American Scenes, and Christian Slavery: A Recent Tour of Four Thousand Miles in the United StatesDavies, Ebenezer
History
American Scenes, and Christian Slavery: A Recent Tour of Four Thousand Miles in the United States
Davies, Ebenezer
Slavery -- United States; United States -- Description and travel
Now, mark you! amidst all these splendid visions of the future, there
is no vision of liberty for 3,000,000 of slaves. That idea was too
small to find a place among conceptions so vast. The lecture contains
not a syllable of reference to them. On the contrary, the empty boast
of freedom is heard in the following words of solemn mockery: "_The
soul of man_ here no longer sits _bound_ and blind amid the despotic
forms of the past; it walks abroad _without a shackle_, and with an
uncovered eye." It follows then that there is an essential difference
between "the soul of man" and the soul of "nigger," or rather that
"niggers" have no soul at all. How _can_ men of sense, and especially
ministers of the Gospel, sit down to pen such fustian? These extracts
show how intensely national the Americans are, and consequently how
futile the apology for the existence of slavery so often presented,
that one State can no more interfere with the affairs of another State
than the people of England can with France and the other countries of
the European continent. The Americans are to all intents and purposes
_one_ people. In short, the identity of feeling among the _States_ of
the Union is more complete than among the _counties_ of Great Britain.
On the morning of the 4th of March, Dr. Stowe called to invite me to
address the students at Lane Seminary, on the following Sabbath
evening, on the subject of missions and the working of freedom in the
West Indies. I readily promised to comply, glad of an opportunity to
address so many of the future pastors of the American Churches, who
will occupy the field when emancipation is sure to be the great
question of the day. In fact, it is so already.
LETTER XXI.
Stay at Cincinnati (continued)--The Orphan Asylum--A Coloured Man and a
White Fop treated as each deserved--A Trip across to Covington--Mr.
Gilmore and the School for Coloured Children--"The Fugitive Slave to
the Christian"--Sabbath--Mr. Boynton--Dr. Beecher--Lane
Seminary--Departure from Cincinnati.
In the afternoon we went with Mrs. Judge B---- to see an Orphan Asylum,
in which she took a deep interest. Requested to address the children, I
took the opportunity of delivering an anti-slavery and
anti-colour-hating speech. The building, large and substantial, is
capable of accommodating 300 children; but the number of inmates was at
that time not more than 70. While the lady was showing us from one
apartment to another, and pointing out to us the comforts and
conveniences of the institution, the following colloquy took place.
_Myself._--"Now, Mrs. B, this place is very beautiful: I admire it
exceedingly. Would you refuse a little _coloured_ orphan admission into
this asylum?"
_The Lady._ (stretching herself up to her full height, and with a look
of horror and indignation),--"Indeed, we would!"
_Myself._--"Oh, shocking! shocking!"
_The Lady._--"Oh! there is another asylum for the coloured children;
they are not neglected."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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