The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By HimselfEquiano, Olaudah
History
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By Himself
Equiano, Olaudah
Enslaved persons -- Great Britain -- Biography; Enslaved persons -- United States -- Biography; Equiano, Olaudah, 1745-1797
other, which we did very quickly, they called to us to bring to, and
hoist out our boat, but we had enough to do to mind ourselves; and in
about eight minutes we saw no more of her. We refitted as well as we
could the next day, and proceeded on our voyage, and in May arrived at
Philadelphia. I was very glad to see this favourite old town once
more; and my pleasure was much increased in seeing the worthy quakers
freeing and easing the burthens of many of my oppressed African
brethren. It rejoiced my heart when one of these friendly people took
me to see a free-school they had erected for every denomination of
black people, whose minds are cultivated here and forwarded to virtue;
and thus they are made useful members of the community. Does not the
success of this practice say loudly to the planters in the language of
scripture--"Go ye and do likewise?"
In October 1785 I was accompanied by some of the Africans, and
presented this address of thanks to the gentlemen called Friends or
Quakers, in Gracechurch-Court Lombard-Street:
Gentlemen,
By reading your book, entitled a Caution to Great Britain
and her Colonies, concerning the Calamitous State of the
enslaved Negroes: We the poor, oppressed, needy, and
much-degraded negroes, desire to approach you with this
address of thanks, with our inmost love and warmest
acknowledgment; and with the deepest sense of your
benevolence, unwearied labour, and kind interposition,
towards breaking the yoke of slavery, and to administer a
little comfort and ease to thousands and tens of thousands
of very grievously afflicted, and too heavy burthened
negroes.
Gentlemen, could you, by perseverance, at last be enabled,
under God, to lighten in any degree the heavy burthen of the
afflicted, no doubt it would, in some measure, be the
possible means, under God, of saving the souls of many of
the oppressors; and, if so, sure we are that the God, whose
eyes are ever upon all his creatures, and always rewards
every true act of virtue, and regards the prayers of the
oppressed, will give to you and yours those blessings which
it is not in our power to express or conceive, but which we,
as a part of those captived, oppressed, and afflicted
people, most earnestly wish and pray for.
These gentlemen received us very kindly, with a promise to exert
themselves on behalf of the oppressed Africans, and we parted.
While in town I chanced once to be invited to a quaker's wedding. The
simple and yet expressive mode used at their solemnizations is worthy
of note. The following is the true form of it:
After the company have met they have seasonable exhortations by
several of the members; the bride and bridegroom stand up, and, taking
each other by the hand in a solemn manner, the man audily declares to
this purpose:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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