party politics to make the church uncomfortable.

In the afternoon I heard Mr. Dutton, in the North Church. His text was
Neh. ii. 3, and his subject _Patriotism_. The existing war occupied
much of his attention, and was strongly and unsparingly denounced. The
maxim--too frequently heard at that time in the United States--"Our
country, right or wrong," he shattered to atoms. Defensive war,
however, he justified. He dwelt powerfully on the responsibility
connected with the exercise of the elective franchise, and urged the
duty of voting, at all times, not blindly and for party purposes, but
intelligently, honestly, and piously. Exceptions might perhaps be taken
by some to his views on defensive war; otherwise the discourse was
excellent and seasonable. At the close of the service, we went, in
accordance with previous arrangements, to be his guests for a few days.

In the evening I attended a Congregational church of coloured people.
The place was exceedingly neat and clean. The minister, the Rev. Mr.
Beman (himself a coloured man), gave out the well-known hymn--

"Come we that love the Lord,
  And let our joys be known," &c.,

which was sung beautifully. He then offered up a very judicious,
sensible, and pious prayer. The meeting was one of a series of revival
meetings. A large number professed to have been converted; but, such
were the care and caution exercised, none of them had been admitted
into the fellowship of the church. Mr. Beman was so prudent,
unassuming, and devout, that I could not resist the inclination to go
up, introduce myself, and give a short address. Most cordial was my
reception, and great my enjoyment. At the close, one and another were
introduced to me as having made their escape from Southern slavery,
under circumstances painfully affecting; and they would not let me go
without a promise that I would preach to them on the following Sabbath
morning.

I did so, and enjoyed the service very much. As in the evening there
was to be a service in the North Church, in which all the other
churches were to unite, for the purpose of hearing from me a statement
with regard to the history and operations of the London Missionary
Society, together with some special reference to British Guiana, I said
to Mr. Beman, "Brother Beman, won't you and your people go to the North
Church to-night?" He hesitatingly said, "No,--he thought not." "Why
not?" said I,--"you know my statements will in a great measure refer to
those who are your brethren--your kindred according to the flesh."
"Yes," he replied,--"we should be glad to come; but the fact is they
would pack us--myself and all--into some negro pew, and we should feel
it keenly."

In the afternoon I preached for Mr. Dutton, in the North Church. Dr.
Bacon had that day exchanged pulpits with Dr. Hawes of Hartford. My
service closing a little sooner than his, I reached the Centre Church
in time to hear the latter part of his sermon. Dr. Hawes is a fine,
tall man, of about 55 years of age. In personal appearance, and in
tones of voice, he struck me as greatly resembling some of the sons of
Caledonia. His sermon, which was read, seemed to be very good; but the
delivery, even in the application, was slow and heavy. Both churches
were even more beautiful inside than out, and were filled with very
large congregations.

Shortly after, Mr. Dutton took me to attend the afternoon worship at
the College Chapel, where a church is formed, and public services are
conducted every Sabbath. It was here that Dr. Dwight delivered his
well-known Lectures. There are prayers morning and afternoon every day,
which the students are expected to attend. Such was the present
engagement. One of the professors read a chapter; gave out a hymn,
which was magnificently sung; and then offered an extempore prayer.
There were between 300 and 400 students present.

In the evening Dr. Hawes accompanied me into the pulpit, and took the
introductory part of the service. Most of the professors and students
were present. It was a fine, though formidable, opportunity to plead
the cause of the despised and oppressed sons of Afric before an
audience of so much learning and intelligence. What a contrast! In 1742
the students were forbidden to attend the meetings of this church; and
it was partly for once disobeying this prohibition, in order to hear
the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, that David Brainerd was expelled from the
college.

Nor were the sentiments I uttered new in this place. Nearly 60 years
have rolled away since Jonathan Edwards the younger preached here a
sermon, afterwards published by _request_, on the injustice and
impolicy of the slave-trade and slavery,--a sermon which in these days
would be called by many not merely abolitionism but incendiarism.

On Monday morning we were taken to see the cemetery, outside of the
city. Formerly the Green was used as a burying-ground; but in the
latter part of last century this field of ten acres was levelled and
inclosed for the purpose; and in 1821 the monuments, with the exception
of the humble stones of the three judges, were removed hither. The
broken tablets and half-legible inscriptions, which constituted the
memorials of the fathers and founders of this colony, were peculiarly
interesting. On the 18th of April, 1638, those men kept their first
Sabbath here. The people assembled under a large spreading oak, and Mr.
Davenport, their pastor, preached to them from Matt. iv. 1: "Then was
Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the
devil." His subject was the temptations of the wilderness; and he
recorded the remark, that he had enjoyed "a good day." The following
year they met in a large barn, and in a very solemn manner proceeded to
lay the foundation of their civil and religious polity. Mr. Davenport
introduced the business with a sermon on "Wisdom hath builded her
house; she hath hewn out her seven pillars." The most ancient record of
this event is a curiosity in the history of civil government. It thus
begins:--"The 4th day of the 6th moneth, called June, all the free
planters assembled together in a general meetinge, to consult about
settling civil government according to God, and about the nomination of
persons that may be found by consent of all fittest in all respects for
the foundation work of a church, which was to be gathered in Quinipiack
[the Indian name of the place]. After sollemne invocation of the name
of God in prayer," &c., they resolved--Alas! for that resolve! it
admitted a wrong principle, and was productive, for more than 150
years, of the most withering and blighting effect upon that religion
which they aimed to foster--they resolved among other things, "That
church members only shall be free burgesses; and that they only shall
chuse magistrates and officers among themselves, to have the power of
transacting all publique civil affairs of this plantation," &c.

But why record their errors while standing over their tombs? _De
mortuis nil nisi bonum_. Take them for all in all, they were men whom
we delight to honour. Here are some of their memorials, dated so far
back as 1657. Here too is the resting-place of Dr. Dwight.

As we return from this necropolis, the Rev. Mr. Sawyer points out to us
the house of Professor Gibbs. "Gibbs--Gibbs," said I; "what! Gibbs's
Gesenius?" "Yes," said he. "I should like to see him," I replied, "for
I used at college his editions of Gesenius's Hebrew Lexicon." "Let us
then call by all means," said Mr. Sawyer. We did so; and a thin, spare,
sallow, sickly, withered, little old gentleman made his appearance.
This was the Professor. He seemed as if all the juice and sap of his
constitution had been pressed out to nourish the Hebrew roots. I
expressed my pleasure in seeing him, and acknowledged the advantages I
had derived from his labours. The conversation soon touched upon the
Established Church of England, of which he seemed to have a great
horror. "You ought to put down," said he, "that Establishment. You
might very easily do it." "We should be very happy, sir, to know how,"
I replied. "I will tell you. Make thorough Hebrew scholars of your
ministers. Let them be with regard to Biblical learning quite on a par
with those of the Establishment, and it will soon fall." I answered,
that upon the whole I thought they were in that respect quite in
advance of those of the Establishment. But I was amused at the good
Professor's simplicity. He little understood the mighty bulwarks by
which that institution is defended. A little more of the article in
which _he_ dealt would be just the thing to accomplish wonders! It was
his nostrum.

To-day the annual election of the State of Connecticut is held. All the
officers of state are to be chosen, and New Haven is one of the
principal polling-places. But how quiet the town! The only thing that
indicates an election is the presence of a larger number of people than
usual; and the only display you can see is that little bit of a flag,
about 18 inches square, stuck on the top of a cab, having on the word
"Democracy!" Let us go into the State House, and see how it is done.
Men leave their stores or their studies,--enter by one door, drop their
vote into a box, and quietly return to their avocations. The students
at Yale who are 21 years of age do the same, and go back to their
exercises. The whole affair is managed with as much propriety as the
election of deacons in the church at New Amsterdam. _This_ is the
working of universal suffrage in New England. Oh that all America, and
all the world, were in this respect like the land of the Pilgrim
Fathers!

And now we must bid adieu to New Haven. Many are the warm hearts and
clear heads it contains. The population is about 18,000. There are in
it--

5 Congregational Churches, and 1 Coloured ditto.
2 Episcopal ditto     .    .   1       "
2 Methodist Episcopal ditto    1       "
2 Baptist ditto.
1 Primitive Methodist ditto.   1 Bethel ditto.
1 Catholic ditto.             --
____

13 + 4 = 17 total of places of worship.

                                              DOLLARS.

The Salary of the Governor of Connecticut is  1,100
      "           Lieutenant      "    .  .     300
      "           Rev. Dr. Bacon   .   .  .   1,500
      "           Rev. Mr. Dutton  .   .  .   1,500

In the middle of the day, we leave by railway for Hartford, 36 miles
off. Dr. Hawes is our fellow-traveller. Coloured people are here
allowed to travel in the same carriages with others. It was not so,
even on this line, three or four years ago, when the Rev. Mr.
Pennington was setting off from Hartford for England. He told me
himself that he was obliged on that occasion to travel in the
luggage-van. On our arrival, we are met by Charles Hosmer, Esq., (a
cousin of Elihu Burritt,) an old and valued correspondent of mine, and
of my predecessor Mr. Wray. To both of us he had occasionally sent
presents of excellent American publications. We must be his guests
during the few days we remain at Hartford. Dr. Hawes and Chief Justice
Williams, came in a homely way to spend the evening with us. The Chief
Justice is a deacon of the Doctor's church, and a teacher in the
Sabbath-school.

The next day we were taken to see the Deaf and Dumb Institution. This
asylum was founded by the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet, who, becoming deeply
interested in this class of afflicted humanity, visited England and the
Continent with a view to obtain information as to the best mode of
communicating instruction to them. I may also observe that he himself
married a deaf and dumb lady, by whom he has a large family of
children, now grown up, none of whom however inherit the maternal
affliction. His son also has married a lady who, like his mother, is
deaf and dumb. We were highly delighted with the success of the
undertaking as seen in the comfort, cheerfulness, and proficiency of
the pupils. In coming out, we met at the door a respectable
well-dressed man and a woman, both of them deaf and dumb, who had
formerly been pupils here, had formed an attachment to each other,
married, settled comfortably in life, and were now coming to pay a
visit to their former home.

On our return we saw the celebrated Charter Oak. The early settlers of
this place had obtained from the second Charles, and that in the very
year in which 2,000 ministers were ejected from the Church of England,
a most favourable charter--far more so than the Colonial Office in the
present day would grant. Charles, however, repented having granted it,
and in 1687 sent over Sir Edmund Andross, under some pretence or other,
to demand it back. It was night, and the Legislative Assembly were
convened on the subject, when suddenly the lights were extinguished,
and the charter was missing. For a long time it was not known, except
to the initiated, what had become of it. When, however, the danger was
past, the Charter was forthcoming. It had been concealed in the hollow
of this old oak, which still survives. I was gratified in seeing the
document carefully preserved in the office of the Secretary of State.
It is dated 1662, and "in the fourteenth year of our reign," though in
reality Charles had then reigned but two years.

LETTER XXXIII.

The "Retreat"--Introductions to the Insane--Piety and Profanity
--Service in the Fourth Church--Memorials of the Pilgrims--Dr.
Bushnell and his Opinions--The Mother Church and its Burying-Ground
--The New Cemetery--Prejudice against Colour--Mrs. Sigourney--Departure
from Hartford--Worcester and Elihu Burritt--Boston--The Rev. Seth
Bliss--The Cradle of Liberty--Mr. Garrison--Bunker's Hill.

Having seen the Charter Oak, let us proceed in company with the Rev.
Mr. Gallaudet to the "Retreat for the Insane," of which he is chaplain.
The place is delightfully situated, and severity of treatment carefully
avoided. As we pass from room to room, we are very gravely and formally
introduced, as strangers in the country, to the inmates. Here we are
introduced to a tall muscular old lady, who has her cap fantastically
trimmed with bits of ribbon of various gaudy colours. With an air of
assumed politeness and dignity, she asks me if I have been to
Washington. On receiving a reply in the negative, she expresses great
regret, and inquires if I have seen "Dan Webster," and, without waiting
for an answer, hurries on, "Fine fellow Dan,--some solid timbers about
Dan,--indeed, the Yankees altogether are not to be sniffed at." I
nodded the most entire assent to all she said.

We enter another room, and are introduced to a curious groupe. One
woman has tied her mouth up with a handkerchief, to prevent her talking
too much. She tells us that at first she had tied it over her ears, to
prevent her hearing another woman's voice, who is constantly talking to
herself, and making her head ache; but that she found her own tongue
then going faster than anybody else's. She had therefore adopted the
_wise_ plan of tying her own mouth. She is eloquent in the praises of
the institution, and calls it "A blessed Retreat--a blessed Retreat."

We move on, and are introduced to a fine-looking woman--the wife of a
respectable merchant in New York. She looks wild, and shakes her head
violently. She pours upon us a flood of questions, most of which relate
to her own husband, such as--When did we see him last?--How was
he?--What message did he send to her? &c. Turning to my wife, she said,
"You had better have staid at home, and never come to this country.
This country _was_ once a great country: it is so no longer, and all
through that man,"--pointing to Mr. Gallaudet. "Oh that man! what a
villain he is! People out of doors don't know him; and," looking at
myself, "you can't do this country better service than to make known
everywhere the real character of that man. Here he keeps me a prisoner
in this place for nothing at all; but I hope the State will take up the
matter, and punish him well for it." I promised to make known Mr.
Gallaudet's character, and bade her adieu.

We are next introduced to a student of theology, who asks very sensible
and pious questions in reference to the missionary cause and the
progress of the Gospel in British Guiana. This man is perfectly sane
except on one point. He thinks there is a conspiracy to poison him, and
that slow poison is administered to him continually in his food. Mr.
Gallaudet, even by dining at the same table and eating out of the same
dish, has failed to convince him to the contrary.

Now we are taken to the chapel in which Mr. Gallaudet officiates among
them. On the desk is an elegantly-bound Bible, which has been presented
by a former patient, who had experienced in his restoration the value
of this "Retreat." The hymn-book is a collection made on purpose for
the insane, everything gloomy and terrific being excluded. Mr.
Gallaudet, a most intelligent and accomplished man, describes many
remarkable developments of human nature which have come under his
observation, comprising strange combinations of piety and profanity in
the same persons. A patient, who was really a very religious man, in
enumerating the many advantages they there enjoyed said, "We have a
good house to live in; good rooms to occupy; good food to eat; a good
doctor to attend us; a good chaplain to give us religious instruction;
and" (waxing warm) "what the devil do we want more?"

In the afternoon we meet with Dr. Hawes, at the house of Chief Justice
Williams to tea.

In the evening there is a united service in the "Fourth Church"--that
of which Dr. Patton's son is minister,--to hear from me an address on
the subject of missions. After which Dr. Bushnell puts to me publicly
some very close and intelligent questions with regard to the working of
freedom in our West India Colonies. He is evidently anxious to elicit
from me that kind of information which would enable them to contradict
the statements of the pro-slavery party. Young Patton is also an
anti-slavery man, and will not tolerate the distinction of colour in
his own church.

The next day Mr. Gallaudet and Mr. Patton call and accompany us to the
Historical Room. There we see carefully kept an old chest that had come
over in the "May Flower," and also the three-legged pot in which the
"Pilgrims" had first boiled their food after landing on Plymouth Rock.
These and many other memorials of the "Fathers" we are happy to find
are very piously preserved. Then we go to a Gallery of Pictures. The
admission fee is 25 cents, or one shilling; but from us, being
strangers, they will accept of nothing! In the collection there was
much to admire; but I could not help regretting that the canvas was
made to preserve the memory of so many conflicts between England and
her Transatlantic sons.

We dined at Dr. Bushnell's house. The Doctor is a very unassuming man,
and a very original but somewhat eccentric thinker. He had lately
published a sermon on Roads, a sermon on the Moral Uses of the Sea, a
sermon on Stormy Sabbaths, and a sermon on Unconscious Influence,--all
treated in a very striking manner. He had recently visited England and
the continent of Europe, and had also contributed an article to the
_New Englander_, a quarterly review, on the Evangelical Alliance. The
views of a keen thinker from another land on that and kindred topics
deserve to be pondered. "The Church of God in England," says the
Doctor, "can never be settled upon any proper basis, whether of truth
or of practical harmony, until the Established Church, as such, is
separated from the State." His estimate of "a large class of English
Christians" is not very flattering. "They are good men, but not
thinking men. Their piety gurgles in a warm flood through their heart,
but it has not yet mounted to their head. * * * In the ordinary, _i.e._
in their preaching and piety, they show a style of goodishness fitly
represented by Henry's Commentary; in the extraordinary, they rise into
sublimity by inflation and the swell of the occasion." Towards slavery
and slaveholders he manifests a tenderness of feeling at which we are
surprised and pained. The proposed exclusion of slaveholders from the
Alliance he characterizes as "absurd and fanatical," speaking of the
subject as having been "so unhandsomely forced upon" the American
brethren in London. Again, "There is too much good sense among the
Christians of this country (America) to think of constituting an
Alliance on the basis which denies Christian character to all
slaveholders. At a future time, when slavery has been discussed long
enough, we shall do so. We cannot do it now,--least of all can we do it
at the dictation of brethren beyond the sea, who do not understand the
question," &c.

And yet in the same article the Doctor proposes that the Christians of
England and America should unite their efforts for the promotion of
religious liberty in Italy, and says, "If we lift our testimony against
all church dungeons and tortures, and against all suppression of
argument by penalties, as cruel, absurd, anti-christian, and impious,
there is no prince or priesthood in Italy or anywhere else that can
long venture to perpetrate such enormities." Will they yield, Doctor,
to the "dictation of brethren beyond the sea?" But this subject of
American slavery is always represented by our Transatlantic friends as
a thing so _profound_ that none but themselves can understand it; and
yet it is evident that they understand it least of all. Hear the
Doctor:--

"We do not propose, however, in this movement for religious liberty, to
invite the efforts of our English brethren here against slavery. We
have too little confidence in their knowledge of our condition, and the
correctness of their opinions generally on the subject of American
slavery. They must consent to let us manage the question in our own
way," &c. How strikingly is it here seen that this slavery is the weak
point and the wicked point in the American character! We liked Dr.
Bushnell's company, his hospitality, his wife, his children, his
domestic discipline, his church, his other writings,--everything better
than the article in question, though even it contained much that we
admired.

The next day we went to see the "First Congregational Church" in this
place--that in which Dr. Hawes ministers, together with the old
burying-ground attached to it. This was the original church formed by
the first settlers, who in 1636 came from Braintree in Essex, bringing
their pastor the Rev. Thos. Hooker along with them. Of him it is said,
that he appeared in the pulpit with such dignity and independence as if
"while engaged in his Master's work he could put a king in his pocket."
Here is his tomb, dated 1647. Two eventful centuries have rolled away,
during which this church has had only nine pastors; all of whom, except
the last, Dr. Hawes, who still survives, died in their charge, and were
interred in this place. Interments here are no longer continued; but an
old bachelor, of independent means, a descendant of the Pilgrims,
spends nearly the whole of his time "among the tombs" of the fathers
and prophets, and, _con amore_, keeps the ground and the graves in the
most beautiful order.

Our host Mr. Hosmer took us to see the new burying-ground outside of
the city. Here the Catholics and the coloured people had each a parcel
of ground allotted for themselves,--the former because they _would_
not, and the latter because they _should_ not, mingle their dust with
that of other people!

On our way back I said to my friend, "How was it that neither Mr.
Pennington nor any of his people (coloured congregation) were at the
meeting last night? I should have thought they would have come to hear
about their own brethren in Guiana." "Why," he replied, "the fact was I
did not send a notice to them on Sunday: I knew that in the 'Fourth'
Church they would have been scattered all over the place; it would have
been so unpleasant, and talked of for months." Here then was a man of a
large heart, a friend of missions and of all that is good, one who
seemed as if he could embrace the whole world in his sympathies, under
the dominion of a prejudice you would have expected him to scorn!

At Hartford lives Mrs. Sigourney, the graceful American poetess. She is
a pious member of one of the Congregational Churches. Mr. Hosmer kindly
took us to call upon her; and we were greatly pleased with our brief
visit.

At 2 P.M. we left with regret this delightful little city, and shall
always cherish a grateful remembrance of the Christian kindness and
hospitality with which we were treated. In all the States we met with
nothing to be compared, in all that was pleasing, to the two cities of
Connecticut--New Haven and Hartford.

In passing, on our way to Boston, through Worcester in Massachusetts, I
cast a hurried glance at every place that looked like a smithy,
wondering whether it was there that Elihu Burritt had wielded his
forge-hammer and scattered his "sparks from the anvil."

We reached Boston at 9 P.M., and stopped at the United States Hotel.
The next day I called to deliver notes of introduction to several of
the Boston divines. Among them was one to the Rev. Seth Bliss, at the
Tract Depository. Having glanced at the note, he very hurriedly said to
me, "Ah, how do you do?--very glad to see you!--where are you stopping
at?"--"At the United States Hotel, sir." "Oh," he replied all in a
breath, "you had better come to my house,--it'll be cheaper for
you,--they'll charge you 2 dollars a day at the United States Hotel,--I
only charge a dollar and a half,--I have a room at liberty now.
Besides, if you want to get acquainted with ministers, you can't do
better than come to my house. In fact, the wags call my house the
'Saints' Rest,'--because, I suppose, they see I sell the book here."
The conjuncture of "Bliss" and "Saints' Rest!" Who could refuse? We
went. But I will not tell how far the accommodation tended to realize
our conceptions of those beatitudes.

On the morrow we went to see Faneuil Hall, the "Cradle of Liberty." A
notice was up at the door to say the key was to be found at such a
store in the neighbourhood. I asked for the key; had it without a
single question being put; went, opened the door myself, and staid as
long as we pleased. There was no hanger-on, to try to squeeze a fee out
of us, as would have been the case in a country I know.

I then went and called without any introduction upon William Lloyd
Garrison, from whom I received the most kind attentions. He accompanied
me to the celebrated Bunker's Hill, a scene of dreadful encounter
between those who ought never to have been foes. A column of 200 feet
high now stands upon the spot. It is unfortunate that the Americans
have so many mementos, both natural and artificial, of their struggles
with us. They tend to perpetuate an undesirable feeling.

LETTER XXXIV.

Boston (continued)--The Old South--Unitarianism, and Connection between
Church and State--A Welsh Service in an "Upper Room"--Laura Bridgman
and the Wedding Ring--Oliver Caswell--Departure from Boston--John Todd
and his Family--His Congregationalism--Albany and the Delevan
House--Journey to Utica--Remsen and the Welsh People--Dogs made to
churn, and Horses to saw Wood.

On Sabbath morning the 11th of April I preached for the Rev. Mr.
Blagden, in the Old South Church. This is a large old-fashioned square
building, having two galleries, one above the other, on three of its
sides. It is rich in historical recollections. Here Whitfield preached.
Here patriotic meetings were held even before Faneuil Hall was built;
and here the British troops were quartered at the time of the
Revolutionary War. Here, too, the lamp of truth was kept feebly burning
when all around had sunk into darkness and heresy. At the commencement
of this century, the ministry in all the other Congregational Churches
in Boston had become Unitarian. In the Old South, however, there were a
few people, eight in number, who formed a "Society for Religious
Improvement." They could not at first _pray_ together; they only read
the Scriptures and conversed on religious subjects. But they grew in
wisdom, fervour, and zeal, and were eventually the means, not only of
reviving religion in the Old South, but also of giving an impulse in
Boston which is felt to this day. Church after church on orthodox
principles has been instituted, till there are in Boston more than a
dozen large and vigorous churches of the Congregational order; and the
Old South, the honoured "mother of churches," has had her "youth
renewed like the eagles."

But how came Congregationalism to be so deteriorated? It was owing to
its having been made the State religion. All were at first taxed for
its exclusive support. This was felt to be unjust and oppressive, and
it brought the favoured system into bad repute. Then a modification of
the law was adopted, and the citizens had their choice of systems, but
were taxed for the support of some system or other. This provision,
likewise, began ere long to be felt as unjust towards those who did not
wish to maintain _any_ system, or at least not by taxation. This law,
moreover, gave a virtual support to Unitarianism. "This," says the Rev.
Mr. Button of New Haven, "has been more fully illustrated in
Massachusetts than in Connecticut. The repeal of the law for the
compulsory support of religion in that commonwealth has proved a severe
blow to Unitarianism."

After the morning service at the Old South, we turned in to see
Park-street Church, another Congregational place of worship, which for
the following reason I was curious to enter. A few years ago a coloured
gentleman of respectability instructed a friend to purchase for him a
pew in that church. That no objection to the sale might arise from any
neglect of decorations, the new proprietor had it beautifully lined and
cushioned. It was made to look as handsome as any other pew in the
church; and, when it was finished, the gentleman and his family one
Sabbath morning took possession. This gave rise to great anxiety and
alarm. Niggers in the body of the church! What was to be done? In the
course of the following week a meeting was held, and a deputation
appointed to wait upon the gentleman, and to tell him that it was
against "public feeling" for him to occupy the pew in question. The
gentleman remonstrated, and pointed out the injustice, after he had
purchased the pew, and incurred the expense of fitting it up, of not
being allowed to enjoy it. To this the deputation replied that they
were sorry for any inconvenience or loss he might sustain, but public
feeling _must_ be respected, and the pew _must_ be given up. Against
this decision there was no appeal; and the gentleman was obliged to let
the pew be resold for such a price as the white aristocracy thought fit
to give. On the principle that "prevention is better than cure," they
have, I am told, in Boston introduced into every new trust-deed a
clause that will effectually guard against the recurrence of such a
calamity. But so "smartly" has it been done that, were you to examine
those deeds, you would look in vain for a single syllable having the
remotest apparent bearing on either black or coloured people, and you
would be ready to suspect that the whole was a mere invention of the
Abolitionists. Indeed, Mrs. "Bliss," at the "Saints' Rest," assured me
in the most positive manner that such was the case, and that the whole
of the story I have related had not the shadow of a foundation in
truth. But she might as well have attempted to deny the existence of
Bunker's Hill or Boston Bay. This was only a specimen of the manner in
which the colour-hating party attempt to throw dust in the eyes of
strangers, and deny the existence of the most palpable facts. But how
runs the conservative clause which led to this digression? It is
expressed in words to this effect,--That no sale of any pew is valid if
two-thirds or three-fourths (I forget which) of the congregation should
object to the purchaser! This was quite enough. Those against whom it
was directed need not be even mentioned. It was well known that with
this clause no coloured man could ever own a pew. Public feeling would
piously take hold of this key, and turn it against him.

In the afternoon I heard the Rev. E.N. Kirk. The church was new and
beautiful, the congregation large, and the sermon good.

In the evening I preached in Welsh to about 70 people, in a small
"upper room." It was my first attempt for many years to deliver a
_sermon_ in that language. Nor should I have made it, but for the
peculiarity of the case. The parties were representatives of four
different denominations in Wales, had formed themselves into a kind of
Evangelical Alliance, and had no stated minister, but gladly availed
themselves of the occasional services of any minister of evangelical
views who might be passing through! Poor and few as they were, they
insisted upon my receiving towards travelling expenses four dollars and
a half. This was not done at the Old South, though the pastor told me
they were "burdened with wealth;" nor was it done in any other instance
in the _American_ churches.

The next day the Rev. Mr. Blagden accompanied us to see the
Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind. Here we were introduced to Laura
Bridgman, who since she was about two years of age has been deaf, dumb,
and blind. Her senses of taste and smell are also impaired. She is 18
years of age, and has been in the institution ten years. Every avenue
of communication with the soul was closed--but one. The sense of touch
remained; and by means of that they have contrived to reach the mind,
to inform it, to instruct it, to refine and elevate it. We found her
exactly corresponding to the beautiful description given of her by Dr.
Howe, who is at the head of the institution. That description has so
often been published in England that I will not transcribe it. Her
figure is genteel, slender, and well-proportioned. She appears to be
lively, sensitive, and benevolent. The place where the bright blue eyes
once sparkled that are now quenched in darkness is covered with a piece
of green ribbon. Conversation with her is carried on by means of the
"speaker's" rapid fingering on her right hand. It was in this manner
that we were introduced. She shook hands with us very affectionately,
--taking hold of both hands of Mrs. Davies, and feeling all
about her head, her dress, and her arms. In doing so she felt the
wedding-ring, and wanted to know by means of her interpreter--her
governess--why the English ladies wore a ring on that finger. (The
American ladies do not observe the custom.) On my wife telling her it
was to show they were married, she seemed very much amused and
astonished. Here it was very interesting to observe the progress of a
thought from ourselves to the governess, and from her to that "little,
white, whispering, loving, listening" hand that received and
communicated all ideas, until the brightened countenance and the lovely
smile showed it had reached the soul. She felt a deep sympathy for
Ireland, and wished to know what the English were doing for the
starving inhabitants. We told her; and soon after we saw by the public
papers that, subsequently to our visit, she had done some needle-work,
which was sold, and the proceeds appropriated at her request to
purchase a barrel of flour for that unhappy land. "How," exclaims Elihu
Burritt, "she plied at morning, noon, and night, those fingers!
wonderful fingers! It seemed that the very finger of God had touched
them with miraculous susceptibilities of fellowship with the spirit
world and that around her. She put them upon the face of His written
word, and felt them thrilled to her heart with the pulsation of His
great thoughts of love to man. And then she _felt_ for other's woe.
Poor child! God bless her richly! She reached out her short arms to
feel after some more unhappy than she in the condition of this life;
some whose fingers' ends had not read such sweet paragraphs of heaven's
mercy as hers had done; some who had not seen, heard, and felt what her
dumb, silent, deaf fingers had brought into her heart of joy, hope, and
love. Think of that, ye young eyes and ears that daily feast upon the
beauty and melody of this outer world! Within the atmosphere of her
quick sensibilities, she felt the presence of those whose cup was full
of affliction. She put her fingers, with their throbbing sympathies,
upon the lean bloodless faces of the famishing children in Ireland, and
her sightless eyes filled with the tears that the blind may shed for
griefs they cannot see. And then she plied the needle and those
fingers, and quickened their industry by placing them anon upon the
slow sickly pulse of want that wasted her kind at noonday across the
ocean. Days, and nights too--for day and night were alike to her
wakeful sympathies--and weeks she wrought on with her needle. And then
the embroidery of those fingers was sold to the merchants. Would it had
been sold to England's Queen, to be worn by the young princesses on
days of state! It was sold; and its purchase price was _a barrel of
flour_, instead of a country's harvest, which it was well worth. And
that barrel of flour was stowed away without other private mark than
that the recording Angel put upon it, among the thousands that
freighted the _Jamestown_ on her recent mission of brotherly love to
Ireland. _Laura Bridgman and her barrel of flour_ should teach the
world a lesson worth the woes of one year's famine." Laura favoured us
with her autograph on a slip of paper, which we shall always carefully
preserve as a memorial of a visit to one of the greatest wonders of the
age.

In another room we were introduced to Oliver Caswell. He is about the
same age as Laura, and similarly afflicted, but has been in the
institution only six years. His teacher told him, in the same
finger-language which was used with Laura, that we came from British
Guiana, and desired him to find out the place on the large globe before
him. This globe was made for the use of the blind, having upon it the
countries and their names in relievo. Oliver turned it round, and felt
with his fingers until they soon rested on the required spot, when he
seemed greatly delighted. His attainments are not so remarkable as
those of Laura, for he has not been so long under tuition; but his
progress is highly encouraging.

At 4 P.M. we left Boston by railway for Albany,--fare 5 dollars each.
We rested, however, at Springfield for the night, and that in the most
comfortable hotel we had met with in the States. The next day we moved
on to Pittsfield, where we arrived at half-past 11. Finding that we
might get off from that train, and go by another in three or four
hours' time, we availed ourselves of the opportunity of calling upon
the Rev. Dr. Todd, the author of "Lectures to Children," "The Student's
Guide," &c. Instead of the prim, neat, little man we had always
imagined him to be, we found him tall, coarse, slovenly, and unshaven;
a man of 46 years of age; hair of an iron-grey, rough and uncombed;
features large; cheek-bones prominent; and the straps of his trowsers
unbuttoned, and flapping about his slippers. But, under this
unpromising exterior, we discerned a soul of great intelligence,
frankness, and brotherly kindness. Mrs. Todd has been a woman of great
beauty, and, though she has brought up a large family of children, is
still fresh and comely. Their eldest daughter is 19 years of age; and
John, to whom the "Lectures to Children" were dedicated, is now 14
years of age. The Doctor's insane mother, for whose sake he was first
led to employ his pen, has been dead for some years. His desire to
visit England is very strong. He had been appointed by the churches of
Massachusetts to visit those of England last year in the character of a
delegate; but the means of meeting the expenses of such a delegation
were not provided, and consequently the visit was not paid. It is
worthy of observation that the Doctor's books have been sold in England
far more extensively than in America; but from the English editions he
receives no profit, and even from the American ones very little. As it
may be the first time that English readers hear of John Todd as
_Doctor_ Todd, and as there is an impression that our American friends
bestow their literary honours too freely and indiscriminately,--which,
indeed, is true in reference to some scores of institutions,--nothing
being easier than to obtain a D.D.,--I would just observe that this
applies not to the New England Colleges. They are very chary of such
honours, and only confer that of D.D. on ministers of long standing and
high attainments. In the case of Mr. Todd it was most deservedly
bestowed.

Pittsfield is but a small town, of about 5,000 inhabitants. The
Governor of Massachusetts resided there, and was a deacon of a Baptist
Church. Dr. Todd presides over a Congregational Church. To the
principles of Congregationalism he is devoutly attached. While others
regard Presbyterianism and Congregationalism as matters of mere
geographical boundary, Todd could never be prevailed upon, even by the
most advantageous offers, to do the same. He said he had nailed his
flag to the mast, and would never abandon it. "I regard
Congregationalism," said he to me, "as a sort of a working-jacket: with
it on I can work with anybody, in any place, and in any way." With this
great and good man we exceedingly enjoyed a homely dinner and a few
hours' converse. In coming out, I observed before the door,
half-covered with snow, a beautiful model of the Temple of Theseus.
This was the work of the Doctor's own hands.

At 3-1/2 P.M. we left for Albany. At the station, before crossing the
Hudson, we observed in large letters the ominous words "Beware of
pickpockets!" On reaching the city we went to the "Delevan House," so
called after Mr. Delevan, who has done so much for the advancement of
temperance in America. The house is his property, but he does not
conduct it. He lives there as a lodger; and I was permitted to spend
the evening in conversation with him. The house is the largest
temperance hotel in the world. It will accommodate about 400 guests.
Those who keep it are religious people, and have a public
family-worship every evening, usually conducted by the master of the
house; but if a minister of any denomination be present, he is asked to
officiate. A bell is rung, and all who feel disposed to unite in the
worship assemble in a large room. On this occasion it was my privilege
to conduct the service; and in such a place, and under such
circumstances, it was to me an exercise of peculiar interest. A hymn
too was sung, and well sung,--the tune being led by the master of the
house, aided by his family.

The next morning, at half-past 7, we set off by railway to Utica, a
distance of 94 miles, which we did not accomplish in less than 6-1/2
hours, making an average of less than 15 miles an hour, and for which
we paid 2-1/2 dollars, or 10s. 6d. This journey led us through the
valley of the Mohawk, and that river was for the most part our constant
companion. The railway and the river seemed to be wedded to each
other,--the former conforming to all the whims and windings, and
turnings and twistings of the latter.

Utica is a small city, of about 14,000 inhabitants. Its progress has
been but slow. The houses are painted white, and appear neat and
comfortable. I was struck with the immense number of them that were
erected with their gable end to the street, and with a small portico
supported by two fluted columns. A large portion of the inhabitants are
Welsh, who have here four or five places of worship. The Rev. James
Griffiths, a man of great piety and worth, is the minister of the Welsh
Independents. At his house we were most kindly entertained during our
stay. On the Sabbath I preached for him twice in Welsh. The following
week we were taken to Remsen, eighteen miles off, to see the Rev. Mr.
Everett, whose farewell sermon on leaving Wales I had heard when quite
a boy,--and the Rev. Morris Roberts, to whom I had bidden adieu in
Liverpool sixteen years before. It was delightful to meet these
honoured brethren in their adopted home, after the lapse of so many
years. Remsen is quite a Welsh settlement; and these men both preside
over Welsh churches there. Mr. Everett is the editor of a Welsh Monthly
Magazine. In that periodical, as well as in his ministrations, he has
been unflinching in his denunciations of slavery. This has exposed him
to cruel persecutions. There are about 70,000 Welsh people in the
United States who worship in their own language. At Remsen I had to
deliver two addresses on the results of emancipation in the West
Indies. On our return to Utica, the friend who drove us happened
incidentally to mention that in that country they make the dogs churn!
"The dogs churn!" I said, "Yes," said he; "and I dare say they have a
churning-machine so worked at this house: let us call and see." It was
a farm-house. At the door about half-a-dozen chubby little children,
with fine rosy cheeks, were assembled to see the strangers. I began to
speak in English to the eldest, a boy about 10 years of age; but the
lad stared! He understood not a word I said.

Though born and so far brought up there, he knew nothing but Welsh! We
were gratified with an inspection of the machine for churning. It was
worked very much on the same principle as a treadmill, and exceedingly
disliked by the poor dog. Goats are sometimes made to perform the same
service. In several instances, we saw horses in like manner made to saw
wood, and admired the ingenuity of our cousins in turning to account
every particle of power they possess. "What is the difference," said
Dr. Beecher once to a ship-captain, "between an English sailor and a
Yankee one?" The answer was, "An English sailor can do a thing very
well in _one_ way, but the Yankee can do it in half-a-dozen ways."

LETTER XXXV.

A Peep at the House of Representatives in Albany--"The Chair is but a
Man," &c.--Sailing down the Hudson--Dr. Spring--His Morning
Sermon--Afternoon Service--Gough the great Lecturer--The Tract House
and Steam-presses--May-day in New York--Staten Island--Immigrants--A
hurried Glance.

On the 22nd we left Utica at 11 A.M., and reached Albany at 5 P.M. At
Schenectady Mr. Delevan got into the same carriage with us; and we had
his company to Albany. He had caused to be put into the hand of every
passenger by that train a tract on the claims of the Sabbath, a large
number of which he had printed at his own expense. He spends an immense
fortune in doing good, chiefly by means of the press.

In the evening I strolled out to see a little of Albany, the capital of
the State of New York. I gazed with interest on Dr. Sprague's Church,
and wandered until I came to a large building brilliantly lighted. It
was the State House or Capitol. The legislature was then in session. I
marched on, and got in without the least hinderance. There was no crowd
and no stir about the doors. A simple rail divided the part allotted to
the spectators from that which was used by the members. About a hundred
of the latter were present. The Senate, whose hall was in another part
of the same building, had been adjourned till next day. This was the
House of Representatives; and they seemed to be in the midst of a very
angry discussion. Their cheeks swelled with rage, or with--quids of
tobacco. A spittoon, constantly used, was placed by the side of each
member. They were rebelling against the speaker; and, of all mortals, I
never saw one in a more unenviable position than he. All that his
little hammer, his tongue, and his hands could do was of no avail. The
storm raged. The words "honourable member," "unparliamentary," "order,"
"chair," and "_in_-quiry," were bandied about in all directions. One of
the "honourable members," rushing out past me, said with a loud voice,
"I'll go and get a segar," &c. At last the speaker--poor fellow!--in
tones of humiliation and despair said, "The _chair_ is but a _man_;
and, if we err, we are ready to acknowledge our error."

The next day we left by the steam-boat "Roger Williams," and sailed
down the majestic Hudson to New York, a distance of 145 miles; fare one
dollar each. This river has so often been described by travellers that
I need not repeat the attempt.

The following day was Saturday. In the afternoon I met Dr. Spring at
the Tract House. After the usual salutation, he said, "Shall we hear
your voice at our place to-morrow afternoon?"--"I have no objection,
sir,--what time does your service commence?" "At 4 o'clock."--"Very
well." "Where shall I find you?"--"Where will you be?" "I shall be in
the pulpit five minutes before the time."--"Oh! _very_ well, _very_
well."

In the morning I went to hear the Doctor. His introductory prayer was
long. In it he prayed for Mexico--that it might have a "free and
religious government," and that the present war might result in the
overthrow there of the "man of sin;" but no reference to American
slavery. The Doctor, bear in mind, is an Old School Presbyterian, and a
supporter of the Colonization Society. His text was John v. 23: "That
all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father," &c. His
divisions were--

I. What honours are ascribed to the Father.

1. Appropriate names and titles. Jehovah, &c.

2. Ascription of most glorious attributes. Eternal--Immutable
--Omnipotent, &c.

3. Great and glorious works. Creation--Preservation--Redemption
--Atonement--Regeneration--Justification--Raising the dead--Judging the
world--Destroying it--Glory of the righteous--Punishment of the wicked.
(All these were supported by appropriate quotations of Scripture.)

4. Duties enjoined in reference to Him. Confidence--Worship, &c.

II. That the same honours are ascribed to the Son. (He went over each
of the above particulars, showing from Scripture their application to
the Son.)

III. That, therefore, the Son is properly and truly God.

1. We cannot believe the Scriptures would ascribe the same honours to
Him as to the Father, if He were not equal to the Father.

2. If He be not truly God, the Scriptures tempt to idolatry.

3. If He be not truly God, the accounts which the Scriptures give of
Him are self-contradictory.

4. If He be not truly God, there is no evidence from Scripture that
there is a God at all.

This was a massive and compact argument for the Divinity of Christ. It
occupied upwards of an hour in the delivery, and was read.

In the afternoon I took care to be in the pulpit five minutes before
the time. The Doctor shortly after came, and took his seat behind me.
This to me is always an annoyance,--I would almost as soon have a man
with me in bed as in the pulpit;--and in this instance it was
peculiarly so, as towards the close, although I had not exceeded forty
minutes, I felt quite persuaded that the Doctor was pulling at my
coat-tail, which led me rather abruptly to conclude. In this, however,
I was mistaken; and the Doctor assured me it was what he had never done
in his life, except in one instance,--and that was when the preacher,
having occupied two hours with his sermon, was entering upon a third.

In the evening of the 27th of April I heard, at the Tabernacle, New
York, the celebrated Gough deliver a lecture on Temperance. It was to
commence at 8 o'clock; but we had to be there an hour before the time,
in order to get a comfortable place. That hour was a dreary one. The
scraping of throats and the spitting were horrible. It seemed as if
some hundreds of guttural organs were uttering the awfully guttural
sentence, _"Hwch goch dorchog a chwech o berchill cochion."_

At last Gough made his appearance on the platform. He is a slender
young man of three or four and twenty. He told us he had spoken every
night except three for the last thirty nights, and was then very weary,
but thought "what a privilege it is to live and labour in the present
day." He related his own past experience of _delirium tremens_,--how an
iron rod in his hand became a snake,--how a many-bladed knife pierced
his flesh,--how a great face on the wall grinned at and threatened him;
"and yet," he added, "I _knew_ it was a delusion!"

A temperance man, pointing to Gough, had once observed to another,
"What a miserable-looking fellow that is!" "But," replied the other,
"you would not say so, if you saw how he keeps everybody in a roar of
laughter at the public-house till 1 or 2 in the morning." "But I _was_
miserable," said Gough; "I _knew_ that the parties who courted and
flattered me really _despised_ me." He told us some humorous
tales,--how he used to mortify some of them by claiming acquaintance
with them in the street, and in the presence of their respectable
friends. He returned scorn for scorn. "Gough," said a man once to him,
"you ought to be ashamed of yourself to be always drinking in this
manner." "Do I drink at your expense?"--"No." "Do I owe you
anything?"--"No." "Do I ever ask you to treat me?"--"No." "Then mind
your own business," &c. He introduced this to show that that mode of
dealing with the drunkard was not likely to answer the purpose.

"Six years ago," said he, "a man on the borders of Connecticut, sat
night after night on a stool in a low tavern to scrape an old fiddle.
Had you seen him, with his old hat drawn over his eyebrows, his swollen
lips, and his silly grin, you would have thought him adapted for
nothing else. But he signed the pledge, and in two years became a
United States senator, and thrilled the House with his eloquence."

In one place, after Gough had delivered a lecture, some ladies gathered
around him, and one of them said, "I wish you would ask Joe to 'sign
the pledge,"--referring to a wretched-looking young man that was
sauntering near the door. Gough went up to him, spoke _kindly_ to him,
and got him to sign: the ladies were delighted, and heartily shook
hands with Joe. A year after Gough met Joe quite a dandy, walking
arm-in-arm with a fine young lady. "Well, Joe, did you stick to the
pledge?" said Gough to him. "Yes," said Joe with an exulting smile,
"and the lady has stuck to me."

For more than an hour Gough kept the vast audience enchained by his
varied and charming talk.

On the 29th I went over the Tract House in New York, and was delighted
to see there six steam-presses,--four of which were then at work,
pouring forth in rapid succession sheet after sheet impressed with that
kind of literature which in my judgment is admirably adapted to meet
the wants of this growing country. They were then printing on an
average 27,000 publications, including nearly 2,400 of each kind, _per
diem!_ and employing sixty women in folding and stitching. During the
last year they printed 713,000 volumes, and 8,299,000 smaller
publications, making a total of 217,499,000 pages, or 58,154,661 pages
more than in any previous year! Of the _volumes_ issued, I may mention
14,000 sets of four volumes of D'Aubigné's History of the Reformation,
17,000 of Bunyan's Pilgrim, 10,000 of Baxter's Saints' Rest, 9,000 of
Doddridge's Rise and Progress, 7,000 of Pike's Persuasives, 13,000 of
Alleine's Alarm, and 41,000 of Baxter's Call! The two Secretaries,
whose business it is to superintend the publishing department and
matters relating to the raising of funds, the Rev. Wm. A. Hallock and
the Rev. O. Eastman, are enterprising and plodding men. They told me
they were brought up together in the same neighbourhood, and had both
worked at the plough till they were 20 years of age!

The 1st of May is the great moving day in New York. Throughout the city
one house seems to empty itself into another. Were it to the next door,
it might be done with no great inconvenience; but it is not so. Try to
walk along the causeway, and you are continually blocked up with
tables, chairs, and chests of drawers. Get into an omnibus, and you are
beset with fenders, pokers, pans, Dutch ovens, baskets, brushes, &c.
Hire a cart, and they charge you double fare.

One day at the water-side, happening to see the steamer for Staten
Island about to move off, we stepped on board, and in less than half an
hour found ourselves there. The distance is 6 miles, and the island is
18 miles long, 7 miles wide, and 300 feet high. Here are a large
hospital for mariners and the quarantine burying-ground. It is also
studded with several genteel residences. In 1657 the Indians sold it to
the Dutch for 10 shirts, 30 pairs of stockings, 10 guns, 30 bars of
lead, 30 lbs. of powder, 12 coats, 2 pieces of duffil, 30 kettles, 30
hatchets, 20 hoes, and one case of knives and awls.

Several emigrant vessels were then in the bay. On our return, we saw
with painful interest many of them setting their foot for the first
time on the shore of the New World. They were then arriving in New
York, chiefly from the United Kingdom, at the rate of one thousand a
day. The sight affected me even to tears. It was like a vision of the
British Empire crumbling to pieces, and the materials taken to build a
new and hostile dominion.

I should draw too largely upon your patience, were I to describe many
objects of interest and many scenes of beauty I witnessed in New York
and the neighbourhood. The Common Schools; the Croton Waterworks,
capable of yielding an adequate supply for a million-and-a-half of
people; Hoboken, with its sibyl's cave and elysian fields; the spot on
which General Hamilton fell in a duel; the Battery and Castle Garden--a
covered amphitheatre capable of accommodating 10,000 people; the Park,
and the City Hall with its white marble front; Trinity Church; and its
wealthy Corporation; Long Island, or Brooklyn, with its delightful
cemetery, &c., &c. Suffice it to say that New York has a population of
about 400,000; and that it has for that population, without an
Established Church, 215 places of worship. Brooklyn has also a
population of 60,000, and 30 places of worship.

LETTER XXXVI.

The May Meetings--Dr. Bushnell's Striking Sermon--Two Anti-Slavery
Meetings--A Black Demosthenes--Foreign Evangelical Society--A New Thing
in the New World--The Home-Missionary Society--Progress and Prospects
of the West--Church of Rome--Departure from New York--What the Author
thinks of the Americans.

The American May Meetings held in New York do not last a month as in
England,--a week suffices. That week is the second in the month. On the
Sabbath preceding, sermons on behalf of many of the societies are
preached in various churches. On the morning of the Sabbath in question
we went to the Tabernacle, not knowing whom we should hear. To our
surprise and pleasure, my friend Dr. Baird was the preacher. His text
was, "Let thy kingdom come;" and the object for which he had to plead
was the Foreign Evangelical Society, of which he was the Secretary. His
sermon was exceedingly simple, and the delivery quite in an off-hand
conversational style. There was no reading.

In the evening we heard Dr. Bushnell preach, on behalf of the American
Home-Missionary Society, at the "Church of the Pilgrims" in Brooklyn.
This is a fine costly building, named in honour of the Pilgrim Fathers,
and having a fragment of the Plymouth Rock imbedded in the wall. The
sermon was a very ingenious one on Judges xvii. 13: "Then said Micah,
Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my
priest." The preacher observed that Micah lived in the time of the
Judges--what might be called the "emigrant age" of Israel,--that he was
introduced on the stage of history as a thief,--that he afterwards
became in his own way a saint, and must have a priest. First, he
consecrates his own son; but his son not being a Levite, it was
difficult for so pious a man to be satisfied. Fortunately a young
Levite--a strolling mendicant probably--comes that way; and he promptly
engages the youth to remain and act the _padre_ for him, saying, "Dwell
with me, and be a _father_ unto me." Having thus got up a religion, the
thief is content, and his mental troubles are quieted. Becoming a
Romanist before Rome is founded, he says, "Now know I that the Lord
will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest." Religion to him
consisted in a fine silver apparatus of gods, and a priest in regular
succession. In this story of Micah it was seen that _emigration, or a
new settlement of the social state, involves a tendency to social
decline_. "Our first danger," said the preacher, "is barbarism
--Romanism next."

The tendency to barbarism was illustrated by historic references. The
emigration headed by Abraham soon developed a mass of barbarism,--Lot
giving rise to the Moabites and the Ammonites; meanwhile, Abraham
throwing off upon the world in his son Ishmael another stock of
barbarians--the Arabs,--a name which according to some signifies
_Westerners_. One generation later, and another ferocious race springs
from the family of Isaac--the descendants of Esau, or the Edomites.
Then coming down to the time of the Judges we find that violence
prevailed, that the roads were destroyed, and that the arts had
perished: there was not even a smith left in the land; and they were
obliged to go down to the Philistines to get an axe or a mattock
sharpened. Then the preacher came to the great American question
itself. It was often supposed that in New England there had always been
an upward tendency. It was not so. It had been downward until the
"great revival" about the year 1740. The dangers to which society in
the South and "Far West" is now exposed were powerfully described. The
remedies were then pointed out.

"First of all, we must not despair." "And what next? We must get rid,
if possible, of slavery." "'We must have peace.'". Also "Railways and
telegraphs." "Education, too, we must favour and promote." "Above all,
provide a talented and educated body of Christian teachers, and keep
them pressing into the wilderness as far as emigration itself can go."
The conclusion of this great sermon was so remarkable that I cannot but
give it in the Doctor's own words.

"And now, Jehovah God, thou who, by long ages of watch and discipline,
didst make of thy servant Abraham a people, be thou the God also of
this great nation. Remember still its holy beginnings, and for the
fathers' sakes still cherish and sanctify it. Fill it with thy Light
and thy Potent Influence, till the glory of thy Son breaks out on the
Western sea as now upon the Eastern, and these uttermost parts, given
to Christ for his possession, become the bounds of a new Christian
empire, whose name the believing and the good of all people shall hail
as a name of hope and blessing."

On the Tuesday I attended two Anti-slavery Meetings in the Tabernacle.
The one in the morning was that of Mr. Garrison's party. The chief
speakers were Messrs. Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick
Douglass. This party think that the constitution of the United States
is so thoroughly pro-slavery that nothing can be done without breaking
it up. Another party, at the head of which is Lewis Tappan, think that
there are elements in the constitution which may be made to tell
powerfully against slavery, and ultimately to effect its overthrow.
Both parties mean well; but they unhappily cherish towards each other
great bitterness of feeling. Mr. Tappan's party held their meeting in
the afternoon. Among the speakers was the Rev. Mr. Patton from
Hartford, son of Dr. Patton, who made a very effective speeches. The
Rev. Samuel Ward also, a black man of great muscular power, and amazing
command of language and of himself, astonished and delighted me. I
could not but exclaim, "There speaks a black Demosthenes!" This man,
strange to say, is the pastor of a Congregational church of white
people in the State of New York. As a public speaker he seemed superior
to Frederick Douglass. It was pleasing at those anti-slavery meetings
to see how completely intermingled were the whites and the coloured.

I had been invited in the evening to speak at the public meeting of the
Foreign Evangelical Society, and to take tea at Dr. Baird's house.
While I was there, Dr. Anderson, one of the Secretaries of the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and Mr. Merwin, called to
invite me to address the public meeting of that society on the Friday.
I promised to do so, if I should not previously have left for the West
Indies. The public meeting of Dr. Baird's society was held in the Dutch
Reformed Church, Dr. Hutton's, a magnificent Gothic building. Dr. De
Witt took the chair. The attendance was large and respectable. Dr.
Baird, as Secretary, having recently returned from Europe, where he had
conversed on the subject of his mission with fourteen crowned heads,
read a most interesting report. The writer had then to address the
meeting. After him three other gentlemen spoke. There was no
collection! Strange to say, that, with all their revivals, our friends
in America seem to be morbidly afraid of doing anything under the
influence of excitement. Hence the addresses on occasions like this are
generally stiff and studied, half-an-hour orations. This feeling
prevents their turning the voluntary principle, in the support of their
religious societies, to so good an account as they otherwise might. At
the close of this meeting, there seemed to be a fine state of feeling
for making a collection; and yet no collection was made. This society
is one of great value and importance. It is designed to tell in the
promotion of evangelical truth on the Catholic countries of Europe and
South America. In those countries, it employs a hundred colporteurs in
the sale and distribution of religious publications.

The next morning I addressed a breakfast meeting of about 400 people,
in a room connected with the Tabernacle. This was a new thing in the
New World. It was, moreover, an anti-slavery breakfast, under the
presidency of Lewis Tappan. It was charming to see the whites and the
coloured so intermingled at this social repast, and that in the very
heart of the great metropolis of America.

At 10 the same morning a meeting of the American Tract Society was held
at the Tabernacle. I had been engaged to speak on that occasion, but
was obliged to go and see about the vessel that was to take us away.

In the evening I was pressed, at half an hour's notice, to speak at the
meeting of the American Home-Missionary Society. The Rev. H.W. Beecher
of Indianapolis, one of the sons of Dr. Beecher, made a powerful speech
on the claims of the West and South-west. In my own address I
complimented the Directors on the ground they had recently taken in
reference to slavery, and proceeded to say that there was an important
sense in which that society should be an anti-slavery society. This
elicited the cheers of the few, which were immediately drowned in the
hisses of the many. The interruption was but momentary, and I
proceeded. The next morning one of the Secretaries endeavoured to
persuade me that the hisses were not at myself, but at those who
interrupted me with their cheers. I told him his explanation was
ingenious and kind; nevertheless I thought I might justly claim the
honour of having been hissed for uttering an anti-slavery sentiment at
the Tabernacle in New York!

This society has an herculean task to perform; and, in consideration of
it, our American friends might well be excused for some years, were it
possible, from all foreign operations.

  "Westward the star of empire moves."

Ohio welcomed its first permanent settlers in 1788, and now it is
occupied by nearly 2,000,000 of people. Michigan obtained its first
immigrants but fourteen or fifteen years ago, and now has a population
of 300,000. Indiana, admitted into the Union in 1816, has since then
received a population of more than half a million, and now numbers
nearly a million of inhabitants. Illinois became a State in 1818. From
that date its population trebled every ten years till the last census
of 1840, and since then has risen from 476,000 to about 900,000.
Missouri, which in 1810 had only 20,800 people, has now 600,000, having
increased 50 per cent. in six years. Iowa was scarcely heard of a dozen
years ago. It is now a State, and about 150,000 people call its land
their home. Wisconsin was organized but twelve years ago, and has now a
population of not less than 200,000. One portion of its territory, 33
miles by 30, which ten years before was an unbroken wilderness,
numbered even in 1846 87,000 inhabitants; and the emigration to the
"Far West" is now greater than ever.  A giant is therefore growing up
there, who will soon be able and disposed to rule the destinies of the
United States. The Church of Rome is straining every nerve to have that
giant in her own keeping, and already shouts the song of triumph. Says
one of her sanguine sons, "The Church is now firmly established in this
country, and persecution will but cause it to thrive. Our countrymen
may grieve that it is so; but it is useless for them to kick against
the decrees of the Almighty God. They have an open field and fair play
for Protestantism. Here she has had free scope, has reigned without a
rival, and proved what she could do, and that her best is evil; for the
very good she boasts is not hers. A new day is dawning on this chosen
land, and the Church is about to assume her rightful position and
influence. Ours shall yet become consecrated ground. _Our hills and
valleys shall yet echo to the convent-bell._ The cross shall be planted
throughout the length and breadth of our land; and our happy sons and
daughters shall drive away fear, shall drive away evil from our borders
with the echoes of their matin and vesper hymns. No matter who writes,
who declaims, who intrigues, who is alarmed, or what leagues are
formed, THIS IS TO BE A CATHOLIC COUNTRY; and from Maine to Georgia,
from the broad Atlantic to broader Pacific, the 'clean sacrifice' is to
be offered daily for quick and dead." The triumph may be premature; but
it conveys a timely warning.

The next day the Anniversary of the Bible Society was held. The Hon.
Theodore Frelinghuysen presided. At that meeting I had been requested,
to speak, but could not. Indeed, we were detained all day on board a
vessel by which we expected every hour to sail for Jamaica; though,
after all, we had to wait until the following day. On that day, the
14th of May, just at the time the Board of Missions were holding their
public meeting, we sailed, and bade adieu to New York and all the
delightful engagements of that memorable week.

But, say you, Tell us in a few words what you think of America upon the
whole? I will try to do so. There is a class of things I greatly
admire; and there is a class of things I greatly detest. Among the
former I may mention--

1. Religious equality--the absence of a State church.

2. The workings of the voluntary principle in the abundant supply of
places of worship, and in the support of religious institutions.

3. General education. With regard to their common schools, and also to
their colleges, they are far in advance of us in England. The existence
of universal suffrage has the effect of stimulating educational efforts
to a degree which would not otherwise be attained. The more respectable
and intelligent of the citizens are made to feel that, with universal
suffrage, their dearest institutions are all perilled unless the mass
be educated.

As education is the great question of the day, I must not omit to make
a few remarks on the Primary Schools of the United States. There is no
_national_ system of education in America. Congress does not interfere
in the matter, except in the "Territories" before they become "States."
The States of the Union are so many distinct Republics, and, in the
matter of education, as in all their internal affairs, are left
entirely to take their own measures. With regard to education, no two
States act precisely alike. If we glance at the States of
Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio, we shall, however, discover the
three great types of what in this respect generally prevails throughout
the States.

MASSACHUSETTS.--Scarcely had the "Pilgrims" been half-a-dozen years in
their wilderness home before they began to make what they deemed a
suitable provision for the instruction of their children. They adopted
the same principle in reference to education and religion--that of
taxation. A general tax was not imposed; but the people in the various
townships were empowered to tax themselves to a certain amount, and to
manage the whole affair by means of their own "select men." But,
although this law has continued for 200 years, the people have always
done far more than it required. In Boston, for instance, the law
demands only 3,000 dollars a year, but not less than 60,000 dollars is
raised and applied! So that here we have a noble proof, not so much of
the effect of government interference, as of the efficiency of the
voluntary principle in providing education for the young. The people of
Massachusetts, and indeed of all the New England States, are doubtless
the best educated in the world. Not one in a thousand of those born
here grows up unable to read and write.

The calumniated "Pilgrims" were thus early attentive to the importance
of education; and their system had been in full operation for between
thirty and forty years, when, in 1670, Sir William Berkley, Governor of
Virginia, the stronghold of the Anglican Church, thus devoutly
addressed the "Lords of Plantations in England:"--"I thank God _there
are no free schools nor printing_, and I hope we shall not have them
these hundred years; for learning has brought _disobedience and heresy
and sects_ into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels
against the best government. God keep us from both!"

The system of Massachusetts may be regarded as a type of what prevails
in the six New England States, except Connecticut, where there is a
State fund of upwards of 2,000,000 dollars, yielding an annual dividend
of about 120,000 dollars for school purposes.

NEW YORK.--In this State a large fund for schools has been created by
the sale of public land. The proceeds of this fund are annually
distributed in such a way as to secure the raising by local efforts of
at least three times the amount for the same object. This fund is thus
used as a gentle stimulant to local exertions. The system described
will convey a notion of what exists in the _middle_ States.

Ohio.--In this and the Western States every township is divided into so
many sections of a mile square; and one of these sections, out of a
given number, is devoted to the maintenance of schools. As a township
increases in population, the reserved section advances in value. These
schools are not subject to any central control, but are under the
management of a committee chosen by the township.

Still education is not so general in all the States as might be wished.
Miss Beecher, the daughter of Dr. Beecher, having devoted to the
subject much time and talent, tells us that there are in the United
States "a million adults who cannot read and write, and more than two
millions of children utterly illiterate and entirely without schools!"
Of the children in this condition, 130,000 are in Ohio, and 100,000 in
Kentucky.

In the working of this system of education, the absence of a State
Church affords advantages not enjoyed in England. Of late, however, an
objection to the use of the Bible in these schools has been raised by
the Roman Catholics, and the question in some States has been fiercely
agitated. In the city of St. Louis the Bible has been excluded. In
Cincinnati the Catholics, failing to exclude it, have established
schools of their own.

This agitation is one of great interest. It leads thoughtful and devout
men to ask, whether, when the State, assuming to be the instructor of
its subjects, establishes schools, and puts Protestant Bibles, or any
other, or none into them _by law_, they have not thenceforth
Protestantism, Popery, or Infidelity so far _by law established_; and
whether it is not better that the State should restrict itself to its
proper function as the minister of justice, leaving secular
instruction, like religious, to the spontaneous resources of the
people.

To this, I think, it will come at last. The Common School economy is a
remnant of the old Church-and-State system, which has not been entirely
swept away. But for this impression I should feel some uneasiness, lest
it should prove the germ of a new order of things leading back to
State-Churchism. It appeared to me quite natural to say, "Here is a
State provision for schools,--why not have a similar provision for
churches? It works well for the one,--why not for the other? Is it not
as important that our churches should rely, not alone on the capricious
and scanty efforts of the voluntary principle, but also on the more
respectable and permanent support of the State, as it is that our
Common Schools should adopt this course?" To me it seemed that the
arguments which recommended the one supported the other; but when I
have mentioned to intelligent men the possibility, not to say
probability, of the one step leading to the other, they have invariably
been surprised at my apprehensions, and have assured me that nothing
was more unlikely to take place.

But, to show the jealousy with which on _other_ grounds the system
begins to be viewed, I will close by a short quotation from a writer in
the _New Englander_, a respectable _Quarterly_, to which I have before
referred. "It will, doubtless, be thought strange to say that the
systems of public common-school education now existing, and sought to
be established throughout our country, may yet, while Christians sleep,
become one of the greatest, if not _the_ greatest, antagonism in the
land to all evangelical instruction and piety. But how long before they
will be so,--when they shall have become the mere creatures of the
State, and, under the plea of no sectarianism, mere naturalism shall be
the substance of all the religious, and the basis of all the secular
teaching which they shall give? And let it not be forgotten that strong
currents of influence, in all parts of the country, acting in no chance
concert, are doing their utmost to bring about just this result."

4. I admire their _temperance_.

I confess that I felt humbled and ashamed for my own country, when, so
soon as I trod on British ground, or British _planks_, the old absurd
drinking usages again saluted my eye. In all the States I met with
nothing more truly ludicrous than some of these. For instance, when
A.B.'s mouth happens to be well replenished with, "flesh, fish, or
fowl," potatoes, pudding, or pastry, at one table, C.D., from another
table far away across the room, at the top of his voice, calls out,
"Mr. A.B., allow me the pleasure to take a glass of wine with you."
A.B. makes a very polite bow, fills his glass in a great hurry, holds
it up with his right hand, C.D. doing the same thing with his; and
then A.B. and C.D., making another polite bow to each other,
simultaneously swallow their glasses of wine! Were we not _accustomed_
to the sight, it would appear as laughable as anything travellers tell
us of the manners and customs of the least enlightened nations. Surely,
if this childish practice is still a rule in polite society, it is one
"more honoured in the breach than the observance." In no city on the
Eastern side of the Alleghany Mountains did I meet a single drunken
American in the street. The few whom I did detect in that plight were
manifestly recent importations from Great Britain and Ireland!

5. I also greatly admire their _secular enterprise_. They afford a
fine illustration of the idea conveyed in their own indigenous phrase,
"Go a-head."

LETTER XXXVII.

Slavery--Responsibility of the North--District of Columbia--Preponderance
of the Slave Power--Extermination of the Indians--President Taylor and
his Blood-hounds--Conclusion.

But there is a class of things among them which men of well-regulated
minds and habits cannot but detest. These, as they have come under my
notice, I have pointed out. The chief of all is _slavery_. This stared
me in the face the moment I entered the States; and it presses itself
on my notice now that I have retired from the American shore. It is the
beginning and the ending of all that is vile and vicious in this
confederation of Republics. In England, you have been often told by
American visiters that the Northern States of the Union are not at all
identified with slavery, and are, in fact, no more responsible for its
existence in the South than we are for the existence of a like system
in the colonies of some of our European Allies. Than this
representation nothing can be further from the truth. There is really
no analogy whatever between the two cases. Each State, it is true, has
its own distinct and independent legislature; but all the States are
united in one federation, which has a thoroughly pro-slavery
government. The constitution is pledged to maintain the execrable
system, and the Northern States are pledged to maintain the
hypocritical constitution.

That no preponderance of influence might be given to any one State over
the rest, by making it the seat of the central government, a district
of 10 miles square was partitioned out, partly from Virginia and partly
from Maryland, for that purpose. This district, called the District of
Columbia, has no government and no representation of its own, but is
under the absolute control and regulation of the United Government or
Congress, "exclusive jurisdiction over it in all cases whatsoever"
having been given by the constitution. In this absolute government of
the "ten miles square," embracing the site of Washington the capital,
the Northern States, by their representatives in Congress, have their
full share. Now, not merely does slavery exist in that District, but it
exists there under statutes so barbarous and cruel that the
neighbouring slave States have actually abolished the like within the
bounds of their separate jurisdiction, leaving to the _free_ States the
unenviable responsibility of enforcing laws too horrible for
kidnappers. Take a specimen,--"A slave convicted of any petit treason,
or murder, or wilful burning of a dwelling-house, to have the right
hand cut off, to be hanged in the usual manner, the head severed from
the body, the body divided into four quarters, and the head and
quarters set up in the most public places of the county where such act
was committed." Take another,--"A _free negro_ may be arrested, and put
in jail for 3 months, on _suspicion_ of being a runaway; and if he is
not able to _prove_ his freedom in 12 months, _he is to be sold as a
slave_ TO PAY HIS JAIL FEES!" Are there not hundreds of free men, both
black and white, who could not _prove_ their freedom under such
circumstances? Yet, for this _crime_, they are reduced to perpetual
bondage _by authority of Congress_. And all this the North upholds!

Washington, the capital, thus governed, is but the great mart of the
national man-trade. From the adjoining port of Alexandria, 7 miles off,
the victims are shipped for the South. Listen to the _Gazette_ of that
place,--"Here you may behold fathers and brothers leaving behind them
the dearest objects of affection, and moving slowly along in the mute
agony of despair,--there the young mother sobbing over the infant,
whose innocent smiles seem but to increase her misery. From some you
will hear the burst of bitter lamentation; while from others the loud
hysteric laugh breaks forth, denoting still deeper agony."

But you will be told that it is not in the power of Northern members to
alter this state of things. Why not? In the House of Representatives
the free States have a majority of about 50, and in the Senate they
have for some years been equal. But have they tried? Have they
protested? Have they voted? Have they divided the House? They _have_
voted. How? _Eighty-two Northern men_, a few years ago, voted that
Congress ought not to interfere _in any way_ with slavery in the
District of Columbia!

Look at some of the provisions of the Federal Government. See what
"SOLEMN GUARANTEES" it gives to the accursed system of slavery, in
whatever State it may be found!

Art. I., sect. 2, says, "Representatives and direct taxes shall be
apportioned among the several States which may be included within this
Union according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined
by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to
serve for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed,
_three-fifths of all other persons_"--that is to say, _slaves_, for
once called "persons!" Here is a positive premium on slave-holding.
This constitutes an aristocracy of the most monstrous character, and
introduces into the social fabric an element as absurd as it is
perilous. Talk of the aristocracy of England, and the undue influence
of landed proprietors! You have nothing half so unjust and vicious as
this. Suppose the Southern States have two millions and a half of
slaves: for that amount of property they have one million and a half of
additional votes; while in the free States there is no property
representation whatever. Or look at the question in another aspect. Two
citizens have each a capital of 5,000_l._ to invest. The one invests in
shipping or commerce in New York, and at the time of the election,
counts _one_; the other invests in slaves in South Carolina, obtaining
for the sum mentioned a whole gang of 100 human beings of both sexes
and of all ages, and at the time of the election he counts
_sixty-one_,--swamping with his 100 slaves the votes of sixty-one
respectable merchants in a free State! This it is which has constituted
an aristocracy of about 200,000 slaveholders in the South, the ruling
power in the United States. It has made the preservation and extension
of slavery the vital and moving principle of the national policy. So
that ever since 1830 slavery, slave-holding, slave-breeding, and
slave-trading have enjoyed the special and fostering care of the
Federal Government. As to the _quid pro quo_--the taxation that was to
be connected with the representation of "three-fifths of all other
persons," that has been almost entirely evaded. "There has not been,"
says a New England Reviewer, "if we mistake not, but in one instance,
and then in a very light degree, an assessment of direct taxation."

Art. I., sect. 8, says, "Congress shall have power"--among other
things--"to suppress _insurrections_." And Art. IV., sect. 4, says,
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
republican form of government; and shall protect each of them against
invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive
(when the legislature cannot be convened), against _domestic
violence_."

These clauses pledge the whole force of the United States' army, and
navy too, if needs be, to the maintenance of slavery in any or in all
the States and Districts in which it may exist. But for this, the
system could not stand a single day. Let the North say to the South,
"We will not interfere with your 'peculiar institution,' but we will
not defend it; if you cannot keep your slaves in subjection, you must
expect no aid from us." Let them only say this, and _do_ nothing, and
the whole fabric of slavery would instantly crumble and fall. The
edifice is rotten, and is propped up only by the buttresses of the
North. The South retains the slave, because the free States furnish the
sentinels.

Again, Art. IV., sect. 2, says, "No person held to service or labour in
one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in
consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such
service or labour; but shall be _delivered up_ on claim of the party to
whom such service or labour may be due."

This clause pledges the North, not only to refuse an asylum to the
fugitive slave, but also to deliver him up to his unrighteous and cruel
task-master,--a deed which the law of God expressly condemns, and which
the best impulses of our nature repudiate with loathing and contempt.
The article before us constitutes all the free States of the Union a
slave-hunting ground for the Southern aristocracy. Talk of the game
laws of England! Here is a game law infinitely more unjust and
oppressive. A free country this! A noble government! Hail Columbia!

See how this slave-holding aristocracy have always managed to oppress
the North, and to secure to themselves the lion's share of the good
things of government.

THE PRESIDENCY.--Out of the 16 presidential elections since the origin
of the Confederation, 13 have been in favour of slave-holders, and only
3 in favour of Northern men. By holding the Presidency, slavery rules
the cabinet, the diplomacy, the army, and the navy of the Union. The
power that controls the Presidency controls the nation. No Northern
President has ever been re-elected.

THE VICE-PRESIDENCY.--The individual who holds this office is
_ex-officio_ President of the Senate, and, as such, has a casting vote
in all questions before that body. During the last 20 years, with one
exception, this functionary has always been a slave-holder.

THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE.--This is second only in importance to
the Presidency. It is the duty of this officer to direct correspondence
with foreign courts, instruct the foreign ministers, negotiate
treaties, &c. Of the 16 who have hitherto filled that office, 10 have
been from the slave States, and 6 from the free.

THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.--This officer has the
appointment of all committees, and exerts an immense influence on the
legislation of the country. During 31 of the 34 years from 1811 to 1845
the Speakers were all slave-holders.

The slave power, having thus the whole machinery of government under
its control, can at any time bring all the resources of the nation to
bear upon the preservation and extension of the "peculiar institution."
While Florida, for instance, belonged to Spain, it furnished an asylum
for runaway slaves from the neighbouring States. It must therefore be
purchased by the Union, and five millions of dollars were paid for it.
Still the native Indians, those children of the forest, afforded a
shelter to fugitives from slavery. They must therefore be either
exterminated or exiled. A war was waged against them. They were driven
from the homes of their fathers, and the negroes among them hunted and
shot like wild beasts. At the urgent recommendation of Zachary
Taylor--the person who in March next will doubtless mount the
presidential chair--blood-hounds were purchased as AUXILIARIES to the
army, at a cost of five thousand dollars; and blood-hounds and
soldiers and officers marched together under the "star-spangled banner"
in pursuit of the panting fugitives from Southern oppression. In this
expedition they captured 460 negroes, each one at the cost of the lives
of two white men, and at a further expense of at least eighty thousand
dollars per head. The whole outlay of the war was _forty millions of
dollars_, most of which was drawn from the pockets of Northern people.

The Annexation of Texas and the Mexican War--all for the perpetuation
and extension of slavery--are fresh in your remembrance.

And here I quit the land of "The Bond and the Free."

  "Nineveh, Babylon, and ancient Rome
  Speak to the present times, and times to come:
  They cry aloud in every careless ear,
  'Stop, while you may; suspend your mad career;
  Oh! learn from our example and our fate,--
  Learn wisdom and repentance ere too late.'"