaim it from the    
house-tops1 yea1 from the mountain-tops2
 to pour it out like water from the     
pulpit and the press2 to raise it up    
with all the food of the inner man1 from
 infancy to gray hairs2 to give 'line   
upon line1 and precept upon precept1'   
till it forms one of the foundation     
principles and parts indestructible of  
the public soul4  ,let those who contemn

 this plan renounce1 if they have not   
done it already1 the gospel plan of     
converting the world2 let them renounce 
every plan of moral reformation1 and    
every plan whatsoever1 which does not   
terminate in the gratification of their 
own animal natures4  ,the friends of    
emancipation would urge in the first    
instance an immediate abolition of      
slavery in the ,district of ,columbia1  
and in the ,territories of ,florida and 
,arkansas4  ,the number of slaves in    
these portions of the country1 coming   
under the direct jurisdiction of the    
general government1 is as follows3--    
,district of ,columbia 44444 #f1aai     
,territory of ,arkansas 4444 #d1egf     
,territory of ,florida 4444 #ae1eja     
,total   #bf1aif  ,here1 then1 are      
twenty-six thousand human beings1       
fashioned in the image of ,god1 the     
fitted temples of ,his ,holy ,spirit1   
held by the government in the abhorrent 
chains of slavery4  ,the power to       
emancipate them is clear4 ,it is        

indisputable4 ,it does not depend upon  
the twenty-five slave votes in          
,congress4  ,it lies with the free      
states4  ,their duty is before them3 in 
the fear of ,god1 and not of man let    
them perform it4  ,let them at once     
strike off the grievous fetters4  ,let  
them declare that man shall no longer   
hold his fellow-man in bondage1 a beast 
of burden1 an article of traffic1 within
 the governmental domain4  ,god and     
truth and eternal justice demand this4  
,the very reputation of our fathers1 the
 honor of our land1 every principle of  
liberty1 humanity1 expediency1 demand   
it4  ,a sacred regard to free principles
 originated our independence1 not the   
paltry amount of practical evil         
complained of4  ,and although our       
fathers left their great work           
unfinished1 it is our duty to follow out
 their principles4  ,short of liberty   
and equality we cannot stop without     
doing injustice to their memories4  ,if 
our fathers intended that slavery should

 be perpetual1 that our practice should 
forever give the lie to our professions1
 why is the great constitutional compact
 so guardedly silent on the subject of  
human servitude8  ,if state necessity   
demanded this perpetual violation of the
 laws of ,god and the rights of man1    
this continual solecism in a government 
of freedom1 why is it not met as a      
necessity1 incurable and inevitable1 and
 formally and distinctly recognized as a
 settled part of our social system8     
,state necessity1 that imperial tyrant1 
seeks no disguise4  ,in the language of 
,sheridan1 ,what he does1 he dares avow1
 and avowing1 scorns any other          
justification than the great motives    
which placed the iron sceptre in his    
grasp4  ,can it be possible that our    
fathers felt this state necessity strong
 upon them8  ,no2 for they left open the
 door for emancipation1 they left us the
 light of their pure principles of      
liberty1 they framed the great charter  
of ,american rights1 without employing a

 term in its structure to which in      
aftertimes of universal freedom the     
enemies of our country could point with 
accusation or reproach4  ,what1 then1 is
 our duty8  ,to give effect to the      
spirit of our ,constitution2 to plant   
ourselves upon the great declaration and
 declare in the face of all the world   
that political1 religious1 and legal    
hypocrisy shall no longer cover as with 
loathsome leprosy the features of       
,american freedom2 to loose at once the 
bands of wickedness2 to undo the heavy  
burdens1 and let the oppressed go free4 
,we have indeed been authoritatively    
told in ,congress and elsewhere that our
 brethren of the ,south and ,west will  
brook no further agitation of the       
subject of slavery4  ,what then6 shall  
we heed the unrighteous prohibition8    
,no2 by our duty as ,christians1 as     
politicians1 by our duty to ourselves1  
to our neighbor1 and to ,god1 we are    
called upon to agitate this subject2 to 
give slavery no resting-place under the 

hallowed aegis of a government of       
freedom2 to tear it root and branch1    
with all its fruits of abomination1 at  
least from the soil of the national     
domain4 ,the slave-holder may mock us2  
the representatives of property1        
merchandise1 vendible commodities1 may  
threaten us2 still our duty is          
imperative2 the spirit of the           
,constitution should be maintained      
within the exclusive jurisdiction of the
 government4  ,if we cannot provide for 
the general welfare1 if we cannot       
guarantee to each of the states a       
republican form of government1 let us at
 least no longer legislate for a free   
nation within view of the falling whip1 
and within hearing of the execrations of
 the task-master and the prayer of his  
slave6  ,i deny the right of the        
slave-holder to impose silence on his   
brother of the ,north in reference to   
slavery4  ,what6  compelled to maintain 
the system1 to keep up the standing army
 which protects it1 and yet be denied   

the poor privilege of remonstrance6     
,ready1 at the summons of the master to 
put down the insurrections of his       
slaves1 the outbreaking of that revenge 
which is now1 and has been1 in all      
nations1 and all times1 the inevitable  
consequence of oppression and wrong1 and
 yet like automata to act but not speak6
  ,are we to be denied even the right of
 a slave1 the right to murmur8  ,i am   
not unaware that my remarks may be      
regarded by many as dangerous and       
exceptionable2 that ,i may be regarded  
as a fanatic for quoting the language of
 eternal truth1 and denounced as an     
incendiary for maintaining1 in the      
spirit as well as the letter1 the       
doctrines of ,american ,independence4   
,but if such are the consequences of a  
simple performance of duty1 ,i shall not
 regard them4  ,if my feeble appeal but 
reaches the hearts of any who are now   
slumbering in iniquity2 if it shall have
 power given it to shake down one stone 
from that foul temple where the blood of

 human victims is offered to the ,moloch
 of slavery2 if under ,providence it can
 break one fetter from off the image of 
,god1 and enable one suffering ,african 
,to feel ,the weight of human misery    
less1 and glide ,ungroaning to the tomb1
  ,i shall not have written in vain2 my 
conscience will be satisfied4  ,far be  
it from me to cast new bitterness into  
the gall and wormwood waters of         
sectional prejudice4  ,no2 ,i desire    
peace1 the peace of universal love1 of  
catholic sympathy1 the peace of a common
 interest1 a common feeling1 a common   
humanity4  ,but so long as slavery is   
tolerated1 no such peace can exist4     
,liberty and slavery cannot dwell in    
harmony together4  ,there will be a     
perpetual war in the members of the     
political ,mezentius between the living 
and the dead4  ,god and man have placed 
between them an everlasting barrier1 an 
eternal separation4  ,no matter under   
what name or law or compact their union 
is attempted1 the ordination of         

,providence has forbidden it1 and it    
cannot stand4  ,peace6 there can be no  
peace between justice and oppression1   
between robbery and righteousness1 truth
 and falsehood1 freedom and slavery4    
,the slave-holding states are not free4 
,the name of liberty is there1 but the  
spirit is wanting4  ,they do not partake
 of its invaluable blessings4 ,wherever 
slavery exists to any considerable      
extent1 with the exception of some      
recently settled portions of the        
country1 and which have not yet felt in 
a great degree the baneful and          
deteriorating influences of slave labor1
 we hear at this moment the cry of      
suffering4  ,we are told of grass-grown 
streets1 of crumbling mansions1 of      
beggared planters and barren            
plantations1 of fear from without1 of   
terror within4  ,the once fertile fields
 are wasted and tenantless1 for the     
curse of slavery1 the improvidence of   
that labor whose hire has been kept back
 by fraud1 has been there1 poisoning the

 very earth beyond the reviving         
influence of the early and the latter   
rain4  ,a moral mildew mingles with and 
blasts the economy of nature4  ,it is as
 if the finger of the everlasting ,god  
had written upon the soil of the        
slave-holder the language of ,his       
displeasure4  ,let1 then1 the           
slave-holding states consult their      
present interest by beginning without   
delay the work of emancipation4  ,if    
they fear not1 and mock at the fiery    
indignation of ,him1 to whom vengeance  
belongeth1 let temporal interest        
persuade them4  ,they know1 they must   
know1 that the present state of things  
cannot long continue4  ,mind is the same
 everywhere1 no matter what may be the  
complexion of the frame which it        
animates3 there is a love of liberty    
which the scourge cannot eradicate1 a   
hatred of oppression which centuries of 
degradation cannot extinguish4 ,the     
slave will become conscious sooner or   
later of his brute strength1 his        

physical superiority1 and will exert it4
  ,his torch will be at the threshold   
and his knife at the throat of the      
planter4  ,horrible and indiscriminate  
will be his vengeance4  ,where1 then1   
will be the pride1 the beauty1 and the  
chivalry of the ,south8  ,the smoke of  
her torment will rise upward like a     
thick cloud visible over the whole      
earth4       ,belie the negro's powers3 
in headlong will1      ,christian1 thy  
brother thou shalt find him still4      
,belie his virtues3 since his wrongs    
began1      ,his follies and his crimes 
have stamped him man4  ,let the cause of
 insurrection be removed1 then1 as      
speedily as possible4 ,cease to oppress4
  ,let him that stole steal no more4    
,let the laborer have his hire4  ,bind  
him no longer by the cords of slavery1  
but with those of kindness and brotherly
 love4  ,watch over him for his good4   
,pray for him2 instruct him2 pour light 
into the darkness of his mind4  ,let    
this be done1 and the horrible fears    

which now haunt the slumbers of the     
slave-holder will depart4  ,conscience  
will take down its racks and gibbets1   
and his soul will be at peace4  ,his    
lands will no longer disappoint his     
hopes4  ,free labor will renovate them4 
,historical facts2 the nature of the    
human mind2 the demonstrated truths of  
political economy2 the analysis of cause
 and effect1 all concur in establishing3
  #a4  ,that immediate abolition is a   
safe and just and peaceful remedy for   
the evils of the slave system4  #b4     
,that free labor1 its necessary         
consequence1 is more productive1 and    
more advantageous to the planter than   
slave labor4  ,in proof of the first    
proposition it is only necessary to     
state the undeniable fact that immediate
 emancipation1 whether by an individual 
or a community1 has in no instance been 
attended with violence and disorder on  
the part of the emancipated2 but that on
 the contrary it has promoted           
cheerfulness1 industry1 and laudable    

ambition in the place of sullen         
discontent1 indolence1 and despair4     
,the case of ,st4 ,domingo is in point4 
,blood was indeed shed on that island   
like water1 but it was not in           
consequence of emancipation4  ,it was   
shed in the civil war which preceded it1
 and in the iniquitous attempt to       
restore the slave system in #ahja4  ,it 
flowed on the sanguine altar of slavery1
 not on the pure and peaceful one of    
emancipation4  ,no2 there1 as in all the
 world and in all time1 the violence of 
oppression engendered violence on the   
part of the oppressed1 and vengeance    
followed only upon the iron footsteps of
 wrong4  ,when1 where1 did justice to   
the injured waken their hate and        
vengeance8  ,when1 where1 did love and  
kindness and sympathy irritate and      
madden the persecuted1 the              
broken-hearted1 the foully wronged8  ,in
 ,september1 #agic1 the ,commissioner of
 the ,french ,national ,convention      
issued his proclamation giving immediate

 freedom to all the slaves of ,st4      
,domingo4  ,did the slaves baptize their
 freedom in blood8  ,did they fight like
 unchained desperadoes because they had 
been made free8  ,did they murder their 
emancipators8  ,no2 they acted1 as human
 beings must act1 under similar         
circumstances1 by a law as irresistible 
as those of the universe3 kindness      
disarmed them1 justice conciliated them1
 freedom ennobled them4  ,no tumult     
followed this wide and instantaneous    
emancipation4  ,it cost not one drop of 
blood2 it abated not one tittle of the  
wealth or the industry of the island4   
,colonel ,malenfant1 a slave proprietor 
residing at the time on the island1     
states that after the public act of     
abolition1 the negroes remained         
perfectly quiet2 they had obtained all  
they asked for1 liberty1 and they       
continued to work upon all the          
plantations4--7,malenfant in ,memoirs   
for a ,history of ,st4 ,domingo by      
,general ,lecroix1 #ahai47  ,there were 

estates1 he says1 which had neither     
owners nor managers resident upon them1 
yet upon these estates1 though          
abandoned1 the negroes continued their  
labors where there were any1 even       
inferior1 agents to guide them2 and on  
those estates where no white men were   
left to direct them1 they betook        
themselves to the planting of           
provisions2 but upon all the plantations
 where the whites resided the blacks    
continued to labor as quietly as before4
  ,colonel ,malenfant says that when    
many of his neighbors1 proprietors or   
managers1 were in prison1 the negroes of
 their plantations came to him to beg   
him to direct them in their work4  ,if  
you will take care not to talk to them  
of the restoration of slavery1 but talk 
to them of freedom1 you may with this   
word chain them down to their labor4    
,how did ,toussaint succeed8  ,how did  
,i succeed before his time in the plain 
of the ,cul-de-,sac on the plantation of
 ,gouraud1 during more than eight months

 after liberty had been granted to the  
slaves8  ,let those who knew me at that 
time1 let the blacks themselves be      
asked4  ,they will all reply that not a 
single negro upon that plantation1      
consisting of more than four hundred and
 fifty laborers1 refused to work2 and   
yet this plantation was thought to be   
under the worst discipline and the      
slaves the most idle of any in the      
plain4  ,i inspired the same activity   
into three other plantations of which ,i
 had the management4  ,if all the       
negroes had come from ,africa within six
 months1 if they had the love of        
independence that the ,indians have1 ,i 
should own that force must be employed2 
but ninety-nine out of a hundred of the 
blacks are aware that without labor they
 cannot procure the things that are     
necessary for them2 that there is no    
other method of satisfying their wants  
and their tastes4 ,they know that they  
must work1 they wish to do so1 and they 
will do so4  ,this is strong testimony4 

,in #agif1 three years after the act of 
emancipation1 we are told that the      
colony was flourishing under ,toussaint1
 that the whites lived happily and      
peaceably on their estates1 and the     
blacks continued to work for them4  ,up 
to #ahja the same happy state of things 
continued4  ,the colony went on as by   
enchantment2 cultivation made day by day
 a perceptible progress1 under the      
recuperative energies of free labor4    
,in #ahja ,general ,vincent1 a          
proprietor of estates in the island1 was
 sent by ,toussaint to ,paris for the   
purpose of laying before the ,directory 
the new ,constitution which had been    
adopted at ,st4 ,domingo4  ,he reached  
,france just after the peace of ,amiens1
 when ,napoleon was fitting out his     
ill-starred armament for the insane     
purpose of restoring slavery in the     
island4  ,general ,vincent remonstrated 
solemnly and earnestly against an       
expedition so preposterous1 so cruel and
 unnecessary2 undertaken at a moment    

when all was peace and quietness in the 
colony1 when the proprietors were in    
peaceful possession of their estates1   
when cultivation was making a rapid     
progress1 and the blacks were           
industrious and happy beyond example4   
,he begged that this beautiful state of 
things might not be reversed4  ,the     
remonstrance was not regarded1 and the  
expedition proceeded4  ,its issue is    
well known4  ,threatened once more with 
the horrors of slavery1 the peaceful and
 quiet laborer became transformed into a
 demon of ferocity4  ,the plough-share  
and the pruning- hook gave way to the   
pike and the dagger4  ,the white        
invaders were driven back by the sword  
and the pestilence2 and then1 and not   
till then1 was the property of the      
planters seized upon by the excited and 
infuriated blacks4  ,in #ahjd           
,dessalines was proclaimed ,emperor of  
,hayti4  ,the black troops were in a    
great measure disbanded1 and they       
immediately returned to the cultivation 

of the plantations4  ,from that period  
up to the present there has been no want
 of industry among the inhabitants4     
,mr4 ,harvey1 who during the reign of   
,christophe resided at ,cape ,francois1 
in describing the character and         
condition of the inhabitants1 says ,it  
was an interesting sight to behold this 
class of the ,haytiens1 now in          
possession of their freedom1 coming in  
groups to the market nearest which they 
resided1 bringing the produce of their  
industry there for sale2 and afterwards 
returning1 carrying back the necessary  
articles of living which the disposal of
 their commodities had enabled them to  
purchase2 all evidently cheerful and    
happy4  ,nor could it fail to occur to  
the mind that their present condition   
furnished the most satisfactory answer  
to that objection to the general        
emancipation of slaves founded on their 
alleged unfitness to value and improve  
the benefits of liberty4  4  4  4 ,as   
they would not suffer1 so they do not   

require1 the attendance of one acting in
 the capacity of a driver with the      
instrument of punishment in his hand4   
,as far as ,i had an opportunity of     
ascertaining from what fell under my own
 observation1 and from what ,i gathered 
from other ,european residents1 ,i am   
persuaded of one general fact1 which on 
account of its importance ,i shall state
 in the most explicit terms1 namely1    
that the ,haytiens employed in          
cultivating the plantations1 as well as 
the rest of the population1 perform as  
much work in a given time as they were  
accustomed to do during their subjection
 to the ,french4  ,and if we may judge  
of their future improvement by the      
change which has been already effected1 
it may be reasonably anticipated that   
,hayti will erelong contain a population
 not inferior in their industry to that 
of any civilized nation in the world4  4
  4  4  ,every man had some calling to  
occupy his attention2 instances of      
idleness or intemperance were of rare   

occurrence2 the most perfect            
subordination prevailed1 and all        
appeared contented and happy4  ,a       
foreigner would have found it difficult 
to persuade himself1 on his first       
entering the place1 that the people he  
now beheld so submissive1 industrious1  
and contented1 were the same people who 
a few years before had escaped from the 
shackles of slavery4  ,the present      
condition of ,hayti may be judged of    
from the following well- authenticated  
facts its population is more than       
#gjj1jjj1 its resources ample1 its      
prosperity and happiness general1 its   
crimes few1 its labor crowned with      
abundance1 with no paupers save the     
decrepit and aged1 its people           
hospitable1 respectful1 orderly1 and    
contented4  ,the manumitted slaves1 who 
to the number of two thousand were      
settled in ,nova ,scotia by the ,british
 ,government at the close of the        
,revolutionary ,war1 led a harmless     
life1 and gained the character of an    

honest1 industrious people from their   
white neighbors4  ,of the free laborers 
of ,trinidad we have the same report4   
,at the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 three     
thousand negroes received their freedom1
 and with scarce a single exception     
betook themselves to laborious          
employments4  ,but we have yet stronger 
evidence4  ,the total abolishment of    
slavery in the southern republics has   
proved beyond dispute the safety and    
utility of immediate abolition4  ,the   
departed ,bolivar indeed deserves his   
glorious title of ,liberator1 for he    
began his career of freedom by striking 
off the fetters of his own slaves1 seven
 hundred in number4  ,in an official    
letter from the ,mexican ,envoy of the  
,british ,government1 dated ,mexico1    
,march1 #ahbf1 and addressed 'to the    
,right ,hon4  ,george ,canning1 the     
superiority of free over slave labor is 
clearly demonstrated by the following   
facts3--  #b4  ,it is now carried on    
exclusively by the labor of free blacks4

  #c4  ,it was formerly wholly sustained
 by the forced labor of slaves1         
purchased at ,vera ,cruz at #cjj to #djj
 each4  #d4  ,abolition in this section 
was effected not by governmental        
interference1 not even from motives of  
humanity1 but from an irresistible      
conviction on the part of the planters  
that their pecuniary interest demanded  
it4  #e4  ,the result has proved the    
entire correctness of this conviction2  
and the planters would now be as        
unwilling as the blacks themselves to   
return to the old system4  ,let our     
,southern brethren imitate this example4
  ,it is in vain1 in the face of facts  
like these1 to talk of the necessity of 
maintaining the abominable system1      
operating as it does like a double curse
 upon planters and slaves4  ,heaven and 
earth deny its necessity4  ,it is as    
necessary as other robberies1 and no    
more4  ,yes1 putting aside altogether   
the righteous law of the living         
,god--the same yesterday1 to-day1 and   

forever--and shutting out the clearest  
political truths ever taught by man1    
still1 in human policy selfish          
expediency would demand of the planter  
the immediate emancipation of his       
slaves4  ,because slave labor is the    
labor of mere machines2 a mechanical    
impulse of body and limb1 with which the
 mind of the laborer has no sympathy1   
and from which it constantly and        
loathingly revolts4  ,because slave     
labor deprives the master altogether of 
the incalculable benefit of the negro's 
will4  ,that does not cooperate with the
 forced toil of the body4  ,this is but 
the necessary consequence of all labor  
which does not benefit the laborer4  ,it
 is a just remark of that profound      
political economist1 ,adam ,smith1 that 
a slave can have no other interest than 
to eat and waste as much1 and work as   
little1 as he can4  ,to my mind1 in the 
wasteful and blighting influences of    
slave labor there is a solemn and       
warning moral4  ,they seem the evidence 

of the displeasure of ,him who created  
man after ,his own image1 at the        
unnatural attempt to govern the bones   
and sinews1 the bodies and souls1 of one
 portion of ,his children by the        
caprice1 the avarice1 the lusts of      
another2 at that utter violation of the 
design of ,his merciful ,providence1    
whereby the entire dependence of        
millions of ,his rational creatures is  
made to centre upon the will1 the       
existence1 the ability1 of their        
fellow-mortals1 instead of resting under
 the shadow of ,his own ,infinite ,power
 and exceeding love4  ,i shall offer a  
few more facts and observations on this 
point4  #a4  ,a distinguished scientific
 gentleman1 ,mr4 ,coulomb1 the          
superintendent of several military works
 in the ,french ,west ,indies1 gives it 
as his opinion1 that the slaves do not  
perform more than one third of the labor
 which they would do1 provided they were
 urged by their own interests and       
inclinations instead of brute force4    

#b4  ,a plantation in ,barbadoes in     
#aghj was cultivated by two hundred and 
eighty-eight slaves ninety men1         
eighty-two women1 fifty-six boys1 and   
sixty girls4  ,in three years and three 
months there were on this plantation    
fifty-seven deaths1 and only fifteen    
births4  ,a change was then made in the 
government of the slaves4  ,the use of  
the whip was denied2 all severe and     
arbitrary punishments were abolished2   
the laborers received wages1 and their  
offences were all tried by a sort of    
negro court established among           
themselves3 in short1 they were         
practically free4 ,under this system1 in
 four years and three months there were 
forty-four births1 and but forty-one    
deaths2 and the annual net produce of   
the plantation was more than three times
 what it had been before4--7,english    
,quarterly ,magazine and ,review1       
,april1 #ahcb47  #c4  ,the following    
evidence was adduced by ,pitt in the    
,british ,parliament1 ,april1 #agib4    

,the assembly of ,grenada had themselves
 stated1 that though the negroes were   
allowed only the afternoon of one day in
 a week1 they would do as much work in  
that afternoon1 when employed for their 
own benefit1 as in the whole day when   
employed in their master's service4 ,now
 after this confession1 said ,mr4 ,pitt1
 the house might burn all its           
calculations relative to the negro      
population4  ,a negro1 if he worked for 
himself1 could no doubt do double work4 
,by an improvement1 then1 in the mode of
 labor1 the work in the islands could be
 doubled4  #d4  ,in coffee districts it 
is usual for the master to hire his     
people after they have done the regular 
task for the day1 at a rate varying from
 #aj;d4 to #ae4h;d4  for every extra    
bushel which they pluck from the trees2 
and many1 almost all1 are found eager to
 earn their wages4  #e4  ,in a report   
made by the commandant of ,castries for 
the government of ,st4 ,lucia1 in #ahbb1
 it is stated1 in proof of the intimacy 

between the slaves and the free blacks1 
that many small plantations of the      
latter1 and occupied by only one man and
 his wife1 are better cultivated and    
have more land in cultivation than those
 of the proprietors of many slaves1 and 
that the labor on them is performed by  
runaway slaves2 thus clearly proving    
that even runaway slaves1 under the     
all-depressing fears of discovery and   
oppression1 labor well1 because the     
fruits of their labor are immediately   
their own4  ,let us look at this subject
 from another point of view4  ,the large
 sum of money necessary for stocking a  
plantation with slaves has an inevitable
 tendency to place the agriculture of a 
slave-holding community exclusively in  
the hands of the wealthy1 a tendency at 
war with practical republicanism and    
conflicting with the best maxims of     
political economy4  ,two hundred slaves 
at #bjj per head would cost in the      
outset #dj1jjj4 ,compare this enormous  
outlay for the labor of a single        

plantation with the beautiful system of 
free labor as exhibited in ,new         
,england1 where every young laborer1    
with health and ordinary prudence1 may  
acquire by his labor on the farms of    
others1 in a few years1 a farm of his   
own1 and the stock necessary for its    
proper cultivation2 where on a hard and 
unthankful soil independence and        
competence may be attained by all4      
,free labor is perfectly in accordance  
with the spirit of our institutions2    
slave labor is a relic of a barbarous1  
despotic age4  ,the one1 like the       
firmament of heaven1 is the equal       
diffusion of similar lights1 manifest1  
harmonious1 regular2 the other is the   
fiery predominance of some disastrous   
star1 hiding all lesser luminaries      
around it in one consuming glare4       
,emancipation would reform this evil4   
,the planter would no longer be under   
the necessity of a heavy expenditure for
 slaves4  ,he would only pay a very     
moderate price for his labor2 a price1  

indeed1 far less than the cost of the   
maintenance of a promiscuous gang of    
slaves1 which the present system        
requires4  ,in an old plantation of     
three hundred slaves1 not more than one 
hundred effective laborers will be      
found4  ,children1 the old and          
superannuated1 the sick and decrepit1   
the idle and incorrigibly vicious1 will 
be found to constitute two thirds of the
 whole number4  ,the remaining third    
perform only about one third as much    
work as the same number of free         
laborers4  ,now disburden the master of 
this heavy load of maintenance2 let him 
employ free able1 industrious laborers  
only1 those who feel conscious of a     
personal interest in the fruits of their
 labor1 and who does not see that such a
 system would be vastly more safe and   
economical than the present8  ,the slave
 states are learning this truth by fatal
 experience4  ,most of them are silently
 writhing under the great curse4        
,virginia has uttered her complaints    

aloud4  ,as yet1 however1 nothing has   
been done even there1 save a small      
annual appropriation for the purpose of 
colonizing the free colored inhabitants 
of the state4  ,is this a remedy8  ,but 
it may be said that ,virginia will      
ultimately liberate her slaves on       
condition of their colonization in      
,africa1 peacefully if possible1        
forcibly if necessary4  ,well1 admitting
 that ,virginia may be able and willing 
at some remote period to rid herself of 
the evil by commuting the punishment of 
her unoffending colored people from     
slavery to exile1 will her fearful      
remedy apply to some of the other       
slaveholding states8  ,it is a fact1    
strongly insisted upon by our ,southern 
brethren as a reason for the            
perpetuation of slavery1 that their     
climate and peculiar agriculture will   
not admit of hard labor on the part of  
the whites2 that amidst the fatal       
malaria of the rice plantations the     
white man is almost annually visited by 

the country fever2 that few of the white
 overseers of these plantations reach   
the middle period of ordinary life2 that
 the owners are compelled to fly from   
their estates as the hot season         
approaches1 without being able to return
 until the first frosts have fallen4    
,but we are told that the slaves remain 
there1 at their work1 mid-leg in putrid 
water1 breathing the noisome atmosphere1
 loaded with contagion1 and underneath  
the scorching fervor of a terrible sun2 
that they indeed suffer2 but1 that their
 habits1 constitutions1 and their long  
practice enable them to labor1          
surrounded by such destructive          
influences1 with comparative safety4    
,the conclusive answer1 therefore1 to   
those who in reality cherish the        
visionary hope of colonizing all the    
colored people of the ,united ,states in
 ,africa or elsewhere1 is this single1  
all-important fact3 ,the labor of the   
blacks will not and cannot be dispensed 
with by the planter of the ,south4  ,to 

what remedy1 then1 can the friends of   
humanity betake themselves but to that  
of emancipation8  ,and nothing but a    
strong1 unequivocal expression of public
 sentiment is needed to carry into      
effect this remedy1 so far as the       
general government is concerned4  ,and  
when the voice of all the               
non-slave-holding states shall be heard 
on this question1 a voice of            
expostulation1 rebuke1 entreaty--when   
the full light of truth shall break     
through the night of prejudice1 and     
reveal all the foul abominations of     
slavery1 will ,delaware still cling to  
the curse which is wasting her moral    
strength1 and still rivet the fetters   
upon her three or four thousand slaves8 
,let ,delaware begin the work1 and      
,maryland and ,virginia must follow2 the
 example will be contagious2 and the    
great object of universal emancipation  
will be attained4  ,freemen1            
,christians1 lovers of truth and justice
 ,why stand ye idle8  ,ours is a        

government of opinion1 and slavery is   
interwoven with it4  ,change the current
 of opinion1 and slavery will be swept  
away4  ,let the awful sovereignty of the
 people1 a power which is limited only  
by the sovereignty of ,heaven1 arise and
 pronounce judgment against the crying  
iniquity4  ,let each individual remember
 that upon himself rests a portion of   
that sovereignty2 a part of the         
tremendous responsibility of its        
exercise4 ,the burning1 withering       
concentration of public opinion upon the
 slave system is alone needed for its   
total annihilation4  ,god has given us  
the power to overthrow it2 a power      
peaceful1 yet mighty1 benevolent1 yet   
effectual1 awful without severity1 a    
moral strength equal to the emergency4  
,how does it happen1 inquires an able   
writer1 that whenever duty is named we  
begin to hear of the weakness of human  
nature8  ,that same nature which outruns
 the whirlwind in the chase of gain1    
which rages like a maniac at the trumpet

 call of glory1 which laughs danger and 
death to scorn when its least passion is
 awakened1 becomes weak as childhood    
when reminded of the claims of duty4    
,but let no one hope to find an excuse  
in hypocrisy4 ,the humblest individual  
of the community in one way or another  
possesses influence2 and upon him as    
well as upon the proudest rests the     
responsibility of its rightful exercise 
and proper direction4  ,the overthrow of
 a great national evil like that of     
slavery can only be effected by the     
united energies of the great body of the
 people4 ,shoulder must be put to       
shoulder and hand linked with hand1 the 
whole mass must be put in motion and its
 entire strength applied1 until the     
fabric of oppression is shaken to its   
dark foundations and not one stone is   
left upon another4  ,let the ,christian 
remember that the ,god of his worship   
hateth oppression2 that the mystery of  
faith can only be held by a pure        
conscience2 and that in vain is the     

tithe of mint1 and anise1 and cummin1 if
 the weihtier matters of the law1       
judgment1 mercy1 and truth1 are         
forgotten4  ,let him remember that all  
along the clouded region of slavery the 
truths of the everlasting gospel are not
 spoken1 that the ear of iniquity is    
lulled1 that those who minister between 
the porch and the altar dare not speak  
out the language of eternal justice3 ,is
 not this the fast which ,i have chosen8
 to loose the bands of wickedness1 to   
undo the heavy burdens1 and to let the  
oppressed go free8 7,isa4 viii4 #f47 ,he
 that stealeth a man and selleth him2 or
 if he be found in his hand1 he shall   
surely be put to death4  7,exod4 xxi4   
#af4a7 ,yet a little while and the voice
 of impartial prayer for humanity will  
be heard no more in the abiding place of
 slavery4  ,the truths of the gospel1   
its voice of warning and exhortation1   
will be denounced as incendiary8  ,the  
night of that infidelity1 which denies  
,god in the abuse and degradation of    

man1 will settle over the land1 to be   
broken only by the upheaving earthquake 
of eternal retribution4  ,to the members
 of the religious ,society of ,friends1 
,i would earnestly appeal4  ,they have  
already done much to put away the evil  
of slavery in this country and ,great   
,britain4  ,the blessings of many who   
were ready to perish have rested upon   
them4  ,but their faithful testimony    
must be still steadily upborne1 for the 
great work is but begun4  ,let them not 
relax their exertions1 nor be contented 
with a lifeless testimony1 a formal     
protestation against the evil4  ,active1
 prayerful1 unwearied exertion is needed
 for its overthrow4  ,but above all1 let
 them not aid in excusing and palliating
 it4  ,slavery has no redeeming         
qualities1 no feature of benevolence1   
nothing pure1 nothing peaceful1 nothing 
just4  ,let them carefully keep         
themselves aloof from all societies and 
all schemes which have a tendency to    
excuse or overlook its crying iniquity4 

,true to a doctrine founded on love and 
mercy1 peace on earth and good will to  
men1 they should regard the suffering   
slave as their brother1 and endeavor to 
put their souls in his soul's stead4    
,they may earnestly desire the          
civilization of ,africa1 but they cannot
 aid in building up the colony of       
,liberia so long as that colony leans   
for support upon the arm of military    
power2 so long as it proselytes to      
,christianity under the muzzles of its  
cannon2 and preaches the doctrines of   
,christ while practising those of       
,mahomet4  ,when the ,sierra ,leone     
,company was formed in ,england1 not a  
member of the ,society of ,friends could
 be prevailed upon to engage in it1     
because the colony was to be supplied   
with cannon and other military stores4  
,yet the ,foreign ,agent of the ,liberia
 ,colony ,society1 to which the same    
insurmountable objection exists1 is a   
member of the ,society of ,friends1 and 
,i understand has been recently employed

 in providing gunpowder1 etc41 for the  
use of the colony4  ,there must be an   
awakening on this subject2 other        
,woolmans and other ,benezets must arise
 and speak the truth with the meek love 
of ,james and the fervent sincerity of  
,paul4  ,to the women of ,america1 whose
 sympathies know no distinction of      
cline1 or sect1 or color1 the suffering 
slave is making a strong appeal4  ,oh1  
let it not be unheeded6 for of those to 
whom much is given much will be required
 at the last dread tribunal2 and never  
in the strongest terms of human eulogy  
was woman's influence overrated4        
,sisters1 daughters1 wives1 and mothers1
 your influence is felt everywhere1 at  
the fireside1 and in the halls of       
legislation1 surrounding1 like the      
all-encircling atmosphere1 brother and  
father1 husband and son6  ,and by your  
love of them1 by every holy sympathy of 
your bosoms1 by every mournful appeal   
which comes up to you from hearts whose 
sanctuary of affections has been made   

waste and desolate1 you are called upon 
to exert it in the cause of redemption  
from wrong and outrage4  ,let the       
patriot1 the friend of liberty and the  
,union of the ,states1 no longer shut   
his eyes to the great danger1 the       
master-evil before which all others     
dwindle into insignificance4  ,our      
,union is tottering to its foundation1  
and slavery is the cause4  ,remove the  
evil4  ,dry up at their source the      
bitter waters4  ,in vain you enact and  
abrogate your tariffs2 in vain is       
individual sacrifice1 or sectional      
concession4  ,the accursed thing is with
 us1 the stone of stumbling and the rock
 of offence remains4 ,drag1 then1 the   
,achan into light2 and let national     
repentance atone for national sin4  ,the
 conflicting interests of free and slave
 labor furnish the only ground for fear 
in relation to the permanency of the    
,union4  ,the line of separation between
 them is day by day growing broader and 
deeper2 geographically and politically  

united1 we are already1 in a moral point
 of view1 a divided people4  ,but a few 
months ago we were on the very verge of 
civil war1 a war of brothers1 a war     
between the ,north and the ,south1      
between the slave-holder and the free   
laborer4  ,the danger has been delayed  
for a time2 this bolt has fallen without
 mortal injury to the ,union1 but the   
cloud from whence it came still hangs   
above us1 reddening with the elements of
 destruction4  ,recent events have      
furnished ample proof that the          
slave-holding interest is prepared to   
resist any legislation on the part of   
the general government which is supposed
 to have a tendency1 directly or        
indirectly1 to encourage and invigorate 
free labor2 and that it is determined to
 charge upon its opposite interest the  
infliction of all those evils which     
necessarily attend its own operation1   
the primeval curse of ,omnipotence upon 
slavery4  ,we have already felt in too  
many instances the extreme difficulty of

 cherishing in one common course of     
national legislation the opposite       
interests of republican equality and    
feudal aristocracy and servitude4 ,the  
truth is1 we have undertaken a moral    
impossibility4  ,these interests are    
from their nature irreconcilable4  ,the 
one is based upon the pure principles of
 rational liberty2 the other1 under the 
name of freedom1 revives the ancient    
,european system of barons and villains1
 nobles and serfs4  ,indeed1 the state  
of society which existed among our      
,anglo-,saxon ancestors was far more    
tolerable than that of many portions of 
our republican confederacy4  ,for the   
,anglo-,saxon slaves had it in their    
power to purchase their freedom2 and the
 laws of the realm recognized their     
liberation and placed them under legal  
protection4       7,the diffusion of    
,christianity in ,great ,britain was    
moreover      followed by a general     
manumission2 for it would seem that the 
priests and missionaries of religion in 

that early and benighted age      were  
more faithful in the performance of     
their duties than those of      the     
present4  ,the holy fathers1 monks1 and 
friars1 says ,sir ,t4      ,smith1 had  
in their confessions1 and specially in  
their extreme and      deadly sickness1 
convinced the laity how dangerous a     
thing it was      for one ,christian to 
hold another in bondage2 so that        
temporal men1      by reason of the     
terror in their consciences1 were glad  
to manumit      all their               
villains4--,hilt4  ,commonwealth1       
,blackstone1 p4  #eb47  ,to counteract  
the dangers resulting from a state of   
society so utterly at variance with the 
great ,declaration of ,american freedom 
should be the earnest endeavor of every 
patriotic statesman4  ,nothing          
unconstitutional1 nothing violent1      
should be attempted2 but the true       
doctrine of the rights of man should be 
steadily kept in view2 and the          
opposition to slavery should be         

inflexible and constantly maintained4   
,the almost daily violations of the     
,constitution in consequence of the laws
 of some of the slave states1 subjecting
 free colored citizens of ,new ,england 
and elsewhere1 who may happen to be on  
board of our coasting vessels1 to       
imprisonment immediately on their       
arrival in a ,southern port should be   
provided against4  ,nor should the      
imprisonment of the free colored        
citizens of the ,northern and ,middle   
states1 on suspicion of being runaways1 
subjecting them1 even after being       
pronounced free1 to the costs of their  
confinement and trial1 be longer        
tolerated2 for if we continue to yield  
to innovations like these upon the      
,constitution of our fathers1 we shall  
erelong have the name only of a free    
government left us4  ,dissemble as we   
may1 it is impossible for us to believe1
 after fully considering the nature of  
slavery1 that it can much longer        
maintain a peaceable existence among us4

  ,a day of revolution must come1 and it
 is our duty to prepare for it4  ,its   
threatened evil may be changed into a   
national blessing4  ,the establishment  
of schools for the instruction of the   
slave children1 a general diffusion of  
the lights of ,christianity1 and the    
introduction of a sacred respect for the
 social obligations of marriage and for 
the relations between parents and       
children1 among our black population1   
would render emancipation not only      
perfectly safe1 but also of the highest 
advantage to the country4  ,two millions
 of freemen would be added to our       
population1 upon whom in the hour of    
danger we could safely depend2 the      
domestic foe would be changed into a    
firm friend1 faithful1 generous1 and    
ready to encounter all dangers in our   
defence4  ,it is well known that during 
the last war with ,great ,britain1      
wherever the enemy touched upon our     
,southern coast1 the slaves in          
multitudes hastened to join them4  ,on  

the other hand1 the free blacks were    
highly serviceable in repelling them4   
,so warm was the zeal of the latter1 so 
manifest their courage in the defence of
 ,louisiana1 that the present ,chief    
,magistrate of the ,united ,states      
publicly bestowed upon them one of the  
highest eulogiums ever offered by a     
commander to his soldiers4  ,let no one 
seek an apology for silence on the      
subject of slavery because the laws of  
the land tolerate and sanction it4  ,but
 a short time ago the slave-trade was   
protected by laws and treaties1 and     
sanctioned by the example of men eminent
 for the reputation of piety and        
integrity4  ,yet public opinion broke   
over these barriers2 it lifted the      
curtain and revealed the horrors of that
 most abominable traffic2 and           
unrighteous law and ancient custom and  
avarice and luxury gave way before its  
irresistible authority4  ,it should     
never be forgotten that human law cannot
 change the nature of human action in   

the pure eye of infinite justice2 and   
that the ordinances of man cannot annul 
those of ,god4  ,the slave system1 as   
existing in this country1 can be        
considered in no other light than as the
 cause of which the foul traffic in     
human flesh is the legitimate           
consequence4  ,it is the parent1 the    
fosterer1 the sole supporter of the     
slave-trade4  ,it creates the demand for
 slaves1 and the foreign supply will    
always be equal to the demand of        
consumption4  ,it keeps the market open4
  ,it offers inducements to the         
slave-trader which no severity of law   
against his traffic can overcome4  ,by  
our laws his trade is piracy2 while     
slavery1 to which alone it owes its     
existence1 is protected and cherished1  
and those engaged in it are rewarded by 
an increase of political power          
proportioned to the increase of their   
stock of human beings6  ,to steal the   
natives of ,africa is a crime worthy of 
an ignominious death2 but to steal and  

enslave annually nearly one hundred     
thousand of the descendants of these    
stolen natives1 born in this country1 is
 considered altogether excusable and    
proper6  ,for my own part1 ,i know no   
difference between robbery in ,africa   
and robbery at home4  ,i could with as  
quiet a conscience engage in the one as 
the other4  ,there is not one general   
principle1 justly remarks ,lord ,nugent1
 on which the slave-trade is to be      
stigmatized which does not impeach      
slavery itself4  ,kindred in iniquity1  
both must fall speedily1 fall together1 
and be consigned to the same            
dishonorable grave4  ,the spirit which  
is thrilling through every nerve of     
,england is awakening ,america from her 
sleep of death4  ,who1 among our        
statesmen1 would not shrink from the    
baneful reputation of having supported  
by his legislative influence the        
slave-trade1 the traffic in human flesh8
  ,let them then beware2 for the time is
 near at hand when the present defenders

 of slavery will sink under the same    
fatal reputation1 and leave to posterity
 a memory which will blacken through all
 future time1 a legacy of infamy4  ,let 
us not betake us to the common arts and 
stratagems of nations1 but fear ,god1   
and put away the evil which provokes    
,him2 and trust not in man1 but in the  
living ,god2 and it shall go well for   
,england6  ,this counsel1 given by the  
purehearted ,william ,penn1 in a former 
age1 is about to be followed in the     
present4  ,an intense and powerful      
feeling is working in the mighty heart  
of ,england2 it is speaking through the 
lips of ,brougham and ,buxton and       
,o',connell1 and demanding justice in   
the name of humanity and according to   
the righteous law of ,god4  ,the        
immediate emancipation of eight hundred 
thousand slaves is demanded with an     
authority which cannot much longer be   
disputed or trifled with4  ,that demand 
will be obeyed2 justice will be done2   
the heavy burdens will be unloosed2 the 

oppressed set free4  ,it shall go well  
for ,england4  ,and when the stain on   
our own escutcheon shall be seen no     
more2 when the ,declaration of our      
,independence and the practice of our   
people shall agree2 when truth shall be 
exalted among us2 when love shall take  
the place of wrong2 when all the baneful
 pride and prejudice of caste and color 
shall fall forever2 when under one      
common sun of political liberty the     
slave-holding portions of our republic  
shall no longer sit1 like the ,egyptians
 of old1 themselves mantled in thick    
darkness1 while all around them is      
glowing with the blessed light of       
freedom and equality1 then1 and not till
 then1 shall it go well for ,america6   
,,the ,,abolitionists4 ,,their          
,,sentiments ,,and ,,objects4  ,two     
letters to the ',jeffersonian and       
,times'1 ,richmond1 ,va4                
,i4  ,a ,,friend has banded me a late   
number of your paper1 containing a brief
 notice of a pamphlet1 which ,i have    

recently published on the subject of    
slavery4  ,from an occasional perusal of
 your paper1 ,i have formed a favorable 
opinion of your talent and independence4
  ,compelled to dissent from some of    
your political sentiments1 ,i still give
 you full credit for the lofty tone of  
sincerity and manliness with which these
 sentiments are avowed and defended4  ,i
 perceive that since the adjustment of  
the tariff question a new subject of    
discontent and agitation seems to       
engross your attention4  ,the accursed  
tariff has no sooner ceased to be the   
stone of stumbling and the rock of      
offence1 than the abolition doctrines of
 the ,northern enthusiasts1 as you are  
pleased to term the doctrines of your   
own ,jefferson1 furnish1 in your        
opinion1 a sufficient reason for poising
 the ,ancient ,dominion on its          
sovereignty1 and rousing every          
slaveowner to military preparations1    
until the entire ,south1 from the       
,potomac to the ,gulf1 shall bristle    

with bayonets1 like quills upon the     
fretful porcupine4  ,in proof of a      
conspiracy against your vested rights1  
you have commenced publishing copious   
extracts from the pamphlets and         
periodicals of the abolitionists of ,new
 ,england and ,new ,york4  ,an extract  
from my own pamphlet you have headed    
,the ,fanatics1 and in introducing it to
 your readers you inform them that it   
exhibits1 in strong colors1 the morbid  
spirit of that false and fanatical      
philanthropy1 which is at work in the   
,northern states1 and1 to some extent1  
in the ,south4  ,gentlemen1 so far as ,i
 am personally concerned in the matter1 
,i feel no disposition to take          
exceptions to any epithets which you may
 see fit to apply to me or my writings4 
,a humble son of ,new ,england--a tiller
 of her rugged soil1 and a companion of 
her unostentatious yeomanry--it matters 
little1 in any personal consideration of
 the subject1 whether the voice of      
praise or opprobrium reaches me from    

beyond the narrow limits of my immediate
 neighborhood4  ,but when ,i find my    
opinions quoted as the sentiment of ,new
 ,england1 and then denounced as        
dangerous1 false and fanatical2 and     
especially when ,i see them made the    
occasion of earnest appeals to the      
prejudices and sectional jealousies of  
the ,south1 it becomes me to endeavor to
 establish their truths1 and defend them
 from illegitimate influences and unjust
 suspicions4  ,in the first place1 then1
 let me say1 that if it be criminal to  
publicly express a belief that it is in 
the power of the slave states to        
emancipate their slaves1 with profit and
 safety to themselves1 and that such is 
their immediate duty1 a majority of the 
people of ,new ,england are wholly      
guiltless4  ,of course1 all are         
nominally opposed to slavery2 but upon  
the little band of abolitionists should 
the anathemas of the slave- holder be   
directed1 for they are the agitators of 
whom you complain1 men who are acting   

under a solemn conviction of duty1 and  
who are bending every energy of their   
minds to the accomplishment of their    
object4  ,and that object is the        
overthrow of slavery in the ,united     
,states1 by such means only as are      
sanctioned by law1 humanity1 and        
religion4  ,i shall endeavor1 gentlemen1
 as briefly as may be1 to give you some 
of our reasons for opposing slavery and 
seeking its abolition2 and1 secondly1 to
 explain our mode of operation2 to      
disclose our plan of emancipation1 fully
 and entirely4  ,we wish to do nothing  
darkly2 frank republicans1 we           
acknowledge no double-dealing4  ,at this
 busy season of the year1 ,i cannot but 
regret that ,i have not leisure for such
 a deliberate examination of the subject
 as even my poor ability might warrant4 
,my remarks1 penned in the intervals of 
labor1 must necessarily be brief1 and   
wanting in coherence4  ,we seek the     
abolishment of slavery  #a4  ,because it
 is contrary to the law of ,god4  ,in   

your paper of the #b;d of #gth mo41 the 
same in which you denounce the false and
 fanatical philanthropy of              
abolitionists1 you avow yourselves      
members of the ,bible ,society1 and     
bestow warm and deserved encomiums on   
the truly pious undertaking of sending  
the truth among all nations4  ,you1     
therefore1 gentlemen1 whatever others   
may do1 will not accuse me of           
fanaticism1 if ,i endeavor to sustain my
 first great reason for opposing slavery
 by a reference to the volume of        
inspiration3  ,therefore1 all things    
whatsoever ye would that men should do  
to you do ye even so to them4           
,wherefore now let the fear of the ,lord
 be upon you1 take heed and do it2 for  
there is no iniquity with the ,lord1 nor
 respect of persons4  ,is not this the  
fast that ,i have chosen8  ,to loose the
 bands of wickedness2 to undo the heavy 
burdens and let the oppressed go free1  
and that ye break every yoke8  ,if a man
 be found stealing any of his brethren1 

and maketh merchandise of him1 or       
selling him1 that thief shall die4  ,of 
a truth1 ,i perceive that ,god is no    
respecter of persons4  ,and he that     
stealeth a man and selleth him1 or if he
 be found in his hands1 he shall surely 
be put to death4  #b4  ,because it is an
 open violation of all human equality1  
of the laws of ,nature and of nations4  
,the fundamental principle of all equal 
and just law is contained in the        
following extract from ,blackstone's    
,commentaries1 ,introduction1 sec4  #b4 
,the rights which ,god and ,nature have 
established1 and which are therefore    
called natural rights1 such as life and 
liberty1 need not the aid of human laws 
to be more effectually vested in every  
man than they are2 neither do they      
receive any additional strength when    
declared by municipal laws to be        
inviolable3 on the contrary1 no human   
legislation has power to abridge or     
destroy there1 unless the owner shall   
himself commit some act that amounts to 

a forfeiture4  ,has the negro committed 
such offence8  ,above all1 has his      
infant child forfeited its unalienable  
right8  ,surely it can be no act of the 
innocent child4  ,yet you must prove the
 forfeiture1 or no human legislation can
 deprive that child of its freedom4     
,its black skin constitutes the         
forfeiture6  ,what6 throw the           
responsibility upon ,god6  ,charge the  
common ,father of the white and the     
black1 ,he1 who is no respecter of      
persons1 with plundering ,his           
unoffending children of all which makes 
the boon of existence desirable2 their  
personal liberty6  ,we hold these truths
 to be self-evident3 ,that all men are  
created equal2 that they are endowed by 
their ,creator with certain unalienable 
rights2 that among these are life1      
liberty1 and the pursuit of happiness4--
 7,declaration of ,independence1 from   
the pen of ,thomas ,jefferson47  ,in    
this general and unqualified            
declaration1 on the #dth of ,july1      

#aggf1 all the people of the ,united    
,states1 without distinction of color1  
were proclaimed free1 by the delegates  
of the people of those states assembled 
in their highest sovereign capacity4    
,for more than half a century we have   
openly violated that solemn declaration4
  #c4  ,because it renders nugatory the 
otherwise beneficial example of our free
 institutions1 and exposes us to the    
scorn and reproach of the liberal and   
enlightened of other nations4  ,chains  
clank and groans echo around the walls  
of their spotless ,congress4--7,francis 
,jeffrey47  ,man to be possessed by man6
  ,man to be made property of6  ,the    
image of the ,deity to be put under the 
yoke6  ,let these usurpers show us their
 title-deeds6--7,simon ,boliver47  ,when
 ,i am indulging in my views of         
,american prospects and ,american       
liberty1 it is mortifying to be told    
that in that very country a large       
portion of the people are slaves6  ,it  
is a dark spot on the face of the       

nation4  ,such a state of things cannot 
always exist4--7,lafayette47  ,i deem it
 right to raise my humble voice to      
convince the citizens of ,america that  
the slaveholding states are held in     
abomination by all those whose opinion  
ought to be valuable4  ,man is the      
property of man in about one half of the
 ,american ,states3 let them not        
therefore dare to prate of their        
institutions or of their national       
freedom1 while they hold their          
fellow-men in bondage6  ,of all men     
living1 the ,american citizen who is the
 owner of slaves is the most despicable4
  ,he is a political hypocrite of the   
very worst description4  ,the friends of
 humanity and liberty in ,europe should 
join in one universal cry of shame on   
the ,american slave- holders6  ',base   
wretches6' should we shout in chorus2   
'base wretches6 how dare you profane the
 temple of national freedom1 the sacred 
fane of republican rites1 with the      
presence and the sufferings of human    

beings in chains and slavery6'--7,daniel
 ,o',connell47  #d4  ,because it        
subjects one portion of our ,american   
brethren to the unrestrained violence   
and unholy passions of another4  ,here1 
gentlemen1 ,i might summon to my support
 a cloud of witnesses1 a host of        
incontrovertible1 damning facts1 the    
legitimate results of a system whose    
tendency is to harden and deprave the   
heart4  ,but ,i will not descend to     
particulars4  ,i am willing to believe  
that the majority of the masters of your
 section of the country are disposed to 
treat their unfortunate slaves with     
kindness4  ,but where the dreadful      
privilege of slave-holding is extended  
to all1 in every neighborhood1 there    
must be individuals whose cupidity is   
unrestrained by any principle of        
humanity1 whose lusts are fiercely      
indulged1 whose fearful power over the  
bodies1 nay1 may ,i not say the souls1  
of their victims is daily and hourly    
abused4  ,will the evidence of your own 

,jefferson1 on this point1 be           
admissible8  ,the whole commerce between
 master and slave is a perpetual        
exercise1 of the most boisterous        
passions2 the most unremitting despotism
 on the one part1 and degrading         
submission on the other4  ,our children 
see this1 and learn to imitate it4  ,the
 parent storms1 the child looks on1     
catches the lineaments of wrath1 puts on
 the same airs in the circle of smaller 
slaves1 gives loose to the worst of     
passions2 and thus nursed1 educated1 and
 daily exercised in tyranny1 cannot fail
 to be stamped by it with odious        
peculiarities4  ,the man must be a      
prodigy who can retain his morals and   
manners undepraved by such              
circumstances4--7,notes on ,virginia1 p4
 #bda47  ,il n'existe a la verite aucune
 loi qui protege l'esclave le mauvais   
traitement du maitre1 says ,achille     
,murat1 himself a ,floridian slave-     
holder1 in his late work on the ,united 
,states4  ,gentlemen1 is not this true8 

,does there exist even in ,virginia any 
law limiting the punishment of a slave8 
,are there any bounds prescribed1 beyond
 which the brutal1 the revengeful1 the  
intoxicated slave-master1 acting in the 
double capacity of judge and            
executioner1 cannot pass8  ,you will1   
perhaps1 tell me that the general law   
against murder applies alike to master  
and slave4  ,true2 but will you point   
out instances of masters suffering the  
penalty of that law for the murder of   
their slaves8 ,if you examine your      
judicial reports you will find the      
wilful murder of a slave decided to be  
only a trespass6--7,virginia ,reports1  
vol4 v4  p4 #dha1 ,harris versus        
,nichols47  ,it indeed argues well for  
,virginian pride of character1 that     
latterly1 the law1 which expressly      
sanctioned the murder of a slave1 who in
 the language of ,georgia and ,north    
,carolina1 died of moderate correction1 
has been repealed4  ,but1 although the  
letter of the law is changed1 its       

practice remains the same4  ,in proof of
 this1 ,i would refer to ,brockenborough
 and ,holmes' ,virginia ,cases1 p4 #beh4
  ,in ,georgia and ,north ,carolina the 
murder of a slave is tolerated and      
justified by law1 provided that in the  
opinion of the court he died of moderate
 correction6  ,in ,south ,carolina the  
following clause of a law enacted in    
#agdj is still in force3--  ,if any     
slave shall suffer in his life1 limbs1  
or members1 when no white person shall  
be present1 or being present shall      
neglect or refuse to give evidence      
concerning the same1 in every such case 
the owner or other person who shall have
 the care and government of the slave   
shall be deemed and taken to be guilty  
of such offence2 unless such owner or   
other person can make the contrary      
appear by good and sufficient evidence1 
or shall by his own oath clear and      
exculpate himself1 which oath every     
court where such offence shall be tried 
is hereby empowered to administer and to

 acquit the offender accordingly1 if    
clear proof of the offence be not made  
by two witnesses at least1 any law1     
usage1 or custom to the contrary        
notwithstanding4  ,is not this offering 
a reward for perjury8  ,and what shall  
we think of that misnamed court of      
justice1 where it is optional with the  
witnesses1 in a case of life and death1 
to give or withhold their testimony4    
#e4  ,because it induces dangerous      
sectional jealousies1 creates of        
necessity a struggle between the        
opposing interests of free and slave    
labor1 and threatens the integrity of   
the ,union4  ,that sectional jealousies 
do exist1 the tone of your paper1       
gentlemen1 is of itself an evidence1 if 
indeed any were needed4  ,the moral     
sentiment of the free states is against 
slavery4  ,the freeman has declared his 
unwillingness that his labor should be  
reduced to a level with that of slaves4 
,harsh epithets and harsh threats have  
been freely exchanged1 until the        

beautiful ,potomac1 wherever it winds   
its way to the ocean1 has become the    
dividing line1 not of territory only1   
but of feeling1 interest1 national      
pride1 a moral division4  ,what shook   
the pillars of the ,union when the      
,missouri question was agitated8  ,what 
but a few months ago arrayed in arms a  
state against the ,union1 and the ,union
 against a state8  ,from ,maine to      
,florida1 gentlemen1 the answer must be 
the same1 slavery4  #f4  ,because of its
 pernicious influence upon national     
wealth and prosperity4  ,political      
economy has been the peculiar study of  
,virginia4  ,but there are some         
important truths connected with this    
science which she has hitherto          
overlooked or wantonly disregarded4     
,population increasing with the means of
 subsistence is a fair test of national 
wealth4  ,by reference to the several   
censuses of the ,united ,states1 it will
 be seen that the white population      
increases nearly twice as fast in states

 where there are few or no slaves as in 
the slave states4  ,again1 in the latter
 states the slave population has        
increased twice as fast as the white4   
,let us take1 for example1 the period of
 twenty years1 from #agij to #ahaj1 and 
compare the increase of the two classes 
in three of the ,southern states4       
,per cent4 of whites4  ,per cent4 of    
blacks4       ,maryland       #ac       
#ca      ,virginia       #bd            
#ch      ,north ,carolina #cj           
#gj  ,the causes of this                
disproportionate increase1 so inimical  
to the true interests of the country1   
are very manifest4  ,a large proportion 
of the free inhabitants of the ,united  
,states are dependent upon their labor  
for subsistence4  ,the forced1 unnatural
 system of slavery in some of the states
 renders the demand for free laborers   
less urgent2 they are not so readily and
 abundantly supplied with the means of  
subsistence as those of their own class 
in the free states1 and as the          

necessaries of life diminish population 
also diminishes4  ,there is yet another 
cause for the decline of the white      
population4  ,in the free states labor  
is reputable4  ,the statesman1 whose    
eloquence has electrified a nation1 does
 not disdain in the intervals of the    
public service to handle the axe and the
 hoe4  ,and the woman whose beauty1     
talents1 and accomplishments have won   
the admiration of all deems it no       
degradation to look well to her         
household4  ,but the slave stamps with  
indelible ignominy the character of     
occupation4 ,it is a disgrace for a     
highborn ,virginian or chivalrous       
,carolinian to labor1 side by side1 with
 the low1 despised1 miserable black man4
 ,wretched must be the condition of the 
poorer classes of whites in a           
slave-holding community6  ,compelled to 
perform the despised offices of the     
slave1 they can hardly rise above his   
level4  ,they become the pariahs of     
society4  ,no wonder1 then1 that the    

tide of emigration flows from the       
slave-cursed shores of the ,atlantic to 
the free valleys of the ,west4  ,in ,new
 ,england the labor of a farmer or      
mechanic is worth from #aej to #bjj per 
annum4  ,that of a female from #ej to   
#ajj4  ,our entire population1 with the 
exception of those engaged in mercantile
 affairs1 the professional classes1 and 
a very few moneyed idlers1 are working  
men and women4  ,if that of the ,south  
were equally employed 7and slavery      
apart1 there is no reason why they      
should not be71 how large an addition   
would be annually made to the wealth of 
the country8  ,the truth is1 a very     
considerable portion of the national    
wealth produced by ,northern labor is   
taxed to defray the expenses of         
twenty-five representatives of ,southern
 property in ,congress1 and to maintain 
an army mainly for the protection of the
 slave-master against the dangerous     
tendencies of that property4  ,in the   
early and better days of the ,roman     

,republic1 the ancient warriors and     
statesmen cultivated their fields with  
their own hands2 but so soon as their   
agriculture was left to the slaves1 it  
visibly declined1 the once fertile      
fields became pastures1 and the         
inhabitants of that garden of the world 
were dependent upon foreign nations for 
the necessaries of life4  ,the beautiful
 villages1 once peopled by free         
contented laborers1 became tenantless1  
and1 over the waste of solitude1 we see1
 here and there1 at weary distances1 the
 palaces of the master1 contrasting     
painfully with the wretched cottages and
 subterranean cells of the slave4 ,in   
speaking of the extraordinary fertility 
of the soil in the early times of the   
,republic1 ,pliny inquires1 ,what was   
the cause of these abundant harvests8   
,it was this1 that men of rank employed 
themselves in the culture of the fields2
 whereas now it is left to wretches     
loaded with fetters1 who carry in their 
countenances the shameful evidence of   

their slavery4  ,and what was true in   
the days of the ,roman is now written   
legibly upon the soil of your own       
,virginia4  ,a traveller in your state1 
in contemplating the decline of its     
agriculture1 has justly remarked that1  
if the miserable condition of the negro 
had left his mind for reflection1 he    
would laugh in his chains to see how    
slavery has stricken the land with      
ugliness4  ,is the rapid increase of a  
population of slaves in itself no evil8 
,in all the slave states the increase of
 the slaves is vastly more rapid than   
that of the whites or free blacks4      
,when we recollect that they are under  
no natural or moral restraint1 careless 
of providing food or clothing for       
themselves or their children2 when1 too1
 we consider that they are raised as an 
article of profitable traffic1 like the 
cattle of ,new ,england and the hogs of 
,kentucky2 that it is a matter of       
interest1 of dollars and cents1 to the  
master that they should multiply as fast

 as possible1 there is surely nothing at
 all surprising in the increase of their
 numbers4 ,would to heaven there were   
also nothing alarming6  #g4  ,because1  
by the terms of the national compact1   
the free and the slave states are alike 
involved in the guilt of maintaining    
slavery1 and the citizens of the former 
are liable1 at any moment1 to be called 
upon to aid the latter in suppressing1  
at the point of the bayonet1 the        
insurrection of the slaves4  ,slavery   
is1 at the best1 an unnatural state4    
,and ,nature1 when her eternal          
principles are violated1 is perpetually 
struggling to restore them to their     
first estate4  ,all history1 ancient and
 modern1 is full of warning on this     
point4  ,need ,i refer to the many      
revolts of the ,roman and ,grecian      
slaves1 the bloody insurrection of      
,etruria1 the horrible servile wars of  
,sicily and ,capua8 ,or1 to come down to
 later times1 to ,france in the         
fourteenth century1 ,germany in the     

sixteenth1 to ,malta in the last8  ,need
 ,i call to mind the untold horrors of  
,st4  ,domingo1 when that island1 under 
the curse of its servile war1 glowed    
redly in the view of earth and          
heaven1--an open hell8 ,have our own    
peculiar warnings gone by unheeded1--the
 frequent slave insurrections of the    
,south8  ,one horrible tragedy1         
gentlemen1 must still be fresh in your  
recollection1--,southampton1 with its   
fired dwellings and ghastly dead6       
,southampton1 with its dreadful         
associations1 of the death struggle with
 the insurgents1 the groans of the      
tortured negroes1 the lamentations of   
the surviving whites over woman in her  
innocence and beauty1 and childhood1 and
 hoary age6  ,the hour of emancipation1 
said ,thomas ,jefferson1 is advancing in
 the march of time4  ,it will come4  ,if
 not brought on by the generous energy  
of our own minds1 it will come by the   
bloody process of ,st4 ,domingo6  ,to   
the just and prophetic language of your 

own great statesman ,i have but a few   
words to add4  ,they shall be those of  
truth and soberness4  ,we regard the    
slave system in your section of the     
country as a great evil1 moral and      
political1--an evil which1 if left to   
itself for even a few years longer1 will
 give the entire ,south into the hands  
of the blacks4  ,the terms of the       
national compact compel us to consider  
more than two millions of our           
fellow-beings as your property2 not1    
indeed1 morally1 really1 de facto1 but  
still legally your property6  ,we       
acknowledge that you have a power       
derived from the ,united ,states        
,constitution to hold this property1 but
 we deny that you have any moral right  
to take advantage of that power4  ,for  
truth will not allow us to admit that   
any human law or compact can make void  
or put aside the ordinance of the living
 ,god and the eternal laws of ,nature4  
,we therefore hold it to be the duty of 
the people of the slave-holding states  

to begin the work of emancipation now2  
that any delay must be dangerous to     
themselves in time and eternity1 and    
full of injustice to their slaves and to
 their brethren of the free states4     
,because the slave has never forfeited  
his right to freedom1 and the           
continuance of his servitude is a       
continuance of robbery2 and because1 in 
the event of a servile war1 the people  
of the free states would be called upon 
to take a part in its unutterable       
horrors4  ,new ,england would obey that 
call1 for she will abide unto death by  
the ,constitution of the land4  ,yet    
what must be the feelings of her        
citizens1 while engaged in hunting down 
like wild beasts their                  
fellow-men--brutal and black it may be1 
but still oppressed1 suffering human    
beings1 struggling madly and desperately
 for their liberty1 if they feel and    
know that the necessity of so doing has 
resulted from a blind fatality on the   
part of the oppressor1 a reckless       

disregard of the warnings of earth and  
heaven1 an obstinate perseverance in a  
system founded and sustained by robbery 
and wrong8  ,all wars are horrible1     
wicked1 inexcusable1 and truly and      
solemnly has ,jefferson himself said    
that1 in a contest of this kind1 between
 the slave and the master1 the ,almighty
 has no attribute which could take side 
with us4  ,understand us1 gentlemen4    
,we only ask to have the fearful        
necessity taken away from us of         
sustaining the wretched policy of       
slavery by moral influence or physical  
force4  ,we ask alone to be allowed to  
wash our hands of the blood of millions 
of your fellow-beings1 the cry of whom  
is rising up as a swift witness unto    
,god against us4  #h4  ,because all the 
facts connected with the subject warrant
 us in a most confident belief that a   
speedy and general emancipation might be
 made with entire safety1 and that the  
consequences of such an emancipation    
would be highly beneficial to the       

planters of the ,south4  ,awful as may  
be their estimate in time and eternity1 
,i will not1 gentlemen1 dwell upon the  
priceless benefits of a conscience at   
rest1 a soul redeemed from the          
all-polluting influences of slavery1 and
 against which the cry of the laborer   
whose hire has been kept back by fraud  
does not ascend4  ,nor will ,i rest the 
defence of my position upon the fact    
that it can never be unsafe to obey the 
commands of ,god4  ,these are the old   
and common arguments of fanatics and    
enthusiasts1 melting away like          
frost-work in the glorious sunshine of  
expediency and utility4  ,in the light  
of these modern luminaries1 then1 let us
 reason together4  ,a long and careful  
examination of the subject will ,i think
 fully justify me in advancing this     
general proposition4  ,wherever1 whether
 in ,europe1 the ,east and ,west        
,indies1 ,south ,america1 or in our own 
country1 a fair experiment has been made
 of the comparative expense of free and 

slave labor1 the result has uniformly   
been favorable to the former4           
7,see ,brougham's ,colonial ,policy4    
,hodgdon's ,letter to ,jean ,baptiste   
,say4  ,waleh's ,brazil4  ,official     
,letter of ,hon4  ,mr4 ,ward1 from      
,mexico4  ,dr4 ,dickson's ,mitigation of
 ,slavery4  ,franklin on ,the           
,peopling of ,countries4  ,ramsay's     
,essay4  ,botham's ,sugar ,cultivation  
in ,batavia4  ,marsden's ,history of    
,sumatra4  ,coxe's ,travels4  ,dr4      
,anderson's ,observations on ,slavery4  
,storch's ,political ,economy4          
,adam ,smith4  ,j4 ,jeremies' ,essays4  
,humboldt's ,travels1 etc41 etc47       
,here1 gentlemen1 the issue is tendered4
  ,standing on your own ground of       
expediency1 ,i am ready to defend my    
position4  ,i pass from the utility to  
the safety of emancipation4  ,and here1 
gentlemen1 ,i shall probably be met at  
the outset with your supposed           
consequences1 bloodshed1 rapine1        
promiscuous massacre6  ,the facts1      

gentlemen6  ,in ,god's name1 bring out  
your facts6  ,if slavery is to cast over
 the prosperity of our country the thick
 shadow of an everlasting curse1 because
 emancipation is dreaded as a remedy    
worse than the disease itself1 let us   
know the real grounds of your fear4  ,do
 you find them in the emancipation of   
the ,south ,american ,republics8  ,in   
,hayti8  ,in the partial experiments of 
some of the ,west ,india ,islands8 ,does
 history1 ancient or modern1 justify    
your fears8  ,can you find any excuse   
for them in the nature of the human     
mind1 everywhere maddened by injury and 
conciliated by kindness8  ,no1          
gentlemen2 the dangers of slavery are   
manifest and real1 all history lies open
 for your warning4 ,but the dangers of  
emancipation1 of doing justly and loving
 mercy1 exist only in your imaginations4
  ,you cannot produce one fact in       
corroboration of your fears4  ,you      
cannot point to the stain of a single   
drop of any master's blood shed by the  

slave he has emancipated4  ,i have now  
given some of our reasons for opposing  
slavery4  ,in my next letter ,i shall   
explain our method of opposition1 and ,i
 trust ,i shall be able to show that    
there is nothing fanatical1 nothing     
unconstitutional1 and nothing           
unchristian in that method4  ,in the    
mean time1 gentlemen1 ,i am your friend 
and well-wisher4  ,,haverhill1 ,,mass41 
#bb;d #gth ,mo41 #ahcc4                 
,,ii4  ,the abolitionists of the ,north 
have been grossly misrepresented4  ,in  
attacking the system of slavery1 they   
have never recommended any measure or   
measures conflicting with the           
,constitution of the ,united ,states4   
,they have never sought to excite or    
encourage a spirit of rebellion among   
the slaves3 on the contrary1 they would 
hold any such attempt1 by whomsoever    
made1 in utter and stern abhorrence4    
,all the leading abolitionists of my    
acquaintance are1 from principle1       
opposed to war of all kinds1 believing  

that the benefits of no war whatever can
 compensate for the sacrifice of one    
human life by violence4  ,consequently1 
they would be the first to deprecate any
 physical interference with your slave  
system on the part of the general       
government4  ,they are1 without         
exception1 opposed to any political     
interposition of the government1 in     
regard to slavery as it exists in the   
states4  ,for1 although they feel and   
see that the canker of the moral disease
 is affecting all parts of the          
confederacy1 they believe that the      
remedy lies with yourselves alone4  ,any
 such interference they would consider  
unlawful and unconstitutional2 and the  
exercise of unconstitutional power1     
although sanctioned by the majority of a
 republican government1 they believe to 
be a tyranny as monstrous and as odious 
as the despotism of a ,turkish ,sultan4 
,having made this disclaimer on the part
 of myself and my friends1 let me       
inquire from whence this charge of      

advocating the interference of the      
general government with the sovereign   
jurisdiction of the states has arisen8  
,will you1 gentlemen1 will the able     
editors of the ,united ,states          
,telegraph and the ,columbian           
,telescope1 explain8  ,for myself1 ,i   
have sought in vain among the writings  
of our ,northern ,enthusiasts1 and among
 the speeches of the ,northern statesmen
 and politicians1 for some grounds for  
the accusation4  ,the doctrine1 such as 
it is1 does not belong to us4  ,i think 
it may be traced home to the ,south1 to 
,virginia1 to her ,convention of #ahbi1 
to the speech of ,ex-,president ,monroe1
 on the white basis question4  ,as to   
emancipation1 said that distinguished   
son of your state1 if ever that should  
take place1 it cannot be done by the    
state2 it must be done by the ,union4   
,again1 ,if emancipation can ever be    
effected1 it can only be done with the  
aid of the general government4          
,gentlemen1 you are welcome to your     

doctrine4  ,it has no advocates among   
the abolitionists of ,new ,england4  ,we
 aim to overthrow slavery by the moral  
influence of an enlightened public      
sentiment2  ,by a clear and fearless    
exposition of the guilt of holding      
property in man2  ,by analyzing the true
 nature of slavery1 and boldly rebuking 
sin2  ,by a general dissemination of the
 truths of political economy1 in regard 
to free and slave labor2  ,by appeals   
from the pulpit to the consciences of   
men2  ,by the powerful influence of the 
public press2  ,by the formation of     
societies whose object shall be to      
oppose the principle of slavery by such 
means as are consistent with our        
obligations to law1 religion1 and       
humanity2  ,by elevating1 by means of   
education and sympathy1 the character of
 the free people of color among us4     
,our testimony against slavery is the   
same which has uniformly1 and with so   
much success1 been applied to prevailing
 iniquity in all ages of the world1 the 

truths of divine revelation4  ,believing
 that there can be nothing in the       
,providence of ,god to which ,his holy  
and eternal law is not strictly         
applicable1 we maintain that no         
circumstances can justify the           
slave-holder in a continuance of his    
system4  ,that the fact that this system
 did not originate with the present     
generation is no apology for retaining  
it1 inasmuch as crime cannot be         
entailed2 and no one is under a         
necessity of sinning because others have
 done so before him2  ,that the domestic
 slave-trade is as repugnant to the laws
 of ,god1 and should be as odious in the
 eyes of a ,christian community1 as the 
foreign2  ,that the black child born in 
a slave plantation is not an entailed   
article of property2 and that the white 
man who makes of that child a slave is a
 thief and a robber1 stealing the child 
as the sea pirate stole his father6  ,we
 do not talk of gradual abolition1      
because1 as ,christians1 we find no     

authority for advocating a gradual      
relinquishment of sin4  ,we say to      
slaveholders1 ,repent now1 to-day1      
immediately2 just as we say to the      
intemperate1 ,break off from your vice  
at once2 touch not1 taste not1 handle   
not1 from henceforth forever4  ,besides1
 the plan of gradual abolition has been 
tried in this country and the ,west     
,indies1 and found wanting4  ,it has    
been in operation in our slave states   
ever since the ,declaration of          
,independence1 and its results are      
before the nation4  ,let us see4  ,,the 
,,abolitionists  #gi  ,in #agij there   
were in the slave states south of the   
,potomac and the ,ohio #bj1dae free     
blacks4  ,their increase for the ten    
years following was at the rate of sixty
 per cent41 their number in #ahjj being 
#cb1fjd4  ,in #ahaj there were #eh1jdf1 
an increase of seventy-five per cent4   
,this comparatively large increase was1 
in a great measure1 owing to the free   
discussions going on in ,england and in 

this country on the subject of the      
slave-trade and the rights of man4  ,the
 benevolent impulse extended to the     
slave-masters1 and manumissions were    
frequent4  ,but the salutary impression 
died away2 the hand of oppression closed
 again upon its victims2 and the        
increase for the period of twenty years1
 #ahaj to #ahcj1 was only seventy-seven 
per cent41 about one half of what it was
 in the ten years from #ahjj to #ahaj4  
,and this is the practical result of the
 much-lauded plan of gradual abolition4 
,in #agij1 in the states above          
mentioned1 there were only #eej1fjd     
slaves1 but in #ahcj there were         
#a1hgd1jih6  ,and this1 too1 is gradual 
abolition4  ,what1 then6 perhaps you    
will ask1 do you expect to overthrow our
 whole slave system at once8 to turn    
loose to-day two millions of negroes8   
,no1 gentlemen2 we expect no such thing4
  ,enough for us if in the spirit of    
fraternal duty we point to your notice  
the commands of ,god2 if we urge you by 

every cherished remembrance of common   
sacrifices upon a common altar1 by every
 consideration of humanity1 justice1 and
 expediency1 to begin now1 without a    
moment's delay1 to break away from your 
miserable system1--to begin the work of 
moral reformation1 as ,god commands you 
to begin1 not as selfishness1 or worldly
 policy1 or short-sighted political     
expediency1 may chance to dictate4      
,such is our doctrine of immediate      
emancipation4  ,a doctrine founded on   
,god's eternal truth1 plain1 simple1 and
 perfect1--the doctrine of immediate1   
unprocrastinated repentance applied to  
the sin of slavery4  ,of this doctrine1 
and of our plan for crrrying it into    
effect1 ,i have given an exposition1    
with the most earnest regard to the     
truth4  ,does either embrace anything   
false1 fanatical1 or unconstitutional8  
,do they afford a reasonable protext for
 your fierce denunciations of your      
,northern brethren8  ,do they furnish   
occasion for your newspaper chivalry1   

your stereotyped demonstrations of      
,southern magnanimity and ,yankee       
meanness8--things1 let me say1 unworthy 
of ,virginians1 degrading to yourselves1
 insulting to us4  ,gentlemen1 it is too
 late for ,virginia1 with all her lofty 
intellect and nobility of feeling1 to   
defend and advocate the principle of    
slavery4 ,the death-like silence which  
for nearly two centuries brooded over   
her execrable system has been broken2   
light is pouring in upon the minds of   
her citizens2 truth is abroad1 searching
 out and overturning the lies of the    
age4  ,a moral reformation has been     
already awakened1 and it cannot now be  
drugged to sleep by the sophistries of  
detected sin4  ,a thousand intelligences
 are at work in her land2 a thousand of 
her noblest hearts are glowing with the 
redeeming spirit of that true           
philanthropy1 which is moving all the   
world4  ,no1 gentlemen2 light is        
spreading from the hills of ,western    
,virginia to the extremest ,east4  ,you 

cannot arrest its progress4  ,it is     
searching the consciences2 it is        
exercising the reason2 it is appealing  
to the noblest characteristics of       
intelligent ,virginians4 ,it is no      
foreign influence4  ,from every         
abandoned plantation where the          
profitless fern and thistle have sprung 
up under the heel of slavery2 from every
 falling mansion of the master1 through 
whose windows the fox may look out      
securely1 and over whose hearth-stone   
the thin grass is creeping1 a warning   
voice is sinking deeply into all hearts 
not imbruted by avarice1 indolence1 and 
the lust of power4  ,abolitionist as ,i 
am1 the intellectual character of       
,virginia has no warmer admirer than    
myself4  ,her great names1 her moral    
trophies1 the glories of her early day1 
the still proud and living testimonials 
of her mental power1 ,i freely          
acknowledge and strongly appreciate4    
,and1 believe me1 it is with no other   
feelings than those of regret and       

heartfelt sorrow that ,i speak plainly  
of her great error1 her giant crime1 a  
crime which is visibly calling down upon
 her the curse of an offended ,deity4   
,but ,i cannot forget that upon some of 
the most influential and highly favored 
of her sons rests the responsibility at 
the present time of sustaining this     
fearful iniquity4  ,blind to the signs  
of the times1 careless of the wishes of 
thousands of their white fellow-citizens
 and of the manifold wrongs of the black
 man1 they have dared to excuse1 defend1
 nay1 eulogize1 the black abominations  
of slavery4  ,against the tottering ark 
of the idol these strong men have placed
 their shoulders4  ,that ark must fall2 
that idol must be cast down2 what1 then1
 will be the fate of their supporters8  
,when the ,convention of #ahbi had      
gathered in its splendid galaxy of      
talents the great names of ,virginia1   
the friends of civil liberty turned     
their eyes towards it in the earnest    
hope and confidence that it would adopt 

some measures in regard to slavery      
worthy of the high character of its     
members and of the age in which they    
lived4  ,i need not say how deep and    
bitter was our disappointment4  ,western
 ,virginia indeed spoke on that         
occasion1 through some of her delegates1
 the words of truth and humanity4 ,but  
their counsels and warnings were        
unavailing2 the majority turned away to 
listen to the bewildering eloquence of  
,leigh and ,upshur and ,randolph1 as    
they desecrated their great intellects  
to the defence of that system of        
oppression under which the whole land is
 groaning4  ,the memorial of the        
citizens of ,augusta ,county1 bearing   
the signatures of many slave- holders1  
placed the evils of slavery in a strong 
light before the convention4  ,its facts
 and arguments could only be arbitrarily
 thrust aside and wantonly disregarded2 
they could not be disproved4  ,in a     
political point of view1 says the       
memorial1 we esteem slavery an evil     

greater than the aggregate of all the   
other evils which beset us1 and we are  
perfectly willing to bear our proportion
 of the burden of removing it4  ,we ask1
 further1 ,what is the evil of any such 
alarm as our proposition may excite in  
minds unnecessarily jealous compared    
with that of the fatal catastrophe which
 ultimately awaits our country1 and the 
general depravation of manners which    
slavery has already produced and is     
producing8  ,i cannot forbear giving one
 more extract from this paper4  ,the    
memorialists state their belief  ,that  
the labor of slaves is vastly less      
productive than that of freemen2 that it
 therefore requires a larger space to   
furnish subsistence for a given number  
of the former than of the latter2 that  
the employment of the former necessarily
 excludes that of the latter2 that hence
 our population1 white and black1       
averages seventeen1 when it ought1 and  
would under other circumstances1        
average1 as in ,new ,england1 at least  

sixty to a square mile2 that the        
possession and management of slaves form
 a source of endless vexation and misery
 in the house1 and of waste and ruin on 
the farm2 that the youth of the country 
are growing up with a contempt of steady
 industry as a low and servile thing1   
which contempt induces idleness and all 
its attendant effeminacy1 vice1 and     
worthlessness2 that the waste of the    
products of the land1 nay1 of the land  
itself1 is bringing poverty on all its  
inhabitants2 that this poverty and the  
sparseness of population either prevent 
the institution of schools throughout   
the country1 or keep them in a most     
languid and inefficient condition2 and  
that the same causes most obviously     
paralyze all our schemes and efforts for
 the useful improvement of the country4 
,gentlemen1 you have only to look around
 you to know that this picture has been 
drawn with the pencil of truth4  ,what  
has made desolate and sterile one of the
 loveliest regions of the whole earth8  

,what mean the signs of wasteful        
neglect1 of long improvidence around    
you3 the half-finished mansion already  
falling into decay1 the broken-down     
enclosures1 the weed- grown garden the  
slave hut open to the elements1 the     
hillsides galled and naked1 the fields  
below them run over with brier and fern8
  ,is all this in the ordinary course of
 nature8  ,has man husbanded well the   
good gifts of ,god1 and are they        
nevertheless passing from him1 by a     
process of deterioration over which he  
has no control8  ,no1 gentlemen4  ,for  
more than two centuries the cold and    
rocky soil of ,new ,england has yielded 
its annual tribute1 and it still lies   
green and luxuriant beneath the sun of  
our brief summer4  ,the nerved and      
ever-exercised arm of free labor has    
changed a landscape wild and savage as  
the night scenery of ,salvator ,rosa    
into one of pastoral beauty1--the abode 
of independence and happiness4 ,under a 
similar system of economy and industry1 

how would ,virginia1 rich with ,nature's
 prodigal blessings1 have worn at this  
time over all her territory the smiles  
of plenty1 the charms of rewarded       
industry6  ,what a change would have    
been manifest in your whole character6  
,freemen in the place of slaves1        
industry1 reputable  economy1 a virtue1 
dissipation despised1 emigration        
unnecessary6       7,a late ,virginia   
member of ,congress described the       
,virginia slave-      holder as follows3
 ,he is an ,eastern ,virginian whose    
good fortune it      has been to have   
been born wealthy1 and to have become a 
profound      politician at twenty-one  
without study or labor4  ,this          
individual1      from birth and habit1  
is above all labor and exertion4  ,he   
never      moves a finger for any useful
 purpose2 he lives on the labor of his  
slaves1 and even this labor he is too   
proud and indolent to direct      in    
person4  ,while he is at his ease1 a    
mercenary with a whip in his      hand  

drives his slaves in the field4  ,their 
dinner1 consisting of a      few scraps 
and lean bones1 is eaten in the burning 
sun4  ,they have      no time to go to a
 shade and be refreshed such easement is
 reserved      for the horses6--,speech 
of ,hon4 ,p4 ,p4 ,doddridge in ,house of
      ,delegates1 #ahbi47  ,all this1   
you will say1 comes too late2 the curse 
is upon you1 the evil in the vitals of  
your state1 the desolation widening day 
by day4  ,no1 it is not too late4       
,there are elements in the ,virginian   
character capable of meeting the danger1
 extreme as it is1 and turning it aside4
  ,could you but forget for a time      
partisan contest and unprofitable       
political speculations1 you might       
successfully meet the dangerous         
exigencies of your state with those     
efficient remedies which the spirit of  
the age suggests2 you might1 and that   
too without pecuniary loss1 relinquish  
your claims to human beings as slaves1  
and employ them as free laborers1 under 

such restraint and supervision as their 
present degraded condition may render   
necessary4  ,in the language of one of  
your own citizens1 it is useless for you
 to attempt to linger on the skirts of  
the age which is departed4  ,the action 
of existing causes and principles is    
steady and progressive4  ,it cannot be  
retarded1 unless you would blow out all 
the moral lights around you2 and if you 
refuse to keep up with it1 you will be  
towed in the wake1 whether you will or  
not4--7,speech in ,virginia legislature1
 #ahcb47  ,the late noble example of the
 eloquent statesman of ,roanoke1 the    
manumission of his slaves1 speaks       
volumes to his political friends4  ,in  
the last hour of existence1 when his    
soul was struggling from his broken     
tenement1 his latest effort was the     
confirmation of this generous act of a  
former period4  ,light rest the turf    
upon him beneath his own patrimonial    
oaks6  ,the prayers of many hearts made 
happy by his benevolence shall linger   

over his grave and bless it4            
,gentlemen1 in concluding these letters1
 let me once more assure you that ,i    
entertain towards you and your political
 friends none other than kindly         
feelings4  ,if ,i have spoken at all    
with apparent harshness1 it has been of 
principles rather than of men4  ,but ,i 
deprecate no censure4  ,conscious of the
 honest and patriotic motives which have
 prompted their avowal1 ,i cheerfully   
leave my sentiments to their fate4      
,despised and contemned as they may be1 
,i believe they cannot be gainsaid4     
,sustained by the truth as it exists in 
,nature and ,revelation1 sanctioned by  
the prevailing spirit of the age1 they  
are yet destined to work out the        
political and moral regeneration of our 
country4  ,the opposition which they    
meet with does not dishearten me4  ,in  
the lofty confidence of ,john ,milton1  
,i believe that though all the winds of 
doctrine be let loose upon the earth1 so
 ,truth be among them1 we need not fear4

  ,let her and ,falsehood grapple2      
whoever knew her to be put to the worst 
in a free and open encounter8           
,,haverhill1 ,,mass41 #bith of #gth     
,mo41 #ahcc4     ,,letter ,,to ,,samuel 
,e4 ,,sewall4  ,,haverhill1 #ajth of    
#ast ,mo41 #ahcd4  ,,samuel ,e4         
,,sewall1 ,,esq41 ,secretary ,new       
,england ,a4 ,s4 ,society  ,,dear       
,,friend1--,i regret that circumstances 
beyond my control will not allow of my  
attendance at the annual meeting of the 
,new ,england ,anti- ,slavery ,society4 
,i need not say to the members of that  
society that ,i am with them1 heart and 
soul1 in the cause of abolition2 the    
abolition not of physical slavery alone1
 abhorrent and monstrous as it is1 but  
of that intellectual slavery1 the       
bondage of corrupt and mistaken opinion1
 which has fettered as with iron the    
moral energies and intellectual strength
 of ,new ,england4  ,for what is        
slavery1 after all1 but fear1--fear1    
forcing mind and body into unnatural    

action8  ,and it matters little whether 
it be the terror of the slave-whip on   
the body1 or of the scourge of popular  
opinion upon the inner man4  ,we all    
know how often the representatives of   
the ,southern division of the country   
have amused themselves in ,congress by  
applying the opprobrious name of slave  
to the free ,northern laborer4  ,and how
 familiar have the significant epithets 
of white slave and dough-face become6   
,i fear these epithets have not been    
wholly misapplied4  ,have we not been   
told here1 gravely and authoritatively1 
by some of our learned judges1 divines1 
and politicians1 that we1 the free      
people of ,new ,england1 have no right  
to discuss the subject of slavery8      
,freemen1 and no right to suggest the   
duty or the policy of a practical       
adherence to the doctrines of that      
immortal declaration upon which our     
liberties are founded6 ,christians1     
enjoying perfect liberty of conscience1 
yet possessing no right to breathe one  

whisper against a system of adultery and
 blood1 which is filling the whole land 
with abomination and blasphemy6  ,and   
this craven sentiment is echoed by the  
very men whose industry is taxed to     
defray the expenses of twenty-five      
representatives of property1 vested in  
beings fashioned in the awful image of  
their ,maker2 by men whose hard earnings
 aid in supporting a standing army      
mainly for the protection of            
slaveholding indolence2 by men who are  
liable at any moment to be called from  
the field and workshop to put down by   
force the ever upward tendencies of     
oppressed humanity1 to aid the          
negro-breeder and the negro- trader in  
the prosecution of a traffic most       
horrible in the eye of ,god1 to wall    
round with their bayonets two millions  
of colored ,americans1 children of a    
common ,father and heirs of a common    
eternity1 while the broken chain is     
riveted anew and the thrown-off fetter  
replaced4  ,i am for the abolition of   

this kind of slavery4  ,it must be      
accomplished before we can hope to      
abolish the negro slavery of the        
country4  ,the people of the free       
states1 with a perfect understanding of 
their own rights and a sacred respect   
for the rights of others1 must put their
 strong shoulders to the work of moral  
reform1 and our statesmen1 orators1 and 
politicians will follow1 floating as    
they must with the tendency of the      
current1 the mere indices of popular    
sentiment4  ,they cannot be expected to 
lead in this matter4  ,they are but     
instruments in the hands of the people  
for good or evil3--            ,a breath
 can make them1 as a breath has made4   
,be it our task to give tone and        
direction to these instruments2 to turn 
the tide of popular feeling into the    
pure channels of justice2 to break up   
the sinful silence of the nation2 to    
bring the vaunted ,christianity of our  
age and country to the test of truth2 to
 try the strength and purity of our     

republicanism4  ,if the ,christianity we
 profess has not power to pull down the 
strongholds of prejudice1 and overcome  
hate1 and melt the heart of oppression1 
it is not of ,god4  ,if our             
republicanism is based on other         
foundation than justice and humanity1   
let it fall forever4  ,no better        
evidence is needed of the suicidal      
policy of this nation than the          
death-like silence on the subject of    
slavery which pervades its public       
documents4  ,who that peruses the annual
 messages of the national executive     
would1 from their perusal alone1        
conjecture that such an evil as slavery 
had existence among us8  ,have the      
people reflected upon the cause of this 
silence8  ,the evil has grown to be too 
monstrous to be questioned4  ,its very  
magnitude has sealed the lips of the    
rulers4 ,uneasily1 and troubled with its
 dream of guilt1 the nation sleeps on4  
,the volcano is beneath4  ,god is above 
us4  ,at every step of our peaceful and 

legal agitation of this subject we are  
met with one grave objection4  ,we are  
told that the system which we are       
conscientiously opposing is recognized  
and protected by the ,constitution4 ,for
 all the benefits of our fathers'       
patriotism--and they are neither few nor
 trifling--let us be grateful to ,god   
and to their memories4  ,but it should  
not be forgotten that the same          
constitutional compact which now        
sanctions slavery guaranteed protection 
for twenty years to the foreign         
slave-trade4  ,it threw the shield of   
its sanctity around the now universally 
branded pirate4  ,it legalized the most 
abhorrent system of robbery which ever  
cursed the family of man4  ,during those
 years of sinful compromise the crime of
 man-robbery less atrocious than at     
present8  ,because the ,constitution    
permitted1 in that single crime1 the    
violation of all the commandments of    
,god1 was that violation less terrible  
to earth or offensive to heaven8  ,no   

one now defends that constitutional     
slavetrade4  ,loaded with the curse of  
,god and man1 it stands amidst minor    
iniquities1 like ,satan in ,pandemonium1
 preeminent and monstrous in crime4     
,and if the slave-trade has become thus 
odious1 what must be the fate1 erelong1 
of its parent1 slavery8  ,if the mere   
consequence be thus blackening under the
 execration of all the world1 who shall 
measure the dreadful amount of infamy   
which must finally settle on the cause  
itself8 ,the titled ecclesiastic and the
 ambitious statesman should have their  
warning on this point4  ,they should    
know that public opinion is steadily    
turning to the light of truth4  ,the    
fountains are breaking up around us1 and
 the great deep will soon be in motion4 
,a stern1 uncompromising1 and solemn    
spirit of inquiry is abroad4  ,it cannot
 be arrested1 and its result may be     
easily foreseen4  ,it will not long be  
popular to talk of the legality of      
soul-murder1 the constitutionality of   

man-robbery4  ,one word in relation to  
our duty to our ,southern brethren4  ,if
 we detest their system of slavery in   
our hearts1 let us not play the         
hypocrite with our lips4  ,let us not   
pay so poor a compliment to their       
understandings as to suppose that we can
 deceive them into a compliance with our
 views of justice by ambiguous          
sophistry1 and overcome their sinful    
practices and established prejudices by 
miserable stratagem4  ,let us not first 
do violence to our consciences by       
admitting their moral right to property 
in man1 and then go to work like so many
 vagabond pedlers to cheat them out of  
it4  ,they have a right to complain of  
such treatment4  ,it is mean1 and       
wicked1 and dishonorable4  ,let us      
rather treat our ,southern friends as   
intelligent and high-minded men1 who1   
whatever may be their faults1 despise   
unmanly artifice1 and loathe cant1 and  
abhor hypocrisy4 ,connected with them1  
not by political ties alone1 but by     

common sacrifices and mutual benefits1  
let us seek to expostulate with them    
earnestly and openly1 to gain at least  
their confidence in our sincerity1 to   
appeal to their consciences1 reason1 and
 interests2 and1 using no other weapons 
than those of moral truth1 contend      
fearlessly with the evil system they are
 cherishing4  ,and if1 in an immediate  
compliance with the strict demands of   
justice1 they should need our aid and   
sympathy1 let us open to them our hearts
 and our purses4  ,but in the name of   
sincerity1 and for the love of peace and
 the harmony of the ,union1 let there be
 no more mining and countermining1 no   
more blending of apology with           
denunciation1 no more ,janus-like       
systems of reform1 with one face for the
 ,south and another for the ,north4  ,if
 we steadily adhere to the principles   
upon which we have heretofore acted1 if 
we present our naked hearts to the view 
of all1 if we meet the threats and      
violence of our misguided enemies with  

the bare bosom and weaponless hand of   
innocence1 may we not trust that the arm
 of our ,heavenly ,father will be under 
us1 to strengthen and support us8  ,and 
although we may not be able to save our 
country from the awful judgment she is  
provoking1 though the pillars of the    
,union fall and all the elements of her 
greatness perish1 still let it be our   
part to rally around the standard of    
truth and justice1 to wash our hands of 
evil1 to keep our own souls unspotted1  
and1 bearing our testimony and lifting  
our warning voices to the last1 leave   
the event in the hands of a righteous   
,god4     ,,john ,,quincy ,,adams4      
,in #ahcg ,isaac ,knapp printed ,letters
 from ,john ,quincy ,adams to his       
,constituents of the ,twelfth           
,congressional ,district in             
,massachusetts1      to which is added  
his ,speech in ,congress1 delivered     
,february #i1      #ahcg1 and the       
following stood as an introduction to   
the pamphlet4  ,,the following letters  

have been published1 within a few weeks1
 in the ,quincy 7,mass47 ',patriot'4    
,notwithstanding the great importance of
 the subjects which they discuss1 the   
intense interest which they are         
calculated to awaken throughout this    
commonwealth and the whole country1 and 
the exalted reputation of their author  
as a profound statesman and powerful    
writer1 they are as yet hardly known    
beyond the limits of the constituency to
 whom they are particularly addressed4  
,the reason of this is sufficiently     
obvious4  ,john ,quincy ,adams belongs  
to neither of the prominent political   
parties1 fights no partisan battles1 and
 cannot be prevailed upon to sacrifice  
truth and principle upon the altar of   
party expediency and interest4  ,hence  
neither party is interested in defending
 his course1 or in giving him an        
opportunity to defend himself4  ,but    
however systematic may be the efforts of
 mere partisan presses to suppress and  
hold back from the public eye the       

powerful and triumphant vindication of  
the ,right of ,petition1 the graphic    
delineation of the slavery spirit in    
,congress1 and the humbling disclosure  
of ,northern cowardice and treachery1   
contained in these letters1 they are    
destined to exert a powerful influence  
upon the public mind4  ,they will       
constitute one of the most striking     
pages in the history of our times4      
,they will be read with avidity in the  
,north and in the ,south1 and throughout
 ,europe4 ,apart from the interest      
excited by the subjects under           
discussion1 and viewed only as literary 
productions1 they may be ranked among   
the highest intellectual efforts of     
their author4  ,their sarcasm is        
,junius-like1-- cold1 keen1 unsparing4  
,in boldness1 directness1 and eloquent  
appeal1 they will bear comparison with  
,o',connell's celebrated ',letters to   
the ,reformers of ,great ,britain'4     
,they are the offspring of an intellect 
unshorn of its primal strength1 and     

combining the ardor of youth with the   
experience of age4  ,the disclosure made
 in these letters of the slavery        
influence exerted in ,congress over the 
representatives of the free states1 of  
the manner in which the rights of       
freemen have been bartered for ,southern
 votes1 or basely yielded to the threats
 of men educated in despotism1 and      
stamped by the free indulgence of       
unrestrained tyranny with the odious    
peculiarities of slavery1 is painful and
 humiliating in the extreme4  ,it will  
be seen that1 in the great struggle for 
and against the ,right of ,petition1 an 
account of which is given in the        
following pages1 their author stood1 in 
a great measure1 alone and unsupported  
by his ,northern colleagues4  ,on his   
gray1 discrowned head the entire fury of
 slave- holding arrogance and wrath was 
expended4  ,he stood alone1 beating     
back1 with his aged and single arm1 the 
tide which would have borne down and    
overwhelmed a less sturdy and determined

 spirit4  ,we need not solicit for these
 letters1 and the speech which          
accompanies them1 a thorough perusal4   
,they deserve1 and we trust will        
receive1 a circulation throughout the   
entire country4  ,they will meet a      
cordial welcome from every lover of     
human liberty1 from every friend of     
justice and the rights of man1          
irrespective of color or condition4     
,the principles which they defend1 the  
sentiments which they express1 are those
 of ,massachusetts1 as recently         
asserted1 almost unanimously1 by her    
legislature4  ,in both branches of that 
body1 during the discussion of the      
subject of slavery and the right of     
petition1 the course of the ex-         
,president was warmly and eloquently    
commended4  ,massachusetts will sustain 
her tried and faithful representative2  
and the time is not far distant when the
 best and worthiest citizens of the     
entire ,north will proffer him their    
thanks for his noble defence of their   

rights as freemen1 and of the rights of 
the slave as a man4     ,,the ,,bible   
,,and ,,slavery4       ,from a review of
 a pro-slavery pamphlet by ,evangelicus 
in the      ,boston ,emancipator in     
#ahdc4  ,,the second part of the essay  
is occupied in proving that the slavery 
in the ,roman world1 at the time of our 
,saviour1 was similar in all essential  
features to ,american slavery at the    
present day2 and the third and          
concluding part is devoted to an        
examination of the apostolical          
directions to slaves and masters1 as    
applicable to the same classes in the   
,united ,states4  ,he thinks the command
 to give to servants that which is just 
and equal means simply that the masters 
should treat their slaves with equity1  
and that while the servant is to be     
profitable to the master1 the latter is 
bound in a fair and equitable manner to 
provide for the slave's subsistence and 
happiness4  ,although he professes to   
believe that a faithful adherence to    

,scriptural injunctions on this point   
would eventually terminate in the       
emancipation of the slaves1 he thinks it
 not necessary to inquire whether the   
,new ,testament does or does not        
tolerate slavery as a permanent         
institution6  ,from the foregoing       
synopsis it will be seen at once that   
whatever may have been the motives of   
the writer1 the effect of his           
publication1 so far as it is at all     
felt1 will be to strengthen the         
oppressor in his guilt1 and hold him    
back from the performance of his        
immediate duty in respect to his slaves1
 and to shield his conscience from the  
reproofs of that class who1 according to
 ,evangelicus1 have no personal         
acquaintance with the actual domestic   
state or the social and political       
connections of their ,southern          
fellow-citizens4  ,we look upon it only 
as another vain attempt to strike a     
balance between ,christian duty and     
criminal policy1 to reconcile ,christ   

and ,belial1 the holy philanthropy of   
,him who went about doing good with the 
most abhorrent manifestation of human   
selfishness1 lust1 and hatred which ever
 provoked the divine displeasure4       
,there is a grave-stone coldness about  
it4  ,the author manifests as little    
feeling as if he were solving a question
 in algebra4 ,no sigh of sympathy       
breathes through its frozen pages for   
the dumb1 chained millions1 no evidence 
of a feeling akin to that of ,him who at
 the grave of ,lazarus            ,wept1
 and forgot ,his power to save2  no     
outburst of that indignant reproof with 
which the ,divine ,master rebuked the   
devourers of widows' houses and the     
oppressors of the poor is called forth  
by the writer's stoical contemplation of
 the tyranny of his ,christian brethren 
at the ,south4  ,it is not necessary1   
says ,evangelicus1 to inquire whether   
the ,new ,testament does not tolerate   
slavery as a permanent institution4     
,and this is said when the entire       

slave-holding church has sheltered its  
abominations under the pretended        
sanction of the gospel2 when slavery1   
including within itself a violation of  
every command uttered amidst the        
thunders of ,sinai1 a system which has  
filled the whole ,south with the        
oppression of ,egypt and the pollutions 
of ,sodom1 is declared to be an         
institution of the ,most ,high4  ,with  
all due deference to the author1 we tell
 him1 and we tell the church1 ,north and
 ,south1 that this question must be met4
  ,once more we repeat the solemn       
inquiry which has been already made in  
our columns1 ,is the ,bible to enslave  
the world8  ,has it been but a vain     
dream of ours that the mission of the   
,author of the gospel was to undo the   
heavy burdens1 to open the prison doors1
 and to break the yoke of the captive8  
,let ,andover and ,princeton answer4    
,if the gospel does sanction the vilest 
wrong which man can inflict upon his    
fellow-man1 if it does rivet the chains 

which humanity1 left to itself1 would   
otherwise cast off1 then1 in humanity's 
name1 let it perish forever from the    
face of the earth4  ,let the ,bible     
societies dissolve2 let not another     
sheet issue from their presses4         
,scatter not its leaves abroad over the 
dark places of the earth2 they are not  
for the healing of the nations4  ,leave 
rather to the ,persian his ,zendavesta1 
to the ,mussulman his ,koran4  ,we      
repeat it1 this question must be met4   
,already we have heard infidelity       
exulting over the astute discoveries of 
bespectacled theological professors1    
that the great ,head of the ,christian  
,church tolerated the horrible          
atrocities of ,roman slavery1 and that  
,his most favored apostle combined      
slave-catching with his missionary      
labors4  ,and why should it not exult8  
,fouler blasphemy than this was never   
uttered4 ,a more monstrous libel upon   
the ,divine ,author of ,christianity was
 never propagated by ,paine or          

,voltaire1 ,kneeland or ,owen2 and we   
are constrained to regard the professor 
of theology or the doctor of divinity   
who tasks his sophistry and learning in 
an attempt to show that the ,divine     
,mind looks with complacency upon       
chattel slavery as the most dangerous   
enemy with which ,christianity has to   
contend4  ,the friends of pure and      
undefiled religion must awake to this   
danger4  ,the ,northern church must     
shake itself clean from its present     
connection with blasphemers and         
slave-holders1 or perish with them4     
,,what ,,is ,,slavery        ,addressed 
to the ,liberty ,party ,convention at   
,new ,bedford in      ,september1 #ahdc4
  ,i ,,have just received your kind     
invitation to attend the meeting of the 
,liberty ,party in ,new ,bedford on the 
#b;d of next month4  ,believe me1 it is 
with no ordinary feelings of regret that
 ,i find myself under the necessity of  
foregoing the pleasure of meeting with  
you on that occasion4 ,but ,i need not  

say to you1 and through you to the      
convention1 that you have my hearty     
sympathy4  ,i am with the ,liberty      
,party because it is the only party in  
the country which is striving openly and
 honestly to reduce to practice the     
great truths which lie at the foundation
 of our republic3 all men created equal1
 endowed with rights inalienable2 the   
security of these rights the only just  
object of government2 the right of the  
people to alter or modify government    
until this great object is attained4    
,precious and glorious truths6  ,sacred 
in the sight of their ,divine ,author1  
grateful and beneficent to suffering    
humanity1 essential elements of that    
ultimate and universal government of    
which ,god is laying the strong and wide
 foundations1 turning and overturning1  
until ,he whose right it is shall rule4 
,the voice which calls upon us to       
sustain them is the voice of ,god4 ,in  
the eloquent language of the lamented   
,myron ,holley1 the man who first lifted

 up the standard of the ,liberty ,party3
 ,he calls upon us to sustain these     
truths in the recorded voice of the holy
 of ancient times4  ,he calls us to     
sustain them in the sound as of many    
waters and mighty thunderings rising    
from the fields of ,europe1 converted   
into one vast ,aceldama by the exertions
 of despots to suppress them2 in the    
persuasive history of the best thoughts 
and boldest deeds of all our brave1     
self- sacrificing ancestors2 in the     
tender1 heart-reaching whispers of our  
children1 preparing to suffer or enjoy  
the future1 as we leave it for them2 in 
the broken and disordered but moving    
accents of half our race yet groping in 
darkness and galled by the chains of    
bondage4  ,he calls upon us to sustain  
them by the solemn and considerate use  
of all the powers with which ,he has    
invested us4  ,in a time of almost      
universal political scepticism1 in the  
midst of a pervading and growing        
unbelief in the great principles        

enunciated in the revolutionary         
declaration1 the ,liberty ,party has    
dared to avow its belief in these       
truths1 and to carry them into action as
 far as it has the power4  ,it is a     
protest against the political infidelity
 of the day1 a recurrence to first      
principles1 a summons once more to that 
deserted altar upon which our fathers   
laid their offerings4  ,it may be asked 
why it is that a party resting upon such
 broad principles is directing its      
exclusive exertions against slavery4    
,are there not other great interests8   
ask all manner of ,whig and ,democrat   
editors and politicians4  ,consider1 for
 instance1 say the ,democrats1 the      
mighty question which is agitating us1  
whether a ',northern man with ,southern 
principles' or a ,southern man with the 
principles of a ,nero or ,caligula shall
 be ,president4  ,or look at us1 say the
 ,whigs1 deprived of our inalienable    
right to office by this ,tyler-,calhoun 
administration4  ,and bethink you1      

gentlemen1 how could your ,liberty      
,party do better than to vote with us   
for a man who1 if he does hold some     
threescore of slaves1 and maintain that 
'two hundred years of legislation has   
sanctioned and sanctified negro         
slavery1' is1 at the same time1 the     
champion of ,greek liberty1 and ,polish 
liberty1 and ,south ,american liberty1  
and1 in short1 of all sorts of          
liberties1 save liberty at home4  ,yes1 
friends1 we have considered all this1   
and more1 namely1 that one sixth part of
 our entire population are slaves1 and  
that you1 with your subtreasuries and   
national banks1 propose no relief for   
them4  ,nay1 farther1 it is because both
 of you1 when in power1 have used your  
authority to rivet closer the chains of 
unhappy millions1 that we have been     
compelled to abandon you1 and form a    
liberty party having for its first      
object the breaking of these chains4    
,what is slavery8  ,for upon the answer 
to this question must the ,liberty      

,party depend for its justification4    
,the slave laws of the ,south tell us   
that it is the conversion of men into   
articles of property2 the transformation
 of sentient immortal beings into       
chattels personal4  ,the principle of a 
reciprocity of benefits1 which to some  
extent characterizes all other          
relations1 does not exist in that of    
master and slave4  ,the master holds the
 plough which turns the soil of his     
plantation1 the horse which draws it1   
and the slave who guides it by one and  
the same tenure4  ,the profit of the    
master is the great end of the slave's  
existence4  ,for this end he is fed1    
clothed1 and prescribed for in sickness4
  ,he learns nothing1 acquires nothing1 
for himself4  ,he cannot use his own    
body for his own benefit4  ,his very    
personality is destroyed4  ,he is a mere
 instrument1 a means in the hands of    
another for the accomplishment of an end
 in which his own interests are not     
regarded1 a machine moved not by his own

 will1 but by another's4  ,in him the   
awful distinction between a person and a
 thing is annihilated3 he is thrust down
 from the place which ,god and ,nature  
assigned him1 from the equal            
companionship of rational               
intelligence's1--a man herded with      
beasts1 an immortal nature classed with 
the wares of the merchant6  ,the        
relations of parent and child1 master   
and apprentice1 government and subject1 
are based upon the principle of         
benevolence1 reciprocal benefits1 and   
the wants of human society2 relations   
which sacredly respect the rights and   
legacies which ,god has given to all    
,his rational creatures4  ,but slavery  
exists only by annihilating or          
monopolizing these rights and legacies4 
,in every other modification of society1
 man's personal ownership remains       
secure4  ,he may be oppressed1 deprived 
of privileges1 loaded with burdens1     
hemmed about with legal disabilities1   
his liberties restrained4  ,but1 through

 all1 the right to his own body and soul
 remains inviolate4  ,he retains his    
inherent1 original possession of        
himself4  ,even crime cannot forfeit it1
 for that law which destroys his        
personality makes void its own claims   
upon him as a moral agent2 and the power
 to punish ceases with the              
accountability of the criminal4  ,he may
 suffer and die under the penalties of  
the law1 but he suffers as a man1 he    
perishes as a man1 and not as a thing4  
,to the last moments of his existence   
the rights of a moral agent are his2    
they go with him to the grave2 they     
constitute the ground of his            
accountability at the bar of infinite   
justice1--rights fixed1 eternal1        
inseparable2 attributes of all rational 
intelligence in time and eternity2 the  
same in essence1 and differing in degree
 only1 with those of the highest moral  
being1 of ,god himself4  ,slavery alone 
lays its grasp upon the right of        
personal ownership1 that foundation     

right1 the removal of which uncreates   
the man2 a right which ,god himself     
could not take away without absolving   
the being thus deprived of all moral    
accountability2 and so far as that being
 is concerned1 making sin and holiness1 
crime and virtue1 words without         
significance1 and the promises and      
sanctions of revelation1 dreams4        
,hence1 the crowning horror of slavery1 
that which lifts it above all other     
iniquities1 is not that it usurps the   
prerogatives of ,deity1 but that it     
attempts that which even ,he who has    
said1 ,all souls are mine1 cannot do1   
without breaking up the foundations of  
,his moral government4  ,slavery is1 in 
fact1 a struggle with the ,almighty for 
dominion over ,his rational creatures4  
,it is leagued with the powers of       
darkness1 in wresting man from his      
,maker4  ,it is blasphemy lifting brazen
 brow and violent hand to heaven1       
attempting a reversal of ,god's laws4   
,man claiming the right to uncreate his 

brother2 to undo that last and most     
glorious work1 which ,god himself       
pronounced good1 amidst the rejoicing   
hosts of heaven6  ,man arrogating to    
himself the right to change1 for his own
 selfish purposes1 the beautiful order  
of created existences2 to pluck the     
crown of an immortal nature1 scarce     
lower than that of angels1 from the brow
 of his brother2 to erase the ,god-like 
image and superscription stamped upon   
him by the hand of his ,creator1 and to 
write on the despoiled and desecrated   
tablet1 ,a chattel personal6  ,this1    
then1 is slavery4  ,nature1 with her    
thousand voices1 cries out against it4  
,against it1 divine revelation launches 
its thunders4  ,the voice of ,god       
condemns it in the deep places of the   
human heart4  ,the woes and wrongs      
unutterable which attend this dreadful  
violation of natural justice1 the       
stripes1 the tortures1 the sunderings of
 kindred1 the desolation of human       
affections1 the unchastity and lust1 the

 toil uncompensated1 the abrogated      
marriage1 the legalized heathenism1 the 
burial of the mind1 are but the mere    
incidentals of the first grand outrage1 
that seizure of the entire man1 nerve1  
sinew1 and spirit1 which robs him of his
 body1 and ,god of his soul4  ,these are
 but the natural results and outward    
demonstrations of slavery1 the          
crystallizations from the chattel       
principle4  ,it is against this system1 
in its active operation upon three      
millions of our countrymen1 that the    
,liberty ,party is1 for the present1    
directing all its efforts4  ,with such  
an object well may we be men of one     
idea4  ,nor do we neglect other great   
interests1 for all are colored and      
controlled by slavery1 and the removal  
of this disastrous influence would most 
effectually benefit them4  ,political   
action is the result and immediate      
object of moral suasion on this subject4
  ,action1 action1 is the spirit's means
 of progress1 its sole test of          

rectitude1 its only source of happiness4
  ,and should not decided action follow 
our deep convictions of the wrong of    
slavery8 ,shall we denounce the         
slave-holders of the states1 while we   
retain our slavery in the ,district of  
,columbia8  ,shall we pray that the ,god
 of the oppressed will turn the hearts  
of the rulers in ,south ,carolina1 while
 we1 the rulers of the ,district1 refuse
 to open the prisons and break up the   
slave-markets on its ten miles square8  
,god keep us from such hypocrisy6       
,everybody now professes to be opposed  
to slavery4  ,the leaders of the two    
great political parties are grievously  
concerned lest the purity of the        
antislavery enterprise will suffer in   
its connection with politics4  ,in the  
midst of grossest pro-slavery action1   
they are full of anti-slavery sentiment4
  ,they love the cause1 but1 on the     
whole1 think it too good for this world4
  ,they would keep it sublimated1 aloft1
 out of vulgar reach or use altogether1 

intangible as ,magellan's clouds4       
,everybody will join us in denouncing   
slavery1 in the abstract2 not a         
faithless priest nor politician will    
oppose us2 abandon action1 and forsooth 
we can have an abolition millennium2 the
 wolf shall lie down with the lamb1     
while slavery in practice clanks1 in    
derision1 its three millions of unbroken
 chains4  ,our opponents have no fear of
 the harmless spectre of an abstract    
idea4  ,they dread it only when it puts 
on the flesh and sinews of a practical  
reality1 and lifts its right arm in the 
strength which ,god giveth to do as well
 as theorize4  ,as honest men1 then1 we 
must needs act2 let us do so as becomes 
men engaged in a great and solemn cause4
  ,not by processions and idle parades  
and spasmodic enthusiasms1 by shallow   
tricks and shows and artifices1 can a   
cause like ours be carried onward4      
,leave these to parties contending for  
office1 as the spoils of victory4  ,we  
need no disguises1 nor false pretences1 

nor subterfuges2 enough for us to       
present before our fellow- countrymen   
the holy truths of freedom1 in their    
unadorned and native beauty4  ,dark as  
the present may seem1 let us remember   
with hearty confidence that truth and   
right are destined to triumph4  ,let us 
blot out the word discouragement from   
the anti-slavery vocabulary4  ,let the  
enemies of freedom be discouraged2 let  
the advocates of oppression despair2 but
 let those who grapple with wrong and   
falsehood1 in the name of ,god and in   
the power of ,his truth1 take courage4  
,slavery must die4 ,the ,lord hath      
spoken it4  ,the vials of ,his hot      
displeasure1 like those which chastised 
the nations in the ,apocalyptic vision1 
are smoking even now1 above its         
habitations of cruelty4  ,it can no     
longer be borne with by ,heaven4        
,universal humanity cries out against   
it4  ,let us work1 then1 to hasten its  
downfall1 doing whatsoever our hands    
find to do1 with all our might4         

,october1 #ahdc4     ,,democracy ,,and  
,,slavery4 7#ahdc47  ,,the great leader 
of ,american ,democracy1 ,thomas        
,jefferson1 was an ultra-abolitionist in
 theory1 while from youth to age a      
slave-holder in practice4  ,with a zeal 
which never abated1 with a warmth which 
the frost of years could not chill1 he  
urged the great truths1 that each man   
should be the guardian of his own weal2 
that one man should never have absolute 
control over another4  ,he maintained   
the entire equality of the race1 the    
inherent right of self-ownership1 the   
equal claim of all to a fair            
participation in the enactment of the   
laws by which they are governed4  ,he   
saw clearly that slavery1 as it existed 
in the ,south and on his own plantation1
 was inconsistent with this doctrine4   
,his early efforts for emancipation in  
,virginia failed of success2 but he next
 turned his attention to the vast       
northwestern territory1 and laid the    
foundation of that ordinance of #aghg1  

which1 like the flaming sword of the    
angel at the gates of ,paradise1 has    
effectually guarded that territory      
against the entrance of slavery4  ,nor  
did he stop here4  ,he was the friend   
and admirer of the ultra-abolitionists  
of revolutionary ,france2 he warmly     
urged his ,british friend1 ,dr4 ,price1 
to send his anti-slavery pamphlets into 
,virginia2 he omitted no opportunity to 
protest against slavery as              
anti-democratic1 unjust1 and dangerous  
to the common welfare2 and in his letter
 to the territorial governor of         
,illinois1 written in old age1 he       
bequeathed1 in earnest and affecting    
language1 the cause of negro            
emancipation to the rising generation4  
,this enterprise1 said he1 is for the   
young1 for those who can carry it       
forward to its consummation4 ,it shall  
have all my prayers1 and these are the  
only weapons of an old man4  ,such was  
,thomas ,jefferson1 the great founder of
 ,american ,democracy1 the advocate of  

the equality of human rights1           
irrespective of any conditions of birth1
 or climate1 or color4  ,his political  
doctrines1 it is strange to say1 found  
their earliest recipients and most      
zealous admirers in the slave states of 
the ,union4  ,the privileged class of   
slaveholders1 whose rank and station    
supersede the necessity of an order of  
nobility1 became earnest advocates of   
equality among themselves--the democracy
 of aristocracy4  ,with the misery and  
degradation of servitude always before  
them1 in the condition of their own     
slaves1 an intense love of personal     
independence1 and a haughty impatience  
of any control over their actions1      
prepared them to adopt the democratic   
idea1 so far as it might be applied to  
their own order4  ,of that enlarged and 
generous democracy1 the love1 not of    
individual freedom alone1 but of the    
rights and liberties of all men1 the    
unselfish desire to give to others the  
privileges which all men value for      

themselves1 we are constrained to       
believe the great body of ,thomas       
,jefferson's slave-holding admirers had 
no adequate conception4 ,they were just 
such democrats as the patricians of     
,rome and the aristocracy of ,venice2   
lords over their own plantations1 a sort
 of holy alliance of planters1 admitting
 and defending each other's divine right
 of mastership4  ,still1 in ,virginia1  
,maryland1 and in other sections of the 
slave states1 truer exponents and       
exemplifiers of the idea of democracy1  
as it existed in the mind of ,jefferson1
 were not wanting4  ,in the debate on   
the memorials presented to the first    
,congress of the ,united ,states1       
praying for the abolition of slavery1   
the voice of the ,virginia delegation in
 that body was unanimous in deprecation 
of slavery as an evil1 social1 moral1   
and political4  ,in the ,virginia       
constitutional convention--of #ahbi     
there were men who had the wisdom to    
perceive and the firmness to declare    

that slavery was not only incompatible  
with the honor and prosperity of the    
state1 but wholly indefensible on any   
grounds which could be consistently     
taken by a republican people4  ,in the  
debate on the same subject in the       
legislature in #ahcb1 universal and     
impartial democracy found utterance from
 eloquent lips4  ,we might say as much  
of ,kentucky1 the child of ,virginia4   
,but it remains true that these were    
exceptions to the general rule4  ,with  
the language of universal liberty on    
their lips1 and moved by the most       
zealous spirit of democratic            
propagandism1 the greater number of the 
slave-holders of the ,union seem never  
to have understood the true meaning1 or 
to have measured the length and breadth 
of that doctrine which they were the    
first to adopt1 and of which they have  
claimed all along to be the peculiar and
 chosen advocates4  ,the ,northern      
,states were slow to adopt the          
,democratic creed4  ,the oligarchy of   

,new ,england1 and the rich proprietors 
and landholders of the ,middle ,states1 
turned with alarm and horror from the   
levelling doctrines urged upon them by  
the liberty and equality propagandists  
of the ,south4 ,the doctrines of        
,virginia were quite as unpalatable to  
,massachusetts at the beginning of the  
present century as those of             
,massachusetts now are to the ,old      
,dominion4  ,democracy interfered with  
old usages and time-honored             
institutions1 and threatened to plough  
up the very foundations of the social   
fabric4  ,it was zealously opposed by   
the representatives of ,new ,england in 
,congress and in the home legislatures2 
and in many pulpits hands were lifted to
 ,god in humble entreaty that the curse 
and bane of democracy1 an offshoot of   
the rabid ,jacobinism of revolutionary  
,france1 might not be permitted to take 
root and overshadow the goodly heritage 
of ,puritanism4  ,the alarmists of the  
,south1 in their most fervid pictures of

 the evils to be apprehended from the   
prevalence of anti-slavery doctrines in 
their midst1 have drawn nothing more    
fearful than the visions of such        
,prophets of war and harbingers of ill  
as ,fisher ,ames in the forum and       
,parish in the desk1 when contemplating 
the inroads of ,jeffersonian democracy  
upon the politics1 religion1 and        
property of the ,north4  ,but great     
numbers of the free laborers of the     
,northern ,states1 the mechanics and    
small farmers1 took a very different    
view of the matter4 ,the doctrines of   
,jefferson were received as their       
political gospel4  ,it was in vain that 
federalism denounced with indignation   
the impertinent inconsistency of        
slave-holding interference in behalf of 
liberty in the free states4  ,come the  
doctrine from whom it might1 the people 
felt it to be true4  ,state after state 
revolted from the ranks of federalism1  
and enrolled itself on the side of      
democracy4  ,the old order of things was

 broken up2 equality before the law was 
established1 religious tests and        
restrictions of the right of suffrage   
were abrogated4  ,take ,massachusetts1  
for example4  ,there the resistance to  
democratic principles was the most      
strenuous and longest continued4  ,yet1 
at this time1 there is no state in the  
,union more thorough in its practical   
adoption of them4  ,no property         
qualifications or religious tests       
prevail2 all distinctions of sect1      
birth1 or color1 are repudiated1 and    
suffrage is universal4  ,the democracy1 
which in the ,south has only been held  
in a state of gaseous abstraction1      
hardened into concrete reality in the   
cold air of the ,north4  ,the ideal     
became practical1 for it had found      
lodgment among men who were accustomed  
to act out their convictions and test   
all their theories by actual experience4
  ,while thus making a practical        
application of the new doctrine1 the    
people of the free states could not but 

perceive the incongruity of democracy   
and slavery4  ,selleck ,osborn1 who     
narrowly escaped the honor of a         
,democratic martyr in ,connecticut1     
denounced slave-holding1 in common with 
other forms of oppression4  ,barlow1    
fresh from communion with ,gregoire1    
,brissot1 and ,robespierre1 devoted to  
negro slavery some of the most vigorous 
and truthful lines of his great poem4   
,eaton1 returning from his romantic     
achievements in ,tunis for the          
deliverance of white slaves1 improved   
the occasion to read a lecture to his   
countrymen on the inconsistency and     
guilt of holding blacks in servitude4   
,in the ,missouri struggle of #ahai-    
#bj1 the people of the free states1 with
 a few ignoble exceptions1 took issue   
with the ,south against the extension of
 slavery4  ,some ten years later1 the   
present antislavery agitation commenced4
  ,it originated1 beyond a question1 in 
the democratic element4  ,with the words
 of ,jefferson on their lips1 young1    

earnest1 and enthusiastic men called the
 attention of the community to the moral
 wrong and political reproach of        
slavery4  ,in the name and spirit of    
democracy1 the moral and political      
powers of the people were invoked to    
limit1 discountenance1 and put an end to
 a system so manifestly subversive of   
its foundation principles4 ,it was a    
revival of the language of ,jefferson   
and ,page and ,randolph1 an echo of the 
voice of him who penned the ,declaration
 of ,independence and originated the    
ordinance of #aghg4  ,meanwhile the     
,south had wellnigh forgotten the actual
 significance of the teachings of its   
early political prophets1 and their     
renewal in the shape of abolitionism    
was1 as might have been expected1       
strange and unwelcome4 ,pleasant enough 
it had been to hold up occasionally     
these democratic abstractions for the   
purpose of challenging the world's      
admiration and cheaply acquiring the    
character of lovers of liberty and      

equality4 ,frederick of ,prussia1       
apostrophizing the shades of ,cato and  
,brutus1            ,vous de la liberte 
heros que je revere1  while in the full 
exercise of his despotic power1 was     
quite as consistent as these democratic 
slaveowners1 whose admiration of liberty
 increased in exact ratio with its      
distance from their own plantations4    
,they had not calculated upon seeing    
their doctrine clothed with life and    
power1 a practical reality1 pressing for
 application to their slaves as well as 
to themselves4  ,they had not taken into
 account the beautiful ordination of    
,providence1 that no man can vindicate  
his own rights1 without directly or     
impliedly including in that vindication 
the rights of all other men4  ,the      
haughty and oppressive barons who wrung 
from their reluctant monarch the ,great 
,charter at ,runnymede1 acting only for 
themselves and their class1 little      
dreamed of the universal application    
which has since been made of their      

guaranty of rights and liberties4  ,as  
little did the nobles of the parliament 
of ,paris1 when strengthening themselves
 by limiting the kingly prerogative1    
dream of the emancipation of their own  
serfs1 by a revolution to which they    
were blindly giving the first impulse4  
,god's truth is universal2 it cannot be 
monopolized by selfishness4     ,,the   
,,two ,,processions4 7#ahdd47           
,look upon this picture1 and on this4   
,,hamlet4  ,,considering that we have a 
slave population of nearly three        
millions1 and that in one half of the   
states of the ,republic it is more      
hazardous to act upon the presumption   
that all men are created free and equal 
than it would be in ,austria or ,russia1
 the lavish expression of sympathy and  
extravagant jubilation with which1 as a 
people1 we are accustomed to greet      
movements in favor of freedom abroad are
 not a little remarkable4 ,we almost    
went into ecstasies over the first      
,french revolution2 we filled our papers

 with the speeches of orator ,hunt and  
the ,english radicals2 we fraternized   
with the ,united ,irishmen2 we hailed as
 brothers in the cause of freedom the   
very ,mexicans whom we have since wasted
 with fire and sword2 our orators1      
,north and ,south1 grew eloquent and    
classic over the ,greek and ,polish     
revolutions4  ,in short1 long ere this1 
if the walls of kingcraft and despotism 
had been1 like those of ,jericho1       
destined to be overthrown by sound1 our 
,fourth of ,july cannon-shootings and   
bell- ringings1 together with our       
fierce1 grandiloquent speech-makings in 
and out of ,congress1 on the occasions  
referred to1 would have left no stone   
upon another4  ,it is true that an      
exception must be made in the case of   
,hayti4  ,we fired no guns1 drank no    
toasts1 made no speeches in favor of the
 establishment of that new republic in  
our neighborhood4  ,the very mention of 
the possibility that ,haytien delegates 
might ask admittance to the congress of 

the free republics of the ,new ,world at
 ,panama frightened from their propriety
 the eager propagandists of             
republicanism in the ,senate1 and gave a
 death-blow to their philanthropic      
projects4  ,but as ,hayti is a republic 
of blacks who1 having revolted from     
their masters as well as from the mother
 country1 have placed themselves        
entirely without the pale of            
,anglo-,saxon sympathy by their         
impertinent interference with the       
monopoly of white liberty1 this         
exception by no means disproves the     
general fact1 that in the matter of     
powder-burning1 bell-jangling1          
speech-making1 toast-drinking admiration
 of freedom afar off and in the abstract
 we have no rivals4  ,the caricature of 
our general sympathizers in ,martin     
,chuzzlewit is by no means a fancy      
sketch4  ,the news of the revolution of 
the three days in ,paris1 and the       
triumph of the ,french people over      
,charles ,x4 and his ministers1 as a    

matter of course acted with great effect
 upon our national susceptibility4  ,we 
all threw up our hats in excessive joy  
at the spectacle of a king dashed down  
headlong from his throne and chased out 
of his kingdom by his long- suffering   
and oppressed subjects4  ,we took half  
the credit of the performance to        
ourselves1 inasmuch as ,lafayette was a 
principal actor in it4  ,our editors1   
from ,passamaquoddy to the ,sabine1     
indited paragraphs for a thousand and   
one newspapers1 congratulating the      
,parisian patriots1 and prophesying all 
manner of evil to holy alliances1 kings1
 and aristocracies4  ,the ,national     
,intelligencer for ,september #bg1      
#ahcj1 contains a full account of the   
public rejoicings of the good people of 
,washington on the occasion4  ,bells    
were rung in all the steeples1 guns were
 fired1 and a grand procession was      
formed1 including the ,president of the 
,united ,states1 the heads of           
departments1 and other public           

functionaries4  ,decorated with         
tricolored ribbons1 and with tricolored 
flags mingling with the stripes and     
stars over their heads1 and gazed down  
upon by bright eyes from window and     
balcony1 the general sympathizers moved 
slowly and majestically through the     
broad avenue towards the ,capitol to    
celebrate the revival of ,french liberty
 in a manner becoming the chosen rulers 
of a free people4  ,what a spectacle was
 this for the representatives of        
,european kingcraft at our seat of      
government6  ,how the titled agents of  
,metternich and ,nicholas must have     
trembled1 in view of this imposing      
demonstration1 for the safety of their  
peculiar institutions6  ,unluckily1     
however1 the moral effect of this grand 
spectacle was marred somewhat by the    
appearance of another procession1 moving
 in a contrary direction4  ,it was a    
gang of slaves6  ,handcuffed in pairs1  
with the sullen sadness of despair in   
their faces1 they marched wearily onward

 to the music of the driver's whip and  
the clanking iron on their limbs4 ,think
 of it6  ,shouts of triumph1 rejoicing  
bells1 gay banners1 and glittering      
cavalcades1 in honor of ,liberty1 in    
immediate contrast with men and women   
chained and driven like cattle to       
market6  ,the editor of the ,american   
,spectator1 a paper published at        
,washington at that time1 speaking of   
this black procession of slavery1       
describes it as driven along by what had
 the appearance of a man on horseback4  
,the miserable wretches who composed it 
were doubtless consigned to a slave-jail
 to await their purchase and            
transportation to the ,south or         
,southwest2 and perhaps formed a part of
 that drove of human beings which the   
same editor states that he saw on the   
,saturday following1 males and females  
chained in couples1 starting from       
,robey's tavern1 on foot1 for           
,alexandria1 to embark on board a       
slave-ship4  ,at a ,virginia            

camp-meeting1 many years ago1 one of the
 brethren1 attempting an exhortation1   
stammered1 faltered1 and finally came to
 a dead stand4  ,sit down1 brother1 said
 old ,father ,kyle1 the one-eyed        
abolition preacher2 it's no use to try2 
you can't preach with twenty negroes    
sticking in your throat6 ,it strikes us 
that our country is very much in the    
condition of the poor confused preacher 
at the camp-meeting4 ,slavery sticks in 
its throat1 and spoils its finest       
performances1 political and             
ecclesiastical2 confuses the tongues of 
its evangelical alliances2 makes a farce
 of its ,fourth of ,july celebrations2  
and1 as in the case of the grand        
,washington procession of #ahcj1 sadly  
mars the effect of its rejoicings in    
view of the progress of liberty abroad4 
,there is a stammer in all our          
exhortations2 our moral and political   
homilies are sure to run into confusions
 and contradictions2 and the response   
which comes to us from the nations is   

not unlike that of ,father ,kyle to the 
planter's attempt at sermonizing3 ,it's 
no use1 brother ,jonathan2 you can't    
preach liberty with three millions of   
slaves in your throat6     ,a ,,chapter 
,,of ,,history4 7#ahdd47  ,,the theory  
which a grave and learned ,northern     
senator has recently announced in       
,congress1 that slavery1 like the       
cotton-plant1 is confined by natural    
laws to certain parallels of latitude1  
beyond which it can by no possibility   
exist1 however it may have satisfied its
 author and its auditors1 has           
unfortunately no verification in the    
facts of the case4 ,slavery is          
singularly cosmopolitan in its habits4  
,the offspring of pride1 and lust1 and  
avarice1 it is indigenous to the world4 
,rooted in the human heart1 it defies   
the rigors of winter in the steppes of  
,tartary and the fierce sun of the      
tropics4  ,it has the universal         
acclimation of sin4  ,the first account 
we have of negro slaves in ,new ,england

 is from the pen of ,john ,josselyn4    
,nineteen years after the landing at    
,plymouth1 this interesting traveller   
was for some time the guest of ,samuel  
,maverick1 who then dwelt1 like a feudal
 baron1 in his fortalice on ,noddle's   
,island1 surrounded by retainers and    
servants1 bidding defiance to his       
,indian neighbors behind his strong     
walls1 with four great guns mounted     
thereon1 and giving entertainment to all
 new-comers gratis4  ,on the #b;d of    
,october1 #afci1 about nine o'clock in  
the morning1 ,mr4 ,maverick's negro     
woman1 says ,josselyn1 came to my       
chamber1 and in her own country language
 and tune sang very loud and shrill4    
,going out to her1 she used a great deal
 of respect towards me1 and would       
willingly have expressed her grief in   
,english had she been able to speak the 
language2 but ,i apprehended it by her  
countenance and deportment4 ,whereupon  
,i repaired to my host to learn of him  
the cause1 and resolved to entreat him  

in her behalf2 for ,i had understood    
that she was a queen in her own country1
 and observed a very dutiful and humble 
garb used towards her by another negro1 
who was her maid4  ,mr4 ,maverick was   
desirous to have a breed of negroes2 and
 therefore1 seeing she would not yield  
by persuasions to company with a negro  
young man he had in his house1 he       
commanded him1 willed she1 nilled she1  
to go to her bed1 which was no sooner   
done than she thrust him out again4     
,this she took in high disdain beyond   
her slavery2 and this was the cause of  
her grief4  ,that the peculiar domestic 
arrangements and unfastidious economy of
 this slave-breeding settler were not   
countenanced by the ,puritans of that   
early time we have sufficient evidence4 
,it is but fair to suppose1 from the    
silence of all other writers of the time
 with respect to negroes and slaves1    
that this case was a marked exception to
 the general habits and usage of the    
,colonists4  ,at an early period a      

traffic was commenced between the ,new  
,england ,colonies and that of          
,barbadoes2 and it is not improbable    
that slaves were brought to ,boston from
 that island4  ,the laws1 however1      
discouraged their introduction and      
purchase1 giving freedom to all held to 
service at the close of seven years4    
,in #afda1 two years after ,josselyn's  
adventure on ,noddle's ,island1 the code
 of laws known by the name of the ,body 
of ,liberties was adopted by the        
,colony4  ,it was drawn up by ,nathaniel
 ,ward1 the learned and ingenious author
 of the ',simple ,cobbler of ,agawarn'1 
the earliest poetical satire of ,new    
,england4  ,one of its provisions was as
 follows3--  ,there shall be never any  
bond slaverie1 villainage1 or captivitie
 amongst us1 unless it be lawfull       
captives taken in just warres and such  
strangers as willingly sell themselves  
or are sold to us4  ,and these shall    
have all the liberties and ,christian   
usages which the law of ,god established

 in ,israel doth morally require4  ,in  
#afdf1 ,captain ,smith1 a ,boston       
church-member1 in connection with one   
,keeser1 brought home two negroes whom  
he obtained by the surprise and burning 
of a negro village in ,africa and the   
massacre of many of its inhabitants4    
,sir ,richard ,saltonstall1 one of the  
assistants1 presented a petition to the 
,general ,court1 stating the outrage    
thereby committed as threefold in its   
nature1 namely murder1 man-stealing1 and
 ,sabbath- breaking2 inasmuch as the    
offence of chasing the negers1 as       
aforesayde1 upon the ,sabbath day 7being
 a servile work1 and such as cannot be  
considered under any other head7 is     
expressly capital by the law of ,god2   
for which reason he prays that the      
offenders may be brought to justice1 soe
 that the sin they have committed may be
 upon their own heads and not upon      
ourselves4  ,upon this petition the     
,general ,court passed the following    
order1 eminently worthy of men          

professing to rule in the fear and      
according to the law of ,god1--a terror 
to evil-doers1 and a praise to them that
 do well3--  ,the ,general ,court1      
conceiving themselves bound by the first
 opportunity to bear witness against the
 heinous and crying sin of man-stealing1
 as also to prescribe such timely       
redress for what has passed1 and such a 
law for the future as may sufficiently  
deter all others belonging to us to have
 to do in such vile and odious courses1 
justly abhorred of all good and just    
men1 do order that the negro            
interpreter1 and others unlawfully      
taken1 be by the first opportunity1 at  
the charge of the country for the       
present1 sent to his native country1    
,guinea1 and a letter with him of the   
indignation of the ,court thereabout1   
and justice thereof1 desiring our       
honored ,governor would please put this 
order in execution4  ,there is1 so far  
as we know1 no historical record of the 
actual return of these stolen men to    

their home4  ,a letter is extant1       
however1 addressed in behalf of the     
,general ,court to a ,mr4 ,williams on  
the ,piscataqua1 by whom one of the     
negroes had been purchased1 requesting  
him to send the man forthwith to        
,boston1 that he may be sent home1 which
 this ,court do resolve to send back    
without delay4  ,three years after1 in  
#afdi1 the following law was placed upon
 the statute-book of the ,massachusetts 
,colony3--  ,if any man stealeth a man1 
or mankind1 he shall surely be put to   
death4  ,it will thus be seen that these
 early attempts to introduce slavery    
into ,new ,england were opposed by      
severe laws and by that strong popular  
sentiment in favor of human liberty     
which characterized the ,christian      
radicals who laid the foundations of the
 ,colonies4  ,it was not the rigor of   
her ,northern winter1 nor the unkindly  
soil of ,massachusetts1 which           
discouraged the introduction of slavery 
in the first half-century of her        

existence as a colony4  ,it was the     
,puritan's recognition of the           
brotherhood of man in sin1 suffering1   
and redemption1 his estimate of the     
awful responsibilities and eternal      
destinies of humanity1 his hatred of    
wrong and tyranny1 and his stern sense  
of justice1 which led him to impose upon
 the ,african slave-trader the terrible 
penalty of the ,mosaic code4  ,but that 
brave old generation passed away4  ,the 
civil contentions in the mother country 
drove across the seas multitudes of     
restless adventurers and speculators4   
,the ,indian wars unsettled and         
demoralized the people4 ,habits of      
luxury and the greed of gain took the   
place of the severe self- denial and    
rigid virtues of the fathers4  ,hence we
 are not surprised to find that         
,josselyn1 in his second visit to ,new  
,england1 some twenty-five years after  
his first1 speaks of the great increase 
of servants and negroes4  ,in #afhj     
,governor ,bradstreet1 in answer to the 

inquiries of his ,majesty's ,privy      
,council1 states that two years before a
 vessel from ,madagasca brought into the
 ,colony betwixt forty and fifty        
negroes1 mostly women and children1 who 
were sold at a loss to the owner of the 
vessel4  ,now and then1 he continues1   
two or three negroes are brought from   
,barbadoes and other of his ,majesty's  
plantations and sold for twenty pounds  
apiece2 so that there may be within the 
government about one hundred or one     
hundred and twenty1 and it may be as    
many ,scots1 brought hither and sold for
 servants in the time of the war with   
,scotland1 and about half as many       
,irish4  ,the owning of a black or white
 slave1 or servant1 at this period was  
regarded as an evidence of dignity and  
respectability2 and hence magistrates   
and clergymen winked at the violation of
 the law by the mercenary traders1 and  
supplied themselves without scruple4    
,indian slaves were common1 and are     
named in old wills1 deeds1 and          

inventories1 with horses1 cows1 and     
household furniture4  ,as early as the  
year #afdi we find ,william ,hilton1 of 
,newbury1 sells to ,george ,carr1 for   
one quarter part of a vessel1 ,james1 my
 ,indian1 with all the interest ,i have 
in him1 to be his servant forever4      
,some were taken in the ,narragansett   
war and other ,indian wars2 others were 
brought from ,south ,carolina and the   
,spanish ,main4  ,it is an instructive  
fact1 as illustrating the retributive   
dealings of ,providence1 that the direst
 affliction of the ,massachusetts       
,colony--the witchcraft terror of       
#afib--originated with the ,indian      
,tituba1 a slave in the family of the   
minister of ,danvers4  ,in the year     
#afij the inhabitants of ,newbury were  
greatly excited by the arrest of a      
,jerseyman who had been engaged in      
enticing ,indians and negroes to leave  
their masters4  ,he was charged before  
the court with saying that the ,english 
should be cut off and the negroes set   

free4 ,james1 a negro slave1 and        
,joseph1 an ,indian1 were arrested with 
him4 ,their design was reported to be1  
to seize a vessel in the port and escape
 to ,canada and join the ,french1 and   
return and lay waste and plunder their  
masters4  ,they were to come back with  
five hundred ,indians and three hundred 
,canadians2 and the place of crossing   
the ,merrimac ,river1 and of the first  
encampment on the other side1 were even 
said to be fixed upon4 ,when we consider
 that there could not have been more    
than a score of slaves in the           
settlement1 the excitement into which   
the inhabitants were thrown by this     
absurd rumor of conspiracy seems not    
very unlike that of a convocation of    
small planters in a backwoods settlement
 in ,south ,carolina on finding an      
anti-slavery newspaper in their weekly  
mail bag4  ,in #agji ,colonel           
,saltonstall1 of ,haverhill1 had several
 negroes1 and among them a high-spirited
 girl1 who1 for some alleged            

misdemeanor1 was severely chastised4    
,the slave resolved upon revenge for her
 injury1 and soon found the means of    
obtaining it4  ,the ,colonel had on     
hand1 for service in the ,indian war    
then raging1 a considerable store of    
gunpowder4 ,this she placed under the   
room in which her master and mistress   
slept1 laid a long train1 and dropped a 
coal on it4  ,she had barely time to    
escape to the farm-house before the     
explosion took place1 shattering the    
stately mansion into fragments4         
,saltonstall and his wife were carried  
on their bed a considerable distance1   
happily escaping serious injury4  ,some 
soldiers stationed in the house were    
scattered in all directions2 but no     
lives were lost4  ,the ,colonel1 on     
recovering from the effects of his      
sudden overturn1 hastened to the        
farm-house and found his servants all up
 save the author of the mischief1 who   
was snug in bed and apparently in a     
quiet sleep4  ,in #agja an attempt was  

made in the ,general ,court of          
,massachusetts to prevent the increase  
of slaves4  ,judge ,sewall soon after   
published a pamphlet against slavery1   
but it seems with little effect4        
,boston merchants and ship-owners       
became1 to a considerable extent1       
involved in the slave-trade4            
,distilleries1 established in that place
 and in ,rhode ,island1 furnished rum   
for the ,african market4  ,the slaves   
were usually taken to the ,west ,indies1
 although occasionally part of a cargo  
found its way to ,new ,england1 where   
the wholesome old laws against          
man-stealing had become a dead letter on
 the statute-book4  ,in #agfg a bill was
 brought before the ,legislature of     
,massachusetts to prevent the           
unwarrantable and unnatural custom of   
enslaving mankind4 ,the ,council of     
,governor ,bernard sent it back to the  
,house greatly changed and curtailed1   
and it was lost by the disagreement of  
the two branches4 ,governor ,bernard    

threw his influence on the side of      
slavery4  ,in #aggd a bill prohibiting  
the traffic in slaves passed both       
,houses2 but ,governor ,hutchinson      
withheld his assent and dismissed the   
,legislature4  ,the colored men sent a  
deputation of their own to the ,governor
 to solicit his consent to the bill2 but
 he told them his instructions forbade  
him4  ,a similar committee waiting upon 
,general ,gage received the same answer4
  ,in the year #aggj a servant of       
,richard ,lechmere1 of ,cambridge1      
stimulated by the general discussion of 
the slavery question and by the advice  
of some of the zealous advocates of     
emancipation1 brought an action against 
his master for detaining him in bondage4
  ,the suit was decided in his favor two
 years before the similar decision in   
the case of ,somerset in ,england4  ,the
 funds necessary for carrying on this   
suit were raised among the blacks       
themselves4  ,other suits followed in   
various parts of the ,province2 and the 

result was1 in every instance1 the      
freedom of the plaintiff4  ,in #aggc    
,caesar ,hendrick sued his master1 one  
,greenleaf1 of ,newburyport1 for        
damages1 laid at fifty pounds1 for      
holding him as a slave4  ,the jury      
awarded him his freedom and eighteen    
pounds4  ,according to ,dr4 ,belknap1   
whose answers to the queries on the     
subject1 propounded by ,judge ,tucker1  
of ,virginia1 have furnished us with    
many of the facts above stated1 the     
principal grounds upon which the counsel
 of the masters depended were1 that the 
negroes were purchased in open market1  
and included in the bills of sale like  
other property2 that slavery was        
sanctioned by usage2 and1 finally1 that 
the laws of the ,province recognized its
 existence by making masters liable for 
the maintenance of their slaves1 or     
servants4  ,on the part of the blacks1  
the law and usage of the mother country1
 confirmed by the ,great ,charter1 that 
no man can be deprived of his liberty   

but by the judgment of his peers1 were  
effectually pleaded4  ,the early laws of
 the ,province prohibited slavery1 and  
no subsequent legislation had sanctioned
 it2 for1 although the laws did         
recognize its existence1 they did so    
only to mitigate and modify an admitted 
evil4  ,the present state constitution  
was established in #aghj4  ,the first   
article of the ,bill of ,rights         
prohibited slavery by affirming the     
foundation truth of our republic1 that  
all men are born free and equal4 ,the   
,supreme ,court decided in #aghc that no
 man could hold another as property     
without a direct violation of that      
article4  ,in #aghh three free black    
citizens of ,boston were kidnapped and  
sold into slavery in one of the ,french 
islands4  ,an intense excitement        
followed4 ,governor ,hancock took       
efficient measures for reclaiming the   
unfortunate men4  ,the clergy of ,boston
 petitioned the ,legislature for a total
 prohibition of the foreign slave-trade4

  ,the ,society of ,friends1 and the    
blacks generally1 presented similar     
petitions2 and the same year an act was 
passed prohibiting the slave-trade and  
granting relief to persons kidnapped or 
decoyed out of the ,commonwealth4  ,the 
fear of a burden to the state from the  
influx of negroes from abroad led the   
,legislature1 in connection with this   
law1 to prevent those who were not      
citizens of the state or of other states
 from gaining a residence4  ,the first  
case of the arrest of a fugitive slave  
in ,massachusetts under the law of #agic
 took place in ,boston soon after the   
passage of the law4 ,it is the case to  
which ,president ,quincy alludes in his 
late letter against the fugitive slave  
law4  ,the populace at the trial aided  
the slave to escape1 and nothing further
 was done about it4  ,the arrest of     
,george ,latimer as a slave1 in ,boston1
 and his illegal confinement in jail1 in
 #ahdb1 led to the passage of the law of
 #ahdc for the protection of personal   

liberty1 prohibiting state officers from
 arresting or detaining persons claimed 
as slaves1 and the use of the jails of  
the ,commonwealth for their confinement4
  ,this law was strictly in accordance  
with the decision of the supreme        
judiciary1 in the case of ,prigg vs4    
,the ,state of ,pennsylvania1 that the  
reclaiming of fugitives was a matter    
exclusively belonging to the general    
government2 yet that the state officials
 might1 if they saw fit1 carry into     
effect the law of ,congress on the      
subject1 unless prohibited by state     
legislation4  ,it will be seen by the   
facts we have adduced that slavery in   
,massachusetts never had a legal        
existence4  ,the ermine of the judiciary
 of the ,puritan state has never been   
sullied by the admission of its         
detestable claims4  ,it crept into the  
,commonwealth like other evils and      
vices1 but never succeeded in clothing  
itself with the sanction and authority  
of law4  ,it stood only upon its own    

execrable foundation of robbery and     
wrong4  ,with a history like this to    
look back upon1 is it strange that the  
people of ,massachusetts at the present 
day are unwilling to see their time-    
honored defences of personal freedom1   
the good old safeguards of ,saxon       
liberty1 overridden and swept away after
 the summary fashion of the ,fugitive   
,slave ,bill2 that they should loathe   
and scorn the task which that bill      
imposes upon them of aiding professional
 slave-hunters in seizing1 fettering1   
and consigning to bondage men and women 
accused only of that which commends them
 to esteem and sympathy1 love of liberty
 and hatred of slavery2 that they cannot
 at once adjust themselves to           
constitutional duties which in ,south   
,carolina and ,georgia are reserved for 
trained bloodhounds8  ,surely1 in view  
of what ,massachusetts has been1 and her
 strong bias in favor of human freedom1 
derived from her great- hearted         
founders1 it is to be hoped that the    

,executive and ,cabinet at ,washington  
will grant her some little respite1 some
 space for turning1 some opportunity for
 conquering her prejudices1 before      
letting loose the dogs of war upon her4 
,let them give her time1 and treat with 
forbearance her hesitation1 qualms of   
conscience1 and wounded pride4  ,her    
people1 indeed1 are awkward in the work 
of slave-catching1 and1 it would seem1  
rendered but indifferent service in a   
late hunt in ,boston4  ,whether they    
would do better under the surveillance  
of the army and navy of the ,united     
,states is a question which we leave    
with the ,president and his ,secretary  
of ,state4  ,general ,putnam once       
undertook to drill a company of         
,quakers1 and instruct them1 by force of
 arms1 in the art and mystery of        
fighting2 but not a single pair of      
drab-colored breeches moved at his      
forward march2 not a broad beaver       
wheeled at his word of command2 no hand 
unclosed to receive a proffered musket4 

,patriotic appeal1 hard swearing1 and   
prick of bayonet had no effect upon     
these impracticable raw recruits2 and   
the stout general gave them up in       
despair4  ,we are inclined to believe   
that any attempt on the part of the     
,commander-in-chief of our army and navy
 to convert the good people of          
,massachusetts into expert              
slave-catchers1 under the discipline of 
,west ,point and ,norfolk1 would prove  
as idle an experiment as that of        
,general ,putnam upon the ,quakers4     
,,thomas ,,carlyle ,,on ,,the           
,,slave-,,question4 7#ahdf47  ,a ,,late 
number of ,fraser's ,magazine contains  
an article bearing the unmistakable     
impress of the ,anglo-,german           
peculiarities of ,thomas ,carlyle1      
entitled1 ',an ,occasional ,discourse on
 the ,negro ,question'1 which would be  
interesting as a literary curiosity were
 it not in spirit and tendency so       
unspeakably wicked as to excite in every
 rightminded reader a feeling of        

amazement and disgust4  ,with a hard1   
brutal audacity1 a blasphemous          
irreverence1 and a sneering mockery     
which would do honor to the devil of    
,faust1 it takes issue with the moral   
sense of mankind and the precepts of    
,christianity4  ,having ascertained that
 the exports of sugar and spices from   
the ,west ,indies have diminished since 
emancipation1--and that the negroes1    
having worked1 as they believed1 quite  
long enough without wages1 now refuse to
 work for the planters without higher   
pay than the latter1 with the thriftless
 and evil habits of slavery still       
clinging to them1 can afford to         
give1--the author considers himself     
justified in denouncing negro           
emancipation as one of the shams which  
he was specially sent into this world to
 belabor4  ,had he confned himself to   
simple abuse and caricature of the      
self-denying and ,christian             
abolitionists of ,england--the          
broad-brimmed philanthropists of ,exeter

 ,hall--there would have been small     
occasion for noticing his splenetic and 
discreditable production4  ,doubtless   
there is a cant of philanthropy --the   
alloy of human frailty and folly--in the
 most righteous reforms1 which is a fair
 subject for the indignant sarcasm of a 
professed hater of shows and falsities4 
,whatever is hollow and hypocritical in 
politics1 morals1 or religion1 comes    
very properly within the scope of his   
mockery1 and we bid him ,godspeed in    
plying his satirical lash upon it4      
,impostures and frauds of all kinds     
deserve nothing better than detection   
and exposure4  ,let him blow them up to 
his heart's content1 as ,daniel did the 
image of ,bell and the ,dragon4  ,but   
our author1 in this matter of negro     
slavery1 has undertaken to apply his    
explosive pitch and rosin1 not to the   
affectation of humanity1 but to humanity
 itself4  ,he mocks at pity1 scoffs at  
all who seek to lessen the amount of    
pain and suffering1 sneers at and denies

 the most sacred rights1 and mercilessly
 consigns an entire class of the        
children of his ,heavenly ,father to the
 doom of compulsory servitude4  ,he     
vituperates the poor black man with a   
coarse brutality which would do credit  
to a ,mississippi slave-driver1 or a    
renegade ,yankee dealer in human cattle 
on the banks of the ,potomac4  ,his     
rhetoric has a flavor of the slave-pen  
and auction-block1 vulgar1 unmanly1     
indecent1 a scandalous outrage upon good
 taste and refined feeling1 which at    
once degrades the author and insults his
 readers4  ,he assumes 7for he is one of
 those sublimated philosophers who      
reject the ,baconian system of induction
 and depend upon intuition without      
recourse to facts and figures7 that the 
emancipated class in the ,west ,india   
,islands are universally idle1          
improvident1 and unfit for freedom2 that
 ,god created them to be the servants   
and slaves of their born lords1 the     
white men1 and designed them to grow    

sugar1 coffee1 and spices for their     
masters1 instead of raising pumpkins and
 yams for themselves2 and that1 if they 
will not do this1 the beneficent whip   
should be again employed to compel them4
  ,he adopts1 in speaking of the black  
class1 the lowest slang of vulgar       
prejudice4  ,black ,quashee1 sneers the 
gentlemanly philosopher1--black         
,quashee1 if he will not help in        
bringing out the spices1 will get       
himself made a slave again 7which state 
will be a little less ugly than his     
present one71 and with beneficent whip1 
since other methods avail not1 will be  
compelled to work4  ,it is difficult to 
treat sentiments so atrocious and       
couched in such offensive language with 
anything like respect4  ,common sense   
and unperverted conscience revolt       
instinctively against them4  ,the       
doctrine they inculcate is that which   
underlies all tyranny and wrong of man  
towards man4  ,it is that under which   
the creation groaneth and travaileth    

unto this day4  ,it is as old as sin2   
the perpetual argument of strength      
against weakness1 of power against      
right2 that of the ,greek philosopher1  
that the barbarians1 being of an        
inferior race1 were born to be slaves to
 the ,greeks2 and of the infidel        
,hobbes1 that every man1 being by nature
 at war with every other man1 has a     
perpetual right to reduce him to        
servitude if he has the power4  ,it is  
the cardinal doctrine of what ,john     
,quincy ,adams has very properly styled 
the ,satanic school of philosophy1--the 
ethics of an old ,norse sea robber or an
 ,arab plunderer of caravans4  ,it is as
 widely removed from the sweet          
humanities and unselfish benevolence of 
,christianity as the faith and practice 
of the ,east ,india ,thug or the ,new   
,zealand cannibal4  ,our author does    
not1 however1 take us altogether by     
surprise4  ,he has before given no      
uncertain intimations of the point      
towards which his philosophy was        

tending4  ,in his brilliant essay upon  
',francia of ,paraguay'1 for instance1  
we find him entering with manifest      
satisfaction and admiration into the    
details of his hero's tyranny4  ,in his 
',letters and ,speeches of ,oliver      
,cromwell'--in half a dozen pages of    
savage and almost diabolical sarcasm    
directed against the growing humanity of
 the age1 the rose-pink sentimentalisms1
 and squeamishness which shudders at the
 sight of blood and infliction of       
pain--he prepares the way for a         
justification of the massacre of        
,drogheda4  ,more recently he has       
intimated that the extermination of the 
,celtic race is the best way of settling
 the ,irish question2 and that the      
enslavement and forcible transportation 
of her poor1 to labor under armed       
taskmasters in the colonies1 is the only
 rightful and proper remedy for the     
political and social evils of ,england4 
,in the ',discourse on ,negro ,slavery' 
we see this devilish philosophy in full 

bloom4  ,the gods1 he tells us1 are with
 the strong4  ,might has a divine right 
to rule1--blessed are the crafty of     
brain and strong of hand6  ,weakness is 
crime4  ,vae victis6 as ,brennus said   
when he threw his sword into the        
scale1--,woe to the conquered6  ,the    
negro is weaker in intellect than his   
born lord1 the white man1 and has no    
right to choose his own vocation4  ,let 
the latter do it for him1 and1 if need  
be1 return to the beneficent whip4  ,on 
the side of the oppressor there is      
power2 let him use it without mercy1 and
 hold flesh and blood to the grindstone 
with unrelenting rigor4  ,humanity is   
squeamishness2 pity for the suffering   
mere rose-pink sentimentalism1 maudlin  
and unmanly4  ,the gods 7the old ,norse 
gods doubtless7 laugh to scorn alike the
 complaints of the miserable and the    
weak compassions and philanthropisms of 
those who would relieve them4  ,this is 
the substance of ,thomas ,carlyle's     
advice2 this is the matured fruit of his

 philosophic husbandry1--the grand      
result for which he has been all his    
life sounding unfathomable abysses or   
beating about in the thin air of        
,transcendentalism4  ,such is the       
substitute which he offers us for the   
,sermon on the ,mount4  ,he tells us    
that the blacks have no right to use the
 islands of the ,west ,indies for       
growing pumpkins and garden stuffs for  
their own use and behoof1 because1 but  
for the wisdom and skill of the whites1 
these islands would have been productive
 only of jungle1 savagery1 and swamp    
malaria4  ,the negro alone could never  
have improved the islands or civilized  
himself2 and therefore their and his    
born lord1 the white man1 has a right to
 the benefits of his own betterments of 
land and two- legged cattle6  ,black    
,quashee has no right to dispose of     
himself and his labor because he owes   
his partial civilization to others6     
,and pray how has it been with the white
 race1 for whom our philosopher claims  

the divine prerogative of enslaving8    
,some twenty and odd centuries ago1 a   
pair of half-naked savages1 daubed with 
paint1 might have been seen roaming     
among the hills and woods of the        
northern part of the ,british island1   
subsisting on acorns and the flesh of   
wild animals1 with an occasional relish 
of the smoked hams and pickled fingers  
of some unfortunate stranger caught on  
the wrong side of the ,tweed4  ,this    
interesting couple reared1 as they best 
could1 a family of children1 who1 in    
turn1 became the heads of families2 and 
some time about the beginning of the    
present century one of their descendants
 in the borough of ,ecclefechan rejoiced
 over the birth of a man child now      
somewhat famous as ,thomas ,carlyle1 a  
maker of books4  ,does it become such a 
one to rave against the ,west ,india    
negro's incapacity for                  
self-civilization8  ,unaided by the     
arts1 sciences1 and refinements of the  
,romans1 he might have been1 at this    

very day1 squatted on his naked haunches
 in the woods of ,ecclefechan1 painting 
his weather-hardened epidermis in the   
sun like his ,piet ancestors4  ,where1  
in fact1 can we look for unaided        
self-improvement and spontaneous        
internal development1 to any            
considerable extent1 on the part of any 
nation or people8  ,from people to      
people the original ,god- given impulse 
towards civilization and perfection has 
been transmitted1 as from ,egypt to     
,greece1 and thence to the ,roman world4
  ,but the blacks1 we are told1 are     
indolent and insensible to the duty of  
raising sugar and coffee and spice for  
the whites1 being mainly careful to     
provide for their own household and till
 their own gardens for domestic comforts
 and necessaries4  ,the exports have    
fallen off somewhat4 ,and what does this
 prove8  ,only that the negro is now a  
consumer of products1 of which1 under   
the rule of the whip1 he was a producer 
merely4 ,as to indolence1 under the     

proper stimulus of fair wages we have   
reason to believe that the charge is not
 sustained4  ,if unthrifty habits and   
lack of prudence on the part of the     
owners of estates1 combined with the    
repeal of duties on foreign sugars by   
the ,british government1 have placed it 
out of their power to pay just and      
reasonable wages for labor1 who can     
blame the blacks if they prefer to      
cultivate their own garden plots rather 
than raise sugar and spice for their    
late masters upon terms little better   
than those of their old condition1 the  
beneficent whip always excepted8  ,the  
despatches of the colonial governors    
agree in admitting that the blacks have 
had great cause for complaint and       
dissatisfaction1 owing to the delay or  
non-payment of their wages4  ,sir ,c4   
,e4  ,gray1 writing from ,jamaica1 says1
 that in a good many instances the      
payment of the wages they have earned   
has been either very irregularly made1  
or not at all1 probably on account of   

the inability of the employers4  ,he    
says1 moreover3--  ,the negroes appear  
to me to be generally as free from      
rebellious tendencies or turbulent      
feelings and malicious thoughts as any  
race of laborers ,i ever saw or heard   
of4  ,my impression is1 indeed1 that    
under a system of perfectly fair dealing
 and of real justice they will come to  
be an admirable peasantry and yeomanry2 
able-bodied1 industrious1 and hard-     
working1 frank1 and well-disposed4  ,it 
must1 indeed1 be admitted that1 judging 
by their diminished exports and the     
growing complaints of the owners of     
estates1 the condition of the islands1  
in a financial point of view1 is by no  
means favorable4  ,an immediate cause of
 this1 however1 must be found in the    
unfortunate ,sugar ,act of #ahdf4  ,the 
more remote1 but for the most part      
powerful1 cause of the present          
depression is to be traced to the       
vicious and unnatural system of slavery1
 which has been gradually but surely    

preparing the way for ruin1 bankruptcy1 
and demoralization4  ,never yet1 by a   
community or an individual1 have the    
righteous laws of ,god been violated    
with impunity4  ,sooner or later comes  
the penalty which the infinite justice  
has affixed to sin4  ,partial and       
temporary evils and inconveniences have 
undoubtedly resulted from the           
emancipation of the laborers2 and many  
years must elapse before the relations  
of the two heretofore antagonistic      
classes can be perfectly adjusted and   
their interests brought into entire     
harmony4  ,but that freedom is not to be
 held mainly accountable for the        
depression of the ,british colonies is  
obvious from the fact that ,dutch       
,surinam1 where the old system of       
slavery remains in its original rigor1  
is in an equally depressed condition4   
,the ',paramaribo ,neuws en ,advertentie
 ,blad'1 quoted in the ,jamaica         
,gazette1 says1 under date of ,january  
#b1 #ahej3 ,around us we hear nothing   

but complaints4  ,people seek and find  
matter in everything to picture to      
themselves the lot of the place in which
 they live as bitterer than that of any 
other country4  ,of a large number of   
flourishing plantations1 few remain that
 can now be called such4  ,so           
deteriorated has property become within 
the last few years1 that many of these  
estates have not been able to defray    
their weekly expenses4  ,the colony     
stands on the brink of a yawning abyss1 
into which it must inevitably plunge    
unless some new and better system is    
speedily adopted4  ,it is impossible    
that our agriculture can any longer     
proceed on its old footing2 our laboring
 force is dying away1 and the social    
position they held must undergo a       
revolution4  ,the paper from which we   
have quoted1 the official journal of the
 colony1 thinks the condition of the    
emancipated ,british colonies decidedly 
preferable to that of ,surinam1 where   
the old slave system has continued in   

force1 and insists that the ,dutch      
government must follow the example of   
,great ,britain4  ,the actual condition 
of the ,british colonies since          
emancipation is perfectly well known in 
,surinam3 three of them1 ,essequibo1    
,demerara1 and ,berbice1 being its      
immediate neighbors1 whatever evils and 
inconveniences have resuited from       
emancipation must be well understood by 
the ,dutch slave-holders2 yet we find   
them looking towards emancipation as the
 only prospect of remedy for the greater
 evils of their own system4  ,this fact 
is of itself a sufficient answer to the 
assumption of ,carlyle and others1 that 
what they call the ruin of the colonies 
has been produced by the emancipation   
acts of #ahcc and #ahch4  ,we have no   
fears whatever of the effect of this    
literary monstrosity1 which we have been
 considering upon the ,british colonies4
  ,quashee1 black and ignorant as he may
 be1 will not get himself made a slave  
again4 ,the mission of the beneficent   

whip is there pretty well over2 and it  
may now find its place in museums and   
cabinets of ghastly curiosities1 with   
the racks1 pillories1 thumbscrews1 and  
branding-irons of old days4 ,what we    
have feared1 however1 is1 that the      
advocates and defenders of slave-holding
 in this country might find in this     
discourse matter of encouragement1 and  
that our anti-christian prejudices      
against the colored man might be        
strengthened and confirmed by its       
malignant vituperation and sarcasm4  ,on
 this point we have sympathized with the
 forebodings of an eloquent writer in   
the ,london ,enquirer3--  ,we cannot    
imagine a more deadly moral poison for  
the ,american people than his           
7,carlyle's7 last composition4  ,every  
cruel practice of social exclusion will 
derive from it new sharpness and venom4 
,the slave-holder1 of course1 will exult
 to find himself1 not apologized for1   
but enthusiastically cheered1 upheld1   
and glorified1 by a writer of ,european 

celebrity4  ,but it is not merely the   
slave who will feel ,mr4 ,carlyle's hand
 in the torture of his flesh1 the       
riveting of his fetters1 and the denial 
of light to his mind4  ,the free black  
will feel him1 too1 in the more         
contemptuous and abhorrent scowl of his 
brother man1 who will easily derive from
 this unfortunate essay the belief that 
his inhuman feelings are of divine      
ordination4  ,it is a true work of the  
,devil1 the fostering of a tyrannical   
prejudice4  ,far and wide over space1   
and long into the future1 the winged    
words of evil counsel will go4  ,in the 
market-place1 in the house1 in the      
theatre1 and in the church1--by land and
 by sea1 in all the haunts of           
men1--their influence will be felt in a 
perennial growth of hate and scorn1 and 
suffering and resentment4  ,amongst the 
sufferers will be many to whom education
 has given every refined susceptibility 
that makes contempt and exclusion       
bitter4  ,men and women1 faithful and   

diligent1 loving and worthy to be loved1
 and bearing1 it may be1 no more than an
 almost imperceptible trace of ,african 
descent1 will continue yet longer to be 
banished from the social meal of the    
white man1 and to be spurned from his   
presence in the house of ,god1 because a
 writer of genius has lent the weight of
 his authority and his fame1 if not of  
his power1 to the perpetuation of a     
prejudice which ,christianity was       
undermining4  ,a more recent production1
 ',latter ,day ,pamphlets'1 in which    
man's capability of self-government is  
more than doubted1 democracy somewhat   
contemptuously sneered at1 and the model
 republic itself stigmatized as a nation
 of bores1 may have a salutary effect in
 restraining our admiration and in      
lessening our respect for the defender  
and eulogist of slavery4  ,the sweeping 
impartiality with which in this latter  
production he applies the principle of  
our peculiar institution to the laboring
 poor man1 irrespective of color1       

recognizing as his only inalienable     
right the right of being set to labor   
for his born lords1 will1 we imagine1 go
 far to neutralize the mischief of his  
,discourse upon ,negro ,slavery4  ,it is
 a sad thing to find so much            
intellectual power as ,carlyle really   
possesses so little under the control of
 the moral sentiments4  ,in some of his 
earlier writings--as1 for instance1 his 
beautiful tribute to the ,corn ,law     
,rhymer--we thought we saw evidence of a
 warm and generous sympathy with the    
poor and the wronged1 a desire to       
ameliorate human suffering1 which would 
have done credit to the philanthropisms 
of ,exeter ,hall and the ,abolition of  
,pain ,society4  ,latterly1 however1    
like ,moliere's quack1 he has changed   
all that2 his heart has got upon the    
wrong side2 or rather1 he seems to us   
very much in the condition of the       
coal-burner in the ,german tale1 who had
 swapped his heart of flesh for a       
cobblestone4     ,,formation ,,of ,,the 

,,american ,,antislavery ,,society4     
,a letter to ,william ,lloyd ,garrison1 
,president of the ,society4             
,,amesbury1 #bdth #aath mo41 #ahfc4     
,,my ,,dear ,,friend1--,i have received 
thy kind letter1 with the accompanying  
circular1 inviting me to attend the     
commemoration of the thirtieth          
anniversary of the formation of the     
,american ,anti-,slavery ,society1 at   
,philadelphia4  ,it is with the deepest 
regret that ,i am compelled1 by the     
feeble state of my health1 to give up   
all hope of meeting thee and my other   
old and dear friends on an occasion of  
so much interest4  ,how much it costs me
 to acquiesce in the hard necessity thy 
own feelings will tell thee better than 
any words of mine4  ,i look back over   
thirty years1 and call to mind all the  
circumstances of my journey to          
,philadelphia1 in company with thyself  
and the excellent ,dr4 ,thurston of     
,maine1 even then1 as we thought1 an old
 man1 but still living1 and true as ever

 to the good cause4  ,i recall the early
 gray morning when1 with ,samuel ,j4    
,may1 our colleague on the committee to 
prepare a ,declaration of ,sentiments   
for the convention1 ,i climbed to the   
small upper chamber of a colored friend 
to hear thee read the first draft of a  
paper which will live as long as our    
national history4  ,i see the members of
 the convention1 solemnized by the      
responsibility1 rise one by one1 and    
solemnly affix their names to that stern
 pledge of fidelity to freedom4  ,of the
 signers1 many have passed away from    
earth1 a few have faltered and turned   
back1 but ,i believe the majority still 
live to rejoice over the great triumph  
of truth and justice1 and to devote what
 remains of time and strength to the    
cause to which they consecrated their   
youth and manhood thirty years ago4     
,for while we may well thank ,god and   
congratulate one another on the prospect
 of the speedy emancipation of the      
slaves of the ,united ,states1 we must  

not for a moment forget that1 from this 
hour1 new and mighty responsibilities   
devolve upon us to aid1 direct1 and     
educate these millions1 left free1      
indeed1 but bewildered1 ignorant1 naked1
 and foodless in the wild chaos of civil
 war4  ,we have to undo the accumulated 
wrongs of two centuries2 to remake the  
manhood which slavery has well- nigh    
unmade2 to see to it that the           
long-oppressed colored man has a fair   
field for development and improvement2  
and to tread under our feet the last    
vestige of that hateful prejudice which 
has been the strongest external support 
of ,southern slavery4  ,we must lift    
ourselves at once to the true ,christian
 altitude where all distinctions of     
black and white are overlooked in the   
heartfelt recognition of the brotherhood
 of man4  ,i must not close this letter 
without confessing that ,i cannot be    
sufficiently thankful to the ,divine    
,providence which1 in a great measure   
through thy instrumentality1 turned me  

away so early from what ,roger ,williams
 calls the world's great trinity1       
pleasure1 profit1 and honor1 to take    
side with the poor and oppressed4  ,i am
 not insensible to literary reputation4 
,i love1 perhaps too well1 the praise   
and good-will of my fellow-men2 but ,i  
set a higher value on my name as        
appended to the ,anti-,slavery          
,declaration of #ahcc than on the       
title-page of any book4 ,looking over a 
life marked by many errors and          
shortcomings1 ,i rejoice that ,i have   
been able to maintain the pledge of that
 signature1 and that1 in the long       
intervening years1      ,my voice1      
though not the loudest1 has been heard  
,wherever ,freedom      raised her cry  
of pain4  ,let me1 through thee1 extend 
a warm greeting to the friends1 whether 
of our own or the new generation1 who   
may assemble on the occasion of         
commemoration4  ,there is work yet to be
 done which will task the best efforts  
of us all4  ,for thyself1 ,i need not   

say that the love and esteem of early   
boyhood have lost nothing by the test of
 time2 and                      ,i am1  
very cordially1 thy friend1             
,,john ,g4  ,,whittier     ,,the        
,,lesson ,,and ,,our ,,duty4            
,from the ,amesbury ,villager4          
7#ahfe47   ,,in the assassination of    
,abraham ,lincoln and the unspeakably   
brutal assault upon ,secretary ,seward  
slavery has made another revelation of  
itself4  ,perhaps it was needed4  ,in   
the magnanimity of assured victory we   
were perhaps disposed to overlook1 not  
so much the guilty leaders and misguided
 masses of the great rebellion as the   
unutterable horror and sin of slavery   
which prompted it4  ,how slowly we of   
the ,north have learned the true        
character of this mighty mischief6  ,how
 our politicians bowed their strong     
shoulders under its burthens6  ,how our 
churches reverenced it6  ,how our clergy
 contrasted the heresy-tolerating ,north
 with the purely orthodox and           

,scriptural type of slave-holding       
,christianity6  ,how all classes hunted 
down1 not merely the fugitive slave1 but
 the few who ventured to give him food  
and shelter and a ,godspeed in his      
flight from bondage6  ,how utterly      
ignored was the negro's claim of common 
humanity6  ,how readily was the decision
 of the slave-holding chief justice     
acquiesced in1 that the black man had no
 rights which the white man is bound to 
respect6  ,we saw a senator of the      
,united ,states1 world-known and honored
 for his learning1 talents1 and         
stainless integrity1 beaten down and all
 but murdered at his official desk by a 
,south ,carolina slave-holder1 for the  
crime of speaking against the extension 
of slavery2 and we heard the dastardly  
deed applauded throughout the ,south1   
while its brutal perpetrator was        
rewarded with orations and gifts and    
smiles of beauty as a chivalrous        
gentleman4  ,we saw slavery enter       
,kansas1 with bowieknife in hand and    

curses on its lips2 we saw the life of  
the ,union struck at by secession and   
rebellion2 we heard of the bones of sons
 and brothers1 fallen in defence of     
freedom and law1 dug up and wrought into
 ornaments for the wrists and bosoms of 
slave-holding women2 we looked into the 
open hell of ,andersonville1 upon the   
deliberate1 systematic starvation of    
helpless prisoners2 we heard of ,libby  
,prison underlaid with gunpowder1 for   
the purpose of destroying thousands of  
,union prisoners in case of the         
occupation of ,richmond by our army2 we 
saw hundreds of prisoners massacred in  
cold blood at ,fort ,pillow1 and the    
midnight sack of ,lawrence and the      
murder of its principal citizens4  ,the 
flames of our merchant vessels1 seized  
by pirates1 lighted every sea2 we heard 
of officers of the rebel army and navy  
stealing into our cities1 firing hotels 
filled with sleeping occupants1 and     
laying obstructions on the track of rail
 cars1 for the purpose of killing and   

mangling their passengers4  ,yet in     
spite of these revelations of the       
utterly barbarous character of slavery  
and its direful effect upon all         
connected with it1 we were on the very  
point of trusting to its most criminal  
defenders the task of reestablishing the
 state governments of the ,south1       
leaving the real ,union men1 white as   
well as black1 at the mercy of those who
 have made hatred a religion and murder 
a sacrament4  ,the nation needed one    
more terrible lesson4  ,it has it in the
 murder of its beloved chief magistrate 
and the attempted assassination of its  
honored prime minister1 the two men of  
all others prepared to go farthest to   
smooth the way of defeated rebellion    
back to allegiance4  ,even now the      
lesson of these terrible events seems   
but half learned4  ,in the public       
utterances ,i hear much of punishing and
 hanging leading traitors1 fierce       
demands for vengeance1 and threats of   
the summary chastisement of domestic    

sympathizers with treason1 but          
comparatively little is said of the     
accursed cause1 the prolific mother of  
abominations1 slavery4  ,the government 
is exhorted to remember that it does not
 bear the sword in vain1 the ,old       
,testament is ransacked for texts of    
,oriental hatred and examples of the    
revenges of a semi-barbarous nation2    
but1 as respects the four millions of   
unmistakably loyal people of the ,south1
 the patient1 the long-suffering1       
kind-hearted victims of oppressions1    
only here and there a voice pleads for  
their endowment with the same rights of 
citizenship which are to be accorded to 
the rank and file of disbanded rebels4  
,the golden rule of the ,sermon on the  
,mount is not applied to them4  ,much is
 said of executing justice upon rebels2 
little of justice to loyal black men4   
,hanging a few ringleaders of treason1  
it seems to be supposed1 is all that is 
needed to restore and reestablish the   
revolted states4  ,the negro is to be   

left powerless in the hands of the white
 trash1 who hate him with a bitter      
hatred1 exceeding that of the large     
slave-holders4  ,in short1 four years of
 terrible chastisement1 of ,god's       
unmistakable judgments1 have not taught 
us1 as a people1 their lesson1 which    
could scarcely be plainer if it had been
 written in letters of fire on the sky4 
,why is it that we are so slow to learn1
 so unwilling to confess that slavery is
 the accursed thing which whets the     
knife of murder1 and transforms men1    
with the exterior of gentlemen and      
,christians1 into fiends8  ,how pitiful 
is our exultation over the capture of   
the wretched ,booth and his associates6 
,the great criminal1 of whom he and they
 were but paltry instruments1 still     
stalks abroad in the pine woods of      
,jersey1 where the state has thrown     
around him her legislative sanction and 
protection4  ,he is in ,pennsylvania1   
thrusting the black man from public     
conveyances4  ,wherever ,god's children 

are despised1 insulted1 and abused on   
account of their color1 there is the    
real assassin of the ,president still at
 large4  ,i do not wonder at the        
indignation which has been awakened by  
the late outrage1 for ,i have painfully 
shared it4  ,but let us see to it that  
it is rightly directed4 ,the hanging of 
a score of ,southern traitors will not  
restore ,abraham ,lincoln nor atone for 
the mighty loss4  ,in wreaking revenge  
upon these miserable men1 we must see to
 it that we do not degrade ourselves and
 do dishonor to the sacred memory of the
 dead4  ,we do well to be angry2 and1 if
 need be1 let our wrath wax seven times 
hotter1 until that which was a murderer 
from the beginning is consumed from the 
face of the earth4  ,as the people stand
 by the grave of ,lincoln1 let them lift
 their right hands to heaven and take a 
solemn vow upon their souls to give no  
sleep to their eyes nor slumber to their
 eyelids until slavery is hunted from   
its last shelter1 and every man1 black  

and white1 stands equal before the law4 
,in dealing with the guilty leaders and 
instigators of the rebellion we should  
beware how we take counsel of passion4  
,hatred has no place beside the calm and
 awful dignity of justice4  ,human life 
is still a very sacred thing2 ,christian
 forbearance and patience are still     
virtues4  ,for my own part1 ,i should be
 satisfied to see the chiefs of the     
great treason go out from among us      
homeless1 exiled1 with the mark of ,cain
 on their foreheads1 carrying with them1
 wherever they go1 the avenging ,nemesis
 of conscience4 ,we cannot take lessons1
 at this late day1 in their school of   
barbarism2 we cannot starve and torture 
them as they have starved and tortured  
our soldiers4  ,let them live4  ,perhaps
 that is1 after all1 the most terrible  
penalty4  ,for wherever they hide       
themselves the story of their acts will 
pursue them2 they can have no rest nor  
peace save in that deep repentance      
which1 through the mercy of ,god1 is    

possible for all4  ,i have no           
disposition to stand between these men  
and justice4  ,if arrested1 they can    
have no claim to exemption from the     
liabilities of criminals4  ,but it is   
not simply a question of deserts that is
 to be considered2 we are to take into  
account our own reputation as a         
,christian people1 the wishes of our    
best friends abroad1 and the humane     
instincts of the age1 which forbid all  
unnecessary severity4  ,happily we are  
not called upon to take counsel of our  
fears4  ,rabbinical writers tell us that
 evil spirits who are once baffled in a 
contest with human beings lose from     
thenceforth all power of further        
mischief4  ,the defeated rebels are in  
the precise condition of these ,jewish  
demons4  ,deprived of slavery1 they are 
like wasps that have lost their stings4 
,as respects the misguided masses of the
 ,south1 the shattered and crippled     
remnants of the armies of treason1 the  
desolate wives1 mothers1 and children   

mourning for dear ones who have fallen  
in a vain and hopeless struggle1 it     
seems to me our duty is very plain4  ,we
 must forgive their past treason1 and   
welcome and encourage their returning   
loyalty4  ,none but cowards will insult 
and taunt the defeated and defenceless4 
,we must feed and clothe the destitute1 
instruct the ignorant1 and1 bearing     
patiently with the bitterness and       
prejudice which will doubtless for a    
time thwart our efforts and misinterpret
 our motives1 aid them in rebuilding    
their states on the foundation of       
freedom4  ,our sole enemy was slavery1  
and slavery is dead4  ,we have now no   
quarrel with the people of the ,south1  
who have really more reason than we have
 to rejoice over the downfall of a      
system which impeded their material     
progress1 perverted their religion1 shut
 them out from the sympathies of the    
world1 and ridged their land with the   
graves of its victims4  ,we are victors1
 the cause of all this evil and         

suffering is removed forever1 and we can
 well afford to be magnanimous4  ,how   
better can we evince our gratitude to   
,god for ,his great mercy than in doing 
good to those who hated us1 and in      
having compassion on those who have     
despitefully used us8  ,the hour is     
hastening for us all when our sole      
ground of dependence will be the mercy  
and forgiveness of ,god4  ,let us       
endeavor so to feel and act in our      
relations to the people of the ,south   
that we can repeat in sincerity the     
prayer of our ,lord3 ,forgive us our    
trespasses as we forgive those who      
trespass against us1 reverently         
acknowledging that ,he has indeed led   
captivity captive and received gifts for
 men2 yea1 for the rebellious also1 that
 the ,lord ,god might dwell among them4 
,,charles ,,sumner ,,and ,,the          
,,state-,,department4 7#ahfh47   ,,the  
wise reticence of the ,president elect  
in the matter of his cabinet has left   
free course to speculation and          

conjecture as to its composition4 ,that 
he fully comprehends the importance of  
the subject1 and that he will carefully 
weigh the claims of the possible        
candidates on the score of patriotic    
services1 ability1 and fitness for      
specific duties1 no one who has studied 
his character1 and witnessed his        
discretion1 clear insight1 and wise     
adaptation of means to ends1 under the  
mighty responsibilities of his past     
career1 can reasonably doubt4  ,it is   
not probable that the distinguished     
statesman now at the head of the ,state 
,department will1 under the             
circumstances1 look for a continuance in
 office4  ,history will do justice to   
his eminent services in the ,senate and 
in the cabinet during the first years of
 the rebellion1 but the fact that he has
 to some extent shared the unpopularity 
of the present chief magistrate seems to
 preclude the idea of his retention in  
the new cabinet4  ,in looking over the  
list of our public men in search of a   

successor1 ,general ,grant is not likely
 to be embarrassed by the number of     
individuals fitted by nature1 culture1  
and experience for such an important    
post4  ,the newspaper press1 in its wide
 license of conjecture and suggestion1  
has1 as far as ,i have seen1 mentioned  
but three or four names in this         
connection4  ,allusions have been made  
to ,senator ,fessenden of ,maine1       
ex-,minister ,motley1 ,general ,dix1    
ex-,secretary ,stanton1 and ,charles    
,sumner of ,massachusetts4  ,without    
disparaging in any degree his assumed   
competitors1 the last-named gentleman is
 unquestionably preeminently fitted for 
the place4  ,he has had a lifelong      
education for it4  ,the entire cast of  
his mind1 the bent of his studies1 the  
habit and experience of his public life1
 his profound knowledge of international
 law and the diplomatic history of his  
own and other countries1 his well-earned
 reputation as a statesman and          
constitutional lawyer1 not only at home1

 but wherever our country has relations 
of amity and commerce1 the honorable    
distinction which he enjoys of having   
held a foremost place in the great      
conflict between freedom and slavery1   
union and rebellion1 all mark him as the
 man for the occasion4  ,there seems1   
indeed1 a certain propriety in assigning
 to the man who struck the heaviest     
blows at secession and slavery in the   
national ,senate the first place under  
him who1 in the field1 made them        
henceforth impossible4  ,the great      
captain and the great senator united in 
war should not be dissevered in peace4  
,i am not unaware that there are some1  
even in the ,republican party1 who have 
failed to recognize in ,senator ,sumner 
the really wise and practical           
statesmanship which a careful review of 
his public labors cannot but make       
manifest4  ,it is only necessary to     
point such to the open record of his    
senatorial career4  ,few men have had   
the honor of introducing and defending  

with exhaustive ability and thoroughness
 so many measures of acknowledged       
practical importance to his immediate   
constituents1 the country at large1 and 
the wider interests of humanity and     
civilization4 ,in what exigency has he  
been found wanting8  ,what legislative  
act of public utility for the last      
eighteen years has lacked his           
encouragement8 ,at the head of the      
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 his    
clearness of vision1 firmness1          
moderation1 and ready comprehension of  
the duties of his time and place must be
 admitted by all parties4  ,it was      
shrewdly said by ,burke that men are    
wise with little reflection and good    
with little self- denial1 in business of
 all times except their own4  ,but      
,charles ,sumner1 the scholar1 loving   
the still air of delightful studies1 has
 shown himself as capable of thoroughly 
comprehending and digesting the events  
transpiring before his eyes as of       
pronouncing judgment upon those recorded

 in history4  ,far in advance of most of
 his contemporaries1 he saw and         
enunciated the true doctrine of         
reconstruction1 the early adoption of   
which would have been of incalculable   
service to the country4 ,one of the     
ablest statesmen and jurists of the     
,democratic party has had the rare      
magnanimity to acknowledge that in this 
matter the ,republican senator was      
right1 and himself and his party wrong4 
,the ,republicans of ,massachusetts will
 make no fractious or importunate demand
 upon the new ,president4  ,they are    
content to leave to his unbiased and    
impartial judgment the selection of his 
cabinet4  ,but if1 looking to the best  
interests of the country1 he shall see  
fit to give their distinguished         
fellow-citizen the first place in it1   
they will feel no solicitude as to the  
manner in which the duties of the office
 will be discharged4  ,they will feel   
that the tools are with him who can use 
them4  ,nothing more directly affects   

the reputation of a country than the    
character of its diplomatic             
correspondence and its foreign          
representatives4  ,we have suffered in  
times past from sad mismanagement       
abroad1 and intelligent ,americans have 
too often been compelled to hang their  
heads with shame to see the flag of     
their country floating over the consular
 offices of worthless1 incompetent      
agents4  ,there can be no question that 
so far as they are entrusted to ,senator
 ,sumner's hands1 the interest1 honor1  
and dignity of the nation will be safe4 
,in a few weeks ,charles ,summer will be
 returned for his fourth term in the    
,united ,states ,senate by the well-nigh
 unanimous vote of both branches of the 
legislature of ,massachusetts4  ,not a  
syllable of opposition to his reelection
 is heard from any quarter4  ,there is  
not a ,republican in the legislature who
 could have been elected unless he had  
been virtually pledged to his support4  
,no stronger evidence of the popular    

estimate of his ability and integrity   
than this could be offered4  ,as a      
matter of course1 the marked            
individuality of his intense            
convictions1 earnestness1 persistence1  
and confident reliance upon the justice 
of his conclusions1 naturally growing   
out of the consciousness of having      
brought to his honest search after truth
 all the lights of his learning and     
experience1 may1 at times1 have brought 
him into unpleasant relations with some 
of his colleagues2 but no one1 friend or
 foe1 has questioned his ability and    
patriotism1 or doubted his fidelity to  
principle4  ,he has lent himself to no  
schemes of greed4  ,while so many others
 have taken advantage of the facilities 
of their official stations to fill1     
directly or indirectly1 their own       
pockets or those of their relatives and 
retainers1 it is to the honor of        
,massachusetts that her representatives 
in the ,senate have not only shaken     
their hands from the holding of bribes1 

but have so borne themselves that no    
shadow of suspicion has ever rested on  
them4  ,in this connection it may be    
proper to state that1 in the event of a 
change in the ,war ,department1 the     
claims of ,general ,wilson1 to whose    
services in the committee on military   
affairs the country is deeply indebted1 
may be brought under consideration4  ,in
 that case ,massachusetts would not1 if 
it were in her power1 discriminate      
between her senators4 ,both have        
deserved well of her and of the country4
  ,in expressing thus briefly my        
opinion1 ,i do not forget that after all
 the choice and responsibility rest with
 ,general ,grant alone4  ,there ,i am   
content to leave them4  ,i am very far  
from urging any sectional claim4  ,let  
the country but have peace after its    
long discord1 let its good faith and    
financial credit be sustained1 and all  
classes of its citizens everywhere      
protected in person and estate1 and it  
matters very little to me whether       

,massachusetts is represented at the    
,executive ,council board1 or not4      
,personally1 ,charles ,sumner would gain
 nothing by a transfer from the ,senate 
,chamber to the ,state ,department4  ,he
 does not need a place in the ,american 
cabinet any more than ,john ,bright does
 in the ,british4  ,the highest ambition
 might well be satisfied with his       
present position1 from which1 looking   
back upon an honorable record1 he might 
be justified in using ,milton's language
 of lofty confidence in the reply to    
,salmasius3 ,i am not one who has       
disgraced beauty of sentiment by        
deformity of conduct1 or the maxims of a
 freeman by the actions of a slave1 but1
 by the grace of ,god1 ,i have kept my  
life unsullied4     ,,the ,,presidential
 ,,election ,,of #ahgb4       ,the      
following letter was written on         
receiving a request from a              
committee of colored voters for advice  
as to their action at the               
presidential election of #ahgb4         

,,amesbury1 #ith mo4 #c;d1 #ahgb4       
,,dear ,,friends1--,i have just received
 your letter of the #bith ult4 asking my
 opinion of your present duty as colored
 voters in the choice between ,general  
,grant and ,horace ,greeley for the     
presidency4  ,you state that you have   
been confused by the contradictory      
advice given you by such friends of your
 people as ,charles ,sumner on one hand1
 and ,william ,l4 ,garrison and ,wendell
 ,phillips on the other2 and you ask me1
 as one whom you are pleased to think   
free from all bias1 to add my counsel to
 theirs4  ,i thank you for the very kind
 expression of your confidence and your 
generous reference to my endeavors to   
serve the cause of freedom2 but ,i must 
own that ,i would fain have been spared 
the necessity of adding to the already  
too long list of political epistles4  ,i
 have felt it my duty in times past to  
take an active part--often very         
distasteful to me--in political matters1
 having for my first object the         

deliverance of my country from the crime
 and curse of slavery4  ,that great     
question being now settled forever1 ,i  
have been more than willing to leave to 
younger and stronger hands the toils and
 the honors of partisan service4        
,pained and saddened by the bitter and  
unchristian personalities of the canvass
 now in progress1 ,i have hitherto held 
myself aloof from it as far as possible1
 unwilling to sanction in the slightest 
degree the criminations and             
recriminations of personal friends whom 
,i have every reason to love and        
respect1 and in whose integrity ,i have 
unshaken confidence4  ,in the present   
condition of affairs ,i have not been   
able to see that any special action as  
an abolitionist was required at my      
hands4  ,both of the great parties1     
heretofore widely separated1 have put   
themselves on substantially the same    
platform4  ,the ,republican party1      
originally pledged only to the          
non-extension of slavery1 and whose most

 illustrious representative1 ,president 
,lincoln1 avowed his willingness to save
 the ,union without abolishing slavery1 
has been1 under ,providence1 mainly     
instrumental in the total overthrow of  
the detestable system2 while the        
,democratic party1 composed largely of  
slave-holders1 and1 even at the ,north1 
scarcely willing to save the ,union at  
the expense of the slave interest upon  
which its success depended1 shattered   
and crippled by the civil war and its   
results1 has at last yielded to the     
inexorable logic of events1 abandoned a 
position no longer tenable1 and taken   
its new departure with an abolitionist  
as its candidate4  ,as a friend of the  
long-oppressed colored man1 and for the 
sake of the peace and prosperity of the 
country1 ,i rejoice at this action of   
the ,democratic party4  ,the underlying 
motives of this radical change are      
doubtless somewhat mixed and            
contradictory1 honest conviction on the 
part of some1 and party expediency and  

desire of office on the part of others2 
but the change itself is real and       
irrevocable2 the penalty of receding    
would be swift and irretrievable ruin4  
,in any point of view the new order of  
things is desirable2 and nothing more   
fully illustrates the ways that are dark
 and the tricks that are vain of party  
politics than the attempt of professed  
friends of the ,union and equal rights  
for all to counteract it by giving aid  
and comfort to a revival of the worst   
characteristics of the old party in the 
shape of a straight-out ,democratic     
convention4  ,as respects the candidates
 now before us1 ,i can see no good      
reason why colored voters as such should
 oppose ,general ,grant1 who1 though not
 an abolitionist and not even a member  
of the ,republican party previous to his
 nomination1 has faithfully carried out 
the laws of ,congress in their behalf4  
,nor1 on the other hand1 can ,i see any 
just grounds for distrust of such a man 
as ,horace ,greeley1 who has so nobly   

distinguished himself as the advocate of
 human rights irrespective of race or   
color1 and who by the instrumentality of
 his press has been for thirty years the
 educator of the people in the          
principles of justice1 temperance1 and  
freedom4 ,both of these men have1 in    
different ways1 deserved too well of the
 country to be unnecessarily subjected  
to the brutalities of a presidential    
canvass2 and1 so far as they are        
personally concerned1 it would doubtless
 have been better if the one had        
declined a second term of uncongenial   
duties1 and the other continued to      
indite words of wisdom in the shades of 
,chappaqua4  ,but they have chosen      
otherwise2 and ,i am willing1 for one1  
to leave my colored fellow-citizens to  
the unbiased exercise of their own      
judgment and instincts in deciding      
between them4 ,the ,democratic party    
labors under the disadvantage of        
antecedents not calculated to promote a 
rapid growth of confidence2 and it is no

 matter of surprise that the vote of the
 emancipated class is likely to be      
largely against it4  ,but if1 as will   
doubtless be the case1 that vote shall  
be to some extent divided between the   
two candidates1 it will have the effect 
of inducing politicians of the rival    
parties to treat with respect and       
consideration this new element of       
political power1 from self- interest if 
from no higher motive4  ,the fact that  
at this time both parties are welcoming 
colored orators to their platforms1 and 
that1 in the ,south1 old slave-masters  
and their former slaves fraternize at   
caucus and barbecue1 and vote for each  
other at the polls1 is full of          
significance4  ,if1 in ,new ,england1   
the very men who thrust ,frederick      
,douglass from car and stage-coach1 and 
mobbed and hunted him like a wild beast1
 now crowd to shake his hand and cheer  
him1 let us not despair of seeing even  
the ,ku-,klux tarried into decency1 and 
sitting clothed in their right minds as 

listeners to their former victims4  ,the
 colored man is to-day the master of his
 own destiny4  ,no power on earth can   
deprive him of his rights as an         
,american citizen4  ,and it is in the   
light of ,american citizenship that ,i  
choose to regard my colored friends1 as 
men having a common stake in the welfare
 of the country2 mingled with1 and not  
separate from1 their white              
fellow-citizens2 not herded together as 
a distinct class to be wielded by       
others1 without self-dependence and     
incapable of self-determination4        
,thanks to such men as ,sumner and      
,wilson and their compeers1 nearly all  
that legislation can do for them has    
already been done4  ,we can now only    
help them to help themselves4 ,industry1
 economy1 temperance1 self-culture1     
education for their children1--these    
things1 indispensable to their elevation
 and progress1 are in a great measure in
 their own hands4  ,you will1 therefore1
 my friends and fellow-citizens1 pardon 

me if ,i decline to undertake to decide 
for you the question of your political  
duty as respects the candidates for the 
presidency1--a question which you have  
probably already settled in your own    
minds4  ,if it had been apparent to me  
that your rights and liberties were     
really in danger from the success of    
either candidate1 your letter would not 
have been needed to call forth my       
opinion4  ,in the long struggle of      
well-nigh forty years1 ,i can honestly  
say that no consideration of private    
interest1 nor my natural love of peace  
and retirement and the good-will of     
others1 have kept me silent when a word 
could be fitly spoken for human rights4 
,i have not so long acted with the class
 to which you belong without acquiring  
respect for your intelligence and       
capacity for judging wisely for         
yourselves4  ,i shall abide your        
decision with confidence1 and cheerfully
 acquiesce in it4  ,if1 on the whole1   
you prefer to vote for the reelection of

 ,general ,grant1 let me hope you will  
do so without joining with eleventh-hour
 friends in denouncing and reviling such
 an old and tried friend as ,charles    
,sumner1 who has done and suffered so   
much in your behalf4  ,if1 on the other 
hand1 some of you decide to vote for    
,horace ,greeley1 you need not in so    
doing forget your great obligations to  
such friends as ,william ,lloyd         
,garrison1 ,wendell ,phillips1 and      
,lydia ,maria ,child4  ,agree or        
disagree with them1 take their advice or
 reject it1 but stand by them still1 and
 teach the parties with which you are   
connected to respect your feelings      
towards your benefactors4     ,,the     
,,censure ,,of ,,sumner4        ,a      
letter to the ,boston ,daily ,advertiser
 in reference to the petition      for  
the rescinding of the resolutions       
censuring ,senator ,sumner for      his 
motion to erase from the ,united ,states
 flags the record of the      battles of
 the civil war4   ,i ,,beg leave to     

occupy a small space in the columns of  
the ,advertiser for the purpose of      
noticing a charge which has been brought
 against the petitioners for rescinding 
the resolutions of the late extra       
session virtually censuring the ,hon4   
,charles ,sumner4  ,it is intimated that
 the action of these petitioners evinces
 a lack of appreciation of the services 
of the soldiers of the ,union1 and that 
not to censure ,charles ,sumner is to   
censure the volunteers of               
,massachusetts4  ,as a matter of fact1  
the petitioners express no opinion as to
 the policy or expediency of the        
senator's proposition4  ,some may       
believe it not only right in itself1 but
 expedient and well-timed2 others that  
it was inexpedient or premature4  ,none 
doubt that1 sooner or later1 the thing  
which it contemplates must be done1 if  
we are to continue a united people4     
,what they feel and insist upon is that 
the proposition is one which implies no 
disparagement of the soldiers of        

,massachusetts and the ,union2 that it  
neither receives nor merits the         
unqualified condemnation of the people  
of the state2 and that it furnishes no  
ground whatever for legislative         
interference or censure4  ,a single     
glance at the names of the petitioners  
is a sufficient answer to the           
insinuation that they are unmindful of  
that self-sacrifice and devotion1 the   
marble and granite memorials of which1  
dotting the state from the ,merrimac to 
the ,connecticut1 testify the gratitude 
of the loyal heart of ,massachusetts4   
,i have seen no soldier yet who         
considered himself wronged or insulted  
by the proposition4  ,in point of fact  
the soldiers have never asked for such  
censure of the brave and loyal statesman
 who was the bosom friend and confidant 
of ,secretary ,stanton 7the great       
war-minister1 second1 if at all1 only to
 ,carnot7 and of ,john ,a4  ,andrew1    
dear to the heart of every              
,massachusetts soldier1 and whose tender

 care and sympathy reached them wherever
 they struggled or died for country and 
freedom4  ,the proposal of ,senator     
,sumner1 instead of being an insult1    
was1 in fact1 the highest compliment    
which could be paid to brave men2 for it
 implied that they cherished no         
vindictive hatred of fallen foes2 that  
they were too proudly secure of the love
 and gratitude of their countrymen to   
need above their heads the flaunting    
blazon of their achievements2 that they 
were as magnanimous in peace and victory
 as they were heroic and patient through
 the dark and doubtful arbitrament of   
war4  ,as such they understand it4  ,i  
should be sorry to think there existed a
 single son of ,massachusetts weak      
enough to believe that his reputation   
and honor as a soldier needed this      
censure of ,charles ,sumner4  ,i have   
before me letters from men1 ranking from
 orderly sergeant to general1 who have  
looked at death full in the face on     
every battlefield where the flag of     

,massachusetts floated1 and they all    
thank me for my efforts to rescind this 
uncalled-for censure1 and pledge me     
their hearty support4  ,they cordially  
indorse the noble letter of             
,vice-,president ,wilson offering his   
signature to the petition for rescinding
 the obnoxious resolutions2 and if these
 resolutions are not annulled1 it will  
not be the fault of ,massachusetts      
volunteers1 but rather of the mistaken  
zeal of men more familiar with the drill
 of the caucus than with that of the    
camp4  ,i am no blind partisan of       
,charles ,sumner4  ,i have often        
differed from him in opinion4  ,i       
regretted deeply the position which he  
thought it his duty to take during the  
late presidential campaign4  ,he felt   
the atmosphere about him thick and foul 
with corruption and bribery and greed2  
he saw the treasury ringed about like   
,saturn with unscrupulous combinations  
and corporations2 and it is to be       
regretted more than wondered at if he   

struck out wildly in his indignation1   
and that his blows fell sometimes upon  
the wrong object4  ,but ,i did not      
intend to act the part of his apologist4
  ,the twenty years of his senatorial   
life are crowded with memorials of his  
loyalty to truth and free dom and       
humanity1 which will be enduring as our 
history4  ,he is no party to this       
movement1 in which my name has been more
 prominent than ,i could have wished1   
and no word of his prompted or suggested
 it4  ,from its inception to the present
 time he has remained silent in his     
chamber of pain1 waiting to bequeath1   
like the testator of the dramatist1     
,a fame by scandal untouched            
,to ,memory and ,time's old daughter    
,truth4  ,he can well afford to wait1   
and the issue of the present question   
before our legislature is of far less   
consequence to him than to us4  ,to use 
the words of one who stood by him in the
 dark days of the ,fugitive ,slave ,law1
 the ,chief ,justice of the ,united     

,states1--,time and the wiser thought   
will vindicate the illustrious statesman
 to whom ,massachusetts1 the country1   
and humanity owe so much1 but the state 
can ill afford the damage to its own    
reputation which such a censure of such 
a man will inflict4  ,,amesbury1 #c;d   
month1 #h1 #ahgc4     ,,the             
,,anti-,,slavery ,,convention ,,of      
#ahcc4 7#ahgd47  ,in the gray twilight  
of a chill day of late ,november1 forty 
years ago1 a dear friend of mine1       
residing in ,boston1 made his appearance
 at the old farm-house in ,east         
,haverhill4  ,he had been deputed by the
 abolitionists of the city1 ,william ,l4
 ,garrison1 ,samuel ,e4  ,sewall1 and   
others1 to inform me of my appointment  
as a delegate to the ,convention about  
to be held in ,philadelphia for the     
formation of an ,american ,anti-,slavery
 ,society1 and to urge upon me the      
necessity of my attendance4  ,few words 
of persuasion1 however1 were needed4  ,i
 was unused to travelling2 my life had  

been spent on a secluded farm2 and the  
journey1 mostly by stage-coach1 at that 
time was really a formidable one4       
,moreover1 the few abolitionists were   
everywhere spoken against1 their persons
 threatened1 and in some instances a    
price set on their heads by ,southern   
legislators4  ,pennsylvania was on the  
borders of slavery1 and it needed small 
effort of imagination to picture to     
one's self the breaking up of the       
,convention and maltreatment of its     
members4  ,this latter consideration ,i 
do not think weighed much with me1      
although ,i was better prepared for     
serious danger than for anything like   
personal indignity4  ,i had read        
,governor ,trumbull's description of the
 tarring and feathering of his hero     
,mac,fingal1 when1 after the application
 of the melted tar1 the feather-bed was 
ripped open and shaken over him1 until  
,not ,maia's son1 with wings for ears1  
,such plumes about his visage wears1    
,nor ,milton's six-winged angel gathers 

,such superfluity of feathers1  and ,i  
confess ,i was quite unwilling to       
undergo a martyrdom which my best       
friends could scarcely refrain from     
laughing at4  ,but a summons like that  
of ,garrison's bugle-blast could        
scarcely be unheeded by one who1 from   
birth and education1 held fast the      
traditions of that earlier abolitionism 
which1 under the lead of ,benezet and   
,woolman1 had effaced from the ,society 
of ,friends every vestige of            
slave-holding4  ,i had thrown myself1   
with a young man's fervid enthusiasm1   
into a movement which commended itself  
to my reason and conscience1 to my love 
of country1 and my sense of duty to ,god
 and my fellow-men4  ,my first venture  
in authorship was the publication1 at my
 own expense1 in the spring of #ahcc1 of
 a pamphlet entitled ,justice and       
,expediency1 on the moral and political 
evils of slavery1 and the duty of       
emancipation4  ,under such circumstances
 ,i could not hesitate1 but prepared at 

once for my journey4  ,it was necessary 
that ,i should start on the morrow1 and 
the intervening time1 with a small      
allowance for sleep1 was spent in       
providing for the care of the farm and  
homestead during my absence4  ,so the   
next morning ,i took the stage for      
,boston1 stopping at the ancient        
hostelry known as the ,eastern ,stage   
,tavern2 and on the day following1 in   
company with ,william ,lloyd ,garrison1 
,i left for ,new ,york4  ,at that city  
we were joined by other delegates1 among
 them ,david ,thurston1 a               
,congregational minister from ,maine4   
,on our way to ,philadelphia1 we took1  
as a matter of necessary economy1 a     
second-class conveyance1 and found      
ourselves1 in consequence1 among rough  
and hilarious companions1 whose language
 was more noteworthy for strength than  
refinement4  ,our worthy friend the     
clergyman bore it awhile in painful     
silence1 but at last felt it his duty to
 utter words of remonstrance and        

admonition4  ,the leader of the young   
roisterers listened with a ludicrous    
mock gravity1 thanked him for his       
exhortation1 and1 expressing fears that 
the extraordinary effort had exhausted  
his strength1 invited him to take a     
drink with him4  ,father ,thurston      
buried his grieved face in his          
cloak-collar1 and wisely left the young 
reprobates to their own devices4  ,on   
reaching ,philadelphia1 we at once      
betook1 ourselves to the humble dwelling
 on ,fifth ,street occupied by ,evan    
,lewis1 a plain1 earnest man and        
lifelong abolitionist1 who had been     
largely interested in preparing the way 
for the ,convention4  ,in one respect   
the time of our assembling seemed       
unfavorable4  ,the ,society of ,friends1
 upon whose cooperation we had counted1 
had but recently been rent asunder by   
one of those unhappy controversies which
 so often mark the decline of practical 
righteousness4 ,the martyr-age of the   
society had passed1 wealth and luxury   

had taken the place of the old          
simplicity1 there was a growing         
conformity to the maxims of the world in
 trade and fashion1 and with it a       
corresponding unwillingness to hazard   
respectability by the advocacy of       
unpopular reforms4  ,unprofitable       
speculation and disputation on one hand1
 and a vain attempt on the other to     
enforce uniformity of opinion1 had      
measurably lost sight of the fact that  
the end of the gospel is love1 and that 
charity is its crowning virtue4  ,after 
a long and painful struggle the         
disruption had taken place2 the         
shattered fragments1 under the name of  
,orthodox and ,hicksite1 so like and yet
 so separate in feeling1 confronted each
 other as hostile sects1 and            
,never either found another             
,to free the hollow heart from paining2 
,they stood aloof1 the scars remaining1 
,like cliffs that have been torn asunder
           ,a dreary sea now flows      
between2           ,but neither rain1   

nor frost1 nor thunder1           ,can  
wholly do away1 ,i ween1           ,the 
marks of that which once has been4  ,we 
found about forty members assembled in  
the parlors of our friend ,lewis1 and1  
after some general conversation1 ,lewis 
,tappan was asked to preside over an    
informal meeting1 preparatory to the    
opening of the ,convention4  ,a         
handsome1 intellectual-looking man1 in  
the prime of life1 responded to the     
invitation1 and in a clear1             
well-modulated voice1 the firm tones of 
which inspired hope and confidence1     
stated the objects of our preliminary   
council1 and the purpose which had      
called us together1 in earnest and      
well-chosen words4  ,in making          
arrangements for the ,convention1 it was
 thought expedient to secure1 if        
possible1 the services of some citizen  
of ,philadelphia1 of distinction and    
high social standing1 to preside over   
its deliberations4  ,looking round among
 ourselves in vain for some titled      

civilian or doctor of divinity1 we were 
fain to confess that to outward seeming 
we were but a feeble folk1 sorely       
needing the shield of a popular name4   
,a committee1 of which ,i was a member1 
was appointed to go in search of a      
president of this description4  ,we     
visited two prominent gentlemen1 known  
as friendly to emancipation and of high 
social standing4  ,they received us with
 the dignified courtesy of the old      
school1 declined our proposition in     
civil terms1 and bowed us out with a    
cool politeness equalled only by that of
 the senior ,winkle towards the unlucky 
deputation of ,pickwick and his         
unprepossessing companions4  ,as we left
 their doors we could not refrain from  
smiling in each other's faces at the    
thought of the small inducement our     
proffer of the presidency held out to   
men of their class4  ,evidently our     
company was not one for respectability  
to march through ,coventry with4  ,on   
the following morning we repaired to the

 ,adelphi ,building1 on ,fifth ,street1 
below ,walnut1 which had been secured   
for our use4  ,sixty-two delegates were 
found to be in attendance4  ,beriah     
,green1 of the ,oneida 7,new ,york7     
,institute1 was chosen president1 a     
fresh-faced1 sandy-haired1 rather       
common-looking man1 but who had the     
reputation of an able and eloquent      
speaker4  ,he had already made himself  
known to us as a resolute and           
self-sacrificing abolitionist4  ,lewis  
,tappan and myself took our places at   
his side as secretaries1 on the         
elevation at the west end of the hall4  
,looking over the assembly1 ,i noticed  
that it was mainly composed of          
comparatively young men1 some in middle 
age1 and a few beyond that period4      
,they were nearly all plainly dressed1  
with a view to comfort rather than      
elegance4  ,many of the faces turned    
towards me wore a look of expectancy and
 suppressed enthusiasm2 all had the     
earnestness which might be expected of  

men engaged in an enterprise beset with 
difficulty and perhaps with peril4  ,the
 fine1 intellectual head of ,garrison1  
prematurely bald1 was conspicuous2 the  
sunny-faced young man at his side1 in   
whom all the beatitudes seemed to find  
expression1 was ,samuel ,j4 ,may1       
mingling in his veins the best blood of 
the ,sewalls and ,quincys1--a man so    
exceptionally pure and large-hearted1 so
 genial1 tender1 and loving1 that he    
could be faithful to truth and duty     
without making an enemy4                
,the de'il wad look into his face1      
,and swear he couldna wrang him4  ,that 
tall1 gaunt1 swarthy man1 erect1        
eagle-faced1 upon whose somewhat martial
 figure the ,quaker coat seemed a little
 out of place1 was ,lindley ,coates1    
known in all eastern ,pennsylvania as a 
stern enemy of slavery2 that slight1    
eager man1 intensely alive in every     
feature and gesture1 was ,thomas        
,shipley1 who for thirty years had been 
the protector of the free colored people

 of ,philadelphia1 and whose name was   
whispered reverently in the slave cabins
 of ,maryland as the friend of the black
 man1 one of a class peculiar to old    
,quakerism1 who in doing what they felt 
to be duty1 and walking as the ,light   
within guided them1 knew no fear and    
shrank from no sacrifice4  ,braver men  
the world has not known4  ,beside him1  
differing in creed1 but united with him 
in works of love and charity1 sat       
,thomas ,whitson1 of the ,hicksite      
school of ,friends1 fresh from his farm 
in ,lancaster ,county1 dressed in       
plainest homespun1 his tall form        
surmounted by a shock of unkempt hair1  
the odd obliquity of his vision         
contrasting strongly with he clearness  
and directness of his spiritual insight4
 ,elizur ,wright1 the young professor of
 a ,western college1 who had lost his   
place by his bold advocacy of freedom1  
with a look of sharp concentration in   
keeping with an intellect keen as a     
,damascus blade1 closely watched the    

proceedings through his spectacles1     
opening his mouth only to speak directly
 to the purpose4  ,the portly form of   
,dr4 ,bartholomew ,russell1 the beloved 
physician1 from that beautiful land of  
plenty and peace which ,bayard ,taylor  
has described in his ,story of ,kennett1
 was not to be overlooked4              
,abolitionist in heart and soul1 his    
house was known as the shelter of       
runaway slaves1 and no sportsman ever   
entered into the chase with such zest as
 he did into the arduous and sometimes  
dangerous work of aiding their escape   
and baffling their pursuers4  ,the      
youngest man present was1 ,i believe1   
,james ,miller ,mc,kim1 a ,presbyterian 
minister from ,columbia1 afterwards one 
of our most efficient workers4  ,james  
,mott1 ,e4 ,l4 ,capron1 ,arnold ,buffum1
 and ,nathan ,winslow1 men well known in
 the anti- slavery agitation1 were      
conspicuous members4  ,vermont sent down
 from her mountains ,orson ,s4 ,murray1 
a man terribly in earnest1 with a zeal  

that bordered on fanaticism1 and who was
 none the more genial for the mob-      
violence to which he had been subjected4
  ,in front of me1 awakening pleasant   
associations of the old homestead in    
,merrimac valley1 sat my first          
school-teacher1 ,joshua ,coffin1 the    
learned and worthy antiquarian and      
historian of ,newbury4  ,a few          
spectators1 mostly of the ,hicksite     
division of ,friends1 were present1 in  
broad brims and plain bonnets1 among    
them ,esther ,moore and ,lucretia ,mott4
  ,committees were chosen to draft a    
constitution for a national ,anti-      
,slavery ,society1 nominate a list of   
officers1 and prepare a declaration of  
principles to be signed by the members4 
,dr4 ,a4 ,l4 ,cox of ,new ,york1 while  
these committees were absent1 read      
something from my pen eulogistic of     
,william ,lloyd ,garrison2 and ,lewis   
,tappan and ,amos ,a4  ,phelps1 a       
,congregational clergyman of ,boston1   
afterwards one of the most devoted      

laborers in the cause1 followed in      
generous commendation of the zeal1      
courage1 and devotion of the young      
pioneer4  ,the president1 after calling 
,james ,mc,crummell1 one of the two or  
three colored members of the            
,convention1 to the chair1 made some    
eloquent remarks upon those editors who 
had ventured to advocate emancipation4  
,at the close of his speech a young man 
rose to speak1 whose appearance at once 
arrested my attention4 ,i think ,i have 
never seen a finer face and figure1 and 
his manner1 words1 and bearing were in  
keeping4  ,who is he8  ,i asked of one  
of the ,pennsylvania delegates4  ,robert
 ,purvis1 of this city1 a colored man1  
was the answer4  ,he began by uttering  
his heart-felt thanks to the delegates  
who had convened for the deliverance of 
his people4  ,he spoke of ,garrison in  
terms of warmest eulogy1 as one who had 
stirred the heart of the nation1 broken 
the tomblike slumber of the church1 and 
compelled it to listen to the story of  

the slave's wrongs4  ,he closed by      
declaring that the friends of colored   
,americans would not be forgotten4      
,their memories1 he said1 will be       
cherished when pyramids and monuments   
shall have crumbled in dust4  ,the flood
 of time which is sweeping away the     
refuge of lies is bearing on the        
advocates of our cause to a glorious    
immortality4  ,the committee on the     
constitution made their report1 which   
after discussion was adopted4  ,it      
disclaimed any right or intention of    
interfering1 otherwise than by          
persuasion and ,christian expostulation1
 with slavery as it existed in the      
states1 but affirming the duty of       
,congress to abolish it in the ,district
 of ,columbia and territories1 and to   
put an end to the domestic slave-trade4 
,a list of officers of the new society  
was then chosen3 ,arthur ,tappan of ,new
 ,york1 president1 and ,elizur ,wright1 
,jr41 ,william ,lloyd ,garrison1 and ,a4
 ,l4 ,cox1 secretaries4  ,among the     

vice-presidents was ,dr4 ,lord of       
,dartmouth ,college1 then professedly in
 favor of emancipation1 but who         
afterwards turned a moral somersault1 a 
self-inversion which left him ever after
 on his head instead of his feet4  ,he  
became a querulous advocate of slavery  
as a divine institution1 and denounced  
woe upon the abolitionists for          
interfering with the will and purpose of
 the ,creator4  ,as the cause of freedom
 gained ground1 the poor man's heart    
failed him1 and his hope for church and 
state grew fainter and fainter4  ,a sad 
prophet of the evangel of slavery1 he   
testified in the unwilling ears of an   
unbelieving generation1 and died at last
 despairing of a world which seemed     
determined that ,canaan should no longer
 be cursed1 nor ,onesimus sent back to  
,philemon4  ,the committee on the       
declaration of principles1 of which ,i  
was a member1 held a long session1      
discussing the proper scope and tenor of
 the document4  ,but little progress    

being made1 it was finally decided to   
entrust the matter to a sub-committee1  
consisting of ,william ,l4 ,garrison1   
,s4 ,j4 ,may1 and myself2 and after a   
brief consultation and comparison of    
each other's views1 the drafting of the 
important paper was assigned to the     
former gentleman4  ,we agreed to meet   
him at his lodgings in the house of a   
colored friend early the next morning4  
,it was still dark when we climbed up to
 his room1 and the lamp was still       
burning by the light of which he was    
writing the last sentence of the        
declaration4 ,we read it carefully1 made
 a few verbal changes1 and submitted it 
to the large committee1 who unanimously 
agreed to report it to the ,convention4 
,the paper was read to the ,convention  
by ,dr4 ,atlee1 chairman of the         
committee1 and listened to with the     
profoundest interest4  ,commencing with 
a reference to the time1 fifty-seven    
years before1 when1 in the same city of 
,philadelphia1 our fathers announced to 

the world their ,declaration of         
,independence1--based on the            
self-evident truths of human equality   
and rights1--and appealed to arms for   
its defence1 it spoke of the new        
enterprise as one without which that of 
our fathers is incomplete1 and as       
transcending theirs in magnitude1       
solemnity1 and probable results as much 
as moral truth does physical force4  ,it
 spoke of the difference of the two in  
the means and ends proposed1 and of the 
trifling grievances of our fathers      
compared with the wrongs and sufferings 
of the slaves1 which it forcibly        
characterized as unequalled by any      
others on the face of the earth4  ,it   
claimed that the nation was bound to    
repent at once1 to let the oppressed go 
free1 and to admit them to all the      
rights and privileges of others2        
because1 it asserted1 no man has a right
 to enslave or imbrute his brother2     
because liberty is inalienable2 because 
there is no difference1 in principle1   

between slave- holding and man-stealing1
 which the law brands as piracy2 and    
because no length of bondage can        
invalidate man's claim to himself1 or   
render slave laws anything but an       
audacious usurpation4  ,it maintained   
that no compensation should be given to 
planters emancipating slaves1 because   
that would be a surrender of fundamental
 principles2 slavery is a crime1 and is1
 therefore1 not an article to be sold2  
because slave-holders are not just      
proprietors of what they claim2 because 
emancipation would destroy only nominal1
 not real property2 and because         
compensation1 if given at all1 should be
 given to the slaves4  ,it declared any 
scheme of expatriation to be delusive1  
cruel1 and dangerous4  ,it fully        
recognized the right of each state to   
legislate exclusively on the subject of 
slavery within its limits1 and conceded 
that ,congress1 under the present       
national compact1 had no right to       
interfere2 though still contending that 

it had the power1 and should exercise   
it1 to suppress the domestic slave-trade
 between the several states1 and to     
abolish slavery in the ,district of     
,columbia1 and in those portions of our 
territory which the ,constitution has   
placed under its exclusive jurisdiction4
  ,after clearly and emphatically       
avowing the principles underlying the   
enterprise1 and guarding with scrupulous
 care the rights of persons and states  
under the ,constitution1 in prosecuting 
it1 the declaration closed with these   
eloquent words3--  ,we also maintain    
that there are1 at the present time1 the
 highest obligations resting upon the   
people of the free states to remove     
slavery by moral and political action1  
as prescribed in the ,constitution of   
the ,united ,states4  ,they are now     
living under a pledge of their          
tremendous physical force to fasten the 
galling fetters of tyranny upon the     
limbs of millions in the ,southern      
states2 they are liable to be called at 

any moment to suppress a general        
insurrection of the slaves2 they        
authorize the slave-owner to vote on    
three fifths of his slaves as property1 
and thus enable him to perpetuate his   
oppression2 they support a standing army
 at the ,south for its protection2 and  
they seize the slave who has escaped    
into their territories1 and send him    
back to be tortured by an enraged master
 or a brutal driver4  ,this relation to 
slavery is criminal and full of danger4 
,it must be broken up4  ,these are our  
views and principles1--these our designs
 and measures4 ,with entire confidence  
in the overruling justice of ,god1 we   
plant ourselves upon the ,declaration of
 ,independence and the truths of divine 
revelation as upon the everlasting rock4
  ,we shall organize anti-slavery       
societies1 if possible1 in every city1  
town1 and village in our land4  ,we     
shall send forth agents to lift up the  
voice of remonstrance1 of warning1 of   
entreaty and rebuke4  ,we shall         

circulate unsparingly and extensively   
anti-slavery tracts and periodicals4    
,we shall enlist the pulpit and the     
press in the cause of the suffering and 
the dumb4  ,we shall aim at a           
purification of the churches from all   
participation in the guilt of slavery4  
,we shall encourage the labor of freemen
 over that of the slaves1 by giving a   
preference to their productions2 and    
,we shall spare no exertions nor means  
to bring the whole nation to speedy     
repentance4  ,our trust for victory is  
solely in ,god4  ,we may be personally  
defeated1 but our principles never4     
,truth1 justice1 reason1 humanity1 must 
and will gloriously triumph4  ,already a
 host is coming up to the help of the   
,lord against the mighty1 and the       
prospect before us is full of           
encouragement4  ,submitting this        
declaration to the candid examination of
 the people of this country1 and of the 
friends of liberty all over the world1  
we hereby affix our signatures to it2   

pledging ourselves that1 under the      
guidance and by the help of ,almighty   
,god1 we will do all that in us lies1   
consistently with this declaration of   
our principles1 to overthrow the most   
execrable system of slavery that has    
ever been witnessed upon earth1 to      
deliver our land from its deadliest     
curse1 to wipe out the foulest stain    
which rests upon our national           
escutcheon1 and to secure to the colored
 population of the ,united ,states all  
the rights and privileges which belong  
to them as men and as ,americans1 come  
what may to our persons1 our interests1 
or our reputations1 whether we live to  
witness the triumph of justice1 liberty1
 and humanity1 or perish untimely as    
martyrs in this great1 benevolent1 and  
holy cause4  ,the reading of the paper  
was followed by a discussion which      
lasted several hours4  ,a member of the 
,society of ,friends moved its immediate
 adoption4  ,we have1 he said1 all given
 it our assent3 every heart here        

responds to it4  ,it is a doctrine of   
,friends that these strong and deep     
impressions should be heeded4  ,the     
,convention1 nevertheless1 deemed it    
important to go over the declaration    
carefully1 paragraph by paragraph4      
,during the discussion1 one of the      
spectators asked leave to say a few     
words4  ,a beautiful and graceful woman1
 in the prime of life1 with a face      
beneath her plain cap as finely         
intellectual as that of ,madame ,roland1
 offered some wise and valuable         
suggestions1 in a clear1 sweet voice1   
the charm of which ,i have never        
forgotten4  ,it was ,lucretia ,mott of  
,philadelphia4  ,the president          
courteously thanked her1 and encouraged 
her to take a part in the discussion4   
,on the morning of the last day of our  
session1 the declaration1 with its few  
verbal amendments1 carefully engrossed  
on parchment1 was brought before the    
,convention4  ,samuel ,j4 ,may rose to  
read it for the last time4  ,his sweet1 

persuasive voice faltered with the      
intensity of his emotions as he repeated
 the solemn pledges of the concluding   
paragraphs4  ,after a season of silence1
 ,david ,thurston of ,maine rose as his 
name was called by one of the           
secretaries1 and affixed his name to the
 document4  ,one after another passed up
 to the platform1 signed1 and retired in
 silence4  ,all felt the deep           
responsibility of the occasion the      
shadow and forecast of a life-long      
struggle rested upon every countenance4 
,our work as a ,convention was now done4
  ,president ,green arose to make the   
concluding address4  ,the circumstances 
under which it was uttered may have lent
 it an impressiveness not its own2 but  
as ,i now recall it1 it seems to me the 
most powerful and eloquent speech to    
which ,i have ever listened4  ,he passed
 in review the work that had been done1 
the constitution of the new society1 the
 declaration of sentiments1 and the     
union and earnestness which had marked  

the proceedings4  ,his closing words    
will never be forgotten by those who    
heard them3--  ,brethren1 it has been   
good to be here4  ,in this hallowed     
atmosphere ,i have been revived and     
refreshed4  ,this brief interview has   
more than repaid me for all that ,i have
 ever suffered4  ,i have here met       
congenial minds2 ,i have rejoiced in    
sympathies delightful to the soul4      
,heart has beat responsive to heart1 and
 the holy work of seeking to benefit the
 outraged and despised has proved the   
most blessed employment4  ,but now we   
must retire from these balmy influences 
and breathe another atmosphere4  ,the   
chill hoar-frost will be upon us4  ,the 
storm and tempest will rise1 and the    
waves of persecution will dash against  
our souls4  ,let us be prepared for the 
worst4  ,let us fasten ourselves to the 
throne of ,god as with hooks of steel4  
,if we cling not to ,him1 our names to  
that document will be but as dust4  ,let
 us court no applause1 indulge in no    

spirit of vain boasting4  ,let us be    
assured that our only hope in grappling 
with the bony monster is in an ,arm that
 is stronger than ours4  ,let us fix our
 gaze on ,god1 and walk in the light of 
,his countenance4  ,if our cause be     
just--and we know it is-- ,his          
omnipotence is pledged to its triumph4  
,let this cause be entwined around the  
very fibres of our hearts4  ,let our    
hearts grow to it1 so that nothing but  
death can sunder the bond4  ,he ceased1 
and then1 amidst a silence broken only  
by the deep-drawn breath of emotion in  
the assembly1 lifted up his voice in a  
prayer to ,almighty ,god1 full of fervor
 and feeling1 imploring ,his blessing   
and sanctification upon the ,convention 
and its labors4  ,and with the solemnity
 of this supplication in our hearts we  
clasped hands in farewell1 and went     
forth each man to his place of duty1 not
 knowing the things that should befall  
us as individuals1 but with a           
confidence1 never shaken by abuse and   

persecution1 in the certain triumph of  
our cause4     ,,kansas  ,read at the   
twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding
 of the state of ,kansas4               
,,bear ,,camp ,,house1 ,,west ,,ossipee1
 ,n4 ,h41                               
,eighth month1 #bith1 #ahgi4  ,to ,j4   
,s4 ,,emery1  ,r4 ,,morrow1 ,,and ,c4   
,w4 ,,smith1 ,,committee3  ,i ,,have    
received your invitation to the         
twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of 
the first settlement of ,kansas4  ,it   
would give me great pleasure to visit   
your state on an occasion of such       
peculiar interest1 and to make the      
acquaintance of its brave and           
self-denying pioneers1 but ,i have not  
health and strength for the journey4    
,it is very fitting that this           
anniversary should be duly recognized4  
,no one of your sister states has such a
 record as yours1--so full of peril and 
adventure1 fortitude1 self-sacrifice1   
and heroic devotion to freedom4  ,its   
baptism of martyr blood not only saved  

the state to liberty1 but made the      
abolition of slavery everywhere         
possible4  ,barber and ,stillwell and   
,colpetzer and their associates did not 
die in vain4  ,all through your long1   
hard struggle ,i watched the course of  
events in ,kansas with absorbing        
interest4  ,i rejoiced1 while ,i        
marvelled at the steady courage which no
 danger could shake1 at the firm        
endurance which outwearied the          
brutalities of your slaveholding        
invaders1 and at that fidelity to right 
and duty which the seduction of         
immediate self-interest could not       
swerve1 nor the military force of a     
proslavery government overawe4  ,all my 
sympathies were with you in that stern  
trial of your loyalty to ,god and       
humanity4  ,and when1 in the end1 you   
had conquered peace1 and the last of the
 baffled border ruffians had left your  
territory1 ,i felt that the doom of the 
accursed institution was sealed1 and    
that its abolition was but a question of

 time4  ,a state with such a record     
will1 ,i am sure1 be true to its noble  
traditions1 and will do all in its power
 to aid the victims of prejudice and    
oppression who may be compelled to seek 
shelter within its borders4  ,i will not
 for a moment distrust the fidelity of  
,kansas to her foundation principle4    
,god bless and prosper her6  ,thanking  
you for the kind terms of your          
invitation1 ,i am1 gentlemen1 very truly
 your friend4     ,,william ,,lloyd     
,,garrison4  ,an ,introduction to       
,oliver ,johnson's ,william ,lloyd      
,garrison and his ,times4               
7#ahgi47  ,i no not know that any word  
of mine can give additional interest to 
this memorial of ,william ,lloyd        
,garrison from the pen of one of his    
earliest and most devoted friends1 whose
 privilege it has been to share his     
confidence and his labors for nearly    
half a century2 but ,i cannot well      
forego the opportunity afforded me to   
add briefly my testimony to the tribute 

to the memory of the great ,reformer1   
whose friendship ,i have shared1 and    
with whom ,i have been associated in a  
common cause from youth to age4  ,my    
acquaintance with him commenced in      
boyhood4  ,my father was a subscriber to
 his first paper1 the ,free ,press1 and 
the humanitarian tone of his editorials 
awakened a deep interest in our little  
household1 which was increased by a     
visit which he made us4  ,when he       
afterwards edited the ,journal of the   
,times1 at ,bennington1 ,vt41 ,i        
ventured to write him a letter of       
encouragement and sympathy1 urging him  
to continue his labors against slavery1 
and assuring him that he could do great 
things1 an unconscious prophecy which   
has been fulfilled beyond the dream of  
my boyish enthusiasm4  ,the friendship  
thus commenced has remained unbroken    
through half a century1 confirming my   
early confidence in his zeal and        
devotion1 and in the great intellectual 
and moral strength which he brought to  

the cause with which his name is        
identified4  ,during the long and hard  
struggle in which the abolitionists were
 engaged1 and amidst the new and        
difficult questions and side-issues     
which presented themselves1 it could    
scarcely be otherwise than that         
differences of opinion and action should
 arise among them4  ,the leader and his 
disciples could not always see alike4   
,my friend1 the author of this book1 ,i 
think1 generally found himself in full  
accord with him1 while ,i often         
decidedly dissented4  ,i felt it my duty
 to use my right of citizenship at the  
ballot-box in the cause of liberty1     
while ,garrison1 with equal sincerity1  
judged and counselled otherwise4  ,each 
acted under a sense of individual duty  
and responsibility1 and our personal    
relations were undisturbed4  ,if1 at    
times1 the great anti-slavery leader    
failed to do justice to the motives of  
those who1 while in hearty sympathy with
 his hatred of slavery1 did not agree   

with some of his opinions and methods1  
it was but the pardonable and not       
unnatural result of his intensity of    
purpose1 and his self-identification    
with the cause he advocated2 and1 while 
compelled to dissent1 in some           
particulars1 from his judgment of men   
and measures1 the great mass of the     
antislavcry people recognized his moral 
leadership4  ,the controversies of old  
and new organization1 nonresistance and 
political action1 may now be looked upon
 by the parties to them1 who still      
survive1 with the philosophic calmness  
which follows the subsidence of         
prejudice and passion4  ,we were but    
fallible men1 and doubtless often erred 
in feeling1 speech1 and action4  ,ours  
was but the common experience of        
reformers in all ages4            ,never
 in ,custom's oiled grooves             
,the world to a higher level moves1     
,but grates and grinds with friction    
hard           ,on granite bowlder and  
flinty shard4           ,ever the       

,virtues blush to find           ,the   
,vices wearing their badge behind1      
,and ,graces and ,charities feel the    
fire           ,wherein the sins of the 
age expire4  ,it is too late now to     
dwell on these differences4  ,i choose  
rather1 with a feeling of gratitude to  
,god1 to recall the great happiness of  
laboring with the noble company of whom 
,garrison was the central figure4  ,i   
love to think of him as he seemed to me1
 when in the fresh dawn of manhood he   
sat with me in the old ,haverhill       
farmhouse1 revolving even then schemes  
of benevolence2 or1 with cheery smile1  
welcoming me to his frugal meal of bread
 and milk in the dingy ,boston          
printing-room2 or1 as ,i found him in   
the gray ,december morning in the small 
attic of a colored man1 in              
,philadelphia1 finishing his night-long 
task of drafting his immortal           
,declaration of ,sentiments of the      
,american ,anti-,slavery ,society2 or1  
as ,i saw him in the jail of ,leverett  

,street1 after his almost miraculous    
escape from the mob1 playfully inviting 
me to share the safe lodgings which the 
state had provided for him2 and in all  
the varied scenes and situations where  
we acted together our parts in the great
 endeavor and success of ,freedom4  ,the
 verdict of posterity in his case may be
 safely anticipated4  ,with the true    
reformers and benefactors of his race he
 occupies a place inferior to none      
other4  ,the private lives of many who  
fought well the battles of humanity have
 not been without spot or blemish4  ,but
 his private character1 like his public1
 knew no dishonor4  ,no shadow of       
suspicion rests upon the white statue of
 a life1 the fitting garland of which   
should be the ,alpine flower that       
symbolizes noble purity4                
,,anti-,,slavery ,,anniversary4  ,read  
at the semi-centennial celebration of   
the ,american ,anti-,slavery ,society at
 ,philadelphia1 on the #c;d ,december1  
#ahhc4                                  

,,oak ,,knoll1 ,,danvers1 ,,mass41      
#aath mo41 #cj1 #ahhc4  ,i ,,need not   
say how gladly ,i would be with you at  
the semi-centennial of the ,american    
,anti-,slavery ,society4  ,i am1 ,i     
regret to say1 quite unable to gratify  
this wish1 and can only represent myself
 by a letter4  ,looking back over the   
long years of half a century1 ,i can    
scarcely realize the conditions under   
which the convention of #ahcc assembled4
 ,slavery was predominant4  ,like       
,apollyon in ,pilgrim's ,progress1 it   
straddled over the whole breadth of the 
way4  ,church and state1 press and      
pulpit1 business interests1 literature1 
and fashion were prostrate at its feet4 
,our convention1 with few exceptions1   
was composed of men without influence or
 position1 poor and little known1 strong
 only in their convictions and faith in 
the justice of their cause4  ,to        
onlookers our endeavor to undo the evil 
work of two centuries and convert a     
nation to the great renunciation        

involved in emancipation must have      
seemed absurd in the last degree4  ,our 
voices in such an atmosphere found no   
echo4  ,we could look for no response   
but laughs of derision or the missiles  
of a mob4  ,but we felt that we had the 
strength of truth on our side2 we were  
right1 and all the world about us was   
wrong4  ,we had faith1 hope1 and        
enthusiasm1 and did our work1 nothing   
doubting1 amidst a generation who first 
despised and then feared and hated us4  
,for myself ,i have never ceased to be  
grateful to the ,divine ,providence for 
the privilege of taking a part in that  
work4  ,and now for more than twenty    
years we have had a free country4  ,no  
slave treads its soil4  ,the anticipated
 dangerous consequences of complete     
emancipation have not been felt4  ,the  
emancipated class1 as a whole1 have done
 wisely1 and well under circumstances of
 peculiar difficulty4  ,the masters have
 learned that cotton can be raised      
better by free than by slave labor1 and 

nobody now wishes a return to           
slave-holding4  ,sectional prejudices   
are subsiding1 the bitterness of the    
civil war is slowly passing away4  ,we  
are beginning to feel that we are one   
people1 with no really clashing         
interests1 and none more truly rejoice  
in the growing prosperity of the ,south 
than the old abolitionists1 who hated   
slavery as a curse to the master as well
 as to the slave4  ,in view of this     
commemorative semi-centennial occasion1 
many thoughts crowd upon me2 memory     
recalls vanished faces and voices long  
hushed4  ,of those who acted with me in 
the convention fifty years ago nearly   
all have passed into another state of   
being4  ,we who remain must soon follow2
 we have seen the fulfilment of our     
desire2 we have outlived scorn and      
persecution2 the lengthening shadows    
invite us to rest4  ,if1 in looking     
back1 we feel that we sometimes erred   
through impatient zeal in our contest   
with a great wrong1 we have the         

satisfaction of knowing that we were    
influenced by no merely selfish         
considerations4  ,the low light of our  
setting sun shines over a free1 united  
people1 and our last prayer shall be for
 their peace1 prosperity1 and happiness4
     ,,response ,,to ,,the ,,celebration
 ,,of ,,my ,,eightieth ,,birthday  ,,by 
,,the ,,colored ,,citizens ,,of         
,,washington ,d4 ,c4  ,to ,r4 ,h4       
,,terrell ,,and ,,george ,w4 ,,williams1
 ,,esquires4  ,,gentlemen1--,among the  
great number of tokens of interest and  
good-will which reached me on my        
birthday1 none have touched me more     
deeply than the proceedings of the great
 meeting of the colored citizens of the 
nation's capital1 of which you are the  
representatives4  ,the resolutions of   
that meeting came to me as the voice of 
millions of my fellow- countrymen4      
,that voice was dumb in slavery when1   
more than half a century ago1 ,i put    
forth my plea for the freedom of the    
slave4  ,it could not answer me from the

 rice swamp and cotton field1 but now1  
,god be praised1 it speaks from your    
great meeting in ,washington and from   
all the colleges and schools where the  
youth of your race are taught4  ,i      
scarcely expected then that the people  
for whom ,i pleaded would ever know of  
my efforts in their behalf4  ,i cannot  
be too thankful to the ,divine          
,providence that ,i have lived to hear  
their grateful response4  ,i stand      
amazed at the rapid strides which your  
people have made since emancipation1 at 
your industry1 your acquisition of      
property and land1 your zeal for        
education1 your self-respecting but     
unresentful attitude toward those who   
formerly claimed to be your masters1    
your pathetic but manly appeal for just 
treatment and recognition4  ,i see in   
all this the promise that the time is   
not far distant when1 in common with the
 white race1 you will have the free1    
undisputed rights of ,american          
citizenship in all parts of the ,union1 

and your rightful share in the honors as
 well as the protection of the          
government4  ,your letter would have    
been answered sooner if it had been     
possible4  ,i have been literally       
overwhelmed with letters and telegrams1 
which1 owing to illness1 ,i have been in
 a great measure unable to answer or    
even read4  ,i tender to you1 gentlemen1
 and to the people you represent my     
heartfelt thanks1 and the assurance that
 while life lasts you will find me1 as  
,i have been heretofore1 under more     
difficult circumstances1 your faithful  
friend4  ,,oak ,,knoll1 ,,danvers1      
,,mass41 first mo41 #i1 #ahhh4          
,,reform ,,and ,,politics4 ,,utopian    
,,schemes ,,and ,,political ,,theorists4
  ,,there is a large class of men1 not  
in ,europe alone1 but in this country   
also1 whose constitutional conservatism 
inclines them to regard any organic     
change in the government of a state or  
the social condition of its people with 
suspicion and distrust4  ,they admit1   

perhaps1 the evils of the old state of  
things2 but they hold them to be        
inevitable1 the alloy necessarily       
mingled with all which pertains to      
fallible humanity4 ,themselves generally
 enjoying whatever of good belongs to   
the political or social system in which 
their lot is cast1 they are disposed to 
look with philosophic indifference upon 
the evil which only afflicts their      
neighbors4  ,they wonder why people are 
not contented with their allotments2    
they see no reason for change2 they ask 
for quiet and peace in their day2 being 
quite well satisfied with that social   
condition which an old poet has quaintly
 described3--                 ,the      
citizens like pounded pikes2            
,the lesser feed the great2             
,the rich for food seek stomachs1       
,and the poor for stomachs meat4  ,this 
class of our fellow-citizens have an    
especial dislike of theorists1          
reformers1 uneasy spirits1 speculators  
upon the possibilities of the world's   

future1 constitution builders1 and      
believers in progress4  ,they are       
satisfied2 the world at least goes well 
enough with them2 they sit as           
comfortable in it as ,lafontaine's rat  
in the cheese2 and why should those who 
would turn it upside down come hither   
also8  ,why not let well enough alone8  
,why tinker creeds1 constitutions1 and  
laws1 and disturb the good old-fashioned
 order of things in church and state8   
,the idea of making the world better and
 happier is to them an absurdity4  ,he  
who entertains it is a dreamer and a    
visionary1 destitute of common sense and
 practical wisdom4  ,his project1       
whatever it may be1 is at once          
pronounced to be impracticable folly1   
or1 as they are pleased to term it1     
,utopian4  ,the romance of ,sir ,thomas 
,more1 which has long afforded to the   
conservatives of church and state a term
 of contempt applicable to all          
reformatory schemes and innovations1 is 
one of a series of fabulous writings1 in

 which the authors1 living in evil times
 and unable to actualize their plans for
 the well-being of society1 have        
resorted to fiction as a safe means of  
conveying forbidden truths to the       
popular mind4  ,plato's ,timaeus1 the   
first of the series1 was written after  
the death of ,socrates and the          
enslavement of the author's country4    
,in this are described the institutions 
of the ,island of ,atlantis1--the       
writer's ideal of a perfect             
commonwealth4  ,xenophon1 in his        
,cyropaedia1 has also depicted an       
imaginary political society by          
overlaying with fiction historical      
traditions4  ,at a later period we have 
the ,new ,atlantis of ,lord ,bacon1 and 
that dream of the ,city of the ,sun with
 which ,campanella solaced himself in   
his long imprisonment4  ,the ,utopia of 
,more is perhaps the best of its class4 
,it is the work of a profound thinker1  
the suggestive speculations and theories
 of one who could                       

,forerun his age and race1 and let      
,his feet millenniums hence be set      
,in midst of knowledge dreamed not yet4 
,much of what he wrote as fiction is now
 fact1 a part of the frame-work of      
,european governments1 and the political
 truths of his imaginary state are now  
practically recognized in our own       
democratic system4  ,as might be        
expected1 in view of the times in which 
the author wrote1 and the exceedingly   
limited amount of materials which he    
found ready to his hands for the        
construction of his social and political
 edifice1 there is a want of proportion 
and symmetry in the structure4  ,many of
 his theories are no doubt impracticable
 and unsound4  ,but1 as a whole1 the    
work is an admirable one1 striding in   
advance of the author's age1 and        
prefiguring a government of religious   
toleration and political freedom4  ,the 
following extract from it was doubtless 
regarded in his day as something worse  
than folly or the dream of a visionary  

enthusiast3--  ,he judged it wrong to   
lay down anything rashly1 and seemed to 
doubt whether these different forms of  
religion might not all come from ,god1  
who might inspire men in a different    
manner1 and be pleased with the variety4
  ,he therefore thought it to be        
indecent and foolish for any man to     
threaten and terrify another1 to make   
him believe what did not strike him as  
true4  ,passing by the ,telemachus of   
,fenelon1 we come to the political      
romance of ,harrington1 written in the  
time of ,cromwell4  ,oceana is the name 
by which the author represents ,england2
 and the republican plan of government  
which he describes with much minuteness 
is such as he would have recommended for
 adoption in case a free commonwealth   
had been established4  ,it deals        
somewhat severely with ,cromwell's      
usurpation2 yet the author did not      
hesitate to dedicate it to that         
remarkable man1 who1 after carefully    
reading it1 gave it back to his         

daughter1 ,lady ,claypole1 with the     
remark1 full of characteristic          
bluntness1 that the gentleman need not  
think to cheat him of his power and     
authority2 for what he had won with the 
sword he would never suffer himself to  
be scribbled out of4  ,notwithstanding  
the liberality and freedom of his       
speculations upon government and        
religion in his ,utopia1 it must be     
confessed that ,sir ,thomas ,more1 in   
after life1 fell into the very practices
 of intolerance and bigotry which he    
condemned4  ,when in the possession of  
the great seal under that scandal of    
kingship1 ,henry ,,viii41 he gave his   
countenance to the persecution of       
heretics4  ,bishop ,burnet says of him1 
that he caused a gentleman of the       
,temple to be whipped and put to the    
rack in his presence1 in order to compel
 him to discover those who favored      
heretical opinions4  ,in his ,utopia he 
assailed the profession of the law with 
merciless satire2 yet the satirist      

himself finally sat upon the            
chancellor's woolsack2 and1 as has been 
well remarked by ,horace ,smith1 if1    
from this elevated seat1 he ever cast   
his eyes back upon his past life1 he    
must have smiled at the fond conceit    
which could imagine a permanent ,utopia1
 when he himself1 certainly more        
learned1 honest1 and conscientious than 
the mass of men has ever been1 could in 
the course of one short life fall into  
such glaring and frightful rebellion    
against his own doctrines4  ,harrington1
 on the other hand1 as became the friend
 of ,milton and ,marvel1 held fast1     
through good and evil report1 his       
republican faith4  ,he published his    
work after the ,restoration1 and        
defended it boldly and ably from the    
numerous attacks made upon it4          
,regarded as too dangerous an enthusiast
 to be left at liberty1 he was          
imprisoned at the instance of ,lord     
,chancellor ,hyde1 first in the ,tower1 
and afterwards on the ,island of ,st4   

,nicholas1 where disease and imprudent  
remedies brought on a partial           
derangement1 from which he never        
recovered4  ,bernardin ,st4 ,pierre1    
whose pathetic tale of ,paul and        
,virginia has found admirers in every   
language of the civilized world1 in a   
fragment1 entitled ,arcadia1 attempted  
to depict an ideal republic1 without    
priest1 noble1 or slave1 where all are  
so religious that each man is the       
pontiff of his family1 where each man is
 prepared to defend his country1 and    
where all are in such a state of        
equality that there are no such persons 
as servants4  ,the plan of it was       
suggested by his friend ,rousseau during
 their pleasant walking excursions about
 the environs of ,paris1 in which the   
two enthusiastic philosophers1 baffled  
by the evil passions and intractable    
materials of human nature as manifested 
in existing society1 comforted          
themselves by appealing from the actual 
to the possible1 from the real to the   

imaginary4  ,under the chestnut-trees of
 the ,bois de ,boulogne1 through long   
summer days1 the two friends1 sick of   
the noisy world about them1 yet yearning
 to become its benefactors1--gladly     
escaping from it1 yet busy with schemes 
for its regeneration and happiness1--at 
once misanthropes and                   
philanthropists1--amused and solaced    
themselves by imagining a perfect and   
simple state of society1 in which the   
lessons of emulation and selfish        
ambition were never to be taught2 where1
 on the contrary1 the young were to obey
 their parents1 and to prefer father1   
mother1 brother1 sister1 wife1 and      
friend to themselves4 ,they drew        
beautiful pictures of a country blessed 
with peace1 indus try1 and love1 covered
 with no disgusting monuments of        
violence and pride and luxury1 without  
columns1 triumphal arches1 hospitals1   
prisons1 or gibbets2 but presenting to  
view bridges over torrents1 wells on the
 arid plain1 groves of fruit-trees1 and 

houses of shelter for the traveller in  
desert places1 attesting everywhere the 
sentiment of humanity4  ,religion was to
 speak to all hearts in the eternal     
language of ,nature4  ,death was no     
longer to be feared2 perspectives of    
holy consolation were to open through   
the cypress shadows of the tomb2 to live
 or to die was to be equally an object  
of desire4  ,the plan of the ,arcadia of
 ,st4 ,pierre is simply this3 ,a learned
 young ,egyptian1 educated at ,thebes by
 the priests of ,osiris1 desirous of    
benefiting humanity1 undertakes a voyage
 to ,gaul for the purpose of carrying   
thither the arts and religion of ,egypt4
  ,he is shipwrecked on his return in   
the ,gulf of ,messina1 and lands upon   
the coast1 where he is entertained by an
 ,arcadian1 to whom he relates his      
adventures1 and from whom he receives in
 turn an account of the simple happiness
 and peace of ,arcadia1 the virtues and 
felicity of whose inhabitants are       
beautifully exemplified in the lives and

 conversation of the shepherd and his   
daughter4  ,this pleasant little prose  
poem closes somewhat abruptly4 ,although
 inferior in artistic skill to ,paul and
 ,virginia or the ,indian ,cottage1     
there is not a little to admire in the  
simple beauty of its pastoral           
descriptions4  ,the closing paragraph   
reminds one of ,bunyan's upper chamber1 
where the weary pilgrim's windows opened
 to the sunrising and the singing of    
birds3--  ,tyrteus conducted his guests 
to an adjoining chamber4  ,it had a     
window shut by a curtain of rushes1     
through the crevices of which the       
islands of the ,alpheus might be seen in
 the light of the moon4  ,there were in 
this chamber two excellent beds1 with   
coverlets of warm and light wool4  ,now1
 as soon as ,amasis was left alone with 
,cephas1 he spoke with joy of the       
delight and tranquillity of the valley1 
of the goodness of the shepherd1 and the
 grace of his young daughter1 to whom he
 had seen none worthy to be compared1   

and of the pleasure which he promised   
himself the next day1 at the festival on
 ,mount ,lyceum1 of beholding a whole   
people as happy as this sequestered     
family4  ,converse so delightful might  
have charmed away the night without the 
aid of sleep1 had they not been invited 
to repose by the mild light of the moon 
shining through the window1 the         
murmuring wind in the leaves of the     
poplars1 and the distant noise of the   
,achelous1 which falls roaring from the 
summit of ,mount ,lyceum4  ,the young   
patrician wits of ,athens doubtless     
laughed over ,plato's ideal republic4   
,campanella's ,city of the ,sun was     
looked upon1 no doubt1 as the           
distempered vision of a crazy state     
prisoner4  ,bacon's college1 in his ,new
 ,atlantis1 moved the risibles of       
fat-witted ,oxford4  ,more's ,utopia1 as
 we know1 gave to our language a new    
word1 expressive of the vagaries and    
dreams of fanatics and lunatics4  ,the  
merciless wits1 clerical and profane1 of

 the court of ,charles ,,ii4  regarded  
,harrington's romance as a perfect      
godsend to their vocation of ridicule4  
,the gay dames and carpet knights of    
,versailles made themselves merry with  
the prose pastoral of ,st4  ,pierre2 and
 the poor old enthusiast went down to   
his grave without finding an auditory   
for his lectures upon natural society4  
,the world had its laugh over these     
romances4  ,when unable to refute their 
theories1 it could sneer at the authors1
 and answer them to the satisfaction of 
the generation in which they lived1 at  
least by a general charge of lunacy4    
,some of their notions were no doubt as 
absurd as those of the astronomer in    
,rasselas1 who tells ,imlac that he has 
for five years possessed the regulation 
of the weather1 and has got the secret  
of making to the different nations an   
equal and impartial dividend of rain and
 sunshine4  ,but truth1 even when       
ushered into the world through the      
medium of a dull romance and in         

connection with a vast progeny of       
errors1 however ridiculed and despised  
at first1 never fails in the end of     
finding a lodging-place in the popular  
mind4  ,the speculations of the         
political theorists whom we have noticed
 have not all proved to be of           
such stuff           ,as dreams are made
 of1 and their little life              
,rounded with sleep4  ,they have entered
 into and become parts of the social and
 political fabrics of ,europe and       
,america4  ,the prophecies of           
imagination have been fulfilled2 the    
dreams of romance have become familiar  
realities4  ,what is the moral suggested
 by this record8  ,is it not that we    
should look with charity and tolerance  
upon the schemes and speculations of the
 political and social theorists of our  
day2 that1 if unprepared to venture upon
 new experiments and radical changes1 we
 should at least consider that what was 
folly to our ancestors is our wisdom1   
and that another generation may         

successfully put in practice the very   
theories which now seem to us absurd and
 impossible8  ,many of the evils of     
society have been measurably removed or 
ameliorated2 yet now1 as in the days of 
the ,apostle1 the creation groaneth and 
travaileth in pain2 and although        
quackery and empiricism abound1 is it   
not possible that a proper application  
of some of the remedies proposed might  
ameliorate the general suffering8       
,rejecting1 as we must1 whatever is     
inconsistent with or hostile to the     
doctrines of ,christianity1 on which    
alone rests our hope for humanity1 it   
becomes us to look kindly upon all      
attempts to apply those doctrines to the
 details of human life1 to the social1  
political1 and industrial relations of  
the race4  ,if it is not permitted us to
 believe all things1 we can at least    
hope them4  ,despair is infidelity and  
death4  ,temporally and spiritually1 the
 declaration of inspiration holds good1 
,we are saved by hope4     ,,peculiar   

,,institutions ,,of ,,massachusetts4    
7#ahea47  ,,bernardin ,,st4 ,,pierre1 in
 his ,wishes of a ,solitary1 asks for   
his country neither wealth1 nor military
 glory1 nor magnificent palaces and     
monuments1 nor splendor of court        
nobility1 nor clerical pomp4  ,rather1  
he says1 ,o ,france1 may no beggar tread
 thy plains1 no sick or suffering man   
ask in vain for relief2 in all thy      
hamlets may every young woman find a    
lover and every lover a true wife2 may  
the young be trained arightly and       
guarded from evil2 may the old close    
their days in the tranquil hope of those
 who love ,god and their fellow-men4    
,we are reminded of the amiable wish of 
the ,french essayist--a wish even yet   
very far from realization1 we fear1 in  
the empire of ,napoleon ,,iii4-- by the 
perusal of two documents recently       
submitted to the legislature of the     
,state of ,massachusetts4  ,they        
indicate1 in our view1 the real glory of
 a state1 and foreshadow the coming of  

that time when ,milton's definition of a
 true commonwealth shall be no longer a 
prophecy1 but the description of an     
existing fact1--a huge ,christian       
personage1 a mighty growth and stature  
of an honest man1 moved by the purpose  
of a love of ,god and of mankind4  ,some
 years ago1 the ,legislature of         
,massachusetts1 at the suggestion of    
several benevolent gentlemen whose      
attention had been turned to the        
subject1 appointed a commission to      
inquire into the condition of the idiots
 of the ,commonwealth1 to ascertain     
their numbers1 and whether anything     
could be done in their behalf4  ,the    
commissioners were ,dr4 ,samuel ,g4     
,howe1 so well and honorably known for  
his long and arduous labors in behalf of
 the blind1 ,judge ,byington1 and ,dr4  
,gilman ,kimball4  ,the burden of the   
labor fell upon the chairman1 who       
entered upon it with the enthusiasm1    
perseverance1 and practical adaptation  
of means to ends which have made him so 

efficient in his varied schemes of      
benevolence4  ,on the #bfth of the      
second month1 #ahdh1 a full report of   
the results of this labor was made to   
the ,governor1 accompanied by           
statistical tables and minute details4  
,one hundred towns had been visited by  
the chairman or his reliable agent1 in  
which five hundred and seventy-five     
persons in a state of idiocy were       
discovered4 ,these were examined        
carefully in respect to their physical  
as well as mental condition1 no inquiry 
being omitted which was calculated to   
throw light upon the remote or immediate
 causes of this mournful imperfection in
 the creation of ,god4  ,the proximate  
causes ,dr4 ,howe mentions are to be    
found in the state of the bodily        
organization1 deranged and              
disproportioned by some violation of    
natural law on the part of the parents  
or remoter ancestors of the sufferers4  
,out of #dbj cases of idiocy1 he had    
obtained information respecting the     

condition of the progenitors of #cei2   
and in all but four of these eases he   
found that one or the other1 or both1 of
 their immediate progenitors had in some
 way departed widely from the condition 
of health2 they were scrofulous1 or     
predisposed to affections of the brain1 
and insanity1 or had intermarried with  
blood-relations1 or had been            
intemperate1 or guilty of sensual       
excesses4  ,of the #ege cases1 #dbj were
 those of idiocy from birth1 and #aee of
 idiocy afterwards4  ,of the born       
idiots1 #ahg were under twenty-five     
years of age1 and all but #ac seemed    
capable of improvement4  ,of those above
 twenty-five years of age1 #gc appeared 
incapable of improvement in their mental
 condition1 being helpless as children  
at seven years of age2 #dc out of the   
#dbj seemed as helpless as children at  
two years of age2 #cc were in the       
condition of mere infants2 and #bbj were
 supported at the public charge in      
almshouses4  ,a large proportion of them

 were found to be given over to filthy  
and loathsome habits1 gluttony1 and     
lust1 and constantly sinking lower      
towards the condition of absolute       
brutishness4  ,those in private houses  
were found1 if possible1 in a still more
 deplorable state4  ,their parents were 
generally poor1 feeble in mind and body1
 and often of very intemperate habits4  
,many of them seemed scarcely able to   
take care of themselves1 and totally    
unfit for the training of ordinary      
children4  ,it was the blind leading the
 blind1 imbecility teaching imbecility4 
,some instances of the experiments of   
parental ignorance upon idiotic         
offspring1 which fell under the         
observation of ,dr4 ,howe1 are related  
in his report ,idiotic children were    
found with their heads covered over with
 cold poultices of oak-bark1 which the  
foolish parents supposed would tan the  
brain and harden it as the tanner does  
his ox-hides1 and so make it capable of 
retaining impressions and remembering   

lessons4  ,in other cases1 finding that 
the child could not be made to          
comprehend anything1 the sagacious heads
 of the household1 on the supposition   
that its brain was too hard1 tortured it
 with hot poultices of bread and milk to
 soften it4  ,others plastered over     
their children's heads with tar4  ,some 
administered strong doses of mercury1 to
 solder up the openings in the head and 
make it tight and strong4  ,others      
encouraged the savage gluttony of their 
children1 stimulating their unnatural   
and bestial appetites1 on the ground    
that the poor creatures had nothing else
 to enjoy but their food1 and they      
should have enough of that6  ,in        
consequence of this report1 the         
legislature1 in the spring of #ahdh1    
made an annual appropriation of         
twenty-five hundred dollars1 for three  
years1 for the purpose of training and  
teaching ten idiot children1 to be      
selected by the ,governor and ,council4 
,the trustees of the ,asylum for the    

,blind1 under the charge of ,dr4 ,howe1 
made arrangements for receiving these   
pupils4  ,the school was opened in the  
autumn of #ahdh2 and its first annual   
report1 addressed to the ,governor and  
printed by order of the ,senate1 is now 
before us4  ,of the ten pupils1 it      
appears that not one had the usual      
command of muscular motion1--the languid
 body obeyed not the service of the     
imbecile will4  ,some could walk and use
 their limbs and hands in simple        
motions2 others could make only make    
slight use of their muscles2 and two    
were without any power of locomotion4   
,one of these last1 a boy six years of  
age1 who had been stupefied on the day  
of his birth by the application of hot  
rum to his head1 could scarcely see or  
notice objects1 and was almost destitute
 of the sense of touch4  ,he could      
neither stand nor sit upright1 nor even 
creep1 but would lie on the floor in    
whatever position he was placed4  ,he   
could not feed himself nor chew solid   

food1 and had no more sense of decency  
than an infant4  ,his intellect was a   
blank2 he had no knowledge1 no desires1 
no affections4  ,a more hopeless object 
for experiment could scarcely have been 
selected4  ,a year of patient endeavor  
has nevertheless wrought a wonderful    
change in the condition of this         
miserable being4  ,cold bathing1 rubbing
 of the limbs1 exercise of the muscles1 
exposure to the air1 and other          
appliances have enabled him to stand    
upright1 to sit at table and feed       
himself1 and chew his food1 and to walk 
about with slight assistance4  ,his     
habits are no longer those of a brute2  
he observes decency2 his eye is         
brighter2 his cheeks glow with health2  
his countenance1 is more expressive of  
thought4 ,he has learned many words and 
constructs simple sentences2 his        
affections begin to develop2 and there  
is every prospect that he will be so far
 renovated as to be able to provide for 
himself in manhood4  ,in the case of    

another boy1 aged twelve years1 the     
improvement has been equally remarkable4
  ,the gentleman who first called       
attention to him1 in a recent note to   
,dr4 ,howe1 published in the report1    
thus speaks of his present condition3   
,when ,i remember his former wild and   
almost frantic demeanor when approached 
by any one1 and the apparent            
impossibility of communicating with him1
 and now see him standing in his class1 
playing with his fellows1 and willingly 
and familiarly approaching me1 examining
 what ,i gave him1--and when ,i see him 
already selecting articles named by his 
teacher1 and even correctly pronouncing 
words printed on cards1-- improvement   
does not convey the idea presented to my
 mind2 it is creation2 it is making him 
anew4  ,all the pupils have more or less
 advanced4  ,their health and habits    
have improved2 and there is no reason to
 doubt that the experiment1 at the close
 of its three years1 will be found to   
have been quite as successful as its    

most sanguine projectors could have     
anticipated4  ,dr4 ,howe has been ably  
seconded by an accomplished teacher1    
,james ,b4 ,richards1 who has devoted   
his whole time to the pupils4  ,of the  
nature and magnitude of their task1 an  
idea may be formed only by considering  
the utter listlessness of idiocy1 the   
incapability of the poor pupil to fix   
his attention upon anything1 and his    
general want of susceptibility to       
impressions4  ,all his senses are dulled
 and perverted4  ,touch1 hearing1 sight1
 smell1 are all more or less defective4 
,his gluttony is unaccompanied with the 
gratification of taste1--the most savory
 viands and the offal which he shares   
with the pigs equally satisfy him4  ,his
 mental state is still worse than his   
physical4  ,thought is painful and      
irksome to him4  ,his teacher can only  
engage his attention by strenuous       
efforts1 loud1 earnest tones1           
gesticulations and signs1 and a constant
 presentation of some visible object of 

bright color and striking form4  ,the   
eye wanders1 and the spark of           
consciousness and intelligence which has
 been fanned into momentary brightness  
darkens at the slightest relaxation of  
the teacher's exertions4  ,the names of 
objects presented to him must sometimes 
be repeated hundreds of times before he 
can learn them4  ,yet the patience and  
enthusiasm of the teacher are rewarded  
by a progress1 slow and unequal1 but    
still marked and manifest4  ,step by    
step1 often compelled to turn back and  
go over the inch of ground he had       
gained1 the idiot is still creeping     
forward2 and by almost imperceptible    
degrees his sick1 cramped1 and prisoned 
spirit casts off the burden of its body 
of death1 breath as from the            
,almighty--is breathed into him1 and he 
becomes a living soul4  ,after the      
senses of the idiot are trained to take 
note of their appropriate objects1 the  
various perceptive faculties are next to
 be exercised4  ,the greatest possible  

number of facts are to be gathered up   
through the medium of these faculties   
into the storehouse of memory1 from     
whence eventually the higher faculties  
of mind may draw the material of general
 ideas4  ,it has been found difficult1  
if not impossible1 to teach the idiot to
 read by the letters first1 as in the   
ordinary method2 but while the varied   
powers of the three letters1 h1 a1 t1   
could not be understood by him1 he could
 be made to comprehend the complex sign 
of the word hat1 made by uniting the    
three4  ,the moral nature of the idiot  
needs training and development as well  
as his physical and mental4  ,all that  
can be said of him is1 that he has the  
latent capacity for moral development   
and culture4  ,uninstructed and left to 
himself1 he has no ideas of regulated   
appetites and propensities1 of decency  
and delicacy of affection and social    
relations4  ,the germs of these ideas1  
which constitute the glory and beauty of
 humanity1 undoubtedly exist in him2 but

 there can be no growth without patient 
and persevering culture4  ,where this is
 afforded1 to use the language of the   
report1 the idiot may learn what love   
is1 though he may not know the word     
which expresses it2 he may feel kindly  
affections while unable to understand   
the simplest virtuous principle2 and he 
may begin to live acceptably to ,god    
before he has learned the name by which 
men call him4  ,in the facts and        
statistics presented in the report1     
light is shed upon some of the dark     
pages of ,god's providence1 and it is   
seen that the suffering and shame of    
idiocy are the result of sin1 of a      
violation of the merciful laws of ,god  
and of the harmonies of ,his benign     
order4  ,the penalties which are        
ordained for the violators of natural   
laws are inexorable and certain4  ,for  
the transgressor of the laws of life    
there is1 as in the case of ,esau1 no   
place for repentance1 though he seek it 
earnestly and with tears4  ,the curse   

cleaves to him and his children4 ,in    
this view1 how important becomes the    
subject of the hereditary transmission  
of moral and physical disease and       
debility6 and how necessary it is that  
there should be a clearer understanding 
of1 and a willing obedience1 at any     
cost1 to the eternal law which makes the
 parent the blessing or the curse of the
 child1 giving strength and beauty1 and 
the capacity to know and do the will of 
,god1 or bequeathing loathsomeness1     
deformity1 and animal appetite1         
incapable of the restraints of the moral
 faculties6  ,even if the labors of ,dr4
 ,howe and his benevolent associates do 
not materially lessen the amount of     
present actual evil and suffering in    
this respect1 they will not be put forth
 in vain if they have the effect of     
calling public attention to the great   
laws of our being1 the violation of     
which has made this goodly earth a vast 
lazarhouse of pain and sorrow4  ,the    
late annual message of the ,governor of 

,massachusetts invites our attention to 
a kindred institution of charity4  ,the 
chief magistrate congratulates the      
legislature1 in language creditable to  
his mind and heart1 on the opening of   
the ,reform ,school for ,juvenile       
,criminals1 established by an act of a  
previous legislature4  ,the act provides
 that1 when any boy under sixteen years 
of age shall be convicted of crime      
punishable by imprisonment other than   
such an offence as is punished by       
imprisonment for life1 he may be1 at the
 discretion of the court or justice1    
sent to the ,state ,reform ,school1 or  
sentenced to such imprisonment as the   
law now provides for his offence4  ,the 
school is placed under the care of      
trustees1 who may either refuse to      
receive a boy thus sent there1 or1 after
 he has been received1 for reasons set  
forth in the act1 may order him to be   
committed to prison under the previous  
penal law of the state4  ,they are also 
authorized to apprentice the boys1 at   

their discretion1 to inhabitants of the 
,commonwealth4  ,and whenever any boy   
shall be discharged1 either as reformed 
or as having reached the age of         
twenty-one years1 his discharge is a    
full release from his sentence4  ,it is 
made the duty of the trustees to cause  
the boys to be instructed in piety and  
morality1 and in branches of useful     
knowledge1 in some regular course of    
labor1 mechanical1 agricultural1 or     
horticultural1 and such other trades and
 arts as may be best adapted to secure  
the amendment1 reformation1 and future  
benefit of the boys4  ,the class of     
offenders for whom this act provides are
 generally the offspring of parents     
depraved by crime or suffering from     
poverty and want1--the victims often of 
circumstances of evil which almost      
constitute a necessity1--issuing from   
homes polluted and miserable1 from the  
sight and hearing of loathsome          
impurities and hideous discords1 to     
avenge upon society the ignorance1 and  

destitution1 and neglect with which it  
is too often justly chargeable4  ,in    
#ahdf three hundred of these youthful   
violators of law were sentenced to jails
 and other places of punishment in      
,massachusetts1 where they incurred the 
fearful liability of being still more   
thoroughly corrupted by contact with    
older criminals1 familiar with atrocity1
 and rolling their loathsome vices as a 
sweet morsel under the tongue4  ,in view
 of this state of things the ,reform    
,school has been established1 twenty-two
 thousand dollars having been           
contributed to the state for that       
purpose by an unknown benefactor of his 
race4  ,the school is located in        
,westboro'1 on a fine farm of two       
hundred acres4  ,the buildings are in   
the form of a square1 with a court in   
the centre1 three stories in front1 with
 wings4  ,they are constructed with a   
degree of architectural taste1 and their
 site is happily chosen1--a gentle      
eminence1 overlooking one of the        

loveliest of the small lakes which form 
a pleasing feature in ,new ,england     
scenery4  ,from this place the          
atmosphere and associations of the      
prison are excluded4  ,the discipline is
 strict1 as a matter of course2 but it  
is that of a well-regulated home or     
school-room1--order1 neatness1 and      
harmony within doors2 and without1 the  
beautiful 'sights and sounds and        
healthful influences of ,nature4  ,one  
would almost suppose that the poetical  
dream of ,coleridge1 in his tragedy of  
,remorse1 had found its realization in  
the ,westboro' ,school1 and that1 weary 
of the hopelessness and cruelty of the  
old penal system1 our legislators had   
embodied in their statutes the idea of  
the poet3--        ,with other          
ministrations thou1 ,o ,nature1         
,healest thy wandering and distempered  
child       ,thou pourest on him thy    
soft influences1       ,thy sunny hues1 
fair forms1 and breathing sweets1       
,thy melodies of woods1 and winds1 and  

waters1       ,till he relent1 and can  
no more endure       ,to be a jarring   
and a dissonant thing       ,amidst this
 general dance and minstrelsy4  ,thus it
 is that the ,christian idea of         
reformation1 rather than revenge1 is    
slowly but surely incorporating itself  
in our statute books4  ,we have only to 
look back but a single century to be    
able to appreciate the immense gain for 
humanity in the treatment of criminals  
which has been secured in that space of 
time4  ,then the use of torture was     
common throughout ,europe4  ,inability  
to comprehend and believe certain       
religious dogmas was a crime to be      
expiated by death1 or confiscation of   
estate1 or lingering imprisonment4      
,petty offences against property        
furnished subjects for the hangman4     
,the stocks and the whipping-post stood 
by the side of the meeting-house4       
,tongues were bored with redhot irons   
and ears shorn off4  ,the jails were    
loathsome dungeons1 swarming with       

vermin1 unventilated1 unwarmed4  ,a     
century and a half ago the populace of  
,massachusetts were convulsed with grim 
merriment at the writhings of a         
miserable woman scourged at the         
cart-tail or strangling in the ducking- 
stool2 crowds hastened to enjoy the     
spectacle of an old man enduring the    
unutterable torment of the 'peine forte 
et dare1'--pressed slowly to death under
 planks1--for refusing to plead to an   
indictment for witchcraft4  ,what a     
change from all this to the opening of  
the ,state ,reform ,school1 to the      
humane regulations of prisons and       
penitentiaries1 to keen-eyed benevolence
 watching over the administration of    
justice1 which1 in securing society from
 lawless aggression1 is not suffered to 
overlook the true interest and          
reformation of the criminal1 nor to     
forget that the magistrate1 in the words
 of the ,apostle1 is to be indeed the   
minister of ,god to man for good6       
,,lord ,,ashley ,,and ,,the ,,thieves4  

,,they that be whole need not a         
physician1 but they that are sick1 was  
the significant answer of our ,lord to  
the self-righteous ,pharisees who took  
offence at his companions1--the poor1   
the degraded1 the weak1 and the sinful4 
,go ye and learn what that meaneth1 ,i  
will have mercy1 and not sacrifice2 for 
,i am not come to call the righteous1   
but sinners to repentance4  ,the great  
lesson of duty inculcated by this answer
 of the ,divine ,teacher has been too   
long overlooked by individuals and      
communities professedly governed by ,his
 maxims4  ,the phylacteries of our      
modern ,pharisees are as broad as those 
of the old ,jewish saints4  ,the        
respectable ,christian detests his      
vicious and ill-conditioned neighbors as
 heartily as the ,israelite did the     
publicans and sinners of his day4  ,he  
folds his robe of self-righteousness    
closely about him1 and denounces as     
little better than sinful weakness all  
commiseration for the guilty2 and all   

attempts to restore and reclaim the     
erring violators of human law otherwise 
than by pains and penalties as wicked   
collusion with crime1 dangerous to the  
stability and safety of society1 and    
offensive in the sight of ,god4  ,and   
yet nothing is more certain than that1  
just in proportion as the example of our
 ,lord has been followed in respect to  
the outcast and criminal1 the effect has
 been to reform and elevate1--to snatch 
as brands from the burning souls not yet
 wholly given over to the service of    
evil4  ,the wonderful influence for good
 exerted over the most degraded and     
reckless criminals of ,london by the    
excellent and self-denying ,elizabeth   
,fry1 the happy results of the          
establishment of houses of refuge1 and  
reformation1 and ,magdalen asylums1 all 
illustrate the wisdom of ,him who went  
about doing good1 in pointing out the   
morally diseased as the appropriate     
subjects of the benevolent labors of    
,his disciples4  ,no one is to be       

despaired of4  ,we have no warrant to   
pass by any of our fellow-creatures as  
beyond the reach of ,god's grace and    
mercy2 for1 beneath the most repulsive  
and hateful outward manifestation1 there
 is always a consciousness of the beauty
 of goodness and purity1 and of the     
loathsomeness of sin1--one chamber of   
the heart as yet not wholly profaned1   
whence at times arises the prayer of a  
burdened and miserable spirit for       
deliverance4  ,deep down under the      
squalid exterior1 unparticipative in the
 hideous merriment and recklessness of  
the criminal1 there is another self1--a 
chained and suffering inner man1--      
crying out1 in the intervals of         
intoxication and brutal excesses1 like  
,jonah from the bosom of hell4  ,to this
 lingering consciousness the sympathy   
and kindness of benevolent and humane   
spirits seldom appeal in vain2 for1     
whatever may be outward appearances1 it 
remains true that the way of the        
transgressor is hard1 and that sin and  

suffering are inseparable4  ,crime is   
seldom loved or persevered in for its   
own sake2 but1 when once the evil path  
is entered upon1 a return is in reality 
extremely difficult to the unhappy      
wanderer1 and often seems as well nigh  
impossible4  ,the laws of social life   
rise up like insurmountable barriers    
between him and escape4  ,as he turns   
towards the society whose rights he has 
outraged1 its frown settles upon him2   
the penalties of the laws he has        
violated await him2 and he falls back   
despairing1 and suffers the fetters of  
the evil habit to whose power he has    
yielded himself to be fastened closer   
and heavier upon him4  ,o for some good 
angel1 in the form of a brother-man and 
touched with a feeling of his sins and  
infirmities1 to reassure his better     
nature and to point out a way of escape 
from its body of death6  ,we have been  
led into these remarks by an account1   
given in the ,london ,weekly ,chronicle1
 of a most remarkable interview between 

the professional thieves of ,london and 
,lord ,ashley1--a gentleman whose best  
patent of nobility is to be found in his
 generous and untiring devotion to the  
interests of his fellow-men4  ,it       
appears that a philanthropic gentleman  
in ,london had been applied to by two   
young thieves1 who had relinquished     
their evil practices and were obtaining 
a precarious but honest livelihood by   
picking up bones and rags in the        
streets1 their loss of character closing
 against them all other employments4    
,he had just been reading an address of 
,lord ,ashley's in favor of colonial    
emigration1 and he was led to ask one of
 the young men how he would like to     
emigrate4  ,i should jump at the chance6
 was the reply4 ,not long after the     
gentleman was sent for to visit one of  
those obscure and ruinous courts of the 
great metropolis where crime and poverty
 lie down together1-- localities which  
,dickens has pictured with such painful 
distinctness4 ,here1 to his surprise1 he

 met a number of thieves and outlaws1   
who declared themselves extremely       
anxious to know whether any hope could  
be held out to them of obtaining an     
honest living1 however humble1 in the   
colonies1 as their only reason for      
continuing in their criminal course was 
the impossibility of extricating        
themselves4  ,he gave them such advice  
and encouragement as he was able1 and   
invited them to assemble again1 with    
such of their companions as they could  
persuade to do so1 at the room of the   
,irish ,free ,school1 for the purpose of
 meeting ,lord ,ashley4  ,on the #bgth  
of the seventh month last the meeting   
took place4 ,at the hour appointed1     
,lord ,ashley and five or six other     
benevolent gentlemen1 interested in     
emigration as a means of relief and     
reformation to the criminal poor1       
entered the room1 which was already     
well-nigh filled4  ,two hundred and     
seven professed thieves were present4   
,several of the most experienced thieves

 were stationed at the door to prevent  
the admission of any but thieves4  ,some
 four or five individuals1 who were not 
at first known1 were subjected to       
examination1 and only allowed to remain 
on stating that they were1 and being    
recognized as1 members of the dishonest 
fraternity2 and before the proceedings  
of the evening commenced the question   
was very carefully put1 and repeated    
several times1 whether any one was in   
the room of whom others entertained     
doubts as to who he was4  ,the object of
 this care was1 as so many of them were 
in danger of 'getting into trouble1' or1
 in other words1 of being taken up for  
their crimes1 to ascertain if any who   
might betray them were present2 and     
another intention of this scrutiny was1 
to give those assembled1 who naturally  
would feel considerable fear1 a fuller  
confidence in opening their minds4      
,what a novel conference between the    
extremes of modern society6  ,all that  
is beautiful in refinement and          

education1 moral symmetry and ,christian
 grace1 contrasting with the squalor1   
the ignorance1 the lifelong depravity of
 men living without ,god in the         
world1--the pariahs of                  
civilization1--the moral lepers1 at the 
sight of whom decency covers its face1  
and cries out1 ,unclean6  ,after a      
prayer had been offered1 ,lord ,ashley  
spoke at considerable length1 making a  
profound impression on his strange      
auditory as they listened to his plans  
of emigration1 which offered them an    
opportunity to escape from their        
miserable condition and enter upon a    
respectable course of life4  ,the hard  
heart melted and the cold and cruel eye 
moistened4  ,with one accord the        
wretched felons responded to the        
language of ,christian love and         
good-will1 and declared their readiness 
to follow the advice of their true      
friend4  ,they looked up to him as to an
 angel of mercy1 and felt the malignant 
spirits which had so long tormented them

 disarmed of all power of evil in the   
presence of simple goodness4  ,he stood 
in that felon audience like ,spenser's  
,una amidst the satyrs2 unassailable and
 secure in the unresistible might of    
meekness1 and panoplied in that noble   
grace which dashed brute violence with  
sudden adoration and mute awe4  ,twenty 
years ago1 when ,elizabeth ,fry ventured
 to visit those spirits in prison1--the 
female tenants of ,newgate1--her        
temerity was regarded with astonishment1
 and her hope of effecting a reformation
 in the miserable objects of her        
sympathy was held to be wholly          
visionary4  ,her personal safety and the
 blessed fruits of her labors1          
nevertheless1 confirmed the language of 
her ,divine ,master to ,his disciples   
when ,he sent them forth as lambs among 
wolves3 ,behold1 ,i give unto you power 
over all the power of the enemy4  ,the  
still more unpromising experiment of    
,lord ,ashley1 thus far1 has been       
equally successful2 and we hail it as   

the introduction of a new and more      
humane method of dealing with the       
victims of sin and ignorance1 and the   
temptations growing out of the          
inequalities and vices of civilization4 
,,woman ,,suffrage4                     
,letter to the ,newport ,convention4    
,,amesbury1 ,,mass41 #abth1 #hth ,month1
 #ahfi4  ,i ,,have received thy letter  
inviting me to attend the ,convention in
 behalf of ,woman's ,suffrage1 at       
,newport1 ,r4  ,i41 on the #beth inst4  
,i do not see how it is possible for me 
to accept the invitation2 and1 were ,i  
to do so1 the state of my health would  
prevent me from taking such a part in   
the meeting as would relieve me from the
 responsibility of seeming to sanction  
anything in its action which might      
conflict with my own views of duty or   
policy4  ,yet ,i should do myself great 
injustice if ,i did not embrace this    
occasion to express my general sympathy 
with the movement4 ,i have seen no good 
reason why mothers1 wives1 and daughters

 should not have the same right of      
person1 property1 and citizenship which 
fathers1 husbands1 and brothers have4   
,the sacred memory of mother and sister2
 the wisdom and dignity of women of my  
own religious communion who have been   
accustomed to something like equality in
 rights as well as duties2 my experience
 as a co-worker with noble and          
self-sacrificing women1 as graceful and 
helpful in their household duties as    
firm and courageous in their public     
advocacy of unpopular truth2 the steady 
friendships which have inspired and     
strengthened me1 and the reverence and  
respect which ,i feel for human nature1 
irrespective of sex1 compel me to look  
with something more than acquiescence on
 the efforts you are making4  ,i frankly
 confess that ,i am not able to forsee  
all the consequences of the great social
 and political change proposed1 but of  
this ,i am1 at least1 sure1 it is always
 safe to do right1 and the truest       
expediency is simple justice4  ,i can   

understand1 without sharing1 the        
misgivings of those who fear that1 when 
the vote drops from woman's hand into   
the ballot-box1 the beauty and          
sentiment1 the bloom and sweetness1 of  
womankind will go with it4  ,but in this
 matter it seems to me that we can trust
 ,nature4  ,stronger than statutes or   
conventions1 she will be conservative of
 all that the true man loves and honors 
in woman4  ,here and there may be found 
an equivocal1 unsexed ,chevalier        
,d',eon1 but the eternal order and      
fitness of things will remain4 ,i have  
no fear that man will be less manly or  
woman less womanly when they meet on    
terms of equality before the law4  ,on  
the other hand1 ,i do not see that the  
exercise of the ballot by woman will    
prove a remedy for all the evils of     
which she justly complains4  ,it is her 
right as truly as mine1 and when she    
asks for it1 it is something less than  
manhood to withhold it4  ,but1          
unsupported by a more practical         

education1 higher aims1 and a deeper    
sense of the responsibilities of life   
and duty1 it is not likely to prove a   
blessing in her hands any more than in  
man's4  ,with great respect and hearty  
sympathy1 ,i am very truly thy friend4  
,,italian ,,unity                       
,,amesbury1 ,,mass41 #ast ,mo41 #dth1   
#ahga4       ,read at the great meeting 
in ,new ,york1 ,january1 #ahga1 in      
celebration      of the freedom of ,rome
 and complete unity of ,italy4  ,,it    
would give me more than ordinary        
satisfaction to attend the meeting on   
the #abth instant for the celebration of
 ,italian ,unity1 the emancipation of   
,rome1 and its occupation as the        
permanent capital of the nation4  ,for  
many years ,i have watched with deep    
interest and sympathy the popular       
movement on the ,italian peninsula1 and 
especially every effort for the         
deliverance of ,rome from a despotism   
counting its age by centuries4  ,i      
looked at these struggles of the people 

with little reference to their          
ecclesiastical or sectarian bearings4   
,had ,i been a ,catholic instead of a   
,protestant1 ,i should have hailed every
 symptom of ,roman deliverance from     
,papal rule1 occupying1 as ,i have1 the 
standpoint of a republican radical1     
desirous that all men1 of all creeds1   
should enjoy the civil liberty which ,i 
prized so highly for myself4  ,i lost   
all confidence in the ,french republic  
of #ahdi1 when it forfeited its own     
right to exist by crushing out the newly
 formed ,roman republic under ,mazzini  
and ,garibaldi4  ,from that hour it was 
doomed1 and the expiation of its        
monstrous crime is still going on4  ,my 
sympathies are with ,jules ,favre and   
,leon ,gambetta in their efforts to     
establish and sustain a republic in     
,france1 but ,i confess that the        
investment of ,paris by ,king ,william  
seems to me the logical sequence of the 
bombardment of ,rome by ,oudinot4  ,and 
is it not a significant fact that the   

terrible chassepot1 which made its first
 bloody experiment upon the halfarmed   
,italian patriots without the walls of  
,rome1 has failed in the hands of       
,french republicans against the inferior
 needle-gun of ,prussia8  ,it was said  
of a fierce actor in the old ,french    
,revolution that he demoralized the     
guillotine4  ,the massacre at ,mentana  
demoralized the chassepot4  ,it is a    
matter of congratulation that the       
redemption of ,rome has been effected so
 easily and bloodlessly4  ,the despotism
 of a thousand years fell at a touch in 
noiseless rottenness4  ,the people of   
,rome1 fifty to one1 cast their ballots 
of condemnation like so many shovelfuls 
of earth upon its grave4  ,outside of   
,rome there seems to be a very general  
acquiescence in its downfall4  ,no      
,peter the ,hermit preaches a crusade in
 its behalf4  ,no one of the great      
,catholic powers of ,europe lifts a     
finger for it4  ,whatever may be the    
feelings of ,isabella of ,spain and the 

fugitive son of ,king ,bomba1 they are  
in no condition to come to its rescue4  
,it is reserved for ,american           
ecclesiastics1 loud-mouthed in          
professions of democracy1 to make solemn
 protest against what they call an      
outrage1 which gives the people of ,rome
 the right of choosing their own        
government1 and denies the divine right 
of kings in the person of ,pio ,nono4   
,the withdrawal of the temporal power of
 the ,pope will prove a blessing to the 
,catholic ,church1 as well as to the    
world4  ,many of its most learned and   
devout priests and laymen have long seen
 the necessity of such a change1 which  
takes from it a reproach and scandal    
that could no longer be excused or      
tolerated4  ,a century hence it will    
have as few apologists as the           
,inquisition or the massacre of ,st4    
,bartholomew4  ,in this hour of         
congratulation let us not forget those  
whose suffering and self-sacrifice1 in  
the inscrutable wisdom of ,providence1  

prepared the way for the triumph which  
we celebrate4  ,as we call the long1    
illustrious roll of ,italian            
patriotism--the young1 the brave1 and   
beautiful2 the gray-haired1 saintly     
confessors2 the scholars1 poets1        
artists1 who1 shut out from human       
sympathy1 gave their lives for ,god and 
country in the slow1 dumb agony of      
prison martyrdom--let us hope that they 
also rejoice with us1 and1 inaudible to 
earthly ears1 unite in our thanksgiving3
 ,alleluia6  for the ,lord ,god         
omnipotent reigneth6  ,he hath avenged  
the blood of his servants6  ,in the     
belief that the unity of ,italy and the 
overthrow of ,papal rule will strengthen
 the cause of liberty throughout the    
civilized' world1 ,i am very truly thy  
friend4     ,,indian ,,civilization4    
,,the present condition and future      
prospects of the remnants of the        
aboriginal inhabitants of this continent
 can scarcely be a matter of            
indifference to any class of the people 

of the ,united ,states4  ,apart from all
 considerations of justice and duty1 a  
purely selfish regard to our own        
well-being would compel attention to the
 subject4  ,the irreversible laws of    
,god's moral government1 and the        
well-attested maxims of political and   
social economy1 leave us in no doubt    
that the suffering1 neglect1 and wrong  
of one part of the community must affect
 all others4  ,a common responsibility  
rests upon each and all to relieve      
suffering1 enlighten ignorance1 and     
redress wrong1 and the penalty of       
neglect in this respect no nation has   
ever escaped4  ,it is only within a     
comparatively recent period that the    
term ,indian ,civilization could be     
appropriately used in this country4     
,very little real progress bad been made
 in this direction1 up to the time when 
,commissioner ,lang in #ahdd visited the
 tribes now most advanced4  ,so little  
had been done1 that public opinion had  
acquiesced in the assumption that the   

,indians were not susceptible of        
civilization and progress4  ,the few    
experiments had not been calculated to  
assure a superficial observer4  ,the    
unsupported efforts of ,elliot in ,new  
,england were counteracted by the       
imprisonment1 and in some instances the 
massacre of his praying ,indians1 by    
white men under the exasperation of war 
with hostile tribes4 ,the salutary      
influence of the ,moravians and ,friends
 in ,pennsylvania was greatly weakened  
by the dreadful massacre of the unarmed 
and blameless converts of ,gnadenhutten4
  ,but since the first visit of         
,commissioner ,lang1 thirty-three years 
ago1 the progress of education1         
civilization1 and conversion to         
,christianity1 has been of a most       
encouraging nature1 and if ,indian      
civilization was ever a doubtful        
problem1 it has been practically solved4
  ,the nomadic habits and warlike       
propensities of the native tribes are   
indeed formidable but not insuperable   

difficulties in the way of their        
elevation4  ,the wildest of them may    
compare not unfavorably with those      
,northern barbarian hordes that swooped 
down upon ,christian ,europe1 and who   
were so soon the docile pupils and      
proselytes of the peoples they had      
conquered4  ,the ,arapahoes and         
,camanches of our day are no further    
removed from the sweetness and light of 
,christian culture than were the        
,scandinavian ,sea ,kings of the middle 
centuries1 whose gods were patrons of   
rapine and cruelty1 their heaven a vast1
 cloud-built ale-house1 where ghostly   
warriors drank from the skulls of their 
victims1 and whose hell was a frozen    
horror of desolation and darkness1 to be
 avoided only by diligence in robbery   
and courage in murder4  ,the descendants
 of these human butchers are now among  
the best exponents of the humanizing    
influence of the gospel of ,christ4     
,the report of the ,superintendent of   
the remnants of the once fierce and     

warlike ,six ,nations1 now peaceable and
 prosperous in ,canada1 shows that the  
,indian is not inferior to the ,norse   
ancestors of the ,danes and ,norwegians 
of our day in capability of improvement4
  ,it is scarcely necessary to say1 what
 is universally conceded1 that the wars 
waged by the ,indians against the whites
 have1 in nearly every instance1 been   
provoked by violations of solemn        
treaties and systematic disregard of    
their rights of person1 property1 and   
life4  ,the letter of ,bishop ,whipple1 
of ,minnesota1 to the ,new ,york        
,tribune of second month1 #ahgg1 calls  
attention to the emphatic language of   
,generals ,sherman1 ,harney1 ,terry1 and
 ,augur1 written after a full and       
searching investigation of the subject3 
,that the ,indian goes to war is not    
astonishing3 he is often compelled to do
 so3 wrongs are borne by him in silence1
 which never fail to drive civilized men
 to deeds of violence4 ,the best        
possible way to avoid war is to do no   

injustice4  ,it is not difficult to     
understand the feelings of the          
unfortunate pioneer settlers on the     
extreme borders of civilization1 upon   
whom the blind vengeance of the wronged 
and hunted ,indians falls oftener than  
upon the real wrong-doers4  ,they point 
to terrible and revolting cruelties as  
proof that nothing short of the absolute
 extermination of the race can prevent  
their repetition4  ,but a moment's      
consideration compels us to admit that  
atrocious cruelty is not peculiar to the
 red man4  ,all wars are cruel1 said    
,general ,sherman1 and for eighteen     
centuries ,christendom has been a great 
battle-field4  ,what ,indian raid has   
been more dreadful than the sack of     
,magdeburg1 the massacre of ,glencoe1   
the nameless atrocities of the ,duke of 
,alva in the ,netherlands1 the murders  
of ,st4 ,bartholomew's day1 the         
unspeakable agonies of the ,south of    
,france under the demoniac rule of      
revolution6  ,all history1 black with   

crime and red with blood1 is but an     
awful commentary upon man's inhumanity  
to man1 and it teaches us that there is 
nothing exceptional in the ,indian's    
ferocity and vindictiveness1 and that   
the alleged reasons for his             
extermination would1 at one time or     
another1 have applied with equal force  
to the whole family of man4  ,a late    
lecture of my friend1 ,stanley          
,pumphrey1 comprises more of valuable   
information and pertinent suggestions on
 the ,indian question than ,i have found
 in any equal space2 and ,i am glad of  
the opportunity to add to it my hearty  
endorsement1 and to express the         
conviction that its general circulation 
could not fail to awaken a deeper and   
more kindly interest in the condition of
 the red man1 and greatly aid in leading
 the public mind to a fuller            
appreciation of the responsibility which
 rests upon us as a people to rectify1  
as far as possible1 past abuses1 and in 
our future relations to the native      

owners of the soil to deal justly and   
love mercy4     ,,reading ,,for ,,the   
,,blind4 7#ahhj47  ,to ,mary ,c4        
,moore1 teacher in the ,perkins ,asylum4
  ,,dear ,,friend1--,it gives me great  
pleasure to know that the pupils in thy 
class at the ,institution for the ,blind
 have the opportunity afforded them to  
read through the sense of touch some of 
my writings1 and thus hold what ,i hope 
will prove a pleasant communion with me4
  ,very glad ,i shall be if the         
pen-pictures of nature1 and homely      
country firesides1 which ,i have tried  
to make1 are understood and appreciated 
by those who cannot discern them by     
natural vision4  ,i shall count it a    
great privilege to see for them1 or     
rather to let them see through my eyes4 
,it is the mind after all that really   
sees1 shapes1 and colors all things4    
,what visions of beauty and sublimity   
passed before the inward and spiritual  
sight of blind ,milton and ,beethoven6  
,i have an esteemed friend1 ,morrison   

,hendy1 of ,kentucky1 who is deaf and   
blind2 yet under these circumstances he 
has cultivated his mind to a high       
degree1 and has written poems of great  
beauty1 and vivid descriptions of scenes
 which have been witnessed only by the  
light within4  ,i thank thee for thy    
letter1 and beg of thee to assure the   
students that ,i am deeply interested in
 their welfare and progress1 and that my
 prayer is that their inward and        
spiritual eyes may become so clear that 
they can well dispense with the outward 
and material ones4     ,,the ,,indian   
,,question4  ,read at the meeting in    
,boston1 ,may1 #ahhc1 for the           
consideration of the condition of the   
,indians in the ,united ,states4        
,,amesbury1 #dth mo41 #ahhc4  ,i        
,,regret that ,i cannot be present at   
the meeting called in reference to the  
pressing question of the day1 the       
present condition and future prospects  
of the ,indian race in the ,united      
,states4  ,the old policy1 however well 

intended1 of the government is no longer
 available4  ,the westward setting tide 
of immigration is everywhere sweeping   
over the lines of the reservations4     
,there would seem to be no power in the 
government to prevent the practical     
abrogation of its solemn treaties and   
the crowding out of the ,indians from   
their guaranteed hunting grounds4       
,outbreaks of ,indian ferocity and      
revenge1 incited by wrong and robbery on
 the part of the whites1 will           
increasingly be made the pretext of     
indiscriminate massacres4  ,the entire  
question will soon resolve itself into  
the single alternative of education and 
civilization or extermination4  ,the    
school experiments at ,hampton1         
,carlisle1 and ,forest ,grove in ,oregon
 have proved1 if such proof were ever   
needed1 that the roving ,indian can be  
enlightened and civilized1 taught to    
work and take interest and delight in   
the product of his industry1 and settle 
down on his farm or in his workshop1 as 

an ,american citizen1 protected by and  
subject to the laws of the republic4    
,what is needed is that not only these  
schools should be more liberally        
supported1 but that new ones should be  
opened without delay4  ,the matter does 
not admit of procrastination4  ,the work
 of education and civilization must be  
done4  ,the money needed must be        
contributed with no sparing hand4  ,the 
laudable example set by the ,friends and
 the ,american ,missionary ,association 
should be followed by other sects and   
philanthropic societies4  ,christianity1
 patriotism1 and enlightened self       
interest have a common stake in the     
matter4  ,great and difficult as the    
work may be the country is strong       
enough1 rich enough1 wise enough1 and1  
,i believe1 humane and ,christian enough
 to do it4     ,,the ,,republican       
,,party4  ,read at a meeting of the     
,essex ,club1 in ,boston1 ,november1    
#ahhe4  ,,amesbury1 #aath ,mo41 #aj1    
#ahhe4  ,i ,,am sorry that ,i cannot    

accept thy invitation to attend the     
meeting of the ,essex ,club on the #adth
 inst4  ,i should be glad to meet my old
 ,republican friends and congratulate   
them on the results of the election in  
,massachusetts1 and especially in our   
good old county of ,essex4  ,some of our
 friends and neighbors1 who have been   
with us heretofore1 last year saw fit to
 vote with the opposite party4  ,i would
 be the last to deny their perfect right
 to do so1 or to impeach their motives1 
but ,i think they were mistaken in      
expecting that party to reform the      
abuses and evils which they complained  
of4  ,president ,cleveland has proved   
himself better than his party1 and has  
done and said some good things which ,i 
give him full credit for1 but the       
instincts of his party are against him1 
and must eventually prove too strong for
 him1 and1 instead of his carrying the  
party1 it will be likely to carry him4  
,it has already compelled him to put his
 hands in his pockets for electioneering

 purposes1 and travel all the way from  
,washington to ,buffalo to give his vote
 for a spoilsman and anti-civil service 
machine politician4  ,i would not like  
to call it a case of offensive          
partisanship1 but it looks a good deal  
like it4  ,as a ,republican from the    
outset1 ,i am proud of the noble record 
of the party1 but ,i should rejoice to  
see its beneficent work taken up by the 
,democratic party and so faithfully     
carried on as to make our organization  
no longer necessary4  ,but1 as far as we
 can see1 the ,republican party has     
still its mission and its future4  ,when
 labor shall everywhere have its just   
reward1 and the gains of it are made    
secure to the earners2 when education   
shall be universal1 and1 ,north and     
,south1 all men shall have the free and 
full enjoyment of civil rights and      
privileges1 irrespective of color or    
former condition2 when every vice which 
debases the community shall be          
discouraged and prohibited1 and every   

virtue which elevates it fostered and   
strengthened2 when merit and fitness    
shall be the conditions of office2 and  
when sectional distrust and prejudice   
shall give place to well-merited        
confidence in the loyalty and patriotism
 of all1 then will the work of the      
,republican party1 as a party1 be ended1
 and all political rivalries be merged  
in the one great party of the people1   
with no other aim than the common       
welfare1 and no other watchwords than   
peace1 liberty1 and union4  ,then may   
the language which ,milton addressed to 
his countrymen two centuries ago be     
applied to the ,united ,states1 ,go on1 
hand in hand1 ,o peoples1 never to be   
disunited2 be the praise and heroic song
 of all posterity4  ,join your          
invincible might to do worthy and       
godlike deeds2 and then he who seeks to 
break your ,union1 a cleaving curse be  
his inheritance4     ,,our ,,dumb       
,,relations4 7#ahhf47  ,,it was said of 
,st4 ,francis of ,assisi1 that he had   

attained1 through the fervor of his     
love1 the secret of that deep amity with
 ,god and ,his creation which1 in the   
language of inspiration1 makes man to be
 in league with the stones of the field1
 and the beasts of the field to be at   
peace with him4  ,the world has never   
been without tender souls1 with whom the
 golden rule has a broader application  
than its letter might seem to warrant4  
,the ancient ,eastern seers recognized  
the rights of the brute creation1 and   
regarded the unnecessary taking of the  
life of the humblest and meanest as a   
sin2 and in almost all the old religions
 of the world there are legends of      
saints1 in the depth of whose peace with
 ,god and nature all life was sacredly  
regarded as the priceless gift of       
heaven1 and who were thus enabled to    
dwell safely amidst lions and serpents4 
,it is creditable to human nature and   
its unperverted instincts that stories  
and anecdotes of reciprocal kindness and
 affection between men and animals are  

always listened to with interest and    
approval4  ,how pleasant to think of the
 ,arab and his horse1 whose friendship  
has been celebrated in song and romance4
  ,of ,vogelwied1 the ,minnesinger1 and 
his bequest to the birds4  ,of the      
,english ,quaker1 visited1 wherever he  
went1 by flocks of birds1 who with cries
 of joy alighted on his broad-brimmed   
hat and his drab coat-sleeves4  ,of old 
,samuel ,johnson1 when half-blind and   
infirm1 groping abroad of an evening for
 oysters for his cat4  ,of ,walter      
,scott and ,john ,brown1 of ,edinburgh1 
and their dogs4  ,of our own ,thoreau1  
instinctively recognized by bird and    
beast as a friend4  ,emerson says of    
him3 ,his intimacy with animals         
suggested what ,thomas ,fuller records  
of ,butler1 the apologist1 that either  
he had told the bees things1 or the bees
 had told him4  ,snakes coiled round his
 legs2 the fishes swam into his hand2 he
 pulled the woodchuck out of his hole by
 his tail1 and took foxes under his     

protection from the hunters4  ,in the   
greatest of the ancient ,hindu          
poems--the sacred book of the           
,mahabharata--there is a passage of     
exceptional beauty and tenderness1 which
 records the reception of ,king         
,yudishthira at the gate of ,paradise4  
,a pilgrim to the heavenly city1 the    
king had travelled over vast spaces1    
and1 one by one1 the loved ones1 the    
companions of his journey1 had all      
fallen and left him alone1 save his     
faithful dog1 which still followed4 ,he 
was met by ,indra1 and invited to enter 
the holy city4  ,but the king thinks of 
his friends who have fallen on the way1 
and declines to go in without them4     
,the god tells him they are all within  
waiting for him4 ,joyful1 he is about to
 seek them1 when he looks upon the poor 
dog1 who1 weary and wasted1 crouches at 
his feet1 and asks that he1 too1 may    
enter the gate4  ,indra refuses1 and    
thereupon the king declares that to     
abandon his faithful dumb friend would  

be as great a sin as to kill a ,brahmin4
       ,away with that felicity whose   
price is to abandon the faithful6       
,never1 come weal or woe1 will ,i leave 
my faithful dog4      ,the poor         
creature1 in fear and distress1 has     
trusted in my power to      save him2   
,not1 therefore1 for life itself1 will  
,i break my plighted word4  ,in full    
sight of heaven he chooses to go to hell
 with his dog1 and straightway descends1
 as he supposes1 thither4  ,but his     
virtue and faithfulness change his      
destination to heaven1 and he finds     
himself surrounded by his old friends1  
and in the presence of the gods1 who    
thus honor and reward his humanity and  
unselfish love4     ,,international     
,,arbitration4  ,read at the reception  
in ,boston of the ,english delegation   
representing more than two hundred      
members of the ,british ,parliament who 
favor international arbitration4        
,,amesbury1 #aath ,mo41 #i1 #ahhg4  ,,it
 is a very serious disappointment to me 

not to be able to be present at the     
welcome of the ,american ,peace ,society
 to the delegation of more than two     
hundred members of the ,british         
,parliament who favor international     
arbitration4  ,few events have more     
profoundly impressed me than the        
presentation of this peaceful overture  
to the ,president of the ,united        
,states4  ,it seems to me that every    
true patriot who seeks the best         
interests of his country and every      
believer in the gospel of ,christ must  
respond to the admirable address of ,sir
 ,lyon ,playfair and that of his        
colleagues who represented the          
workingmen of ,england4  ,we do not need
 to be told that war is always cruel1   
barbarous1 and brutal2 whether used by  
professed ,christians with ball and     
bayonet1 or by heathen with club and    
boomerang4  ,we cannot be blind to its  
waste of life and treasure and the      
demoralization which follows in its     
train2 nor cease to wonder at the       

spectacle of ,christian nations         
exhausting all their resources in       
preparing to slaughter each other1 with 
only here and there a voice1 like ,count
 ,tolstoi's in the ,russian wilderness1 
crying in heedless ears that the gospel 
of ,christ is peace1 not war1 and love1 
not hatred4  ,the overture which comes  
to us from ,english advocates of        
arbitration is a cheering assurance that
 the tide of sentiment is turning in    
favor of peace among ,english speaking  
peoples4  ,i cannot doubt that whatever 
stump orators and newspapers may say for
 party purposes1 the heart of ,america  
will respond to the generous proposal of
 our kinsfolk across the water4 ,no two 
nations could be more favorably         
conditioned than ,england and the       
,united ,states for making the holy     
experiment of arbitration4  ,in our     
associations and kinship1 our aims and  
interests1 our common claims in the     
great names and achievements of a common
 ancestry1 we are essentially one       

people4  ,whatever other nations may do1
 we at least should be friends4  ,god   
grant that the noble and generous       
attempt shall not be in vain6  ,may it  
hasten the time when the only rivalry   
between us shall be the peaceful rivalry
 of progress and the gracious           
interchange of good4                    
,when closer strand shall lean to       
strand1                ,till meet       
beneath saluting flags1                 
,the eagle of our mountain crags1       
,the lion of our mother land6           
,,suffrage ,,for ,,women4  ,read at the 
,woman's ,convention at ,washington4    
,,oak ,,knoll1 ,,danvers1 ,,mass41      
,third ,mo41 #h1 #ahhh4  ,i ,,thank thee
 for thy kind letter4  ,it would be a   
great satisfaction to be able to be     
present at the fortieth anniversary of  
the ,woman's ,suffrage ,association4    
,but1 as that is not possible1 ,i can   
only reiterate my hearty sympathy with  
the object of the association1 and bid  
it take heart and assurance in view of  

all that has been accomplished4  ,there 
is no easy royal road to a reform of    
this kind1 but if the progress has been 
slow there has been no step backward4   
,the barriers which at first seemed     
impregnable in the shape of custom and  
prejudice have been undermined and their
 fall is certain4  ,a prophecy of your  
triumph at no distant day is in the air2
 your opponents feel it and believe it4 
,they know that yours is a gaining and  
theirs a losing cause4  ,the work still 
before you demands on your part great   
patience1 steady perseverance1 a firm1  
dignified1 and self-respecting protest  
against the injustice of which you have 
so much reason to complain1 and of      
serene confidence which is not          
discouraged by temporary checks1 nor    
embittered by hostile criticism1 nor    
provoked to use any weapons of retort1  
which1 like the boomerang1 fall back on 
the heads of those who use them4  ,you  
can afford in your consciousness of     
right to be as calm and courteous as the

 archangel ,michael1 who1 we are told in
 ,scripture in his controversy with     
,satan himself1 did not bring a railing 
accusation against him4  ,a wise        
adaptation of means to ends is no       
yielding of principle1 but care should  
be taken to avoid all such methods as   
have disgraced political and religious  
parties of the masculine sex4  ,continue
 to make it manifest that all which is  
pure and lovely and of good repute in   
womanhood is entirely compatible with   
the exercise of the rights of           
citizenship1 and the performance of the 
duties which we all owe to our homes and
 our country4  ,confident that you will 
do this1 and with no doubt or misgiving 
as to your success1 ,i bid you          
,godspeed4  ,i find ,i have written to  
the association rather than to thyself1 
but as one of the principal originators 
and most faithful supporters1 it was    
very natural that ,i should identify    
thee with it4     ,,the ,,inner ,,life  
,,the ,,agency ,,of ,,evil4  ,from the  

,supernaturalism of ,new ,england1 in   
the ,democratic ,review for #ahdc4  ,,in
 this life of ours1 so full of mystery1 
so hung about with wonders1 so written  
over with dark riddles1 where even the  
lights held by prophets and inspired    
ones only serve to disclose the solemn  
portals of a future state of being1     
leaving all beyond in shadow1 perhaps   
the darkest and most difficult problem  
which presents itself is that of the    
origin of evil1--the source whence flow 
the black and bitter waters of sin and  
suffering and discord1--the wrong which 
all men see in others and feel in       
themselves1--the unmistakable facts of  
human depravity and misery4  ,a         
superficial philosophy may attempt to   
refer all these dark phenomena of man's 
existence to his own passions1          
circumstances1 and will2 but the        
thoughtful observer cannot rest         
satisfied with secondary causes4  ,the  
grossest materialism1 at times1 reveals 
something of that latent dread of an    

invisible and spiritual influence which 
is inseparable from our nature4  ,like  
,eliphaz the ,temanite1 it is conscious 
of a spirit passing before its face1 the
 form whereof is not discerned4  ,it is 
indeed true that our modern divines and 
theologians1 as if to atone for the too 
easy credulity of their order formerly1 
have unceremoniously consigned the old  
beliefs of ,satanic agency1 demoniacal  
possession1 and witchcraft1 to ,milton's
 receptacle of exploded follies and     
detected impostures1                    
,over the backside of the world far off1
                ,into a limbo broad and 
large1 and called                ,the   
paradise of fools1--  that indeed1 out  
of their peculiar province1 and apart   
from the routine of their vocation1 they
 have become the most thorough sceptics 
and unbelievers among us4  ,yet it must 
be owned that1 if they have not the     
marvellous themselves1 they are the     
cause of it in others4  ,in certain     
states of mind1 the very sight of a     

clergyman in his sombre professional    
garb is sufficient to awaken all the    
wonderful within us4  ,imagination goes 
wandering back to the subtle priesthood 
of mysterious ,egypt4  ,we think of     
,jannes and ,jambres2 of the ,persian   
magi2 dim oak groves1 with ,druid       
altars1 and priests1 and victims1 rise  
before us4  ,for what is the priest even
 of our ,new ,england but a living      
testimony to the truth of the           
supernatural and the reality of the     
unseen1--a man of mystery1 walking in   
the shadow of the ideal world1--by      
profession an expounder of spiritual    
wonders8  ,laugh he may at the old tales
 of astrology and witchcraft and        
demoniacal possession2 but does he not  
believe and bear testimony to his faith 
in the reality of that dark essence     
which ,scripture more than hints at1    
which has modified more or less all the 
religious systems and speculations of   
the heathen world1--the ,ahriman of the 
,parsee1 the ,typhon of the ,egyptian1  

the ,pluto of the ,roman mythology1 the 
,devil of ,jew1 ,christian1 and         
,mussulman1 the ,machinito of the       
,indian1--evil in the universe of       
goodness1 darkness in the light of      
divine intelligence1--in itself the     
great and crowning mystery from which by
 no unnatural process of imagination may
 be deduced everything which our        
forefathers believed of the spiritual   
world and supernatural agency8  ,that   
fearful being with his tributaries and  
agents1--the ,devil and his angels1--how
 awfully he rises before us in the brief
 outline limning of the sacred writers6 
,how he glooms1 in shape and gesture    
proudly eminent1 on the immortal canvas 
of ,milton and ,dante6  ,what a note of 
horror does his name throw into the     
sweet ,sabbath psalmody of our churches4
  ,what strange1 dark fancies are       
connected with the very language of     
common-law indictments1 when grand      
juries find under oath that the offence 
complained of has been committed at the 

instigation of the ,devil6  ,how hardly 
effaced are the impressions of          
childhood6  ,even at this day1 at the   
mention of the evil angel1 an image     
rises before me like that with which ,i 
used especially to horrify myself in an 
old copy of ,pilgrim's ,progress4       
,horned1 hoofed1 scaly1 and             
fire-breathing1 his caudal extremity    
twisted tight with rage1 ,i remember    
him1 illustrating the tremendous        
encounter of ,christian in the valley   
where ,apollyon straddled over the whole
 breadth of the way4  ,there was another
 print of the enemy which made no slight
 impression upon me4  ,it was the       
frontispiece of an old1 smoked1         
snuff-stained pamphlet1 the property of 
an elderly lady1 7who had a fine        
collection of similar wonders1 wherewith
 she was kind enough to edify her young 
visitors17 containing a solemn account  
of the fate of a wicked dancing-party in
 ,new ,jersey1 whose irreverent         
declaration1 that they would have a     

fiddler if they had to send to the lower
 regions after him1 called up the fiend 
himself1 who forthwith commenced        
playing1 while the company danced to the
 music incessantly1 without the power to
 suspend their exercise1 until their    
feet and legs were worn off to the      
knees6  ,the rude wood-cut represented  
the demon fiddler and his agonized      
companions literally stumping it up and 
down in cotillons1 jigs1 strathspeys1   
and reels4  ,he would have answered very
 well to the description of the infernal
 piper in ,tam ,o',shanter4  ,to this   
popular notion of the impersonation of  
the principle of evil we are doubtless  
indebted for the whole dark legacy of   
witchcraft and possession4  ,failing in 
our efforts to solve the problem of the 
origin of evil1 we fall back upon the   
idea of a malignant being1--the         
antagonism of good4  ,of this mysterious
 and dreadful personification we find   
ourselves constrained to speak with a   
degree of that awe and reverence which  

are always associated with undefined    
power and the ability to harm4  ,the    
,devil1 says an old writer1 is a        
dignity1 though his glory be somewhat   
faded and wan1 and is to be spoken of   
accordingly4  ,the evil principle of    
,zoroaster was from eternity            
self-created and existent1 and some of  
the early ,christian sects held the same
 opinion4 ,the gospel1 however1 affords 
no countenance to this notion of a      
divided sovereignty of the universe4    
,the ,divine ,teacher1 it is true1 in   
discoursing of evil1 made use of the    
language prevalent in ,his time1 and    
which was adapted to the gross          
conceptions of ,his ,jewish bearers2 but
 ,he nowhere presents the embodiment of 
sin as an antagonism to the absolute    
power and perfect goodness of ,god1 of  
whom1 and through whom1 and to whom are 
all things4  ,pure himself1 ,he can     
create nothing impure4  ,evil1          
therefore1 has no eternity in the past4 
,the fact of its present actual         

existence is indeed strongly stated2 and
 it is not given us to understand the   
secret of that divine alchemy whereby   
pain1 and sin1 and discord become the   
means to beneficent ends worthy of the  
revealed attributes of the ,infinite    
,parent4  ,unsolved by human reason or  
philosophy1 the dark mystery remains to 
baffle the generations of men2 and only 
to the eye of humble and childlike faith
 can it ever be reconciled to the       
purity1 justice1 and mercy of ,him who  
is light1 and in whom is no darkness at 
all4  ,do you not believe in the ,devil8
 some one once asked the ,non-conformist
 ,robinson4  ,i believe in ,god1 was the
 reply2 don't you8  ,henry of           
,nettesheim says that it is unanimously 
maintained that devils do wander up and 
down in the earth2 but what they are1 or
 how they are1 ecclesiasticals have not 
clearly expounded4  ,origen1 in his     
,platonic speculations on this subject1 
supposed them to be spirits who1 by     
repentance1 might be restored1 that in  

the end all knees might be bowed to the 
,father of spirits1 and ,he become all  
in all4  ,justin ,martyr was of the     
opinion that many of them still hoped   
for their salvation2 and the ,cabalists 
held that this hope of theirs was well  
founded4  ,one is irresistibly reminded 
here of the closing verse of the        
,address to the ,deil1 by ,burns3--     
,but fare ye weel1 ,auld ,nickie ben6   
,gin ye wad take a thought and mend1    
,ye aiblins might--,i dinna ken--       
,still has a stake                ,i'm  
was to think upon yon den               
,fen for your sake4  ,the old schoolmen 
and fathers seem to agree that the      
,devil and his ministers have bodies in 
some sort material1 subject to passions 
and liable to injury and pain4  ,origen 
has a curious notion that any evil      
spirit who1 in a contest with a human   
being1 is defeated1 loses from          
thenceforth all his power of mischief1  
and may be compared to a wasp who has   
lost his sting4  ,the ,devil1 said      

,samson ,occum1 the famous ,indian      
preacher1 in a discourse on temperance1 
is a gentleman1 and never drinks4       
,nevertheless it is a remarkable fact1  
and worthy of the serious consideration 
of all who tarry long at the wine1 that1
 in that state of the drunkard's malady 
known as delirium tremens1 the          
adversary1 in some shape or other1 is   
generally visible to the sufferers1 or  
at least1 as ,winslow says of the       
,powahs1 he appeareth more familiarly to
 them than to others4  ,i recollect a   
statement made to me by a gentleman who 
has had bitter experience of the evils  
of intemperance1 and who is at this time
 devoting his fine talents to the cause 
of philanthropy and mercy1 as the editor
 of one of our best temperance journals1
 which left a most vivid impression on  
my mind4  ,he had just returned from a  
sea-voyage2 and1 for the sake of        
enjoying a debauch1 unmolested by his   
friends1 took up his abode in a         
rum-selling tavern in a somewhat lonely 

location on the seaboard4  ,here he     
drank for many days without stint1      
keeping himself the whole time in a     
state of semi-intoxication4  ,one night 
he stood leaning against a tree1 looking
 listlessly and vacantly out upon the   
ocean2 the waves breaking on the beach1 
and the white sails of passing vessels  
vaguely impressing him like the pictures
 of a dream4  ,he was startled by a     
voice whispering hoarsely in his ear1   
,you have murdered a man2 the officers  
of justice are after you2 you must fly  
for your life6  ,every syllable was     
pronounced slowly and separately2 and   
there was something in the hoarse1      
gasping sound of the whisper which was  
indescribably dreadful4  ,he looked     
around him1 and seeing nothing but the  
clear moonlight on the grass1 became    
partially sensible that he was the      
victim of illusion1 and a sudden fear of
 insanity thrilled him with a momentary 
horror4  ,rallying himself1 he returned 
to the tavern1 drank another glass of   

brandy1 and retired to his chamber4  ,he
 had scarcely lain his head on the      
pillow when he heard that hoarse1 low1  
but terribly distinct whisper1 repeating
 the same words4  ,he describes his     
sensations at this time as inconceivably
 fearful4  ,reason was struggling with  
insanity2 but amidst the confusion and  
mad disorder one terrible thought       
evolved itself4  ,had he not1 in a      
moment of mad frenzy of which his memory
 made no record1 actually murdered some 
one8  ,and was not this a warning from  
,heaven8 ,leaving his bed and opening   
his door1 he heard the words again      
repeated1 with the addition1 in a tone  
of intense earnestness1 ,follow me6  ,he
 walked forward in the direction of the 
sound1 through a long entry1 to the head
 of the staircase1 where he paused for a
 moment1 when again he heard the        
whisper1 half-way down the stairs1      
,follow me6  ,trembling with terror1 he 
passed down two flights of stairs1 and  
found himself treading on the cold brick

 floor of a large room in the basement1 
or cellar1 where he had never been      
before4  ,the voice still beckoned him  
onward2 and1 groping after it1 his hand 
touched an upright post1 against which  
he leaned for a moment4  ,he heard it   
again1 apparently only two or three     
yards in front of him ,you have murdered
 a man2 the officers are close behind   
you2 follow me6  ,putting one foot      
forward while his hand still grasped the
 post1 it fell upon empty air1 and he   
with difficulty recovered himself4      
,stooping down and feeling with his     
hands1 he found himself on the very edge
 of a large uncovered cistern1 or tank1 
filled nearly to the top with water4    
,the sudden shock of this discovery     
broke the horrible enchantment4  ,the   
whisperer was silent4  ,he believed1 at 
the time1 that he had been the subject1 
and well-nigh the victim1 of a          
diabolical delusion2 and he states that1
 even now1 with the recollection of that
 strange whisper is always associated a 

thought of the universal tempter4  ,our 
worthy ancestors were1 in their own view
 of the matter1 the advance guard and   
forlorn hope of ,christendom in its     
contest with the bad angel4 ,the ,new   
,world1 into which they had so valiantly
 pushed the outposts of the ,church     
militant1 was to them1 not ,god's world1
 but the ,devil's4  ,they stood there on
 their little patch of sanctified       
territory like the gamekeeper of ,der   
,freischutz in the charmed circle2      
within were prayer and fasting1         
unmelodious psalmody and solemn hewing  
of heretics1 before the ,lord in        
,gilgal2 without were dogs and          
sorcerers1 red children of perdition1   
,powah wizards1 and the foul fiend4  ,in
 their grand old wilderness1 broken by  
fair1 broad rivers and dotted with      
loveliest lakes1 hanging with festoons  
of leaf1 and vine1 and flower1 the steep
 sides of mountains whose naked tops    
rose over the surrounding verdure like  
altars of a giant world1--with its early

 summer greenness and the many-colored  
wonder of its autumn1 all glowing as if 
the rainbows of a summer shower had     
fallen upon it1 under the clear1 rich   
light of a sun to which the misty day of
 their cold island was as               
moonlight1--they saw no beauty1 they    
recognized no holy revelation4  ,it was 
to them terrible as the forest which    
,dante traversed on his way to the world
 of pain4  ,every advance step they made
 was upon the enemy's territory4  ,and  
one has only to read the writings of the
 two ,mathers to perceive that that     
enemy was to them no metaphysical       
abstraction1 no scholastic definition1  
no figment of a poetical fancy1 but a   
living1 active reality1 alternating     
between the sublimest possibilities of  
evil and the lowest details of mean     
mischief2 now a tricksy spirit1         
disturbing the good-wife's platters or  
soiling her newwashed linen1 and anon   
riding the storm-cloud and pointing its 
thunder-bolts2 for1 as the elder ,mather

 pertinently inquires1 how else is it   
that our meeting-houses are burned by   
the lightning8  ,what was it1 for       
instance1 but his subtlety which1       
speaking through the lips of ,madame    
,hutchinson1 confuted the judges of     
,israel and put to their wits' end the  
godly ministers of the ,puritan ,zion8  
,was not his evil finger manifested in  
the contumacious heresy of ,roger       
,williams8  ,who else gave the ,jesuit  
missionaries--locusts from the pit as   
they were--such a hold on the affections
 of those very savages who would not    
have scrupled to hang the scalp of pious
 ,father ,wilson himself from their     
girdles8  ,to the vigilant eye of       
,puritanism was he not alike discernible
 in the light wantonness of the         
,may-pole revellers1 beating time with  
the cloven foot to the vain music of    
obscene dances1 and in the silent1      
hat-canopied gatherings of the ,quakers1
 the most melancholy of the sects1 as   
,dr4 ,moore calls them8  ,perilous and  

glorious was it1 under these            
circumstances1 for such men as ,mather  
and ,stoughton to gird up their stout   
loins and do battle with the unmeasured1
 all-surrounding terror4 ,let no man    
lightly estimate their spiritual        
knight-errantry4  ,the heroes of old    
romance1 who went about smiting dragons1
 lopping giants' heads1 and otherwise   
pleasantly diverting themselves1        
scarcely deserve mention in comparison  
with our ,new ,england champions1 who1  
trusting not to carnal sword and lance1 
in a contest with principalities and    
powers1 spirits that live throughout1   
,vital in every part1 not as frail      
man1-- encountered their enemies with   
weapons forged by the stern spiritual   
armorer of ,geneva4  ,the life of       
,cotton ,mather is as full of romance as
 the legends of ,ariosto or the tales of
 ,beltenebros and ,florisando in ,amadis
 de ,gaul4  ,all about him was enchanted
 ground2 devils glared on him in his    
closet wrestlings2 portents blazed in   

the heavens above him2 while he1        
commissioned and set apart as the       
watcher1 and warder1 and spiritual      
champion of the chosen people1 stood    
ever ready for battle1 with open eye and
 quick ear for the detection of the     
subtle approaches of the enemy4  ,no    
wonder is it that the spirits of evil   
combined against him2 that they beset   
him as they did of old ,st4 ,anthony2   
that they shut up the bowels of the     
,general ,court against his             
long-cherished hope of the presidency of
 ,old ,harvard2 that they even had the  
audacity to lay hands on his            
anti-diabolical manuscripts1 or that ye 
divil that was in ye girl flewe at and  
tore his grand sermon against witches4  
,how edifying is his account of the     
young bewitched maiden whom he kept in  
his house for the purpose of making     
experiments which should satisfy all    
obstinate ,sadducees6  ,how satisfactory
 to orthodoxy and confounding to heresy 
is the nice discrimination of ye divil  

in ye girl1 who was choked in attempting
 to read the ,catechism1 yet found no   
trouble with a pestilent ,quaker        
pamphlet2 who was quiet and good-humored
 when the worthy ,doctor was idle1 but  
went into paroxysms of rage when he sat 
down to indite his diatribes against    
witches and familiar spirits6           
7,the ,quakers appear to have1 at a     
comparatively early period1             
emancipated themselves in a great degree
 from the grosser      superstitions of 
their times4  ,william ,penn1 indeed1   
had a law in      his colony against    
witchcraft2 but the first trial of a    
person      suspected of this offence   
seems to have opened his eyes to its    
absurdity4  ,george ,fox1 judging from  
one or two passages in his      journal1
 appears to have held the common        
opinions of the day on the      subject2
 yet when confined in ,doomsdale        
dungeon1 on being told that      the    
place was haunted and that the spirits  
of those who had died      there still  

walked at night in his room1 he replied1
 that if all      the spirits and devils
 in hell were there1 he was over them in
 the      power of ,god1 and feared no  
such thing4       ,the enemies of the   
,quakers1 in order to account for the   
power and      influence of their first 
preachers1 accused them of magic and    
sorcery4  ,the ,priest of ,wakefield1   
says ,george ,fox 7one trusts he        
does not allude to our old friend the   
,vicar71 raised many wicked             
slanders upon me1 as that ,i carried    
bottles with me and made people         
drink1 and that made them follow me2    
that ,i rode upon a great black         
horse1 and was seen in one county upon  
my black horse in one hour1      and in 
the same hour in another county         
fourscore miles off4  ,in his           
account of the mob which beset him at   
,walney ,island1 he says3 ,when      ,i 
came to myself ,i saw ,james            
,lancaster's wife throwing stones at my 
face1 and her husband lying over me to  

keep off the blows and      stones2 for 
the people had persuaded her that ,i had
 bewitched her      husband4            
,cotton ,mather attributes the plague of
 witchcraft in ,new ,england in         
about an equal degree to the ,quakers   
and ,indians4  ,the first of the        
sect who visited ,boston1 ,ann ,austin  
and ,mary ,fisher1--the latter a        
young girl1--were seized upon by        
,deputy-,governor ,bellingham1 in the   
absence of ,governor ,endicott1 and     
shamefully stripped naked for the       
purpose of ascertaining whether they    
were witches with the ,devil's      mark
 on them4  ,in #affb ,elizabeth ,horton 
and ,joan ,broksop1 two      venerable  
preachers of the sect1 were arrested in 
,boston1 charged by      ,governor      
,endicott with being witches1 and       
carried two days' journey      into the 
woods1 and left to the tender mercies of
 ,indians and      wolves47  ,all this  
is pleasant enough now2 we can laugh at 
the ,doctor and his demons2 but little  

matter of laughter was it to the victims
 on ,salem ,hill2 to the prisoners in   
the jails2 to poor ,giles ,corey1       
tortured with planks upon his breast1   
which forced the tongue from his mouth  
and his life from his old1 palsied body2
 to bereaved and quaking families2 to a 
whole community1 priest-ridden and      
spectresmitten1 gasping in the sick     
dream of a spiritual nightmare and given
 over to believe a lie4  ,we may laugh1 
for the grotesque is blended with the   
horrible2 but we must also pity and     
shudder4  ,the clear-sighted men who    
confronted that delusion in its own age1
 disenchanting1 with strong good sense  
and sharp ridicule1 their spell-bound   
generation1--the ,german ,wierus1 the   
,italian ,d',apone1 the ,english ,scot1 
and the ,new ,england ,calef1--deserve  
high honors as the benefactors of their 
race4  ,it is true they were branded    
through life as infidels and damnable   
,sadducees2 but the truth which they    
uttered lived after them1 and wrought   

out its appointed work1 for it had a    
,divine commission and ,godspeed4       
,the oracles are dumb2           ,no    
voice nor hideous hum  ,runs through the
 arched roof in words deceiving2        
,apollo from his shrine           ,can  
now no more divine1  ,with hollow shriek
 the steep of ,delphus leaving4  ,dimmer
 and dimmer1 as the generations pass    
away1 this tremendous terror1 this      
all-pervading espionage of evil1 this   
active incarnation of motiveless        
malignity1 presents itself to the       
imagination4  ,the once imposing and    
solemn rite of exorcism has become      
obsolete in the ,church4 ,men are no    
longer1 in any quarter of the world1    
racked or pressed under planks to extort
 a confession of diabolical alliance4   
,the heretic now laughs to scorn the    
solemn farce of the ,church which1 in   
the name of the ,all-,merciful1 formally
 delivers him over to ,satan4  ,and for 
the sake of abused and long-cheated     
humanity let us rejoice that it is so1  

when we consider how for long1 weary    
centuries the millions of professed     
,christendom stooped1 awestricken1 under
 the yoke of spiritual and temporal     
despotism1 grinding on from generation  
to generation in a despair which had    
passed complaining1 because             
superstition1 in alliance with tyranny1 
had filled their upward pathway to      
freedom with shapes of terror1--the     
spectres of ,god's wrath to the         
uttermost1 the fiend1 and that torment  
the smoke of which rises forever4       
,through fear of a ,satan of the        
future1--a sort of ban-dog of           
priestcraft1 held in its leash and ready
 to be let loose upon the disputers of  
its authority1--our toiling brothers of 
past ages have permitted their human    
taskmasters to convert ,god's beautiful 
world1 so adorned and fitted for the    
peace and happiness of all1 into a great
 prison-house of suffering1 filled with 
the actual terrors which the imagination
 of the old poets gave to the realm of  

,rhadamanthus4  ,and hence1 while ,i    
would not weaken in the slightest degree
 the influence of that doctrine of      
future retribution1--the accountability 
of the spirit for the deeds done in the 
body1--the truth of which reason1       
revelation1 and conscience unite in     
attesting as the necessary result of the
 preservation in another state of       
existence of the soul's individuality   
and identity1 ,i must1 nevertheless1    
rejoice that the many are no longer     
willing to permit the few1 for their    
especial benefit1 to convert our common 
,father's heritage into a present hell1 
where1 in return for undeserved         
suffering and toil uncompensated1 they  
can have gracious and comfortable       
assurance of release from a future one4 
,better is the fear of the ,lord than   
the fear of the ,devil2 holier and more 
acceptable the obedience of love and    
reverence than the submission of slavish
 terror4  ,the heart which has felt the 
beauty of holiness1 which has been in   

some measure attuned to the divine      
harmony which now1 as of old in the     
angel-hymn of the ,advent1 breathes of  
glory to ,god1 peace on earth1 and      
good-will to men1 in the serene         
atmosphere of that perfect love which   
casteth out fear1 smiles at the terrors 
which throng the sick dreams of the     
sensual1 which draw aside the           
nightcurtains of guilt1 and startle with
 whispers of revenge the oppressor of   
the poor4  ,there is a beautiful moral  
in one of ,fouque's miniature           
romances1--,die ,kohlerfamilie4  ,the   
fierce spectre1 which rose giant-like1  
in its bloodred mantle1 before the      
selfish and mercenary merchant1 ever    
increasing in size and1 terror with the 
growth of evil and impure thought in the
 mind of the latter1 subdued by prayer1 
and penitence1 and patient watchfulness 
over the heart's purity1 became a loving
 and gentle visitation of soft light and
 meekest melody2 a beautiful radiance1  
at times hovering and flowing on before 

the traveller1 illuminating the bushes  
and foliage of the mountain-forest2 a   
lustre strange and lovely1 such as the  
soul may conceive1 but no words express4
  ,he felt its power in the depths of   
his being1--felt it like the mystic     
breathing of the ,spirit of ,god4  ,the 
excellent ,baxter and other pious men of
 his day deprecated in all sincerity and
 earnestness the growing disbelief in   
witchcraft and diabolical agency1       
fearing that mankind1 losing faith in a 
visible ,satan and in the supernatural  
powers of certain paralytic old women1  
would diverge into universal skepticism4
  ,it is one of the saddest of sights to
 see these good men standing sentry at  
the horn gate of dreams2 attempting     
against the most discouraging odds to   
defend their poor fallacies from profane
 and irreverent investigation2 painfully
 pleading doubtful ,scripture and still 
more doubtful tradition in behalf of    
detected and convicted superstitions    
tossed on the sharp horns of ridicule1  

stretched on the rack of philosophy1 or 
perishing under the exhausted receiver  
of science4  ,a clearer knowledge of the
 aspirations1 capacities1 and           
necessities of the human soul1 and of   
the revelations which the infinite      
,spirit makes to it1 not only through   
the senses by the phenomena of outward  
nature1 but by that inward and direct   
communion which1 under different names1 
has been recognized by the devout and   
thoughtful of every religious sect and  
school of philosophy1 would have saved  
them much anxious labor and a good deal 
of reproach withal in their hopeless    
championship of error4  ,the witches of 
,baxter and the black man of ,mather    
have vanished2 belief in them is no     
longer possible on the part of sane men4
  ,but this mysterious universe1 through
 which1 half veiled in its own shadow1  
our dim little planet is wheeling1 with 
its star worlds and thought-wearying    
spaces1 remains4  ,nature's mighty      
miracle is still over and around us2 and

 hence awe1 wonder1 and reverence remain
 to be the inheritance of humanity2     
still are there beautiful repentances   
and holy deathbeds2 and still over the  
soul's darkness and confusion rises1    
starlike1 the great idea of duty4  ,by  
higher and better influences than the   
poor spectres of superstition1 man must 
henceforth be taught to reverence the   
,invisible1 and1 in the consciousness of
 his own weakness1 and sin1 and sorrow1 
to lean with childlike trust on the     
wisdom and mercy of an overruling       
,providence1--walking by faith through  
the shadow and mystery1 and cheered by  
the remembrance that1 whatever may be   
his apparent allotment1--      ,god's   
greatness flows around our              
incompleteness2      ,round our         
restlessness ,his rest4  ,it is a sad   
spectacle to find the glad tidings of   
the ,christian faith and its reasonable 
service of devotion transformed by      
fanaticism and credulity into           
superstitious terror and wild           

extravagance2 but1 if possible1 there is
 one still sadder4  ,it is that of men  
in our own time regarding with          
satisfaction such evidences of human    
weakness1 and professing to find in them
 new proofs of their miserable theory of
 a godless universe1 and new occasion   
for sneering at sincere devotion as     
cant1 and humble reverence as           
fanaticism4  ,alas6  in comparison with 
such1 the religious enthusiast1 who in  
the midst of his delusion still feels   
that he is indeed a living soul and an  
heir of immortality1 to whom ,god speaks
 from the immensities of ,his universe1 
is a sane man4  ,better is it1 in a life
 like ours1 to be even a howling dervis 
or a dancing ,shaker1 confronting       
imaginary demons with ,thalaba's        
talisman of faith1 than to lose the     
consciousness of our own spiritual      
nature1 and look upon ourselves as mere 
brute masses of animal                  
organization1--barnacles on a dead      
universe2 looking into the dull grave   

with no hope beyond it2 earth gazing    
into earth1 and saying to corruption1   
,thou art my father1 and to the worm1   
,thou art my sister4     ,,hamlet       
,,among ,,the ,,graves4 7#ahdd47  ,,an  
amiable enthusiast1 immortal in his     
beautiful little romance of ,paul and   
,virginia1 has given us in his          
,miscellanies a chapter on the          
,pleasures of ,tombs1--a title singular 
enough1 yet not inappropriate2 for the  
meek- spirited and sentimental author   
has given1 in his own flowing and       
eloquent language1 its vindication4     
,there is1 says he1 a voluptuous        
melancholy arising from the             
contemplation of tombs2 the result1 like
 every other attractive sensation1 of   
the harmony of two opposite             
principles1--from the sentiment of our  
fleeting life and that of our           
immortality1 which unite in view of the 
last habitation of mankind4  ,a tomb is 
a monument erected on the confines of   
two worlds4  ,it first presents to us   

the end of the vain disquietudes of life
 and the image of everlasting repose2 it
 afterwards awakens in us the confused  
sentiment of a blessed immortality1 the 
probabilities of which grow stronger and
 stronger in proportion as the person   
whose memory is recalled was a virtuous 
character4  ,it is from this            
intellectual instinct1 therefore1 in    
favor of virtue1 that the tombs of great
 men inspire us with a veneration so    
affecting4 ,from the same sentiment1    
too1 it is that those which contain     
objects that have been lovely excite so 
much pleasing regret2 for the           
attractions of love arise entirely out  
of the appearances of virtue4  ,hence it
 is that we are moved at the sight of   
the small hillock which covers the ashes
 of an infant1 from the recollection of 
its innocence2 hence it is that we are  
melted into tenderness on contemplating 
the tomb in which is laid to repose a   
young female1 the delight and the hope  
of her family by reason of her virtues4 

,in order to give interest to such      
monuments1 there is no need of bronzes1 
marbles1 and gildings4  ,the more simple
 they are1 the more energy they         
communicate to the sentiment of         
melancholy4  ,they produce a more       
powerful effect when poor rather than   
rich1 antique rather than modern1 with  
details of misfortune rather than titles
 of honor1 with the attributes of virtue
 rather than with those of power4  ,it  
is in the country principally that their
 impression makes itself felt in a very 
lively manner4  ,a simple1 unornamented 
grave there causes more tears to flow   
than the gaudy splendor of a cathedral  
interment4  ,there it is that grief     
assumes sublimity2 it ascends with the  
aged yews in the churchyard2 it extends 
with the surrounding hills and plains2  
it allies itself with all the effects of
 ,nature1--with the dawning of the      
morning1 with the murmuring of wind1    
with the setting of the sun1 and with   
the darkness of the night4  ,not long   

since ,i took occasion to visit the     
cemetery near this city4  ,it is a      
beautiful location for a city of the    
dead1--a tract of some forty or fifty   
acres on the eastern bank of the        
,concord1 gently undulating1 and covered
 with a heavy growth of forest-trees1   
among which the white oak is            
conspicuous4  ,the ground beneath has   
been cleared of undergrowth1 and is     
marked here and there with monuments and
 railings enclosing family lots4  ,it is
 a quiet1 peaceful spot2 the city1 with 
its crowded mills1 its busy streets and 
teeming life1 is hidden from view2 not  
even a solitary farm-house attracts the 
eye4  ,all is still and solemn1 as      
befits the place where man and nature   
lie down together2 where leaves of the  
great lifetree1 shaken down by death1   
mingle and moulder with the frosted     
foliage of the autumnal forest4  ,yet   
the contrast of busy life is not        
wanting4  ,the ,lowell and ,boston      
,railroad crosses the river within view 

of the cemetery2 and1 standing there in 
the silence and shadow1 one can see the 
long trains rushing along their iron    
pathway1 thronged with living1 breathing
 humanity1--the young1 the beautiful1   
the gay1--busy1 wealth-seeking manhood  
of middle years1 the child at its       
mother's knee1 the old man with whitened
 hairs1 hurrying on1 on1--car after     
car1--like the generations of man       
sweeping over the track of time to their
 last 'still resting-place4  ,it is not 
the aged and the sad of heart who make  
this a place of favorite resort4  ,the  
young1 the buoyant1 the light-hearted1  
come and linger among these flower-sown 
graves1 watching the sunshine falling in
 broken light upon these cold1 white    
marbles1 and listening to the song of   
birds in these leafy recesses4          
,beautiful and sweet to the young heart 
is the gentle shadow of melancholy which
 here falls upon it1 soothing1 yet sad1 
--a sentiment midway between joy and    
sorrow4  ,how true is it1 that1 in the  

language of ,wordsworth1--           ,in
 youth we love the darkling lawn1       
,brushed by the owlet's wing2           
,then evening is preferred to dawn1     
,and autumn to the spring4              
,sad fancies do we then affect1         
,in luxury of disrespect           ,to  
our own prodigal excess           ,of   
too familiar happiness4  ,the ,chinese1 
from the remotest antiquity1 have       
adorned and decorated their             
grave-grounds with shrubs and sweet     
flowers1 as places of popular resort4   
,the ,turks have their graveyards       
planted with trees1 through which the   
sun looks in upon the turban stones of  
the faithful1 and beneath which the     
relatives of the dead sit in cheerful   
converse through the long days of       
summer1 in all the luxurious quiet and  
happy indifference of the indolent      
,east4  ,most of the visitors whom ,i   
met at the ,lowell cemetery wore        
cheerful faces2 some sauntered          
laughingly along1 apparently unaffected 

by the associations of the place2 too   
full1 perhaps1 of life1 and energy1 and 
high hope to apply to themselves the    
stern and solemn lesson which is taught 
even by these flower-garlanded mounds4  
,but1 for myself1 ,i confess that ,i am 
always awed by the presence of the dead4
  ,i cannot jest above the gravestone4  
,my spirit is silenced and rebuked      
before the tremendous mystery of which  
the grave reminds me1 and involuntarily 
pays3           ,the deep reverence     
taught of old1           ,the homage of 
man's heart to death4  ,even ,nature's  
cheerful air1 and sun1 and birdvoices   
only serve to remind me that there are  
those beneath who have looked on the    
same green leaves and sunshine1 felt the
 same soft breeze upon their cheeks1 and
 listened to the same wild music of the 
woods for the last time4  ,then1 too1   
comes the saddening reflection1 to which
 so many have given expression1 that    
these trees will put forth their leaves1
 the slant sunshine still fall upon     

green meadows and banks of flowers1 and 
the song of the birds and the ripple of 
waters still be heard after our eyes and
 ears have closed forever4  ,it is hard 
for us to realize this4  ,we are so     
accustomed to look upon these things as 
a part of our life environment that it  
seems strange that they should survive  
us4  ,tennyson1 in his exquisite        
metaphysical poem of the ,two ,voices1  
has given utterance to this sentiment3--
           ,alas6  though ,i should die1
 ,i know           ,that all about the  
thorn will blow           ,in tufts of  
rosy-tinted snow4           ,not less   
the bee will range her cells1           
,the furzy prickle fire the dells1      
,the foxglove cluster dappled bells4    
,the pleasures of the tombs6            
,undoubtedly1 in the language of the    
,idumean1 seer1 there are many who      
rejoice exceedingly and are glad when   
they can find the grave2 who long for it
 as the servant earnestly desireth the  
shadow4  ,rest1 rest to the sick heart  

and the weary brain1 to the long        
afflicted and the hopeless1--rest on the
 calm bosom of our common mother4       
,welcome to the tired ear1 stunned and  
confused with life's jarring discords1  
the everlasting silence2 grateful to the
 weary eyes which have seen evil1 and   
not good1 the everlasting shadow4  ,yet 
over all hangs the curtain of a deep    
mystery1--a curtain lifted only on one  
side by the hands of those who are      
passing under its solemn shadow4  ,no   
voice speaks to us from beyond it1      
telling of the unknown state2 no hand   
from within puts aside the dark drapery 
to reveal the mysteries towards which we
 are all moving4  ,man giveth up the    
ghost2 and where is he8  ,thanks to our 
,heavenly ,father1 ,he has not left us  
altogether without an answer to this    
momentous question4  ,over the blackness
 of darkness a light is shining4  ,the  
valley of the shadow of death is no     
longer a land of darkness and where the 
light is as darkness4  ,the presence of 

a serene and holy life pervades it4     
,above its pale tombs and crowded       
burial-places1 above the wail of        
despairing humanity1 the voice of ,him  
who awakened life and beauty beneath the
 grave-clothes of the tomb at ,bethany  
is heard proclaiming1 ,i am the         
,resurrection and the ,life4  ,we know  
not1 it is true1 the conditions of our  
future life2 we know not what it is to  
pass fromm this state of being to       
another2 but before us in that dark     
passage has gone the ,man of ,nazareth1 
and the light of ,his footsteps lingers 
in the path4  ,where ,he1 our ,brother  
in ,his humanity1 our ,redeemer in ,his 
divine nature1 has gone1 let us not fear
 to follow4  ,he who ordereth all aright
 will uphold with ,his own great arm the
 frail spirit when its incarnation is   
ended2 and it may be1 that1 in language 
which ,i have elsewhere used1           
--when ,time's veil shall fall asunder1 
,the soul may know           ,no fearful
 change nor sudden wonder1              

,nor sink the weight of mystery under1  
,but with the upward rise and with the  
vastness grow4            ,and all we   
shrink from now may seem           ,no  
new revealing2           ,familiar as   
our childhood's stream1           ,or   
pleasant memory of a dream1             
,the loved and cherished past upon the  
new life stealing4            ,serene   
and mild the untried light              
,may have its dawning2           ,as    
meet in summer's northern night         
,the evening gray and dawning white1    
,the sunset hues of ,time blend with the
 soul's new morning4     ,,swedenborg   
7#ahdd47  ,,there are times when1       
looking only on the surface of things1  
one is almost ready to regard ,lowell as
 a sort of sacred city of ,mammon1--the 
,benares of gain3 its huge mills1       
temples2 its crowded dwellings1 lodging-
 places of disciples and proselytes     
within the gate2 its warehouses1 stalls 
for the sale of relics4  ,a very mean   
idol-worship1 too1 unrelieved by awe and

 reverence1--a selfish1                 
earthward-looking devotion to the       
least-erected spirit that fell from     
paradise4  ,i grow weary of seeing man  
and mechanism reduced to a common level1
 moved by the same impulse1 answering to
 the same bell-call4  ,a nightmare of   
materialism broods over all4  ,i long at
 times to hear a voice crying through   
the streets like that of one of the old 
prophets proclaiming the great first    
truth1--that the ,lord alone is ,god4   
,yet is there not another side to the   
picture8  ,high over sounding workshops 
spires glisten in the sun1--silent      
fingers pointing heavenward4 ,the       
workshops themselves are instinct with  
other and subtler processes than        
cotton-spinning or carpet-weaving4      
,each human being who watches beside    
jack or power loom feels more or less   
intensely that it is a solemn thing to  
live4  ,here are sin and sorrow1        
yearnings for lost peace1 outgushing    
gratitude of forgiven spirits1 hopes and

 fears1 which stretch beyond the horizon
 of time into eternity4  ,death is here4
  ,the graveyard utters its warning4    
,over all bends the eternal heaven in   
its silence and mystery4  ,nature1 even 
here1 is mightier than ,art1 and ,god is
 above all4 ,underneath the din of labor
 and the sounds of traffic1 a voice1    
felt rather than beard1 reaches the     
heart1 prompting the same fearful       
questions which stirred the soul of the 
world's oldest poet1--,if a man die1    
shall he live again8  ,man giveth up the
 ghost1 and where is he8 ,out of the    
depths of burdened and weary hearts     
comes up the agonizing inquiry1 ,what   
shall ,i do to be saved8  ,who shall    
deliver me from the body of this death8 
,as a matter of course1 in a city like  
this1 composed of all classes of our    
many-sided population1 a great variety  
of religious sects have their           
representatives in ,lowell4  ,the young 
city is dotted over with steeple houses1
 most of them of the ,yankee order of   

architecture4  ,the ,episcopalians have 
a house of worship on ,merrimac         
,street1--a pile of dark stone1 with low
 ,gothic doors and arched windows4  ,a  
plat of grass lies between it and the   
dusty street2 and near it stands the    
dwelling-house intended for the         
minister1 built of the same material as 
the church and surrounded by trees and  
shrubbery4  ,the attention of the       
stranger is also attracted by another   
consecrated building on the hill slope  
of ,belvidere1--one of ,irving's a      
shingle palaces1 painted in imitation of
 stone1--a great wooden sham1 whelked   
and horned with pine spires and turrets1
 a sort of whittled representation of   
the many-beaded beast of the            
,apocalypse4  ,in addition to the       
established sects which have reared     
their visible altars in the ,city of    
,spindles1 there are many who have not  
yet marked the boundaries or set up the 
pillars and stretched out the curtains  
of their sectarian tabernacles2 who1 in 

halls and upper chambers and in the     
solitude of their own homes1 keep alive 
the spirit of devotion1 and1 wrapping   
closely around them the mantles of their
 order1 maintain the integrity of its   
peculiarities in the midst of an        
unbelieving generation4  ,not long      
since1 in company with a friend who is a
 regular attendant1 ,i visited the      
little meeting of the disciples of      
,emanuel ,swedenborg4 ,passing over     
,chapel ,hill and leaving the city      
behind us1 we reached the stream which  
winds through the beautiful woodlands at
 the ,powder ,mills and mingles its     
waters with the ,concord4  ,the hall in 
which the followers of the ,gothland    
seer meet is small and plain1 with      
unpainted seats1 like those of the      
people called ,quakers1 and looks out   
upon the still woods and that willowy   
stream which turns a mill4  ,an organ of
 small size1 yet1 as it seemed to me1   
vastly out of proportion with the room1 
filled the place usually occupied by the

 pulpit1 which was here only a plain    
desk1 placed modestly by the side of it4
  ,the congregation have no regular     
preacher1 but the exercises of reading  
the ,scriptures1 prayers1 and selections
 from the ,book of ,worship were        
conducted by one of the lay members4  ,a
 manuscript sermon1 by a clergyman of   
the order in ,boston1 was read1 and     
apparently listened to with much        
interest4  ,it was well written and     
deeply imbued with the doctrines of the 
church4  ,i was impressed by the gravity
 and serious earnestness of the little  
audience4  ,there were here no          
circumstances calculated to excite      
enthusiasm1 nothing of the pomp of      
religious rites and ceremonies2 only a  
settled conviction of the truth of the  
doctrines of their faith could have thus
 brought them together4  ,i could       
scarcely make the fact a reality1 as ,i 
sat among them1 that here1 in the midst 
of our bare and hard utilities1 in the  
very centre and heart of our mechanical 

civilization1 were devoted and          
undoubting believers in the mysterious  
and wonderful revelations of the        
,swedish prophet1--revelations which    
look through all external and outward   
manifestations to inward realities2     
which regard all objects in the world of
 sense only as the types and symbols of 
the world of spirit2 literally unmasking
 the universe and laying bare the       
profoundest mysteries of life4  ,the    
character and writings of ,emanuel      
,swedenborg constitute one of the       
puzzles and marvels of metaphysics and  
psychology4  ,a man remarkable for his  
practical activities1 an ardent scholar 
of the exact sciences1 versed in all the
 arcana of physics1 a skilful and       
inventive mechanician1 he has evolved   
from the hard and gross materialism of  
his studies a system of transcendent    
spiritualism4  ,from his aggregation of 
cold and apparently lifeless practical  
facts beautiful and wonderful           
abstractions start forth like blossoms  

on the rod of the ,levite4  ,a          
politician and a courtier1 a man of the 
world1 a mathematician engaged in the   
soberest details of the science1 he has 
given to the world1 in the simplest and 
most natural language1 a series of      
speculations upon the great mystery of  
being3 detailed1 matter-of-fact         
narratives of revelations from the      
spiritual world1 which at once appall us
 by their boldness1 and excite our      
wonder at their extraordinary method1   
logical accuracy1 and perfect           
consistency4 ,these remarkable          
speculations--the workings of a mind in 
which a powerful imagination allied     
itself with superior reasoning          
faculties1 the marvellous current of    
whose thought ran only in the diked and 
guarded channels of mathematical        
demonstration--he uniformly speaks of as
 facts4  ,his perceptions of            
abstractions were so intense that they  
seem to have reached that point where   
thought became sensible to sight as well

 as feeling4  ,what he thought1 that he 
saw4  ,he relates his visions of the    
spiritual world as he would the         
incidents of a walk round his own city  
of ,stockholm4  ,one can almost see him 
in his brown coat and velvet breeches1  
lifting his cocked hat to an angel1 or  
keeping an unsavory spirit at arm's     
length with that gold-headed cane which 
his ,london host describes as his       
inseparable companion in walking4  ,his 
graphic descriptions have always an air 
of naturalness and probability2 yet     
there is a minuteness of detail at times
 almost bordering on the ludicrous4  ,in
 his ,memorable ,relations he manifests 
nothing of the imagination of ,milton1  
overlooking the closed gates of         
paradise1 or following the pained fiend 
in his flight through chaos2 nothing of 
,dante's terrible imagery appalls us2 we
 are led on from heaven to heaven very  
much as ,defoe leads us after his       
shipwrecked ,crusoe4  ,we can scarcely  
credit the fact that we are not         

traversing our lower planet2 and the    
angels seem vastly like our common      
acquaintances4  ,we seem to recognize   
the ,john ,smiths1 and ,mr4 ,browns1 and
 the old familiar faces of our mundane  
habitation4  ,the evil principle in     
,swedenborg's picture is1 not the       
colossal and massive horror of the      
,inferno1 nor that stern wrestler with  
fate who darkens the canvas of ,paradise
 ,lost1 but an aggregation of poor1     
confused spirits1 seeking rest and      
finding none save in the unsavory       
atmosphere of the falses4  ,these small 
fry of devils remind us only of certain 
unfortunate fellows whom we have known1 
who seem incapable of living in good and
 wholesome society1 and who are         
manifestly given over to believe a lie4 
,thus it is that the very heavens and   
hells of the ,swedish mystic seem to be 
of the earth1 earthy4  ,he brings the   
spiritual world into close analogy with 
the material one4  ,in this hurried     
paper ,i have neither space nor leisure 

to attempt an analysis of the great     
doctrines which underlie the revelations
 of ,swedenborg4  ,his remarkably       
suggestive books are becoming familiar  
to the reading and reflecting portion of
 the community4  ,they are not unworthy 
of study2 but1 in the language of       
another1 ,i would say1 ,emulate         
,swedenborg in his exemplary life1 his  
learning1 his virtues1 his independent  
thought1 his desire for wisdom1 his love
 of the good and true2 aim to be his    
equal1 his superior1 in these things2   
but call no man your master4     ,,the  
,,better ,,land4 7#ahdd47  ,,the        
shapings of our heavens are the         
modifications of our constitution1 said 
,charles ,lamb1 in his reply to         
,southey's attack upon him in the       
,quarterly ,review4  ,he who is infinite
 in love as well as wisdom has revealed 
to us the fact of a future life1 and the
 fearfully important relation in which  
the present stands to it4  ,the actual  
nature and conditions of that life ,he  

has hidden from us1--no chart of the    
ocean of eternity is given us1--no      
celestial guidebook or geography        
defines1 localizes1 and prepares us for 
the wonders of the spiritual world4     
,hence imagination has a wide field for 
its speculations1 which1 so long as they
 do not positively contradict the       
revelation of the ,scriptures1 cannot be
 disproved4  ,we naturally enough       
transfer to our idea of heaven whatever 
we love and reverence on earth4         
,thither the ,catholic carries in his   
fancy the imposing rites and            
time-honored solemnities of his worship4
  ,there the ,methodist sees his        
love-feasts and camp-meetings in the    
groves and by the still waters and green
 pastures of the blessed abodes4  ,the  
,quaker1 in the stillness of his        
self-communing1 remembers that there was
 silence in heaven4  ,the ,churchman1   
listening to the solemn chant of weal   
music or the deep tones of the organ1   
thinks of the song of the elders and the

 golden harps of the ,new ,jerusalem4   
,the heaven of the northern nations of  
,europe was a gross and sensual         
reflection of the earthly life of a     
barbarous and brutal people4  ,the      
,indians of ,north ,america had a vague 
notion of a sunset land1 a beautiful    
paradise far in the west1 mountains and 
forests filled with deer and buffalo1   
lakes and streams swarming with         
fishes1--the happy hunting-ground of    
souls4  ,in a late letter from a devoted
 missionary among the ,western ,indians 
7,paul ,blohm1 a converted ,jew7 we have
 noticed a beautiful illustration of    
this belief4  ,near the ,omaha          
mission-house1 on a high luff1 was a    
solitary ,indian grave4  ,one evening1  
says the missionary1 having come home   
with some cattle which ,i had been      
seeking1 ,i heard some one wailing2 and1
 looking in the direction from whence ,i
 proceeded1 ,i found it to be from the  
grave near our house4  ,in a moment     
after a mourner rose up from a kneeling 

or lying posture1 and1 turning to the   
setting sun1 stretched forth his arms in
 prayer and supplication with an        
intensity and earnestness as though he  
would detain the splendid luminary from 
running his course4  ,with his body     
leaning forward and his arms stretched  
towards the sun1 he presented a most    
striking figure of sorrow and petition4 
,it was solemnly awful4  ,he seemed to  
me to be one of the ancients come forth 
to teach me how to pray4  ,a venerable  
and worthy ,new ,england clergyman1 on  
his death-bed1 just before the close of 
his life1 declared that he was only     
conscious of an awfully solemn and      
intense curiosity to know the great     
secret of death and eternity4  ,the     
excellent ,dr4 ,nelson1 of ,missouri1   
was one who1 while on earth1 seemed to  
live another and higher life in the     
contemplation of infinite purity and    
happiness4  ,a friend once related an   
incident concerning him which made a    
deep impression upon my mind4  ,they had

 been travelling through a summer's     
forenoon in the prairie1 and had lain   
down to rest beneath a solitary tree4   
,the ,doctor lay for a long time1       
silently looking upwards through the    
openings of the boughs into the still   
heavens1 when he repeated the following 
lines1 in a low tone1 as if communing   
with himself in view of the wonders he  
described3--      ,o the joys that are  
there mortal eye bath not seen6      ,o 
the songs they sing there1 with hosannas
 between6      ,o the thrice-blessed    
song of the ,lamb and of ,moses6      ,o
 brightness on brightness6  the pearl   
gate uncloses6      ,o white wings of   
angels6  ,o fields white with roses6    
,o white tents of peace1 where the rapt 
soul reposes      ,o the waters so      
still1 and the pastures so green6  ,the 
brief hints afforded us by the sacred   
writings concerning the better land are 
inspiring and beautiful4  ,eye hath not 
seen1 nor the ear heard1 neither hath it
 entered into the heart of man to       

conceive of the good in store for the   
righteous4  ,heaven is described as a   
quiet habitation1--a rest remaining for 
the people of ,god4  ,tears shall be    
wiped away from all eyes2 there shall be
 no more death1 neither sorrow nor      
crying1 neither shall there be any more 
pain4  ,to how many death-beds have     
these words spoken peace6  ,how many    
failing hearts have gathered strength   
from them to pass through the dark      
valley of shadows6  ,yet we should not  
forget that the kingdom of heaven is    
within2 that it is the state and        
affections of the soul1 the answer of a 
good conscience1 the sense of harmony   
with ,god1 a condition of time as well  
as of eternity4  ,what is really        
momentous and all-important with us is  
the present1 by which the future is     
shaped and colored4  ,a mere change of  
locality cannot alter the actual and    
intrinsic qualities of the soul4 ,guilt 
and remorse would make the golden       
streets of ,paradise intolerable as the 

burning marl of the infernal abodes2    
while purity and innocence would        
transform hell itself into heaven4      
,,dora ,,green ,,well4  ,first published
 as an introduction to an ,american     
edition of that author's ,the ,patience 
of ,hope4  ,,there are men who1         
irrespective of the names by which they 
are called in the ,babel confusion of   
sects1 are endeared to the common heart 
of ,christendom4  ,our doors open of    
their own accord to receive them4  ,for 
in them we feel that in some faint      
degree1 and with many limitations1 the  
,divine is again manifested3 something  
of the ,infinite ,love shines out of    
them2 their very garments have healing  
and fragrance borrowed from the bloom of
 ,paradise4  ,so of books4  ,there are  
volumes which perhaps contain many      
things1 in the matter of doctrine and   
illustration1 to which our reason does  
not assent1 but which nevertheless seem 
permeated with a certain sweetness and  
savor of life4  ,they have the ,divine  

seal and imprimatur2 they are fragrant  
with heart's-ease and asphodel2 tonic   
with the leaves which are for the       
healing of the nations4  ,the           
meditations of the devout monk of       
,kempen are the common heritage of      
,catholic and ,protestant2 our hearts   
burn within us as we walk with          
,augustine under ,numidian fig-trees in 
the gardens of ,verecundus2 ,feuelon    
from his bishop's palace and ,john      
,woolman from his tailor's shop speak to
 us in the same language4  ,the unknown 
author of that book which ,luther loved 
next to his ,bible1 the ,theologia      
,germanica1 is just as truly at home in 
this present age1 and in the ultra      
,protestantism of ,new ,england1 as in  
the heart of ,catholic ,europe1 and in  
the fourteenth century4  ,for such books
 know no limitations of time or place2  
they have the perpetual freshness and   
fitness of truth2 they speak out of     
profound experience heart answers to    
heart as we read them2 the spirit that  

is in man1 and the inspiration that     
giveth understanding1 bear witness to   
them4  ,the bent and stress of their    
testimony are the same1 whether written 
in this or a past century1 by ,catholic 
or ,quaker3 self-renunciation1--        
reconcilement to the ,divine will       
through simple faith in the ,divine     
goodness1 and the love of it which must 
needs follow its recognition1 the life  
of ,christ made our own by self-denial  
and sacrifice1 and the fellowship of    
,his suffering for the good of others1  
the indwelling ,spirit1 leading into all
 truth1 the ,divine ,word nigh us1 even 
in our hearts4  ,they have little to do 
with creeds1 or schemes of doctrine1 or 
the partial and inadequate plans of     
salvation invented by human speculation 
and ascribed to ,him who1 it is         
sufficient to know1 is able to save unto
 the uttermost all who trust in ,him4   
,they insist upon simple faith and      
holiness of life1 rather than rituals or
 modes of worship2 they leave the merely

 formal1 ceremonial1 and temporal part  
of religion to take care of itself1 and 
earnestly seek for the substantial1 the 
necessary1 and the permanent4  ,with    
these legacies of devout souls1 it seems
 to me1 the little volume herewith      
presented is not wholly unworthy of a   
place4  ,it assumes the life and power  
of the gospel as a matter of actual     
experience2 it bears unmistakable       
evidence of a realization1 on the part  
of its author1 of the truth1 that       
,christianity is not simply historical  
and traditional1 but present and        
permanent1 with its roots in the        
infinite past and its branches in the   
infinite future1 the eternal spring and 
growth of ,divine love2 not the dying   
echo of words uttered centuries ago1    
never to be repeated1 but ,god's good   
tidings spoken afresh in every          
soul1--the perennial fountain and       
unstinted outflow of wisdom and         
goodness1 forever old and forever new4  
,it is a lofty plea for patience1 trust1

 hope1 and holy confidence1 under the   
shadow1 as well as in the light1 of     
,christian experience1 whether the cloud
 seems to rest on the tabernacle1 or    
moves guidingly forward4  ,it is perhaps
 too exclusively addressed to those who 
minister in the inner sanctuary1 to be  
entirely intelligible to the vaster     
number who wait in the outer courts2 it 
overlooks1 perhaps1 too much the        
solidarity and oneness of humanity2' but
 all who read it will feel its          
earnestness1 and confess to the singular
 beauty of its style1 the strong1 steady
 march of its argument1 and the wide and
 varied learning which illustrates it4  
7,the good are not so good as ,i once   
thought1 nor the bad so evil1      and  
in all there is more for grace to make  
advantage of1 and more to      testify  
for ,god and holiness1 than ,i once     
believed4--,baxter47  ,to use the       
language of one of its reviewers in the 
,scottish press3--  ,beauty there is in 
the book2 exquisite glimpses into the   

loveliness of nature here and there     
shine out from its lines1--a charm      
wanting which meditative writing always 
seems to have a defect2 beautiful       
gleams1 too1 there are of the choicest  
things of art1 and frequent allusions by
 the way to legend or picture of the    
religious past2 so that1 while you read1
 you wander by a clear brook of thought1
 coining far from the beautiful hills1  
and winding away from beneath the       
sunshine of gladness and beauty into the
 dense1 mysterious forest of human      
existence1 that loves to sing1 amid the 
shadow of human darkness and anguish1   
its music of heavenborn consolation2    
bringing1 too1 its pure waters of       
cleansing and healing1 yet evermore     
making its praise of holy affection and 
gladness2 while it is still haunted by  
the spirits of prophet1 saint1 and poet1
 repeating snatches of their strains1   
and is led on1 as by a spirit from      
above1 to join the great river of ,god's
 truth4  4  4  4  ,this is a book for   

,christian men1 for the quiet hour of   
holy solitude1 when the heart longs and 
waits for access to the presence of the 
,master4 ,the weary heart that thirsts  
amidst its conflicts and its toils for  
refreshing water will drink eagerly of  
these sweet and refreshing words4 ,to   
thoughtful men and women1 especially    
such as have learnt any of the patience 
of hope in the experiences of sorrow and
 trial1 we commend this little volume   
most heartily and earnestly4   ,the     
,patience of ,hope fell into my hands   
soon after its publication in           
,edinburgh1 some two years ago4  ,i was 
at once impressed by its extraordinary  
richness of language and imagery1--its  
deep and solemn tone of meditation in   
rare combination with an eminently      
practical tendency1-- philosophy warm   
and glowing with love4  ,it will1       
perhaps1 be less the fault of the writer
 than of her readers1 if they are not   
always able to eliminate from her highly
 poetical and imaginative language the  

subtle metaphysical verity or phase of  
religious experience which she seeks to 
express1 or that they are compelled to  
pass over1 without appropriation1 many  
things which are nevertheless profoundly
 suggestive as vague possibilities of   
the highest life4  ,all may not be able 
to find in some of her ,scriptural      
citations the exact weight and          
significance so apparent to her own     
mind4  ,she startles us1 at times1 by   
her novel applications of familiar      
texts1 by meanings reflected upon them  
from her own spiritual intuitions1      
making the barren ,baca of the letter a 
well4  ,if the rendering be             
questionable1 the beauty and quaint     
felicity of illustration and comparison 
are unmistakable2 and we call to mind   
,augustine's saying1 that two or more   
widely varying interpretations of       
,scripture may be alike true in         
themselves considered4  ,when one saith1
 ,moses meant as ,i do1' and another    
saith1 ',nay1 but as ,i do1' ,i ask1    

more reverently1 ',why not rather as    
both1 if both be true8  ,some minds1 for
 instance1 will hesitate to assent to   
the use of certain ,scriptural passages 
as evidence that ,he who is the ,light  
of men1 the ,way and the ,truth1 in the 
mystery of ,his economy1 designedly     
delays1 withdraws1 and even hides       
,himself from those who love and follow 
,him4 ,they will prefer to impute       
spiritual dearth and darkness to human  
weakness1 to the selfishness which seeks
 a sign for itself1 to evil imaginations
 indulged1 to the taint and burden of   
some secret sin1 or to some disease and 
exaggeration of the conscience1 growing 
out of bodily infirmity1 rather than to 
any purpose on the part of our ,heavenly
 ,father to perplex and mislead ,his    
children4  ,the sun does not shine the  
less because one side of our planet is  
in darkness4  ,to borrow the words of   
,augustine ,thou1 ,lord1 forsakest      
nothing thou hast made4  ,thou alone art
 near to those even who remove far from 

thee4  ,let them turn and seek thee1 for
 not as they have forsaken their        
,creator hast thou forsaken thy         
creation4  ,it is only by holding fast  
the thought of ,infinite ,goodness1 and 
interpreting doubtful ,scripture and    
inward spiritual experience by the light
 of that central idea1 that we can      
altogether escape the dreadful          
conclusion of ,pascal1 that revelation  
has been given us in dubious cipher1    
contradictory and mystical1 in order    
that some1 through miraculous aid1 may  
understand it to their salvation1 and   
others be mystified by it to their      
eternal loss4  ,i might mention other   
points of probable divergence between   
reader and writer1 and indicate more    
particularly my own doubtful parse and  
hesitancy over some of these pages4     
,but it is impossible for me to make one
 to whom ,i am so deeply indebted an    
offender for a word or a ,scriptural    
rendering4  ,on the grave and awful     
themes which she discusses1 ,i have     

little to say in the way of controversy4
  ,i would listen1 rather than          
criticise4  ,the utterances of pious    
souls1 in all ages1 are to me often like
 fountains in a thirsty land1           
strengthening and refreshing1 yet not   
without an after-taste of human frailty 
and inadequateness1 a slight bitterness 
of disappointment and unsatisfied quest4
  ,who has not felt at times that the   
letter killeth1 that prophecies fail1   
and tongues cease to edify1 and been    
ready to say1 with the author of the    
,imitation of ,christ3 ,speak1 ,lord1   
for thy servant heareth4  ,let not      
,moses nor the prophets speak to me1 but
 speak thou rather1 who art the         
,inspirer and ,enlightener of all4  ,i  
am weary with reading and hearing many  
things2 let all teachers hold their     
peace2 let all creatures keep silence3  
speak thou alone to me4  ,the writer of 
,the ,patience of ,hope had1 previous to
 its publication1 announced herself to a
 fit1 if small1 audience of earnest and 

thoughtful ,christians1 in a little     
volume entitled1 ,a ,present ,heaven4   
,she has recently published a collection
 of poems1 of which so competent a judge
 as ,dr4 ,brown1 the author of ,horae   
,subsecivae and ,rab and his ,friends1  
thus speaks1 in the ,north ,british     
,review3--  ,such of our readers--a fast
 increasing number--as have read and    
enjoyed ,the ,patience of ,hope1        
listening to the gifted nature which1   
through such deep and subtile thought1  
and through affection and godliness     
still deeper and more quick1 has charmed
 and soothed them1 will not be surprised
 to learn that she is not only poetical1
 but1 what is more1 a poet1 and one as  
true as ,george ,herbert and ,henry     
,vaughan1 or our own ,cowper2 for1 with 
all our admiration of the searching1    
fearless speculation1 the wonderful     
power of speaking clearly upon dark and 
all but unspeakable subjects1 the rich  
outcome of 'thoughts that wander through
 eternity1' which increases every time  

we take up that wonderful little book1  
we confess we were surprised at the kind
 and the amount of true poetic vis in   
these poems1 from the same fine and     
strong hand4 ,there is a personality and
 immediateness1 a sort of sacredness and
 privacy1 as if they were overheard     
rather than read1 which gives to these  
remarkable productions a charm and a    
flavor all their own4  ,with no effort1 
no consciousness of any end but that of 
uttering the inmost thoughts and desires
 of the heart1 they flow out as clear1  
as living1 as gladdening as the wayside 
well1 coming from out the darkness of   
the central depths1 filtered into purity
 by time and travel4  ,the waters are   
copious1 sometimes to overflowing2 but  
they are always limpid and unforced1    
singing their own quiet tune1 not       
saddening1 though sometimes sad1 and    
their darkness not that of obscurity1   
but of depth1 like that of the deep sea4
  ,this is not a book to criticise or   
speak about1 and we give no extracts    

from the longer1 and in this case1 we   
think1 the better poems4  ,in reading   
this ,cardiphonia set to music1 we have 
been often reminded1 not only of        
,herbert and ,vaughan1 but of ,keble1--a
 likeness of the spirit1 not of the     
letter2 for if there is any one poet who
 has given a bent to her mind1 it is    
,wordsworth1--the greatest of all our   
century's poets1 both in himself and in 
his power of making poets4  ,in the     
belief that whoever peruses the         
following pages will be sufficiently    
interested in their author to be induced
 to turn back and read over again1 with 
renewed pleasure1 extracts from her     
metrical writings1 ,i copy from the     
volume so warmly commended a few brief  
pieces and extracts from the longer     
poems4  ,here are three sonnets1 each a 
sermon in itself3--                     
,,ascending4       ,they who from       
mountain-peaks have gazed upon      ,the
 wide1 illimitable heavens have said1   
,that1 still receding as they climbed1  

outspread1      ,the blue vault deepens 
over them1 and1 one      ,by one drawn  
further back1 each starry sun           
,shoots down a feebler splendor overhead
      ,so1 ,saviour1 as our mounting    
spirits1 led      ,along ,faith's living
 way to ,thee1 have won      ,a nearer  
access1 up the difficult track          
,still pressing1 on that rarer          
atmosphere1      ,when low beneath us   
flits the cloudy rack1      ,we see     
,thee drawn within a widening sphere    
,of glory1 from us further1 further     
back1--      ,yet is it then because we 
are more near4                          
,,life ,,tapestry4       ,top long have 
,i1 methought1 with tearful eye         
,pored o'er this tangled work of mine1  
and mused      ,above each stitch awry  
and thread confused2      ,now will ,i  
think on what in years gone by      ,i  
heard of them that weave rare tapestry  
,at royal looms1 and hew they constant  
use      ,to work on the rough side1 and
 still peruse      ,the pictured pattern

 set above them high2      ,so will ,i  
set my copy high above1      ,and gaze  
and gaze till on my spirit grows        
,its gracious impress2 till some line of
 love1      ,transferred upon my canvas1
 faintly glows2      ,nor look too much 
on warp or woof1 provide      ,he whom  
,i work for sees their fairer side6     
,,hope4       ,when ,i do think on thee1
 sweet ,hope1 and how      ,thou        
followest on our steps1 a coaxing child 
,oft chidden hence1 yet quickly         
reconciled1      ,still turning on us a 
glad1 beaming brow1      ,and red1 ripe 
lips for kisses3 even now      ,thou    
mindest me of him1 the ,ruler mild1     
,who led ,god's chosen people through   
the wild1      ,and bore with wayward   
murmurers1 meek as thou      ,that      
bringest waters from the ,rock1 with    
bread      ,of angels strewing ,earth   
for us6 like him      ,thy force abates 
not1 nor thine eye grows dim2      ,but 
still with milk and honey-droppings fed1
      ,thou leadest to the ,promised    

,country fair1      ,though thou1 like  
,moses1 may'st not enter there   ,there 
is something very weird and striking in 
the following lines3--                  
,,gone4     ,alone1 at midnight as he   
knelt1 his spirit was aware    ,of      
,somewhat falling in between the silence
 and the prayer2     ,a bell's dull     
clangor that hath sped so far1 it faints
 and dies    ,so soon as it hath reached
 the ear whereto its errand lies2       
,and as he rose up from his knees1 his  
spirit was aware    ,of ,somewhat1      
forceful and unseen1 that sought to hold
 him there2     ,as of a ,form that     
stood behind1 and on his shoulders prest
    ,both hands to stay his rising up1  
and ,somewhat in his breast1     ,in    
accents clearer far than words1 spake1  
,pray yet longer1 pray1    ,for one that
 ever prayed for thee this night hath   
passed away2     ,a soul1 that climbing 
hour by hour the silver-shining stair   
,that leads to ,god's great             
treasure-house1 grew covetous2 and there

     ,was stored no blessing and no     
boon1 for thee she did not claim1       
7,so lowly1 yet importunate67 and ever  
with thy name     ,she link'd--that none
 in earth or heaven might hinder it or  
stay--    ,one ,other ,name1 so strong1 
that thine hath never missed its way4   
,this very night within my arms this    
gracious soul ,i bore ,within the       
,gate1 where many a prayer of hers had  
gone before2     ,and where she resteth1
 evermore one constant song they raise  
,of ',holy1    holy1' so that now ,i    
know not if she prays2     ,but for the 
voice of praise in ,heaven1 a voice of  
,prayer hath gone    ,from ,earth2 thy  
name upriseth now no more2 pray on1 pray
 on6   ,the following may serve as a    
specimen of the writer's lighter1 half- 
playful strain of moralizing3--         
,,seeking4       ,and where1 and among  
what pleasant places1      ,have ye     
been1 that ye come again      ,with your
 laps so full of flowers1 and your faces
      ,like buds blown fresh after rain8

       ,we have been1 said the children1
 speaking      ,in their gladness1 as   
the birds chime1      ,all together1--we
 have been seeking      ,for the        
,fairies of olden time2      ,for we    
thought1 they are only hidden1--        
,they would never surely go      ,from  
this green earth all unbidden1      ,and
 the children that love them so4        
,though they come not around us leaping1
      ,as they did when they and the    
world      ,were young1 we shall find   
them sleeping      ,within some broad   
leaf curled2      ,for the lily its     
white doors closes      ,but only over  
the bee1      ,and we looked through the
 summer roses1      ,leaf by leaf1 so   
carefully4       ,but we thought1 rolled
 up we shall find them      ,among      
mosses old and dry2      ,from gossamer 
threads that bind them1      ,they will 
start like the butterfly1      ,all     
winged3 so we went forth seeking1       
,yet still they have kept unseen2       
,though we think our feet have been     

keeping      ,the track where they have 
been1      ,for we saw where their dance
 went flying      ,o'er the             
pastures1--snowy white4       ,their    
seats and their tables lying1           
,o'erthrown in their sudden flight4     
,and they1 too1 have had their losses1  
,for we found the goblets white         
,and red in the old spiked mosses1      
,that they drank from over-night2       
,and in the pale horn of the woodbine   
,was some wine left1 clear and bright2  
,but we found1 said the children1       
speaking      ,more quickly1 so many    
things1      ,that we soon forgot we    
were seeking1--      ,forgot all the    
,fairy rings1      ,forgot all the      
stories olden      ,that we hear round  
the fire at night1      ,of their gifts 
and their favors golden1--      ,the    
sunshine was so bright2      ,and the   
flowers1--we found so many      ,that it
 almost made us grieve      ,to think   
there were some1 sweet as any1          
,that we were forced to leave2      ,as 

we left1 by the brook-side lying1       
,the balls of drifted foam1      ,and   
brought 7after all our trying7          
,these ,guelder-roses home4       ,then1
 oh6 ,i heard one speaking      ,beside 
me soft and low1      ,i have been1 like
 the blessed children1 seeking1         
,still seeking1 to and fro2      ,yet   
not1 like them1 for the ,fairies1--     
,they might pass unmourned away         
,for me1 that had looked on angels1--   
,on angels that would not stay2         
,no6  not though in haste before them   
,i spread all my heart's best cheer1    
,and made love my banner o'er them1     
,if it might but keep them here2        
,they stayed but a while to rest them2  
,long1 long before its close1      ,from
 my feast1 though ,i mourned and prest  
them      ,the radiant guests arose2    
,and their flitting wings struck sadness
      ,and silence2 never more          
,hath my soul won back the gladness1    
,that was its own before4      ,no2 ,i  
mourned not for the ,fairies      ,when 

,i had seen hopes decay1      ,that were
 sweet unto my spirit      ,so long2 ,i 
said1 ',if they1      ,that through     
shade and sunny weather      ,have      
twined about my heart1      ,should     
fade1 we must go together1      ,for we 
can never part6'      ,but my care was  
not availing2      ,i found their       
sweetness gone2      ,i saw their bright
 tints paling2--      ,they died2 yet ,i
 lived on4       ,yet seeking1 ever     
seeking1      ,like the children1 ,i    
have won      ,a guerdon all undreamt of
       ,when first my quest begun1      
,and my thoughts come back like         
wanderers1      ,out-wearied1 to my     
breast2      ,what they sought for long 
they found not1      ,yet was the       
,unsought best4      ,for ,i sought not 
out for crosses1      ,i did not seek   
for pain2      ,yet ,i find the heart's 
sore losses      ,were the spirit's     
surest gain4   ,in ,a ,meditation1 the  
writer ventures1 not without awe and    
reverence1 upon that dim1 unsounded     

ocean of mystery1 the life beyond3--    
,but is there prayer      ,within your  
quiet homes1 and is there care      ,for
 those ye leave behind8  ,i would       
address      ,my spirit to this theme in
 humbleness      ,no tongue nor pen hath
 uttered or made known      ,this       
mystery1 and thus ,i do but guess       
,at clearer types through lowlier       
patterns shown2      ,yet when did ,love
 on earth forsake its own8      ,ye may 
not quit your sweetness2 in the ,vine   
,more firmly rooted than of old1 your   
wine      ,hath freer flow6  ye have not
 changed1 but grown      ,to fuller     
stature2 though the shock was keen      
,that severed you from us1 how oft below
      ,hath sorest parting smitten but  
to show      ,true hearts their hidden  
wealth that quickly grow      ,the      
closer for that anguish1--friend to     
friend      ,revealed more clear1--and  
what is ,death to rend      ,the ties of
 life and love1 when ,he must fade      
,in light of very ,life1 when ,he must  

bend      ,to love1 that1 loving1 loveth
 to the end8                     ,i do  
not deem ye look      ,upon us now1 for 
be it that your eyes      ,are sealed or
 clear1 a burden on them lies      ,too 
deep and blissful for their gaze to     
brook      ,our troubled strife2 enough 
that once ye dwelt      ,where now we   
dwell1 enough that once ye felt      ,as
 now we feel1 to bid you recognize      
,our claim of kindred cherished though  
unseen2      ,and ,love that is to you  
for eye and ear      ,hath ways unknown 
to us to bring you near1--      ,to keep
 you near for all that comes between2   
,as pious souls that move in sleep to   
prayer1      ,as distant friends1 that  
see not1 and yet share      7,i speak of
 what ,i know7 each other's care1       
,so may your spirits blend with ours6   
,above ,ye know not haply of our state1 
yet      ,love ,acquaints you with our  
need1 and through a way      ,more sure 
than that of knowledge--so ye pray6     
,and even thus we meet1      ,and even  

thus we commune6  spirits freed         
,and spirits fettered mingle1 nor have  
need      ,to seek a common atmosphere1 
the air      ,is meet for either in this
 olden1 sweet1      ,primeval breathing 
of ,man's spirit1--,prayer6   ,i give1  
in conclusion1 a portion of one of her  
most characteristic poems1 ,the         
,reconciler3--                          
,our dreams are reconciled1      ,since 
,thou didst come to turn them all to    
,truth2      ,the ,world1 the ,heart1   
are dreamers in their youth      ,of    
visions beautiful1 and strange and wild2
      ,and ,thou1 our ,life's           
,interpreter1 dost still      ,at once  
make clear these visions and fulfil2    
,each dim sweet ,orphic rhyme1          
,each mythic tale sublime      ,of      
strength to save1 of sweetness to       
subdue1      ,each morning dream the    
few1      ,wisdom's first lovers told1  
if read in ,thee comes true4            
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4               
,thou1 ,o ,friend      ,from heaven1    

that madest this our heart ,thine own1  
,dost pierce the broken language of its 
moan--      ,thou dost not scorn our    
needs1 but satisfy6      ,each yearning 
deep and wide1      ,each claim1 is     
justified2      ,our young illusions    
fail not1 though they die      ,within  
the brightness of ,thy ,rising1 kissed  
,to happy death1 like early clouds that 
lie      ,about the gates of ,dawn1--a  
golden mist      ,paling to blissful    
white1 through rose and amethyst4       
,the ,world that puts ,thee by1         
,that opens not to greet ,thee with ,thy
 train1      ,that sendeth after ,thee  
the sullen cry1      ',we will not have 
,thee over us to reign1'      ,itself   
,both testify through searchings vain   
,of ,thee and of its need1 and for the  
good      ,it will not1 of some base    
similitude      ,takes up a taunting    
witness1 till its mood1      ,grown     
fierce o'er failing hopes1 doth rend and
 tear      ,its own illusions grown too 
thin and bare      ,to wrap it longer2  

for within the gate      ,where all must
 pass1 a veiled and hooded ,fate1       
,a dark ,chimera1 coiled and tangled    
lies1      ,and he who answers not its  
questions dies1--      ,still changing  
form and speech1 but with the same      
,vexed riddles1 ,gordian-twisted1       
bringing shame      ,upon the nations   
that with eager cry      ,hail each new 
solver of the mystery2      ,yet he1 of 
these the best1      ,bold guesser1 hath
 but prest      ,most nigh to ,thee1 our
 noisy plaudits wrong2      ,true       
,champion1 that hast wrought      ,our  
help of old1 and brought      ,meat from
 this eater1 sweetness from this strong4
                            ,o ,bearer  
of the key      ,that shuts and opens   
with a sound so sweet      ,its turning 
in the wards is melody1      ,all things
 we move among are incomplete      ,and 
vain until we fashion them in ,thee6    
,we labor in the fire1      ,thick smoke
 is round about us2 through the din     
,of words that darken counsel clamors   

dire      ,ring from thought's beaten   
anvil1 where within      ,two ,giants   
toil1 that even from their birth        
,with travail-pangs have torn their     
mother ,earth1      ,and wearied out her
 children with their keen               
,upbraidings of the other1 till between 
,thou tamest1 saying1 ',wherefore do ye 
wrong      ,each other8--ye are         
,brethren4' ,then these twain      ,will
 own their kindred1 and in ,thee retain 
,their claims in peace1 because ,thy    
land is wide      ,as it is goodly6     
here they pasture free1      ,this lion 
and this leopard1 side by side1      ,a 
little child doth lead them with a song2
      ,now1 ,ephraim's envy ceaseth1 and
 no more      ,doth ,judah anger        
,ephraim chiding sore1      ,for one did
 ask a ,brother1 one a ,king1      ,so  
dost ,thou gather them in one1 and      
bring--      ,thou1 ,king forevermore1  
forever ,priest1      ,thou1 ,brother of
 our own from bonds released      ,a    
,law of ,liberty1      ,a ,service      

making free1      ,a ,commonweal where  
each has all in ,thee4                  
,and not alone these wide1              
,deep-planted yearnings1 seeking with a 
cry      ,their meat from ,god1 in ,thee
 are satisfied2      ,but all our       
instincts waking suddenly      ,within  
the soul1 like infants from their sleep 
,that stretch their arms into the dark  
and weep1      ,thy voice can still4    
,the stricken heart bereft      ,of all 
its brood of singing hopes1 and left    
',mid leafless boughs1 a cold1 forsaken 
nest      ,with snow-flakes in it1      
folded in ,thy breast      ,doth lose   
its deadly chill2 and grief that creeps 
,unto ,thy side for shelter1 finding    
there      ,the wound's deep cleft1     
forgets its moan1 and weeps      ,calm1 
quiet tears1 and on ,thy forehead ,care 
,hath looked until its thorns1 no longer
 bare1      ,put forth pale roses4      
,pain on ,thee doth press      ,its     
quivering cheek1 and all the weariness1 
,the want that keep their silence1 till 

from ,thee      ,they hear the gracious 
summons1 none beside      ,hath spoken  
to the world-worn1 ',come to me1'       
,tell forth their heavy secrets4        
,thou dost hide      ,these in ,thy     
bosom1 and not these alone1      ,but   
all our heart's fond treasure that had  
grown      ,a burden else3 ,o ,saviour1 
tears were weighed      ,to ,thee in    
plenteous measure6  none hath shown     
,that ,thou didst smile6 yet hast ,thou 
surely made      ,all joy of ours ,thine
 own4                        ,thou      
madest us for ,thine2      ,we seek     
amiss1 we wander to and fro2      ,yet  
are we ever on the track ,divine2       
,the soul confesseth ,thee1 but sense is
 slow      ,to lean on aught but that   
which it may see2      ,so hath it      
crowded up these ,courts below          
,with dark and broken images of ,thee2  
,lead ,thou us forth upon ,thy ,mount1  
and show      ,thy goodly patterns1     
whence these things of old      ,by     
,thee were fashioned2 ,one though       

manifold4      ,glass ,thou ,thy perfect
 likeness in the soul1      ,show us    
,thy countenance1 and we are whole6     
,no one1 ,i am quite certain1 will      
regret that ,i have made these liberal  
quotations4  ,apart from their literary 
merit1 they have a special interest for 
the readers of ,the ,patience of ,hope1 
as more fully illustrating the writer's 
personal experience and aspirations4    
,it has been suggested by a friend that 
it is barely possible that an objection 
may be urged against the following      
treatise1 as against all books of a like
 character1 that its tendency is to     
isolate the individual from his race1   
and to nourish an exclusive and purely  
selfish personal solicitude2 that its   
piety is self-absorbent1 and that it    
does not take sufficiently into account 
active duties and charities1 and the    
love of the neighbor so strikingly      
illustrated by the ,divine ,master in   
,his life and teachings4  ,this         
objection1 if valid1 would be a fatal   

one4  ,for1 of a truth1 there can be no 
meaner type of human selfishness than   
that afforded by him who1 unmindful of  
the world of sin and suffering about    
him1 occupies himself in the pitiful    
business of saving his own soul1 in the 
very spirit of the miser1 watching over 
his private hoard while his neighbors   
starve for lack of bread4  ,but surely  
the benevolent unrest1 the far-reaching 
sympathies and keen sensitiveness to the
 suffering of others1 which so nobly    
distinguish our present age1 can have   
nothing to fear from a plea for personal
 holiness1 patience1 hope1 and          
resignation to the ,divine will4  ,the  
more piety1 the more compassion1 says   
,isaac ,taylor2 and this is true1 if we 
understand by piety1 not self-concentred
 asceticism1 but the pure religion and  
undefiled which visits the widow and the
 fatherless1 and yet keeps itself       
unspotted from the world1--which deals  
justly1 loves mercy1 and yet walks      
humbly before ,god4  ,self- scrutiny in 

the light of truth can do no harm to any
 one1 least of all to the reformer and  
philanthropist4  ,the spiritual warrior1
 like the young candidate for           
knighthood1 may be none the worse for   
his preparatory ordeal of watching all  
night by his armor4  ,tauler in         
mediaeval times and ,woolman in the last
 century are among the most earnest     
teachers of the inward life and         
spiritual nature of ,christianity1 yet  
both were distinguished for practical   
benevolence4 ,they did not separate the 
two great commandments4  ,tauler strove 
with equal intensity of zeal to promote 
the temporal and the spiritual welfare  
of men4  ,in the dark and evil time in  
which he lived1 amidst the untold       
horrors of the ,black ,plague1 he       
illustrated by deeds of charity and     
mercy his doctrine of disinterested     
benevolence4  ,woolman's whole life was 
a nobler ,imitation of ,christ than that
 fervid rhapsody of monastic piety which
 bears the name4  ,how faithful1 yet1   

withal1 how full of kindness1 were his  
rebukes of those who refused labor its  
just reward1 and ground the faces of the
 poor8  ,how deep and entire was his    
sympathy with overtasked and ill-paid   
laborers2 with wet and illprovided      
sailors2 with poor wretches blaspheming 
in the mines1 because oppression had    
made them mad2 with the dyers plying    
their unhealthful trade to minister to  
luxury and pride2 with the tenant       
wearing out his life in the service of a
 hard landlord2 and with the slave      
sighing over his unrequited toil6  ,what
 a significance there was in his vision 
of the dull1 gloomy mass which appeared 
before him1 darkening half the heavens1 
and which he was told was human beings  
in as great misery as they could be and 
live2 and he was mixed with them1 and   
henceforth he might not consider himself
 a distinct and separate being6  ,his   
saintliness was wholly unconscious2 he  
seems never to have thought himself any 
nearer to the tender heart of ,god than 

the most miserable sinner to whom his   
compassion extended4  ,as he did not    
live1 so neither did he die to himself4 
,his prayer upon his death-bed was for  
others rather than himself2 its         
beautiful humility and simple trust were
 marred by no sensual imagery of crowns 
and harps and golden streets1 and       
personal beatific exaltations2 but      
tender and touching concern for         
suffering humanity1 relieved only by the
 thought of the paternity of ,god1 and  
of ,his love and omnipotence1 alone     
found utterance in ever-memorable words4
  ,in view of the troubled state of the 
country and the intense preoccupation of
 the public mind1 ,i have had some      
hesitation in offering this volume to   
its publishers4  ,but1 on further       
reflection1 it has seemed to me that it 
might supply a want felt by many among  
us2 that1 in the chaos of civil strife  
and the shadow of mourning which rests  
over the land1 the contemplation of     
things unseen which are eternal might   

not be unwelcome2 that1 when the        
foundations of human confidence are     
shaken1 and the trust in man proves     
vain1 there might be glad listeners to a
 voice calling from the outward and the 
temporal to the inward and the          
spiritual2 from the troubles and        
perplexities of time1 to the eternal    
quietness which ,god giveth4  ,i cannot 
but believe that1 in the heat and glare 
through which we are passing1 this book 
will not invite in vain to the calm1    
sweet shadows of holy meditation1       
grateful as the green wings of the bird 
to ,thalaba in the desert2 and thus     
afford something of consolation to the  
bereaved1 and of strength to the weary4 
,for surely never was the ,patience of  
,hope more needed2 never was the inner  
sanctuary of prayer more desirable2     
never was a steadfast faith in the      
,divine goodness more indispensable1 nor
 lessons of self-sacrifice and          
renunciation1 and that cheerful         
acceptance of known duty which shifts   

not its proper responsibility upon      
others1 nor asks for peace in its day at
 the expense of purity and justice1 more
 timely than now1 when the solemn words 
of ancient prophecy are as applicable to
 our own country as to that of the      
degenerate ,jew1--,thine own wickedness 
shall correct thee1 and thy backsliding 
reprove thee2 know1 therefore1 it is an 
evil thing1 and bitter1 that thou bast  
forsaken the ,lord1 and that my fear is 
not in thee1--when ,his way is in the   
deep1 in clouds1 and in thick darkness1 
and the hand heavy upon us which shall  
turn and overturn until he whose right  
it is shall reign1--until1 not without  
rending agony1 the evil plant which our 
,heavenly ,father hath not planted1     
whose roots have wound themselves about 
altar and hearth-stone1 and whose       
branches1 like the tree ,al-,accoub in  
,moslem fable1 bear the accursed fruit  
of oppression1 rebellion1 and all       
imaginable crime1 shall be torn up and  
destroyed forever4  ,,amesbury1 #ast    

#fth mo41 #ahfb4     ,,the ,,society    
,,of ,,friends4  ,the following letters 
were addressed to the ,editor of the    
,friends' ,review in ,philadelphia1 in  
reference to certain changes of         
principle and practice in the ,society  
then beginning to be observable1 but    
which have since more than justified the
 writer's fears and solicitude4   ,i4   
,,amesbury1 #b;d mo41 #ahgj4  ,,to ,,the
 ,,editor ,,of ,,the ,,review4          
,,esteemed ,,friend1--,if ,i have been  
hitherto a silent1 ,i have not been an  
indifferent1 spectator of the movements 
now going on in our religious ,society4 
,perhaps from lack of faith1 ,i have    
been quite too solicitous concerning    
them1 and too much afraid that in       
grasping after new things we may let go 
of old things too precious to be lost4  
,hence ,i have been pleased to see from 
time to time in thy paper very timely   
and fitting articles upon a ,hired      
,ministry and ,silent ,worship4  ,the   
present age is one of sensation and     

excitement1 of extreme measures and     
opinions1 of impatience of all slow     
results4  ,the world about us moves with
 accelerated impulse1 and we move with  
it3 the rest we have enjoyed1 whether   
true or false1 is broken2 the           
title-deeds of our opinions1 the reason 
of our practices1 are demanded4  ,our   
very right to exist as a distinct       
society is questioned4  ,our old        
literature--the precious journals and   
biographies of early and later          
,friends--is comparatively neglected for
 sensational and dogmatic publications4 
,we bear complaints of a want of        
educated ministers2 the utility of      
silent meetings is denied1 and praying  
and preaching regarded as matters of    
will and option4  ,there is a growing   
desire for experimenting upon the dogmas
 and expedients and practices of other  
sects4  ,i speak only of admitted facts1
 and not for the purpose of censure or  
complaint4  ,no one has less right than 
myself to indulge in heresy-hunting or  

impatience of minor differences of      
opinion4  ,if my dear friends can bear  
with me1 ,i shall not find it a hard    
task to bear with them4  ,but for myself
 ,i prefer the old ways4  ,with the     
broadest possible tolerance for all     
honest seekers after truth6 ,i love the 
,society of ,friends4  ,my life has been
 nearly spent in laboring with those of 
other sects in behalf of the suffering  
and enslaved2 and ,i have never felt    
like quarrelling with ,orthodox or      
,unitarians1 who were willing to pull   
with me1 side by side1 at the rope of   
,reform4  ,a very large proportion of my
 dearest personal friends are outside of
 our communion2 and ,i have learned with
 ,john ,woolman to find no narrowness   
respecting sects and opinions4 ,but     
after a kindly and candid survey of them
 all1 ,i turn to my own ,society1       
thankful to the ,divine ,providence     
which placed me where ,i am2 and with an
 unshaken faith in the one distinctive  
doctrine of ,quakerism-- the ,light     

within--the immanence of the ,divine    
,spirit in ,christianity4  ,i cheerfully
 recognize and bear testimony to the    
good works and lives of those who widely
 differ in faith and practice2 but ,i   
have seen no truer types of             
,christianity1 no better men and women1 
than ,i have known and still know among 
those who not blindly1 but              
intelligently1 hold the doctrines and   
maintain the testimonies of our early   
,friends4  ,i am not blind to the       
shortcomings of ,friends4  ,i know how  
much we have lost by narrowness and     
coldness and inactivity1 the            
overestimate of external observances1   
the neglect of our own proper work while
 acting as conscience-keepers for       
others4  ,we have not1 as a society1    
been active enough in those simple      
duties which we owe to our suffering    
fellow- creatures1 in that abundant     
labor of love and self-denial which is  
never out of place4  ,perhaps our       
divisions and dissensions might have    

been spared us if we had been less at   
ease in ,zion4  ,it is in the decline of
 practical righteousness that men are   
most likely to contend with each other  
for dogma and ritual1 for shadow and    
letter1 instead of substance and spirit4
  ,hence ,i rejoice in every sign of    
increased activity in doing good among  
us1 in the precious opportunities       
afforded of working with the ,divine    
,providence for the ,freedmen and       
,indians2 since the more we do1 in the  
true spirit of the gospel1 for others1  
the more we shall really do for         
ourselves4  ,there is no danger of lack 
of work for those who1 with an eye      
single to the guidance of ,truth1 look  
for a place in ,god's vineyard2 the     
great work which the founders of our    
,society began is not yet done2 the     
mission of ,friends is not accomplished1
 and will not be until this world of    
ours1 now full of sin and suffering1    
shall take up1 in jubilant thanksgiving1
 the song of the ,advent3 ,glory to ,god

 in the highest6 ,peace on earth and    
good-will to men6  ,it is charged that  
our ,society lacks freedom and          
adaptation to the age in which we live1 
that there is a repression of           
individuality and manliness among us4   
,i am not prepared to deny it in certain
 respects4  ,but1 if we look at the     
matter closely1 we shall see that the   
cause is not in the central truth of    
,quakerism1 but in a failure to rightly 
comprehend it2 in an attempt to fetter  
with forms and hedge about with dogmas  
that great law of ,christian liberty1   
which ,i believe affords ample scope for
 the highest spiritual aspirations and  
the broadest philanthropy4  ,if we did  
but realize it1 we are set in a large   
place4  ,we may do all we will save     
wickedness4  ,where the ,spirit of the  
,lord is1 there is liberty4  ,quakerism1
 in the light of its great original     
truth1 is exceeding broad4  ,as         
interpreted by ,penn and ,barclay it is 
the most liberal and catholic of faiths4

  ,if we are not free1 generous1        
tolerant1 if we are not up to or above  
the level of the age in good works1 in  
culture and love of beauty1 order and   
fitness1 if we are not the ready        
recipients of the truths of science and 
philosophy1--in a word1 if we are not   
full- grown men and ,christians1 the    
fault is not in ,quakerism1 but in      
ourselves4  ,we shall gain nothing by   
aping the customs and trying to adjust  
ourselves to the creeds of other sects4 
,by so doing we make at the best a very 
awkward combination1 and just as far as 
it is successful1 it is at the expense  
of much that is vital in our old faith4 
,if1 for instance1 ,i could bring myself
 to believe a hired ministry and a      
written creed essential to my moral and 
spiritual well-being1 ,i think ,i should
 prefer to sit down at once under such  
teachers as ,bushnell and ,beecher1 the 
like of whom in ,biblical knowledge1    
ecclesiastical learning1 and            
intellectual power1 we are not likely to

 manufacture by half a century of       
theological manipulation in a ,quaker   
school of the prophets4  ,if ,i must go 
into the market and buy my preaching1 ,i
 should naturally seek the best article 
on sale1 without regard to the label    
attached to it4  ,i am not insensible of
 the need of spiritual renovation in our
 ,society4 ,i feel and confess my own   
deficiencies as an individual member4   
,and ,i bear a willing testimony to the 
zeal and devotion of some dear friends1 
who1 lamenting the low condition and    
worldliness too apparent among us1 seek 
to awaken a stronger religious life by  
the partial adoption of the practices1  
forms1 and creeds of more demonstrative 
sects4  ,the great apparent activity of 
these sects seems to them to contrast   
very strongly with our quietness and    
reticence2 and they do not always pause 
to inquire whether the result of this   
activity is a truer type of practical   
,christianity than is found in our      
select gatherings4  ,i think ,i         

understand these brethren2 to some      
extent ,i have sympathized with them4   
,but it seems clear to me1 that a remedy
 for the alleged evil lies not in going 
back to the beggarly elements from which
 our worthy ancestors called the people 
of their generation2 not in             
will-worship2 not in setting the letter 
above the spirit2 not in substituting   
type and symbol1 and oriental figure and
 hyperbole for the simple truths they   
were intended to represent2 not in      
schools of theology2 not in much        
speaking and noise and vehemence1 nor in
 vain attempts to make the plain        
language of ,quakerism utter the        
,shibboleth of man-made creeds3 but in  
heeding more closely the ,inward ,guide 
and ,teacher2 in faith in ,christ not   
merely in ,his historical manifestation 
of the ,divine ,love to humanity1 but in
 ,his living presence in the hearts open
 to receive ,him2 in love for ,him      
manifested in denial of self1 in charity
 and love to our neighbor2 and in a     

deeper realization of the truth of the  
apostle's declaration3 ,pure religion   
and undefiled before ,god and the       
,father is this1 to visit the fatherless
 and widows in their affliction1 and to 
keep himself unspotted from the world4  
,in conclusion1 let me say that ,i have 
given this expression of my opinions    
with some degree of hesitation1 being   
very sensible that ,i have neither the  
right nor the qualification to speak for
 a society whose doctrines and          
testimonies commend themselves to my    
heart and head1 whose history is rich   
with the precious legacy of holy lives1 
and of whose usefulness as a moral and  
spiritual ,force in the world ,i am     
fully assured4   ,,ii4  ,having received
 several letters from dear friends in   
various sections suggested by a recent  
communication in thy paper1 and not     
having time or health to answer them in 
detail1 will thou permit me in this way 
to acknowledge them1 and to say to the  
writers that ,i am deeply sensible of   

the ,christian love and personal        
good-will to myself1 which1 whether in  
commendation or dissent1 they manifest8 
,i think ,i may say in truth that my    
letter was written in no sectarian or   
party spirit1 but simply to express a   
solicitude1 which1 whether groundless or
 not1 was nevertheless real4  ,i am1    
from principle1 disinclined to doctrinal
 disputations and so-called religious   
controversies1 which only tend to       
separate and disunite4  ,we have had too
 many divisions already4  ,i intended no
 censure of dear brethren whose zeal and
 devotion command my sympathy1          
notwithstanding ,i may not be able to   
see with them in all respects4  ,the    
domain of individual conscience is to me
 very sacred2 and it seems the part of  
,christian charity to make a large      
allowance for varying experiences2      
mental characteristics1 and             
temperaments1 as well as for that       
youthful enthusiasm which1 if sometimes 
misdirected1 has often been instrumental

 in infusing a fresher life into the    
body of religious profession4  ,it is   
too much to expect that we can maintain 
an entire uniformity in the expression  
of truths in which we substantially     
agree2 and we should be careful that a  
rightful concern for the form of sound  
words does not become what ,william     
,penn calls verbal orthodoxy4  ,we must 
consider that the same accepted truth   
looks somewhat differently from         
different points of vision4  ,knowing   
our own weaknesses and limitations1 we  
must bear in mind that human creeds1    
speculations1 expositions1 and          
interpretations of the ,divine plan are 
but the faint and feeble glimpses of    
finite creatures into the infinite      
mysteries of ,god4           ,they are  
but broken lights of ,thee1             
,and ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 art more than     
they4  ,differing1 as we do1 more or    
less as to means and methods1 if we     
indeed have the mind of ,christ1 we     
shall rejoice in whatever of good is    

really accomplished1 although by        
somewhat different instrumentalities    
than those which we feel ourselves free 
to make use of1 remembering that our    
,lord rebuked the narrowness and        
partisanship of ,his disciples by       
assuring them that they that were not   
against ,him were for ,him4  ,it would1 
nevertheless1 give me great satisfaction
 to know1 as thy kindly expressed       
editorial comments seem to intimate1    
that ,i have somewhat overestimated the 
tendencies of things in our ,society4   
,i have no pride of opinion which would 
prevent me from confessing with         
thankfulness my error of judgment4  ,in 
any event1 it can1 ,i think1 do no harm 
to repeat my deep conviction that we may
 all labor1 in the ability given us1 for
 our own moral and spiritual well-being1
 and that of our fellow-creatures1      
without laying aside the principles and 
practice of our religious ,society4  ,i 
believe so much of liberty is our right 
as well as our privilege1 and that we   

need not really overstep our bounds for 
the performance of any duty which may be
 required of us4  ,when truly called to 
contemplate broader fields of labor1 we 
shall find the walls about us1 like the 
horizon seen from higher levels1        
expanding indeed1 but nowhere broken4   
,i believe that the world needs the     
,society of ,friends as a testimony and 
a standard4  ,i know that this is the   
opinion of some of the best and most    
thoughtful members of other ,christian  
sects4  ,i know that any serious        
departure from the original foundation  
of our ,society would give pain to many 
who1 outside of our communion1 deeply   
realize the importance of our           
testimonies4  ,they fail to read clearly
 the signs of the times who do not see  
that the hour is coming when1 under the 
searching eye of philosophy and the     
terrible analysis of science1 the letter
 and the outward evidence will not      
altogether avail us2 when the surest    
dependence must be upon the ,light of   

,christ within1 disclosing the law and  
the prophets in our own souls1 and      
confirming the truth of outward         
,scripture by inward experience2 when   
smooth stones from the brook of present 
revelation shall' prove mightier than   
the weapons of ,saul2 when the doctrine 
of the ,holy ,spirit1 as proclaimed by  
,george ,fox and lived by ,john         
,woolman1 shall be recognized as the    
only efficient solvent of doubts raised 
by an age of restless inquiry4  ,in this
 belief my letter was written4  ,i am   
sorry it did not fall to the lot of a   
more fitting hand2 and can only hope    
that no consideration of lack of        
qualification on the part of its writer 
may lessen the value of whatever        
testimony to truth shall be found in it4
  ,,amesbury1 #c;d mo41 #ahgj4   ,p4 ,s4
  ,i may mention that ,i have been      
somewhat encouraged by a perusal of the 
,proceedings of the late ,first-day     
,school ,conference in ,philadelphia1   
where1 with some things which ,i am     

compelled to pause over1 and regret1 ,i 
find much with which ,i cordially unite1
 and which seems to indicate a          
providential opening for good4  ,i      
confess to a lively and tender sympathy 
with my younger brethren and sisters    
who1 in the name of ,him who went about 
doing good1 go forth into the highways  
and byways to gather up the lost1 feed  
the hungry1 instruct the ignorant1 and  
point the sinsick and suffering to the  
hopes and consolations of ,christian    
faith1 even if1 at times1 their zeal    
goes beyond reasonable service1 and     
although the importance of a particular 
instrumentality may be exaggerated1 and 
love lose sight of its needful companion
 humility1 and he that putteth on his   
armor boast like him who layeth it off4 
,any movement1 however irregular1 which 
indicates life1 is better than the quiet
 of death4  ,in the overruling          
providence of ,god1 the troubling may   
prepare the way for healing4  ,some of  
us may have erred on one hand and some  

on the other1 and this shaking of the   
balance may adjust it4     ,,john       
,,woolman',s ,,journal4  ,originally    
published as an introduction to a       
reissue of the work4  ,to those who     
judge by the outward appearance1 nothing
 is more difficult of explanation than  
the strength of moral influence often   
exerted by obscure and uneventful lives4
  ,some great reform which lifts the    
world to a higher level1 some mighty    
change for which the ages have waited in
 anxious expectancy1 takes place before 
our eyes1 and1 in seeking to trace it   
back to its origin1 we are often        
surprised to find the initial link in   
the chain of causes to be some          
comparatively obscure individual1 the   
divine commission and significance of   
whose life were scarcely understood by  
his contemporaries1 and perhaps not even
 by himself4  ,the little one has become
 a thousand2 the handful of corn shakes 
like ,lebanon4  ,the kingdom of ,god    
cometh not by observation2 and the only 

solution of the mystery is in the       
reflection that through the humble      
instrumentality ,divine power was       
manifested1 and that the ,everlasting   
,arm was beneath the human one4  ,the   
abolition of human slavery now in       
process of consummation throughout the  
world furnishes one of the most striking
 illustrations of this truth4 ,a        
far-reaching moral1 social1 and         
political revolution1 undoing the evil  
work of centuries1 unquestionably owes  
much of its original impulse to the life
 and labors of a poor1 unlearned        
workingman of ,new ,jersey1 whose very  
existence was scarcely known beyond the 
narrow circle of his religious society4 
,it is only within a comparatively      
recent period that the journal and      
ethical essays of this remarkable man   
have attracted the attention to which   
they are manifestly entitled4  ,in one  
of my last interviews with ,william     
,ellery ,channing1 he expressed his very
 great surprise that they were so little

 known4  ,he had himself just read the  
book for the first time1 and ,i shall   
never forget how his countenance lighted
 up as he pronounced it beyond          
comparison the sweetest and purest      
autobiography in the language4  ,he     
wished to see it placed within the reach
 of all classes of readers2 it was not a
 light to be hidden under the bushel of 
a sect4 ,charles ,lamb1 probably from   
his friends1 the ,clarksons1 or from    
,bernard ,barton1 became acquainted with
 it1 and on more than one occasion1 in  
his letters and ,essays of ,elia1 refers
 to it with warm commendation4  ,edward 
,irving pronounced it a godsend4  ,some 
idea of the lively interest which the   
fine literary circle gathered around the
 hearth of ,lamb felt in the beautiful  
simplicity of ,woolman's pages may be   
had from the ,diary of ,henry ,crabb    
,robinson1 one of their number1 himself 
a man of wide and varied culture1 the   
intimate friend of ,goethe1 ,wordsworth1
 and ,coleridge4 ,in his notes for      

,first ,month1 #ahbd1 he says1 after a  
reference to a sermon of his friend     
,irving1 which he feared would deter    
rather than promote belief3  ,how       
different this from ,john ,woolman's    
,journal ,i have been reading at the    
same time6  ,a perfect gem6  ,his is a  
schone ,seele1 a beautiful soul4  ,an   
illiterate tailor1 he writes in a style 
of the most exquisite purity and grace4 
,his moral qualities are transferred to 
his writings4 ,had he not been so very  
humble1 he would have written a still   
better book2 for1 fearing to indulge in 
vanity1 he conceals the events in which 
he was a great actor4  ,his religion was
 love4  ,his whole existence and all his
 passions were love4  ,if one could     
venture to impute to his creed1 and not 
to his personal character1 the          
delightful frame of mind he exhibited1  
one could not hesitate to be a convert4 
,his ,christianity is most inviting1 it 
is fascinating6  ,one of the leading    
,british reviews a few years ago1       

referring to this ,journal1 pronounced  
its author the man who1 in all the      
centuries since the advent of ,christ1  
lived nearest to the ,divine pattern4   
,the author of ,the ,patience of ,hope1 
whose authority in devotional literature
 is unquestioned1 says of him3 ',john   
,woolman's gift was love1 a charity of  
which it does not enter into the natural
 heart of man to conceive1 and of which 
the more ordinary experiences1 even of  
renewed nature1 give but a faint shadow4
  ,every now and then1 in the world's   
history1 we meet with such men1 the     
kings and priests of ,humanity1 on whose
 heads this precious ointment has been  
so poured forth that it has run down to 
the skirts of their clothing1 and       
extended over the whole of the visible  
creation2 men who have entered1 like    
,francis of ,assisi1 into the secret of 
that deep amity with ,god and with ,his 
creatures which makes man to be in      
league with the stones of the field1 and
 the beasts of the field to be at peace 

with him4  ,in this pure1 universal     
charity there is nothing fitful or      
intermittent1 nothing that comes and    
goes in showers and gleams and          
sunbursts4  ,its springs are deep and   
constant1 its rising is like that of a  
mighty river1 its very overflow calm and
 steady1 leaving life and fertility     
behind it4'  ,after all1 anything like  
personal eulogy seems out of place in   
speaking of one who in the humblest     
self-abasement sought no place in the   
world's estimation1 content to be only a
 passive instrument in the hands of his 
,master2 and who1 as has been remarked1 
through modesty concealed the events in 
which he was an actor4  ,a desire to    
supply in some sort this deficiency in  
his ,journal is my especial excuse for  
this introductory paper4  ,it is        
instructive to study the history of the 
moral progress of individuals or        
communities2 to mark the gradual        
development of truth2 to watch the slow 
germination of its seed sown in simple  

obedience to the command of the ,great  
,husbandman1 while yet its green        
promise1 as well as its golden fruition1
 was hidden from the eyes of the sower2 
to go back to the well-springs and      
fountain-heads1 tracing the small       
streamlet from its hidden source1 and   
noting the tributaries which swell its  
waters1 as it moves onward1 until it    
becomes a broad river1 fertilizing and  
gladdening our present humanity4  ,to   
this end it is my purpose1 as briefly as
 possible1 to narrate the circumstances 
attending the relinquishment of         
slave-holding by the ,society of        
,friends1 and to hint at the effect of  
that act of justice and humanity upon   
the abolition of slavery throughout the 
world4  ,at an early period after the   
organization of the ,society1 members of
 it emigrated to the ,maryland1         
,carolina1 ,virginia1 and ,new ,england 
colonies4 ,the act of banishment        
enforced against dissenters under       
,charles ,,ii4 consigned others of the  

sect to the ,west ,indies1 where their  
frugality1 temperance1 and thrift       
transmuted their intended punishment    
into a blessing4  ,andrew ,marvell1 the 
inflexible republican statesman1 in some
 of the sweetest and tenderest lines in 
the ,english tongue1 has happily        
described their condition3--       ,what
 shall we do but sing ,his praise       
,who led us through the watery maze1    
,unto an isle so long unknown1      ,and
 yet far kinder than our own8      ,he  
lands us on a grassy stage1      ,safe  
from the storms and prelates' rage2     
,he gives us this eternal spring1       
,which here enamels everything1         
,and sends the fowls to us in care1     
,on daily visits through the air4       
,he hangs in shades the orange bright1  
,like golden lamps1 in a green night1   
,and doth in the pomegranate close      
,jewels more rich than ,ormus shows4    
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4       ,and in these   
rocks for us did frame      ,a temple   
where to sound ,his name4      ,oh6  let

 our voice ,his praise exalt1      ,till
 it arrive at heaven's vault1           
,which then1 perhaps rebounding1 may    
,echo beyond the ,mexic bay4'       ,so 
sang they in the ,english boat1      ,a 
holy and a cheerful note2      ,and all 
the way1 to guide their chime1          
,with falling oars they kept the time4  
,unhappily1 they very early became      
owners of slaves1 in imitation of the   
colonists around them4  ,no positive    
condemnation of the evil system had then
 been heard in the ,british islands4    
,neither ,english prelates nor          
expounders at dissenting conventicles   
had aught to say against it4  ,few      
colonists doubted its entire            
compatibility with ,christian profession
 and conduct4  ,saint and sinner1       
ascetic and worldling1 united in its    
practice4  ,even the extreme ,dutch     
saints of ,bohemia ,manor community1 the
 pietists of ,john de ,labadie1 sitting 
at meat with hats on1 and pausing ever  
and anon with suspended mouthfuls to    

bear a brother's or sister's            
exhortation1 and sandwiching prayers    
between the courses1 were waited upon by
 negro slaves4  ,everywhere men were    
contending with each other upon matters 
of faith1 while1 so far as their slaves 
were concerned1 denying the ethics of   
,christianity itself4  ,such was the    
state of things when1 in #afga1 ,george 
,fox visited ,barbadoes4 ,he was one of 
those men to whom it is given to discern
 through the mists of custom and        
prejudice something of the lineaments of
 absolute truth1 and who1 like the      
,hebrew lawgiver1 bear with them1 from a
 higher and purer atmosphere1 the       
shining evidence of communion with the  
,divine ,wisdom4  ,he saw slavery in its
 mildest form among his friends1 but his
 intuitive sense of right condemned it4 
,he solemnly admonished those who held  
slaves to bear in mind that they were   
brethren1 and to train them up in the   
fear of ,god4  ,i desired1 also1 he     
says1 that they would cause their       

overseers to deal gently and mildly with
 their negroes1 and not use cruelty     
towards them as the manner of some hath 
been and is2 and that1 after certain    
years of servitude1 they should make    
them free4  ,in #afge1 the companion of 
,george ,fox1 ,william ,edmundson1      
revisited ,barbadoes1 and once more bore
 testimony against the unjust treatment 
of slaves4  ,he was accused of          
endeavoring to excite an insurrection   
among the blacks1 and was brought before
 the ,governor on the charge4  ,it was  
probably during this journey that he    
addressed a remonstrance to friends in  
,maryland and ,virginia on the subject  
of holding slaves4  ,it is one of the   
first emphatic and decided testimonies  
on record against negro slavery as      
incompatible with ,christianity1 if we  
except the ,papal bulls of ,urban and   
,leo the ,tenth4  ,thirteen years after1
 in #afhh1 a meeting of ,german         
,quakers1 who had emigrated from        
,kriesbeim1 and settled at ,germantown1 

,pennsylvania1 addressed a memorial     
against the buying and keeping of       
negroes to the ,yearly ,meeting for the 
,pennsylvania and ,new ,jersey colonies4
  ,that meeting took the subject into   
consideration1 but declined giving      
judgment in the case4  ,in #afif1 the   
,yearly ,meeting advised against        
bringing in any more negroes4  ,in      
#agad1 in its ,epistle to ,london       
,friends1 it expresses a wish that      
,friends would be less concerned in     
buying or selling slaves4  ,the ,chester
 ,quarterly ,meeting1 which had taken a 
higher and clearer view of the matter1  
continued to press the ,yearly ,meeting 
to adopt some decided measure against   
any traffic in human beings4  ,the      
,society gave these memorials a cold    
reception4  ,the love of gain and power 
was too strong1 on the part of the      
wealthy and influential planters and    
merchants who had become slaveholders1  
to allow the scruples of the ,chester   
meeting to take the shape of discipline4

  ,the utmost that could be obtained of 
the ,yearly ,meeting was an expression  
of opinion adverse to the importation of
 negroes1 and a desire that ,friends    
generally do1 as much as may be1 avoid  
buying such negroes as shall hereafter  
be brought in1 rather than offend any   
,friends who are against it2 yet this is
 only caution1 and not censure4  ,in the
 mean time the ,new ,england ,yearly    
,meeting was agitated by the same       
question4  ,slaves were imported into   
,boston and ,newport1 and ,friends      
became purchasers1 and in some instances
 were deeply implicated in the foreign  
traffic4  ,in #agaf1 the monthly        
meetings of ,dartmouth and ,nantucket   
suggested that it was not agreeable to  
truth to purchase slaves and keep them  
during their term of life4  ,nothing was
 done in the ,yearly ,meeting1 however1 
until #agbg1 when the practice of       
importing negroes was censured4  ,that  
the practice was continued              
notwithstanding1 for many years         

afterwards1 is certain4  ,in #ageh1 a   
rule was adopted prohibiting ,friends   
within the limits of ,new ,england      
,yearly ,meeting from engaging in or    
countenancing the foreign slave-trade4  
,in the year #agdb an event1 simple and 
inconsiderable in itself1 was made the  
instrumentality of exerting a mighty    
influence upon slavery in the ,society  
of ,friends4  ,a small storekeeper at   
,mount ,holly1 in ,new ,jersey1 a member
 of the ,society1 sold a negro woman1   
and requested the young man in his      
employ to make a bill of sale of her4   
7,mount ,holly is a village lying in the
 western part of the long1      narrow  
township of ,northampton1 on ,rancocas  
,creek1 a tributary of      the         
,delaware4  ,in ,john ,woolman's day it 
was almost entirely a      settlement of
 ,friends4  ,a very few of the old      
houses with their      quaint stoops or 
porches are left4  ,that occupied by    
,john ,woolman      was a small1 plain1 
two-story structure1 with two windows in

 each      story in front1 a four-barred
 fence inclosing the grounds1 with the  
trees he planted and loved to cultivate4
  ,the house was not painted1      but  
whitewashed4  ,the name of the place is 
derived from the highest      hill in   
the county1 rising two hundred feet     
above the sea1 and      commanding a    
view of a rich and level country1 of    
cleared farms and      woodlands4       
,here1 no doubt1 ,john ,woolman often   
walked under the      shadow of its     
holly-trees1 communing with nature and  
musing on the      great themes of life 
and duty4       ,when the excellent     
,joseph ,sturge was in this country1    
some thirty      years ago1 on his      
errand of humanity1 he visited ,mount   
,holly1 and      the house of ,woolman1 
then standing4  ,he describes it as a   
very      humble abode4  ,but one person
 was then living in the town who had    
ever seen its venerated owner4  ,this   
aged man stated that he was at          
,woolman's little farm in the season of 

harvest when it was customary      among
 farmers to kill a calf or sheep for the
 laborers4  ,john      ,woolman1        
unwilling that the animal should be     
slowly bled to death1      as the custom
 had been1 and to spare it unnecessary  
suffering1 had a      smooth block of   
wood prepared to receive the neck of the
 creature1      when a single blow      
terminated its existence4  ,nothing was 
more      remarkable in the character of
 ,woolman than his concern for the      
well-being and comfort of the brute     
creation4  ,what is religion8      asks 
the old ,hindoo writer of the ,vishnu   
,sarman4  ,tenderness toward      all   
creatures4  ,or1 as ,woolman expresses  
it1 ,where the love of ,god      is     
verily perfected1 a tenderness towards  
all creatures made subject      to our  
will is experienced1 and a care felt    
that we do not lessen      that         
sweetness of life in the animal creation
 which the ,creator      intends for    
them under our government47  ,on taking 

up his pen1 the young clerk felt a      
sudden and strong scruple in his mind4  
,the thought of writing an instrument of
 slavery for one of his fellow-creatures
 oppressed him4  ,god's voice against   
the desecration of ,his image spoke in  
the soul4  ,he yielded to the will of   
his employer1 but1 while writing the    
instrument1 he was constrained to       
declare1 both to the buyer and the      
seller1 that he believed slave-keeping  
inconsistent with the ,christian        
religion4  ,this young man was ,john    
,woolman4  ,the circumstance above named
 was the starting-point of a life-long  
testimony against slavery4  ,in the year
 #agdf he visited ,maryland1 ,virginia1 
and ,north ,carolina4  ,he was afflicted
 by the prevalence of slavery4  ,it     
appeared to him1 in his own words1 as a 
dark gloominess overhanging the land4   
,on his return1 he wrote an essay on the
 subject1 which was published in #aged4 
,three years after1 he made a second    
visit to the ,southern meetings of      

,friends4  ,travelling as a minister of 
the gospel1 he was compelled to sit down
 at the tables of slaveholding planters1
 who were accustomed to entertain their 
friends free of cost1 and who could not 
comprehend the scruples of their guest  
against receiving as a gift food and    
lodging which he regarded as the gain of
 oppression4  ,he was a poor man1 but he
 loved truth more than money4  ,he      
therefore either placed the pay for his 
entertainment in the hands of some      
member of the family1 for the benefit of
 the slaves1 or gave it directly to     
them1 as he had opportunity4  ,wherever 
he went1 he found his fellow-professors 
entangled in the mischief of slavery4   
,elders and ministers1 as well as the   
younger and less high in profession1 had
 their house servants and field hands4  
,he found grave drab-coated apologists  
for the slave-trade1 who quoted the same
 ,scriptures1 in support of oppression  
and avarice1 which have since been cited
 by ,presbyterian doctors of divinity1  

,methodist bishops2 and ,baptist        
preachers for the same purpose4  ,he    
found the meetings generally in a low   
and evil state4  ,the gold of original  
,quakerism had become dim1 and the fine 
gold changed4  ,the spirit of the world 
prevailed among them1 and had wrought an
 inward desolation4  ,instead of        
meekness1 gentleness1 and heavenly      
wisdom1 he found a spirit of fierceness 
and love of dominion4       7,the       
tradition is that he travelled mostly on
 foot during his      journeys among    
slaveholders4  ,brissot1 in his ,new    
,travels in      ,america1 published in 
#aghh1 says3 ,john ,woolman1 one of the 
most      distinguished of men in the   
cause of humanity1 travelled much as a  
minister of his sect1 but always on     
foot1 and without money1 in             
imitation of the ,apostles1 and in order
 to be in a situation to be      more   
useful to poor people and the blacks4   
,he hated slavery so much      that he  
could not taste food provided by the    

labor of slaves4  ,that      this writer
 was on one point misinformed is        
manifest from the      following passage
 from the ,journal3 ,when ,i expected   
soon to leave a      friend's house     
where ,i had entertainment1 if ,i       
believed that ,i      should not keep   
clear from the gain of oppression       
without leaving      money1 ,i spoke to 
one of the heads of the family          
privately1 and      desired them to     
accept of pieces of silver1 and give    
them to such of      their negroes as   
they believed would make the best use of
 them2 and      at other times ,i gave  
them to the negroes myself1 as the way  
looked      clearest to me4  ,before ,i 
came out1 ,i had provided a large number
 of      small pieces for this purpose1 
and thus offering them to some who      
appeared to be wealthy people was a     
trial both to me and them4  ,but        
the fear of the ,lord so covered me at  
times that my way was made      easier  
than ,i expected2 and few1 if any1      

manifested any resentment      at the   
offer1 and most of them1 after some     
conversation1 accepted of      them47   
,in love1 but at the same time with     
great faithfulness1 he endeavored to    
convince the masters of their error1 and
 to awaken a degree of sympathy for the 
enslaved4  ,at this period1 or perhaps  
somewhat earlier1 a remarkable personage
 took up his residence in ,pennsylvania4
  ,he was by birthright a member of the 
,society of ,friends1 but having been   
disowned in ,england for some           
extravagances of conduct and language1  
he spent several years in the ,west     
,indies1 where he became deeply         
interested in the condition of the      
slaves4 ,his violent denunciations of   
the practice of slaveholding excited the
 anger of the planters1 and he was      
compelled to leave the island4  ,he came
 to ,philadelphia1 but1 contrary to his 
expectations1 he found the same evil    
existing there4  ,he shook off the dust 
of the city1 and took up his abode in   

the country1 a few miles distant4  ,his 
dwelling was a natural cave1 with some  
slight addition of his own making4  ,his
 drink was the spring-water flowing by  
his door2 his food1 vegetables alone4   
,he persistently refused to wear any    
garment or eat any food purchased at the
 expense of animal life1 or which was in
 any degree the product of slave labor4 
,issuing from his cave1 on his mission  
of preaching deliverance to the captive1
 he was in the habit of visiting the    
various meetings for worship and bearing
 his testimony against slaveholders1    
greatly to their disgust and            
indignation4  ,on one occasion he       
entered the ,market ,street ,meeting1   
and a leading ,friend requested some one
 to take him out4  ,a burly blacksmith  
volunteered to do it1 leading him to the
 gate and thrusting him out with such   
force that he fell into the gutter of   
the street4  ,there he lay until the    
meeting closed1 telling the bystanders  
that he did not feel free to rise       

himself4  ,let those who cast me here   
raise me up4  ,it is their business1 not
 mine4  ,his personal appearance was in 
remarkable keeping with his eccentric   
life4  ,a figure only four and a half   
feet high1 hunchbacked1 with projecting 
chest1 legs small and uneven1 arms      
longer than his legs2 a huge head1      
showing only beneath the enormous white 
hat large1 solemn eyes and a prominent  
nose2 the rest of his face covered with 
a snowy semicircle of beard falling low 
on his breast1--a figure to recall the  
old legends of troll1 brownie1 and      
kobold4  ,such was the irrepressible    
prophet who troubled the ,israel of     
slave-holding ,quakerism1 clinging like 
a rough chestnut-bur to the skirts of   
its respectability1 and settling like a 
pertinacious gad-fly on the sore places 
of its conscience4  ,on one occasion1   
while the annual meeting was in session 
at ,burlington1 ,n4 ,j41 in the midst of
 the solemn silence of the great        
assembly1 the unwelcome figure of       

,benjamin ,lay1 wrapped in his long     
white overcoat1 was seen passing up the 
aisle4  ,stopping midway1 he exclaimed1 
,you slaveholders6  ,why don't you throw
 off your ,quaker coats as ,i do mine1  
and show yourselves as you are8         
,casting off as he spoke his outer      
garment1 he disclosed to the astonished 
assembly a military coat underneath and 
a sword dangling at his heels4  ,holding
 in one hand a large book1 he drew his  
sword with the other4  ,in the sight of 
,god1 he cried1 you are as guilty as if 
you stabbed your slaves to the heart1 as
 ,i do this book6 suiting the action to 
the word1 and piercing a small bladder  
filled with the juice of poke-weed      
7playtolacca decandra71 which he had    
concealed between the covers1 and       
sprinkling as with fresh blood those who
 sat near him4  ,john ,woolman makes no 
mention of this circumstance in his     
,journal1 although he was probably      
present1 and it must have made a deep   
impression on his sensitive spirit4     

,the violence and harshness of ,lay's   
testimony1 however1 had nothing in      
common with the tender and sorrowful    
remonstrances and appeals of the former1
 except the sympathy which they both    
felt for the slave himself4       7,lay 
was well acquainted with ,dr4 ,franklin1
 who sometimes visited him4      ,among 
other schemes of reform he entertained  
the idea of converting      all mankind 
to ,christianity4  ,this was to be done 
by three      witnesses1--himself1      
,michael ,lovell1 and ,abel ,noble1     
assisted by ,dr4      ,franklin4  ,but  
on their first meeting at the ,doctor's 
house1 the      three chosen vessels got
 into a violent controversy on points of
      doctrine1 and separated in        
ill-humor4  ,the philosopher1 who had   
been      an amused listener1 advised   
the three sages to give up the project  
of converting the world until they had  
learned to tolerate each      other47   
,still later1 a descendant of the       
persecuted ,french ,protestants1        

,anthony ,benezet1 a man of uncommon    
tenderness of feeling1 began to write   
and speak against slavery4  ,how far1 if
 at all1 he was moved thereto by the    
example of ,woolman is not known1 but it
 is certain that the latter found in him
 a steady friend and coadjutor in his   
efforts to awaken the slumbering moral  
sense of his religious brethren4  ,the  
,marquis de ,chastellux1 author of ,de  
la ,felicite ,publique1 describes him as
 a small1 eager-faced man1 full of zeal 
and activity1 constantly engaged in     
works of benevolence1 which were by no  
means confined to the blacks4 ,like     
,woolman and ,lay1 he advocated         
abstinence from intoxicating spirits4   
,the poor ,french neutrals who were     
brought to ,philadelphia from ,nova     
,scotia1 and landed penniless and       
despairing among strangers in tongue and
 religion1 found in him a warm and      
untiring friend1 through whose aid and  
sympathy their condition was rendered   
more comfortable than that of their     

fellow-exiles in other colonies4  ,the  
annual assemblage of the ,yearly        
,meeting in #ageh at ,philadelphia must 
ever be regarded as one of the most     
important religious convocations in the 
history of the ,christian church4  ,the 
labors of ,woolman and his few but      
earnest associates had not been in vain4
  ,a deep and tender interest had been  
awakened2 and this meeting was looked   
forward to with varied feelings of      
solicitude by all parties4  ,all felt   
that the time had come for some definite
 action2 conservative and reformer stood
 face to face in the ,valley of         
,decision4  ,john ,woolman1 of course1  
was present1--a man humble and poor in  
outward appearance1 his simple dress of 
undyed homespun cloth contrasting       
strongly with the plain but rich apparel
 of the representatives of the commerce 
of the city and of the large slave-     
stocked plantations of the country4     
,bowed down by the weight of his concern
 for the poor slaves and for the        

well-being and purity of the ,society1  
he sat silent during the whole meeting1 
while other matters were under          
discussion4  ,my mind1 he says1 was     
frequently clothed with inward prayer2  
and ,i could say with ,david that 'tears
 were my meat and drink1 day and night4'
  ,the case of slave-keeping lay heavy  
upon me2 nor did ,i find any engagement1
 to speak directly to any other matter  
before the meeting4  ,when the important
 subject came up for consideration1 many
 faithful ,friends spoke with weight and
 earnestness4  ,no one openly justified 
slavery as a system1 although some      
expressed a concern lest the meeting    
should go into measures calculated to   
cause uneasiness to many members of the 
,society4  ,it was also urged that      
,friends should wait patiently until the
 ,lord in ,his own time should open a   
way for the deliverance of the slave4   
,this was replied to by ,john ,woolman4 
,my mind1 he said1 is led to consider   
the purity of the ,divine ,being1 and   

the justice of ,his judgments2 and      
herein my soul is covered with          
awfulness4  ,i cannot forbear to hint of
 some cases where people have not been  
treated with the purity of justice1 and 
the event has been most lamentable4     
,many slaves on this continent are      
oppressed1 and their cries have entered 
into the ears of the ,most ,high4  ,such
 are the purity and certainty of ,his   
judgments that ,he cannot be partial in 
our favor4  ,in infinite love and       
goodness ,he hath opened our            
understandings from one time to another1
 concerning our duty towards this       
people2 and it is not a time for delay4 
,should we now be sensible of what ,he  
requires of us1 and through a respect to
 the private interest of some persons1  
or through a regard to some friendships 
which do not stand upon an immutable    
foundation1 neglect to do our duty in   
firmness and constancy1 still waiting   
for some extraordinary means to bring   
about their deliverance1 ,god may by    

terrible things in righteousness answer 
us in this matter4  ,this solemn and    
weighty appeal was responded to by many 
in the assembly1 in a spirit of sympathy
 and unity4  ,some of the slave-holding 
members expressed their willingness that
 a strict rule of discipline should be  
adopted against dealing in slaves for   
the future4  ,to this it was answered   
that the root of the evil would never be
 reached effectually until a searching  
inquiry was made into the circumstances 
and motives of such as held slaves4  ,at
 length the truth in a great measure    
triumphed over all opposition2 and1     
without any public dissent1 the meeting 
agreed that the injunction of our ,lord 
and ,saviour to do to others as we would
 that others should do to us should     
induce ,friends who held slaves to set  
them at liberty1 making a ,christian    
provision for them1 and four            
,friends--,john ,woolman1 ,john         
,scarborough1 ,daniel ,stanton1 and     
,john ,sykes-- were approved of as      

suitable persons to visit and treat with
 such as kept slaves1 within the limits 
of the meeting4  ,this painful and      
difficult duty was faithfully performed4
  ,in that meekness and humility of     
spirit which has nothing in common with 
the fear of man1 which bringeth a snare1
 the self-denying followers of their    
,divine ,lord and ,master went about    
doing good4  ,in the city of            
,philadelphia1 and among the wealthy    
planters of the country1 they found     
occasion often to exercise a great      
degree of patience1 and to keep a       
watchful guard over their feelings4  ,in
 his ,journal for this important period 
of his life ,john ,woolman says but     
little of his own services4  ,how       
arduous and delicate they were may be   
readily understood4  ,the number of     
slaves held by members of the ,society  
was very large4  ,isaac ,jackson1 in his
 report of his labors among             
slave-holders in a single ,quarterly    
,meeting1 states that he visited the    

owners of more than eleven hundred      
slaves4  ,from the same report may be   
gleaned some hints of the difficulties  
which presented themselves4  ,one       
elderly man says he has well brought up 
his eleven slaves1 and now they must    
work to maintain him4  ,another owns it 
is all wrong1 but cannot release his    
slaves2 his tender wife under great     
concern of mind on account of his       
refusal4  ,a third has fifty slaves2    
knows it to be wrong1 but can't see his 
way clear out of it4  ,perhaps1 the     
report says1 interest dims his vision4  
,a fourth is full of excuses and        
reasonings4  ,old ,jos4 ,richison has   
forty1 and is determined to keep them4  
,another man has fifty1 and means to    
keep them4  ,robert ,ward wants to      
release his slaves1 but his wife and    
daughters hold back4  ,another owns it  
is wrong1 but says he will not part with
 his negroes1--no1 not while he lives4  
,the far greater number1 however1       
confess the wrong of slavery1 and agree 

to take measures for freeing their      
slaves4       7,an incident occurred    
during this visit of ,isaac ,jackson    
which      impressed him deeply4  ,on   
the last evening1 just as he was about  
to      turn homeward1 he was told that 
a member of the ,society whom he had    
not seen owned a very old slave who was 
happy and well cared for4      ,it was a
 case which it was thought might well be
 left to take care      of itself4      
,isaac ,jackson1 sitting in silence1 did
 not feel his mind      quite satisfied2
 and as the evening wore away1 feeling  
more and more      exercised1 he        
expressed his uneasiness1 when a young  
son of his host      eagerly offered to 
go with him and show him the road to the
 place4      ,the proposal was gladly   
accepted4  ,on introducing the object of
      their visit1 the ,friend expressed
 much surprise that any uneasiness      
should be felt in the case1 but at      
length consented to sign the form       
of emancipation1 saying1 at the same    

time1 it would make no      difference  
in their relations1 as the old man was  
perfectly happy4      ,at ,isaac        
,jackson's request the slave was called 
in and seated before      them4  ,his   
form was nearly double1 his thin hands  
were propped on      his knees1 his     
white head was thrust forward1 and his  
keen1      restless1 inquiring eyes     
gleamed alternately on the stranger and 
on      his master4  ,at length he was  
informed of what had been done2 that    
he was no longer a slave1 and that his  
master acknowledged his past            
services entitled him to a maintenance  
so long as he lived4  ,the old      man 
listened in almost breathless wonder1   
his head slowly sinking on      his     
breast4  ,after a short pause1 he       
clasped his hands2 then      spreading  
them high over his hoary head1 slowly   
and reverently      exclaimed1 ,oh1     
goody ,gody1 oh6--bringing his hands    
again down on      his knees4  ,then    
raising them as before1 he twice        

repeated the      solemn exclamation1   
and with streaming eyes and a voice     
almost too      much choked for         
utterance1 he continued1 ,i thought ,i  
should die a      slave1 and now ,i     
shall die a free man6       ,it is a    
striking evidence of the divine         
compensations which are      sometimes  
graciously vouchsafed to those who have 
been faithful to      duty1 that on his 
death-bed this affecting scene was      
vividly revived      in the mind of     
,isaac ,jackson4  ,at that supreme      
moment1 when all      other pictures of 
time were fading out1 that old face1    
full of      solemn joy and devout      
thanksgiving1 rose before him1 and      
comforted      him as with the blessing 
of ,god47  ,an extract or two from the  
,journal at this period will serve to   
show both the nature of the service in  
which he was engaged and the frame of   
mind in which he accomplished it3--  ,in
 the beginning of the #abth month ,i    
joined in company with my friends1 ,john

 ,sykes and ,daniel ,stanton1 in        
visiting such as had slaves4  ,some1    
whose hearts were rightly exercised     
about them1 appeared to be glad of our  
visit1 but in some places our way was   
more difficult4  ,i often saw the       
necessity of keeping down to that root  
from whence our concern proceeded1 and  
have cause in reverent thankfulness     
humbly to bow down before the ,lord who 
was near to me1 and preserved my mind in
 calmness under some sharp conflicts1   
and begat a spirit of sympathy and      
tenderness in me towards some who were  
grievously entangled by the spirit of   
this world4  #ast month1                
#agei4--;,having found my mind drawn to 
visit some of the more active members of
 society at ,philadelphia who had       
slaves1 ,i met my friend ,john          
,churchman there by agreement1 and we   
continued about a week in the city4  ,we
 visited some that were sick1 and some  
widows and their families2 and the other
 part of the time was mostly employed in

 visiting such as had slaves4 ,it was a 
time of deep exercise2 but looking often
 to the ,lord for assistance1 ,he in    
unspeakable kindness favored us with the
 influence of that spirit which         
crucifies to the greatness and splendor 
of this world1 and enabled us to go     
through some heavy labors1 in which we  
found peace4  ,these labors were        
attended with the blessing of the ,god  
of the poor and oppressed4  ,dealing in 
slaves was almost entirely abandoned1   
and many who held slaves set them at    
liberty4  ,but many members still       
continuing the practice1 a more emphatic
 testimony against it was issued by the 
,yearly ,meeting in #aggd2 and two years
 after the subordinate meetings were    
directed to deny the right of membership
 to such as persisted in holding their  
fellow-men as property4  ,a concern was 
now felt for the temporal and religious 
welfare of the emancipated slaves1 and  
in #aggi the ,yearly ,meeting came to   
the conclusion that some reparation was 

due from the masters to their former    
slaves for services rendered while in   
the condition of slavery4  ,the         
following is an extract from an epistle 
on this subject3  ,we are united in     
judgment that the state of the oppressed
 people who have been held by any of us1
 or our predecessors1 in captivity and  
slavery1 calls for a deep inquiry and   
close examination how far we are clear  
of withholding from them what under such
 an exercise may open to view as their  
just right2 and therefore we earnestly  
and affectionately entreat our brethren 
in religious profession to bring this   
matter home1 and that all who have let  
the oppressed go free may attend to the 
further openings of duty4  ,a tender    
,christian sympathy appears to be       
awakened in the minds of many who are   
not in religious profession with us1 who
 have seriously considered the          
oppressions and disadvantages under     
which those people have long labored2   
and whether a pious care extended to    

their offspring is not justly due from  
us to them is a consideration worthy our
 serious and deep attention4            
,committees to aid and advise the       
colored people were accordingly         
appointed in the various ,monthly       
,meetings4  ,many former owners of      
slaves faithfully paid the latter for   
their services1 submitting to the award 
and judgment of arbitrators as to what  
justice required at their hands4 ,so    
deeply had the sense of the wrong of    
slavery sunk into the hearts of         
,friends6  ,john ,woolman1 in his       
,journal for #agfi1 states1 that having 
some years before1 as one of the        
executors of a will1 disposed of the    
services of a negro boy belonging to the
 estate until he should reach the age of
 thirty years1 he became uneasy in      
respect to the transaction1 and1        
although he had himself derived no      
pecuniary benefit from it1 and had      
simply acted as the agent of the heirs  
of the estate to which the boy belonged1

 he executed a bond1 binding himself to 
pay the master of the young man for four
 years and a half of his unexpired term 
of service4  ,the appalling magnitude of
 the evil against which he felt himself 
especially called to contend was        
painfully manifest to ,john ,woolman4   
,at the outset1 all about him1 in every 
department of life and human activity1  
in the state and the church1 he saw     
evidences of its strength1 and of the   
depth and extent to which its roots had 
wound their way among the foundations of
 society4  ,yet he seems never to have  
doubted for a moment the power of simple
 truth to eradicate it1 nor to have     
hesitated as to his own duty in regard  
to it4  ,there was no groping like      
,samson in the gloom2 no feeling in     
blind wrath and impatience for the      
pillars of the temple of ,dagon4  ,the  
candle of the ,lord shone about him1 and
 his path lay clear and unmistakable    
before him4  ,he believed in the        
goodness of ,god that leadeth to        

repentance2 and that love could reach   
the witness for itself in the hearts of 
all men1 through all entanglements of   
custom and every barrier of pride and   
selfishness4  ,no one could have a more 
humble estimate of himself2 but as he   
went forth on his errand of mercy he    
felt the ,infinite ,power behind him1   
and the consciousness that he had known 
a preparation from that ,power to stand 
as a trumpet through which the ,lord    
speaks4  ,the event justified his       
confidence2 wherever he went hard hearts
 were softened1 avarice and love of     
power and pride of opinion gave way     
before his testimony of love4  ,the ,new
 ,england ,yearly ,meeting then1 as now1
 was held in ,newport1 on ,rhode        
,island4  ,in the year #agfj ,john      
,woolman1 in the course of a religious  
visit to ,new ,england1 attended that   
meeting4  ,he saw the horrible traffic  
in human beings1--the slave-ships lying 
at the wharves of the town1 the sellers 
and buyers of men and women and children

 thronging the market-place4  ,the same 
abhorrent scenes which a few years after
 stirred the spirit of the excellent    
,hopkins to denounce the slave- trade   
and slavery as hateful in the sight of  
,god to his congregation at ,newport    
were enacted in the full view and       
hearing of the annual convocation of    
,friends1 many of whom were themselves  
partakers in the shame and wickedness4  
,understanding1 he says1 that a large   
number of slaves had been imported from 
,africa into the town1 and were then on 
sale by a member of our ,society1 my    
appetite failed2 ,i grew outwardly weak1
 and had a feeling of the condition of  
,habakkuk3 ',when ,i heard1 my belly    
trembled1 my lips quivered2 ,i trembled 
in myself1 that ,i might rest in the day
 of trouble4'  ,i had many cogitations1 
and was sorely distressed4 ,he prepared 
a memorial to the ,legislature1 then in 
session1 for the signatures of ,friends1
 urging that body to take measures to   
put an end to the importation of slaves4

  ,his labors in the ,yearly ,meeting   
appear to have been owned and blessed by
 the ,divine ,head of the church4  ,the 
,london ,epistle for #ageh1 condemning  
the unrighteous traffic in men1 was     
read1 and the substance of it embodied  
in the discipline of the meeting2 and   
the following query was adopted1 to be  
answered by the subordinate meetings3-- 
,are ,friends clear of importing        
negroes1 or buying them when imported2  
and do they use those well1 where they  
are possessed by inheritance or         
otherwise1 endeavoring to train them up 
in principles of religion8  ,at the     
close of the ,yearly ,meeting1 ,john    
,woolman requested those members of the 
,society who held slaves to meet with   
him in the chamber of the house for     
worship1 where he expressed his concern 
for the well-being of the slaves1 and   
his sense of the iniquity of the        
practice of dealing in or holding them  
as property4  ,his tender exhortations  
were not lost upon his auditors2 his    

remarks were kindly received1 and the   
gentle and loving spirit in which they  
were offered reached many hearts4  ,in  
#agfi1 at the suggestion of the ,rhode  
,island ,quarterly ,meeting1 the ,yearly
 ,meeting expressed its sense of the    
wrongfulness of holding slaves1 and     
appointed a large committee to visit    
those members who were implicated in the
 practice4  ,the next year this         
committee reported that they had        
completed their service1 and that their 
visits mostly seemed to be kindly       
accepted4  ,some ,friends manifested a  
disposition to set such at liberty as   
were suitable2 some others1 not having  
so clear a sight of such an unreasonable
 servitude as could be desired1 were    
unwilling to comply with the advice     
given them at present1 yet seemed       
willing to take it into consideration2 a
 few others manifested a disposition to 
keep them in continued bondage4  ,it was
 stated in the ,epistle to ,london      
,yearly ,meeting of the year #aggb1 that

 a few ,friends had freed their slaves  
from bondage1 but that others have been 
so reluctant thereto that they have been
 disowned for not complying with the    
advice of this meeting4  ,in #aggc the  
following minute was made3 ,it is our   
sense and judgment that truth not only  
requires the young of capacity and      
ability1 but likewise the aged and      
impotent1 and also all in a state of    
infancy and nonage1 among ,friends1 to  
be discharged and set free from a state 
of slavery1 that we do no more claim    
property in the human race1 as we do in 
the brutes that perish4  ,in #aghb no   
slaves were known to be held in the ,new
 ,england ,yearly ,meeting4  ,the next  
year it was recommended to the          
subordinate meetings to appoint         
committees to effect a proper and just  
settlement between the manumitted slaves
 and their former masters1 for their    
past services4  ,in #aghd it was        
concluded by the ,yearly ,meeting that  
any former slave-holder who refused to  

comply with the award of these          
committees should1 after due care and   
labor with him1 be disowned from the    
,society4  ,this was effectual2         
settlements without disownment were made
 to the satisfaction of all parties1 and
 every case was disposed of previous to 
the year #aghg4  ,in the ,new ,york     
,yearly ,meeting1 slave-trading was     
prohibited about the middle of the last 
century4  ,in #agga1 in consequence of  
an ,epistle from the ,philadelphia      
,yearly ,meeting1 a committee was       
appointed to visit those who held       
slaves1 and to advise with them in      
relation to emancipation4  ,in #aggf it 
was made a disciplinary offence to buy1 
sell1 or hold slaves upon any condition4
  ,in #aghd but one slave was to be     
found in the limits of the meeting4  ,in
 the same year1 by answers from the     
several subordinate meetings1 it was    
ascertained that an equitable settlement
 for past services had been effected    
between the emancipated negroes and     

their masters in all save three cases4  
,in the ,virginia ,yearly ,meeting      
slavery had its strongest hold4  ,its   
members1 living in the midst of         
slave-holding communities1 were         
necessarily exposed to influences       
adverse to emancipation4  ,i have       
already alluded to the epistle addressed
 to them by ,william ,edmondson1 and to 
the labors of ,john ,woolman while      
travelling among them4  ,in #ageg the   
,virginia ,yearly ,meeting condemned the
 foreign slave-trade4  ,in #agfd it     
enjoined upon its members the duty of   
kindness towards their servants1 of     
educating them1 and carefully providing 
for their food and clothing4 ,four years
 after1 its members were strictly       
prohibited from purchasing any more     
slaves4  ,in #aggc it earnestly         
recommended the immediate manumission of
 all slaves held in bondage1 after the  
females had reached eighteen and the    
males twenty-one years of age4  ,at the 
same time it was advised that committees

 should be appointed for the purpose of 
instructing the emancipated persons in  
the principles of morality and religion1
 and for advising and aiding them in    
their temporal concerns4  ,i quote a    
single paragraph from the advice sent   
down to the subordinate meetings1 as a  
beautiful manifestation of the fruits of
 true repentance3--  ,it is the solid   
sense of this meeting1 that we of the   
present generation are under strong     
obligations to express our love and     
concern for the offspring of those      
people who by their labors have greatly 
contributed towards the cultivation of  
these colonies under the afflictive     
disadvantage of enduring a hard bondage1
 and the benefit of whose toil many     
among us are enjoying4  ,in #aghd1 the  
different ,quarterly ,meetings having   
reported that many still held slaves1   
notwithstanding the advice and          
entreaties of their friends1 the ,yearly
 ,meeting directed that where endeavors 
to convince those offenders of their    

error proved ineffectual1 the ,monthly  
,meetings should proceed to disown them4
  ,we have no means of ascertaining the 
precise number of those actually        
disowned for slave-holding in the       
,virginia ,yearly ,meeting1 but it is   
well known to have been very small4  ,in
 almost all cases the care and assiduous
 labors of those who had the welfare of 
the ,society and of humanity at heart   
were successful in inducing offenders to
 manumit their slaves1 and confess their
 error in resisting the wishes of their 
friends and bringing reproach upon the  
cause of truth4  ,so ended slavery in   
the ,society of ,friends4  ,for three   
quarters of a century the advice put    
forth in the meetings of the ,society at
 stated intervals1 that ,friends should 
be careful to maintain their testimony  
against slavery1 has been adhered to so 
far as owning1 or even hiring1 a slave  
is concerned4  ,apart from its          
first-fruits of emancipation1 there is a
 perennial value in the example         

exhibited of the power of truth1 urged  
patiently and in earnest love1 to       
overcome the difficulties in the way of 
the eradication of an evil system1      
strengthened by long habit1 entangled   
with all the complex relations of       
society1 and closely allied with the    
love of power1 the pride of family1 and 
the lust of gain4  ,the influence of the
 life and labors of ,john ,woolman has  
by no means been confined to the        
religious society of which he was a     
member4  ,it may be traced wherever a   
step in the direction of emancipation   
has been taken in this country or in    
,europe4  ,during the war of the        
,revolution many of the noblemen and    
officers connected with the ,french army
 became1 as their journals abundantly   
testify1 deeply interested in the       
,society of ,friends1 and took back to  
,france with them something of its      
growing anti-slavery sentiment4         
,especially was this the case with ,jean
 ,pierre ,brissot1 the thinker and      

statesman of the ,girondists1 whose     
intimacy with ,warner ,mifflin1 a friend
 and disciple of ,woolman1 so profoundly
 affected his whole after life4  ,he    
became the leader of the ,friends of the
 ,blacks1 and carried with him to the   
scaffold a profound hatred1 of slavery4 
,to his efforts may be traced the       
proclamation of emancipation in ,hayti  
by the commissioners of the ,french     
convention1 and indirectly the          
subsequent uprising of the blacks and   
their successful establishment of a free
 government4  ,the same influence       
reached ,thomas ,clarkson and stimulated
 his early efforts for the abolition of 
the slave-trade2 and in after life the  
volume of the ,new ,jersey ,quaker was  
the cherished companion of himself and  
his amiable helpmate4  ,it was in a     
degree1 at least1 the influence of      
,stephen ,grellet and ,william ,allen1  
men deeply imbued with the spirit of    
,woolman1 and upon whom it might almost 
be said his mantle had fallen1 that drew

 the attention of ,alexander ,i4 of     
,russia to the importance of taking     
measures for the abolition of serfdom1  
an object the accomplishment of which   
the wars during his reign prevented1 but
 which1 left as a legacy of duty1 has   
been peaceably effected by his namesake1
 ,alexander ,,ii4  ,in the history of   
emancipation in our own country         
evidences of the same original impulse  
of humanity are not wanting4  ,in #agij 
memorials against slavery from the      
,society of ,friends were laid before   
the first ,congress of the ,united      
,states4  ,not content with clearing    
their own skirts of the evil1 the       
,friends of that day took an active part
 in the formation of the abolition      
societies of ,new ,england1 ,new ,york1 
,pennsylvania1 ,maryland1 and ,virginia4
  ,jacob ,lindley1 ,elisha ,tyson1      
,warner ,mifflin1 ,james ,pemberton1 and
 other leading ,friends were known      
throughout the country as unflinching   
champions of freedom4  ,one of the      

earliest of the class known as modern   
abolitionists was ,benjamin ,lundy1 a   
pupil in the school of ,woolman1 through
 whom ,william ,lloyd ,garrison became  
interested in the great work to which   
his life has been so faithfully and     
nobly devoted4  ,looking back to the    
humble workshop at ,mount ,holly from   
the stand-point of the ,proclamation of 
,president ,lincoln1 how has the seed   
sown in weakness been raised up in      
power6  ,the larger portion of          
,woolman's writings is devoted to the   
subjects of slavery1 uncompensated      
labor1 and the excessive toil and       
suffering of the many to support the    
luxury of the few4  ,the argument       
running through them is searching1 and  
in its conclusions uncompromising1 but a
 tender love for the wrong-doer as well 
as the sufferer underlies all4  ,they   
aim to convince the judgment and reach  
the heart without awakening prejudice   
and passion4  ,to the slave-holders of  
his time they must have seemed like the 

voice of conscience speaking to them in 
the cool of the day4  ,one feels1 in    
reading them1 the tenderness and        
humility of a nature redeemed from all  
pride of opinion and self-righteousness1
 sinking itself out of sight1 and intent
 only upon rendering smaller the sum of 
human sorrow and sin by drawing men     
nearer to ,god1 and to each other4  ,the
 style is that of a man unlettered1 but 
with natural refinement and delicate    
sense of fitness1 the purity of whose   
heart enters into his language4  ,there 
is no attempt at fine writing1 not a    
word or phrase for effect2 it is the    
simple unadorned diction of one to whom 
the temptations of the pen seem to have 
been wholly unknown4  ,he wrote1 as he  
believed1 from an inward spiritual      
prompting2 and with all his unaffected  
humility he evidently felt that his work
 was done in the clear radiance of      
,the light which never was on land or   
sea4  ,it was not for him to outrun his 
,guide1 or1 as ,sir ,thomas ,browne     

expresses it1 to order the finger of the
 ,almighty to ,his will and pleasure1   
but to sit still under the soft showers 
of ,providence4  ,very wise are these   
essays1 but their wisdom is not         
altogether that of this world4  ,they   
lead one away from all the jealousies1  
strifes1 and competitions of luxury1    
fashion1 and gain1 out of the close air 
of parties and sects1 into a region of  
calmness1--                             
,the haunt           ,of every gentle   
wind whose breath can teach             
,the wild to love tranquillity1--  a    
quiet habitation where all things are   
ordered in what he calls the pure       
reason2 a rest from all self-seeking1   
and where no man's interest or activity 
conflicts with that of another4  ,beauty
 they certainly have1 but it is not that
 which the rules of art recognize2 a    
certain indefinable purity pervades     
them1 making one sensible1 as he reads1 
of a sweetness as of violets4  ,the     
secret of ,woolman's purity of style1   

said ,dr4 ,channing1 is that his eye was
 single1 and that conscience dictated   
his words4  ,of course we are not to    
look to the writings of such a man for  
tricks of rhetoric1 the free play of    
imagination1 or the unscrupulousness of 
epigram and antithesis4  ,he wrote as he
 lived1 conscious of the great          
,task-master's eye4  ,with the wise     
heathen ,marcus ,aurelius ,antoninus he 
had learned to wipe out imaginations1 to
 check desire1 and let the spirit that  
is the gift of ,god to every man1 as his
 guardian and guide1 bear rule4  ,i have
 thought it inexpedient to swell the    
bulk of this volume with the entire     
writings appended to the old edition of 
the ,journal1 inasmuch as they mainly   
refer to a system which happily on this 
continent is no longer a question at    
issue4  ,i content myself with throwing 
together a few passages from them which 
touch subjects of present interest4     
,selfish men may possess the earth3 it  
is the meek alone who inherit it from   

the ,heavenly ,father free from all     
defilements and perplexities of         
unrighteousness4  ,whoever rightly      
advocates the cause of some thereby     
promotes the good of the whole4  ,if one
 suffer by the unfaithfulness of        
another1 the mind1 the most noble part  
of him that occasions the discord1 is   
thereby alienated from its true         
happiness4  ,there is harmony in the    
several parts of the ,divine work in the
 hearts of men4  ,he who leads them to  
cease from those gainful employments    
which are carried on in the wisdom which
 is from beneath delivers also from the 
desire of worldly greatness1 and        
reconciles to a life so plain that a    
little suffices4  ,after days and nights
 of drought1 when the sky hath grown    
dark1 and clouds like lakes of water    
have hung over our heads1 ,i have at    
times beheld with awfulness the vehement
 lightning accompanying the blessings of
 the rain1 a messenger from ,him to     
remind us of our duty in a right use of 

,his benefits4  ,the marks of famine in 
a land appear as humbling admonitions   
from ,god1 instructing us by gentle     
chastisements1 that we may remember that
 the outward supply of life is a gift   
from our ,heavenly ,father1 and that we 
should not venture to use or apply that 
gift in a way contrary to pure reason4  
,oppression in the extreme appears      
terrible2 but oppression in more refined
 appearances remains to be oppression4  
,to labor for a perfect redemption from 
the spirit of it is the great business  
of the whole family of ,jesus ,christ in
 this world4  ,in the obedience of faith
 we die to self-love1 and1 our life     
being 'hid with ,christ in ,god1' our   
hearts are enlarged towards mankind     
universally2 but many in striving to get
 treasures have departed from this true 
light of life and stumbled on the dark  
mountains4  ,that purity of life which  
proceeds from faithfulness in following 
the pure spirit of truth1 that state in 
which our minds are devoted to serve    

,god and all our wants are bounded by   
,his wisdom1 has often been opened to me
 as a place of retirement for the       
children of the light1 in which we may  
be separated from that which disordereth
 and confuseth the affairs of society1  
and may have a testimony for our        
innocence in the hearts of those who    
behold us4  ,there is a principle which 
is pure1 placed in the human mind1 which
 in different places and ages bath had  
different names2 it is1 however1 pure1  
and proceeds from ,god4  ,it is deep and
 inward1 confined to no forms of        
religion nor excluded from any1 when the
 heart stands in perfect sincerity4  ,in
 whomsoever this takes root and grows1  
they become brethren4  ,the necessity of
 an inward stillness hath appeared clear
 to my mind4  ,in true silence strength 
is renewed1 and the mind is weaned from 
all things1 save as they may be enjoyed 
in the ,divine will2 and a lowliness in 
outward living1 opposite to worldly     
honor1 becomes truly acceptable to us4  

,in the desire after outward gain the   
mind is prevented from a perfect        
attention to the voice of ,christ2 yet  
being weaned from all things1 except as 
they may be enjoyed in the ,divine will1
 the pure light shines into the soul4   
,where the fruits of the spirit which is
 of this world are brought forth by many
 who profess to be led by the ,spirit of
 truth1 and cloudiness is felt to be    
gathering over the visible church1 the  
sincere in heart1 who abide in true     
stillness1 and are exercised therein    
before the ,lord for ,his name's sake1  
have knowledge of ,christ in the        
fellowship of ,his sufferings2 and      
inward thankfulness is felt at times1   
that through ,divine love our own wisdom
 is cast out1 and that forward1 active  
part in us is subjected1 which would    
rise and do something without the pure  
leadings of the spirit of ,christ4      
,while aught remains in us contrary to a
 perfect resignation of our wills1 it is
 like a seal to the book wherein is     

written 'that good and acceptable and   
perfect will of ,god' concerning us4    
,but when our minds entirely yield to   
,christ1 that silence is known which    
followeth the opening of the last of the
 seals4  ,in this silence we learn to   
abide in the ,divine will1 and there    
feel that we have no cause to promote   
except that alone in which the light of 
life directs us4  ,occasionally1 in     
,considerations on the ,keeping of8     
,negroes1 the intense interest of his   
subject gives his language something of 
passionate elevation1 as in the         
following extract3--  ,when trade is    
carried on productive of much misery1   
and they who suffer by it are many      
thousand miles off1 the danger is the   
greater of not laying their sufferings  
to heart4  ,in procuring slaves on the  
coast of ,africa1 many children are     
stolen privately2 wars are encouraged   
among the negroes1 but all is at a great
 distance4  ,many groans arise from     
dying men which we hear not4  ,many     

cries are uttered by widows and         
fatherless children which reach not our 
ears4  ,many cheeks are wet with tears1 
and faces sad with unutterable grief1   
which we see not4  ,cruel tyranny is    
encouraged4  ,the hands of robbers are  
strengthened4  ,were we1 for the term of
 one year only1 to be eye-witnesses of  
what passeth in getting these slaves2   
were the blood that is there shed to be 
sprinkled on our garments2 were the poor
 captives1 bound with thongs1 and       
heavily laden with elephants' teeth1 to 
pass before our eyes on their way to the
 sea2 were their bitter lamentations1   
day after day1 to ring in our ears1 and 
their mournful cries in the night to    
hinder us from sleeping1-- were we to   
behold and hear these things1 what pious
 heart would not be deeply affected with
 sorrow6  ,it is good for those who live
 in fulness to cultivate tenderness of  
heart1 and to improve every opportunity 
of being acquainted with the hardships  
and fatigues of those who labor for     

their living1 and thus to think         
seriously with themselves3 ,am ,i       
influenced by true charity in fixing all
 my demands8  ,have ,i no desire to     
support myself in expensive customs1    
because my acquaintances live in such   
customs8  ,if a wealthy man1 on serious 
reflection1 finds a witness in his own  
conscience that he indulges himself in  
some expensive habits1 which might be   
omitted1 consistently with the true     
design of living1 and which1 were he to 
change places with those who occupy his 
estate1 he would desire to be           
discontinued by them1--whoever is thus  
awakened will necessarily find the      
injunction binding1 ',do ye even so to  
them4'  ,divine ,love imposeth no       
rigorous or unreasonable commands1 but  
graciously points out the spirit of     
brotherhood and the way to happiness1 in
 attaining which it is necessary that we
 relinquish all that is selfish4  ,our  
gracious ,creator cares and provides for
 all ,his creatures2 ,his tender mercies

 are over all ,his works1 and so far as 
true love influences our minds1 so far  
we become interested in ,his            
workmanship1 and feel a desire to make  
use of every opportunity to lessen the  
distresses of the afflicted1 and to     
increase the happiness of the creation4 
,here we have a prospect of one common  
interest from which our own is          
inseparable1 so that to turn all we     
possess into the channel of universal   
love becomes the business of our lives4 
,his liberality and freedom from all    
narrowness as to sects and opinions are 
manifest in the following passages3--   
,men who sincerely apply their minds to 
true virtue1 and find an inward support 
from above1 by which all vicious        
inclinations are made subject2 who love 
,god sincerely1 and prefer the real good
 of mankind universally to their own    
private interest1--though these1 through
 the strength of education and          
tradition1 may remain under some great  
speculative errors1 it would be         

uncharitable to say that therefore ,god 
rejects them4  ,the knowledge and       
goodness of ,him who creates1 supports1 
and gives understanding to all men are  
superior to the various states and      
circumstances of ,his creatures1 which  
to us appear the most difficult4        
,idolatry indeed is wickedness2 but it  
is the thing1 not the name1 which is so4
  ,real idolatry is to pay that         
adoration to a creature which is known  
to be due only to the true ,god4  ,he   
who professeth to believe in one        
,almighty ,creator1 and in ,his ,son    
,jesus ,christ1 and is yet more intent  
on the honors1 profits1 and friendships 
of the world than he is1 in singleness  
of heart1 to stand faithful to the      
,christian religion1 is in the channel  
of idolatry2 while the ,gentile1 who1   
notwithstanding some mistaken opinions1 
is established in the true principle of 
virtue1 and humbly adores an ,almighty  
,power1 may be of the number that fear  
,god and work righteousness4  ,nowhere  

has what is called the ,labor ,question1
 which is now agitating the world1 been 
discussed more wisely and with a broader
 humanity than in these essays4  ,his   
sympathies were with the poor man1 yet  
the rich too are his brethren1 and he   
warns them in love and pity of the      
consequences of luxury and oppression3--
  ,every degree of luxury1 every demand 
for money inconsistent with the ,divine 
order1 hath connection with unnecessary 
labors4  ,to treasure up wealth for     
another generation1 by means of the     
immoderate labor of those who in some   
measure depend upon us1 is doing evil at
 present1 without knowing that wealth   
thus gathered may not be applied to evil
 purposes when we are gone4  ,to labor  
hard1 or cause others to do so1 that we 
may live conformably to customs which   
our ,redeemer discountenanced by ,his   
example1 and which are contrary to      
,divine order1 is to manure a soil for  
propagating an evil seed in the earth4  
,when house is joined to house1 and     

field laid to field1 until there is no  
place1 and the poor are thereby         
straitened1 though this is done by      
bargain and purchase1 yet so far as it  
stands distinguished from universal     
love1 so far that woe predicted by the  
prophet will accompany their            
proceedings4  ,as ,he who first founded 
the earth was then the true proprietor  
of it1 so ,he still remains1 and though 
,he hath given it to the children of    
men1 so that multitudes of people have  
had their sustenance from it while they 
continued here1 yet ,he bath never      
alienated it1 but ,his right is as good 
as at first2 nor can any apply the      
increase of their possessions contrary  
to universal love1 nor dispose of lands 
in a way which they know tends to exalt 
some by oppressing others1 without being
 justly chargeable with usurpation4  ,it
 will not lessen the value of the       
foregoing extracts in the minds of the  
true-disciples of our ,divine ,lord1    
that they are manifestly not written to 

subserve the interests of a narrow      
sectarianism4  ,they might have been    
penned by ,fenelon in his time1 or      
,robertson in ours1 dealing as they do  
with ,christian practice1--the life of  
,christ manifesting itself in purity and
 goodness1--rather than with the dogmas 
of theology4  ,the underlying thought of
 all is simple obedience to the ,divine 
word in the soul4  ,not every one that  
saith unto me ,lord1 ,lord1 shall enter 
into the kingdom of heaven1 but he that 
doeth the will of my ,father in heaven4 
,in the preface to an ,english edition1 
published some years ago1 it is         
intimated that objections had been      
raised to the ,journal on the ground    
that it had so little to say of         
doctrines and so much of duties4  ,one  
may easily understand that this         
objection might have been forcibly felt 
by the slave-holding religious          
professors of ,woolman's day1 and that  
it may still be entertained by a class  
of persons who1 like the ,cabalists1    

attach a certain mystical significance  
to words1 names1 and titles1 and who in 
consequence question the piety which    
hesitates to flatter the ,divine ear by 
vain repetitions and formal enumeration 
of sacred attributes1 dignities1 and    
offices4  ,every instinct of his        
tenderly sensitive nature shrank from   
the wordy irreverence of noisy          
profession4 ,his very silence is        
significant3 the husks of emptiness     
rustle in every wind2 the full corn in  
the ear holds up its golden fruit       
noiselessly to the ,lord of the harvest4
  ,john ,woolman's faith1 like the      
,apostle's1 is manifested by his labors1
 standing not in words but in the       
demonstration of the spirit1--a faith   
that works by love to the purifying of  
the heart4 ,the entire outcome of this  
faith was love manifested in reverent   
waiting upon ,god1 and in that untiring 
benevolence1 that quiet but deep        
enthusiasm of humanity1 which made his  
daily service to his fellow- creatures a

 hymn of praise to the common ,father4  
,however the intellect may criticise    
such a life1 whatever defects it may    
present to the trained eyes of          
theological adepts1 the heart has no    
questions to ask1 but at once owns and  
reveres it4  ,shall we regret that he   
who had so entered into fellowship of   
suffering with the ,divine ,one1 walking
 with ,him under the cross1 and dying   
daily to self1 gave to the faith and    
hope that were in him this testimony of 
a life1 rather than any form of words1  
however sound8  ,a true life is at once 
interpreter and proof of the gospel1 and
 does more to establish its truth in the
 hearts of men than all the ,evidences  
and ,bodies of ,divinity which have     
perplexed the world with more doubts    
than they solved4  ,shall we venture to 
account it a defect in his ,christian   
character1 that1 under an abiding sense 
of the goodness and long-suffering of   
,god1 he wrought his work in gentleness 
and compassion1 with the delicate       

tenderness which comes of a deep        
sympathy with the trials and weaknesses 
of our nature1 never allowing himself to
 indulge in heat or violence1 persuading
 rather than threatening8  ,did he      
overestimate that immeasurable ,love1   
the manifestation of which in his own   
heart so reached the hearts of others1  
revealing everywhere unsuspected        
fountains of feeling and secret longings
 after purity1 as the rod of the diviner
 detects sweet1 cool water-springs under
 the parched surfaces of a thirsty land8
  ,and1 looking at the purity1 wisdom1  
and sweetness of his life1 who shall say
 that his faith in the teaching of the  
,holy ,spirit--the interior guide and   
light--was a mistaken one8  ,surely it  
was no illusion by which his feet were  
so guided that all who saw him felt     
that1 like ,enoch1 he walked with ,god4 
,without the actual inspiration of the  
,spirit of ,grace1 the inward teacher   
and soul of our souls1 says ,fenelon1 we
 could neither do1 will1 nor believe    

good4  ,we must silence every creature1 
we must silence ourselves also1 to hear 
in a profound stillness of the soul this
 inexpressible voice of ,christ4  ,the  
outward word of the gospel itself       
without this living efficacious word    
within would be but an empty sound4     
,thou ,lord1 says ,augustine in his     
,meditations1 communicatest thyself to  
all3 thou teachest the heart without    
words2 thou speakest to it without      
articulate sounds4       ,however1 ,i am
 sure that there is a common spirit that
 plays within      us1 and that is the  
,spirit of ,god4  ,whoever feels not the
 warm gale      and gentle ventilation  
of this ,spirit1 ,i dare not say he     
lives2 for      truly without this to me
 there is no heat under the tropic1 nor 
any      light though ,i dwelt in the   
body of the sun4--,sir ,thomas ,browne's
      ,religio ,medici4  ,never was this
 divine principle more fully tested than
 by ,john ,wool man2 and the result is  
seen in a life of such rare excellence  

that the world is still better and      
richer for its sake1 and the fragrance  
of it comes down to us through a        
century1 still sweet and precious4  ,it 
will be noted throughout the ,journal   
and essays that in his lifelong         
testimony against wrong he never lost   
sight of the oneness of humanity1 its   
common responsibility1 its fellowship of
 suffering and communion of sin4  ,few  
have ever had so profound a conviction  
of the truth of the ,apostle's          
declaration that no man liveth and no   
man dieth to himself4 ,sin was not to   
him an isolated fact1 the responsibility
 of which began and ended with the      
individual transgressor2 he saw it as a 
part of a vast network and entanglement1
 and traced the lines of influence      
converging upon it in the underworld of 
causation4  ,hence the wrong and discord
 which pained him called out pity1      
rather than indignation4  ,the first    
inquiry which they awakened was         
addressed to his own conscience4  ,how  

far am ,i in thought1 word1 custom1     
responsible for this8  ,have none of my 
fellow-creatures an equitable right to  
any part which is called mine8 ,have the
 gifts and possessions received by me   
from others been conveyed in a way free 
from all unrighteousness8  ,through     
abiding in the law of ,christ1 he says1 
we feel a tenderness towards our        
fellow-creatures1 and a concern so to   
walk that our conduct may not be the    
means of strengthening them in error4   
,he constantly recurs to the importance 
of a right example in those who profess 
to be led by the spirit of ,christ1 and 
who attempt to labor in ,his name for   
the benefit of their fellow-men4 ,if    
such neglect or refuse themselves to act
 rightly1 they can but entangle the     
minds of others and draw a veil over the
 face of righteousness4  ,his eyes were 
anointed to see the common point of     
departure from the ,divine harmony1 and 
that all the varied growths of evil had 
their underlying root in human          

selfishness4  ,he saw that every sin of 
the individual was shared in greater or 
less degree by all whose lives were     
opposed to the ,divine order1 and that  
pride1 luxury1 and avarice in one class 
gave motive and temptation to the       
grosser forms of evil in another4  ,how 
gentle1 and yet how searching1 are his  
rebukes of self-complacent              
respectability1 holding it responsible1 
in spite of all its decent seemings1 for
 much of the depravity which it         
condemned with ,pharisaical harshness6  
,in his ,considerations on the ,true    
,harmony of ,mankind be dwells with     
great earnestness upon the importance of
 possessing the mind of ,christ1 which  
removes from the heart the desire of    
superiority and worldly honors1 incites 
attention to the ,divine ,counsellor1   
and awakens an ardent engagement to     
promote the happiness of all4  ,this    
state1 he says1 in which every motion   
from the selfish spirit yieldeth to pure
 love1 ,i may acknowledge with gratitude

 to the ,father of ,mercies1 is often   
opened before me as a pearl to seek     
after4  ,at times when ,i have felt true
 love open my heart towards my fellow-  
creatures1 and have been engaged in     
weighty conversation in the cause of    
righteousness1 the instructions ,i have 
received under these exercises in regard
 to the true use of the outward gifts of
 ,god have made deep and lasting        
impressions on my mind4  ,i have beheld 
how the desire to provide wealth and to 
uphold a delicate life has greviously   
entangled many1 and has been like a     
snare to their offspring2 and though    
some have been affected with a sense of 
their difficulties1 and have appeared   
desirous at times to be helped out of   
them1 yet for want of abiding under the 
humbling power of truth they have       
continued in these entanglements2       
expensive living in parents and children
 hath called for a large supply1 and in 
answering this call the 'faces of the   
poor' have been ground away1 and made   

thin through hard dealing4  ,there is   
balm2 there is a physician6 and oh what 
longings do ,i feel that we may embrace 
the means appointed for our healing2 may
 know that removed which now ministers  
cause for the cries of many to ascend to
 ,heaven against their oppressors2 and  
that thus we may see the true harmony   
restored6--a restoration of that which  
was lost at ,babel1 and which will be1  
as the prophet expresses it1 'the       
returning of a pure language6'  ,it is  
easy to conceive how unwelcome this     
clear spiritual insight must have been  
to the superficial professors of his    
time busy in tithing mint1 anise1 and   
cummin4  ,there must have been something
 awful in the presence of one endowed   
with the gift of looking through all the
 forms1 shows1 and pretensions of       
society1 and detecting with certainty   
the germs of evil hidden beneath them2 a
 man gentle and full of compassion1     
clothed in the irresistible might of    
meekness1 and yet so wise in spiritual  

discernment1            ,bearing a      
touchstone in his hand           ,and   
testing all things in the land          
,by his unerring spell4                 
,quick births of transmutation smote    
,the fair to foul1 the foul to fair2    
,purple nor ermine did he spare1        
,nor scorn the dusty coat4  ,in bringing
 to a close this paper1 the preparation 
of which has been to me a labor of love1
 ,i am not unmindful of the wide        
difference between the appreciation of a
 pure and true life and the living of   
it1 and am willing to own that in       
delineating a character of such moral   
and spiritual symmetry ,i have felt     
something like rebuke from my own words4
  ,i have been awed and solemnized by   
the presence of a serene and beautiful  
spirit redeemed of the ,lord from all   
selfishness1 and ,i have been made      
thankful for the ability to recognize   
and the disposition to love him4  ,i    
leave the book with its readers4  ,they 
may possibly make large deductions from 

my estimate of the author2 they may not 
see the importance of all his           
self-denying testimonies2 they may      
question some of his scruples1 and smile
 over passages of childlike simplicity2 
but ,i believe they will all agree in   
thanking me for introducing them to the 
,journal of ,john ,woolman4  ,,amesbury1
 #bjth #ast mo41#ahga4     ,,haverford  
,,college4                   ,letter to 
,president ,thomas ,chase1 ,,ll4 ,d4    
,,amesbury1 ,,mass41 #ith mo41 #ahhd4   
,,the ,semi-,centennial of ,haverford   
,college is an event that no member of  
the ,society of ,friends can regard     
without deep interest4  ,it would give  
me great pleasure to be with you on the 
#bgth inst41 but the years rest heavily 
upon me1 and ,i have scarcely health or 
strength for such a journey4  ,it was my
 privilege to visit ,haverford in #ahch1
 in the day of small beginnings4  ,the  
promise of usefulness which it then gave
 has been more than fulfilled4  ,it has 
grown to be a great and well-established

 institution1 and its influence in      
thorough education and moral training   
has been widely felt4  ,if the high     
educational standard presented in the   
scholastic treatise of ,barclay and the 
moral philosophy of ,dymond has been    
lowered or disowned by many who1 still  
retaining the name of ,quakerism1 have  
lost faith in the vital principle       
wherein precious testimonials of        
practical righteousness have their root1
 and have gone back to a dead           
literalness1 and to those materialistic 
ceremonials for leaving which our old   
confessors suffered bonds and death1    
,haverford1 at least1 has been in a good
 degree faithful to the trust committed 
to it4  ,under circumstances of more    
than ordinary difficulty1 it has        
endeavored to maintain the ,great       
,testimony4  ,the spirit of its culture 
has not been a narrow one1 nor could it 
be1 if true to the broad and catholic   
principles of the eminent worthies who  
founded the ,state of ,pennsylvania1    

,penn1 ,lloyd1 ,pastorius1 ,logan1 and  
,story2 men who were masters of the     
scientific knowledge and culture of     
their age1 hospitable to all truth1 and 
open to all light1 and who in some      
instances anticipated the result of     
modern research and critical inquiry4   
,it was ,thomas ,story1 a minister of   
the ,society of ,friends1 and member of 
,penn's ,council of ,state1 who1 while  
on a religious visit to ,england1 wrote 
to ,james ,logan that he had read on the
 stratified rocks of ,scarborough1 as   
from the finger of ,god1 proofs of the  
immeasurable age of our planet1 and that
 the days of the letter of ,scripture   
could only mean vast spaces of time4    
,may ,haverford emulate the example of  
these brave but reverent men1 who1 in   
investigating nature1 never lost sight  
of the ,divine ,ideal1 and who1 to use  
the words of ,fenelon1 ,silenced        
themselves to hear in the stillness of  
their souls the inexpressible voice of  
,christ4  ,holding fast the mighty truth

 of the ,divine ,immanence1 the ,inward 
,light and ,word1 a ,quaker college can 
have no occasion to renew the disastrous
 quarrel of religion with science4      
,against the sublime faith which shall  
yet dominate the world1 skepticism has  
no power4  ,no possible investigation of
 natural facts2 no searching criticism  
of letter and tradition can disturb it1 
for it has its witness in all human     
hearts4  ,that ,haverford may fully     
realize and improve its great           
opportunities as an approved seat of    
learning and the exponent of a          
,christian philosophy which can never be
 superseded1 which needs no change to   
fit it for universal acceptance1 and    
which1 overpassing the narrow limits of 
sect1 is giving new life and hope to    
,christendom1 and finding its witnesses 
in the ,hindu revivals of the ,brahmo   
,somaj and the fervent utterances of    
,chunda ,sen and ,mozoomdar1 is the     
earnest desire of thy friend4           
,,criticism3 ,,evangeline               

,a review of ,mr4 ,longfellow's poem4   
,,eureka6  ,here1 then1 we have it at   
last1--an ,american poem1 with the lack 
of which ,british reviewers have so long
 reproached us4  ,selecting the subject 
of all others best calculated for his   
purpose1--the expulsion of the ,french  
settlers of ,acadie from their quiet and
 pleasant homes around the ,basin of    
,minas1 one of the most sadly romantic  
passages in the history of the ,colonies
 of the ,north1--the author has         
succeeded in presenting a series of     
exquisite pictures of the striking and  
peculiar features of life and nature in 
the ,new ,world4  ,the range of these   
delineations extends from ,nova ,scotia 
on the northeast to the spurs of the    
,rocky ,mountains on the west and the   
,gulf of ,mexico on the south4 ,nothing 
can be added to his pictures of quiet   
farm-life in ,acadie1 the ,indian summer
 of our northern latitudes1 the scenery 
of the ,ohio and ,mississippi ,rivers1  
the bayous and cypress forests of the   

,south1 the mocking-bird1 the prairie1  
the ,ozark hills1 the ,catholic         
missions1 and the wild ,arabs of the    
,west1 roaming with the buffalo along   
the banks of the ,nebraska4  ,the       
hexameter measure he has chosen has the 
advantage of a prosaic freedom of       
expression1 exceedingly well adapted to 
a descriptive and narrative poem2 yet we
 are constrained to think that the story
 of ,evangeline would have been quite as
 acceptable to the public taste had it  
been told in the poetic prose of the    
author's ,hyperion4  ,in reading it and 
admiring its strange melody we were not 
without fears that the success of       
,professor ,longfellow in this novel    
experiment might prove the occasion of  
calling out a host of awkward imitators1
 leading us over weary wastes of        
hexameters1 enlivened neither by dew1   
rain1 nor fields of offering4  ,apart   
from its ,americanism1 the poem has     
merits of a higher and universal        
character4  ,it is not merely a work of 

art2 the pulse of humanity throbs warmly
 through it4  ,the portraits of ,basil  
the blacksmith1 the old notary1         
,benedict ,bellefontaine1 and good      
,father ,felician1 fairly glow with     
life4  ,the beautiful ,evangeline1      
loving and faithful unto death1 is a    
heroine worthy of any poet of the       
present century4  ,the editor of the    
,boston ,chronotype1 in the course of an
 appreciative review of this poem1 urges
 with some force a single objection1    
which we are induced to notice1 as it is
 one not unlikely to present itself to  
the minds of other readers3--  ,we think
 ,mr4 ,longfellow ought to have         
expressed a much deeper indignation at  
the base1 knavish1 and heartless conduct
 of the ,english and ,colonial          
persecutors than he has done4  ,he      
should have put far bolder and deeper   
tints in the picture of suffering4  ,one
 great1 if not the greatest1 end of     
poetry is rhadamanthine justice4  ,the  
poet should mete out their deserts to   

all his heroes2 honor to whom honor1 and
 infamy to whom infamy1 is due4  ,it is 
true that the wrong in this case is in a
 great degree fathered upon our own     
,massachusetts2 and it maybe said that  
it is afoul bird that pollutes its own  
nest4  ,we deny the applicability of the
 rather musty proverb4  ,all the worse4 
,of not a more contemptible vice is what
 is called ,american literature guilty  
than this of unmitigated self-          
laudation4  ,if we persevere in it1 the 
stock will become altogether too small  
for the business4  ,it seems that no    
period of our history has been exempt   
from materials for patriotic humiliation
 and national self- reproach2 and surely
 the present epoch is laying in a large 
store of that sort4  ,had our poets     
always told us the truth of ourselves1  
perhaps it would now be otherwise4      
,national self-flattery and concealment 
of faults must of course have their     
natural results4  ,we must confess that 
we read the first part of ,evangeline   

with something of the feeling so        
forcibly expressed by ,professor        
,wright4  ,the natural and honest       
indignation with which1 many years ago1 
we read for the first time that dark    
page of our ,colonial history--the      
expulsion of the ,french neutrals--was  
reawakened by the simple pathos of the  
poem2 and we longed to find an adequate 
expression of it in the burning language
 of the poet4 ,we marvelled that he who 
could so touch the heart by his         
description of the sad suffering of the 
,acadian peasants should have permitted 
the authors of that suffering to escape 
without censure4  ,the outburst of the  
stout ,basil1 in the church of ,grand   
,pre1 was1 we are fain to acknowledge1 a
 great relief to us4  ,but1 before      
reaching the close of the volume1 we    
were quite reconciled to the author's   
forbearance4  ,the design of the poem is
 manifestly incompatible with stern     
rhadamanthine justice and indignant     
denunciation of wrong4  ,it is a simple 

story of quiet pastoral happiness1 of   
great sorrow and painful bereavement1   
and of the endurance of a love which1   
hoping and seeking always1 wanders      
evermore up and down the wilderness of  
the world1 baffled at every turn1 yet   
still retaining faith in ,god and in the
 object of its lifelong quest4  ,it was 
no part of the writer's object to       
investigate the merits of the question  
at issue between the poor ,acadians and 
their ,puritan neighbors4  ,looking at  
the materials before him with the eye of
 an artist simply1 he has arranged them 
to suit his idea of the beautiful and   
pathetic1 leaving to some future        
historian the duty of sitting in        
judgment upon the actors in the         
atrocious outrage which furnished them4 
,with this we are content4  ,the poem   
now has unity and sweetness which might 
have been destroyed by attempting to    
avenge the wrongs it so vividly depicts4
  ,it is a psalm of love and            
forgiveness3 the gentleness and peace of

 ,christian meekness and forbearance    
breathe through it4  ,not a word of     
censure is directly applied to the      
marauding workers of the mighty sorrow  
which it describes just as it would a   
calamity from the elements1--a          
visitation of ,god4  ,the reader1       
however1 cannot fail to award justice to
 the wrong-doers4  ,the unresisting     
acquiescence of the ,acadians only      
deepens his detestation of the cupidity 
and religious bigotry of their spoilers4
  ,even in the language of the good     
,father ,felician1 beseeching his flock 
to submit to the strong hand which had  
been laid upon them1 we see and feel the
 magnitude of the crime to be           
forgiven3--       ,lo1 where the        
crucified ,christ from his cross is     
gazing upon you6      ,see in those     
sorrowful eyes what meekness and holy   
compassion6      ,hark6  how those lips 
still repeat the prayer1 ,o ,father1    
forgive      them6      ,let us repeat  
that prayer in the hour when the wicked 

assail us2      ,let us repeat it now1  
and say1 ,o ,father1 forgive them6  ,how
 does this simple prayer of the         
,acadians contrast with the deep        
damnation of their taking off6  ,the    
true history of the ,puritans of ,new   
,england is yet to be written4          
,somewhere midway between the           
caricatures of the ,church party and the
 self-laudations of their own writers   
the point may doubtless be found from   
whence an impartial estimate of their   
character may be formed4  ,they had     
noble qualities3 the firmness and energy
 which they displayed in the            
colonization of ,new ,england must      
always command admiration4  ,we would   
not rob them1 were it in our power to do
 so1 of one jot or tittle of their      
rightful honor4  ,but1 with all the     
lights which we at present possess1 we  
cannot allow their claim of saintship   
without some degree of qualification4   
,how they seemed to their ,dutch        
neighbors at ,new ,netherlands1 and     

their ,french ones at ,nova ,scotia1 and
 to the poor ,indians1 hunted from their
 fisheries and game-grounds1 we can very
 well conjecture4  ,it may be safely    
taken for granted that their gospel     
claim to the inheritance of the earth   
was not a little questionable to the    
,catholic fleeing for his life from     
their jurisdiction1 to the banished     
,baptist shaking off the dust of his    
feet against them1 and to the martyred  
,quaker denouncing woe and judgment upon
 them from the steps of the gallows4    
,most of them were1 beyond a doubt1     
pious and sincere2 but we are           
constrained to believe that among them  
were those who wore the livery of heaven
 from purely selfish motives1 in a      
community where church-membership was an
 indispensable requisite1 the only open 
sesame before which the doors of honor  
and distinction swung wide to needy or  
ambitious aspirants4  ,mere adventurers1
 men of desperate fortunes1 bankrupts in
 character and purse1 contrived to make 

gain of godliness under the church and  
state government of ,new ,england1 put  
on the austere exterior of sanctity1    
quoted ,scripture1 anathematized        
heretics1 whipped ,quakers1 exterminated
 ,indians1 burned and spoiled the       
villages of their ,catholic neighbors1  
and hewed down their graven images and  
houses of ,rimmon4  ,it is curious to   
observe how a fierce religious zeal     
against heathen and idolaters went hand 
in hand with the old ,anglo-,saxon love 
of land and plunder4  ,every crusade    
undertaken against the ,papists of the  
,french colonies had its ,puritan ,peter
 the ,hermit to summon the saints to the
 wars of the ,lord4  ,at the siege of   
,louisburg1 ten years before the        
onslaught upon the ,acadian settlers1   
one minister marched with the ,colonial 
troops1 axe in hand1 to hew down the    
images in the ,french churches2 while   
another officiated in the double        
capacity of drummer and chaplain1--a    
drum ecclesiastic1 as ,hudibras has it4 

,at the late celebration of the landing 
of the ,pilgrims in ,new ,york1 the     
orator of the day labored at great      
length to show that the charge of       
intolerance1 as urged against the       
colonists of ,new ,england1 is unfounded
 in fact4  ,the banishment of the       
,catholics was very sagaciously passed  
over in silence1 inasmuch as the        
,catholic ,bishop of ,new ,york was one 
of the invited guests1 and 7hear it1    
shade of ,cotton ,mather67 one of the   
regular toasts was a compliment to the  
,pope4  ,the expulsion of ,roger        
,williams was excused and partially     
justified2 while the whipping1 ear-     
cropping1 tongue-boring1 and hanging of 
the ,quakers was defended1 as the only  
effectual method of dealing with such   
devil-driven heretics1 as ,mather calls 
them4  ,the orator1 in the new-born zeal
 of his amateur ,puritanism1 stigmatizes
 the persecuted class as fanatics and   
ranters1 foaming forth their mad        
opinions2 compares them to the ,mormons 

and the crazy followers of ,mathias2 and
 cites an instance of a poor enthusiast1
 named ,eccles1 who1 far gone in the    
tailor's melancholy1 took it into his   
head that he must enter into a          
steeple-house pulpit and stitch breeches
 in singing time1--a circumstance1 by   
the way1 which took place in ,old       
,england1--as a justification of the    
atrocious laws of the ,massachusetts    
,colony4  ,we have not the slightest    
disposition to deny the fanaticism and  
folly of some few professed ,quakers in 
that day2 and had the ,puritans treated 
them as the ,pope did one of their      
number whom he found crazily holding    
forth in the church of ,st4 ,peter1 and 
consigned them to the care of physicians
 as religious monomaniacs1 no sane man  
could have blamed them4  ,every sect1 in
 its origin1 and especially in its time 
of persecution1 has had its fanatics4   
,the early ,christians1 if we may credit
 the admissions of their own writers or 
attach the slightest credence to the    

statements of pagan authors1 were by no 
means exempt from reproach and scandal  
in this respect4  ,were the ,puritans   
themselves the men to cast stones at the
 ,quakers and ,baptists8  ,had they not1
 in the view at least of the            
,established ,church1 turned all        
,england upside down with their         
fanaticisms and extravagances of        
doctrine and conduct8  ,how look they as
 depicted in the sermons of ,dr4 ,south1
 in the sarcastic pages of ,hudibras1   
and the coarse caricatures of the       
clerical wits of the times of the second
 ,charles8  ,with their own backs scored
 and their ears cropped for the crime of
 denying the divine authority of church 
and state in ,england1 were they the men
 to whip ,baptists and hang ,quakers for
 doing the same thing in ,massachusetts8
  ,of all that is noble and true in the 
,puritan character we are sincere       
admirers4  ,the generous and            
self-denying apostleship of ,eliot is1  
of itself1 a beautiful page in their    

history4  ,the physical daring and      
hardihood with which1 amidst the times  
of savage warfare1 they laid the        
foundations of mighty states1 and       
subdued the rugged soil1 and made the   
wilderness blossom2 their steadfast     
adherence to their religious principles1
 even when the ,restoration had made    
apostasy easy and profitable2 and the   
vigilance and firmness with which1 under
 all circumstances1 they held fast their
 chartered liberties and extorted new   
rights and privileges from the reluctant
 home government1--justly entitle them  
to the grateful remembrance of a        
generation now reaping the fruits of    
their toils and sacrifices4  ,but1 in   
expressing our gratitude to the founders
 of ,new ,england1 we should not forget 
what is due to truth and justice2 nor1  
for the sake of vindicating them from   
the charge of that religious intolerance
 which1 at the time1 they shared with   
nearly all ,christendom1 undertake to   
defend1 in the light of the nineteenth  

century1 opinions and practices hostile 
to the benignant spirit of the gospel   
and subversive of the inherent rights of
 man4     ,,mirth ,,and ,,medicine      
,a review of ,poems by ,oliver ,wendell 
,holmes4  ,,if any of our readers 7and  
at times we fear it is the case with    
all7 need amusement and the wholesome   
alterative of a hearty laugh1 we commend
 them1 not to ,dr4 ,holmes the          
physician1 but to ,dr4 ,holmes the      
scholar1 the wit1 and the humorist2 not 
to the scientific medical professor's   
barbarous ,latin1 but to his poetical   
prescriptions1 given in choice old      
,saxon4  ,we have tried them1 and are   
ready to give the ,doctor certificates  
of their efficacy4  ,looking at the     
matter from the point of theory only1 we
 should say that a physician could not  
be otherwise than melancholy4  ,a merry 
doctor6  ,why1 one might as well talk of
 a laughing death's-head1--the          
cachinnation of a monk's memento mori4  
,this life of ours is sorrowful enough  

at its best estate2 the brightest phase 
of it is sicklied o'er with the pale    
cast of the future or the past4  ,but it
 is the special vocation of the doctor  
to look only upon the shadow2 to turn   
away from the house of feasting and go  
down to that of mourning2 to breathe day
 after day the atmosphere of            
wretchedness2 to grow familiar with     
suffering2 to look upon humanity        
disrobed of its pride and glory1 robbed 
of all its fictitious ornaments1 --weak1
 helpless1 naked1--and undergoing the   
last fearful metempsychosis from its    
erect and godlike image1 the living     
temple of an enshrined divinity1 to the 
loathsome clod and the inanimate dust4  
,of what ghastly secrets of moral and   
physical disease is he the depositary6  
,there is woe before him and behind him2
 he is hand and glove with misery by    
prescription1--the ex officio gauger of 
the ills that flesh is heir to4 ,he has 
no home1 unless it be at the bedside of 
the querulous1 the splenetic1 the sick1 

and the dying4  ,he sits down to carve  
his turkey1 and is summoned off to a    
post-mortem examination of another sort4
  ,all the diseases which ,milton's     
imagination embodied in the lazar-house 
dog his footsteps and pluck at his      
doorbell4  ,hurrying from one place to  
another at their beck1 he knows nothing 
of the quiet comfort of the sleek-headed
 men who sleep o' nights4  ,his wife1 if
 he has one1 has an undoubted right to  
advertise him as a deserter of bed and  
board4  ,his ideas of beauty1 the       
imaginations of his brain1 and the      
affections of his heart are regulated   
and modified by the irrepressible       
associations of his luckless profession4
  ,woman as well as man is to him of the
 earth1 earthy4  ,he sees incipient     
disease where the uninitiated see only  
delicacy4  ,a smile reminds him of his  
dental operations2 a blushing cheek of  
his hectic patients2 pensive melancholy 
is dyspepsia2 sentimentalism1           
nervousness4  ,tell him of lovelorn     

hearts1 of the worm ,i' the bud1 of the 
mental impalement upon ,cupid's arrow1  
like that of a giaour upon the spear of 
a janizary1 and he can only think of    
lack of exercise1 of tightlacing1 and   
slippers in winter4  ,sheridan seems to 
have understood all this1 if we may     
judge from the lament of his ,doctor1 in
 ,st4 ,patrick's ,day1 over his deceased
 helpmate4  ,poor dear ,dolly1 says he4 
,i shall never see her like again2 such 
an arm for a bandage6  veins that seemed
 to invite the lancet6  ,then her       
skin1--smooth and white as a gallipot2  
her mouth as round and not larger than  
that of a penny vial2 and her           
teeth1--none of your sturdy             
fixtures1--ache as they would1 it was   
only a small pull1 and out they came4   
,i believe ,i have drawn half a score of
 her dear pearls4  7,weeps47 ,but what  
avails her beauty8  ,she has gone1 and  
left no little babe to hang like a label
 on papa's neck6  ,so much for          
speculation and theory4  ,in practice it

 is not so bad after all4  ,the         
grave-digger in ,hamlet has his jokes   
and grim jests4  ,we have known many a  
jovial sexton2 and we have heard        
clergymen laugh heartily at small       
provocation close on the heel of a cool 
calculation that the great majority of  
their fellow-creatures were certain of  
going straight to perdition4  ,why1     
then1 should not even the doctor have   
his fun8  ,nay1 is it not his duty to be
 merry1 by main force if necessary8     
,solomon1 who1 from his great knowledge 
of herbs1 must have been no mean        
practitioner for his day1 tells us that 
a merry heart doeth good like a         
medicine2 and universal experience has  
confirmed the truth of his maxim4       
,hence it is1 doubtless1 that we have so
 many anecdotes of facetious doctors1   
distributing their pills and jokes      
together1 shaking at the same time the  
contents of their vials and the sides of
 their patients4  ,it is merely         
professional1 a trick of the practice1  

unquestionably1 in most cases2 but      
sometimes it is a natural gift1 like    
that of the bonesetters1 and scrofula   
strokers1 and cancer curers1 who carry  
on a sort of guerilla war with human    
maladies4  ,such we know to be the case 
with ,dr4 ,holmes4 ,he was born for the 
laughter cure1 as certainly as          
,priessnitz was for the water cure1 and 
has been quite as successful in his way1
 while his prescriptions are infinitely 
more agreeable4  ,the volume now before 
us gives1 in addition to the poems and  
lyrics contained in the two previous    
editions1 some hundred or more pages of 
the later productions of the author1 in 
the sprightly vein1 and marked by the   
brilliant fancy and felicitous diction  
for which the former were noteworthy4   
,his longest and most elaborate poem1   
,urania1 is perhaps the best specimen of
 his powers4  ,its general tone is      
playful and humorous2 but there are     
passages of great tenderness and pathos4
  ,witness the following1 from a        

description of the city churchgoers4    
,the whole compass of our literature has
 few passages to equal its melody and   
beauty4      ,down the chill street1    
which winds in gloomiest shade1         
,what marks betray yon solitary maid8   
,the cheek's red rose1 that speaks of   
balmier air1      ,the ,celtic blackness
 of her braided hair2      ,the gilded  
missal in her kerchief tied2      ,poor 
,nora1 exile from ,killarney's side6    
,sister in toil1 though born of colder  
skies1      ,that left their azure in   
her downcast eyes1      ,see pallid     
,margaret1 ,labor's patient child1      
,scarce weaned from home1 a nursling of 
the wild1      ,where white ,katahdin   
o'er the horizon shines1      ,and broad
 ,penobscot dashes through the pines2   
,still1 as she hastes1 her careful      
fingers hold      ,the unfailing        
hymn-book in its cambric fold3      ,six
 days at ,drudgery's heavy wheel she    
stands1      ,the seventh sweet morning 
folds her weary hands4      ,yes1 child 

of suffering1 thou mayst well be sure   
,he who ordained the ,sabbath loved the 
poor4  ,this is but one of many         
passages1 showing that the author is    
capable of moving the heart as well as  
of tickling the fancy4  ,there is no    
straining for effect2 simple1 natural   
thoughts are expressed in simple and    
perfectly transparent language4         
,terpsichore1 read at an annual dinner  
of the ,phi ,beta ,kappa ,society at    
,cambridge1 sparkles throughout with    
keen wit1 quaint conceits1 and satire so
 good-natured that the subjects of it   
can enjoy it as heartily as their       
neighbors4  ,witness this thrust at our 
,german-,english writers3--      ,essays
 so dark1 ,champollion might despair    
,to guess what mummy of a thought was   
there1      ,where our poor ,english1   
striped with foreign phrase1 ,looks like
 a      zebra in a parson's chaise4  ,or
 this at our transcendental friends3--  
,deluded infants6  will they never know 
,some doubts must darken o'er the world 

below      ,though all the ,platos of   
the nursery trail      ,their clouds of 
glory at the go-cart's tail8  ,the lines
 ,on ,lending a ,punch-,bowl are highly 
characteristic4  ,nobody but ,holmes    
could have conjured up so many rare     
fancies in connection with such a       
matter4  ,hear him3--     ,this ancient 
silver bowl of mine1 it tells of good   
old times1    ,of joyous days1 and jolly
 nights1 and merry ,christmas chimes2   
,they were a free and jovial race1 but  
honest1 brave1 and true1    ,that dipped
 their ladle in the punch when this old 
bowl was new4     ,a ,spanish galleon   
brought the bar2 so runs the ancient    
tale2    ',t was hammered by an ,antwerp
 smith1 whose arm was like a flail2     
,and now and then between the strokes1  
for fear his strength should fail1      
,he wiped his brow1 and quaffed a cup of
 good old ,flemish ale4     ',t was     
purchased by an ,english squire to      
please his loving dame1    ,who saw the 
cherubs1 and conceived a longing for the

 same2    ,and oft as on the ancient    
stock another twig was found1    ',t was
 filled with candle spiced and hot and  
handed smoking round4     ,but1 changing
 hands1 it reached at length a ,puritan 
divine1    ,who used to follow ,timothy1
 and take a little wine1    ,but hated  
punch and prelacy2 and so it was1       
perhaps1    ,he went to ,leyden1 where  
he found conventicles and schnaps4      
,and then1 of course1 you know what's   
next1--it left the ,dutchman's shore    
,with those that in the ,mayflower      
came1--a hundred souls and more1--      
,along with all the furniture1 to fill  
their new abodes1--    ,to judge by what
 is still on hand1 at least a hundred   
loads4     ',t was on a dreary winter's 
eve1 the night was closing dim1    ,when
 brave ,miles ,standish took the bowl1  
and filled it to the brim2    ,the      
little ,captain stood and stirred the   
posset with his sword1    ,and all his  
sturdy men-at-arms were ranged about the
 board4     ,he poured the fiery        

,hollands in1--the man that never       
feared1--    ,he took a long and solemn 
draught1 and wiped his yellow beard2    
,and one by one the musketeers--the men 
that fought and prayed--    ,all drank  
as 't were their mother's milk1 and not 
a man afraid4     ,that night1          
affrighted from his nest1 the screaming 
eagle flew1    ,he heard the ,pequot's  
ringing whoop1 the soldier's wild       
halloo2    ,and there the sachem learned
 the rule he taught to kith and kin1    
',run from the white man when you find  
he smells of ,hollands gin6'   ,in his  
,nux ,postcoenatica he gives us his     
reflections on being invited to a       
dinner-party1 where he was expected to  
set the table in a roar by reading funny
 verses4  ,he submits it to the judgment
 and common sense of the importunate    
bearer of the invitation1 that this     
dinner-going1 ballad- making1           
mirth-provoking habit is not likely to  
benefit his reputation as a medical     
professor4     ,besides1 my prospects4  

,don't you know that people won't employ
    ,a man that wrongs his manliness by 
laughing like a boy1    ,and suspect the
 azure blossom that unfolds upon a      
shoot1    ,as if ,wisdom's oldpotato    
could not flourish at its root8         
,it's a very fine reflection1 when      
you're etching out a smile    ,on a     
copperplate of faces that would stretch 
into a mile4    ,that1 what with sneers 
from enemies and cheapening shrugs from 
friends1    ,it will cost you all the   
earnings that a month of labor lends4   
,there are1 as might be expected1 some  
commonplace pieces in the volume1-- a   
few failures in the line of humor4  ,the
 ,spectre ,pig1 the ,dorchester ,giant1 
the ,height of the ,ridiculous1 and one 
or two others might be omitted in the   
next edition without detriment4  ,they  
would do well enough for an amateur     
humorist1 but are scarcely worthy of one
 who stands at the head of the          
profession4  ,it was said of ,james     
,smith1 of the ,rejected ,addresses1    

that if he had not been a witty man1 he 
would have been a great man4  ,hood's   
humor and drollery kept in the          
background the pathos and beauty of his 
sober productions2 and ,dr4 ,holmes1 we 
suspect1 might have ranked higher among 
a large class of readers than he now    
does had he never written his ,ballad of
 the ,oysterman1 his ,comet1 and his    
,september ,gale4  ,such lyrics as ,la  
,grisette1 the ,puritan's ,vision1 and  
that unique compound of humor and       
pathos1 ,the ,last ,leaf2 show that he  
possesses the power of touching the     
deeper chords of the heart and of       
calling forth tears as well as smiles4  
,who does not feel the power of this    
simple picture of the old man in the    
last-mentioned poem8                ,but
 now he walks the streets1              
,and he looks at all he meets           
,sad and wan1                ,and he    
shakes his feeble head1                 
,that it seems as if he said1           
',they are gone4'                ,the   

mossy marbles rest                ,on   
the lips that he has prest              
,in their bloom1                ,and the
 names he loved to hear                 
,have been carved for many a year       
,on the tomb4  ,dr4 ,holmes has been    
likened to ,thomas ,hood2 but there is  
little in common between them save the  
power of combining fancy and sentiment  
with grotesque drollery and humor4      
,hood1 under all his whims and oddities1
 conceals the vehement intensity of a   
reformer4  ,the iron of the world's     
wrongs had entered into his soul2 there 
is an undertone of sorrow in his lyrics2
 his sarcasm1 directed against          
oppression and bigotry1 at times betrays
 the earnestness of one whose own       
withers have been wrung4  ,holmes writes
 simply for the amusement of himself and
 his readers2 he deals only with the    
vanity1 the foibles1 and the minor      
faults of mankind1 good naturedly and   
almost sympathizingly suggesting excuses
 for the folly which he tosses about on 

the horns of his ridicule4  ,in this    
respect he differs widely from his      
fellow-townsman1 ,russell ,lowell1 whose
 keen wit and scathing sarcasm1 in the  
famous ,biglow ,papers1 and the notes of
 ,parson ,wilbur1 strike at the great   
evils of society and deal with the rank 
offences of church and state4  ,hosea   
,biglow1 in his way1 is as earnest a    
preacher as ,habakkuk ,mucklewrath or   
,obadiah ,bind-their-kings-             
in-chains-and-their-nobles-in-fetters-of
-iron4  ,his verse smacks of the old    
,puritan flavor4  ,holmes has a gentler 
mission4  ,his careless1 genial humor   
reminds us of ,james ,smith in his      
,rejected ,addresses and of ,horace in  
,london4  ,long may he live to make     
broader the face of our care- ridden    
generation1 and to realize for himself  
the truth of the wise man's declaration 
that a merry heart is a continual feast4
     ,,fame ,,and ,,glory4  ,notice of  
an ,address before the ,literary        
,society of ,amherst ,college1 by       

,charles ,sumner4  ,,the learned and    
eloquent author of the pamphlet lying   
before us with the above title belongs  
to a class1 happily on the increase in  
our country1 who venture to do homage to
 unpopular truths in defiance of the    
social and political tyranny of opinion 
which has made so many of our statesmen1
 orators1 and divines the mere          
playthings and shuttlecocks of popular  
impulses for evil far oftener than for  
good4  ,his first production1 the ,true 
,grandeur of ,nations1 written for the  
anniversary of ,american ,independence1 
was not more remarkable for its         
evidences of a highly cultivated taste  
and wide historical research than for   
its inculcation of a high morality1--the
 demand for practical ,christianity in  
nations as well as individuals4  ,it    
burned no incense under the nostrils of 
an already inflated and vain people4    
,it gratified them by no rhetorical     
falsehoods about the land of the free   
and the home of the brave4  ,it did not 

apostrophize military heroes1 nor strut 
red wat shod over the plains of battle1 
nor call up1 like another ,ezekiel1 from
 the valley of vision the dry bones     
thereof4  ,it uttered none of the       
precious scoundrel cant1 so much in     
vogue after the annexation of ,texas was
 determined upon1 about the destiny of  
the ,united ,states to enter in and     
possess the lands of all whose destiny  
it is to live next us1 and to plant     
everywhere the peculiar institutions of 
a peculiarly ,christian and chosen      
people1 the landstealing propensity of  
whose progressive republicanism is      
declared to be in accordance with the   
will and by the grace of ,god1 and who1 
like the ,scotch freebooter1--          
,pattering an ,ave ,mary                
,when he rode on a border forray1--     
while trampling on the rights of a      
sister republic1 and re-creating slavery
 where that republic had abolished it1  
talk piously of the designs of          
,providence and the ,anglo-,saxon       

instrumentalities thereof in extending  
the area of freedom4  ,on the contrary1 
the author portrayed the evils of war   
and proved its incompatibility with     
,christianity1-- contrasting with its   
ghastly triumphs the mild victories of  
peace and love4  ,our true mission1 he  
taught1 was not to act over in the ,new 
,world the barbarous game which has     
desolated the ,old2 but to offer to the 
nations of the earth1 warring and       
discordant1 oppressed and oppressing1   
the beautiful example of a free and     
happy people studying the things which  
make for peace1--,democracy and         
,christianity walking hand in hand1     
blessing and being blessed4  ,his next  
public effort1 an ,address before the   
,literary ,society of his ,alma ,mater1 
was in the same vein4  ,he improved the 
occasion of the recent death of four    
distinguished members of that fraternity
 to delineate his beautiful ideal of the
 jurist1 the scholar1 the artist1 and   
the philanthropist1 aided by the models 

furnished by the lives of such men as   
,pickering1 ,story1 ,allston1 and       
,channing4  ,here1 also1 he makes       
greatness to consist of goodness3 war   
and slavery and all their offspring of  
evil are surveyed in the light of the   
morality of the ,new ,testament4  ,he   
looks hopefully forward to the coming of
 that day when the sword shall devour no
 longer1 when labor shall grind no      
longer in the prison-house1 and the     
peace and freedom of a realized and     
acted-out ,christianity shall overspread
 the earth1 and the golden age predicted
 by the seers and poets alike of        
,paganism and ,christianity shall become
 a reality4  ,the ,address now before   
us1 with the same general object in     
view1 is more direct and practical4  ,we
 can scarcely conceive of a discourse   
better adapted to prepare the young     
,american1 just issuing from his        
collegiate retirement1 for the duties   
and responsibilities of citizenship4    
,it treats the desire of fame and honor 

as one native to the human heart1 felt  
to a certain extent by all as a part of 
our common being1--a motive1 although by
 no means the most exalted1 of human    
conduct2 and the lesson it would        
inculcate is1 that no true and permanent
 fame can be founded except in labors   
which promote the happiness of mankind4 
,to use the language of ,dr4 ,south1    
,god is the fountain of honor2 the      
conduit by which ,he conveys it to the  
sons of men are virtuous and generous   
practices4  ,the author presents the    
beautiful examples of ,st4  ,pierre1    
,milton1 ,howard1 and ,clarkson1--men   
whose fame rests on the firm foundation 
of goodness1--for the study and         
imitation of the young candidate for    
that true glory which belongs to those  
who live1 not for themselves1 but for   
their race4  ,neither present fame1 nor 
war1 nor power1 nor wealth1 nor         
knowledge alone shall secure an entrance
 to the true and noble ,valhalla4       
,there shall be gathered only those who 

have toiled each in his vocation for the
 welfare of others4  ,justice and       
benevolence are higher than knowledge   
and power ,it is by ,his goodness that  
,god is most truly known2 so also is the
 great man4  ,when ,moses said to the   
,lord1 ,show me ,thy glory1 the ,lord   
said1 ,i will make all my goodness pass 
before thee4  ,we copy the closing      
paragraph of the ,address1 the inspiring
 sentiment of which will find a response
 in all generous and hopeful hearts3--  
,let us reverse the very poles of the   
worship of past ages4  ,men have thus   
far bowed down before stocks1 stones1   
insects1 crocodiles1 golden             
calves1--graven images1 often of cunning
 workmanship1 wrought with ,phidian     
skill1 of ivory1 of ebony1 of marble1   
but all false gods4  ,let them worship  
in future the true ,god1 our ,father1 as
 ,he is in heaven and in the beneficent 
labors of ,his children on earth4  ,then
 farewell to the siren song of a worldly
 ambition6  ,farewell to the vain desire

 of mere literary success or oratorical 
display6  ,farewell to the distempered  
longings for office6  ,farewell to the  
dismal1 blood-red phantom of martial    
renown6  ,fame and glory may then       
continue1 as in times past1 the         
reflection of public opinion2 but of an 
opinion sure and steadfast1 without     
change or fickleness1 enlightened by    
those two sons of ,christian            
truth1--love to ,god and love to man4   
,from the serene illumination of these  
duties all the forms of selfishness     
shall retreat like evil spirits at the  
dawn of day4  ,then shall the happiness 
of the poor and lowly and the education 
of the ignorant have uncounted friends4 
,the cause of those who are in prison   
shall find fresh voices2 the majesty of 
peace other vindicators2 the sufferings 
of the slave new and gushing floods of  
sympathy4  ,then1 at last1 shall the    
brotherhood of man stand confessed2 ever
 filling the souls of all with a more   
generous life2 ever prompting to deeds  

of beneficence2 conquering the heathen  
prejudices of country1 color1 and race2 
guiding the judgment of the historian2  
animating the verse of the poet and the 
eloquence of the orator2 ennobling human
 thought and conduct2 and inspiring     
those good works by which alone we may  
attain to the heights of true glory4    
,good works6  ,such even now is the     
heavenly ladder on which angels are     
ascending and descending1 while weary   
humanity1 on pillows of storfe1 slumbers
 heavily at its feet4  ,we know how easy
 it is to sneer at such anticipations of
 a better future as baseless and        
visionary4  ,the shrewd but narrow-eyed 
man of the world laughs at the          
suggestion that there car3 be any       
stronger motive than selfishness1 any   
higher morality than that of the        
broker's board4  ,the man who relies for
 salvation from the consequences of an  
evil and selfish life upon the verbal   
orthodoxy of a creed presents the       
depravity and weakness of human nature  

as insuperable obstacles in the way of  
the general amelioration of the         
condition of a world lying in           
wickedness4  ,he counts it heretical and
 dangerous to act upon the supposition  
that the same human nature which1 in his
 own case and that of his associates1   
can confront all perils1 overcome all   
obstacles1 and outstrip the whirlwind in
 the pursuit of gain1--which makes the  
strong elements its servants1 taming and
 subjugating the very lightnings of     
heaven to work out its own purposes of  
self-aggrandizement1--must necessarily1 
and by an ordination of ,providence1    
become weak as water1 when engaged in   
works of love and goodwill1 looking for 
the coming of a better day for humanity1
 with faith in the promises of the      
,gospel1 and relying upon ,him1 who1 in 
calling man to the great task-field of  
duty1 has not mocked him with the       
mournful necessity of laboring in vain4 
,we have been pained more than words can
 express to see young1 generous hearts1 

yearning with strong desires to         
consecrate themselves to the cause of   
their fellow-men1 checked and chilled by
 the ridicule of worldly-wise           
conservatism1 and the solemn rebukes of 
practical infidelity in the guise of a  
piety which professes to love the unseen
 ,father1 while disregarding the claims 
of ,his visible children4  ,visionary6  
,were not the good ,st4  ,pierre1 and   
,fenelon1 and ,howard1 and ,clarkson    
visionaries also8  ,what was ,john      
,woolman1 to the wise and prudent of his
 day1 but an amiable enthusiast8  ,what1
 to those of our own1 is such an angel  
of mercy as ,dorothea ,dix8  ,who will  
not1 in view of the labors of such      
philanthropists1 adopt the language of  
,jonathan ,edwards3 ,if these things be 
enthusiasms and the fruits of a         
distempered brain1 let my brain be      
evermore possessed with this happy      
distemper8  ,it must1 however1 be       
confessed that there is a cant of       
philanthropy too general and abstract   

for any practical purpose1--a morbid    
sentimentalism1--which contents itself  
with whining over real or imaginary     
present evil1 and predicting a better   
state somewhere in the future1 but      
really doing nothing to remove the one  
or hasten the coming of the other4  ,to 
its view the present condition of things
 is all wrong2 no green hillock or twig 
rises over the waste deluge2 the heaven 
above is utterly dark and starless3 yet1
 somehow1 out of this darkness which may
 be felt1 the light is to burst forth   
miraculously2 wrong1 sin1 pain1 and     
sorrow are to be banished from the      
renovated world1 and earth become a vast
 epicurean garden or ,mahometan heaven4 
,the land1 unploughed1 shall yield her  
crop2                ,pure honey from   
the oak shall drop2                ,the 
fountain shall run milk2                
,the thistle shall the lily bear2       
,and every bramble roses wear1          
,and every worm make silk4              
7,ben ,jenson's ,golden ,age ,restored47

  ,there are1 in short1 perfectionist   
reformers as well as religionists1 who  
wait to see the salvation which it is   
the task of humanity itself to work out1
 and who look down from a region of     
ineffable self-complacence on their     
dusty and toiling brethren who are      
resolutely doing whatsoever their hands 
find to do for the removal of the evils 
around them4  ,the emblem of practical  
,christianity is the ,samaritan stooping
 over the wounded ,jew4  ,no fastidious 
hand can lift from the dust fallen      
humanity and bind up its unsightly      
gashes4  ,sentimental lamentation over  
evil and suffering may be indulged in   
until it becomes a sort of melancholy   
luxury1 like the weeping for ,thammuz by
 the apostate daughters of ,jerusalem4  
,our faith in a better day for the race 
is strong2 but we feel quite sure it    
will come in spite of such abstract     
reformers1 and not by reason of them4   
,the evils which possess humanity are of
 a kind which go not out by their       

delicate appliances4  ,the author of the
 ,address under consideration is not of 
this class4  ,he has boldly1 and at no  
small cost1 grappled with the great     
social and political wrong of our       
country1--chattel slavery4  ,looking1 as
 we have seen1 hopefully to the future1 
he is nevertheless one of those who can 
respond to the words of a true poet and 
true man3--                ,he is a     
coward who would borrow                 
,a charm against the present sorrow     
,from the vague future's promise of     
delight                ,as life's       
alarums nearer roll1                ,the
 ancestral buckler calls1               
,self-clanging1 from the walls          
,in the high temple of the soul6        
7,james ,russell ,lowell47              
,,fanaticism4  ,,there are occasionally 
deeds committed almost too horrible and 
revolting for publication4  ,the tongue 
falters in giving them utterance2 the   
pen trembles that records them4  ,such  
is the ghastly horror of a late tragedy 

in ,edgecomb1 in the ,state of ,maine4  
,a respectable and thriving citizen and 
his wife had been for some years very   
unprofitably engaged in brooding over   
the mysteries of the ,apocalypse1 and in
 speculations upon the personal coming  
of ,christ and the temporal reign of the
 saints on earth1--a sort of ,mahometan 
paradise1 which has as little warrant in
 ,scripture as in reason4  ,their minds 
of necessity became unsettled2 they     
meditated self-destruction2 and1 as it  
appears by a paper left behind in the   
handwriting of both1 came to an         
agreement that the husband should first 
kill his wife and their four children1  
and then put an end to his own          
existence4  ,this was literally         
executed1--the miserable man striking   
off the heads of his wife and children  
with his axe1 and then cutting his own  
throat4  ,alas for man when he turns    
from the light of reason and from the   
simple and clearly defined duties of the
 present life1 and undertakes to pry    

into the mysteries of the future1       
bewildering himself with uncertain and  
vague prophecies1 ,oriental imagery1 and
 obscure ,hebrew texts6  ,simple1       
cheerful faith in ,god as our great and 
good ,father1 and love of ,his children 
as our brethren1 acted out in all       
relations and duties1 is certainly best 
for this world1 and we believe also the 
best preparation for that to come4      
,once possessed by the falsity that     
,god's design is that man should be     
wretched and gloomy here in order to    
obtain rest and happiness hereafter2    
that the mental agonies and bodily      
tortures of ,his creatures are pleasant 
to ,him2 that1 after bestowing upon us  
reason for our guidance1 ,he makes it of
 no avail by interposing contradictory  
revelations and arbitrary               
commands1--there is nothing to prevent  
one of a melancholic and excitable      
temperament from excesses so horrible as
 almost to justify the old belief in    
demoniac obsession4  ,charles ,brockden 

,brown1 a writer whose merits have not  
yet been sufficiently acknowledged1 has 
given a powerful and philosophical      
analysis of this morbid state of        
mind--this diseased conscientiousness1  
obeying the mad suggestions of a        
disordered brain as the injunctions of  
,divinity--in his remarkable story of   
,wieland4  ,the hero of this strange and
 solemn romance1 inheriting a melancholy
 and superstitious mental constitution1 
becomes in middle age the victim of a   
deep1 and tranquil because deep1        
fanaticism4  ,a demon in human form1    
perceiving his state of mind1 wantonly  
experiments upon it1 deepening and      
intensifying it by a fearful series of  
illusions of sight and sound4  ,tricks  
of jugglery and ventriloquism seem to   
his feverish fancies miracles and       
omens--the eye and the voice of the     
,almighty piercing the atmosphere of    
supernatural mystery in which he has    
long dwelt4  ,he believes that he is    
called upon to sacrifice the beloved    

wife of his bosom as a testimony of the 
entire subjugation of his carnal reason 
and earthly affections to the ,divine   
will4  ,in the entire range of ,english 
literature there is no more thrilling   
passage than that which describes the   
execution of this baleful suggestion4   
,the coloring of the picture is an      
intermingling of the lights of heaven   
and hell1--soft shades of tenderest pity
 and warm tints of unextinguishable love
 contrasting with the terrible outlines 
of an insane and cruel purpose1 traced  
with the blood of murder4  ,the masters 
of the old ,greek tragedy have scarcely 
exceeded the sublime horror of this     
scene from the ,american novelist4  ,the
 murderer confronted with his gentle and
 loving victim in her chamber2 her      
anxious solicitude for his health and   
quiet2 her affectionate caress of       
welcome2 his own relentings and natural 
shrinking from his dreadful purpose2 and
 the terrible strength which he supposes
 is lent him of ,heaven1 by which he    

puts down the promptings and yearnings  
of his human heart1 and is enabled to   
execute the mandate of an inexorable    
,being1--are described with an intensity
 which almost stops the heart of the    
reader4  ,when the deed is done a       
frightful conflict of passions takes    
place1 which can only be told in the    
words of the author3--  ,i lifted the   
corpse in my arms and laid it on the    
bed4  ,i gazed upon it with delight4    
,such was my elation that ,i even broke 
out into laughter4 ,i clapped my hands1 
and exclaimed1 ',it is done6  ,my sacred
 duty is fulfilled6  ,to that ,i have   
sacrificed1 ,o ,god1 ,thy last and best 
gift1 my wife6'  ,for a while ,i thus   
soared above frailty4  ,i imagined ,i   
had set myself forever beyond the reach 
of selfishness4  ,but my imaginations   
were false4 ,this rapture quickly       
subsided4  ,i looked again at my wife4  
,my joyous ebullitions vanished4  ,i    
asked myself who it was whom ,i saw4    
,methought it could not be my           

,catharine2 it could not be the woman   
who had lodged for years in my heart2   
who had slept nightly in my bosom2 who  
had borne in her womb and fostered at   
her breast the beings who called me     
father2 whom ,i had watched over with   
delight and cherished with a fondness   
ever new and perpetually growing4  ,it  
could not be the same6  ,the breath of  
heaven that sustained me was withdrawn1 
and ,i sunk into mere man4  ,i leaped   
from the floor2 ,i dashed my head       
against the wall2 ,i uttered screams of 
horror2 ,i panted after torment and     
pain4  ,eternal fire and the bickerings 
of hell1 compared with what ,i felt1    
were music and a bed of roses4  ,i thank
 my ,god that this was transient2 that  
,he designed once more to raise me      
aloft4  ,i thought upon what ,i had done
 as a sacrifice to duty1 and was calm4  
,my wife was dead2 but ,i reflected     
that1 although this source of human     
consolation was closed1 others were     
still open4  ,if the transports of the  

husband were no more1 the feelings of   
the father had still scope for exercise4
  ,when remembrance of their mother     
should excite too keen a pang1 ,i would 
look upon my children and be comforted4 
,while ,i revolved these things new     
warmth flowed in upon my heart4  ,i was 
wrong4  ,these feelings were the growth 
of selfishness4  ,of this ,i was not    
aware2 and1 to dispel the mist that     
obscured my perceptions1 a new light and
 a new mandate were necessary4  ,from   
these thoughts ,i was recalled by a ray 
which was shot into the room4  ,a voice 
spoke like that ,i had before heard3    
',thou hast done well2 but all is not   
done--the sacrifice is incomplete--thy  
children must be offered--they must     
perish with their mother6'  ,the        
misguided man obeys the voice2 his      
children are destroyed in their bloom   
and innocent beauty4  ,he is arrested1  
tried for murder1 and acquitted as      
insane4  ,the light breaks in upon him  
at last2 he discovers the imposture     

which has controlled him2 and1 made     
desperate by the full consciousness of  
his folly and crime1 ends the terrible  
drama by suicide4  ,wieland is not a    
pleasant book4  ,in one respect it      
resembles the modern tale of ,wuthering 
,heights3 it has great strength and     
power1 but no beauty4 ,unlike that1     
however1 it has an important and        
salutary moral4  ,it is a warning to all
 who tamper with the mind and rashly    
experiment upon its religious element4  
,as such1 its perusal by the sectarian  
zealots of all classes would perhaps be 
quite as profitable as much of their    
present studies4     ,,the ,,poetry ,,of
 ,,the ,,north4  ,,the ,democratic      
,review not long since contained a      
singularly wild and spirited poem1      
entitled the ,norseman's ,ride1 in which
 the writer appears to have very happily
 blended the boldness and sublimity of  
the heathen saga with the grace and     
artistic skill of the literature of     
civilization4 ,the poetry of the        

,northmen1 like their lives1 was bold1  
defiant1 and full of a rude1 untamed    
energy4  ,it was inspired by exhibitions
 of power rather than of beauty4  ,its  
heroes were beastly revellers or cruel  
and ferocious plunderers2 its heroines  
unsexed hoidens1 playing the ugliest    
tricks with their lovers1 and repaying  
slights with bloody revenge1--very      
dangerous and unsatisfactory companions 
for any other than the fire- eating     
,vikings and redhanded1 unwashed        
,berserkers4  ,significant of a religion
 which reverenced the strong rather than
 the good1 and which regarded as        
meritorious the unrestrained indulgence 
of the passions1 it delighted to sing   
the praises of some coarse debauch or   
pitiless slaughter4  ,the voice of its  
scalds was often but the scream of the  
carrion-bird1 or the howl of the wolf1  
scenting human blood3--                 
,unlike to human sounds it came2        
,unmixed1 unmelodized with breath2      
,but grinding through some scrannel     

frame1                ,creaked from the 
bony lungs of ,death4  ,its gods were   
brutal giant forces1 patrons of war1    
robbery1 and drunken revelry2 its heaven
 a vast cloud-built ale-house1 where    
ghostly warriors drank from the skulls  
of their victims2 its hell a frozen     
horror of desolation and darkness1--all 
that the gloomy ,northern imagination   
could superadd to the repulsive and     
frightful features of arctic scenery3   
volcanoes spouting fire through craters 
rimmed with perpetual frost1 boiling    
caldrons flinging their fierce jets high
 into the air1 and huge jokuls1 or      
ice-mountains1 loosened and upheaved by 
volcanic agencies1 crawling slowly      
seaward1 like misshapen monsters endowed
 with life1--a region of misery         
unutterable1 to be avoided only by      
diligence in robbery and courage in     
murder4  ,what a work had ,christianity 
to perform upon such a people as the    
,icelanders1 for instance1 of the tenth 
century6--to substitute in rude1 savage 

minds the idea of its benign and gentle 
,founder for that of the ,thor and      
,woden of ,norse mythology2 the         
forgiveness1 charity1 and humility of   
the ,gospel for the revenge1 hatred1 and
 pride inculcated by the ,eddas4 ,and is
 it not one of the strongest proofs of  
the divine life and power of that       
,gospel1 that1 under its influence1 the 
hard and cruel ,norse heart has been so 
softened and humanized that at this     
moment one of the best illustrations of 
the peaceful and gentle virtues which it
 inculcates is afforded by the          
descendants of the sea-kings and robbers
 of the middle centuries8  ,no one can  
read the accounts which such travellers 
as ,sir ,george ,mackenzie and ,dr4     
,henderson have given us of the peaceful
 disposition1 social equality1          
hospitality1 industry1 intellectual     
cultivation1 morality1 and habitual     
piety of the ,icelanders1 without a     
grateful sense of the adaptation of     
,christianity to the wants of our race1 

and of its ability to purify1 elevate1  
and transform the worst elements of     
human character4  ,in ,iceland          
,christianity has performed its work of 
civilization1 unobstructed by that      
commercial cupidity which has caused    
nations more favored in respect to soil 
and climate to lapse into an idolatry   
scarcely less debasing and cruel than   
that which preceded the introduction of 
the ,gospel4  ,trial by combat was      
abolished in #ajja1 and the penalty of  
the imaginary crime of witchcraft was   
blotted from the statutes of the island 
nearly half a century before it ceased  
to disgrace those of ,great ,britain4   
,so entire has been the change wrought  
in the sanguinary and cruel ,norse      
character that at the present day no    
,icelander can be found who1 for any    
reward1 will undertake the office of    
executioner4  ,the scalds1 who went     
forth to battle1 cleaving the skulls of 
their enemies with the same skilful     
hands which struck the harp at the      

feast1 have given place to ,christian   
bards and teachers1 who1 like           
,thorlakson1 whom ,dr4 ,henderson found 
toiling cheerfully with his beloved     
parishioners in the hay-harvest of the  
brief arctic summer1 combine with the   
vigorous diction and robust thought of  
their predecessors the warm and genial  
humanity of a religion of love and the  
graces and amenities of a high          
civilization4  ,but we have wandered    
somewhat aside from our purpose1 which  
was simply to introduce the following   
poem1 which1 in the boldness of its tone
 and vigor of language1 reminds us of   
the ,sword ,chant1 the ,wooing ,song1   
and other rhymed sagas of ,motherwell4  
,,the ,,norseman',s ,,ride4 ,,by        
,,bayard ,,taylor4            ,the      
frosty fires of northern starlight      
,gleamed on the glittering snow1        
,and through the forest's frozen        
branches           ,the shrieking winds 
did blow2           ,a floor of blue and
 icy marble           ,kept ,ocean's    

pulses still1           ,when1 in the   
depths of dreary midnight1              
,opened the burial hill4                
,then1 while the low and creeping       
shudder            ,thrilled upward     
through the ground1           ,the      
,norseman came1 as armed for battle1    
,in silence from his mound1--           
,he who was mourned in solemn sorrow    
,by many a swordsman bold1              
,and harps that wailed along the ocean1 
,struck by the scalds of old4           
,sudden a swift and silver shadow       
,came up from out the gloom1--          
,a charger that1 with hoof impatient1   
,stamped noiseless by the tomb4         
,ha6 ,surtur1699 let me hear thy        
tramping1           ,my fiery ,northern 
steed1           ,that1 sounding through
 the stormy forest1           ,bade the 
bold ,viking heed6            ,he       
mounted2 like a northlight streaking    
,the sky with flaming bars1             
,they1 on the winds so wildly shrieking1
           ,shot up before the stars4   

,is this thy mane1 my fearless ,surtur1 
,that streams against my breast8        
799,the name of the ,scandinavian god of
 fire47            ,is this thy neck1   
that curve of moonlight           ,which
 ,helva's hand caressed8           ,no  
misty breathing strains thy nostril2    
,thine eye shines blue and cold2        
,yet mounting up our airy pathway       
,i see thy hoofs of gold4           ,not
 lighter o'er the springing rainbow     
,walhalla's gods repair           ,than 
we in sweeping journey over             
,the bending bridge of air4             
,far1 far around star-gleams are        
sparkling           ,amid the twilight  
space2           ,and ,earth1 that lay  
so cold and darkling1           ,has    
veiled her dusky face4           ,are   
those the ,normes that beckon onward    
,as if to ,odin's board1                
,where by the hands of warriors nightly 
,the sparkling mead is poured8          
',t is ,skuld399 ,i her star-eye speaks 
the glory           ,that wraps the     

mighty soul1           ,when on its     
hinge of music opens           ,the     
gateway of the pole2           ,when    
,odin's warder leads the hero           
,to banquets never o'er1           ,and 
,freya's9999 glances fill the bosom     
,with sweetness evermore4               
,on6 on6 the northern lights are        
streaming           ,in brightness like 
the morn1           ,and pealing far    
amid the vastness           ,i hear the 
gyallarhorn 999999           ,the heart 
of starry space is throbbing            
,with songs of minstrels old2           
,and now on high ,walhalla's portal     
,gleam ,surtur's hoofs of gold4  99 ,the
 ,norne of the future4  9999 ,freya1 the
 ,northern goddess of love4  999999 ,the
 horn blown by the watchers on the      
rainbow1 the bridge over which the gods 
pass in ,northern mythology4