By Freedom's assertion of Slavery Law? "Created all equal."--"Excepting the black," From States of the Union the answer came back. Then cracked the big bell. Vainly chipped to the core, No "compromise measures" its tone could restore, And the prophecy stands, though the bell, in its fall, Now silently hangs in Old Liberty Hall! The bell referred to, cast in 1753, has on it the inscription, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."--Lev. xxv. 10. Was this a prophecy? That bell announced the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was afterwards cracked--I know not the date. Occasional use on national anniversaries increased the difficulty. Chipping, so as to separate the vibrating edges, failed to remedy the mischief. It now hangs in Independence Hall. [Illustration: 0019] |M, Stands for _Master_. When one would impart To others his knowledge of mystery-art, A Master is _he_ and Apprentices _they_, And what he commands it is theirs to obey. But if from the cradle till laid in the grave, You claim the relation of Master and Slave, And stretch your dominion, by heirship or gold, O'er men who as cattle are driven and sold, Consider, I pray you, the end of the strife, When called to account by the Master of Life. Is the distinction without a difference? An Apprentice is indentured by his own consent. The term of service is limited and specified. There is a covenant that he shall be sent to school. He has legal redress in case of maltreatment or neglect. He cannot be branded with a hot iron. If he absconds, he cannot be hunted with dogs, nor advertised for, dead or alive. He cannot be sold. At twenty-one he is a freeman. Are these the marks of the condition of a Slave? [Illustration: 0020] |N Stands for _Negro_, To _be_ all he _can_, Without doing wrong, is the birth-right of man, And noblest humanity evermore lies In prompting and helping the lowly to rise. Are Slaves dull and ignorant? Multitudes are: Shall therefore the Master _improvement debar?_ Yet if to instruct them you open your mouth, Beware of the penalty, down in the South! --Can _that_ be of God which for Slavery greed Forbids you to teach a poor Negro to read? Whether the African race, now in bondage in the South, be or be not in a better condition than their kindred in Africa, need not here be discussed. Morality and religion inquire, simply, whether Southern laws encourage an advancement? Do they not rather _hinder_, by severe penalties, any efforts to educate the slave population? Public Schools are the pride and glory of the North: What is the boast and shame of the South? [Illustration: 0021] |O Stands for _Ox_, that necessity broke