He now believed himself near to Pennsylvania, and under this
impression, skipped and danced for joy. He says: "A little after the
sun rose I came in sight of a toll-gate; for a moment I felt some
hesitation, but on arriving at the gate I found it attended by only an
elderly woman, whom I afterwards heard was a widow and an excellent
Christian. I asked her if I was in Pennsylvania. On being informed
that I was, I asked if she knew where I could get employment. She said
she did not, but advised me to go to W. W., a Quaker, who lived about
three miles from her, and whom I would find to take an interest in me.
In about half an hour I stood at the door of W. W. After knocking, the
door opened upon a comfortably spread table. Not daring to enter, I
said I had been sent to him in search of employment.
"'Well,' said he, 'come in, and take thy breakfast and get warm.'
"These words made me feel, in spite of all my fear and timidity, that
I had, in the providence of God, found a friend and a home. He at once
gained my confidence, and from that day to this, whenever I discover
the least disposition in my heart to disregard poor and wretched
persons with whom I meet, I call to mind these words: 'Come in, and
take thy breakfast and get warm.'
"I was a starving fugitive, without home or friends, and no claim upon
him to whose door I went. Had he turned me away I must have perished.
Nay, he took me in, and gave of his food, and shared with me his own
garments."
By W. W. the wretched wanderer was fed, clothed, and employed, and not
only so, but he was instructed in reading, writing, and much useful
knowledge. Here, for the first time, did he learn one word of the
truths of religion.
James resided with the benevolent Quaker for six months, when it became
necessary for him to depart and go elsewhere. He found employment on
Long Island, opposite New York. By the kindness of his friends he was
educated, and became a Christian minister and pastor of a colored
congregation in connection with the Presbyterian Church.
BENJAMIN BANNEKER.
He was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, in the year 1732. There
was not a drop of white man's blood in his veins. His father was born
in Africa, and his mother's parents were both natives of Africa. What
genius he had must be credited to that race. Benjamin's mother was a
remarkable woman. Her name was Morton before marriage, and her nephew,
Greenbury Morton, was gifted with a lively and impetuous eloquence
which made its mark in his neighborhood. Her husband was a slave when
she married him, but she soon purchased his freedom. Together they
bought a farm of two hundred acres, which though but ten miles from
Jones' Falls, was at that time a wilderness.
When Benjamin was approaching manhood he attended an obscure country
school, where he learned reading and writing, and a little arithmetic.
Beyond these rudiments he was entirely his own teacher.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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