ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED; 
 
 OR, ITS 
 
 ORIGIN, 
 
 PROGRESS, AND PERNICIOUS TENDENCY 
 
 FULLY DEVELOPED. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY FIELD JAMES, 
 
 (OF KENTUCKY.) 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 E. MORGAN AND SONS, 
 
 NO. Ill MAIN STREET. 
 
 1856. 
 
* 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 
 HENRY FIELD JAMES, 
 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the District 
 Kentuckj-. 
 
 E. MORGAN & SONS, 
 BTEREOTYPERS, PRINTERS, AND BINDERS, 
 111 MAIX STREET. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THAT the United States are involved in very great 
 and momentous domestic difficulties, must be obvious 
 to all. The future portends most serious commotions. 
 The Author was insensibly led to inquire, by what 
 means, and by what agency, had this great nation been 
 brought into so perilous a condition? Why was it 
 that alienation had been produced between North and 
 South ; until it had become so Utter that civil war is 
 ready to burst forth in one of the Territories ? 
 
 He could not fail to trace these immense evils to 
 the fanatical spirit of ABOLITIONISM. To write a history 
 of its origin, progress, and pernicious tendency, the 
 Author felt an irresistible impulse. But he must 
 confess, he entered upon the task with great distrust 
 in his own abilities to do so great a subject anything 
 like adequate justice. He dares not flatter himself 
 that he could make the development in a style so 
 captivating, it would win its way to public notice and 
 favor. For years he has waited, in the hope some 
 more vigorous pen would embark in this undertaking. 
 But he has waited in vain. The Author, therefore, 
 throws himself upon the generosity of the public, in 
 the full persuasion, that it will appreciate his effort, to 
 restore concord and harmony in our National Councils. 
 
 (iii) 
 
 390187 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 His object is, not to create fresh irritations ; but 
 " to pour oil upon the troubled waters." ABOLITIONISM, 
 unfortunately, has a fascination North truly astonishing; 
 to open the eyes of those under its influence is nearly 
 hopeless; and yet it is in that region, if the Union is 
 to be preserved, the change in public sentiment must 
 be effected. 
 
 But the Author takes a pleasure in acknowledg 
 ing, that, in the North, there are many true friends 
 whose every pulsation is in favor of the Union who 
 cling to it, as the Ark of our political safety ; and who 
 are battling with manly firmness against the insidious 
 wiles and disturbing machinations of this ever-growing 
 fanaticism. 
 
 The most ardent desire of the Author has been to 
 create a stronger attachment and devotion to the Union, 
 by showing that the interests of all the States are so 
 inseparably interwoven, that a dissolution cannot take 
 place without entailing mutual injury and ruin. 
 
 Hence, how powerful the incentives, for the patriots 
 of the North and South, to rally under one common 
 standard and preserve our National Government from 
 the hands of those who, aiming to build up a great 
 Sectional Party, will involve the nation in perpetual 
 discord if not, eventually, in civil war. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Squire Henry Gray His Birth Travels and Settle 
 ment in Kentucky 7 
 
 CHAPTER. ... II. David Gray visits his uncle Henry in Boone Inter 
 view and conversation 10 
 
 CHAPTKR.. .III. Squire Gray resumes the subject The injury to 
 Slave and Master from Abolition interference clearly 
 pointed out 15 
 
 CHAPTER. . .IV. A continuation of the same subject 21 
 
 CHAPTER . . .V. The same subject continued The plan of the Work 
 
 defined 30 
 
 CHAPTER. . .VI. Africa Its Inhabitants Their manners and customs 37 
 
 CHAPTER.. VII. The Slave-Trade Its Origin Those who partici 
 pated in its Profits 41 
 
 CHAPTER. VIII. The Origin of Abolitionism A Peep into England s 
 
 Secret Archives 48 
 
 CHAPTER . . IX. The Document Abolitionism 59 
 
 CHAPTER X. The Union The Dangers that environ it 66 
 
 CHAPTER . . XI. The Grounds of controversy between North and South 74 
 
 CHAPTER . .XII. The Union And its Dangers 94 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. The Altercation 106 
 
 CHAPTER . XIV. On board Steamer Pike Conversation with Captain 
 
 Kidd 119 
 
 CHAPTER . .XV. Arrival in Cincinnati Put up at the Dennison House 
 Visit a Female Acquaintance The Conversa 
 tion An Incident on the Street And departure 
 on the cars for Sandusky city 126 
 
 CHAPTER . XVI. Conversation with an Eminent Personage on the way 
 
 Arrival in Sandusky City 132 
 
 At a Hotel The Squire goes out to see a Man hung 
 
 A Dialogue overheard between two Men 138 
 
 (v) 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER . . XVIII. Depart to Amherstburg on the Steamer Consti 
 tution Conversation at the Landing with a 
 Water-Carrier With a Negro in Jail 142 
 
 CHAPTER . . . .XIX. Squire Gray and David discovered to be from 
 Kentucky The Insult The Negro Mob 
 Their flight, and Arrival in Detroit 149 
 
 CHAPTER XX. Squire Gray at a Hotel in Detroit Thoughts and 
 
 Reflections on the incidents of the Day Re 
 ceives an Answer Buys Pony and Buggy 
 Makes another Excursion into Canada 154 
 
 CHAPTER .... XXI. Squire Gray and David in Sandwich Conver 
 sation with Mr. Crane They go out into the 
 Country Meet with his Negroes and others 
 Conversation Surrounded by a Mob of Ne 
 groes, and narrowly escapes with his Life. . . .157 
 
 CHAPTER . . . XXII. Return to Detroit Reflections Riot at Sand 
 wichDescends Lake Erie to the mouth of 
 Black river Thence to Elyria Conversations 
 with various Persons on the Route 166 
 
 CHAPTER . . XXIII. The Squire and David at Elyria, 0. Conversa 
 tion with SHAN 171 
 
 CHAPTER . . XXIV. Arrival at Oberlin Conversation with Professor 
 
 WREN 180 
 
 CHAPTER . . . XXV. Dialogue between Professor Wren and Shan. . . .185 
 
 CHAPTER . . XXVI. Tom Shaw s soliloquy His Chastisement and 
 
 Expulsion 190 
 
 CHAPTER . XXVII. Conversation between Professor Wren and Moon. 195 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Conversation Continued 202 
 
 CHAPTER . . XXIX. Departure from Oberlin Conversation with Lucy 
 
 Brown 213 
 
 CHAPTER . . . XXX. David and the Squire depart from Cleveland to 
 
 Cincinnati Long conversation with Darby . .219 
 
 CHAPTER . . XXXI. Conversation continued 229 
 
 CHAPTER . XXXII. At the Dennison House Conversation on the 
 value of the Union, in relation to Cincinnati 
 
 and the West, 236 
 
 CHAPTER .XXXIII. The Squire and David at Home The Pony- 
 Final Conversation 245 
 
 CHAPTER . XXXIV. Conclusion . . 250 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED, 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 Squire Henry Gray His Birth, Travels, and Settlement in Boone 
 County, Ky. 
 
 ON the memorable day of the 20th January, in the year 
 of onr Lord, 1799, was ushered into existence the hero of 
 our tale. So very particular was the family record kept, 
 that not only the day and year were strictly noticed, but 
 the very hour was to be preserved for the perusal and 
 gratification of all future ages ; hence, it seems, the very 
 identical hour was at five o clock in the morning, that the 
 lungs of our hero were first inflated by this terrene atmo 
 sphere, and his eyes opened upon time. He was a lovely 
 child, as all the old women present have testified, and came 
 forth smiling upon this land of sin and woe. The snow, 
 this eventful morning, in soft flakes descended quietly to 
 the ground, while the north wind sang mournfully around 
 the humble dwelling ; these were the scenes outside of the 
 chamber in which our Henry Gray was born, the day, 
 year and hour named. 
 
 The habitation of the family stood on an elevated spot of 
 ground, commanding an extensive view of the meanders of 
 a turbulent little creek, familiarly known as Crooked Run. 
 It was the dividing line between the counties of Culpepper 
 and Madison,Virginia. The people of the Old Dominion 
 have a dialect peculiar to themselves. Runs were the 
 common names for creeks in that State, and this happen 
 ing to be vastly crooked, was named, very appropriately, 
 "Crooked Run" In the western horizon the Blue Ridge 
 
c ff , t ABOLITIONISM ENVEILED. 
 
 reared its lofty and craggy peaks, often covered with snow. 
 Braced by the mountain, breeze, our little Harry grew up 
 with a vigorous and healthy constitution. His parents were 
 not only attentive to the true development of his physical 
 powers, but bestowed their pious care upon his moral 
 training, and the proper cultivation of his mind. At an 
 early age he was sent to school ; but tuition was at a very 
 low ebb at that day hence but little knowledge could be 
 acquired. 
 
 Those, then, who undertook to " teach the young idea 
 how to shoot" were miserably deficient in all the qualities 
 essential in a teacher. Their qualifications never ascended 
 higher than common Arithmetic, and as to aptitude in 
 imparting knowledge, that was a gift which had never been 
 bestowed upon them. There need not be much surprise, 
 therefore, if our Henry verged toward manhood without 
 mental improvement. Though he had been to many dif 
 ferent teachers, yet when about seventeen years of age he 
 could barely read and cipher. The fault was all theirs : 
 they knew not how to smooth the path of knowledge to 
 make learning attractive, by removing those obstructions 
 that impede and sometimes overwhelm the infantile mind, 
 in its efforts to comprehend the intricate principles of the 
 arts and sciences. He was suffered to grope his way, as 
 best he could ; and it is not astonishing that his progress 
 was slow and discouraging. 
 
 However, the scene now undergoes a change ; better 
 teachers came into the vicinity, and his pathway became 
 illuminated. He imbibed a taste for learning he devoted 
 his whole mind to his studies. He resolved to be a thor 
 ough scholar in all the branches of a good English educa 
 tion, and in this he eminently succeeded. None could 
 speak or -write his native tongue more correctly than he. 
 
 Having arrived at man s estate, he selects for his help 
 mate one of the fair daughters of the land. In the choice 
 of a wife he was greatly blessed. Now the thoughts of 
 our Henry Gray were turned to the West. The fertility 
 of the Ohio valley was diffused throughout all that region 
 of country. He decided, therefore, with his numerous 
 slaves to emigrate to the West. 
 
 Not so with his brother John, two years older in age, 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 9 
 
 He, with his family and slaves, went to the South, and 
 settled upon the fertile hills back of Rodney, Mississippi. 
 
 In the fall of 1824, our Henry Gray, with his family, 
 descended the Ohio from Wheeling, and landed on the 
 Kentucky side, just above the mouth of Big Bone Creek. 
 There a most spacious bottom, of unsurpassed fertility, 
 spread out to the distant hills. Here he had purchased 
 a large body of land, and intended to spend the balance 
 of his days. The forest fell before the vigorous strokes 
 of his numerous slaves, whose axes kept up an unceasing 
 noise. Ere many years a beautiful and extensive farm 
 was opened, and a splendid and commodious brick dwell 
 ing, situated a short distance from the banks of the Ohio 
 river, rose gracefully to view. On the lower edge of his 
 farm a little winding stream pushed its silent waters to 
 the placid Ohio. This was Big Bone so named from 
 the mammoth bones found at a salt spring near its head. 
 
 Blessed in all the relations of life, here, for many years 
 our Henry Gray resided in rural elegance. He had seve 
 ral beautiful daughters, who made his house very attrac 
 tive. His unbounded hospitality was a theme of admira 
 tion throughout the surrounding country, but it was just 
 such hospitality as is common to all the sons of the Old 
 Dominion. He became popular with the people, and 
 was appointed a justice of the peace, an office which he 
 held for many years, until he was universally known as 
 Squire Gray. The surname was usually dropped in 
 familiar conversation, and the Squire only used. 
 
 His library was extensive, and composed of very valu 
 able and well selected books not often met with at a far 
 mer s residence. The constitution and laws of his country 
 he had made his particular study, and thoroughly under 
 stood. As a politician, few excelled him. He was a 
 complete master of all political questions which had agi 
 tated the country the last twenty-five years. Abolitionism 
 he had watched from its earliest germ up to its present 
 amazing and dangerous growth. Whenever that subject 
 was named, his eyes beamed with fire, and the vast fund 
 of information he possessed in relation to it, was poured 
 forth with warmth and great energy. 
 
 He was a true lover of the Union ; its perpetuity he 
 
10 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 looked upon as an object essential to the peace, prosperity, 
 and glory of the States. The bare idea of its dissolution 
 filled his patriotic bosom with unutterable horror. He 
 was indeed, in the language of the great and lamented 
 Webster, u for the Union, one and inseparable, now and 
 forever." 
 
 In the year 1840, his brother, John Gray and family, 
 from the South, spent the summer with the Squire, at 
 his residence in Boone. They had with them a little son, 
 named David, then several years old, very sprightly and 
 interesting. 
 
 Never were two brothers more endeared to each other. 
 Their hearts were truly knit together. As masters, they 
 were kind and humane. They governed their families 
 like the patriarchs of old. Between Henry and his slaves 
 there were great confidence and affection prevailing : no 
 discord in his family. 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 David Gray Visits his Uncle Henry in Boone Interview and 
 Conversation. 
 
 DAVID GRAY was an amiable youth true benevolence 
 beamed in his countenance. Upon the borders of the Mis 
 sissippi river, the father of waters, near Rodney, he was born, 
 and there had grown up to manhood. He was thoroughly 
 educated his mind was trained to a close and full investi 
 gation of subjects. He was master of the arts and 
 sciences, and many of the ancient and modern languages. 
 In the spring of 1855, at the age of twenty, he returns 
 home to enjoy the pleasures of rural scenery. 
 
 He had long been immured in the walls of a college, 
 devoting all the energies of his mind to comprehend the 
 various studies in which he had been engaged, and now 
 he comes forth, with all the ardor of youth, to intermingle 
 with relatives and society ; to home, sweet home, he 
 returns, after long absence. There he meets his dear 
 parents, who receive him with great affection. The old 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 11 
 
 family servants crowd around him, shake the hand of 
 Massa David, while tears of joy flow down their cheeks. 
 After enjoying, for a season, the pleasures of home, Da 
 vid felt an irresistible impulse to pay a visit to his aged 
 uncle in Boone. 
 
 "Ah!" says he to himself, "I have now arrived at 
 manhood. 1 have closed my collegiate course. I have 
 not sought l shallow draughts, which merely intoxicate 
 the brain, but I have aimed. to drink deep of the Pierian 
 Spring. I have long been poring over musty lore. It 
 is true I have retired from college with all the honors of a 
 regular graduation. As a scholar I stand on the highest 
 list ; and yet I cannot say I am acquainted with the excit 
 ing scenes of real life. I understand the events that have 
 transpired previous to my day better than I do the mighty 
 throes of the world in this age. I have traced mankind, 
 so far as history enabled me, from old Adam down to the 
 present century. The multiplication of mankind, the rise 
 and fall of empires, the bloody revolutions of nations, and 
 the dread carnage of war, are all imprinted upon the tab 
 lets of my memory in lasting characters. The nature of 
 man, as there developed, I fully comprehend. But as old 
 time drives his car forward, new inventions are made 
 the social and moral relations of our race are approximat 
 ing to perfection. What is the extent of that approxima 
 tion, I am not fully advised. 
 
 " Upon the theater of life, I am now entering at a most 
 auspicious period I am persuaded. I am a citizen, not 
 merely of Mississippi, but of the United States of this 
 great Federal Union of this galaxy of States, whose stars 
 and stripes float proudly over every sea. I have been 
 reared in the sunny South, amid slavery, but that makes 
 no difference ; I am hailed as a brother, as a citizen of this 
 great community, wherever I may travel, whether in the 
 North, East or West. A delightful thought! Here are 
 thirty -one States, some of them empires within themselves, 
 containing over twenty-three millions of people, all com 
 bined under a Federal Head. For all national purposes 
 they are one people, guided by one will. Ah ! here lies 
 the secret of our greatness. 
 
 " The vast resources, the physical power of this whole 
 
12 ABOLITIONISM UNYEILED. 
 
 nation can be concentrated in sustaining the rights and 
 honor of the United States. Not like the petty States of 
 Greece, wasting our means and strength in intestine broils 
 and collisions, thus destroying and eating up each other s 
 vitals. No, no, we are reposing quietly like lambs here 
 at home ; but let some great emergency call these sleeping 
 energies forth; let some foreign ay, any nation upon 
 earth, trample upon our rights or insult our flag, then we 
 are terrible I might say, invincible in battle array. But 
 I must travel. 
 
 u I have not yet, but once, been out of the bounds of my 
 native State. I am a Southerner in reality. I have seen 
 nothing but cotton-fields, worked by slaves, all my life. 
 Well, these creatures, notwithstanding, appear happy. I 
 am disposed to think no other laborers are better fed, 
 have more comfortable houses, or work less. This is only 
 my naked impression. They surely are contented they 
 have no cares or anxieties for to-morrow. Oh ! how much 
 have I been amused with their dancing their very souls 
 seemed absorbed in the amusement. Well, well, these 
 things I have seen let them pass. 
 
 " Now, the inquiry with me is, Where shall I spend the 
 summer? I must think. I have an uncle a hospitable 
 old gentleman residing on the bank of the Ohio river, in 
 Kentucky. Yes, many years ago, while I was a mere 
 boy, I was there. I shall always remember him and his 
 family, for I spent my time there so pleasantly. He had 
 some pretty little daughters, with fine rosy cheeks, and 
 black eyes. Sweet cousins they were. Methinks I would 
 not know them now. They have grown up, married, and 
 moved away. 
 
 "Oh! what a mighty change time makes! Then, 
 again, he had some good, old, faithful servants. How 
 kindly they treated me. If I should arrive there, I shall 
 see them all again. My uncle was a kind and humane 
 man. His slaves all loved him, and rendered a cheerful 
 obedience to his commands. A family so happy I wish 
 once more to visit. My parents will consent, and I am 
 decided to go. Yes, yes ! I must once more sit on the 
 banks of the placid Ohio, and on the flowery banks of 
 that little meandering stream Big Bone. How delightful 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 13 
 
 the scenery. The hills rise back with a regular ascent 
 covered with the richest verdure. Upon their sides feed 
 the bleating sheep and lowing herds of cattle. 
 
 u I will prepare and be off in a few days. Come, John, 
 tell the washerwoman to have all my clothes in readiness, 
 as I am resolved to take a long journey." 
 
 u Oh! Massa David, only bin home dese few weeks, 
 now goin ag in. What on -arth can make you do dis 
 way." 
 
 "Ah ! John, I have just been thinking of a dear old uncle 
 I have living up in Kentucky. I purpose to go and see 
 him. He is growing in years, and may, ere-long, be 
 gathered to his fathers. I want to enjoy his society once 
 more this side the grave." 
 
 " Oh ! deary me. I knows Massa Henry well. Him 
 and me be about de same age. We used to hunt de 
 coons and possums together in Old Virginny. He is 
 mi ty kind hearted to de nigger. Member me to all de 
 black folks, Tom, Dick, Joe all dem niggers dare tell 
 em old John is still kicking dis side of de grave." 
 
 " I will not forget, John, to do so." 
 
 Soon David hailed a steamer at Rodney, destined for 
 the Ohio river, and, without any occurrence worth noting, 
 lands at his uncle s in Boone, where the following con 
 versation ensued: 
 
 " Do you remember me, uncle ?" 
 
 "I am not sure I do. I can see a slight resemblance 
 in your features to a brother I have in the south ; but if 
 you are his son you have grown out of my knowledge. 
 Several years ago, he and family spent the summer with 
 me. He had an interesting little son, David, with him, 
 whom I tenderly loved. Can you be the same ?" 
 
 " I am, uncle, that identical boy." 
 
 " God bless you, David ; I am happy, very happy, once 
 more to have you under our roof. I have often thought, 
 if I could again have your society for a season, I would 
 be willing to depart in peace." 
 
 "Why so, uncle?" 
 
 "The answer to that question involves a long story 
 too long to enter upon it this evening. I have no doubt 
 you are greatly fatigued after your tedious voyage, and 
 
14 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 will need much repose. I will not trouble you now with 
 the important matters weighing heavily upon my mind. 
 As you doubtless will spend with me the whole summer, 
 we shall have ample time to go through the discussion 
 which this dangerous crisis in national affairs demands." 
 
 "Very well, uncle, I shall be ready at this or any other 
 time to hear whatever you are disposed to communicate. 
 I do not know at present to what particular subject 
 you allude, but my object in coming up was to seek in 
 formation. I am happy in having it in my power to 
 spend this summer with you. From your age and intelli 
 gence I hope I may be instructed in many things of which 
 I am now partially ignorant. How are the good old servants 
 that you owned some years ago ? I want at once to go 
 to the cabins to see them all. I know they will be very 
 glad to see me." 
 
 "Alas! David, it pains me to say, you will find none 
 there the cabins are all vacated, silent as the tombs. 
 You have come to a deserted plantation." 
 
 " What, uncle, can be the cause of this great change 
 in your domestic affairs ? What evil demon has been at 
 work to destroy that peace and harmony in your family I 
 witnessed years ago ? Then there was confidence between 
 master and slave, reciprocal feelings of friendship. I can 
 not see how that faithful old servant Tom, reared by you 
 from a boy descended to you by inheritance could be 
 enticed away." 
 
 "You have, David, made an allusion to those very 
 matters which have borne so heavily upon me. I have 
 been constrained to do, what I never supposed I would 
 do during my life to part with my slaves. They are 
 gone, not to Canada, but to the south, and I have their 
 value in money. The reasons for such an act I will here 
 after detail." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 15 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 Squire Gray resumes the subject The injury to Slave and Master, 
 from Abolition interference, clearly pointed out. 
 
 EARLY the ensuing morning, David arose, and met his 
 uncle in the parlor. 
 
 " Well, David," says he, "I hope that sleep, tired 
 nature s sweet restorer, has prepared you for the duties 
 of the day. The sun has just spread abroad his rays 
 the little birds, with their sweetest songs have welcomed 
 the returning day ; but when I look abroad upon my ex 
 tended fields, covered with numerous cattle and sheep, I 
 feel sensibly the inconvenience to which I am subjected 
 by the removal of my slaves." 
 
 u I have no doubt of that, uncle," replied David. "You 
 have, from your infancy, been accustomed to them, and 
 you have now to depend upon hired labor. I cannot say 
 how it may succeed here ; but in the cotton region I know 
 it would be a perfect failure. It is possible you may con 
 trive to graze most of your land, and cultivate annually 
 only a small portion in grain, without the hiring of many 
 hands ; and in this way you may derive from your estate 
 a moderate income." 
 
 " Be that as it may, David, I will never repent of what 
 I have done. I did not act in haste, or from a sudden 
 impulse of passion ; but upon full and mature considera 
 tion. The act afforded me no pleasure in the world; but, 
 on the contrary, it was one of the most painful nature I 
 ever performed." 
 
 u Oh ! cruel destiny, uncle ; what could have induced 
 you to perform such an act of apparent cruelty ? Surely 
 there must have been powerful causes to have constrained 
 you to the performance of such a deed." 
 
 "Truly, truly, David; but now I will detail to you 
 why I have thus acted not only myself, but many of 
 my neighbors. We reside here near the Ohio river, on 
 the borders of the state, and have suffered much from 
 Abolitionism. Of its origin, progress, and pernicious 
 tendency, perhaps you may, in some degree, be ignorant. 
 
16 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 This is that foul demon that has come in among us, to 
 produce those results which all humane persons so much 
 deplore. As you are from the far south, you are not sen 
 sible of its encroachments. I rejoice, therefore, that I 
 have it in my power to furnish you with a history of ABO 
 LITIONISM, which you will find contains more truth than 
 fiction. When you return home, you will remember the 
 solemn declarations of your aged uncle, whose head is 
 blossoming for the grave. I have passed the meridian of 
 time, and I am now descending to the vale of death. 
 What I shall take the liberty to utter in your hearing the 
 present summer, I hope will make a lasting impression 
 upon your mind. You are young -just entering upon the 
 theater of life ; hence, when this poor frame of mine may 
 rest quietly beneath the sods of the valley, upon you and 
 the rising generation will this rich inheritance of freedom 
 be devolved. By the blood of martyred patriots it was 
 achieved, and it can only be preserved by eternal vigi 
 lance. That all the privileges we enjoy depend upon the 
 preservation of the Union, I am firmly persuaded. Its 
 dissolution would involve a train of evils too horrible to 
 contemplate civil war would soon rage between North 
 and South, which would only end by entailing upon the 
 country one long night of gloomy despotism. 
 
 " The commencement of the contest would be to liberate 
 three millions of African slaves, but its end the enslave 
 ment of all, without regard to color. Then, indeed, the 
 iron rule of some military chieftain would hush to ever 
 lasting silence the wild fanaticism that goaded the South 
 to madness. Its fearful visage never more would be reared 
 to proclaim the inalienable rights of man, or to cheer on 
 his way the panting fugitive. When intolerable slavery 
 shall press to the earth the teeming millions that may in 
 habit this vast western continent, there will be no room 
 for the exercise of philanthropy. Pens and tongues would 
 no longer be employed in the syren song of emancipating 
 the world. Blot out this luminous spot on earth the 
 only spot upon which liberty has found an abiding place 
 then the sable cloud of despotism would enshrine the face 
 of this globe. But I must answer the question which 
 you have propounded. Old people must be indulged in 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNTEILED. 17 
 
 a greater latitude of digression than would be allowable 
 in a methodical treatise, or one governed by the strict 
 rules of logic. You will pardon me, therefore, for those 
 occasional flights into which I may sometimes be betrayed. 
 I shall not fail, in the end, to give you the desired in 
 formation. 
 
 " Xow, as to the causes of that act to which allusion 
 has been made. I had to perform it with the iron nerve 
 of Cato. I am aware that in one region of our country I 
 shall, by many, be deemed a monster of cruelty. But I 
 flatter myself, when the whole story is heard, I shall stand 
 acquitted of any impropriety in the minds of all good 
 people, wherever they may reside, either north or south. 
 To the impartial arbitrament of the whole world I am 
 willing for that act to be submitted, only claiming the 
 privilege of being heard in my own defense before the 
 final verdict shall be rendered. 
 
 "With slavery I have been conversant all my life 
 nursed by slaves and reared in their midst. I have had 
 the management and control of them ever since I was 
 eighteen years of age. I knew them well before Abolition 
 was introduced ; I know them now since its baneful in 
 fluence has been felt. Look at the African slave in his 
 native simplicity, before this wily serpent had crept in to 
 mar his peace and happiness; and what do we behold ? 
 
 " A dependent and faithful creature, looking up to his 
 master as his best friend and protector. The relation 
 between them being one of mutual kindness and affection. 
 I have known many of the native Africans who were 
 torn from their homes and sold into bondage in this 
 western world. They all concurred in opinion that they 
 were kidnapped and sold by their own people. The 
 wrong of the whites if wrong it must be called con 
 sisted only in buying. 
 
 u When I think ho\v it used to be with my slaves, and 
 what a great change was finally produced in them, I can 
 not forbear venting many heavy curses upon Abolition 
 ism the cause of this dire change in my affairs. A few 
 slaves I purchased, but the most of those I owned de 
 scended to me by inheritance. They came down from 
 remote ancestors, till they fell into my hands. I con- 
 
18 ABOLITIONISM UNVELIED. 
 
 sidered them an entail upon the present generation. 
 Whatever might have been the iniquity of the slave- 
 trade, we were innocent of it. It was by no means an 
 original question when I came upon the stage of life: the 
 evil if evil it was had all been perpetrated. These 
 Africans were here, in our possession, and what to do 
 with them, was the only question left for us to solve. 
 
 " So far as depended upon myself, I considered it my 
 duty to treat those slaves I owned with all the humanity 
 consistent with good government. No family establish 
 ment can be happy or prosperous without submission to 
 the head. There must be some one to direct and control, 
 as well as to labor. Thus the farming operations are 
 carried on, whether by slave or free-labor. If I hire a 
 man to work at wages, he must use proper diligence to 
 do the work I assign him ; otherwise I dismiss him from 
 my employ. Obedience in both cases is required, though 
 the mode of punishment for disobedience may be differ 
 ent. The same work has to be done either by white or 
 black. Without c the sweat of the brow the seed will 
 not be sown, nor will the corn be made or saved. 
 
 " The whole human family are mainly dependent on 
 the products of the soil for subsistence. With the most 
 diligent industry the annual products will be annually 
 consumed. Those who are trying to destroy the agricul 
 ture of the slave states, by enticing away laborers, are 
 doing an injury that may be seriously felt. I have never 
 thought it wrong to labor or require it of others. My 
 destiny happened to be thrown among slaves, and to that 
 kind of labor I have been accustomed from my infancy. 
 To them I have always aimed to be kind and humane. 
 Whenever I had to punish, which I had sometimes to do, 
 it was always tempered with mercy. I never chastized 
 to gratify a revengeful feeling; but did it purely for the 
 benefit of the offender and to maintain good order in my 
 family. 
 
 " Of my slaves I was always cautious not to require 
 anything unreasonable or unjust. I worked them no 
 harder I might, in fact, say not so hard as every labor 
 ing man has to work. I provided them good, comforta 
 ble houses in which to reside, and supplied them with 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 19 
 
 good, wholesome food in sufficient quantities. Their 
 clothing was warm in winter, made of wool, manufac 
 tured in the family : summer wear was either cotton or 
 linen. 
 
 " To their health I paid strict attention. In sickness, 
 medical service was immediately employed. They never 
 suffered for the want of nursing. Thus I have endeav 
 ored to discharge every duty incumbent upon me. I was 
 always anxious to promote the health and happiness of 
 my slaves. I gave them many advantages they had a 
 truck-patch. From the sale of articles which they would 
 thus raise, and from other sources, they were enabled to 
 dress very finely on the Sabbath: at which time they 
 usually appeared in their silks and broadcloths. 
 
 "Until recently, contentment seemed to prevail among 
 them. Heretofore between them and myself confidence 
 and good feelings existed. I held them to be my true and 
 faithful domestics who would not, on any occasion, hurt a 
 hair of my head ; and hence I felt myself as safe in their 
 company as anywhere else in the world. I maintained 
 my patriarchal authority for such I felt it to be and 
 nothing more with a steady and even balance. 
 
 " The responsibility of taking care of a portion 
 of the African race of administering to their wants 
 in sickness and in health, I felt was placed upon 
 me; whether rightfully or wrongfully, it were vain to 
 inquire. I found them here as slaves, and if one didn t 
 own them another would. I had done nothing to reduce 
 them to this condition; into their native country I had 
 not gone, to tear them away from relatives and friends, 
 and transplant them in American soil. All this inhu 
 manity was performed before my day. The iniquity of 
 the slave trade shall be fastened upon the right shoulders 
 ere I am done. Let the guilty party answer to God and 
 the world for this enormous outrage, and not those into 
 whose possession the present generation of slaves has 
 fallen. 
 
 " The slaveholders of this day can hold up their hands 
 in the sight of high Heaven and solemnly declare that 
 they have done nothing in producing this condition in the 
 African race that slavery is an entaihnent from former 
 
20 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 times which they cannot avoid. By the mysterious work 
 ings of Providence this relation of master and slave has 
 been permitted on this western continent. Africa has 
 been despoiled of her children ; they have been cast into 
 bondage among us, and for what wise purpose the future 
 alone can disclose. That God wills the happiness of all 
 his children, irrespective of colors, I firmly believe ; and 
 that good in the end is to be educed from slavery I feel 
 equally confident not only to the one race, but to both. 
 
 " I have already extended rny observations too length 
 ily upon the present occasion. I fear, David, your 
 patience is entirely exhausted." 
 
 " Dear uncle," replied David, " I take a deep interest 
 in the subject you have been discussing ; it is one of mo 
 mentous interest, involving in its issue the permanency 
 of this mighty Union : for I am persuaded that, of all 
 subjects, ABOLITIONISM is best calculated to produce alien 
 ation between the North and South, and finally disunion. 
 I am, therefore, willing to listen patiently to whatever 
 you may think proper to advance on this deeply interest 
 ing question. My studies and occupation have forbidden 
 me from giving so much attention as you have to Aboli 
 tion. Beside, my youth will deter me from often inter 
 rupting your narrative. 
 
 " I am aware that if the thread of old people s ideas 
 be broken, it cannot be easily re-united. Much valuable 
 information might thus be lost. I shall claim chiefly the 
 privilege of a listener. I set out on my journy to acquire 
 knowledge, and I am happy that I am now sitting under 
 your hospitable roof. I have no doubt a whole summer s 
 entertainment I may expect from your lips on this excit 
 ing question of Abolitionism. From your extensive 
 knowledge of that subject, in all its various ramifications, 
 from your having watched it from its earliest germ to its 
 present overshadowing growth, you can portray its history 
 in true and vivid colors." 
 
 " You place, David, an over-estimate upon my humble 
 abilities to do this subject anything like justice. I enter 
 upon it with great distrust. I am actuated by a warm 
 zeal for a common country. I cannot longer stand silent, 
 and see this dangerous conspiracy against our liberty 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 21 
 
 for as such I consider it daily increasing ; sustained too 
 by foreign influence and gold, without an. effort, however 
 feeble, to unmask its deformities. Should the task prove 
 unsuccessful, I shall still have the consolation to think I 
 had the manliness to warn the public of the dangerous 
 crisis approaching in our national affairs." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A continuation of the same subject. 
 
 "Ax the last interview, David," said the Squire, " I 
 was delineating the happy condition of the slave prior to 
 the introduction of Abolitionism into his bosom. We 
 then beheld him contented and happy, rendering a cheer 
 ful obedience to the lawful commands of his master. I 
 will now show you how this happy relation has been 
 destroyed, and how I have been reluctantly constrained 
 to deprive myself of the services of slaves, to which I 
 had been used from my childhood. They may, and 
 likely will fall into the hands of worse and more severe 
 masters ; but the fault is not mine, as I will undertake to 
 show. It is chargeable to the disturbing influence from 
 abroad. 
 
 u I shall have to refer to matters anterior to this period. 
 Several years ago, I had a relative who purposed emi 
 grating to Illinois. He owned two likely boys, named 
 Jack and Joe, whom I was induced to buy not because 
 I needed them, but out of pure compassion to keep them 
 out of the clutches of a negro trader who was striving to 
 buy them. I paid for them sixteen hundred dollars, to 
 retain them in this section, where I supposed slavery to 
 exist in its mildest form. They served me a few years, 
 and then made their escape to Canada. 
 
 "I resolved I would never buy another, and those re 
 maining should never tread foot on British soil while 
 they were mine. I kept a vigilant eye on the balance, 
 
22 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 intending, whenever I saw indications of elopement, I 
 would take my own mode of doing without them. I did 
 not hesitate to converse with them freely. I told them 
 they had a good home, and as long as they demeaned 
 themselves properly, might remain. 
 
 " l Now, said I, c as long as you may continue faith 
 ful and true to me, I will be equally so to you. This 
 is your home while I live, if you so desire it; but if you 
 will have it otherwise, blame me not for it. My word to 
 you I hold sacred and inviolate; I have never deceived, 
 nor do* I intend. 
 
 " That s true, Master, said Tom ; c when you tells us 
 anything, we knows you won t wary from it. God knows 
 Jack and Joe went off without dese niggers knowing at 
 all bout it. Howsomever, if we had found it out, dem 
 boys neber had went. Dat s God Almighty s truth. 
 
 " Now, Tom, you have been in my family all your 
 lifetime. I have known you from a child, and you have 
 known me from my youth to the present time. Can you 
 not confide in what I say? I can assure you no negro 
 can be benefited by being sent to Canada; and why? 
 because he arrives there poor and destitute he has 
 nothing, the climate is extremely cold, the winters long, 
 and wages low. How can he expect to live without 
 labor ? He may find friends to help him on his way to 
 Canada ; but when he gets there, he will have none. 
 Upon himself alone he must depend farming is the 
 only business he understands or can follow, and it will 
 be very difficult for him to find employment and live, 
 at that. 
 
 " 4 Dat s God s blessed truth, said Tom. We s better 
 off in Kantuck among dese white folks as what knows 
 us. Dey knows us, and we knows dem ; but if de poor 
 nigger gits in among dem strange white peoples, as doesn t 
 know em, den he s got to suffer. Dem Yankees lubs 
 demselves very good, but dem doesn t care for de poor, 
 starving, freezing nigger. Dat s sure. We libs well 
 here plenty good wittels to eat, and ebryting to make us 
 happy. Den we neber gwine to leave you, sure. Dat s 
 sarten. 
 
 u Well, Tom, I hope this happy confidence, now exist- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 23 
 
 ing between us, may long continue. Your fidelity will 
 impose upon me obligations I will never disregard. I am 
 your friend, as long as you continue mine; and your 
 labor I shall prefer to all others. 
 
 " Since that conversation many years have elapsed. 
 Within a year back I began to notice a great and material 
 change in the demeanor of my slaves. They became 
 gloomy and ill-natured, difficult to govern, and were dis 
 posed to be very insolent. I had long anticipated this 
 result. I knew it was approaching, for I had closely 
 watched Abolitionism in all the various hues it had 
 assumed. I could discern it was secretly and steadily 
 invading the rights of the South. Situated here, on the 
 borders of the State, not far from Cincinnati, we would 
 necessarily first feel the direful effects of this fanatical 
 spirit. 
 
 "It had intruded itself in the halls of Congress, and 
 produced that deep excitement and convulsion that ter 
 minated in the adoption of a series of measures usually 
 termed the Compromise. This adjustment was hailed 
 by many as a panacea for all our political troubles. The 
 fugitive slave law was as stringent as the South could 
 demand ; but in its faithful execution I never had the 
 smallest confidence whatever. Having traveled much in 
 the North, and intermingled freely with the people, I 
 knew their feelings and prejudices thoroughly on the 
 question of slavery. I was satisfied, years ago, that 
 human ingenuity could not devise a law that would insure 
 the apprehension and return of fugitive slaves. Although 
 the Constitution of the United States declares in impera 
 tive language, that they shall be delivered up upon the 
 claim of the party to whom such service or labor is due; 
 and further, that no law or regulation of a State shall 
 prevent it; yet, in utter defiance of this plain and positive 
 provision of the Federal Compact, slaves are continually 
 escaping without the possibility, on the part of the owner, 
 either to find or reclaim. How shamefully is that sacred 
 instrument the ligament holding this mighty Union 
 together, composed of thirty -one independent States 
 evaded and despised. Here is practical Nullification, on 
 the part of the North, of daily and hourly occurrence, 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 sinking into insignificance all South Carolina ever threat 
 ened to do. 
 
 "The North is thus uniformly trampling under her 
 feet these solemn guarantees of the Federal Constitution, 
 without being sensible of the great injustice she is doing 
 the South. This owner, and that, is despoiled of his pro 
 perty by fanatical agency the fugitive slaves are run into 
 Canada, and there are men glorifying themselves upon 
 the success they have in this illegal business. Now, re 
 member how we have been treated in Boone. The fidelity 
 of the slave has been destroyed distrust has taken the 
 place of confidence. The evil is spreading on the right, 
 a slave escapes into Ohio on the left, a dozen, for some 
 slight offense or suspicion, are sold to go to the cotton- 
 fields of the South ; thus the whole slave population 
 among us is kept in a state of perpetual anxiety and 
 dread. They are well apprised how sensitive the owners 
 are, and hence the escape of a few is sure to redound to 
 the damage of those remaining. Upon them the injury 
 falls. In this way matters have been progressing for a 
 few years. Now what is the result? I will candidly 
 state to you what has taken place within my own 
 knowledge. 
 
 "Over twelve months since, a neighbor came to mo 
 and stated his slave Charles and two others had escaped 
 the night previous. He desired me to go with him in 
 pursuit. I told him I was at his service that he should 
 not go alone that I would stand by his side 4 through 
 evil as well as good report. I felt anxious to test the 
 value and efficiency of the Fugitive Slave Law, and I pre 
 ferred having it tested in his case rather than one of my 
 own. So we departed to Cincinnati the point to which 
 all our fugitive slaves are apt to go. On our route we 
 ascertained where they had crossed the river, and that 
 they had got to the city. 
 
 " Soon we had one who was skillful in catching negroes 
 busily at work. His stool-pigeons, as he termed them, 
 were all actively engaged in the hunt. He assured us if 
 they were in the city, they could not elude his and his 
 spies vigilance that they should, ere-long, be forth- 
 corning. He was frequently in communication with us 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 25 
 
 at one time he was on the trail he could almost tell us 
 the identical house in which they lay concealed. But at 
 other times he was apparently disheartened the Aboli 
 tionists being so cunning and profoundly secret in their 
 operations. For several days we were thus tantalized 
 with intelligence, sometimes favorable, and, at others, 
 the reverse. But in the end he finally and honestly con 
 fessed they had made a complete escape. 
 
 " As you may readily suppose, I returned home, well 
 satisfied that there was no security any longer for that 
 species of property in our county. I candidly told my 
 friends that we should soon be deprived of slave-labor 
 that the Abolitionists had so arranged matters that, if 
 they could once get a slave in their possession in Ohio, 
 the owner would never see or hear of him more. Those 
 who professed to hunt fugitive slaves in a free State, had 
 given up the job in despair, or at least, were entirely pow 
 erless to do us any service that it was a delusion the 
 veriest delusion in the world, to expect to re-capture 
 them, or to hold them much longer here on the borders 
 in bondage. I was convinced we had to be deprived of 
 them willing or unwilling convenient or inconvenient. 
 
 "But I was slow to act I felt inclined to retain my 
 slaves so long as any hope remained. The question, 
 however, seemed to me to be narrowed down to one soli 
 tary point, and that was, in what manner was this sepa 
 ration to take place ? Must I lie dormant and wait for 
 the Abolitionists to entice them away, and run them into 
 Canada, beyond the power and jurisdiction of the United 
 States or had I not better adopt my own time and 
 method of doing it ? 
 
 " The latter alternative I decidedly preferred. After 
 the occurrence to which I have alluded, I suffered a year 
 or more to expire watching, with intense anxiety, the 
 progress of events. I was resolved not to act with the 
 least precipitation. For those poor creatures, \vhom Pro 
 vidence had made dependent upon me, I must confess, I 
 felt a strong attachment. I thought to myself, here, alas ! 
 are boys and girls I have reared from their infancy born 
 on my premises here, also, are old men and women, 
 hitherto faithful and true servants, who have descended 
 3 
 
26 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 to myself and wife from our ancestors must I, in the 
 decline of life, be deprived of their services? If so, I 
 must do it in my own way not wait for the vile artifices 
 of the Abolitionists to produce the same result. 
 
 " Many events abroad and at home, opened the way 
 for the act, the causes of which I am detailing. The riot 
 in Boston the open resistance to the United States 
 authorities in that city, in their efforts to execute the Fugi 
 tive Slave Law showed the South to have no security 
 for their slave-property. But the tragical affair in Penn 
 sylvania transcended in atrocity everything of the kind 
 upon record I mean the murder of Gorsuch, near Chris 
 tiana. I shall be bound to relate the mournful incidents 
 connected with this revolting tragedy, from memory. 
 According to my best recollection the history of the case 
 is this : Gorsuch was a citizen of Maryland, and lost sev 
 eral slaves who eloped to Pennsylvania. I have seen it 
 stated, though I cannot vouch for its verity, that they 
 wrote home to their master where they were, and re 
 quested him to come for them. Be this as it may, he and 
 son started for the purpose of re-capture. Arriving in 
 Philadelphia, he adopts legal measures for the recovery of 
 his slaves. Accompanied by the United States marshal 
 and a police officer, they departed for Christiana, where, 
 he was informed, his fugitive slaves resided. In the even 
 ing the party stopped for the night within a few miles of 
 that place. Early next morning they went on, and within 
 a short distance of the town, they were waylaid, and old 
 Mr. Gorsuch was shot down and his son wounded, by a 
 mob in ambush. The officers fled and made their escape 
 without injury. The mob then rushed up, and beat, with 
 clubs, the head of old Gorsuch, to satiate their dire 
 revenge. 
 
 " Now let me ask, what this good old man for he was 
 represented as very pious, and extremely kind to his 
 slaves had done to merit such a horrible fate. He had 
 punctually obeyed all the requirements of the laws. 
 Amply clothed with Federal authority, and in company 
 of a marshal, he and his party were proceeding peaceably 
 to claim the delivery up of those who owed him service 
 or labor. This was his right, legally secured, and for 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 27 
 
 daring to exercise it how awful the consequence! Shot 
 down like a highway robber or pirate without a moment s 
 warning! Thus fell one, whose head was silvered o er 
 with age, by a mob of Abolitionists and free negroes 
 not for any crime he had ever committed or contemplated, 
 but in the pursuit of lawful business." 
 
 "Permit me, uncle, to interrupt you for a moment. 
 Have not all these cruel wretches been punished in the 
 most exemplary manner, either by the United States laws, 
 or those of Pennsylvania, for so bloody and daring an out 
 rage ? Surely the perpetrators of this foul deed have not 
 escaped with impunity ! " 
 
 "Ah, David! there is the great ground of complaint. 
 Crimes cannot be entirely suppressed by the most san 
 guinary laws. Violations of the laws will often happen, 
 which no foresight can prevent. It is but too true, for 
 crimes of so deep a dye, there ought to be inflicted con 
 dign punishment. But in this instance it seems no law 
 was violated no penalty was incurred. It happened not 
 to be constructive treason by the Federal Laws, nor mur 
 der by the statutes of Pennsylvania. Hence you can but 
 notice, the murder of a slave-holder is different from all 
 other crimes in the world. Had MOSES lived in our day, 
 I think he would modify his law so as to make it read: 
 Whoso sheddeth man s blood, by man shall his blood be 
 shed, except he kills a slave-hunter. For it is manifest, 
 if a man in pursuit of his fugitive slave be shot down, it is 
 held to be no crime at all. He is the only human being 
 that may be killed at pleasure, and with entire impunity. 
 Why 1 the vilest criminal that walks on the face of the 
 earth, must not be destroyed without a fair and legal 
 trial such outlawry cannot be tolerated in this human 
 ized age. Even Cain, who slew Abel, his brother though 
 he was made a fugitive and vagabond, and cried, in the 
 anguish of his heart, that every one that iindeth me shall 
 slay me, what did the Lord say in reply: Therefore 
 whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken of him 
 sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest 
 any one finding him should kill him. What had GORSUCH 
 done against him was any one s blood crying from the 
 ground? None, whatever. With conscious innocence, 
 
28 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 this pious old man, with benevolence beaming in his 
 countenance, and under the aegis of the Federal Union, 
 goes forth to obtain possession of his fugitive slaves, in 
 the land of peaceful habits, and among Christian people 
 citizens of a common country; and there falls, by the 
 hands of a desperate mob, without a moment s warning, 
 or any chance for defense. Of those engaged in this 
 horrid tragedy, not a hair of their heads has ever suf 
 fered. 
 
 " So far from it, some of the Abolitionists have said, 
 if his own slaves chose to murder their master, what is 
 that to them ? What evidence is there, that even this is 
 the fact? None that I have ever seen. The whole is 
 imaginary. Gorsuch and party stopped for the night near 
 Christiana. Next morning early, they intended going 
 into the town where his slaves were supposed to be. But 
 it appears intelligence was conveyed to them and their 
 friends, that night, of the contemplated arrest. An am 
 buscade was formed, and the party approached uriap- 
 prized of this fact, until the discharge of fire-arms from 
 each side of the road, announced to them the imminent 
 peril by which they were surrounded. These are the 
 facts of the case, as they have been impressed upon my 
 memory . 
 
 " Do they not constitute murder in the first degree? 
 The mob, with coolness and full deliberation, form them 
 selves into a company for the purpose of killing Gorsuch. 
 They quietly rest in ambush, watching the approach of 
 their intended victim. With malice prepense, they per 
 form the diabolical act. No sudden impulse of passion, 
 or great provocation, induced the commission of this 
 crime. In the coolness of the night in the freshness of 
 morning they concoct their plan, and fall upon an old, 
 harmless, defenseless man. The whole mob were prin 
 cipals in this crime; they were all acting together, and 
 all equally guilty. Even admitting his slaves were 
 there, and performed this dreadful deed, that does riot 
 exonerate others who were present aiding and abet 
 ting they are criminal in equal degree. 
 
 u But suppose his slaves alone were guilty of so out 
 rageous a murder, by what code of laws can they be 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 29 
 
 acquitted ? how stand innocent of crime ? How can so 
 barbarous an act be construed into justifiable or excusa 
 ble homicide ? Would not the sensibility of mankind be 
 shocked, if, by legislative enactment, any state should 
 proclaim to the world that a fugitive slave who should 
 turn upon his pursuing owner or agent, and slay him, 
 should not only be justified and excused, but should be 
 honored and glorified as a hero? An Abolition member 
 of Congress defended this heinous murder upon that very 
 ground. Oh ! everlasting shame upon such morality ! 
 upon such a perversion of all the well-known and estab 
 lished principles of the law ! Of all the cases enu 
 merated in the law books, of justifiable or excusable 
 homicide, this one has never been mentioned ; and it was 
 reserved for this progressive age to make the discovery. 
 
 "The effects of the decision in this case, made by the 
 Federal and State Courts, will be a general license to all 
 persons who choose to slay at will slave-holders who 
 shall venture to reclaim their fugitive slaves in any free 
 state of this Union ! What will the south think of such 
 announcement ? What will be the worth of their Con 
 stitutional rights ? A mere mockery. Our slaves are 
 enticed away aided and assisted by these wicked Abo 
 litionists and death is the penalty, if the owner should 
 pursue. Thus are we made outlaws in all the free states 
 of the Union. When I learned the result of these trials at 
 Christiana, I came to the firm determination of not own 
 ing any slaves, who could, in a few hours, be in the state 
 of Ohio, where I could not pursue them without the for 
 feiture of my life. If, by that determination, my slaves 
 have suffered it is no fault of mine but of their offi 
 cious and crazy friends on the other side of the river." 
 
 " I have participated, uncle, in your excitement. I 
 feel, as you do, deep exasperation for the murder of Gor- 
 such, for not only Maryland, but the whole slaveholding 
 region should feel outraged by the decisions in this case. 
 I scarcely know how to believe your narrative ; I fain 
 hope some mitigating circumstance has escaped your ob 
 servation, or eluded your memory, that a more thorough 
 investigation may develop. With your general accuracy, 
 I am greatly pleased. Whatever you assert, is entitled to 
 
30 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 much confidence, for I know you too well to suppose, for 
 a moment, you would willfully pervert the truth. These 
 serious charges against the Abolition party sound very 
 strangely to my inexperienced ears. But, as you seem 
 exhausted at this time from your exertions, we will -let 
 the subject rest for the present." 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 The same subject continued The plan of the Work defined. 
 
 "THE mind, David,- 5 said the Squire, "though of a 
 spiritual nature, yet, like the body, it needs repose, and 
 cannot, sustain long-continued action. At our last con 
 versation, this fact was demonstrated . By relaxation I 
 come now prepared to continue the topic that has en 
 gaged our time for several days. I have been detailing 
 to you the various causes which have constrained me to 
 send my slaves south. In relating the tragical end of 
 Gorsuch, you do me but justice in supposing I am gov 
 erned entirely by the truth. That, in all my remarks, shall 
 be my polar star. In discussing so delicate a subject as 
 slavery, involving, as it does, the destiny of this glorious 
 Union, we should not indulge either in manifest misrep 
 resentation or in fiction. In the North there is a sickly 
 sentimentality on this subject, plainly visible, to which 
 too many are disposed to pander. Any publication in 
 abuse of Slavery, however unfair and ridiculous, is 
 caught up and read with avidity truly astonishing. The 
 pictures usually drawn of slavery are over-colored and 
 scandalous. All the rules of fair reasoning have been 
 perverted. From particular instances, general principles 
 are established, which is both illogical and unjust. To 
 resort to such a false mode of argument on any other sub 
 ject, the common sense of mankind would disdain. The 
 system of slavery in the United States, as it really exists, 
 is not known at all at the North. Those who have under- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 31 
 
 taken to describe it, derived their information from others 
 who designedly deceive, and who know nothing person 
 ally of its nature. The time has come for the public 
 mind to be disabused : it shall be my aim to delineate 
 slavery in its proper colors, as well as the origin, pro 
 gress, and pernicious tendency of Abolitionism. But 
 these matters will all be attended to in proper order. 
 
 " On the murder of Gorsuch, I must be allowed to 
 make a few more remarks. Some Abolitionists have jus 
 tified it on the ground, that it was done by his own slaves. 
 If this were true, it is still a great crime. Must slaves be 
 permitted to murder their owners in cold blood to way 
 lay the road, and shoot them down with malice afore 
 thought? What constitutes murder in the first degree, in 
 every other case, only makes the slave a hero in this. 
 The law is said to be the perfection of human reason. 
 One of its settled principles is, that nothing will justify 
 taking human life, but self-defense, or the authority of the 
 law. Will it do to invite slaves to kill their owners by 
 promising them protection and applause? No state in 
 the Union would suffer such a law to be enacted, and yet 
 such will be the consequences flowing from the decision 
 in the case of Gorsuch. The laws of Kentucky make no 
 distinction in the murder of a white or black person : 
 both are placed on the same footing. 
 
 " Pennsylvania, in this instance, has acted in deroga 
 tion of her constitutional obligations ; she has shown her 
 self wanting in comity to her sister states, and the pre 
 cedent, if not promptly rebuked, will be fraught with 
 imminent danger. What folly to assure the slaveholder 
 that, in every state of the Union, he has a right to claim 
 those who owe him service or labor, and require them to 
 be delivered up to him. if, at the same time, the laws will 
 afford him no protection in the pursuit and recapture ! 
 The one without the other, would be a species of treachery 
 too base to contemplate. What is the language now? 
 i Here are your slaves we have enticed them away it 
 is true, the Constitution says we shall deliver them up; 
 but if you come among us to assert your claim, we will 
 imbrue our hands in your blood, and your life shall be 
 the penalty. 
 
32 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " It is in this sense I understood the decision of the 
 case with respect to the Christiana rioters. It made a 
 deep impression upon my mind, and turned the scale in 
 favor of shipping South. There were other circumstances 
 occurring all along the Ohio river ; not only in Boone, but 
 in all the border counties, that tended to hasten the event. 
 Every mail brought us accounts of elopements from 
 Mason and Bracken, and other counties above, until at 
 last it reached our immediate section. A company of ten 
 from Burlington this week from Petersburg the next 
 all made successful escapes. The fatal moment for action 
 had come distressing to my slaves, and grievous to me. 
 Longer postponement would be unsafe. The resolution 
 was formed and executed. 
 
 " I need not say it was a trying scene their agony was 
 indescribable. I told them I deplored the necessity which 
 had driven me to this act that the blame should fall upon 
 their officious friends in Ohio, who had, for years, been 
 preparing the way for this great calamity to them for 
 great it seemed to be. But, continued I, I have discerned 
 you are greatly dissatisfied that you are tired of your 
 home that you think it a great hardship to labor for me 
 any more that you are preparing to abandon me at my 
 advanced age, and leave me here without assistance, to 
 struggle on as best I can. I am satisfied a separation must 
 take place between us. You despise me and my family, 
 preferring a settlement among strangers among those who 
 are aliens enemies to this free country. I cannot indulge 
 you in this respect. When Jack and Joe left me, I re 
 solved not another slave of mine should ever tread foot 
 on British Soil. That resolution shall be kept to the 
 letter ; you all this day have to depart South. 
 
 "Now, to this complexion matters came at last. How 
 far am I to blame ? I preferred their labor gave them 
 up with pain, and reluctance. I had aimed to be kind 
 and humane. 1 was not sensible of any change in my 
 treatment to them. I saw plainly, I had to do without 
 their services, and the only question for me to decide was, 
 who should take the initiative. Being unwilling to let 
 them, at the instigation of others, elope to parts unknown, 
 I resolved to convert them into cash. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 33 
 
 " I considered their own conduct had absolved me from 
 every obligation to consult their feelings and wishes in 
 regard to the disposition I should make of them. They 
 did not intend to ask my consent to their escape North. 
 Tjjp0r cared not for my happiness, or interest. In my view 
 slavery imposes reciprocal obligations; on the part of the 
 slave, obedience and fidelity on the part of the master, kind 
 ness and protection. I feel myself, therefore, at perfect 
 liberty, whenever a slave evinces a desire to run away, to 
 make a sale of him to any one I choose. But the case is 
 very different where one remains faithful and true ; for 
 him I would always, if constrained to sell, procure a good 
 master. 
 
 "There is a great difference made in this respect a 
 difference founded in the best of reasons mutual affec 
 tion a mutual confidence. But these times are past. 
 Distrust reigns in the bosom of servant and master it 
 has rooted out those goodly feelings, that once predomi 
 nated. And how has this been produced? Not by the 
 acts of the owner, but, by foreign interference. Since the 
 Abolitionists have espoused the cause of the negro, and 
 given to him their pretended sympathy, have all these 
 evils been produced. 
 
 "From the borders of Kentucky, have their ill-starred 
 kindness, forced the negroes in droves to the South. Not 
 that slave-holders wished thus to act, but, because of the 
 great insecurity of that species of property in this section. 
 It is of great value, and the owners will not give it up very 
 readily, as might have been expectecl. 
 
 "By what tenure is it held ? Slaves are made property 
 by the Constitution, and laws of the state. They are 
 bought and sold liable to execution for debt descend 
 as inheritance to heirs. Our laws guard this species 
 of property, with the utmost vigilance, making it 
 a penitentiary offense to tamper with, or entice them 
 away. 
 
 "Hence it is apparent, I held slaves in conformity to the 
 laws of my state. They were my property, to all intents 
 and purposes. But, notwithstanding all these facts, 
 Abolitionism must intrude itself into our domestic con 
 cerns, and produce those woes 1 have named. It came 
 
34 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 professedly to ameliorate the condition of the slave, and 
 soften the rigors of bondage. But instead of these it has 
 driven him to the cotton-fields of the South, and the 
 sugar plantations, where his fate is more intolerable, 
 and where their voice and wailing in his behalf can never 
 reach. He is gone far beyond their influence hid in the 
 deep recesses of the South. They may indeed, send their 
 emissaries along the borders of our state, to tamper with 
 slaves; but their efforts will do more injury than good ; 
 for every one they can run into Canada, a dozen will find 
 themselves transported to a southern market. 
 
 44 1 am aware of what holy horror these Abolitionists 
 have to the slave-trade, between the states, while in 
 reality they are furnishing the aliment to keep it alive. 
 By operating on the border state, they force this increas 
 ing current of slaves South. While they are thus doing most 
 all the mischief, they are shedding crocodile tears over 
 the victims they have injured." 
 
 44 Allow me to state, uncle, that these Abolitionists re 
 semble Don Quixote, which I read a few years since in 
 College. He, with his trusty squire, Sancho Panza, 
 started out in the world to right all the evils which might 
 happen to come to his knowledge, but, it so happened, in 
 the aggregate, that this renowned knight, committed in 
 finitely more evil than good. He was governed in his 
 adventures by a bold and crazy zeal he never halted to 
 reason or seek information, but rushed into combat and 
 dangers, with perfect madness. The manacles were cut 
 loose from the vilest criminals, who were released from 
 confinement, and sent abroad to commit fresh depreda 
 tions. But, perhaps you are not ready at present to enter 
 upon Abolitionism in a regular way." 
 
 44 1 was merely detailing the causes, David, which have 
 constrained me to send off my slaves. I am about done 
 with all I deem it proper, at this time, to state in relation 
 to that matter. I have an idea to pursue the following 
 method in our future inquiries : 
 
 44 First. The condition of the negro morally, socially, 
 and politically in his native country. 
 
 44 Secondly. By what means, and through whose agency 
 he was landed on our shores. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 35 
 
 "Thirdly. The origin, progress, and pernicious ten 
 dency of Abolitionism. 
 
 " Before I entered upon the main objects of this work, 
 I considered it necessary to explain the motives by which I 
 was governed in dispensing with slave labor. I have frankly 
 stated them all. If I have erred in this act, or it savors 
 of needless severity, I cannot help it. I may be peculiar 
 in my notions ; but where I have legal rights recognized 
 both by the State and Federal Constitution, such is my 
 disposition that I cannot suffer them to be invaded and 
 destroyed peaceably. I could not remain idle and inac 
 tive, and wait for the Abolitionists to entice away my 
 slaves, and send them beyond my control. The subjects 
 of Queen Victoria, some of them at any rate, have been 
 enriched by the slave-trade, which I shall aim to show; 
 arid I will not, for one, now the negroes have become 
 civilized and have been instructed in agriculture, deli 
 ver them over to her Canadian Provinces, k without money 
 and without price. I have, in my composition, too much 
 of the old stubborn Saxon blood for that. But I shall 
 have occasion, in the progress of our inquiries, to allude 
 more fully to these points/ 
 
 u I am delighted, uncle, with the field you have opened 
 for investigation. As slavery in the United States has 
 engrossed the attention of philanthropists throughout the 
 world, it must and will be vastly interesting. From some 
 cause or another, it is convulsing this Union from its 
 center to its circumference. The excitement in relation 
 to it, is annually growing deeper and deeper. Beyond 
 doubt, it is the most dangerous question now agitating the 
 public mind in this great confederacy of States, and before 
 it all other political questions have sunk into total insig 
 nificance. How appropriate, therefore, to go into Africa 
 to look at the condition of her people in their moral, 
 social, and political relations to examine them in these 
 respects, in their native wilds and domestic simplicity 
 to trace the slave trade in its origin and progress, and 
 to expose to the world the real authors of this inhuman 
 traffic. This will be one side of the picture. Then on 
 the other hand, Abolitionism must undergo a severe 
 scrutiny its origin, progress, and pernicious tendency 
 
36 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 should be fully developed. This will complete the 
 picture. 
 
 u By these means the reader will be enabled to trace 
 these children of Africa in their transportation to these 
 shores ; he will see how it all happened what nation 
 monopolized this horrid trade and grew rich upon the 
 groans and tears of these simple creatures. By turning 
 to the other side, he can trace the finger that is stirring 
 up all this strife and irritation among the States of this 
 Union. He cannot fail to see how such great prominence 
 has been given to three millions of Africans in bondage. 
 
 " The deep interest manifested in favor of these slaves 
 in certain quarters, forms one of the strangest features in 
 the history of the times. But when the veil is torn off 
 when those who have been working the wires can be 
 seen and known, the whole mystery will vanish. It is 
 time all these things were brought to light, and the coun 
 try warned of its danger." 
 
 " I can truly say, David, I feel my inability to do jus 
 tice to the great subject I have proposed -a subject in 
 which this whole Union is looking on with the most pain 
 ful anxiety. The South has seen, with utter amazement, 
 this wicked crusade against slavery, growing and spread 
 ing in the North, until it overshadows the whole land. 
 The wire-workers have dexterously kept their hands in 
 the dark, thereby deluding many honest and well-mean 
 ing people into the support of Abolitionism, which, they 
 were taught to believe was an innocent, harmless thing 
 only an appeal to the consciences of slave-holders, thereby 
 seeking to open the way for the gradual extinction of 
 slavery. But if, instead of its mission being of a peace 
 ful character, solely intended for the emancipation of the 
 blacks, it shall turn out to be a conspiracy against the 
 peace, tranquillity, and permanency of this Union, the 
 very discovery might possibly prevent the catastrophe." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 37 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Africa Its inhabitants Their manners and customs. 
 
 " IN studying the condition of man in every age and 
 nation, David, I have not been able to find all in the 
 possession and enjoyment of those inalienable rights for 
 which so bitter a contest is waged in our day. From 
 various causes, great inequality has always existed among 
 the human family. Although, in theory, this abstract pro 
 position may be very attractive, ; that all mankind are 
 born equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain 
 inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and 
 the pursuit of happiness ; yet, nowhert, I say it emphati 
 cally, is it practically observed or regarded. We must 
 deal with things as they exist, not as our vain and wild 
 imaginations would have them. Go into Asia, Europe, 
 Africa, wherever you please, you will find some rich, 
 many poor a few born to rule, the masses to obey. Where 
 shall we find a beautiful exemplification of this glorious 
 abstraction that has been made the idol of Abolitionism? 
 Not in Africa, for, of all the earth, that is the most de 
 based and enslaved." 
 
 " It seems to me, uncle, that in discussing the question 
 of slavery, its guilt or innocence depends much upon the 
 previous condition of the race enslaved. If it should be 
 ascertained, upon investigation, that the negro, by his 
 transfer to the United States, has only changed masters, 
 this fact, I am persuaded, would mitigate the evil in the 
 estimation of every unprejudiced mind." 
 
 "That was the point, David, I intended to make. I 
 was going to carry the war into Africa. It is time this 
 whole question was elucidated. Deep interest, great 
 sympathy is manifested for the negro. Heaven and 
 earth appear to be moved for his enfranchisement. I 
 want to paint the negro in his native land to look at 
 him there as described by history; and then unfold, ac 
 cording to the best light afforded, how and by what 
 means he was transported to America. In this manner 
 
38 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 we shall see the nature of the crime charged to be com 
 mitted, and the guilty parties in the transaction. 
 
 " ISTow, what is Africa, and who are her children, that 
 all Christendom should espouse their cause? Is there 
 anything great and glorious in their history ? I do not 
 mean Egypt, Carthage, or that portion of Africa border 
 ing on the Mediterranean sea ; but Negroland the 
 region spreading out in the torrid zone, the peculiar abode 
 of the black race. What do we behold ? A people gov 
 erned by petty kings, waging interminable wars with each 
 other. Where are those inalienable rights for which we 
 hear so great a clamor ? Liberty was never known in 
 that benighted land. Undisturbed despotism there holds 
 her silent and iron reign. Laws are unknown the 
 supreme and uncontrolled will of one man governs all 
 life and death depend upon his arbitrary nod. What is 
 that but slavery universal ? So far as this is concerned, 
 there is equality. Does it stop here ? No indeed. 
 Slavery, hereditary slavery, exists. Two thirds of the 
 negroes are in absolute bondage in their own country. 
 What a commentary !" 
 
 " Why, uncle, you astonish me. Can it be possible 
 that the groans of the teeming millions in Africa, have 
 never roused the tender sympathies of the Abolitionists 
 of the United States and Great Britain ? Here, indeed, 
 spreads out a vast field for their benevolent exertions. I 
 was going to say, by the time they regenerated Africa, 
 restored to all their inalienable rights, we, in the South, 
 would be prepared to hear their appeal." 
 
 " Very well, David, if you could strike such a bargain 
 with these modern knights-errant, the South, beyond 
 doubt, would enjoy a long repose. What, indeed, are 
 three millions in this country compared to the vast multi 
 tude left behind ? The redemption of Africa would be a 
 grand achievement. Although the slavery there is far 
 more intolerable the trembling slave approaches his 
 master on his hands and knees, with his face bowed to 
 the dust, because it would be death to stand in an erect 
 posture before him, and he thus receives his commands 
 yet that great continent lies entirely neglected. What 
 owner in our country ever ruled with such tyranny 2" 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 39 
 
 C I can say, uncle, not one. Compared to that in 
 Africa, slavery is freedom in our country. How fortunate 
 are those who have reached our shores, in being delivered 
 from such an abominable country. Here they are placed 
 among kind and civilized people. I grant, they are still 
 in bondage their strange inheritance either at home or 
 abroad." 
 
 " The inattention to this fact, David, is the cause of 
 much needless sympathy. We are not the authors of 
 slavery it was transmitted to us by Africa herself. 
 There it originated, there it is perpetuated the branch 
 in the United States is but a small slip from the parent 
 stock. 
 
 " They have many devices in Africa to make slaves of 
 each other. For every petty theft or transgression, the 
 offender is sold as a slave. "The prisoners taken in war 
 are converted into slaves, if not murdered in cool blood. 
 Thus the system is replenished and sustained, until two- 
 thirds, as before stated, are absolute slaves. Truly, then, 
 1 it is a matter of no great consequence what country the} r 
 water with their sweat and tears. 
 
 u Many of the nations of Africa were cannibals, sus 
 taining life by devouring each other. "What a horrible 
 practice ! how repulsive to our feelings and sentiments I 
 Can human nature sink to a lower depth ? Only think ! 
 the innocent, the smiling babe must be sacrificed and 
 prepared as food to appease the craving appetite. Oh ! ye 
 mothers of Christianized lands, how you must shudder 
 at the bare allusion to such degrading barbarism ; at the 
 mere thought your blood will run cold. With hearts soft 
 and affectionate, you tenderly love your offspring, your 
 whole soul is enlisted in their health, life, and prosperity. 
 Over their little feet you carefully watch in the morning of 
 life, and kindly guide through the intricate mazes of this 
 transitory world until you are assured of their arrival to 
 the years of maturity. Why should you deplore the fata 
 of those who descend from cannibal sires ? From the 
 land of such amazing cruelty they have fortunately 
 escaped. 
 
 " The negroes were idolaters. God they knew not, nor 
 his holy religion. To stocks, stones, and images, made 
 
40 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 with their own hands, they bowed down and worshiped. 
 Here they are placed among Christian people in a land 
 of light and vision. Here, the way to life everlasting 
 will be pointed out to them, and they may become the 
 heirs of glory. All these infinite blessings await them in 
 this free and happy land. For the meek and lowly, Christ 
 died; and by genuine repentance they may ascend to 
 those mansions, not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens. These great truths they had never learned in 
 Africa of Christ and His holy religion they might have 
 died ignorant, and have gone to that lake where the fire 
 is never quenched. Thus, by the inscrutable ways of 
 Providence, is good often extracted out of evil. Our 
 vision extends not beyond the present moment we know 
 not what a year or a day will bring forth ; but it is not 
 so with Him who holds the destiny of this world in his 
 hands. Through the long vista of future years, He fore 
 sees coming events, and orders and directs all things for 
 our benefit. 
 
 " Slavery in Africa carries with it the right to sell. 
 The internal slave-trade prevails to a great extent. 
 Among some nations, if a slave conducts himself impro 
 perly, he is delivered up by the others to his master to be 
 sold. What fidelity ! This shows a noble trait in the 
 negro character to a just master. Where Abolition has 
 not extended its influence, the same fidelity is often mani 
 fested in these United States. Hence it is not thought 
 any great hardship to make sale of the undutiful and 
 refractory slave." 
 
 " I should like to inquire, uncle, whether there are any 
 Abolitionists in Africa ? Can there be any organized 
 societies in that deplorable country, with money and facil 
 ities to aid the panting fugitive in his escape ? I ap 
 prehend there are no voices in that land to cheer him 
 onward." 
 
 " None whatever, David. Turn his eyes whitherso 
 ever he may, he finds no one to secrete him no asylum 
 prepared for him nor any friends to stand between him 
 and his master. No Canada there to which he can fly. 
 In Africa, he is not enslaved by the whites; but by his 
 own race and color. Strange people, truly. If they find 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 41 
 
 sympathy in this country, I may venture to say, it is more 
 than they ever received at home. 
 
 " When we know these things how slavery, the most 
 cruel and oppressive, is exercised over two-thirds of the 
 negroes in their native solitudes, does it not appear to be 
 the greatest mystery that those who are continued in bon 
 dage, in a portion of these States, should become a can 
 onized race in the estimation of our Northern brethren 
 and the people of Great Britain. That mystery, in the 
 sequel, I will undertake to solve. Ere I am done, the 
 grand design in all this mighty movement shall be fully 
 Developed. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Slave-trade Its origin Those who participated in its profits. 
 
 "I SUPPOSE, David, from what has preceded, the origin 
 of the slave-trade will not be difficult to discover. Sla 
 very, we have stated, has existed in Africa how long, it 
 is impossible to know ; bufcit is presumable for thousands 
 of years. Holding slaves as property, and possessing the 
 right of sale and transfer, the owners in Africa felt no 
 scruples in disposing of their slaves to a European if, in 
 their estimation, a better price could be realized. A sale 
 thus made was in conformity to the customs of the land. 
 Public sentiment sanctioned it, and no one supposed it so 
 great an outrage as modern philanthropists now imagine 
 it to be. The people in Africa can it be admitted had 
 their professional slave-drivers : and they could not dis 
 cern, what difference it could make, whether their slaves 
 dragged out their miserable existence there, or in foreign 
 lands. Nor can any one else. To make the most of it, 
 it is only a change of country and masters America and 
 the white man, for Africa and the black man. The ques 
 tion arises, Has the slave been injured by the change ? 
 None will say so who will rightfully investigate the 
 subject. 
 
 4 
 
4:2 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 u In the free States, the idea of one human being sell 
 ing another, is held up as a horrible practice. How 
 greatly their sensibilities are shocked, in that region, to 
 talk about a human being the image of God being 
 owned and esteemed as property. Now, in old Africa, 
 all these things are continually occurring, without causing 
 the^ smallest excitement. Worse than all, parents sell 
 their own children, and sometimes, the children, their 
 parents. Instances of both kinds are on record. Nothing 
 is thought of it it is an every-day occurrence. What 
 kind of people must those be who deal in each other s 
 flesh ! To talk of slave-holders in the South selling a 
 refractory slave, or, under some peculiar circumstances, 
 separating parents from children, or husbands from 
 wives why these ties are sundered, in Nigritia, without 
 a moment s hesitation or remorse. But I must be permit 
 ted to say, in this place, as a general rule, these ties are 
 not disregarded. My present object is only to show that 
 the negroes have treated each other with infinitely more 
 cruelty than ever was inflicted upon them by the white race. 
 
 " Much has been said and written in relation to the 
 violation of those sacred ties in our land ; while they are 
 not in the least respected in Africa. I would ask, What 
 kind of parents must those b% who deal in the flesh of 
 their own children ? What kind of people are they, who 
 enslave and sell one another? Where, then, were their 
 sympathies their natural affection ? Truly, the negro is 
 an extraordinary being. He is exalted in this country as 
 one of the masterpieces of creation. The whole Chris 
 tian world is called upon to embark in a crusade for his 
 liberation to wade in seas of blood for his deliverance. 
 But when we turn our eyes to Africa his native home 
 we are compelled to confess for it is the uniform voice 
 of history that millions upon millions of them have long 
 borne the intolerable yoke of slavery. 
 
 "If it were a crime in the European to buy, shall we 
 hold the Africans guiltless in selling each other? This, 
 upon their part was a voluntary act, done without coercion. 
 Those who resorted to the western coast of Africa, for 
 slaves, only had to let their intention be known, and they 
 were soon supplied with these human chattels" 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 43 
 
 "This is, uncle, rather a curious and singular piece of 
 history to me. On this subject I have never reflected 
 much, my mind having been so much occupied with other 
 studies. " I found the negro here, planted among us. The 
 origin of his enslavement, and transportation to these 
 shores, will be both interesting and instructive. I had 
 imbibed the notion how I cannot tell, that the white 
 man had gone into Africa caught and bound the poor 
 negro, and brought him weeping and wailing to the ship. 
 I thought at home in Africa he was a harmless, innocent, 
 and an unsuspecting creature, who was torn from true 
 and affectionate kindred, and brought over for filthy lucre, 
 where, for the first time, he experienced the pangs of servi 
 tude." 
 
 " Had this, David, been the case, the cruelty of the 
 slave-trade would have been greatly aggravated. For 
 commercial purposes the Europeans first visited the shores 
 of Africa. What were the commodities offered for sale ? 
 Slaves, ivory, and gold-dust. The first and most valuable 
 and important in the list, were God s Images. No 
 doubt the first traders felt astonishment that slaves should 
 constitute an article of merchandise. I suppose, they 
 were pressed to embark in the purchase of human souls 
 and bodies. When they consented to do so, these human 
 chattels were brought in numbers to their vessels for sale. 
 In this way, I presume, the traffic commenced, by mutual 
 consent, and for mutual profit too. The sellers and buy 
 ers were both pleased with the exchange. 
 
 " Now, let us imagine for a moment, how these busi 
 ness transactions were performed, in olden times, on the 
 delightful shores of loving Africa. Methinks I can see 
 the vessel safely moored in one of her harbors, near a 
 slave mart. There lie the manacles on deck, assorted 
 and arranged to fit various sized limbs, all in readiness. 
 The news spreads rapidly through the surrounding vil 
 lages. She has arrived and is waiting for a cargo of 
 slaves. The intelligence is hailed with immense delight. 
 What a great commotion is raised among the ??iost affec 
 tionate people, so beloved in our day. Cast your eyes to 
 the shore ? What is to be seen ? Lo ! there comes a 
 father dragging along a trembling youth, yonder a mother 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 hurrying forward a weeping daughter. Yonder comes a 
 professional slave-driver with a long line of slaves, there 
 again is the kidnapper with his booty there a king with 
 hundreds of prisoners, surrounded by a strong guard the 
 whole multitude rushing to the vessel to sell each other. 
 Perhaps the father has sold his son for some bauble or 
 other the mother her daughter, for a few trinkets. 
 
 "What has become of these poor victims the son and 
 daughter of unfeeling parents ? You see the manacles 
 cold and terrible to them fastened on their quivering 
 limbs, and they are doomed to the Middle Passage. 
 Africa the place of their birth endeared to them by so 
 many youthful scenes, and tender recollections, must fade 
 from their vision. Oh ! hapless children, well may you 
 bemoan your hard fate. The father from whose loins you 
 sprang the mother who gave you birth, have consigned 
 you to the dark and dreary hold of the vessel. In viola 
 tion of every tender sentiment of the heart of the strength 
 and warmth of parental affection, they sold you to the 
 stranger to be landed on the far distant shores of the 
 Western World. 
 
 "Where ought the blame to fall for this inhuman 
 traffic ? Solely on the buyer! It seems to me the damn 
 ing curse if it must be so considered falls upon Africa 
 herself. It is her act her deed. By her own cruel 
 people has this dark cloud been fastened on America. All 
 the sins of slavery if fall they must should be upon 
 her devoted head. The cry has gone up to heaven, that, 
 forgetting humanity all natural affection you Africans 
 have sold each other into slavery that you had no ten 
 derness no love for your own flesh and blood. If you 
 begin now to love each other if the milk of human kind 
 ness, begins to run in your veins it is more than your 
 ancestors ever felt for you in barbarous Africa. 
 
 "There, alas! you had no friends. The mother who 
 fondled you on her lap the father upon whorn you re 
 lied for protection, became your worst enemies. They 
 drove you from them they handed you over to the task 
 master. If the lash is heard in our land if your groans 
 and cries disturb our quietude it is the fault of cruel and 
 unfeeling relatives. If they ha4 been true to you if they 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEALED. 45 
 
 had exterminated slavery from their soil, and lived in 
 harmony with each other instituting governments suffi 
 ciently strong to protect all and every member, your des 
 tiny would not have been cast upon this foreign land, 
 and among a superior Race. 
 
 " The African slave-trade to America, dates its origin 
 in 1503 ; in that year a few slaves were sent from the 
 Portuguese settlements in Africa to the Spanish colo 
 nies in America. By Ferdinand the fifth of Spain, in 
 1511, it was greatly enlarged. But Willson says, in his 
 American history, that, in the month of August, 1620, 
 a Dutch man-of-war entered James river and landed 
 twenty negroes for sale. This was the commencement of 
 negro slavery in the English colonies. 
 
 t4 This traffic call it inhuman if you please contin 
 ued for over three hundred years. Hence it will be seen 
 how slow the nations of the earth were in discovering its 
 atrocity. At the very dawn of our political existence, the 
 African was introduced to our shores. Being under the 
 control and authority of mother England in all respects 
 whatsoever, we were, at that time, feeble and dependent 
 colonies. Did she stretch forth her hand and rebuke this 
 trade in human souls ? So far from it, she embarked in 
 it with all her energy and vast resources. * It was, says 
 the same author, during the reign of Elizabeth that the 
 African slave-trade was first introduced into England. 
 Sir John Hawkins, according to his account, was the first 
 Englishman who engaged in the trade. And his first 
 cargo he obtained by persuasion the second, by violence. 
 But the agency of the British government, in this horri 
 ble traffic, I wish more particularly to notice. 
 
 " The same historian remarks that, an article in the 
 treaty of Utrecht, highly important to America, and dis 
 honorable to the commercial policy of England, was that 
 by which England became the great monopolist of the 
 African slave-trade. That treaty is dated llth of April, 
 1713. Hume, in his history of England, in speaking of 
 the treaty of Rastadst, says: He (the King of Spain) 
 granted an exclusive privilege to the English for furnish 
 ing the Spanish West Indies with negroes, according to 
 the Assiento Contract. We are told by the same author. 
 
46 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 the Assiento Contract stipulated that, from the first day 
 of May, 1713, to the first day of May, 1743, the com 
 pany should transport into the*West Indies, one hundred 
 and forty thousand negroes, at the rate of four thousand 
 eight hundred negroes a year. So great, it was supposed, 
 says Willson, would be the profits of that trade, that 
 Philip Y. of Spain, took one-fourth of the capital of the 
 company, and Queen Anne reserved to herself another 
 quarter. Th us they became the greatest slave-merchants 
 in Christendom. " 
 
 " Great and glorious history !" cries David ; " the mir 
 ror of past time. Tradition fails events cannot thus be 
 long preserved truth soon fades and becomes obliter 
 ated ; but thy pages shall endure until c this world shall 
 be rolled together as a scroll. Here is the record, show 
 ing how England strove to engross that trade which 
 robbed Africa of her children. This was not done by 
 individuals, but by the British government, and the good 
 Queen Anne. Bring all, uncle, to the bar of public 
 opinion ; let the whole world see how and who perpetra 
 ted this great wrong upon Africa ; and who has hoarded 
 the vast wealth arising from this abominable trade in 4 the 
 bones and sinews of men. " 
 
 " That I will do, David, with all my heart, and to the 
 full extent of my humble abilities. It is peculiarly appro 
 priate at this period in our history, to review these tacts. 
 oSTot many years have elapsed since Thompson, a British 
 subject, a member of Parliament, came across the Atlan 
 tic ocean to lecture the free-born citizens of this Union on 
 the subject of African slavery. He came to this glorious 
 country to vomit forth his venom and malignity against 
 nearly half of the States in this Confederacy; because, 
 forsooth, they still held in bondage those very Africans 
 and their descendants who had been, by England herself, 
 landed on our shores, and sold to our people. 
 
 " Her subjects at least many of them are now rioting 
 in the wealth accumulated from this nefarious traffic. She 
 affects to loathe slavery in the present age she wishes to 
 stand forth, at this time, as the peculiar friend of the 
 negro rade She professes to be moved with the most 
 tender compassion for their servile condition a condi- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 47 
 
 tion which she has imposed upon them by her imperative 
 authority. 
 
 "By her own act she has made those negroes property, 
 things, or chattels. At the time of our colonial de 
 pendence we received them at her hands paid our 
 money for them and thus acquired those vested rights, 
 which cannot now be legitimately destroyed without the 
 consent of the owners, or an equivalent compensation. I 
 have been minute in detailing these portions of history, 
 as they will have an important bearing on what may 
 follow." 
 
 "Allow me to say, uncle, that I am thoroughly satisfied, 
 England was mainly instrumental in creating African 
 slavery upon this continent. She not only supplied her 
 own colonies, but grasped, with avaricious hand, the trade 
 from Spain I might truly say, extorted it from her by 
 force of arms. Hence she may, very properly, be styled 
 l the great monopolist of the African slave-trade. If 
 criminality attaches to the institution, she has to make 
 atonement at the bar of Almighty God, for planting it in 
 our midst for suffering it to grow, spread, and to take such 
 deep root, until the idea of its extermination is rendered so 
 dangerous to the black and white races as almost to for 
 bid its contemplation. Her inordinate desire of wealth 
 and aggrandizement, has involved our political affairs in 
 such inextricable complication." 
 
 "True, very true, David. England has incurred an 
 awful responsibility in the establishment of slavery in this 
 Union. To her alone it is indebted for its origin. She 
 stands confessed before the world its principal and genuine 
 author. In the first instance she permitted it, then en 
 couraged it, and finally became the greatest slave-dealer 
 ever known. These facts I shall use freely in my ani 
 madversions on Abolitionism the next and last subject I 
 proposed to investigate. All I have hitherto said is only 
 preliminary to this grand design." 
 
 " I rejoice, uncle, at the announcement. I am ex 
 tremely anxious to hear that subject developed, that is 
 causing this Union to tremble in every fier. 
 
48 ABOLITIONISM UNYEILED. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The origin of Abolitionism A peep into England s secret Archives. 
 
 u TnE origin of Abolitionism, David, has long been 
 veiled in mystery. I have thought it useful to resort to 
 every expedient to trace it to its first germ. I believed it 
 was of foreign growth that it never originated in these 
 United States. This seeming sympathy for the negro, 
 has a higher and a more dangerous aim no less than the 
 disruption and overthrow of this government. But I 
 wish now to hear the result of your visit to Cincinnati, 
 whither I sent you to procure some secret information." 
 
 u Well, uncle, I have hastened back with all possible 
 dispatch. I have succeeded beyond my expectation in 
 tracing, to its true source, this disturbing spirit of Aboli 
 tionism that has become so bold as to place itself above 
 the Constitution and laws of the Union." 
 
 " You have been fortunate, indeed, David, in your 
 researches. I was apprized it required great dexterity 
 and address to acquire the desired information. But, 
 from your known acuteness, I had no doubt of your 
 success. " 
 
 " I must confess, uncle, the undertaking was by no 
 means a pleasant one. I had to use dissimulation so 
 as to be all things to all men. I had to insinuate myself 
 thus into confidence. You are sensible this was not 
 pleasant and agreeable to my feelings. I am a blunt, 
 plain young man, and in the habit of speaking directly 
 to the point in hand. But 1 have obeyed your advice 
 in using some policy in ferreting out the desired infor 
 mation." 
 
 "I am, David, under a thousand obligations to you for 
 having made the discovery I thought was possible. I 
 have always believed the true object of the Abolitiort 
 excitement has never been fully known to the people of 
 the United^tatss." 
 
 "And in that, uncle, you were not mistaken. I have 
 fyere a copy of an important State Paper one that has 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 49 
 
 never before seen the light. The original is under heavy 
 lock and key in the Court of St. James." 
 
 "Pray, how came you, David, by the copy? how 
 was it procured, and to what degree of credence is it 
 entitled?" 
 
 " I will tell you, uncle, in as few words as I can. I got 
 on the mail steamer, late in the evening. I soon fell in 
 with an Englishman, named Darby I know them at 
 sight he was communicative and intelligent. He found 
 out I was from Kentucky, and he ventured to ask me how 
 * Uncle Tom s Cabin took in that State, which made my 
 blood run hot in a minute ; but I tried to suppress my 
 rising indignation. 
 
 " Said 1, Mr. Darby, please tell me why the people 
 of England read with avidity and delight every vile pub 
 lication on the subject of slavery ? What business is it 
 of theirs to intermeddle in our domestic concerns? What 
 need they to feel an interest in the continuance of slavery 
 in these United States ? We are a free and independent 
 nation, not under their sway or control, and we are cer 
 tainly competent to settle that and all other questions 
 that may arise among us, without their assistance or 
 interference. 
 
 " 4 Yery well, sir, said he. c I find you very sensitive 
 on the subject of slavery. That book, you please to term 
 4 vile, we consider, is a true picture of your peculiar insti 
 tution. Perhaps its horrors are not half delineated; it is 
 certainly the sin of all sins the curse of all curses! It 
 is a foul blot upon this nation that cannot be too soon 
 removed. 
 
 " 1 was determined to keep cool, as you requested me; 
 but it was a very difficult task under the provocation. 
 My passion almost overcame me ; but I replied : 
 
 " l You Englishmen, sir, are eternally interfering in our 
 domestic affairs. You are not satisfied to remain at homo 
 and give your entire attention to your internal prospe 
 rity, to ameliorate the condition of } T our starving, suffer 
 ing masses ; but your sympathy passes over their heads 
 to the African race held in bondage here. You have 
 Lazari starving at your own doors, to whom you will 
 not give the crumbs falling from your own tables ; but 
 
50 
 
 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 you have an abundance of charity to bestow upon the 
 negro. 
 
 " 4 You may, 5 said he, stop that tirade of abuse. Be 
 it known to you, sir, we are competent to take care of our 
 own poor. I do not thank you for these severe and de 
 grading reflections upon my native laud. The govern 
 ment and people of England, thank God, are in favor of 
 the abolition of slavery throughout the world. 
 
 " c We care not, I replied, c what you are for, or what 
 you are against. We scorn your charity we reprobate 
 your officious disposition. The South, sir, will hold in 
 utter abhorrence your impotent efforts to liberate her 
 slaves. An asylum in Canada you may furnish those 
 that may escape your government may secretly aid by 
 money the Abolition cause in the North but this con 
 temptible tampering with our local rights will ultimately 
 meet with retributive justice. 
 
 " Retributive justice! 9 said he. Ah! indeed! A 
 people, like you, divided and distracted, barely holding 
 together, ready almost at any moment to commence the 
 work of destruction, talk of retributive justice! Your 
 Union, sir, is only a rope of sand ; it has no adhesive 
 quality in it. The North is prepared to gird on the sword 
 to liberate the groaning millions you hold South in cruel 
 and hopeless bondage. The enemy is in your midst who 
 will simultaneously rise at the sound of the shrill trump 
 of freedom. The South will be overwhelmed and anni 
 hilated. She will present one grand scene of conflagra 
 tion, rapine, and devastation. 
 
 " 4 Hold, sir, said I, 4 1 cannot bear such scandalous 
 and derogatory language of my country. You, an alien, 
 a Briton-born, to come here under the safeguard and 
 protection of our flag, enjoying the rites of hospitality, 
 and thus to vent your malignity against nearly one-half 
 the States of the Union, shows a degree of boldness, 
 nay, impudence and insolence, which I cannot, nor will 
 suffer. 
 
 " c Sir, said he, 4 1 came here not to quarrel or involve 
 my self in personal difficulties. I am on a mission of a 
 different nature. I came over to congratulate the author 
 ess of c Uncle Tom s Cabin on behalf of the great Anti- x 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 51 
 
 slavery Society of England. Her work has had a mi{ 
 run in that country. It is admired and eulogized far 
 beyond anything that has ever gone to the press. 
 
 14 ; If you, said I, are a man of peace, you ought to 
 employ more moderate, more decorous language. I am 
 a Southerner, and am ready at the point of the sword, 
 if need be, to maintain and support all and singular our 
 constitutional rights and privileges at every hazard. In 
 so holy a cause a cause involving the safety and pre 
 servation of our firesides, our wives, and our children 
 we are willing to shed our blood, and offer our bodies as 
 a sacrifice. If fall we must, it shall be like Leonidas and 
 his immortal band at Thermopylae. 
 
 " 4 1 should like to know, sir, why your people take so 
 lively an interest in everything connected with Abolition 
 in the United States. How came that book of which you 
 speak, to obtain so much celebrity in Great Britain ? It 
 cannot be because you think it true, because you suppose 
 it a faithful and just representation of slavery in this coun 
 try. You are surely too well-informed for that. But it 
 must be for only this reason such writings are calculated 
 to disgrace Republicanism, humble it, and lay it prostrate 
 at the feet of her Majesty. 
 
 " C I will, said he, Met the book pass; but you will 
 permit me to state, the English were active in abolishing 
 the slave-trade, and also made the first movement in 
 emancipation, to wit : the slaves in her West India Islands; 
 and she now invites the co-operation of all the nations of 
 the earth in bringing slavery, early as possible, to an end. 
 She takes a lively interest in, and will aid the Abolition 
 ists of the North, in the great work they have so nobly 
 and generously undertaken. The home-government has 
 set aside a large body of land in Canada for a retreat and 
 refuge to the slaves who may arrive in those provinces 
 from the United States. By the industry and influence 
 of the Abolitionists in the Free States, many, very many, 
 of the colored people are availing themselves of this gra 
 cious gratuity of her Majesty. 
 
 "I answered, ironically, Her Majesty is vastly bene 
 volent indeed. She permits the poor Irish to starve to 
 death, out of, no doubt, pure love to them ; but away 
 
52 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 across the Atlantic she is making ample provision for 
 fugitive slaves. Now, pray tell me who is entitled to 
 the credit of this extraordinary devotion to the negro 
 race, and at what time it commenced ? 
 
 " My government, he replied. She made the first 
 move in Abolition a short time before Societies of that 
 character were organized in these United States. The 
 British ministry, in full council, in the year 1831, after 
 mature and deliberate consideration and argument, de 
 vised arid laid out the mode and manner of procedure in 
 this laudable and praiseworthy enterprise. 
 
 " c Permit me to inquire, said I, ; if it be possible to 
 obtain a copy of the Proceedings of Council in this case 
 one so momentous in its consequences to many states of 
 this Union ? 
 
 " By no means, said he ; I have already been be 
 trayed into an imprudent confession. It is a state secret; 
 the paper that contains it will never see the light. At 
 this moment the boat landed at the wharf, and Darby dis 
 appeared in the crowd. 
 
 u With these items of intelligence I resolved the next 
 morning to prosecute my inquiries with unremitting dili 
 gence. You know, in the Queen City, as it is sometimes 
 called, there are people of every nation, kindred and 
 tongue. The Gentiles and Jews are there commingled. 
 Not only that, but it is the place where intercourse is pre 
 tended to be held with the Spirit world. I first thought 
 of trying the Rappers ; but then their answers would all 
 be in knocks, and the words, the identical words, spoken 
 in Council we wanted. Still I did not despair of striking 
 upon some plan of securing a copy of the document that 
 had for so many years remained a state secret." 
 
 "Deeply perplexed in mind as to the proper course, I 
 took up my board at Dennison s hotel, a central position, 
 and a good location for seeing a variety of persons from 
 all points of the compass. The house, though large, was 
 full to overflowing. I examined the physiognomies 
 around me. How diverse ! and to me all were strangers. 
 I began to turn my eyes to the many glowing advertise 
 ments suspended around. What schemes innumerable to 
 divert people out of their money! But I was suddenly 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 53 
 
 arrested by the word CLAIRVOYANCE, in large flaming cap 
 itals; in which it was announced, that, under its influence, 
 a person could read a paper in London, over three thou 
 sand miles distant, though it might be locked up in an 
 iron chest, and be surrounded by massive walls, as readily 
 as if spread before his eyes. A grand and marvelous dis 
 covery ! I resolved to use it to bring to light a portion 
 of history which had so long remained a secret. 
 
 " Having procured and put on a full Quaker suit of 
 clothis, I repaired to the room where the performance 
 was in progress. Having paid my admission fee, I took 
 my seat near the manager, and near the subject in a state 
 of clairvoyance. 
 
 " I said to the manager, Can thy clairvoyant read a 
 paper behind his back, or any distance from him 2 
 
 " Yes, he replied, to test his supernatural powers 
 any gentleman is invited to ask for the morning news in 
 London or elsewhere, and it will be given correctly. 
 
 " Friend, said I, I would like to propound a question 
 to thy subject. I came to this city on a mission of vast 
 importance to my people at home. Thou knowest, per 
 haps, that the Friends have always been zealous in the 
 cause of Abolition ; and we have affirmed that Great 
 Britain was its early promoter and patron. We have 
 understood, that, as early as 1831, the council of Great 
 Britain held an important meeting on this subject, the 
 results of which have never yet been made fully public. 
 Thou wilt, therefore, enjoin it upon the clairvoyant to 
 give me the aforesaid debate in council, and the whole 
 proceedings on that memorable occasion, if thy subject 
 be indued with such perspicacity. 
 
 " Indeed, said the manager, that is the severest test 
 1 ever heard proposed ; but as it is from a t hee and thou 
 man, who always acts from conscientious motives, I will 
 make the effort to gratify this singular though likely, laud 
 able curiosity. 
 
 " Simon, Simon, says he, didst thou hear the ques 
 tion ? 
 
 " Ay, sir ; ay, sir/ 
 
 u What canst thou see in the Premier s Office in Lon 
 don, dated Anno Domini, 1831? 
 
54: ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " A large pile of State papers. 
 
 " How are they labeled 2 
 
 u 1 see one marked Secret and Confidential. 
 
 " c What further? 
 
 " The Debate in Council in favor of Abolishing Slavery. 
 
 " c Canst thou decipher the contents ? 
 
 " I will try. It reads thus : 
 
 " ( The Prime Minister. My Lords : I have invited you 
 to this secret and confidential council to-day, to investi 
 gate and discuss a subject deeply affecting the supremacy 
 and glory of the empire. Among the nations of the earth 
 we stand pre-eminent. Our influence and councils are 
 potential in the affairs of Europe. In the Continental 
 wars, which enveloped Europe like a flame, it was our 
 Wellington and his invincibles that produced the de 
 thronement of Napoleon Bonaparte his banishment and 
 the general pacification which followed. In our safe 
 keeping he dragged out the remnant of his days on the 
 barren rock of St. Helena. 
 
 " c Since those days, the balance of power has been so 
 happily adjusted by the Holy Alliance, as to produce a 
 general peace for a series of years. I can discover noth 
 ing at present, or in the future, likely to compromit this 
 happy and prosperous state of affairs in Europe. It is 
 not from that quarter we need apprehend danger to our 
 commerce, naval superiority, or our tranquillity. 
 
 " * But there is a nation beyond the Atlantic we have 
 much reason to dread as a formidable rival to us in all 
 respects whatsoever. I mean the United States of North 
 America. For many long years I have had my eyes 
 fixed upon that growing, ambitious, and grasping Re 
 public. 
 
 " I need hardly say, I am a true Briton ; that I love old 
 England, and that the nearest wish to my heart is to 
 maintain her greatness, her glory, and to make her renown 
 and supremacy on the ocean perpetual for this purpose 
 I am willing to sacrifice all I hold dear upon earth. 
 
 " c Hence I have been studying, with the most intense 
 solicitude, the history of the Union the political structure 
 of its National and State governments. On the one 
 hand, I have scrutinized the elements which constitute its 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 55 
 
 strength and durability. Then, on the other, I have no 
 ticed the contrariety of interests, the diversity of pursuits, 
 and sectional feelings, that may engender strife, bicker 
 ings, and deep animosity, and ultimately disunion. 
 
 u I come before you, my Lords, from this investigation, 
 searching and thorough, of that youthful nation, to deliver 
 to you, in plain and unambiguous language, the mature 
 and solemn convictions of my best judgment. Feeble 
 though they may be, to our hands has been committed 
 the destiny of this great and powerful empire. For the 
 time being, we are the humble guardians of her greatness, 
 her fame and her glory. 
 
 " In discharging the responsible and momentous duties 
 with which we have been intrusted by his gracious Ma 
 jesty, we must not only retrospect the past, to examine 
 into events that have become history ; but also to make 
 an effort to penetrate into futurity, so that we may ascer 
 tain the position our country will occupy, for years to 
 come, among the nations of the earth. In reference, 
 therefore, to these deeply interesting matters, I have re 
 quired you to convene at this juncture. 
 
 " 4 My Lords: I have to say, in the growth and military 
 genius of the people of the United States. I can see much 
 to cause alarm. Though they are bone of our bone, flesh 
 of our flesh, yet between them and us, I am free to ob 
 serve, there never can or will be any cordial relations, 
 any reciprocal friendship. Though that nation might be 
 said with propriety to have sprung from our loins, yet 
 they are, and will probably continue to be our most bitter 
 arid implacable enemies. (Profound sensation.) 
 
 " *" The War of the Revolution was cruel and sanguinary, 
 as all civil wars are sure to be. We employed the In 
 dians, with their tomahawks and scalping knives, to aid 
 us in the work of butchery. The same we did in 1812 
 in our second war with that people. Those savages were 
 let loose upon the frontiers, and slaughtered indiscrimi 
 nately men, women and children. These cruelties have 
 sunk deep into the American heart. As their legitimate 
 fruit, they have produced estrangement and eternal alien 
 ation. These, I fear, are the results of our two contests 
 with America. The national feeling there, according to 
 
56 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 my humble opinion, will always be adverse to us. Our 
 armies in Europe justly acquired the character of invin 
 cible ; but in our conflicts with America, that fame per 
 ished, and at New Orleans those hard-earned laurels, won 
 in so many campaigns on the Continent by our armies, 
 faded and perished. 
 
 4 > Nor did we, on the ocean, come out of the last con 
 test with that supremacy which it has so long been our 
 pride and boast. Our tars have triumphantly sung, and 
 with truth, that Britannia rules the wave. How long 
 ere the palm will be snatched from our hands ? Should 
 that youthful, aspiring, and energetic nation continue 
 united, the conviction, however unpleasant it may be, is 
 forced upon our minds, that the glory of England on the 
 high seas must depart forever ; she will have to sink in 
 the scale of nations, and assume a secondary rank. Now 
 what can be done what is it possible to do to prevent 
 so great a mortification and disgrace ? 
 
 " 4 In the solution of this question, so intimately con 
 nected with our present and future greatness, we must try 
 to penetrate the veil of futurity. We must cast our views 
 forward to what time, in its progress, may produce in the 
 great family of nations. We have in Europe a Holy Al 
 liance among the crowned heads that will keep up a just 
 equipoise, or maintain, with firmness and energy, what 
 is usually termed the Balance of Power. But when we 
 examine the United States of America a nation of but 
 yesterday occupying a fertile and extensive country, and 
 growing at a giant s pace, by what rules can they be con 
 trolled, how circumscribed and confined within reasonable 
 limits ? 
 
 " My Lords : I may venture to predict, without some 
 internal divisions, that Union is destined to become the 
 greatest nation upon the face of the earth. In the pre 
 sence of that people, ere-long, all Europe will tremble. 
 Have we not seen with what facility they acquire terri 
 tory. Louisiana, Florida, ultimately Texas, and other 
 states from Mexico. With a territory equal to all Europe, 
 reaching, perhaps, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, 
 and from the cold regions of the north to the tropical cli 
 mate of the south, they must become a very strong, 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 57 
 
 dangerous and. powerful rival. The forests of that great 
 country will be subdued the Indian race must melt and 
 vanish as the dews before the rays of the morning sun. 
 The march of civilization is onward. In the wide expanse 
 of fertile soil, I behold all the aliments of true greatness ; 
 how rapid and astonishing will be the development of its 
 mineral and agricultural resources ! The physical means 
 of such a people, blessed by Providence with these incon 
 ceivable advantages, are too great for contemplation. At 
 this vision of the future, I am troubled my heart has 
 sunk within me ! I see in it the knell of England s de 
 parting greatness. Can anything be done to avert this 
 catastrophe ? This is the great question for you to inves 
 tigate and decide. 
 
 " My Lords: it is the duty of all sagacious statesmen 
 to weigh coming events, and to prepare for every possible 
 contingency. What can be done to divide, distract, and 
 destroy the Federal Union ? To this momentous question 
 I have devoted many sleepless nights, and I am prepared 
 to give you the result of my researches and intense medi 
 tations. 
 
 " My Lords : the weak point in the Constitution of the 
 United States was clearly indicated in the discussions of 
 Congress, respecting the admission of Missouri. Slavery, 
 ever since that memorable debate, is the rock upon which 
 that Union, it seems to me, must split into atoms. I 
 could not refrain from observing the intense excitement 
 how the whole governmental fabric trembled in every 
 nerve, when that question was involved. The two sec 
 tions, North and South the Free and Slave States were 
 marshaled in solid phalanx, and stood in the most menac 
 ing attitude toward each other. The line of demarcation 
 was plainly drawn, and the destiny of the Union appeared 
 suspended by a hair. In this awful crisis, big with unut 
 terable woe to that country, a Compromise was patched 
 up, which has restored apparent harmony. 
 
 u 4 But ever since that day, it is self-evident that Slavery 
 is an element of weakness in the national compact. If 
 this c peculiar institution can be cautiously and judi 
 ciously assailed, the South, being very sensitive on this 
 subject, can be driven to madness. I conceive we have 
 
58 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 it in our power to set the ball in motion that will eventu 
 ally work a dissolution of the Union. 
 
 U4 I would, therefore, propose: 
 
 " 1. That we aid by pecuniary means any Abolition 
 Societies that may organize in the Free States. 
 
 " 2. That we will contribute to the endowment of Col 
 leges where both races, white and black, are educated in 
 common. 
 
 u 3. That, as soon as practicable, an Act shall be 
 passed to emancipate the slaves in our West India 
 islands. 
 
 U4 4r. That we receive with kindness and affection in 
 our Canadian provinces all Fugitive slaves escaping from 
 the United States. 
 
 " k 5. That a large body of the Crown lands be set aside 
 in said provinces for the exclusive occupation and posses 
 sion of such fugitives. 
 
 " c My Lords : if the plan, which I have suggested, can 
 bo secretly and faithfully carried out, it will produce the 
 consequences that I anticipate. Can it be done ? I am 
 persuaded there is nothing easier ; for no subject can be 
 selected that will enlist warmer feelings or deeper sym 
 pathy. The cruelties, the enormities of slavery can be 
 painted in such glowing colors, by fluent and impassioned 
 orators, so as to rouse the masses of the North. Beside, 
 those holy fathers, clothed in sacerdotal robes, who stand 
 upon the watchtowers of Zion, will come forward and in 
 burning language denounce this great abomination upon 
 earth. We have also among us men fluent in speech 
 tli at can make the worse appear the better cause, and 
 4 from whose lips words sweet as honey distill, that would 
 enlist under the banner arid march in this holy crusade 
 against slavery. 
 
 " My Lords: we conquered Europe no less by our 
 money than by our armies. Diplomacy has done more 
 than military prowess. Our gold has been distributed 
 with a liberal hand, and it has had a powerful influence 
 in elevating England to the pinnacle of glory to which 
 she has arrived, and made her the chief arbiter in the 
 great affairs of the world." 
 
 " c Carried unanimously in the affirmative. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 59 
 
 " * Can you see aught else ? said the manager to 
 Simon. 
 
 " That is the end of the document, he replied. 
 
 u And you now have it, uncle, just as it came into my 
 possession letter for letter word for word." 
 
 u Let it go to record, David, and pass for what it is 
 worth. I may. at another time, take the liberty of allud 
 ing to it." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Document Abolitionism. 
 
 " IN regard, David, to the document you presented, I 
 would remark, I have no great confidence in clairvoyance. 
 I am rather of a skeptical turn. I have never been able 
 to take anything upon faith, I want it sustained by clear, 
 positive, and unequivocal testimony. Circumstantial evi 
 dence, in some cases, I would not reject, where there was 
 a long train of incidents pointing unerringly to the same 
 liict such coincidence might force conviction upon my 
 mind. Many a person has been hung upon just such 
 evidence, and I have no doubt, justly. Indeed, in many 
 crimes, it is the only evidence that can be adduced, and 
 if that were wholly rejected, many heinous offenses would 
 be committed without the possibility of punishment. In 
 weighing the document in question, I should attach very 
 little importance to it if taken alone, without concurring 
 circumstances ; but I am at least satisfied of one fact, 
 that, if such language was never used by the Prime Min 
 ister, the policy therein indicated has been steadily and 
 closely pursued. By bringing all the subsequent circum 
 stances fully to light, the presumption will be strong 
 that, if those words were not spoken, they might have 
 been." 
 
 u From your usual circumspection, uncle, I was prepared 
 for such an answer. You will allow me to say, I have 
 always found you to be of, very slow faith. You must 
 
60 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 weigh and criticise, and examine closely, before you will 
 consent to adopt an opinion." 
 
 " My credulity, David, I must confess, is not so great 
 as that of many people. From a few isolated facts they 
 will jump to a general conclusion with all imaginable 
 facility; by these means, setting at defiance. all the sound 
 rules of Logic recognized by the common sense of man 
 kind. If you wish to establish a general principle in 
 Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Metaphysics, or any art 
 or science how is it to be done? By a majority, and not 
 by a few solitary instances." 
 
 u That, uncle, is surely correct. Every other mode of 
 reasoning would fye false and erroneous. Let us make 
 the application. It must be conceded that the great body 
 of mankind are honest and virtuous. This general prin 
 ciple may be affirmed with propriety and truth. But 
 again, this general principle is liable to exceptions. A 
 few are thieves and assassins. Now would it do to argue 
 thus: Tom, Dick, and Harry are rogues therefore, all 
 men are dishonest. The absurdity of such argumentation 
 is too obvious to escape detection." 
 
 U I grant it is all true to the letter, David. By such 
 reasoning, you can prove all mankind are drunkards, 
 liars, blasphemers, murderers, or whatever else you please. 
 In that manner the system of Slavery has been continually 
 assailed. A few solitary instances of cruelty in owners, 
 are hunted up, and displayed to the Public in the most 
 revolting colors. Although a large majority of masters 
 may be humane, yet all are held up as monsters of ini 
 quity and cruelty ; the whole system is described to the 
 world the christianized world as an object of abhorrence 
 and utter detestation. And the deception I mean in a 
 certain latitude is palmed upon the people without detec 
 tion it is all swallowed as free as Holy Writ. Nor can 
 you make truth penetrate into minds under such a deep 
 bias, and inveterate prejudice." 
 
 " A melancholy truth, uncle. We, of the South, who 
 are grossly misrepresented and shamefully traduced at the 
 North : if we come forward in our own defense and vindica 
 tion, we cannot be heard, or receive even a respectful notice. 
 However, I am not disposed to murmur. Although a 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 61 
 
 great excitement North has been created against Slavery, 
 yet it is a solemn fact, that the state of society South has 
 undergone no change since the earlier days of this Re 
 public: unless it is in softening the rigors of bondage." 
 
 "This fact, David, has filled my mind with great 
 amazement. I ask myself, whence all this eternal agita 
 tion? Why are these bitter waters administered to our 
 lips? What have we done to bring down on our devoted 
 heads the ceaseless anathemas of the good religious, 
 and enlightened people of the Free States ? Slavery is not 
 of recent origin it has not been lately introduced but 
 is coeval with the earliest settlements nearly that were 
 made on this continent. What is the crime of this gene 
 ration in regard to it? Simply its continuance. Herein 
 lies the whole offense, committed by our persecuted sec 
 tion. The Africans among us are slaves standing in the 
 same relation to the whites they have always done in this 
 country. We know them understand their habits, dis 
 positions, and capacities, better, far better than strangers 
 can possibly do. 
 
 " Can the Africans be emancipated with safety at this 
 time ? That is a great question for the consideration of 
 the age. Those who are the most capable of deciding it, 
 aver the day has not yet come. The most powerful 
 reason is, they are unfit for freedom incapacitated for 
 its proper enjoyment. Their liberation now would prove 
 a curse to themselves and the whites. 
 
 "Who are those who are aspiring to sit in judgment 
 upon this momentous question, and assume over it, 
 exclusive control ? The Abolitionists of the North. Who 
 are they who dare to clothe themselves with such a fearful 
 prerogative as to take the whole South under their peculiar 
 guardianship. They have made themselves our keepers, 
 and arrogated over us a boasted superiority. We will 
 trace their history concisely. About the year 1833 of the 
 Christian era, Abolitionism made its appearance in these 
 United States. Its pretensions were humble and inoffen 
 sive. Its appeal was to the master and him only. Its 
 mission was one of Christian love and conciliation. The 
 master was to be convinced, and his judgment enlightened. 
 Its arguments and persuasions were all for his eye and 
 
62 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 ear. With the slave it scorned to tamper. His peace and 
 quietude, it did not by any means design to disturb. It 
 wore too the holy garb of religion its countenance was 
 meek and lowly. No wonder it entwined itself around 
 the hearts of the people, and sped over the North. It 
 was so condescending and kind vowing the most expan 
 sive philanthropy. Its arms encircled the enslaved chil 
 dren of Africa. How lovely the sight! 
 
 u But it has often changed its name. Abolitionism 
 was discarded, and it reared its menacing head as The 
 Liberty Party. Under that name and banner it has fought 
 and won many victories. But that mantle proved too 
 narrow to cover its ponderous shoulders long, so recently 
 it has merged itself into Free-Soilism. But it is still the 
 insidious and unwearied foe of the South. Its name has 
 often changed, but there has been no faltering in its 
 wicked and pernicious purpose. 
 
 u When we implore the Abolitionists to halt, in their 
 mad career, and survey the consequences likely to result 
 from their agitation ; they indignantly reply, u What are 
 consequences to us?" Nothing at all. They will not 
 think of them a moment. Their eye is on a higher law 
 conscience^ is the secret monitor to which they do obei 
 sance. Surely they are sailing on a dangerous and 
 boisterous sea. Cut ourselves adrift from the^laws of the 
 country take conscience, or the higher law, for our 
 guide, how soon will we be ingulfed in the whirlpool of 
 mobocracy. Our very political existence and salvation 
 depend upon a rigid adherence to the laws. Can any one 
 doubt where this higher law will terminate ? Blind and 
 infatuated must be the mind, which does not see its inevi 
 table tendency is to anarchy, confusion and bloodshed." 
 
 "I am astonished, uncle, at the reckless career of Abo 
 litionism. Does it, indeed, scorn and disregard conse 
 quences ? What madness what extreme folly ! I see 
 whither all this will lead. The laws enacted by the 
 supreme Legislature of the country the safeguard and 
 protection of us all are to be counted of non-effect, if 
 chanced to be variant from 4 the higher law? What 
 else is this but the substitution of an invisible, arbitrary 
 rule, according to the caprice of each individual, for the 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 63 
 
 precise, clearly-defined boundary between right and wrong , 
 as prescribed by the supreme authority of the State?" 
 
 44 It is essential, David, that the laws be enacted by the 
 proper authority, and promulgated to those whom they 
 are to govern. Their publicity is ever presumed, and 
 ignorance of them is not admitted to be pleaded in defense 
 of their violation. These rules, therefore, must be so 
 plainly written and published, that all who choose may 
 read and understand them. This is the great advantage 
 of written law. I, as a citizen of this great community, 
 am advised of my rights; and whenever those rights are 
 invaded or withheld, I am apprised of my remedy. The 
 panoply of the State hovers over me it guards me by 
 night and by day. Should my person be assailed, or my 
 property be stolen or damaged by others, the State makes 
 herself a party in the case, and inflicts upon the wrong 
 doer condign punishment. So dearly are the liberties and 
 rights of each member of society prized, that all misde 
 meanors and felonies are deemed and considered offenses 
 against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth. 
 In this manner, the whole society takes an interest in the 
 security, happiness, and protection of each and all its 
 members : and, in return, each one owes implicit and ab 
 solute obedience to the Laws of the land." 
 
 "But, uncle, if I am rightly informed, the Abolition 
 ists are in open rebellion against a plain provision of the 
 Federal Constitution, and a law of Congress passed in 
 pursuance thereof." 
 
 "That cannot be denied, David it is too notorious to 
 be called in question. By the Federal Compact, c any 
 person owing service or labor in one State, who shall 
 escape into another, shall be delivered up. The law only 
 undertakes to define the mode and manner of that deliv 
 ery. Notwithstanding, the Fugitive Slave Law has been 
 resisted unto blood: it makes no difference though it was 
 enacted in pursuance of the Constitution, being, therefore, 
 the supreme law of the land. Nevertheless, the Aboli 
 tionists conceive they are doing God s service to render it 
 a nullity. Although this same Constitution the liga 
 ment that binds these States for national purposes, has 
 distinctly declared that, by no law or regulation shall any 
 
64 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 State defeat the delivery up of fugitives who owe service 
 or labor to the party to whom such service or labor is 
 due ; yet this plain and solemn provision, so imperative 
 in language, is converted into mockery and delusion by 
 Abolition chicanery. Onr slaves are seduced from us, 
 and, instead of being delivered up, in conformity to the 
 Federal Compact, an Underground Eailroad has been pro 
 vided to convey them secretly and rapidly to Canada 
 bc3 r ond the jurisdiction of our government, and where an 
 asylum has been provided for them by the munificence of 
 her Majesty s government." 
 
 " We have heard much, uncle, of southern Nullification. 
 Calhoun and his friends have been greatly stigmatized 
 North, for their advocacy of that remedy for what they 
 supposed, unconstitutional legislation. Even that apology 
 these Abolitionists cannot offer ; for there is no question 
 of the constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Law ; and yet 
 it is most shamefully evaded." 
 
 " To that point I was coming, David. John C. Cal 
 houn was a good, great, and wise man. Errors he com 
 mitted, as all public men generally do : otherwise he 
 would have been more than human. The contest for 
 State Rights, upon his part, was not so censurable as one 
 might imagine. He sleeps quietly in his grave, uncon 
 scious of the turmoils by which we are surrounded. As 
 he foresaw and anticipated, the danger of despotism in the 
 Federal Head is growing annually more and more immi 
 nent. A most hostile sentiment to the South is growing 
 up at the North, which, if not arrested, must soon shake 
 this Union to the center if it does not work its disso 
 lution." 
 
 u Why, uncle, I am startled at the announcement. Can 
 it be possible that the North, like Samson, in his blind 
 madness, would tear down the pillars that sustain the 
 glorious edifice of this Union, thereby overwhelming 
 themselves and us in one general ruin ? " 
 
 " I fain hope, David, that such may not be the unhappy 
 termination of the momentous contest that is now raging 
 between North and South. The waves of fanaticism 
 are deepening and deepening continually. I do not like 
 to be an alarmist; but I cannot shut my eyes upon the 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 65 
 
 increasing ill-will, distrust, and hatred which are engen 
 dering between the two sections. Who can calm the 
 angry billows of strife that are rolling to overwhelm this 
 once happy country in irremediable woe ?" 
 
 " I do not entirely despair of the Union the good 
 sense the second sober thought of the North, may come 
 to the rescue. But I must say I see nothing even to en 
 courage a faint hope from Abolitionism. Should that rise 
 in the ascendant in our Federal Councils, this Union is 
 gone, if it were made of adamant. Southern rights 
 would be invaded in fact, the Constitution would be a 
 dead letter, and, in its place, would be a Northern despot 
 ism, though the forms of government might remain." 
 
 u Upon what ground could the North justify, uncle, 
 such palpable usurpation ? I have always been taught to 
 believe that the States were the original sovereigns in this 
 country, and that the Federal Government is a creature 
 of theirs, invested with well-defined and limited powers 
 that they had a prior existence, and, by their joint action, 
 created this nationality. Now, shall the creature de 
 stroy the creator like a bloody monster, devour its own 
 parents ?" 
 
 "That, David, is a wise and proper inquiry. I could 
 demonstrate to the unprejudiced the necessity of the 
 strictest adherence to the Compact among the States. 
 The Confederation carried us through the revolution ; 
 because unbounded patriotism pervaded the bosoms of all. 
 But when peace came, it was soon found to be inadequate 
 to our wants its inefficiency became clearly visible, and 
 consequently, in 1787, a Convention was called to form a 
 more perfect union. It met in Philadelphia, and the pre 
 sent Constitution is the result of its labors. 
 
 " How evident it is, that the powers conferred upon the 
 general government are limited and specific, the resi 
 duum being reserved to the States or the people thereof. 
 The terms and conditions, upon which this Union was 
 entered into among the thirteen original States, will be 
 found in the Constitution. The powers delegated and 
 those reserved are distinctly delineated. The South pro 
 poses to the North, that, on these conditions she will con 
 sent to the Union : 
 
66 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " First. c I retain the privilege to import slaves from 
 Africa until 1808 twenty years. 
 
 " Secondly. 4 You are to deliver up any person that 
 may escape into your States, if he owes me service or 
 labor. 
 
 " What is the reponse from the North ? 
 
 " 4 I will unite with you upon those terms and condi 
 tions that shall be the sacred agreement between us. 
 
 " Here, then, we have the solemn-plighted faith among 
 thirteen equal sovereignties in language plain, direct, 
 and positive free from all imaginable ambiguity." 
 
 u Permit me to observe, uncle, that I have recently 
 seen it stated by Abolitionists, that this Union was formed 
 for freedom to circumscribe and root out Slavery. Much 
 is said of the tyranny of the slave-power of its encroach 
 ments and aggressions. I would like to hear how just 
 those imputations are ; for I frankly confess I am not 
 thoroughly versed in the political history of my country." 
 
 " I am old enough to remember much of this history, 
 David. As there is an antagonism now prevailing be 
 tween the two sections, I presume it will be appropriate 
 to investigate this controversy more minutely. The great 
 question for solution is, where is the wrong. The candid 
 inquirer after truth whether in the North or South 
 would crave to be enlightened on so perplexing a 
 subject." 
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 The Union The Dangers that environ it. 
 
 " IT seems to me, David, proper to meditate for a mo 
 ment upon the nature of this Compact among the States. 
 The assumption, that this Union was formed to circum 
 scribe or destroy Slavery, is untenable and unwarrantable. 
 The thirteen States forming it nearly, if not quite all, 
 at that very time tolerated slavery. And again, why was 
 the slave-trade permitted for twenty years ? Was it to 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 67 
 
 ensnare our citizens by permitting them to import more 
 and more Africans, that this Federal head might have 
 the pleasure of turning them all loose to the detriment 
 and ruin of the whole South? The very idea is pre 
 posterous." 
 
 " Suffer me, uncle, for a moment to read the preamble 
 to the Federal Constitution : 
 
 " ; We, the people of the United States, in order to 
 form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure 
 domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, 
 to promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings 
 of liberty to ourselves and posterity. " 
 
 u What a catalogue of noble objects ! Will Abolition 
 ism secure to us these great blessings ? Will the design 
 of our noble ancestors in convention be more fully realized 
 by the success of these wretched fanatics ? I can call 
 them by no better name. 
 
 " No, never, never! I say it emphatically, David. It 
 is truly fanaticism in its wildest and most despicable 
 form it is nothing more. This spirit is of the most 
 dangerous character it is allied to insanity. Will it 
 listen to reason ? can it be entreated or conciliated? No, 
 indeed. You had as well try to stop the tornado in its 
 destructive march. With reason dethroned, it dashes 
 madly along blind and self-willed uprooting and pros 
 trating all obstacles in its way. Indeed, there is no 
 remedy for it but a strait-jacket." 
 
 "Oh! uncle, you are too highly incensed. You pour 
 out your vials of wrath in no measured terms. Perhaps 
 the Abolitionists may be convinced of their errors by fair 
 and legitimate argument. Do you think Chase, Wade, 
 Sumner, Wilson, Seward, Giddings and others are past 
 conviction ?" 
 
 " Indeed I do, David. I would rather undertake to 
 split rails the balance of my days for a living, than to 
 reason with such men on the subiect of slavery. I do not 
 accuse them of anything more tnan insanity on this par 
 ticular subject. In all other respects they are wise and 
 enlightened men. 
 
 4(1 This is not the first time the spirit of fanaticism has 
 visited this earth. At other times, and in other ages, it 
 
68 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 has appeared ; but it may be truly remarked, it has 
 always been productive of more evil than good. It has 
 uniformly carried in its train discord and bloodshed. Call 
 to mind the Crusades. How many deluded human beings 
 fell in those ill-conducted, bloooly, though styled Holy 
 Wars!" 
 
 " Yes, uncle, I recollect how those wars originated, and 
 for how long a period of time they were vainly prose 
 cuted. The present crusade against slavery does, in fact, 
 bear some parallel to those undertaken for the recovery 
 of the Holy Land. Both assume the garb of religion. 
 The Crusaders, in olden time, had for their motto, 4 It is 
 the will of God. All had this inscription on their ban 
 ners and shields. Here is the paternity of i the Hiqher 
 taw. " 
 
 " You might, David, have traced the similitude further. 
 Abolitionism, with countenance meek and lowly, wore 
 the holy robes of religion in her first debut in our land. 
 Over the poor Africans, held in bondage, she mourned 
 and wept. She upbraided us of the South for tyrannizing 
 over these Images of God. So it was with the Holy 
 Land. Turks and infidels tramped their wicked feet upon 
 that pure and consecrated ground. Nor was that all. 
 Pilgrims, visiting Palestine and the Holy Sepulcher, were 
 subjected to numerous insults and extortions. At last, 
 Peter the Hermit, called a meeting of Christians in the 
 plains of Placenzia for no house could hold them 
 where he harangued them in relation to the Holy Land, 
 and while he was urging them to march there for its re 
 covery, the whole multitude, as it were with one voice, 
 cried out 4 It is the will of God. And Peter did under 
 take to lead an army to that distant land a vast undis 
 ciplined multitude, who devoured everything on their 
 march, but accomplished nothing worthy of remem 
 brance. After many and repeated efforts spreading 
 over many years Christendom settled down in quietude, 
 resigning the Holy Land to the peaceable dominion of the 
 Turks to this very day." 
 
 " I venture to say, uncle, that this crusade against 
 Slavery will be equally unsuccessful and disastrous. 
 What but blind fanaticism could, for a moment, imagine 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 69 
 
 that Emancipation was to be achieved by agitation beyond 
 our limits ? Can the North issue the imperative decree, that 
 slavery shall no longer exist in this Union, and that too, 
 in total disregard of the rights of the slave-holder, and in 
 opposition to^ his will, interest, security, and happiness?" 
 
 a In answer I would observe, David, this can only hap 
 pen when northern fanaticism shall override the Federal 
 Compact, and make this instead of the freest govern 
 ment the vilest despotism upon earth. If the South 
 could tamely submit to such usurpation if it should ever 
 happen and consent to hold her most precious and inval 
 uable rights and privileges by the sufferance and at the 
 mercy of a Northern irresponsible majority, she would 
 be unworthy the name she bears for bold and daring 
 chivalry." 
 
 u Let me repeat, uncle, the South will never falter in 
 the defense and support of those rights guaranteed by the 
 Federal Compact. The institution of slavery is a local 
 question appertaining exclusively to the States where it 
 exists over which Congress dare not attempt to exercise 
 any authority, except in the enforcement of that provision 
 of the Constitution already quoted in delivering up 
 1 persons owing service or labor. The power of Congress 
 in this regard has been disputed. But if the States fail 
 or refuse l to deliver up, how is this provision to be 
 enforced ?" 
 
 " The inquiry is pertinent, David. I am apprised that 
 the Abolitionists claim this privilege for the free States 
 denying to Congress any jurisdiction in the matter at all. 
 Now, if the States refuse to make such delivery as most 
 of them, if not all, are continually doing has the slave 
 holder any remedy ? None whatever, if that construction 
 be true. The slaves will be enticed away they will be 
 supplied with the means of making their escape : but as 
 to delivering them up, it would never be done. An ap 
 peal might be made to the plain, authoritative language 
 of the Federal Compact; but of what avail would it be 
 in the estimation of those devotees of a higher law ?" 
 
 u I do presume, uncle, if we were to rely upon the 
 people of the free States 4 to deliver up fugitive slaves, 
 upon the claim of the owner or agent, it would be rarely, 
 
70 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 if ever done the sacred and inviolate obligation entered 
 into, to the contrary, notwithstanding. The parties to 
 the compact, as heretofore noticed, firmly bound them 
 selves mutually to do this very thing. What is the value 
 of compacts among sovereign States, if they are to be so 
 soon repudiated, and so shamefully disregarded!" 
 
 "Ah ! indeed, David do not all the pages of history 
 crowd with examples of such perfidy ? The maxim that 
 has governed the world is, might, not right. A poor 
 commentary upon such intelligent beings as we are hav 
 ing been too created in the image of God. But surely 
 this same being has immeasurably fallen from his original 
 primeval simplicity and holiness. Look at him in the 
 mirror of history that mirror that gives his true and 
 genuine features, without diminution or increase. What 
 else can we exclaim but this, Man is to man the sorest, 
 direst foe? A most melancholy reflection !" 
 
 "I ask the liberty to observe, uncle, that I notice a 
 growing complication in the affairs of this nation. Those 
 who formed our National Constitution, are barely cold in 
 their graves, and yet our Union is tottering to the center 
 vibrating like the terrible motions of a volcano. When 
 it will burst, God only knows." 
 
 u What is the cause of all this bitterness and angry 
 feeling, David, between the North and the South. I am 
 ashamed humbled in the dust to declare it it is, pro 
 fessedly, the negro the negro ! Shall this fact go down 
 to future ages stand in bold relief on the historic page 
 that Liberty the birthright of America the country 
 which was made an asylum for oppressed humanity from 
 all parts of the earth, was destroyed by love for the negro f 
 That it so happened in these United States, that three 
 millions of that race were held in bondage, without any 
 choice on the part of the present generation, but by en- 
 tailment of mother England? But its enormity was not 
 discovered until 1833 of our era. Our Federal Constitu 
 tion, as before stated, was formed in 1787. Then our 
 ancestors met in Convention came together from the 
 North and South interchanged views and sentiments, 
 and, by conciliation and compromise, laid the foundations 
 of the present government. Why should the labors of 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 71 
 
 those sagos and patriots be now despised and contemned ? 
 The objects to be attained by the Union, they set forth 
 explicitly in the preamble. The necessity now for the 
 Union remains in full force not abated one iota. Are 
 not justice, domestic tranquillity, common defense, gen 
 eral ivelfare, and the blessings of liberty, as dear to ns 
 this day as they were in 87 to our forefathers ? The 
 negro at that time could not prevent the formation of this 
 Union, and shall he, in the year of our Lord 1855, be 
 able to dissolve it 1 " 
 
 " I should fain hope the contrary, uncle. But we have 
 recently seen it avowed by a champion in their cause. 
 He says : To all America the time has come Liberty 
 or despotism. Again: Blood consecrates even the 
 remorse of great wrong. Also, I am cheered that I find 
 myself in sympathy with the great minds and heroic hearts 
 of the nation. What does all this signify ? Must we 
 understand, the Abolitionists are ripe for civil war? If 
 such be their contemplation, it is time the whole South 
 were roused from their lethargy." 
 
 "I have seen, David, a letter published in the Cincin 
 nati Gazette, under date of July 19, 1855, over the sig 
 nature of C. M. CLAY: and also a published statement of 
 his remarks at Brush Creek Meeting House, in which he 
 is reported to have said. The thing (meaning civil 
 war) had to have a beginning, and it had as well begin at 
 the Dripping-Spring as anywhere else. He undertook 
 also to show, The Free-Soil party in the North were in 
 the ascendency that they would unite with the negroes 
 South, and thus light up the torch of civil war. He fur 
 ther said, our motto, was freedom on the soil. Here, 
 indeed, we have the programme of the great Free-Soil 
 faction North ! Let the South buckle on her armor." 
 
 " It seems, uncle, the cloud is darkening. Whether it 
 will burst upon this once happy land, is only known to 
 Him who holds the destiny of nations in his hands. I am 
 unable to believe that we are doomed to the greatest 
 calamity any nation ever endured since the creation of the 
 world. Of all wars, a civil, is the most horrible. Cal 
 lous must be his heart who can calmly contemplate the 
 possibility of such an event." 
 
72 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " I am, David, a friend to this Union. Let the Consti 
 tution in spirit and intent be fairly executed. Let all its 
 Compromises be religiously regarded for it is the palla 
 dium of all our civil and political rights. Slavery was no 
 obstacle to the creation of the Union, and ought not to 
 jeopardize its continuance. Oh ! how patriotism has 
 waned since the days of the great and good WASHING 
 TON. He and his compatriots in arms and in Council, 
 were the friends of this more perfect Union. The adjust 
 ment of the slavery -question on a basis satisfactory to both 
 sections, was then consummated . It remains for the people 
 of the North to abide by it, or stir up a Contest that all 
 good and peaceable persons will sincerely deprecate. 
 
 "But the Free-Soil party are highly incensed at the 
 aggressions of the slave-power. They are thought to be 
 in the ascendency North, and a threat has been made 
 that they will unite with our Slaves, in carrying war and 
 devastation over the whole South. Has this menace been 
 lightly made or is it in reality in unison with the heroic 
 hearts of the nation ! " 
 
 " It is strange vastly strange, uncle, if these public 
 declarations made by a conspicuous citizen of Kentucky, 
 are authorized and sanctioned by Free-Soilism. He is 
 well known to be in close affinity with that party, and 
 must be presumed to be well acquainted with their secret 
 and dangerous machinations. Should such be their de 
 sign, we may know the days of this Union are numbered. 
 What is the great offense of the South ? What has she 
 done, to call down upon her so formidable a coalition? 
 for Abolitionism has again hid its brazen front under the 
 veil of Free-Soilism the chameleon has changed its color, 
 but the nature of the animal is identically the same." 
 
 "Yes, David, Free-Soilism that is the syren word 
 adopted by the Fusion Party ; that term affords a veil 
 copious enough to cover all the political-isms in the land. 
 Behold ! what a conglomeration of all the heroic hearts of 
 the nation, and when the negroes of the South shall be 
 fused into it what will we the white men, women and 
 children have to do? The humble privilege, I presume, 
 will be left to us to prepare for our exit to eternity. 
 What could we do it is thought against such over- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 73 
 
 whelming odds against the swarms from "the Northern 
 Hive!" and their black allies the semi-savage Afri 
 cans in our midst. In olden time the Goths and Vandals 
 and Huns emerged from the deep recesses of the North, and 
 carried fire and sword throughout the Koman Empire. 
 They devastated the country rapine and bloodshed was 
 the order of the day ; and the fairest portion of the then 
 civilized world was overran and depopulated by these 
 merciless hordes. Is Free-Soilism now ready and prepared 
 to embark in a similar mission to tread in the footsteps 
 of the Goths, Vandals, and Huns ?" 
 
 "To answer, uncle, this question in the affirmative, would 
 be an acknowledgment that the world has remained 
 stationary. Although the inventions of our day have 
 been great, in steam machinery, railroads, telegraph, 
 and fire-arms the arts and sciences ; yet these inventions 
 and improvements would only enable us the more rapidly 
 to destroy each other, and to sweep from the earth mil 
 lions of our race. Twenty-two millions of whites citizens 
 of one common country armed with all the contrivances 
 of modern invention must rush into mortal combat ay, 
 the North against the South all all. for what? The 
 liberation of three millions of Africans. What a mighty 
 tragedy for such a caiixe ? " 
 
 " Truly, truly, David the cause, would be dark and 
 disgraceful. It would entail upon our age and nation a 
 stigma that would descend to the last moment of revolving 
 time. Take up our Revolutionary history our subsequent 
 acquisitions the growth and strength of our nation its 
 vast area the variety of our soil and productions having 
 all the aliments of true wealth and greatness in greater 
 profusion than ever was enjoyed by any other nation: 
 not only these natural advantages, but blessed with a 
 government founded in freedom securing the liberty of 
 conscience liberty of speech and so wisely organized 
 that the state governments guard and protect our most 
 minute interests and wants while at the same time, these 
 States stand United for all national purposes-^-must all 
 these inconceivable blessings be sacrificed -for freedom 
 on the soil /" 
 
74 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " Ah me ! uncle, man is a mystery. When I contemplate 
 even the possibility of such a horrible issue to our Union 
 as you have insinuated, befalling this beloved country 
 intended to be an Eden for all the oppressed sons of our 
 race the white family of earth. Here I had hoped all 
 could have come, and mingled together in the sweetest 
 harmony. Here at least we could have worshiped God 
 under our own vine and fig-tree, and there would have 
 been none to make us afraid. But here in this broad 
 expanded Continent washed by the grandest rivers 
 diversified with the tallest mountains blessed with the 
 most luxuriant soil, and invigorating climate Africa was 
 Buffered to send out a branch of her race to convert all 
 our joys into bitterness like the serpent which crept into 
 and the garden, brought deadi into our world, and all our 
 woe. " 
 
 " I do not know, David, what may be the issue of this 
 crisis in our National affairs. Futurity has been very 
 wisely concealed from our vision. If such a calamity be 
 in reservation for our country, I do not crave to know it 
 beforehand, for sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. " 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The grounds of Controversy between North and South. 
 
 "THE charge of aggression on the part of the South, 
 David, I wish farther to notice. Much has been said and 
 written against her encroachments c the tyranny of the 
 Slave-power. I feel a disposition to do justice to both sec 
 tions, if I can, in this unpleasant controversy. Perhaps by 
 mutual explanations a reconciliation may be effected. 
 Free-Soilism wishes and intends to confine Slavery to 
 its present limits ; thereby excluding it from any of 
 the Territories of the United States." 
 
 "In opposition, the South contends, these Territories 
 having been acquired by the joint efforts and treasury of 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 75 
 
 the Nation, they ought to be subject to occupation and 
 settlement by the citizens of the whole Union that one 
 and all who are disposed, should be admitted to come in 
 with whatever is held to be property in their respective 
 states that whenever a Territory is sufficiently populated 
 to entitle it to form a Constitution and become a State, 
 the inhabitants thereof ought to be permitted to decide 
 for themselves whether they will have Slavery or not?" 
 
 " To that plan, uncle, I cannot see any valid objection. 
 African slavery being recognized by nearly half the States 
 in the Union, the citizens of those States, on that account, 
 ought not to be excluded. How invidious not to say 
 ungenerous for the North to say to the South, Stand 
 thou back I am more righteous than thou! By the 
 laws of Moses the leper was thrown out of the congrega 
 tion of the Lord he was considered impure. Slavery is 
 considered a great lepros} r so much so it must not be 
 suffered to contaminate the Territories." 
 
 " Shameful it is, David, to make such discrimination. 
 What will be its ellect ? Clearly to suffer the North to 
 appropriate the whole of the public domain to its exclu 
 sive use and benefit. This would be, in my humble judg 
 ment, great injustice. I am decidedly of opinion that Con 
 gress ought to leave the Territories free for all the citizens 
 of the various States, without any reference to Slavery- 
 whatever. In this way the common property of the 
 Union would enure to the common benefit of all. This 
 equality would work no injury, but would leave each 
 section on the same identical footing." 
 
 "The South, uncle, asks for nothing more. She scorns 
 to ask any legislation in her favor, or peculiar privileges 
 from the national government. She is willing to stand 
 or fall by a fair arid honorable competition with the North 
 in the settlement of the Territories. Why should there 
 be any objection to this arrangement founded, as it is, 
 upon a principle of self-government so consonant to the 
 genius of our people ?" 
 
 " The principle, David, ought to meet with general 
 approbation and acquiescence. By this means the dan 
 gerous question of Slavery is transferred from the Imlls 
 of Congress to the inhabitants of the Territories to whom 
 
76 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 it properly belongs. What damage can result from it, is 
 past my comprehension." 
 
 " But it appears, uncle, the establishment of this prin 
 ciple, by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill and 
 the repeal of the Missouri Compromise line, has created 
 deep exasperation in the minds of the people North. 
 Now, according to my limited understanding, the cause 
 was inadequate to rouse such a bitter feeling. Free-Soil- 
 ism now rears its potent head and overshadows the land. 
 Rather than see slavery extended beyond its present 
 limits, it would dissolve the Union. If it were possible, 
 it would throw around slavery a Chinese wall, so that it 
 should never expand in the least. To this point the eyes 
 of the North are most intensely directed watching it 
 with inconceivable jealousy." 
 
 "That is very true, David, and why is it so ? Does it 
 all flow from philanthropy only, or genuine love for the 
 African race ? Whoever supposes that their freedom is 
 the sole motive, labors under a great delusion. I grant 
 this is the ostensible object the one that stands front in 
 all their blustering; but, really, I imagine there is a 
 deeper design at the bottom of the whole movement. 
 Stripped of all disguises, perhaps after all, it will be 
 found a contest for power for supremacy." 
 
 "Ah ! uncle, is that the undercurrent to this vast agi 
 tation ? How much like human nature ! How seldom 
 the true motive to our actions is avowed ! Nations, like 
 individuals, keep the real object in view concealed. As 
 one person, the minds of the multitude are swayed by 
 envy and jealousy there is no perceptible difference." 
 
 " I have no doubt of that, David. It has been exem 
 plified in all ages, and in illustration of it an instance is 
 occurring in our day. Who can believe that pure philan 
 thropy, on the part of England and France, involved 
 them in this Eastern war now violently raging. It was 
 not the love of the Turk that induced them to embark in 
 this expensive and sanguinary conflict. What could be 
 found in his character to endear him so tenderly to those 
 two enlightened and Christian nations ?" 
 
 "1 imagine, uncle, it was not polygamy or their reli 
 gion. Who can admire such bigoted blockheads as those 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 77 
 
 Turks are ? How very contemptuously they speak of 
 Christians calling them dogs, as though there was no 
 word derogatory enough to express their abhorrence of us. 
 I confess I would not like to ber found fighting side by 
 side with such people. I would not regret if that demo 
 ralized race, with all their harems, were expelled from 
 Europe." 
 
 " Neither would France or England, David, if there 
 were not a grander object to be attained. The Czar of 
 all the Russias was about to subjugate and annex Turkey 
 to his vast empire, thereby making himself too powerful 
 for the safety of Europe. To circumscribe Russia, to 
 confine her dimensions, and not to suffer her to grow, was 
 considered essential to the peace and security of other 
 nations. The grand prize in contest between the present 
 belligerents is no less than the supremacy of Europe." 
 
 " The Northern sentiment, uncle, is haughty and impe 
 rious. Here in the United States, one would fondly hope 
 the controversy between the two sections will not have so 
 bloody an issue as has transpired in the East. But if we 
 look at the elements at work the pride, ambition, and 
 self-sufficiency of the North, we have little ground to hope 
 for domestic tranquillity in our country. Too much confi 
 dence is placed upon the internal weakness of the South. 
 Free-Soilers come boasting like Goliah of old when he 
 viewed David, a mere stripling, advancing to meet him 
 with a few pebbles from the creek, 4 1 will throw thy car 
 cass a prey to the birds of the air. We are informed by 
 the divine historian what his presumption cost him he 
 was, as a vile Philistine, laid low in the dust by one of 
 those despised little pebbles." 
 
 " The battle, David, is not always won by the strong, 
 nor the race by the swift. Amid all this vituperation, the 
 South is passive, like one conscious of his prowess and 
 bravery. She stands, like the sturdy oak, unyielding to 
 the raging storm. She knows her political rights, and 
 knowing, will dare maintain them. Can she be intimi 
 dated by pointing to her own slaves as the allies of Free- 
 Soilism? The intimation has been boldly proclaimed. 
 What ! threaten to arm the slaves to slaughter our women 
 and children in cold blood to excite them to a war of 
 
78 
 
 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 extermination for such a war it would be not of the 
 whites verily, but of themselves! We have been fore 
 warned that Free-Soilers would unite with the negroes 
 South. Ought such a threat be lightly made? Is it a 
 trifling matter to hint the probability of such a Union. 
 The author, it is presumed, spoke it not idly but from 
 full authority. He sees and knows the hostile designs 
 of Free-Soilism. Ah ! the great misfortune of the North 
 is, she does not truly appreciate the strength and 
 resources of the South." 
 
 44 Yes, indeed, uncle, she thinks we are weak and pusil 
 lanimous that 4 we may kick in the traces, but will be 
 sure to fall back again. * How often have the most 
 destructive wars thus originated ? England thought these 
 colonies would only kick in the traces they were too 
 weak to resist she could not believe they would rise in 
 rebellion to her tyrannical power. How could she sup 
 pose three millions of people would successfully withstand 
 her in the zenith of her strength and glory ! Proud, 
 haughty, despotic, she would listen to no remonstrance, 
 nor make any concession. She sent over her armies - 
 took into her alliance the merciless savage, whose known 
 rule of warfare was the indiscriminate slaughter of every 
 sex, age, and condition. But notwithstanding these fear 
 ful odds. England, in the end, had to make the humiliat 
 ing acknowledgment, c that these United States, by the 
 laws of nature and of nature s God, were, and of right, 
 ought to be, free and independent. This is a very strik 
 ing instance, how dangerous it is to think too lightly of 
 an adversary." 
 
 u Strange infatuation it must be, David, to suppose 
 fifteen States of this Union will tamely submit to a 
 Northern Despotism. Look at the South I mean by 
 that word the whole slave-holding region, from Mason 
 arid Dixon s line to the utmost limits of Texas and what 
 floes it embrace ? The finest portion of North America. 
 Think of its valuable products : cotton, sugar, rice, hemp, 
 and tobacco five of the most valuable products raised in 
 the world. It has been truly said COTTON is KINO. 
 
 Ford, at Columbus, 0. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 79 
 
 What is its annual worth in a raw state ? A fraction 
 over a 100,000,000 of dollars. Here, then, is the origin 
 of immense wealth. How much money does it bring in 
 its transit from the producer to the consumer to the 
 agents, insurers, shippers, manufacturers, and merchants 
 who handle it ?" 
 
 " I can hardly tell, uncle, what wealth is realized by 
 tracing cotton through all the mutations you have men 
 tioned ; but I do suppose all those through whose hands it 
 may pass, in its progress to, and preparation for consump 
 tion, will enjoy a remuneration for their labor, trouble, 
 and attention. What additional value cotton receives 
 in this transit, and the process of manufacture, I do not 
 remember to have seen. Those who have been more 
 observant of commerce might make an estimate approxi 
 mating near the truth." 
 
 u I can cite the authority, David, of no less a personage 
 than WALKER, formerly Secretary of the Treasury of tho 
 United States, under the administration of his Excellency, 
 JAMES K. POLK, now no more. His idea was that cotton 
 was enhanced eightfold in the process and mutations men 
 tioned. Taking his estimate as a basis, look at the aston 
 ishing result: first cost, $100,000,000; final value, $800,- 
 000,000. The actual wealth, therefore, created by cotton, 
 and realized by the industry of others, after leaving the 
 possession of the planters, makes the grand sum of $700,- 
 000,000. Thus we have the value of cotton in its raw state, 
 and just at the time it enters into consumption. Destroy 
 its production, and the business of the world will be sud 
 denly deprived of an article producing, at this time, such 
 immense wealth. Now, who is prepared to sacrifice so 
 much productive industry by devastating the South 
 burning her cotton fields, and turning loose her slaves to 
 b j a curse and nuisance to society ? Instead of having a 
 system of labor, wisely and judiciously arranged a<^ at 
 present the motto will be, ^ freedom on the soil? And 
 at one fell blow, the product of cotton will be struck down, 
 and will almost cease." 
 
 wt 1 am certain, uncle, such would be the fact. Now 
 only think of the suicidal policy of Abolitionism. Well 
 may it raise its brazen head, and proclaim to mankind its 
 
ABOLITIONISM DNVEILED. 
 
 utter contempt of consequences? What cares it if cotton 
 be struck from the earth if misery and ruin fall upon the 
 millions now engaged in its manufacture ? I can com 
 pare it to nothing better than a stream rising in the 
 mountainous regions of a country, fed and supplied by 
 innumerable springs, that tumbled their waters along 
 rocky vales, to a general reservoir that conveyed them to 
 the ocean. For years it ran its volume of water gradu 
 ally increasing. In its meandering route it passes through 
 fertile valleys the people seeing the uniformity of its cur 
 rent, and the many falls it encountered in its course, pro 
 ceed to erect mills and factories all along its banks. At 
 great cost they have erected their establishments and 
 millions of operatives are employed at fair wages. These 
 persons are living independently and happily, and blessed 
 with all the comforts of life. But lo ! the news comes by 
 telegraph that, by incantations, a set of fanatics have suc 
 ceeded in drying up all the springs at the fountain head, 
 and that this water-power will soon entirely fail. The 
 water ceases to flow, and the multitude, with the deepest 
 anguish, behold the dry bed of a once flush river. The 
 factories are all still in place of the busy hum of indus 
 try, we hear wailing and lamentation. The operatives are 
 deprived of employment their wages cease, and they 
 know not what to do. But the master-spirit, in produc 
 ing this distress, is made acquainted with these ; conse 
 quences. He sternly replies, l Consequences I never re 
 gard that is no part of my business if millions are 
 ruined, I can t help it I thought it right to dry up the 
 springs and I have done so. My eye is on one solitary 
 object, and I never look beyond it. In a similar manner, 
 if Abolitionism could have its way, the raising of cotton 
 would be annihilated. Then the millions relying for sub 
 sistence by its manufacture, would be turned penniless 
 upon the cold charities of the world." 
 
 " True as Scripture, David, Yankeedom would open ita 
 eyes ! What constitutes the wealth of the Eastern States ? 
 Go to Massachusetts the hot-bed of fanaticism the 
 people there will point to their rocky and sterile soil, and 
 you will confess their wealth is not dug out of the ground. 
 Whence is it derived ? By manufacturing industry and 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 81 
 
 commercial enterprise. Now here is a pound of cotton : 
 the planter, we will suppose, gets ten cents for raising, 
 picking, ginning and pressing it. Trace it to Boston. Here 
 the manufacturer examines its quality, and buys it, we will 
 say, at twelve cents. Takes it to his factory. Now his 
 labor upon it commences carding, spinning, weaving, etc. 
 It is by this process converted into either sheeting, calico, 
 or muslin, as his fancy suggests. How much has this 
 pound of cotton been enhanced by his labor and machinery? 
 we will say sixty cents, leaving a margin for profit 
 by the wholesale and retail merchants, through whose 
 hands it must pass to the consumer. Note the difference 
 in the profit. The planter has ten cents to show for the 
 production and preparation of that pound for market ; the 
 manufacturer sixty cents, or in other words, that pound 
 of cotton has enriched Mississippi ten cents, Massachu 
 setts sixty. At the wealth of the latter need we to won 
 der ? Without the cotton that sixty cents never would 
 have been made. Upon a large scale, behold what a 
 strange story this will tell." 
 
 u Fanaticism, uncle, is surely blind. I have read, I 
 think, in one of ^Esop s fables, of a farmer, who had a 
 goose which laid him daily a golden egg. Not content 
 with this slow mode of acquiring wealth, he cut her open, 
 so that he might come at the whole treasury at once. 
 That was the end of the eggs and the goose, and his 
 wealth. The South is now laying the golden eggs by 
 which the North is enriched. We will see whether the 
 latter is prepared to destroy the source of her principal 
 prosperity, and entail upon herself poverty and ruin." 
 
 " These things are as plain as the common rules of 
 Arithmetic. The North has 4 waxed fat, and begins to 
 kick, and upon what ? Upon those very golden eggs 
 laid in the South. For feeding the goose, and keeping 
 her in health and vigor, we, I speak in the name of the 
 South, have retained for our labor and investment, one 
 dollar out of eight, and very generously handed over the 
 other seven to the North, for her exclusive use and 
 benefit. How plain it must be whence the immense 
 wealth of the New England States has been accumulated. 
 Well may the people in that section boast of their public 
 
82 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 improvements, their Free Schools, their Railroads, their 
 large and nourishing cities, etc., when nearly all the pro 
 fits in the manufacture of cotton in the United States are 
 concentrated in their hands, great as those profits are. 
 Now for those very people to wage implacable hostility to 
 the South, against that peculiar institution that has 
 brought forth these golden eggs, indeed shows a degree 
 of madness and folly without a parallel in history. Noth 
 ing short of the most frantic fanaticism could, ibr a mo 
 ment, conceive a project fraught with such incalculable 
 evil to the North, and* in reality to the civilized world." 
 
 fct Well may you declare that, uncle. New England 
 manufactures but a small portion of the cotton raised 
 South. Old England, shame upon her, is reveling in 
 wealth from this very source. Millions of her subjects 
 are fed and clothed from the profits made in the manufac 
 ture of our cotton. Her great national debt would, long 
 ago, have crushed her to atoms, had it not been for this 
 very staple. She is the principal purchaser of cotton, 
 and enjoys most of the money created by its manu 
 facture." 
 
 " Let us see, David, how the 3,625,000 bales were dis 
 tributed in 1853. Great Britain took 2.000,000, France 
 400,000, New England 635,000. Put the original cost 
 at $40 per bale, probably that may be too much, but for 
 our purpose it is not very material. Make the calculation 
 in round numbers : Great Britain paid the South for raw 
 material 880,000,000. According to Walkers rule, she 
 will acquire additional wealth by the manufacture of this 
 cotton, at the lowest calculation, after deducting profits 
 in the hands of foreign factors, not less than $500,000,000 
 actual real wealth, as effectually as if extracted by agri 
 culture from the earth. This unfolds the secret of her 
 great and unexampled prosperity. London governs the 
 world in money matters it is the center of capital, of 
 commerce, and regulates the prices of commodities in all 
 the principal markets of the earth. Though Great Brit 
 ain is thus prospering upon this product of slave labor, 
 yet. is she the focus of Abolitionism ; she has fostered it, 
 and sustained the excitement here by her influence and 
 her money, as I have partially, and will hereafter more 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 83 
 
 fully show. Serious charges, but they are no less serious 
 thai) true." 
 
 u Then, uncle, think of the Free States, how many 
 millions of dollars we are annually throwing into their 
 laps. Notice the profits on the cotton. 625,000 bales, 
 deducting cost, $2,500,000, we have left the sum of 
 817.500,000, a very handsome remuneration for the man 
 ufacturing States, a portion of which, I presume, finds its 
 way into the treasury of Abolition societies." 
 
 "That is likely true, David; but these facts ought to 
 establish the necessity of preserving this Union. The 
 present settled order of society should not be disturbed 
 while it is diffusing mutual benefits by the interchange of 
 commodities. I have not adduced these statistics of trade 
 as an accusation against the North ; but it has been done 
 chiefly for the purpose of showing the source whence 
 their principal wealth is derived. No one objects to the 
 sale of cotton to the manufacturers North, but what we 
 do complain of is, they forget the hand that nourishes 
 them. To the Southern planters are they chiefly indebted 
 for their great prosperity. Stop the cultivation of cotton, and 
 how could those millions of dollars be made ? If I might 
 address myself to the people in that section, I would tell 
 them, without the raw material, your jennies, your looms, 
 your machinery would all stop, and your operatives be de 
 prived of work. Your Lowells would be deserted. And 
 what shall I say to thee, Old England, where wouldst 
 thou be? Thy "$500,000,000 of annual wealth swept 
 away forever. Ruin and bankruptcy would be thy fate. 
 The immense load of debt incurred by thee would crush 
 thee to the earth never more to rise. If I were an enemy 
 to thee and the Free States, I would say go on in this bitter 
 crusade against African Slavery ; kindle the fires of civil 
 war ; emancipate the slaves ; arm them for the butchery 
 of their owners and their families ; let *,he Free-Soilers 
 come on, and aid them in this grand work of extermina 
 tion ; thus display your intense love for the negro by the 
 wholesale massacre of your kindred after the flesh ; 
 envelop our dwellings in flames ; convert our cotton 
 and sugar estates into a wilderness ; erase our cities 
 
84 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 from the earth, until, like Carthage of old, no memorial 
 will be left to identify the spots where once they stood. 
 When the work of pillage, devastation, and rapine is over, 
 hug your black allies to your bosom for this wondrous 
 achievement. And then, what has been gained ? The 
 Anglo-Saxon race has been slaughtered, and there is now 
 1 freedom on the soil. These three millions of Africans 
 can remain and inhabit the land it is their heritage. I 
 want every Free-Soiler in the land to gaze on this picture, 
 view its beautiful outlines is it too highly wrought have 
 not your frenzied imaginations seen it all, and more too, 
 in the perspective ? 
 
 "I would say to Mrs. Stowe, Come up and see here 
 the fruits of c Uncle Tom s Cabin ay, it is said, 4 The 
 works of the righteous do follow themV These are thy 
 works, and they will surely follow thee. Remember thy 
 George. What did he display to the good and timid old 
 Wilson ? a bowie-knife and pistols. These instruments 
 have done the deed, and now cast thy eyes upon the car 
 nage ! Ask thyself, if this is good-will toward men 
 peace on earth ! But thou art comforted with the thought 
 that thy head has reclined upon downy pillows in the 
 mansion of Lady SUTHERLAND that thou hast been the 
 guest of dukes and duchesses that thou hast moved in 
 rustling silks, trod proudly on soft, resplendent Turkish 
 carpets, inhaled sparkling wine out of golden goblets, 
 and feasted with all the dainty luxuries a foreign land 
 could afford ; because thou hadst blackened the charac 
 ter of thy native land, and scattered the seeds of discord 
 between races the fruits of which I have only faintly 
 delineated. All the negro characters introduced into thy 
 work are brave, generous, noble, and religious the very 
 climax of beauty and mental greatness ; but look at the 
 masters, negro-traders, and hunters they are dastardly 
 cruel pirates and bloodhounds! 
 
 " Stand up SUMNER, WILSON, SEWARD, CHASE, and all 
 Free-Soil worthies ! Look with admiration at the consum 
 mation of all your strenuous efforts the great work, for 
 which you have so long toiled, is all finished to your 
 liking! the negro has been made the masterpiece of God s 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 85 
 
 creation, and although Africa has come in last, she may 
 yet, according to Mrs. STOWE S anticipation, outshine the 
 balance of the world! : 
 
 u I do not know, uncle, what has kept Africa station 
 ary. She is as old and as long inhabited. What excuse 
 can be offered for her want of progress ? Who has inter 
 fered with her? The white man cannot long breathe her 
 atmosphere and live. If the negro can drive the whites 
 out of other climates he has a perfect immunity in his 
 own. God has formed the country and climate in Africa 
 for the exclusive residence of his race. There he is lord 
 paramount ; an edict, positive and immutable, has gone 
 forth that there he shall dwell without intrusion from the 
 European. He holds a deed in fee-simple to that portion 
 of the earth against the balance of mankind. The Lord 
 has fenced him in with a hot and poisonous air to all 
 others but himself. This is equivalent to a deed of gene 
 ral warrantee." 
 
 If mankind, David, would conform more to the laws 
 of God in some respects, the general happiness would be 
 greatly promoted. That he has so constituted the negroes 
 as to adapt them to reside and labor in the tropical 
 regions of the earth, I believe with all sincerity. The 
 great Architect of the Universe, in all his works displays 
 consummate wisdom. Animals have been made and 
 fitted for certain localities. Notice the pelican, provided 
 with a pouch under his bill. Why was that done ? Simply 
 because that bird soared over arid deserts where water 
 was seldom to be had, and in that pouch he could carry a 
 supply to last him many days. Again we may notice a 
 contrivance has been given to the camel to enable him to 
 pass over the great African desert. How wisely and 
 judiciously have all things been made ! 
 
 "In illustration of this position I will cite another 
 instance. I saw once a little fish taken out of the river 
 running through the Mammoth Cave, in this State. At 
 first I was surprised at its destitution of sight an organ 
 that affords us so much pleasure ; but I quickly reflected, 
 what utility could there be in eyes where there was utter 
 and perpetual darkness. For this reason they were not 
 given. If, in these instances of inferior animals, we can 
 
86 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 see such complete adaptation to the localities they were 
 intended to inhabit, how much more strongly ought we 
 to believe that man s form and organization have been 
 somewhat varied to enable him to be a resident of every 
 zone upon earth?" 
 
 " Upon that point, uncle, I have not reflected a great 
 deal. From the instances cited, I am satisfied Divinity 
 has created and adjusted all things for our good. The 
 torrid zones are intended for the negroes, and the negroes 
 for them. The temperate, for the whites. Hero is ample 
 space for all. Although the negroes are the only laborers 
 that can be successfully employed in the cultivation of our 
 southern staples because they and they only are capable 
 of bearing the heat of summer and the diseases of the 
 climate yet, from the very nature of things, they must 
 continue under the control and authority of the whites to 
 make their labor really productive. The two races can 
 and do live amicably together in their present relation; 
 and they may continue to do so for ages, for aught I 
 know. The idea that the inferior can dispossess the 
 superior race is perfectly ludicrous. Nothing but the 
 wildest fanaticism could indulge in such a chimera." 
 
 " I just permitted, David, for the moment, Free-Soilism 
 to have its own way for the purpose of seeing what a 
 strange problem it would work out. What a great trans 
 formation would northern fanaticism make in the mission 
 of this mighty nation. Free-Soilism threatens to unite with 
 the negroes South, and I drew the picture to gratify their 
 fervid imaginations. What a wondrous work they would 
 perform to create freedom on the soil. I am thoroughly 
 convinced that, before this grand scheme of theirs can be 
 achieved, our race South must be exterminated. To say 
 the least of it, this is a most gigantic undertaking. The 
 Northern hive, with their black allies, may flatter them 
 selves they will prove equal to the task. If 1 might be 
 permitted to judge, however, they would commit a most 
 lamentable error. Old as I am, I would bare my breast 
 to the storm, and stand or fall beside my countrymen in 
 defending and sustaining our saered political rights. But 
 God forbid the emergency should ever arise between the 
 people of the United States! I dare not I will not 
 
AEOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 87 
 
 believe our glorious destiny is to be brought to such a 
 premature end." 
 
 "I trust such may be the fact, uncle ; but I have pre 
 cious little faith in fanaticism. Who could have stayed 
 the Crusades in their mad career? The voice of the 
 wisest and best men of that day could not have swayed 
 the minds of the multitude. So it has been with this 
 dangerous and reckless spirit engendered in our once 
 happy country. From small beginnings it has grown to 
 its present menacing magnitude. Vain have been the 
 struggles to stay its march. Perhaps naught but the effu 
 sion of oceans of blood will be able to cure this fatal mal 
 ady. So it was in the Crusades so it may possibly bo 
 again. The same demon is at work, and may not the 
 same bloody butcheries result, not as formerly between 
 Christian and Turk, but between Christian and Chris 
 tian fellow-citizens too, of one common country." 
 
 u If the salvation of this country, David, depended 
 upon the prominent leaders of Free-Soilism, I would give 
 up the question in despair. My pen, from this day on 
 ward, should cease to move. From them I hope I expect 
 nothing. But there is a public sentiment North that can 
 be invoked, and not in vain. There are people in that 
 section thousands of them with strong national feel 
 ings, who will come to the rescue, when they see and 
 know this Union is in imminent peril. They will frown 
 down the attempt l to alienate one portion of this Union 
 from the other. Now we only ask the faithful observance 
 of the Compact entered into by the States a compact 
 standing higher, and towering above all others the su 
 preme, irrepealable compact, unless by mutual consent, 
 or in the mode and manner indicated by the instrument 
 itself. 
 
 " Are we wrong in requiring a strict adherence to the 
 compromises of the Constitution a Constitution which 
 flowed from the spontaneous action of sovereign States, 
 and which remains as a monument to the political w r is- 
 dom the patriotism of the men of that day ? Talk of 
 the Missouri Compromise the Compromise of 1850 of 
 plighted faith its sacred ness ; but what are all these 
 worth compared to this compact this ligament which 
 
88 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 binds all these sovereignties into one great nation ! That 
 is the Covenant the solemn Covenant, signed, sealed, and 
 delivered. 
 
 "Why plead subsequent compromises, enacted by legis 
 lative authority, as more sacred and obligatory than the 
 Constitution itself? In that instrument and amendments 
 thereto, all the Compromises the States ever intended to 
 make will be found. The boundary of power is dis 
 tinctly marked. By not recurring to first principles, a 
 misapprehension of our complicated system of government 
 often originates. We are inclined to think the National 
 Government has absolute and supreme authority in its 
 appropriate sphere it has, but beyond, it has not. 
 Every power it exercises must be expressly granted, or 
 necessarily implied ; thus far it may go all else is usur 
 pation." 
 
 "The question of Slavery, then, belongs to the local 
 authority, uncle. The States very prudently never dele 
 gated that to the Federal Union, and hence it is retained. 
 This proposition is too clear for controversy. Admit the 
 evil of slavery to be ever so great the sin, if you please, 
 to be of the most heinous nature ; what is that to the 
 North ? The sin is not hers the responsibility will not 
 be hers at the throne of the Almighty ; because the States, 
 in respect to this matter, are entirely independent of each 
 other just as much so as if this Union had never been 
 formed." 
 
 " .Precisely so, David. This peculiar institution is the 
 creature of municipal law. The States where it is estab 
 lished, are fully competent to modify, regulate, or destroy 
 it. Why should the free States undertake to coerce 4 free 
 dom on the soil ? It is not their business it is ours and 
 ours only. Free-Soilisrn, with great condescension, yields 
 this point disavows any intention to disturb the institu 
 tion in the present slave States, but denies it the power 
 of enlargement; the idea of its expansion strikes their 
 minds with holy horror I mean the prominent leaders 
 of the party North. I pass from the declarations made 
 in our own State, and will now examine the justice and 
 propriety of excluding Slavery from the Territories. Now 
 let us see the effects of this brotherly policy. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 89 
 
 "Whose territories are these? The United States. 
 What constitutes these ? Thirty-one sovereign and equally 
 independent States. Hence this Union is theirs this 
 property is theirs. By what right does the North claim it 
 at all, though it is property jointly acquired because she 
 is not polluted with this accursed thing, human bondage. 
 Her garments are pure and unspotted, washed white in 
 the blood of freedom, and therefore, she very modestly 
 claims the lion s share every acre. Although the Fed 
 eral Government is the agent of all the States in dispos 
 ing of, and settling these lands, and as such, has no right 
 to make an odious and unrighteous discrimination among 
 the States; yet Free-Soilism would have her to stand with 
 a blazing sword on the margin of these territories, so that 
 their virgin soil should never be desecrated by the foot of 
 a slave. 
 
 " Now I will suppose, here comes a PURITAN from the 
 good old Bay State; the kind words salute his ear, c Go 
 thou in and inhabit the laud. But the welcome words 
 have hardly died away before, lo ! there moves up a 
 South Carolinian, followed by a long train of darkies. 
 He is forbidden to enter these fertile prairies this lovely 
 country is not for such as you, it has been consecrated 
 to freedom." 
 
 " c Am I not a freeman ? rejoins he. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! but what are these ? 
 
 " l My slaves, sir, that I have brought along to aid me 
 in subduing this land, in cutting down the forest, in 
 turning up the prairies, and in erecting houses. 
 
 " I am, sir, required to stand here as sentinel with a 
 flaming sword, to guard this delightful region from the 
 pollution of slavery. 
 
 " Who are you, thus interdicting citizens of this Union 
 from entering this territory? 
 
 " 1 1 am a Federal officer do you not see the stars and 
 stripes floating in the breeze ? 
 
 " I see them, sir, but by your fiat one-half of them 
 nearly have lost their luster their brightness is gone. 
 Go, tear down those colors rend that beautiful silk in 
 twain it is no longer an emblem of all the States Vut 
 onlv of a part! The sixteen Free States are all that 
 8 
 
90 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 should be there. You are the agent of them, and not 
 of the balance. If all the States be equal owners of this 
 rich and vast domain, how can you disfranchise nearly 
 one-half? 
 
 " By a law of Congress. 
 
 " But, sir, that law was opposed by the united vote 
 of the South, and passed over their heads by an unscru 
 pulous Free-Soil majority, in violation of the Federal 
 Compact. " 
 
 u I must remark here, uncle, that if thirty-one indivi 
 duals were to form an Association for some general pur 
 pose or business, and in the Article of Agreement by 
 which they thus became united, the parties were cautious 
 in stating clearly the terms and conditions upon which 
 they associated reserving to each one of the firm full 
 control and authority over his domestic affairs, I do not 
 see how the general agency, thus created for general pur 
 poses, would have any right to pry into the private affairs 
 of one or more members thus combining particularly 
 when a reservation was made forbidding such surveil 
 lance. Now if, in the prosecution of their business, such 
 firm were to acquire large bodies of waste land, would 
 not such land be held as joint-property ? Could sixteen 
 of the partners exclude the others from any enjoyment or 
 use of such property? No court in the United States 
 would make a decree of that character. Such a partition 
 would be held to be in contravention to all the well 
 recognized principles of law and equity. Such would be 
 the united judgment of every jurist in the land." 
 
 "Of that I have no doubt, David ; and yet the princi 
 ples of law and equity ought to be the same when applied 
 to communities or States. I must say there is a striking 
 similitude in the form of our government, to the indivi 
 duals composing the firm mentioned. The States have 
 retained the power to manage their local affairs in their 
 own way. In respect to their municipal laws and regu 
 lations Congress is powerless. Should Free-labor be 
 adopted in one state, Slavery in another, it was a matter 
 entirely within their jurisdiction. Should Illinois to 
 morrow, establish Slavery within her limits Kentucky 
 the next day abolish it the act, in the one case and in 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 01 
 
 the other, would be no violation of their Federal obli 
 gations. 
 
 " Their acts in such cases would be perfectly legitimate. 
 Conceding these powers to the States, and I believe the 
 most rabid Abolitionist will not deny them, the whole 
 excitement seems confined to the settlement of the Terri 
 tories. The great contest, North, is for the reinstatement 
 of the l Missouri Compromise line, and a positive inhi 
 bition of slavery in the Territories. Upon these points 
 the great fight is to be made." 
 
 " I rejoice, uncle, that you have at last approached 
 questions that engross so much of public attention. From 
 all the information reaching us and judging from the 
 newspapers promiscuously lying around, it is no little 
 there is deep and intense excitement in the Free States, 
 growing out of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill 
 by the "last Congress. I am anxious to find out how far 
 the South is guilty of those serious offenses laid to her 
 charge." 
 
 " f confess, David, I have been a little more tedious in 
 arriving at the Territorial question for that embraces 
 the other than I at first anticipated. I felt an anxiety 
 to define fully the powers of the States under the Federal 
 Compact to unfold the nature and design of our system 
 of government. Complex it may be called thirty-two 
 sovereignties revolving around one common center the 
 focus of their brilliant light. THEY are the twinkling 
 stars in our political firmament, whose converging rays 
 impart warmth, strength, and glory to the Union. May 
 their brilliancy never diminish, but shine more and more 
 c to the perfect day. 
 
 " Instead of the Federal government being the great 
 luminary of our system, around which these minor 
 spheres are moving, it is an opake body, and if it 
 assumes a gorgeous splendor in the eyes of the world, it 
 is from the reflected light imparted from the galaxy of 
 stars floating on our flag. It is their number and mag 
 nitude that give us consequence in the estimation of the 
 nations. 
 
 " The States are the pillars upon which this mighty 
 edifice doth rest; its basis its foundation. Oh! our 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 system of government was conceived in wisdom how 
 well have all its parts been arranged how nicely 
 adjusted ! It is the province of the States, with paternal 
 care, to watch over and guard the most minute interests 
 of society not a want, however trifling, they do not see 
 and regard. Thus all the benefits of government are 
 made as diffusive as the multiplied and diversified rela 
 tions of society can possibly demand. Then, again, you 
 will find all these States forming e pluribus unum? 
 one as to national purposes one as to foreign nations. 
 This oneness must not be confounded with consolidation. 
 A great central government, to overshadow the States 
 and absorb their liberties, was not the kind intended to be 
 established. Nothing could be more intolerable than a 
 central despotism the one I fear Free-Soilism is aiming 
 to erect upon the ruins of the present Constitution." 
 
 u How beautiful, uncle, is our plan of government 
 when rightly understood and fairly administered. Con 
 fine the National Government to its legitimate sphere 
 let it foster all the states know no North, or South 
 East, or West but move in harmony with all. By this 
 means, the destiny of these people for coming years, 
 would be grand beyond conception. With an area of near 
 3,000,000 of square miles being about the size of all 
 Europe if we can remain united, how great would be 
 our march to power to greatness, and to glory." 
 
 " The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise line has 
 created deep exasperation at the North. The Kansas- 
 Nebraska Bill has been lavishly denounced, as treachery 
 as perfidy to the North. Senator Douglass, who is gener 
 ally considered the author of the bill, has come in for no 
 small share of the odium which Free-Soilism feels and 
 expresses against the Act. His efficient and bold advo 
 cacy of that measure constitutes the brightest page in his 
 life. His great genius towered above petty sectional 
 strife. If he has incurred, and that most unjustly the 
 ill-will of this faction North he has endeared himself to 
 his fellow-citizens South, who will not forget his devotion 
 to the great national interests of the whole country." 
 
 " Here is the language of the act : c The true intent and 
 meaning of this act, is, not to legislate Slavery into any 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 93 
 
 Territory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to 
 leave the people thereof perfectly free to form their do 
 mestic institutions in their own way. And as a neces 
 sary consequence, the Missouri Compromise line was 
 repealed, passed in 1820, prohibiting Slavery north of the 
 line of 36 30 ." 
 
 44 Is that the whole sum of offense, uncle ? The prin 
 ciple laid down in that Bill, ought to have met with 
 general approbation. Why not leave the people of the 
 territories free to form their domestic institutions in their 
 own way ? I can see no impropriety in it, arid I am truly 
 amazed at the violent opposition it has encountered." 
 
 u But a great deal, David, is uttered about perfidy, 
 treachery, violation of plighted faith, by Free-Soilism, by 
 fanatics, who are knowingly and willfully acting in diso 
 bedience to the most sacred compromises of the Federal 
 Constitution. Point them to that section which enjoins 
 the delivery up of fugitives, owing service or labor in one 
 state escaping into another, and demand of them a com 
 pliance with their constitutional duty upon the claim of 
 the owner or agent would they fulfill it ? By no means ; 
 and yet they are great sticklers for Compromises. They 
 are eternally harping on the Missouri Compromise, raising 
 that in importance and dignity to the Constitution 
 itself. 
 
 " My own impression of such compromises might be 
 inferred from preceding observations. I maintain, the 
 Missouri line was a nullity when made it is still a nul 
 lity. In what light are such compromises to be con 
 sidered as amendments to the Constitution, or equivalent 
 thereto ? Concede that, and the Constitution may be 
 changed by a bare majority of Congress. Whereas tho 
 instrument itself says, k Amendments can be proposed by 
 two-thirds of Congress, or two-thirds of the legislatures 
 of the several States ; but the amendments, before they 
 have any validity, must be ratified by three-fourths of the 
 states in convention or by their legislatures, as Congress 
 may direct. I ask emphatically, what are those compro 
 mises ? Not amendments surely, because they have not 
 been adopted in the way just pointed out. If they are 
 anything, they cannot be elevated above the ordinary acts 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 of legislation. And I am not disposed even to give them 
 that much consequence, for they are usually passed under 
 circumstances of duress vile." 
 
 " I am disposed so to think, uncle. The Missouri 
 Compromise that of 1850, were both passed under ex 
 traneous circumstances, unfavorable to quiet and sober 
 deliberation. However that may be, it is clear to my 
 mind the Constitution cannot be thus amended, nor ought 
 it to be. How very dangerous to intrust such power 
 with a bare majority of Congress a power which nothing 
 but three-fourths of these states in the most solemn 
 manner can exercise. The hint ought to be sufficient to 
 put the whole country on its guard. My God ! if the 
 Free-Soilers could elect the President and secure a ma- 
 ]ority in both branches of Congress, what might they not 
 do 2" 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 The Union and its Dangers. 
 
 " Now, David, what forced upon the country in 1820, 
 the Missouri Compromise line, the repeal of which, haa 
 been productive of so much irritation among the people 
 of the North ? The South has been stigmatized for her 
 Punic faith in respect to this matter. Her guilt or inno 
 cence is a fit subject of inquiry." 
 
 How stands the case 3 Missouri asked for admission 
 into this Union in 1819 and 20, and she was refused. 
 Upon what ground ? Because she established Slavery 
 by her constitution. The very bill admitting her, con 
 tained a clause emancipating her slaves. This was passed 
 by the Lower House, but lost in the Senate. A most 
 angry feeling was engendered in Congress, between the 
 North and South, and convulsed the whole country. The 
 Union was on the eve of dissolution the South, to save 
 that, in an unguarded moment, made this concession. 
 Why was this necessity forced on the South ? Did the 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 95 
 
 North act right in refusing to Missouri the privilege of 
 ; forming her domestic institutions in her own way ? 
 Here the North committed a wrong, and took advantage 
 of it, contrary to a maxim of law in that case made and 
 provided. I ask, why should a State be refused admis 
 sion upon such a pretext? Ought that to be an objection 
 to a State? if it is, how obvious it must be, the pre 
 sent Slave states in the Union are unfit and unworthy 
 members. If it be a hinderance to the admission of new 
 States, how can the over-righteous North continue in 
 union with the present fifteen Slave states ? What 
 response can be made ? Well, I fear if new ones are 
 refused on this ground, ere-long the old ones will very 
 politely be asked t walk out." 
 
 44 That would be apt to follow, uncle. Now, how 
 would it look for the little State of Rhode Island, a mere 
 plantation, to order old Virginia out of the Union, be 
 cause she was polluted with slavery, and, therefore, un 
 worthy to associate with her in the National councils ? 
 How would that blessed Old Dominion feel the mother 
 of presidents the great benefactor of the nation she 
 who brought in as dower a princely dominion, and laid it 
 at the feet of the Union for the common benefit. And 
 must she and her children be denied any blessing this 
 Union can afford any privilege conceded to the North ? 
 Any discrimination against her how odious how abom 
 inable 1" 
 
 " I am sunk down, David, at the chaos that reigns in 
 our politics. What a marvel is man to man ! How dif 
 ferently we must be constituted, or are we not the mere 
 creatures of education ? I feel overwhelmed at the sad 
 picture our nation presents to the eyes of the world ! 
 1 Confusion worse confounded, is our unhappy national 
 condition. Can order be ever produced out of our present 
 discordant society ? What great blessings are put at 
 hazard ! 
 
 " Contemplate for a moment, the rich inheritance that 
 has descended to us survey the amplitude of our posses 
 sions cast your eyes along the Atlantic border pass 
 over to the Pacific, from north to south, from east to west, 
 
96 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 what an area do we encircle ! The diversity of produc 
 tion, the variety of climate, the fertility of soil, mark out 
 a path to a glorious, exalted destiny. 
 
 "But to these natural advantages, the greatest boon of 
 all is to be added a free government a government so 
 organized as to secure the greatest amount of happiness to 
 the community. The great problem, l that governments 
 were instituted for the benefit of the governed,* has been 
 happily demonstrated. The principle of representation 
 we understand and carry out more successfully than any 
 other nation. By its instrumentality our system of gov 
 ernment can be made co-extensive with our great circum 
 ference. 
 
 u Think how truly and greatly we are blessed. Can 
 we extol too highly the liberty of speech and of the press ? 
 the liberty of conscience, privileges inestimable, but 
 vouchsafed to us ? Oh ! how long was the human mind en 
 fettered with the heavy chains of bigotry ! How singular, 
 KELIGIOUS LIBERTY was unknown until taught in America ! 
 Here it was first proclaimed, that ; man had a right to 
 worship God agreeably to the dictates of his own con 
 science? So great an achievement was reserved for the 
 sages who laid the foundations of our government. 
 Blessed may their memories be, till time shall end. Had 
 they done nothing more, this alone would have added 
 immortality to their names." 
 
 " We are not capable, uncle, of appreciating the great 
 minds that founded our Republic I Retrospect the past. 
 Christianity had reigned on earth 1776 years. The keys 
 of heaven and of hell were thought to be deposited with 
 one Church, the head of which vaunted himself as being 
 the vicegerent of Christ upon earth. All who would not 
 acknowledge his supremacy, if discovered, were consigned 
 to the stake. Thousands of martyrs perished amidst 
 flames, because they would not confess the infallibility of 
 the Pope. Religious persecution filled the earth ; but the 
 American Revolution not only dissolved the ties that con 
 nected us with mother England ; it also sundered the con 
 nection between Church and State. It proclaimed to 
 mankind the great principle of religious tolerance, forbid 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 97 
 
 the fagot and the flames to desecrate our soil, and left all 
 the privilege to worship God in whatever manner their 
 consciences dictated." 
 
 " It is obvious, David, though this may seem a slight 
 acquisition ; yet it is the corner-stone in the edifice of 
 freedom. Mark my words! Take away religious lib 
 erty w ith it go the liberty of speech and of the press 
 and there is naught else left worth preserving. Political 
 liberty, without including the religious, is a solecism a 
 perfect absurdity. Suppose a person commits an error in 
 religion, how cruel, how unjust to punish him with death 
 for such a mistake. Perhaps he judged from his best in 
 formation from the exercise of his best reason. If he 
 could not think and see as others, on these abstruse 
 questions, it might be owing to some mental infirmity, 
 beyond his control, and for which, instead of an excruci 
 ating death, he ought never to suffer in the slightest de 
 gree. What dangerous presumption not to say wicked 
 tyranny for any body of men to place themselves as 
 judge between an intelligent soul and its maker ! Of all 
 despotisms on the face of the earth, this is the most hate 
 ful rthe most intolerable. How many have suffered 
 martyrdom, rather than yield so sacred a right f Yes, 
 thousands upon thousands of human souls, enlightened 
 and pious, rather than submit, have ascended to the throne 
 of God amidst the curling flame." 
 
 " How horrible the thought, uncle ! What a fearful 
 responsibility did those assume who ventured to send, 
 from time to eternity, myriads of the human family 
 for bare errors in religion I say bare errors/ but who 
 knows whether they were or not ? Who has a right to 
 sit in judgment in relation to such holy and inscrutable 
 matters ? Ah me ! I would not, for the whole world, 
 consign a fellow-mortal to the stake, for worshiping God 
 in his own way ; though it might be very different from 
 the mode I practiced myself. The very thought of human 
 fallibility, of the weakness of our intellects, would admon 
 ish me to the utmost tolerance in the dogmas of religion. 
 I confess with shame and deep mortification, that with all 
 my academic lore, I am not able to fathom the Almighty, 
 or to comprehend the vaetness of His works. Should I 
 
 
98 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 unluckily fall into an error in the adoration and worship 
 I should feel and offer to the great and incomprehensible 
 God, the Creator and Preserver of this world, how mon 
 strous cruel it would be if / had to atone for such error 
 at the stake." 
 
 u Yes, truly, David, how precious is such liberty ! 
 Well, I have adverted to these matters chiefly to show 
 the value -.of our government the intense affection we 
 owe it, and how strenuous our efforts ought to be for its 
 preservation and perpetuity. The prize of liberty grand, 
 glorious, glittering is the stake upon which we have Gin- 
 eyes fixed, in this political race we are running. Now, 
 this rich inheritance, this glorious prize, is in the utmost 
 jeopardy 1 All the liberties I have mentioned dear and 
 valuable as they are to humanity seem suspended by a 
 hair. The angry billows of fanaticism are heaving on 
 the bosom of our political sea, and whether the vessel of 
 State can ride out the storm, God, by his omniscience, 
 can only tell. 
 
 " The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise line, and 
 opening of the Territories to all the people of the Union 
 alike, is the pretext to all this fierce excitement. I am 
 free to aver, that amidst this ebullition of passion, I can 
 not perceive wherein the South has done wrong. Has 
 she ever asked Congress to establish Slavery in any Ter 
 ritory 1 No, never never! She only demands of her 
 sister states an equal participation in the settlement of 
 the public lands. She does not crave to be legislated in, 
 but opposes being legislated out ; this is l the height the 
 front of her offending. " 
 
 "Indeed, uncle, is that the sum and substance of her 
 guiltiness? What temerity, in fifteen Southern states, 
 to put in such an unreasonable claim--nearly one moiety 
 of the whole Union. Nearly, did I say : if computed by 
 the number of square miles each section contains, the 
 South is the largest by a fraction over 200,000 square 
 miles. Then, in regard to territory and wealth, she is in 
 no way inferior to the North if less in population, 
 ought that to be a reason for her disfranchisement for 
 the odious and unfair exclusion of her from the public 
 domain \ Moreover, must the general government, the 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 99 
 
 creature of all the states, act with disloyalty to a portion ? 
 Must the President and Congress forget the solemnity 
 and obligations of their oaths, to preserve, protect, and 
 defend the Constitution of the United States? That 
 Constitution, in its operation, pervades the whole Union. 
 One section ought to be cherished and protected as much 
 as another. Congress, therefore, in the Nebraska-Kansas 
 Bill, disclaims any intention to legislate slavery into the 
 territory, or to exclude it therefrom ; but to leave the 
 people thereof, perfectly free to form their domestic in 
 stitutions in their own way." 
 
 U A fair, just, and correct principle, David, which none 
 but enemies to self-government will oppose tyrants at 
 heart, and foes in disguise, to liberty. May the Missouri 
 Compromise line go, never more to be remembered, when 
 it comes in conflict with so salutary a principle, forming 
 the very basis of republicanism. Whoever denies that, 
 must also dispute the capacity of the people for self- 
 government. Why should there be such a dread to trust 
 this question with the people of the territories are they 
 incompetent and unqualified to decide it ? 
 
 " Kansas, during her Territorial existence, must not be 
 intrusted with the power to decide upon her domestic 
 institutions in her own way that must be reserved to 
 the superior virtue and intelligence of Congress ; but so 
 soon as she becomes a State if it were the next day 
 she can then exercise that power without restraint. 
 What possible difference can it make, whether this pre 
 rogative be exerted a few days sooner or later?" 
 
 U I cannot discern, uncle, if it be right in one case, 
 why it is not in the other. Now let us suppose Kansas 
 has the requisite population by the authority of Con 
 gress, she has held a convention prepared a republican 
 constitution, and has been admitted into the Union as a 
 Free state. But directly afterward, from a sudden change 
 in public sentiment, she convenes another convention to 
 alter or amend her constitution. She has been admitted 
 into the Union, and hence, has all the privileges of the 
 original states, being on an equal footing with them in 
 all respects whatsoever. She now establishes Slavery. 
 
100 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Who will deny her the power to form her domestic insti 
 tutions in her own way ? None, I presume." 
 
 "Between the pupilage and manhood of a Territory, 
 David, there may be a very little span. In this light, 
 therefore, the whole quarrel between North and South 
 depends upon an act before or subsequent to admission ; 
 perhaps a few months sooner or later. The people in the 
 territories must be kept in a condition of vassalage ; but 
 so soon as admitted into the Union as a State, a transmu 
 tation takes place, and they emerge from their degraded 
 minority. 
 
 " But Free-Soilism affects to be terribly incensed at the 
 aggressions of the slave power. She wants a positive 
 law to inhibit slavery in the territories. Let us gratify 
 her for the moment, and see \LQ\\ pleasantly and justly 
 it will operate. 
 
 "Imagine our sentinel still at his post, with his in 
 signia of power, to preserve the territories inviolate from 
 the encroachments of slavery. A Virginian draws near, 
 and offers to pass in with his retinue of slaves. 
 
 " 4 Fray, sir, whence are you ? says the sentinel. 
 
 " I am a citizen of Virginia, and have come, with my 
 slaves, to make a settlement in Kansas. 
 
 " Congress, sir, has, by law, inhibited slavery in the 
 territories ; you can stand aside. 
 
 " Very well. Here is a gentleman from Massachu 
 setts, my traveling companion part of the way. Now, 
 let me see what you will do with him ? 
 
 " I am, says the Yankee, s all the way from the good 
 old Bay State, the land of the Puritans, and the cradle 
 of the Revolution. 
 
 "In what capacity, sir, says the sentinel, do these 
 Africans accompany you ? 
 
 " Be not alarmed, sir, they are good and true citizens 
 of that ancient commonwealth. They have come with 
 me as free laborers, not as slaves, like those with my 
 friend from Virginia. 
 
 " If I were to die for it, rejoins the sentinel, I can t 
 see, so far as external appearance is concerned, a shade 
 of difference between the bond and free ; all uncontami- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNTIED. 101 
 
 nated Africans, full-blooded and pure. But the wisdom 
 of Congress has declared in favor of free, and against 
 slave labor? 
 
 " c Permit me to say, sir, says the Virginian, to the 
 sentinel, that for honesty, sobriety and industry, my 
 slaves cannot be surpassed. And I will venture farther 
 to say, at the end of each year they will show a better 
 crop dress finer have more money than those with 
 Doctor Ramsey, from Massachusetts. Not only that, 
 but in the meantime will live better be more contented 
 and happy. 
 
 " 4 That is an abstraction, replies Doctor Ramsey. 
 4 There is a great distinction to be drawn between free 
 dom and slavery. Colonel Reed, from Virginia, whom 
 I met by the way, doubtless is a humane and generous 
 master. The idea of slavery is intolerable. These free 
 laborers of mine, voluntarily work for hire. They have 
 come with me this long distance, to render me service at 
 fixed wages. 
 
 "Very well, sir, rejoins Colonel Reed. But do 
 you not hold them bound faithfully to labor for your 
 benefit? Do you not require them, with the utmost 
 diligence, to perform every service they have under 
 taken ? 
 
 " c I do, most assuredly, responds the Doctor. I s"uf- 
 fer no idleness no disobedience to orders. My servants 
 are to be up by dawn of day : my rule is, no breakfast till 
 it has been earned. My orders are to be strictly observed. 
 When I hire men to work, they shall earn their wages. I 
 don t pay them money to do nothing. 
 
 " 1 presume not, Doctor. I find your rules as arbi 
 trary as mine ; nor can I see they are more humane. 
 Your servants are dependent perhaps poor relying 
 upon their toil for subsistence. Idle they cannot be. 
 You are a man of wealth, and can furnish them with 
 employment; and when the work is done, pay them the 
 stipulated wages. Now do you not perceive that depend 
 ence creates servitude, and places the poor in the power 
 of thencA? 
 
 " ; Not at all, Colonel, servitude and slavery are not 
 one and the same thing they ought never to be con- 
 
102 AferttjTiowisM J-NVEILED. 
 
 founded. These slaves of yours, by the laws of Virginia, 
 are made chattels personal estate can descend to heirs, 
 etc. These images of God are thus transferable like 
 horses, cattle, and other stock. 
 
 " Grant it all, Doctor; but are they not by our laws 
 regarded as persons ? They cannot be deprived of life or 
 be cruelly treated with impunity. By no means. In 
 these respects they are under the protection of the law ; 
 and in the infirmities of age and in sickness they can t 
 become a charge upon the county the owner being 
 required to take care of them. You do not incur this 
 responsibility in old age and sickness you can cast your 
 servants off. 
 
 " ; So I can, Colonel, I have no interest in them any 
 longer than they labor for me. In sickness they lose the 
 time and pay their own expenses. In this way we econo 
 mize and render our labor the cheapest. The cost of your 
 slaves, with these other contingencies, will enable me to 
 cultivate a crop cheaper than you can. 
 
 " Perhaps it will, Doctor. The Yankees are celebrated 
 for cuteness the world over, and they display it as much 
 in their contrivance to obtain cheap labor as in anything. 
 else. For a poor man to rise among them is next to im 
 possibility. Out of his scant earnings he can never 
 accumulate. After a life of toil he dies, as he began, 
 poor. To this fact your crowded poor-houses bear con 
 vincing testimony. 
 
 " fc But it is in a national aspect I want to examine the 
 question of my exclusion from this territory. You and I 
 have come both with negroes. My State has one system 
 of labor, yours another. The wealth of a nation consists 
 in its productive industry. Can your free negroes out 
 work mine raise more wheat, corn, hemp, or tobacco? 
 Will not the prairies, if turned over by rny slaves, yield 
 as well as if plowed up by your free negroes ? Why 
 should the National government undertake to make a 
 discrimination of this kind ? Now this will be its effect : 
 
 " Massachusetts has made by her Constitution and 
 laws citizens of the free negroes, and she is the only State 
 in the Union that has conferred upon them this distin 
 guished honor. Now, sir, must she be permitted to force 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 103 
 
 that kind of population into these Territories, inter 
 mingle them with the whites, and claim for them equal 
 privileges ? 
 
 " Why not, Colonel, are they not as good as white 
 people? 
 
 " 4 Ask Indiana, Illinois, Doctor; ay, every other State 
 in the Union but your own. The response will come up 
 in tones of thunder, NO ! NO ! l We never have, nor ever 
 will admit the Africans as equals. 
 
 " And yet, in violation of this public sentiment, 
 evinced by the laws and regulations of every State except 
 one, you bring here these black citizens of your ancient 
 commonwealth to plant their feet upon this virgin soil. 
 Can you suppose there is enough virtue in the legislation 
 of your State to make a negro anything different from 
 what he is ? 
 
 " Again, does not this very incident show the injustice 
 of Free-Soilism ? You and I have come to settle and 
 improve these territories I am prohibited; you are 
 admitted, because your Africans are, by your State, 
 dignified as citizens though not a whit better than mine. 
 Now think of the two States. Can yours claim superi 
 ority over mine? The Old Dominion, like Saul, stands 
 head and shoulders above every other State. This pre 
 eminence should be accorded to her for the sacrifices she 
 has made for the common good. With the different 
 systems of labor, as adopted by the various States, the 
 general government ought never to meddle. She should 
 place all upon a footing of equality, and then the domes 
 tic tranquillity would not be disturbed. The South and 
 West will not yield this territory to your black citizens 
 let them form a State and send a negro to Congress! 
 When that day comes the cry will be made, To your own 
 tents, O Israel! 
 
 u If Free-Soilism can have its way, such would be the 
 cry in all the southern region in less than twelve months. 
 The South will never consent to be dishonored merely on 
 account of her system of labor. If she should ever be 
 forced into secession, it will be because the National Com 
 pact has been grossly violated its compromises shame 
 fully trampled under foot. The Union to which she 
 
104 
 
 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 consented, the terras upon which it was formed, would be 
 destroyed leaving her entirely at the mercy of a despotic 
 majority of Free-Soilers. To such usurpation the South 
 could not tamely submit, although her attachment to the 
 present Union might remain unabated. Yet when north 
 ern fanaticism, whose whole aim is to degrade and insult 
 her, shall be installed in the high places of government, 
 we may rest assured that then the tug of war will 
 commence. 
 
 " Should not this spirit, David, be checked and rebuked, 
 such must be the inevitable result. Those who flatter 
 themselves the South will only kick in the traces and fall 
 back, will be most woefully disappointed. Such pusilla 
 nimity ought not to be anticipated. What are her num- 
 bersJ Over six millions of whites. A number too great 
 for annihilation suddenly. Why should it be supposed 
 they would tamely yield up their most precious rights 
 only kick in the traces,- and let the minions of Free-- 
 Soilism, with the heavy reins of despotism drive them, 
 Jehu-like, to inevitable destruction ? It is not in human 
 nature to yield without a struggle to such unheard of 
 despotism. 
 
 " When before was ever the chivalry of the South called 
 in question ; her undaunted bravery for a moment doubted ? 
 Do not the revolutionary struggle, the war of 1812 the 
 Mexican War all bear united testimony to her courage 
 and invincibility? The laurels won in all these contests 
 sit not alone on Northern brows. Oh ! it would be 
 almost invidious to name our Southern heroes and brave 
 troops, who have won imperishable renown on the en 
 sanguined field. Their names and their deeds stand in 
 bold relief on the historic page. Perhaps the present 
 generation, should an emergency rise, will not prove the 
 degenerate sons of such illustrious sires." 
 
 " The very possible good to be attained, uncle, by in 
 terdicting Slavery in the territories will hardly justify the 
 hazardous enterprise in which Abolitionism is engaged. 
 The disruption of this Union will entail upon our race 
 woes such as the world has not hitherto witnessed. Be 
 nighted must be the minds of Northern fanatics, if they 
 will rush headlong into the yawning gulf which lies 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 105 
 
 before them. If, instead of domestic tranquillity, and the 
 blessings of liberty to themselves and posterity, they shall 
 invoke civil discord, and internal war, all for the estab 
 lishment of i freedom on the soil, the page which shall 
 record such madness, such fatuity, should be bordered 
 with the drapery of mourning." 
 
 " Suppose, however, such result may not follow, David. 
 How much would the North gain by confining Slavery 
 to its present limits ? If the object is for the good of the 
 slave, the Abolitionists ought not to oppose the diffusion ; 
 for it cannot make his condition worse by transferring 
 him from the present States to Kansas. It multiplies 
 his chances for freedom. It does not increase the number 
 in bondage, that would remain the same. Neither does 
 it give any more political weight to the South. She has 
 ample space for her population, and the labor of her 
 slaves, for hundreds of years to come. She will go on to 
 increase at the same ratio, by limitation or expansion. 
 
 u Let us personify the two sections for the moment, to 
 hear their mutual criminations and recriminations ; there 
 they sit in the President s mansion, haughty, proud, and 
 disdainful, each enrobed in gaudy attire, and reposing on 
 silken cushions. No two old maids ever assumed such 
 frightful mien, and overbearing hauteur." 
 
 " A happy conceit, uncle. Let silence reign, while 
 those peerless old beauties pour out all the vials of wrath, 
 which, for so many years have been locked up in their 
 bosoms. Like the throes of a volcano, the lava must 
 have vent. See how they are convulsed with contending 
 passions, while their eyes flash with burning indigna 
 tion." 
 
106 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 The Altercation. 
 
 " I TELL you, Miss North, says Miss South, c my ire 
 is worked up to the highest pitch. I perceive you are not 
 disposed to consider me any longer your co-equal. We 
 have been united in business ever since 1787. You can 
 not have forgotten the articles of our agreement ; but you 
 are beginning to assume an arrogance and superiority 
 insupportable. 
 
 " k Oh, Miss South, rejoins Miss North, i do let us 
 talk over our grievances a little more dispassionately. 
 Thy blood is boiling hot, unsuited to calm discussion. 
 Grave and momentous questions at issue between us can 
 not be thus adjusted. The union between us has hitherto 
 been harmonious, and I had indulged the hope, it would 
 be of long continuance. 
 
 u c Yes, Miss North, so it might have been, if you had 
 kept your prying eyes out of my domestic affairs. Hav 
 ing fifteen large plantations and three millions of slaves, 
 you will not doubt my wealth. I am resolved to be mis 
 tress in my own house, in despite of your officious 
 meddling mind you that. 
 
 " Come, do not be enraged, Miss South, I don t know 
 that I have been meddlesome ; I do feel and express a 
 deep sympathy for your slaves. 1 persuade off all I can, 
 and those I can t get away, I try to dissatisfy. Now, these 
 little matters, I do think, ought not to create on your part 
 so much irritation. 
 
 u Oh, no, Miss North, all a trifling matter. Did you 
 not bind yourself by these presents (unfolding the parch 
 ment) not to do these very things f I am almost tempted 
 to throw the instrument into thy perfidious face. What 
 are compacts what are agreements worth, if the parties 
 thereto, are not bound thereby ? Dare you deny the obli 
 gation into which you entered with me? Thy frigid face 
 ought to be suffused with blushes, if blushes could be 
 seen on such pallid cheeks. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 107 
 
 " c Retrain from personal reflections, I pray you, Miss 
 South 1 am jealous of my beauty. If I arn a little 
 more cool and calculating than you are, it is owing to the 
 climate in which I dwell. I manage my domestic insti 
 tutions in my own way, and from my thriftiness, you 
 may be satisfied they are well managed. 
 
 u Manage your private affairs in whatever way you 
 please, Miss North. I give myself no concern upon that 
 point. I care not what you do at home; but my com 
 plaint is, that, not content with ruling in your own 
 region, you are employing and sending over emissaries on 
 my side to create me trouble. You are by this means, 
 trying to stir up strife in my family by enticing away my 
 slaves, and doing me infinite mischief, in violation of the 
 compact solemnly entered into between us. 
 
 u As to that* I can hardly say, Miss South. There 
 is a higher law the law of God that supersedes human 
 laws, obedience to which, is our first duty. 
 
 u l Most abominable, Miss North. In this way, the 
 most sacred engagements into which individuals and na 
 tions can enter might be rendered a nullity at the option 
 of either party. Such a doctrine, though apparently 
 pious, makes of private contracts and governments mere 
 cobwebs, whose attenuated thread will only hold the 
 feeblest insects. Shame upon such perfidy. Here is 
 your compact made with me in 87. I will read the 
 identical words to refresh your memory. 
 
 u ; No person held to service or labor in one State, 
 under the laws thereof, escaping in another, shall, in con 
 sequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged 
 from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on 
 the claim of the party to whom such service or labor may 
 be due. 
 
 " There is your undertaking, signed, sealed, and deliv 
 ered. Why invoke a higher law to sanctify its willful 
 infringement ? Have you delivered fugitives from my 
 estates, which was your imperative duty 1 Answer me 
 that. 
 
 " In reply, I must confess, Miss South, in this respect, 
 there appears, upon my part, a dereliction of duty. But I 
 feel justified from the consideration, that the laws of God 
 
108 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 never have, nor ever will, recognize human slavery. I have, 
 therefore, under the sanction of this higher law, aided the 
 panting fugitive in making his escape from the land of 
 bondage ; with my Underground Railroads I have been 
 enabled to run him quickly and safely to Canada. Upon 
 this charitable work I hope to receive the blessings of 
 God. 
 
 " Oh, thou hypocrite ! Canst thou expect the blessings 
 of God upon the violation of plighted faith ? Canst thou 
 not see the tendency of such a doctrine ? It is to destroy 
 the confidence, the peace, safety, and the harmony of 
 society to tear loose the ties that constitute us one peo 
 ple, and resolve us back to a state of savage liberty. 
 
 " I am conscientious in all this matter, Miss South. I 
 make as my rule and guide the dictates of the higher law. 
 The rectitude of my intentions will extenuate my conduct 
 in the premises. 
 
 " No extenuation in the world, Miss North. On no 
 such a pretext ought these great national engagements to 
 be infracted. You agreed to deliver up any person owing 
 me service or labor, whether he was white or black, a slave 
 or apprentice. If I could prove the fact, that a fugitive 
 owed me service or labor, by no law or regulation were 
 you to defeat my claim to his delivery. This was the 
 compact between us in language the most unequivocal. 
 And yet you are in the practice continually of its in 
 fraction! When I charge you with bad faith with the 
 failure to live up to the terms of our Union, you concede 
 the fact, but put in a plea of justification. And what is 
 that plea ? Conscience higher law. Why did you not 
 think of that ere we united ? I had slaves then so 
 had you. We were both alike, so far as that was con 
 cerned. 
 
 " Very truly, Miss South ; but I have thought it expe 
 dient to emancipate mine, to get rid of this curse, and 
 advocate the inalienable rights of man. 
 
 " l l know that, Miss North, in what way the most of 
 your slaves were emancipated. I can tell you precisely 
 how that was done. You handed the most of them over 
 to me, to work in my cotton and sugar estates, for valu 
 able consideration. You mav love inalienable riyhts 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 109 
 
 now perhaps you do but I have not forgotten you then 
 loved money a little, the best. 
 
 " I do not see any propriety, Miss South, in theso 
 reminiscences. I might nave been at that day too par 
 simonious, but my mind since has become more en 
 lightened in relation to human rights and Christian 
 duty? 
 
 u 4 Remember, Miss North, these inalienable rights are 
 not a recent discovery. It was announced by one of my 
 sages as early as 76, that man was created with certain 
 inalienable rights among these were life, liberty, and the 
 pursuit of happiness. This great truth was promulgated 
 years before 87, and consequently well known by us 
 both : but money money made you neglect this great 
 principle. I can tell you my gold, at the time of emanci 
 pation, long subsequent to those events, had more potency 
 then than human rights. Now, if you want to know a 
 piece of secret history which has, perhaps, faded from 
 your recollection in that declaration the negro was not 
 intended to be embraced, because it was supposed at that 
 day he was not, in any sense, our equal? 
 
 " 4 How cruel thus, Miss South, to disparage the poor 
 African ! He is one of God s creatures as well as you 
 and I. He has a soul to be saved, and may be an heir of 
 glory, for God is no respecter of persons. 
 
 ut ldo not wish to be misapprehended, Miss North. 
 That portion of our history that I design to vindicate, has 
 been most shamefully perverted. When inalienable rights 
 were spoken of, what race was in the eye of its great au 
 thor ? That race that had to sustain our flag in the revo 
 lutionary war that race who held all political power in 
 their hands; and of that race we are only the true person 
 ifications. We came together as its true representatives 
 in 1787 to form this more perfect union. When we used 
 the term We, the people, what was the meaning ? It 
 signified the Anglo-Saxon the white race of America. 
 I ask you in all seriousness, was the negro ever once in 
 our contemplation ? He was an anomaly in our system 
 I might say, a mere cipher. Was he in our armies as 
 a soldier in our Conventions or Legislative Assemblies, 
 where military fame was to be won, or political honor and 
 
110 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 distinction acquired ? Not an instance on record can be 
 produced where the negro has figured in the annals of 
 our history. His sphere of action was confined to the 
 condition in which he is found in my plantations to this 
 day. Hence I am safe in asserting, that our race the 
 white race was alone thought of and provided for in this 
 free country of America. I say it boldly, the negro had 
 no voice or share in our civil or social rights, and never 
 constituted an element in our political system. 
 
 " How cruel you have become, Miss South! How 
 slavery doth harden the heart ! I have sympathy deep 
 sympathy, God knows, for the toiling slaves of the South, 
 while you, like an imperious mistress, heed not their 
 tears and their groans. As the Egyptian taskmasters, 
 you are unfeeling and despotic. 
 
 " i I can tell you what softened your heart, Miss 
 North it was my gold. Many years ago you issued an 
 edict that Slavery should cease to exist on your estates. 
 Now you know thousands of the slaves were quietly 
 slipped over on my side of the line. Your agents went 
 back smiling over the glittering gold. Up to this day I 
 don t suppose you have had any compunctions of con 
 science for that act. 
 
 " I do not thank you for such insinuations, Miss 
 South. You will admit I was then just commencing the 
 world, and was comparatively poor. My land was sterile, 
 and I could not well do without the capital they were 
 worth. 
 
 " I am not complaining of your right to sell ; you did 
 just what I am doing every day. I am only reproaching 
 you for the want of consistency and good iaith. I have 
 told you this was exclusively the white man s government 
 and country made by him and for him entirely. There is 
 another item in our Compact with which I wish to refresh 
 your memory. The importation of slaves was allowed 
 until 1808 twenty years after our Union was formed. 
 Your people participated in the profits of this traffic, as 
 they ha l a legal right to do, for it was not held to be 
 piracy in those days. 
 
 " That is true, Miss South. I had to make that con 
 cession to get you into the Union. We have been pros- 
 
perous and happy, and I had fain hope nothing would 
 transpire to alienate us from each other. 5 
 
 " A candid confession, Miss North. Our Union has 
 been mutually beneficial. I have no objection to its con 
 tinuance upon the identical terms upon which it was 
 originally formed. I will assure you candidly of one 
 thing as I shall aim to fulfill every duty incumbent upon 
 me, I will rigidly exact the same of you. You shall not 
 rule me up to a strict conformity to the Compact, while 
 you are taking the liberty to disregard its requirements. 
 
 " Now, Miss South, I am aiming to acquit myself 
 honorably of all my Constitutional engagements. I hate 
 Slavery, look upon it as a curse, and am anxious for its 
 abolition upon your estates. However, I will leave that 
 matter to your voluntary action, but I will confine you to 
 your present limits further you shall not go. 
 
 " There again, you are insufferably insulting, Miss 
 North ! How came you to get my superior ? How dare 
 you to employ language so degrading and dictatorial ? 
 We united as equals, and by what means have you con 
 trived to elevate yourself above me ? You know you 
 have been guilty of enticing away my slaves ; you boast 
 of your underground railroads. Have you once thought 
 of the want of comity such conduct displays, even if you 
 and I did not constitute one Union solemnly pledged to 
 promote each other s joint, as well as individual happi 
 ness and prosperity ? Why should you be inimical to 
 rne ? What have I done, contrary to the strictest honor 
 and my plighted faith? If I have multiplied m} T slaves, 
 increased my estates, and added to my wealth of this 
 you ought to rejoice instead of indulging in envy and 
 jealousy, as I fear you are prone to do. 
 
 " I complained of your interference with my domes 
 tics, or if you prefer the word slaves for mine they 
 are, and mine they shall be till such time as I choose to 
 let them go. How came they mine ? By purchase from 
 your people from the subjects of Great Britain. They 
 are mine to all intents and purposes, for I bought the 
 ancestors of my present slaves of those who owned them 
 and had a right to sell. There was legality in the sale 
 and purchase. The consideration was paid down, thereby 
 
112 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 making them property as effectually as government and 
 laws can do it. Of this vested right am I now to be 
 clandestinely or forcibly deprived, and that too by your 
 agency my partner and, of course, ought to be my 
 friend r 
 
 " I have not proposed, Miss South, to disturb Slavery 
 upon your present estates. There, I grant, it is under 
 your control, not mine; but I am resolved it shall not 
 extend beyond its present boundaries. 
 
 " 4 You are full of deceit and arrogant presumption, 
 Miss North. With your lips you draw near, while your 
 heart is far from me. In my estimation, acts^ and not 
 words, have weight. By syren songs I am not to be 
 deceived. What are the facts now transpiring in the face 
 of mankind ? You presume to assert Slavery is under 
 my control upon my present estates, and there you will 
 not interfere, while, at the very moment these words are 
 warm from your lips, your emissaries are actively em 
 ployed in destroying my domestic tranquillity by dif 
 fusing the spirit of insubordination among my slaves, 
 thereby laying the foundation for a servile war in which 
 their destruction will be inevitable. Nor is this all. You 
 have suffered your people to organize Societies, raise 
 funds, and aid my slaves in making their escape, not 
 withstanding your positive compact with me not to have 
 any such regulation. These Abolition Societies have 
 made the very regulations you promised should not be 
 made. 
 
 " By their money and regulations my slaves are pass 
 ing, by underground railroads, out of my reach to recap 
 ture or your power to deliver up. Is there no treachery, 
 no dishonor in all this ? 
 
 " l None that I can see, Miss South. I never promised 
 to catch negroes for you. If your slaves run off and 
 escape, that is nothing to me take them, if you can. 
 
 u I do not ask you to be a negro-hunter for me. I 
 have men, faithful and true that will do that work. Tear 
 up your underground railroad, dissolve your nefarious 
 Societies, neither aid nor secrete or place obstructions in 
 my way then I will trust to the vigilance of my agents 
 for the balance. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 113 
 
 " c But so far from conforming to our most sacred Com 
 pact, you are straining every nerve to depopulate my 
 estates, and build up if such population could build 
 up the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. To all 
 appearance, you are at this day in a more strict and 
 amicable alliance with our old, imperious stepmother, 
 England, than with me, your co-partner and co-equal for 
 these last sixty -seven years. 
 
 " From England or Englishmen, the most of my 
 slaves were originally bought : many of her subjects are 
 rioting en this ill-gotten wealth, if you choose so to con 
 sider it. Behold the injustice and iniquity you are per 
 petrating against one whose fate has been interwoven 
 with yours fc through evil and good report! With yours, 
 my warriors have stood on the ensanguined field ; with 
 them, it was their pride and glory to stand where the 
 battle hottest raged. The blood of the North and South 
 flowed in one common stream, and the bones of our 
 heroes are bleaching in the same field, or are resting 
 commingled in the same grave. This mighty foe was 
 England. Through two bloody wars we withstood her 
 myrmidons. Many of our brave soldiers perished in 
 those fierce conflicts. 
 
 " What will you gain by despoiling my farms of 
 labor? By this means you are diminishing my ability 
 to cultivate and supply the great staples of commerce. Is 
 labor so superabundant, either in your section or mine, 
 that we can well afford to supply Canada? I took the 
 negroes when they were savage and ignorant ; I have 
 humanized them, and learned them agriculture ; and 
 though they cost me money, and I have thus improved 
 them, yet are you itching to pass them into Canada, to 
 the detriment of your own country. How suicidal it 
 must be to run them off, when there is an acknowledged 
 scarcity of labor in both sections. The products of the 
 South are all needed, for the sustenance and clothing of 
 the human family. Take cotton, sugar, rice all the 
 slave products how essential they are to the commerce 
 of the world ! 
 
 " c How great a blessing to the inhabitants of the earth, 
 is the single staple of cotton ! Its annual product is over 
 10 
 
114 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 3,000,000 of bales, and great as that quantity appears, 
 yet it is all required for clothing. Amazing thought ! 
 this vast quantity spun, woven, and consumed annually. 
 Oh! God, how inscrutable are thy ways! Behold that 
 little group of desponding faces, standing on the African 
 shore: they are destined for the Western world. That 
 small beginning, like the rivulet, will grow and grow, 
 until the wilderness and forests of this great Continent 
 shall disappear by the vigor and industry of the African 
 race ! 
 
 " Ponder over the mighty result. They came here to 
 act in subordination to the whites a superior race. 
 What were they in their native wilds ? Lazy, idle, un 
 productive; living upon, and devouring each other. They 
 were as drones in the hive, if not worse : instead of mul 
 tiplying and replenishing the earth, they were producing 
 depopulation. Those bones and sinews with which they 
 were blessed, in this hemisphere have been applied to a 
 more useful purpose. To their labor, are we chiefly in 
 debted for the production of the cotton that clothes the 
 human family more cheaply than anything else that can 
 be obtained, and for it, no substitute will ever be found. 
 
 " How strangely connected are all the interests of the 
 world ; and how wonderfully has this earth been prepared 
 for our residence. In warm climates, cotton, sugar, and 
 rice will only grow. My Southern estates were well 
 adapted to those commodities. The great problem was, 
 whence should the labor be drawn. Africa sent forth 
 her children to supply the requisite labor. The fertile 
 valleys of the lower Mississippi, it was manifest, could 
 not have been tilled by the white race. They could not 
 have borne the intense heats of summer in that latitude. 
 A large, and the most valuable portion of this great 
 country, must have continued a waste, had not Africa 
 opened her doors, and poured forth her sons and daugh 
 ters to inhabit that region. 
 
 " They came as slaves, and in that relation they 
 have remained. It was in that capacity alone, that they 
 could be subservient to the great purpose to which they 
 were to be applied. Guided and controlled by the supe 
 rior skill and energy of the white man, they have con 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 115 
 
 tributed to swell the streams of comfort and prosperity 
 throughout the world. 
 
 " And another fact should be borne in mind, that 
 these two races can only live in harmony in that relation. 
 Master and slave, however unpleasant it may sound to 
 your Northern ears, was the relation ordained by God, 
 that should produce these happy and beneficial effects. 
 Now, whenever you are striving to paralyze my industry, 
 to decrease my labor, you are not injuring me only, but 
 nearly all the branches of Adam s family. Do not for 
 get that. 
 
 " 4 I am not apt to forget anything I wish to remember, 
 Misa South. I cannot, perhaps, see so clearly as you 
 can, through this grand arrangement for the cultivation 
 of the earth. Neither am I inclined to examine a chain 
 with such a multiplicity of links. To your astuteness in 
 these matters, I am willing to leave so intricate a ques 
 tion, promising, in future, if you will be content with 
 your present possessions, and not seek enlargement, there 
 shall be no farther clashing between us, but we will be 
 true and good friends to the end of time. 
 
 " l Is that the kind of friendship I am to expect, Miss 
 North, If I will fall down before you, as my mistress 
 paramount, and confess myself your humble vassal, then 
 
 S)u will be my friend. What an insulting pretension ! 
 ow happens it, you assume such pre-eminence and 
 authority ? 
 
 " I have one estate more than you, Miss South, a 
 larger population more schools more wealth more in 
 ternal improvements and more manufacturing industry. 
 I have a right, therefore, to dictate? 
 
 u What ! to me, Miss North, your equal in all re 
 spects whatever ? The tyrant s plea is ever in your 
 mouth that might gives right. Honor, plighted faith, 
 solemn compact all mere chaff, in opposition to your 
 domineering disposition. These flimsy webs are not 
 made to bind your gigantic limbs. This agreement be 
 tween ns, made in by-gone years, has no validity when it 
 interferes with your mad ambition. Your motto is, Rule 
 or Ruin f 
 
 " Oh, no ! Miss South, I do not intend to invade your 
 
116 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 reserved rights. You may reign as sole mistress, at 
 home, provided you will not try to add to your estates, 
 but be contented with your present limits ! 
 
 " 4 1 might, with equal propriety, enjoin the same upon 
 you. Do you not see that by this very pretension, you 
 elevate yourself, and degrade me ? Equals cannot use 
 such language in respect to each other. It implies on the 
 one hand, superiority, and on the other, degradation. 
 I can submit to no dishonor there, you touch me most 
 sensibly. But I will pass from that point, to make in 
 quiry, what is to become of all the out lands that have 
 been obtained since our Union existed ? These lands be 
 long to us jointly and severally, having been acquired by 
 our common funds and efforts, and each one of us owns 
 an undivided and equal interest in them. Now, I wish 
 to know whether you intend to appropriate all these lands, 
 constituting millions of acres, to your own proper use 
 and benefit? 
 
 tc As you are tainted with Slavery, Miss South, I 
 cannot think of suffering that curse to spread over this 
 rich domain. You will not, therefore, feel incensed, if I 
 tell you I intend to appropriate them all to my own 
 use. 5 
 
 " What an outrage, Miss North. Whoever before 
 heard of such flagrant and high-handed injustice ! Joint 
 real estate, paid for out of common funds not to be held 
 as joint property between the parties, but to be seized 
 and enjoyed by one only of the firm. In what school 
 were ever such ethics taught? where was ever such a 
 law enacted or enforced ? I rightfully claim an undivided 
 interest in these lands. 
 
 " Now, I am willing for your people and mine to go 
 upon these territories : you boast of having the larger 
 population, and hence will have somewhat the advantage* 
 but that concerns me not. Let the wilderness be opened 
 and subdued, and new plantations be formed. I will not 
 use, neither shall you, any extraordinary effort, to people 
 these lands. Emigration shall flow in its ordinary chan 
 nels, without any extraneous circumstances being brought 
 to bear upon it. The inhabitants thereof, when suffi 
 ciently numerous, shall have the privilege of deciding for 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 117 
 
 themselves, what kind of labor they prefer, whether it be 
 free or slave. Their decision, whatever it may be, shall 
 be final and conclusive of this whole controversy. If, in 
 this way, you can gain all these territories from me, I 
 will utter no complaint, but will cheerfully acquiesce. 
 
 " Not so, Miss South, I know your encroachments 
 and aggressions. I lay you under a positive interdict, to 
 keep your slaves off these lands. I and my people will 
 go in and possess them ; you and your slaves shall remain 
 where they are. 
 
 " So sayest thou, my imperial mistress! I have long 
 been sensible of thy odious self-aggrandizement and 
 egregious presumption. Draw up thy flowing robes 
 erect thy disdainful head I fear thee not. 
 
 " Provoke destruction if thou wilt have it so, Miss 
 North. Thy enemies are in thy midst, and when my 
 bugle sounds, the work of devastation will begin. The 
 proclamation shall be made long and loud c Freedom on 
 the soil ! Then, if not before, thou wilt know thy internal 
 weakness. A word to the wise is sufficient. 
 
 " * A most desperate wretch thou art, Miss North, 
 with a heart blacker than the tents of Kedar. You heed 
 not compacts, you spurn justice, you care for naught else 
 but absolute dominion. With your Free-Soil proclivities 
 you will invade my country, light up the torch of servile 
 war, and glory in the general conflagration that may 
 ensue. 
 
 " fc Lay not the flattering unction to thy soul, that all 
 these incendiary achievements will be won by my tame 
 submission. It shall not be recorded of me ; like a lamb 
 she opened not her mouth. As the Spartans at the 
 Straits of Thermopylae, my people will perish sword in 
 hand at the entrance to the fair fields of the South. They 
 will not wait at home for your mercenary hordes, but will 
 give them a warm reception at the first treading of their 
 hostile feet upon my sacred soil. 
 
 " Oh, Miss South, you will only kick a little, and 
 that will be all ; you will not go out of the Union you 
 dare not. 
 
 " It ill becomes me, Miss North, to hold longer con 
 verse with such desperate blindness or incurable 
 
118 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 fanaticism, I therefore feel my dignity too much at stake, 
 to continue an argument with a spirit so madly bent upon 
 mischief and interminable woe. Thou hast lost all 
 charity, all sisterly love, and thou seemest to glory in the 
 rapine and bloodshed thou canst bring upon me and 
 mine. I shall return home from this interview, entirely 
 satisfied thy malady is incurable. 
 
 " Oh ! what fatuity. In the pride of thy heart thou 
 boastest to thyself c I am secure, no harm can be done to 
 me. I am free from internal enemies ; let Miss South 
 kick if she pleases, I can bring ruin and devastation upon 
 her. She will see and feel her weakness, ere the clarion 
 of civil war shall be sounded. 
 
 " c Thus it is, grievances are multiplied, until patience 
 ceases to be a virtue. My supposed weakness must in 
 vite insult and oppression. I am to be goaded to despera 
 tion. Thou art blind to the impending storm. Thy wise 
 men are saying, we know she will yield ; she has often 
 blustered and threatened disunion ; she is timid, though 
 a stormy old maid. Now, I appeal to the Great God, who 
 is the searcher of hearts, and in whose hands are sus 
 pended the destiny of nations if, in all these vitupera 
 tions and menaces to the South, I have only claimed and 
 defended the right. The argument and remonstrance end 
 here, and in thy own hands rests the question of peace or 
 war. I depart hence, resolved, boldly to meet the issue, 
 be it what it may. " 
 
 " She is gone, David," says the Squire, " like a flash 
 of lightning. The war of words is at an end. Negotia 
 tion from this day will cease; I know her invincible 
 soul. Concession, Compromise, are obsolete terms de 
 pend upon it." 
 
 "I am glad the conference is broken up, uncle there 
 were no hopes of adjustment. The Northern mind is 
 most sadly deluded and infatuated. From its mad pur 
 pose it will not be diverted, I fear, until this Union shall 
 crumble into atoms." 
 
 " The heat of summer is over; the pleasant month of 
 September has been ushered in. I was about to suggest, 
 that we make a journey iucog., into the State of Ohio 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 110 
 
 and Canada, for the purpose of eliciting more and more 
 information in relation to this great Free-Soil movement, 
 or Abolitionism, under this new garb. The controversy 
 between North and South is daily growing more acri 
 monious and portentous. I do not know of any medium 
 ground for reconciliation. However, by intermingling 
 with those people by searching, if it were possible,- 
 their hearts to the bottom, we may find the strength and 
 intensity of this Anti-Slavery feeling. From such a 
 journey we will return, perhaps, better qualified to warn 
 the South of the crisis approaching." 
 
 " I am, uncle, at your service, in such an excursion, 
 and hope it will increase oer knowledge." 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 Qn board Steamer Pike Conversation with Captain Kidd 
 Arrives in Cincinnati. 
 
 THE Squire and David, immediately after the preced 
 ing conversation, prepared for the intended journey. The 
 next day, with their baggage, they repaired to the landing 
 on the Ohio river, in front of his residence, and there 
 soon hove in sight the splendid steamer Pike, upon board 
 of which they embarked for the Queen City. 
 
 Fortunately the Squire met with an old acquaintance, 
 Captain Kidd, from Indiana, with whom he held the fol 
 lowing conversation : 
 
 4i Bless me, Squire Gray, how happy I am to meet you 
 this evening." 
 
 " Captain Kidd, with all my soul ; how have you been 
 this long time? for it has been a few years since I last 
 saw you." 
 
 " I thank yon, Squire, I believe we have not met for 
 some time. I have enjoyed very good health." 
 
 u I have not traveled much recently, Captain ; my do 
 mestic affairs requiring my presence generally at home." 
 
120 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " From various sources, Squire, I have learned of the 
 disturbances among the slaves in your country some 
 running off, others being sent to the South." 
 
 " These difficulties, I regret to observe, Captain, we 
 have been encountering, not from any fault in the owners, 
 but from the officious kindness of others." 
 
 " I am not exactly an Abolitionist, Squire, I would not 
 entice away slaves ; but if I were to see them on our side, 
 trying to make their escape, I should not trouble myself 
 to catch them, or to have them caught." 
 
 " How would it be, Captain, if, shortly after, you were 
 to meet with the owner or agent in pursuit, would you 
 give him information, so as to enable him to trail and 
 recapture the fugitives ?" 
 
 " No, Squire, I never charge my memory with such 
 things ; I consider it no business of mine." 
 
 u You do not, Captain ; then you are conniving at the 
 mischief others are doing. If it be an offense to entice 
 away slaves, to aid and secrete them, all good citizens are 
 bound to expose the offenders, so that they may be brought 
 to punishment. In no other way can you arrest this 
 dangerous and growing evil." 
 
 " I consider slavery a great curse, Squire ; I wash my 
 hands of it I will have nothing to do with it, either the 
 one way or the other." 
 
 "Then, Captain, you discard all amity as between the 
 States. Not only that, but your most sacred constitu 
 tional obligations. Now, permit me to remark, I am a 
 law-abiding citizen. An unhesitating submission to the 
 government and laws of my country, I hold to be my 
 first and paramount duty. As a member of this political 
 society, I have made this the great principle to govern 
 my actions ; and I had rather be blotted out of existence 
 than to be an Anarchist" 
 
 "That kind of devotion to government and laws, 
 Squire, may suit the dominion of slavery. Human 
 bondage is your delight you hug it to your bosoms with 
 parental kindness ; but if I were permitted to judge, you 
 would be infinitely better off without it. Your lands 
 would be better cultivated by white labor, and you farmers 
 would realize more money." 
 
UK V ^IJLJiLJ. JL2J. 
 
 " Of that matter, Captain, you ought to allow us to 
 judge. We are well acquainted with Slavery c it has 
 grown with our growth, and strengthened with our 
 strength, until it has interwoven itself with all the in 
 terests South; so much so that it cannot be destroyed 
 now with safety." 
 
 " I will venture to say, Squire, there is not an article 
 raised South that could not be cultivated with more ad 
 vantage by white labor. How much better it would be, 
 if there were not a black in Mississippi, Texas, or any 
 Southern State." 
 
 " The heat of the climate, for one thing, Captain, is 
 insupportable to white laborers. Exposed to the hot rays 
 of a Southern sun, they could not bear the fatigue requi 
 site in cultivating sugar, cotton or rice, not to say any 
 thing about the fatal diseases engendered by that climate. 
 And again, if the negroes are to be turned loose and 
 driven from the fields where now employed, what shall 
 become of them ? where shall they go to ?" 
 
 " Let the race, like the Indians, dwindle and perish, 
 Squire ; I would care nothing about them the sooner 
 they get out of the way the better," 
 
 " What kind of philanthropy is that, Captain ? If that 
 is human kindness, God forbid I should ever advocate it. 
 You would supplant the negroes by whites, and drive 
 them forth, you know not where, merely to starve. All 
 out of pure affection for them. Would Indiana exchange 
 whites for blacks? her constitution has put her veto on 
 that. 
 
 " Now, do you not see the complexity of slavery, the 
 dangerousness, the folly, of tampering with it, without a 
 thorough and practical knowledge of it in all its features 
 and minute ramifications. Rest assured, it is an abstruse 
 problem, not to be solved by the wisest minds in the 
 South, and yet shall strangers essay to touch it ? My 
 good sir, be not, offended if 1 tell you the course of the 
 North in relation to slavery is reprehensible in the highest 
 degree. 
 
 "The wild fanaticism that is suffered to take root and 
 spread in that region, is ominous of no good but of im 
 mense evil. What is it all for I Is slavery to be thui 
 11 
 
122 ABOLlflOfflSM t/NVfllLiBD. 
 
 destroyed ? Can the settled orders of society be so easily 
 subverted ? The lamentable consequences of such an act 
 can be scarcely imagined. Now contemplate them for a 
 moment. Here is a system of labor coeval with our ex 
 istence as a people. Soon after the white man trod his foot 
 on this Western World, African slavery was introduced. 
 It came uninvited ; unsolicited it intruded itself into this 
 hemisphere. Though many of the colonists remonstrated 
 against it, yet old mother England, who was then omni 
 potent, would have it in her own way. This no one will 
 pretend to controvert." 
 
 " I will not, Squire, for that is history. Go on with 
 your observations. Let us hear all you can say in de 
 fense of this accursed institution. I will sit patiently to 
 hear what you may have to utter." 
 
 "Who made it accursed but your imbecile, trouble 
 some, and pernicious fanatics? The celebrity of "UNCLE 
 TOM S CABIN " is an evidence of the public feeling and 
 bias of the North. Whatever panders to this sickly sen 
 timentality is caught up and devoured with the greatest 
 relish. The design and tendency of that publication is 
 to create animosity between the whites and blacks South, 
 or, in other words, a war between the two races. Would 
 not that be a deplorable issue to these mighty efibrts in 
 behalf of the negro race, whether stimulated by male or 
 female f " 
 
 "Come, Squire, do not assail a woman. Mrs. Stowe 
 has genius and talent. She has given to the world a 
 beautiful specimen of literary pre-eminence." 
 
 " Call it a novel, Captain, a mere fiction to amuse and 
 entertain the public, and I have no criticism to make. 
 You know I am not destitute of gallantry ; but the peace, 
 the tranquillity of this great nation ought not to be dis 
 turbed by an artful appeal to the worst passions of the 
 human heart, even by a female. Had she been content 
 to let her work go forth to the world as the imaginings 
 of a distempered mind, no one would have cared about 
 it; but the KEY, that was to show its foundation in 
 authentic facts, was the greatest farce of all. The truth 
 of the etory sustained by Abolition authority! That 
 was too bad, but let it paaa." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " I am anxious to hear your defense of this peculiar in 
 stitution, Squire. You have made a thrust at Mrs. 
 Stowe ; I judge the blow will do her no serious damage. 
 She will still be admired for her generous and zealous 
 vindication of the African race." 
 
 U I envy her no laurels, Captain, she may have won in 
 such a contest. I will not quarrel with her about her 
 peculiar taste. But I will never consent that the Anglo- 
 Saxon shall be pulled down from the elevated position he 
 occupies in the eyes of the world. In form, in color, 
 dignity, invention, yea, in everything, he stands confessed 
 the masterpiece of human kind. At the same time I say 
 this, I am the no less a true friend to the African in his 
 proper sphere ; more so than thousands who are eternally 
 prating in his behalf. Now I will undertake to show we 
 are his only true friends , we know him, we have a 
 friendship for him, not felt by Northern bosoms." 
 
 " How will you make that appear, Squire, you who 
 hold them in cruel and unrelenting bondage ? Their best 
 friends! I pray I may never find such." 
 
 "Exercise a little patience, if you please, Captain. 
 Do not forget your admission, and that is the truth too, 
 if Abolitionism prevails." 
 
 "Do tell me what is that, Squire? I only proposed 
 to leave the negroes in the same condition the Indians 
 were neither more nor less." 
 
 u You have c defined your position, Captain, though 
 done, perhaps, without premeditation ; yet it would be 
 the sure result of emancipation as if predicted by an 
 ancient seer. 
 
 " I have mentioned how these Africans came to this 
 country. I cannot say I am a believer in special provi 
 dence. I am rather inclined to think that God governs 
 this world by certain immutable laws established at the 
 time of Creation. Be that as it may, however, by His 
 prescience, no doubt, He foresaw the relative position the 
 various races and colors of men would occupy upon the 
 face of this earth. A way was provided for "all to sub 
 sistwhatever might be the color upon the bounties of 
 this great storehouse for His children. Food and raiment 
 were amply provided for the whole- if judiciously 
 
124: ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 managed. The air abounds with birds, the land with ani 
 mals, the water with fishes, and the earth with fruit and 
 cereals all placed here for man s enjoyment. By the 
 sweat of the brow these great and numerous blessings 
 might be indefinitely increased. Agriculture, wisely 
 managed, would make the earth yield her golden harvests, 
 the grass would grow the more luxuriantly, and upon it 
 more numerous herds of cattle would graze and fatten. 
 
 "Tell me not, therefore, any of Adam s family must 
 necessarily perish. Starvation is produced by our wick 
 edness and perversity by a violation of those laws God 
 intended for the regulation of society. He has made 
 ordinances by which all the different races and colors can 
 live together in amity can mutually lean upon and aid 
 each other in their pilgrimage upon earth. While they 
 are reciprocally co-operating in the various branches of 
 industry food and raiment shall be produced in an abun 
 dance for the whole human family." 
 
 " These general observations, Squire, sound very 
 beautifully, I feel a curiosity to see their application to 
 the movements of society in our day or past days." 
 
 u That you shall see, Captain, for I am tending to that 
 point as rapidly as the case admits. How came the 
 Africans to be transported to this continent ? Was it a 
 mere accident, or was it not in conformity to the settled 
 policy of heaven ? I maintain the latter. Of all the 
 descendants of Adam, the negro only is stamped with 
 blackness. How this happened it is not for me to know 
 I am dealing with facts. To the Eastern world this con 
 tinent was unknown until the days of Columbus ; when he 
 came, the Indians were standing on the beach ready to 
 receive him but as the pale-faces had come, their 
 doom, it seems, was to melt away. 
 
 u The white race claimed this continent by the right 
 of discovery it was to be their heritage ; but what was 
 Africa at that day ? Barbarism reigned in that benighted 
 land ; as an equal she could not reach forth her hand 
 and claim a settlement in this fertile valley. What could 
 her wild, untutored, and savage children have done alone 
 toward subduing the vast wilderness that encompassed 
 this continent, and bringing the lands under the arts of 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 125 
 
 the husbandman ? Nothing, nothing, unless guided and 
 controlled by a superior intelligence. 
 
 " Was this to them too great a degradation ? By no 
 means. Two-thirds of them were enslaved in their own 
 country. It was not the creation or origin of Slavery, 
 but only its diffusion. I would to God Free-Soilism had 
 existed in Africa, and denied emphatically to Slavery the 
 right of expansion ere its poisonous branch reached our 
 shores." 
 
 " What do you say, Squire, that Slavery existed in 
 Africa?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, one-third of those people hold the other 
 two-thirds in absolute, hereditary bondage, and have 
 done, time out of mind. They deal and have dealt long 
 and very freely in buying and selling human souls 
 God s images, etc. however heinous it may seem to 
 many in this day and generation. 
 
 " The point I wished to make is this : that the negroes 
 have only changed masters that Slavery was their doom 
 at home, and it is still their doom, though greatly miti 
 gated in its severity. 
 
 "Consequently, they are not injured by the transfer. 
 They are placed in proximity to a superior race. They 
 have chances to gain, but cannot by any possibility lose. 
 Slavery is their proper position in our country ; in that 
 relation the whites are their friends and protectors turn 
 them loose and they have neither they become outcasts 
 in our society, despised and degraded." 
 
 " I do not know, Squire, why this ought to be so. This 
 prejudice against color perhaps might be overcome." 
 
 "Not shortly, if ever, Captain. What has your 
 State what has Illinois done? By your Constitution, 
 the negro is denounced as a nuisance, not worthy of citi 
 zenship or foothold among you. Now let me ask you 
 what would become of the three millions of slaves, if sud 
 denly emancipated and made dependent upon such tender 
 mercies f 
 
 " These creatures are now living plentifully, well clad, 
 and have good houses ; with their condition they are con 
 tented and happy. And why not let them alone ? In 
 that relation, and that only, they can remain with us for 
 
126 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 ages, so far as I can see ; destroy that, and a war of races 
 will ensue." 
 
 " We have, Squire, arrived at the landing of the Queen 
 City, and here our conversation must close." 
 
 "I have no objection, Captain, for I never expect to 
 make the faintest impression on Free-Soilism, if I had the 
 eloquence of a Cicero or Demosthenes." 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Arrival in Cincinnati Put up at the Dennison House Visit a female 
 acquaintance The Conversation An incident on the street And 
 Departure on the Cars for Sandusky City. 
 
 THE Squire and David had their baggage taken to the 
 Dennison House, where they remained all night. The 
 next morning after breakfast they paid a visit to Mrs. 
 Old, an acquaintance of the Squire s, with whom he had 
 the following conversation : 
 
 "Well, Mrs. Old," said the Squire, " I have called to 
 see you on special business." 
 
 " -Pray, Squire, what can that be ? I have not seen 
 you since the evening you accompanied myself and Mrs. 
 New to hear Brother Brisbane on the subject of Aboli 
 tionism. I hope you were greatly entertained that night, 
 and that you have since seen, as he did, the iniquity of 
 Slavery !" 
 
 " I cannot say as to that, Mrs. Old. I am a little dif 
 ferent from many. I am slow in forming opinions. When 
 any question is presented I go into the investigation with 
 a determination thoroughly to understand it. I must read 
 and hear all that can be said pro and con. Having my 
 mind thus fully enlightened, when my judgment is made 
 I am not apt to change, unless new, direct, and positive 
 testimony can be adduced of which I was ignorant at the 
 time." 
 
 " Oh I you remember, Squire, how Brother Brisbane 
 
said his eyes were never opened until he read Wayland s 
 Treatise on Moral Philosophy. He then saw how 
 wicked it was to hold slaves sold his, and moved to 
 this city." 
 
 " I noticed that expression, Mrs. Old, and could not 
 refrain from thinking what a great sacrifice he made. He 
 realized from the sale of his slaves only $10,000, while 
 the real value was a few" thousand more." 
 
 " I can tell you, Squire, I did not relish that part of 
 the story so well. He ought to have brought them along; 
 but he said he dare not do it, for fear of public sentiment 
 in South Carolina, and, therefore, he had to sell them. I 
 pity the poor man." 
 
 " He is to be greatly pitied, Mrs. Old. He is the 
 owner, I am told, of two fine houses and lots in this city, 
 purchased with the money arising from the sale of those 
 negroes. ThQ personality ^ in that way, has been converted 
 into the reality." 
 
 "But then you know, Squire, he has written back to 
 the buyer, if he would give up the negroes he would re 
 fund the money." 
 
 " He took care, Mrs. Old, to put in the words, as far 
 as he was able. He may not, so far as I know, be able 
 to refund any of it. I suppose, however, his friends here 
 will furnish it, and let him hold on to his real estate ; 
 that would all be very well." 
 
 u He is sincere, Squire, in trying to procure the free 
 dom of his negroes. Did he not read the pressing letter 
 he addressed to the buyer?" 
 
 "Truly he did, Mrs. Old. I am an old-fashioned fel 
 low, you know I go directly to the object I have in view. 
 Now, had I been in your Brother Brisbane s place, I 
 should have brought my slaves quietly along, and turned 
 them loose in this city." 
 
 "That he would have done, no doubt, Squire, had 
 he not been afraid of mob-law. He dare not have 
 done that, lest vengeance would have been taken upon 
 him." 
 
 " By the use of a little prudence, Mrs. Old, these things 
 can be done without causing excitement. He might have 
 prepared for emigration to Kentucky or Missouri, started 
 
128 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 on his journey, and just dropped in here, not a word 
 would have been said. No one would have followed him, 
 I dare say, to see where he went ; neither would any one 
 have cared." 
 
 " No two people do things alike, Squire. Brother B. 
 knew his peculiar situation the mobbish spirit of slave 
 holders and he was glad to get away with his life." 
 
 " And the ten thousand dollars ?" added the Squire. 
 "I confess, he is wiser than I am. I should have brought 
 my slaves, liberated them here, and never have once 
 thought how I was to live and support my family. Thus 
 penniless I should have been cast among you. Not so 
 with him he converted his slaves into money, with 
 which he was enabled to buy two houses and lots, the 
 annual rent being a thousand dollars per year." 
 
 "He now proposes you know, Squire, to buy them 
 back he repents the sale bitterly, and their freedom he 
 feels much at heart." 
 
 " I can but say, Mrs. Old, this repentance comes rather 
 too late. What assurance has he that his negroes can be 
 brought back ? Why need he to have run that risk ? 
 But I can see a little policy in the scheme ; he has judi 
 ciously invested the cash arising from such sale. That 
 property is his, and will probably so remain ; but if the 
 slaves can be brought back, this will create a pressing 
 emergency for the outpourings of his affectionate admirers 
 in this city." 
 
 " What a suspicious old soul you are, Squire ! You 
 are hard to please, I fear." 
 
 " But, Mrs. Old, we have wandered from the business 
 I have on hand. My neighbors are suffering greatly, their 
 slaves are enticed away and secreted by the Abolitionists. 
 You and Mrs. New both assured me they were not guilty 
 of such practices, and I have no doubt you were both 
 sincere in that opinion. Your money goes into the treas 
 ury of these societies, and you are never correctly in 
 formed how it is applied or disbursed. You are thus 
 innocently made the instruments of doing mischief to your 
 friends in Kentucky." 
 
 " I do not wish you to think so, Squire. I am certain 
 you are mistaken. As to Mrs. New, she is the most 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 129 
 
 harmless and conscientious creature you ever knew. In 
 tentionally she would not do anything the least wrong." 
 
 " That I freely admit, Mrs. Old. I acquit you both of 
 any censure. You are innocent of the secret machina 
 tions of Abolitionism. It has a beautiful exterior, makes 
 high sounding and benevolent professions, while at the 
 core there are filth and rottenness." 
 
 " Oh ! I am astonished at such assertions, Squire. 
 Our appeal is only to the master we have not sought to 
 disturb the slave, or aid him off. We want him to remain 
 where he is, until we can work out his liberation fairly, 
 legally, and peaceably." 
 
 u I am apprized that was the garb Abolitionism first 
 assumed, and by this means wormed itself into the confi 
 dence of the generous and warm-hearted of your com 
 munity. You opened your hearts and poured out your 
 treasury, in aid of a cause you imagined pious and holy. 
 But it has most shamefully departed from its original 
 design." 
 
 "Pardon my absence for a moment, Squire. I will 
 step to Mrs. New s and bring you an armful of documents 
 that will satisfy you of our entire innocency of negro- 
 stealing." 
 
 " Go, with all my heart, Mrs. Old. My mind is open 
 to conviction. If I am wrong in my surmises, I shall be 
 glad to be set right ; that you know." 
 
 " Perhaps, David," said the Squire, "this will tend to 
 the furtherance of our main design. No one living hates 
 dissimulation more than I do, or to use any kind of dis 
 guise. But you notice how difficult it is to ferret out the 
 truth in regard to Abolitionism. Here are two noble, 
 Christian ladies purer hearts never dwelt on earth than 
 theirs, yet their money has been filched from them by 
 knaves, and applied to dishonorable purposes which they 
 disavow and abhor." 
 
 i{ This world, uncle, is full of deception that I see 
 the more plainly every step we take ; but here comes Mrs. 
 Old." 
 
 " Bless me ! Squire, look here at the quantity of docu 
 ments kindly placed at your service. Mrs. New told 
 me to assure you, upon the honor of a lady, that your 
 
130 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 suspicions were groundless that the Abolitionists were 
 too high-minded and religious to engage in enticing away, 
 and running off slaves. Read attentively these works, 
 and you will acknowledge the purity of our motives, and 
 our entire innocency of such serious charges as you have 
 imputed to our societies." 
 
 " If I am wrongly informed, be assured, Mrs. Old, I 
 shall be happy to correct the error. In this matter, God 
 forbid I should do any injustice. Shall I find in this 
 bundle, the Annual Report ?" 
 
 " No, Squire, Mrs. New did not have it, otherwise she 
 would have sent it along." 
 
 " I very much regret it is not here, Mrs. Old, as I had 
 an anxiety to find out the amount of funds collected, and 
 how they were disbursed ; but I will take these along, 
 and peruse them at my leisure." 
 
 " Do so, Squire, and we hope to have your solemn ac 
 quittal after such perusal." 
 
 " Perhaps you may, Mrs. Old." 
 
 The Squire and David then took their leave of Mrs. 
 Old. The following conversation and scene occurred on 
 the street: 
 
 "Well, uncle," said David, "we have line upon line, 
 and precept upon precept. I can tell you one thing, it 
 would be hazardous to be caught in Mississippi with 
 such a bundle. But look yonder what does that mean?" 
 
 Day -watch to a Negro " What is that you have con 
 cealed under your coat ?" 
 
 Negro in reply " D n you, what business is that of 
 yours ?" 
 
 Day -watch " I will show you " and seizes him by 
 the collar. 
 
 Negro " G d d n you, let me go why don t you 
 let me go?" 
 
 Day-watch, to two passers-"by " Gentlemen, do help 
 me don t let him get away." 
 
 Those two men then seize him, and help to push him 
 along toward the Mayor s Office. The negro jerks and 
 scuffles, curses and swears, until the officer and aids are 
 nearly exhausted. 
 
 Drayman stops and says "Here, gentlemen, put him 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 131 
 
 on my dray ; I will haul the scoundrel to the Mayor s 
 Office"." 
 
 He is thrown on and held down notwithstanding, he 
 clinches a dray-pin and tries to use it it is taken from 
 him. He is kept down by officers and guards sitting 
 upon him. He roars and bellows, the drayman going in 
 a brisk trot. 
 
 " What a curious state of society," remarks the Squire 
 to David ; " why, these negroes are not much tamer than 
 the ourang-outang. I would not have much choice, if 1 
 had to catch either, and I do not think there would be 
 much difference in the resistance." 
 
 " Did you not notice, uncle, he foamed at the mouth 
 like a mad dog so terrible was the rage he was in? 
 Really, if he had had any weapon at all, he would have 
 been a dangerous animal to handle." 
 
 " No doubt of it, David, he was a desperate ruffian, 
 certainly. It evinces a degree of insubordination truly 
 lamentable. That officer was on duty, and had a right 
 to make the inquiry he did. It only required, on the part 
 of the negro, an exhibit of what he had, and to satisfy the 
 police he came by it honestly. That would have ended 
 the difficulty." 
 
 Having arrived near a large clothing store, the Squire 
 procures himself a full suit of Quaker apparel, David 
 being already furnished for duties heretofore performed. 
 They repair to their room at the hotel, where they dress 
 themselves in this new style ; not from any disrespect to 
 the Friends, but from a persuasion they could not succeed 
 upon the mission in which they had embarked, without 
 using that disguise. 
 
 They ordered their baggage to the Dayton and Hamil 
 ton depot, whither they repaired, in a few moments after. 
 Having procured tickets, they took their seats ; the whistle 
 sounded, and the cars began slowly to move. 
 
132 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 Conversation with an Eminent Personage on the way Arrival in 
 Sandusky City. 
 
 " THIS is friend Chase, I believe?" said the Squire. "I 
 have seen thee before, and thy features I have not for 
 gotten." 
 
 " Though it is possible, we may have met heretofore, 
 yet you are a stranger to me ; I cannot call to mind when 
 and where I ever saw you before. Where do you reside ? 
 and what may be your name ? " 
 
 " My name is Moon, from the county of Clinton, in 
 this State." 
 
 u Let me think," said the Hon. Mr. Chase. " I have 
 heard of persons of that name, in Clinton, who belonged 
 to the Society of Friends. I am happy in having your 
 company to-day. The Quakers are all true friends to our 
 cause, and I always know where to place them. I dare 
 say, your county will roll me up a very handsome ma 
 jority ? " 
 
 " Yea, friend Chase, Free-Soilism sweeps us all to a 
 man." 
 
 " Happy to hear it, friend. How far may you be go 
 ing on the cars to-day ? " 
 
 " I am on a pilgrimage to Canada, to intermingle with 
 the colored people who have escaped from bondage in 
 these United States." 
 
 "A very laudable enterprise, friend Moon. I hope 
 you may return more thoroughly imbued with the senti 
 ments of freedom, and enjoy that crown of glory that 
 awaits those who are struggling in behalf of oppressed 
 humanity ! " 
 
 " I wish no other reward, friend Chase, in what I 
 have done, or may do, for the good of the ; panting fugi 
 tive, than a quiet conscience." 
 
 "A noble disinterestedness, friend Moon. I wish I, 
 and all others, could give ourselves up to that silent, but 
 unerring monitor." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 133 
 
 " Why canst thou not, friend Chase ? Couldst thou 
 purge thy heart of the love of office, of honor and fame, 
 thou mightst descend to the vale of humility, in which 
 our Society doth delight to dwell ! But thou art now 
 aspiring to the gubernatorial chair of this great State 
 bein^ a candidate for that high office." 
 
 " I have been nominated, friend Moon, by a numer 
 ous and respectable convention of my fellow-citizens, for 
 that distinguished station ; and in obedience to their 
 wishes, I am making this race." 
 
 " All very proper, friend Chase. I have read thy 
 speeches, in which thou takest truly national ground. 
 Thou hast been charged with being a rabid Abolitionist, 
 who would trample upon the constitutional rights of the 
 South, and involve thy country in civil war 1 " 
 
 " My enemies, friend Moon, have done all they could 
 to injure me in public estimation. I yield to no one, in 
 his devotion to this Union ! I have remarked in the 
 Senate of the United States, that it is like the 4 blue arch 
 of heaven, 5 that could neither fall or decay." 
 
 "A most beautiful figure of speech, friend Chase. 
 And thou hast lately declared thou wouldst not trench 
 upon any of the provisions of the Federal Constitution. 
 More national sentiments, no one can utter." 
 
 " I am sure, friend Moon, my bitterest enemies ought 
 to accord to me the largest nationality. If any can 
 boast of better conservatism, I should like to know who 
 he is t " 
 
 u Thou hast been accused, friend Chase, of an ambi 
 tion to form a sectional party, based on the issue of 
 Slavery and Anti-Slavery." 
 
 " In this, great injustice has been done to me, friend 
 Moon. It is true, I am opposed to the extension of 
 Slavery the admission of any more Slave states, or in 
 any way to augment the slave power." 
 
 "And in that, thou canst not discern any sectional 
 ism, friend Chase ? Thou wilt not -be offended, if I tell 
 thee thy nationality is a little circumscribed not quite 
 co-extensive with the Union." 
 
 "What 1 are you not in favor of Free-Soilism ? You, 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 a Quaker, to impugn ray nationality, when I have em 
 phatically announced it on all proper occasions ! " 
 
 " Now, friend Chase, be not offended ; we judge the 
 tree by its fruit. There are some things in thy speeches 
 that have puzzled me not a little ; and, as I have fallen in 
 with thee, I want to be enlightened upon those points !" 
 
 " Propound your questions, friend Moon ; I will answer 
 them to the best of my ability, and I hope, to your entire 
 satisfaction." 
 
 " That, I do not pretend to doubt, friend Chase. Do 
 tell me for what purpose Government was instituted ? " 
 
 "According to our Republican maxim, for the benefit 
 of the governed" 
 
 " Thou sayst truly, friend Chase. The great end and 
 aim of all government, ought to be to produce the great 
 est degree of happiness and prosperity in the community." 
 
 " Our political institutions, if rightly administered, 
 are more wisely adapted to those purposes than any 
 others ever established, friend Moon." 
 
 " Yea yea, friend Chase ; if they are executed in 
 their true spirit and intent. By this means, the great 
 objects for which this Union was formed, will be accom 
 plished. Be so good as to inform me who are the parties 
 to the National Compact ? " 
 
 "The States, or the people of the States, friend 
 Moon." 
 
 " Yea, friend Chase. I would ask thee if Kentucky, 
 Virginia, and South Carolina are not as much component 
 parts of this Union, as New York, Pennsylvania, or 
 Ohio?" 
 
 " They are, beyond doubt, friend Moon." 
 
 " Verily, friend Chase. Now, seeing Government 
 was instituted for the benefit of the governed not for a 
 part, but for all this end will not be subserved, if a 
 distinction shall be made, as among the States." 
 
 "A distinction ! What do you mean, friend Moon ? 
 A Quaker, and treading on Pro-Slavery ground. I fear 
 you are sailing under false colors ! " 
 
 u Nay, be not offended or alarmed, friend Chase. If 
 I be a Quaker, I have not surrendered the liberty of 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 135 
 
 thought. Thou wilt allow me to express my deliberate 
 sentiments on Free-Soilism a subject of such vital in 
 terest to the domestic tranquillity of the Union. I ask 
 myself, is it justice to prescribe limits to the South, and 
 that too, by an act of the National Government ? What 
 is that Government, but the trustee or agent of the 
 thirty-one States which form the Union ? Is it not, as 
 such, bound to adopt such measures, according to our 
 political maxim, as will promote the interest of all the 
 members of the Union not of the Free States only, but of 
 the Slave, also ? otherwise, it is a traitor to its trust." 
 
 u Is that the language of Quakerism, friend Moon ? 
 What has become of your love for the colored man ? of 
 the millions groaning in Southern bondage ? " 
 
 " Though I love the colored people, friend, yet I am 
 none the less a lover of this Union. Thou knowest our 
 Society is devoted to peace ; it is one of their cardinal 
 principles, and it deprecates any measure which will dis 
 turb the domestic tranquillity, and eventually terminate 
 in civil war. The only way to preserve peace among the 
 States is, by doing justice" 
 
 u That is our end and aim. Free-Soilism, friend 
 Moon, means that and nothing more. We do not pro 
 pose to interfere with Slavery in the States where it now 
 exists ; we leave that to their own control." 
 
 " Yea yea, friend Chase. Wilt thou pardon me, if 
 I ask thee what is the object of this restriction ? What 
 effect will it have upon the South ? Will it promote its 
 welfare, or oppress and dishonor? If the former, then 
 it is legitimate ; if the latter, it involves a betrayal of the 
 trust on the part of the General Government." 
 
 " You are asking insulting questions, Mr. Moon. I 
 am the champion of Free-Soilism ; I bear its banners in 
 this gubernatorial race. Politicians cannot permit their 
 secret motives to be elicited by such acute and artfully- 
 framed interrogatories. I begin to suspect, most shrewdly 
 suspect, your Quakerism is not of the genuine stamp ! " 
 
 " Nay, friend Chase, be composed. Hast thou so 
 soon forgotten thy nationality the blue arch of the 
 heavens ? I was only trying thee by the square and 
 compass; I only added this and that together, to see 
 
136 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 what sort of a Bum it would make. If the result is not 
 entirely pleasing, thou wilt excuse me for it : the figures 
 were thine the addition constituted my offense." 
 
 " Have I not, Mr. Moon, time and again, solemnly 
 asseverated that I will not trench upon any of the pro 
 visions of the Federal Constitution ? have I not ex 
 pressed, in the strongest language, my ardent devotion 
 to the Union ? What more can you require ? " 
 
 " Yea yea, friend Chase ; but when thou earnest to 
 define more fully thy position, I saw plainly the trick 
 the deception. The General Government, it must be ad 
 mitted, was created for the joint benefit of all the States ; 
 for their good it was made, and for each and all, it is 
 merely a trustee. Now, friend, how can you make this 
 National head inimical to the South? array it in hostility 
 to the institutions of that section, without making it, at 
 the same time, violate its sacred trust? The general wel 
 fare, which it has undertaken to promote, must be co- ex 
 tensive with the Union. It can mean nothing less. Thy 
 policy thou wilt bear with my boldness would make 
 thy c blue arch stop at Mason and Dixon s line, like a 
 rainbow cut off in the middle ! thy nationality, great as 
 it is, would only embrace the Free States ; and thus, thy 
 blue arch would only form a quarter of a circle ! " 
 
 " What obstinate blindness, Mr. Moon ! It seems as 
 if I cannot explain anything to your satisfaction. I am a 
 friend to the South, as much as you or any one else; 
 only my motto is, No more Slave States" 
 
 "Ah! ah! friend Chase; that tells the whole tale! 
 Why such a motto ? What can be the motive, if it is 
 not to cripple to injure and degrade the South ? It can 
 hardly be to build up Slavery; to strengthen and enrich 
 it. Thy enmity to this peculiar institution is too noto 
 rious to suppose the latter is thy object. In the settle 
 ment of the Territories, the National Government should 
 know neither North nor South ; but observe a perfect 
 neutrality. The South is not to be attached to this 
 Union by sectional or invidious legislation. The strength 
 and value of the Union depend upon the general affection 
 of the States. Any policy that has a tendency to pro 
 duce alienation among the States to sow the seeds of 
 
discord, ill-will and hatred should be discountenanced 
 by all the true patriots in the land." 
 
 u I have avowed my attachment to the Union so often, 
 Mr. Moon, that it is really irksome to repeat it. Of this 
 fact you can find an abundance of evidence in all my 
 public acts." 
 
 "I know thy political history like a book, friend 
 Chase. I have read attentively all thy speeches, whether 
 delivered in the Senate of the United States or elsewhere, 
 and I could not refrain from setting thee down a most 
 dangerous Abolitionist and a bitter and uncompromising 
 foe to the South. Thou mayst float into the chair of State 
 in Ohio, on the impetuous waves of Free-Soilism* but thy 
 eyes are fixed on the highest office in the gift of this great 
 nation. Free-Soilism will be inadequate to bear thee to 
 that distinguished station, notwithstanding thy warm 
 professions of nationality, and k thy blue arch in the 
 heavens. " 
 
 " Sir, do you venture to assail my character to call in 
 question my repeated declarations ? Do you suppose, sir, 
 1 can bear such insults ?" 
 
 " Nay, friend Chase, be not enraged. I am a man of 
 peace. I love domestic tranquillity. I am for the Union 
 as it is I want nothing better. Let the South grow 
 let her expand, if she chooses, I will not fix barriers to 
 her greatness and prosperity; and I can repeat, with 
 propriety, the same language to the North. I am not, 
 thank God, an enemy to either." 
 
 u I am done with all such Moons, and I hope there are 
 few such in the world." 
 
 "Well, let him go," said Moon to himself; "I care 
 not he is a time-serving politician, at best. He is art 
 fully blowing up sectional strife. Only think of his 
 opinion in relation to the Fugitive-Slave Law! There he 
 shows his cloven foot plainly he holds that to be uncon 
 stitutional. Oh, no! Congress must not dare to constrain 
 the delivery up of fugitive slaves. He has not thought 
 it expedient to tell us how that duty should be performed. 
 Should he be so fortunate as to be elected Governor of 
 Ohio, would he recommend to the Legislature to enact a 
 law to secure effectually to the owners the return of fugi- 
 12 
 
138 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 tive slaves ? Aha ! that is the rub ! We may live to see ; 
 but if I were allowed to judge, the objection is not so 
 much to the power whence the law emanates, as to the 
 surrendering of them at all. However, we are at the 
 end of our journey for to-day here is Sandusky City!" 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 At a Hotel The Squire goes out to see a man hung A Dialogue over 
 heard between two men. 
 
 " BARKEEPER," said Moon, " thou wilt take care of our 
 baggage. We will depart on the first boat going up the 
 lake. What is the cause of so great an assemblage of 
 people in your city to-day ?" 
 
 " Why, sir, a poor one-legged man has to be hung to 
 day. Men, women, and children all have come out to 
 witness the sad spectacle." 
 
 " Yea, friend, such distressing scenes create an undue 
 degree of excitement. I will also go, but not from the 
 motives that influence others." 
 
 Friend Moon was standing in the crowd around the 
 gallows, where he overheard the following dialogue : 
 
 " I tell you, Tom, this Oberlin is getting to be a sweet 
 place ; the two races, black and white, are educated there 
 together upon a system of perfect equality. The object 
 is to remove the prejudice against color, and produce 
 amalgamation." 
 
 " Disgraceful ! John. I tell you it is disgraceful it is 
 enough to sink any set of white people in the world. I 
 am a poor man, you know, and have daughters, but 
 rather than any one of them should ever marry a nigger 
 I would prefer to see her dead and buried fifty times 
 over." 
 
 " That is just as any one is raised, Tom. If you had 
 been taken when you were young, and had been brought 
 up with black children, perhaps you would not have felt 
 
this prejudice. At the age of maturity you might have 
 fancied a Hack, in preference to a white lady." 
 
 " No, never, never! John. I was not born with such 
 a taste. Commend me to the white woman forever. 
 Between Tier and a negro wench, in making choice, gods ! 
 I would not hesitate a moment." 
 
 " But you must remember, Tom, this College at Ober- 
 lin was founded by a branch of the Presbyterians who 
 call themselves Perfectionists. They are striving to 
 introduce a purer state of society than has hitherto 
 existed." 
 
 "Blast such hopes, John. Who wants any female 
 more beautiful than the pure Anglo-Saxon ? She comes 
 up to my ideas of a perfect beauty. If Africa can turn 
 out any creature so bewitching, I confess I am ignorant 
 of it. Of one fact I am certain ; our race will not be 
 improved by this process of amalgamation." 
 
 " I can tell you another thing, Tom, this College keeps 
 many young men at the South, collecting up slaves and 
 running them to Oberlin, whence they are shipped to 
 Canada, either from the mouth of Black river, Vermilion, 
 or Cleveland." 
 
 " You certainly must be mistaken, John. Such holy, 
 devout men, as I take the professors to be, cannot 
 stoop to work so disreputable it would be too great a 
 disgrace." 
 
 u I know it is so, Tom. I reside near that college, and 
 am well apprized of what is going on." 
 
 u You astonish me, John. No wonder that slave 
 holders complain of this State. Kentucky is our neigh 
 bor, one of the members of the Union, and deserves 
 better treatment at our hands. We bound ourselves by 
 the Federal Compact to deliver fugitives from labor that 
 was our solemn undertaking. We are not only failing to 
 perform that duty, but are employing emissaries to visit 
 the near States to tamper with their slaves, to seduce 
 them away, and aid them in making their escape. Is not 
 this intolerable?" 
 
 " I can assure you, Tom, if this conduct be continued, 
 it must involve this country in great trouble. It seems 
 to me, Abolitionism is a dangerous and increasing evil. 
 
US VEILED. 
 
 It flows from a bad spirit a desire to meddle in Q 
 domestic concerns of others. We are not content o 
 regelate our internal concerns in oar own way, but j 
 must intrude our good offices into other people s affa 
 to their great detriment and our own discredit/ 
 
 So it looks to me, John. 1 do not like Slavery. I j i 
 free from it -if it be a tin it don t lie at my do 
 Those, where it is tolerated, will have to answer for it 
 the bar of heaven. I or you will be held to no resp< 
 sibility in relation to it ;" but there are people in ti 
 world so supremely wise and good, at least in their ov 
 estimation, they are always complaining of one thing 
 another. They would, I "believe, if they had the powi 
 revolutionize the present order of society, and convt 
 everything into chaos." 
 
 "Mischievous souls they must be, Tom. Take Slavei 
 for example that is an* institution peculiar to fiftet 
 States of this Union. Those States have a fraction ov< 
 6,000,000 of whites and 3,000,000 of slaves. The negroi 
 are now, and they have been tor a series of years, he! 
 in bondage. In that relation hitherto they have live 
 contentedly and happily if let alone, they may continu 
 to do so. We may do great injury by trying to fore 
 emancipation. It will come in its own proper time th 
 way will be gradually prepared, and it will be achieve* 
 almost insensibly and quietly/ 
 
 u So I believe, John. The consent of the owners, it is- 
 clear to me, ought to be the very first preliminary. Grea* 
 changes of this kind must be made without violence and 
 bloodshed. Mutual consent does away all wrong. I have 
 often thought of a portion of the Old Testament that is 
 in point. The Jews had groaned in bondage for hundreds 
 of years, but they were not to be liberated without the 
 content of Pharoah. Moses was authorized to display 
 miracles before him, and to bring plagues upon the people 
 of Egypt in order to procure that consent, but without it 
 not a foot was to move ; showing clearly, God would not 
 rashly abrogate a long-standing relation. Let others 
 profit by this example for it is right and just" 
 
 " Now compare that, Tom, to Abolitionism that creeps 
 forth in the dark, in the dead silence of night, while the 
 
ovier reposes upon his pillow, in conscious security, it is 
 atvork distilling its poison into the ear of the unsuspect- 
 in slave. It does not come boldly up, like Moses in the 
 prsence of Egypt s potent king, and demand him to let 
 tb slaves go free. Oh, no! its mischief is all done in 
 seret." 
 
 That, and that alone, is sufficient, John, to make me 
 ahor Abolitionists from the bottom of my heart. They 
 Ian themselves into Societies beg money to carry on 
 thir clandestine work. I have too much pride and self- 
 r-fpect to go into any State and violate its penal statutes. 
 /I the Slave states make it a penitentiary offense to 
 tmper with or entice away slaves. I would not be incar- 
 c ated in one of these loathsome workhouses, tenanted 
 1 most hardened and reprobate offenders, for all the 
 r^roes in Christendom. Some may glory in such mar- 
 u-dom, but I am not one of those." 
 
 "Ah! Tom, that bespeaks a true lover of his country 
 : true American at heart. A laic-abiding citizen is 
 uher a rarity in these modern times. A reverence for, 
 ad an implicit obedience to the laws of our country, 
 the palladium of our safety. Trample these under 
 )ot, and what will follow ? Anarchy and mobism, the 
 
 ecursors of sanguinary revolutions. Whatever they 
 iay be, therefore, we must conform, in all places and upon 
 
 1 occasions, to the laws of the land." 
 
 a That is the noble voice of patriotism, John, that has 
 sen too long silenced by this mad fanaticism, that, like 
 
 hurricane, has swept over the North, bearing down all 
 ostacles, until it has brought this Union into the most 
 nminent peril. Instead of domestic tranquillity, the 
 <"orth is arrayed against the South the sword is sharp- 
 aing for mutual slaughter. May I never see the day 
 rat will make these States aliens and enemies to each 
 
 B 
 
 " Neither do I, Tom, desire to be a spectator of such 
 ,n awful calamity. May this poor body of mine be re- 
 urn ed to the mother-earth, ere that bloody day shall be 
 ishered in." 
 
14:2 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 SOLILOQUY OF FBIEND MOON. 
 
 "A pair of noble fellows, upon iny soul. What patri 
 otism what devotion to the government, laws, and insti 
 tutions of the country ! I will seek them and form an 
 acquaintance. But lo ! the poor culprit is dangling in 
 the air, in the last agonies of death they have disap 
 peared in the crowd I shall see them no more. I must 
 make my way back to the tavern, and hurry on my jour 
 ney. Nevertheless, their words are printed on the tablets 
 of my heart they shall endure to the end of my days. I 
 would to God such sentiments could find a response in 
 every bosom then our Union would be perpetual." 
 
 CHAPTEK XVIII. 
 
 Depart to Amherstburg on the steamer Constitution Conversation at 
 the Landing with a Water-carrier With a negro in Jail. 
 
 " I CAN but admire," said the Squire to David, "the 
 mechanism of this noble steamer, Constitution. She 
 is made strong, and all vessels ought to have strength to 
 bear up in the raging storm, and ride the mountain wave. 
 So ought our Federal Constitution be endued with suffi 
 cient strength to ride through the storms of factions and 
 fanaticism. The skill of the pilot is essential to enable 
 her to pass triumphantly over the howling sea ; so it is 
 with the vessel of State, much depends upon the Presi 
 dent, who shall guide us amidst the many dangers that 
 environ the nation." 
 
 " Yes, uncle," responds David, " he must be a man of 
 vast knowledge, enlarged political experience, consum 
 mate wisdom, great magnanimity, and a true friend to the 
 Union : for no other will be able to govern this nation in 
 peace and tranquillity." 
 
 " Soon, David, we will tread on foreign soil ; I feel a 
 desire to visit Canada to mingle freely with the people. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 14:0 
 
 Somehow or other I have fancied that Monarchy has a 
 little more energy in enforcing the laws and preserving 
 the peace, than our turbulent democracy. We shall have 
 a chance now to enjoy the ample security which monarchy 
 affords." 
 
 " I have never, uncle, been out of my own country. 
 Although monarchy is said to be the strongest kind of 
 government, yet I do not feel much admiration for it. 
 Here is Amherstburg; we shall soon have a chance to 
 enjoy the benefit of British laws and protection." 
 
 " We will go ashore, David, we may learn something 
 of value in relation to the condition of the colored race in 
 her Majesty s provinces." 
 
 " See there, uncle, is a white man with two buckets of 
 water one suspended on each side to a collar across his 
 shoulders. That must be a slow and laborious way of 
 supplying the town with water." 
 
 " So it must be, David. I will approach him and make 
 some inquiries." 
 
 u Look here, my old friend," said the Squire, " is that 
 the way white men, in this country, have to toil for a 
 living " 
 
 " Be sure, stranger, what business is that of your n. 
 We have to turn our hands to anything to make a 
 penny." 
 
 " Even to wear a wooden collar, old friend ? Why 
 we treat horses a little better than that where I come 
 from." 
 
 " Fray, mist r, none of your sinuations. Might I be 
 so bold what place did you come from ?" 
 
 "From the United States, old friend." 
 
 " Yery well, stranger ; do you think to come over here 
 and insult her Majesty s subjects ? You be now under 
 the laws of England." 
 
 " I hope they are good laws, old friend, and I do not 
 intend to violate them." 
 
 tc I s pose not, stranger; but how quick ye re arter mak 
 ing fun of me, a poor old man, who has, to keep from starv 
 ing, to carry these two buckets of water to the back part 
 oAhe town. This is my daily work, from early in the 
 morning till late at night. If ye had to do this hard 
 
144 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 labor for the few pennies I get, ye would not be so full of 
 fun." 
 
 4t Now, old friend, don t get offended at my familiarity. 
 I regretted to find white men wearing wooden collars in 
 this country. I came here with higher expectations. 
 Horses and carts perform that labor with us it would be 
 too slow a business for us entirely. And then we would 
 not let our horses use so hard a collar as yours, made out 
 of wood." 
 
 " Look ye, stranger, if ye .don t mind how ye talk, ye 
 will have an iron collar on, darn quick. Don t ye see 
 th boys, with the red jackets on, perading the town, with 
 them shining muskets ? Them is the chaps that will do 
 the work for all such patriots. Now, do ye keep a sharp 
 look out." 
 
 " You surely, old friend, would not serve a stranger in 
 that way men who came over to travel in these pro 
 vinces, and to see a few old acquaintances. I want to find 
 a few colored people I once knew, and if I find them all 
 wearning IRON COLLARS, I shall lose no time in getting 
 out of this country, lest it may be my fate. I will curse 
 Queen Victoria and her people I mean after I get 
 back." 
 
 "Aha ! stranger, it is well ye put them words in. Ye 
 can t vent them curses here. Our gracious Queen can t 
 do any wrong. Ye Publicans are not fit for no country 
 best stay on your own side of the lake. Now ye have the 
 truth in good yarnest." 
 
 " Where, my old friend, can I find the colored people ? 
 are there any living in this town ?" 
 
 " What, stranger, them black people? the hull country 
 be full of em. They be in the army, in the town, in the 
 jails them be everywhere. What State be ye from ?" 
 
 " From Ohio, old friend." 
 
 " Well, then, stranger, ye can go in among them ; 
 but people from them slave States better make them 
 selves scarce in this land them niggers will eat ? em up 
 alive." 
 
 The Squire and David repair to a tavern, and register 
 their names as from Ohio. 
 
 The Squire goes on a visit to the jail, where he 
 
happened to meet with a fugitive slave, with whom he 
 enters into the following conversation : 
 
 " Why, Massa Henry, is dat you ! Oh ! blessy me 
 how glad I m to see you once more on arth." 
 
 " Is this Phil, that left our county many years ago ?" 
 
 "Ah! dis is de same old nigger. God bless dat good 
 place Kentucky, foreber. Oh ! fool I was eber to leave de 
 hum I had. Dem Ab litioners cheated poor Phil dak 
 time. Dey gets me off to dis land, by tolding of me dis 
 was a paradise of a place. I comes over here wid your 
 boys, Jack and Joe, and now you sees my fix." 
 
 "it is bad enough I should say, Phil. I find you 
 heavily ironed and fastened to the floor in this dark, dis 
 mal room." 
 
 " God be marciful to me ! Poor Phil is undone now 
 I m kotched at last. Oh! Massa Henry, I ve bin bad 
 berry bad! When I had a hum, plenty to eat, warn 
 house to sleep in, and good clothes, I warn t sati fied 1 
 must try dis land, and I s come to Oh ! Lord, marcy 
 upon me ! you see what ?" 
 
 " You must, Phil, have committed some very great 
 crime from the precautions taken to keep you in place. 
 These impenetrable walls and heavy iron doors and 
 windows were not thought sufficient of themselves to 
 hold you." 
 
 " Well, Massa Henry, the jig is up wid me now. It s 
 no Vantage to me to lie the sentens is nounced on me. 
 Here me lays on dis cold, hard floor, bound down wid 
 dese heaby irons, without a fend in dis world. I tinks 
 ober my hull life. I tinks of you all in Kantuck, of dese 
 people here, and I tells you the nigger is a poor critter 
 wid de white man anywhar." 
 
 "Why, Phil, I had supposed that when the negroes 
 reached Canada, they would have met with warm-hearted 
 friends to assist them to everything they needed. The 
 British government has been very gracious to them, and 
 I supposed the people here would have been equally 
 friendly." 
 
 "All but dat, Massa Henry. I tells you what, if any 
 nigger comes here, and spects dat, if he aint bit thar s 
 no truth in dis nigger. I tells you what, dis people am 
 13 
 
146 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 colder than dis country. Dey loves nigger, eh ! Any- 
 t ing but dat! Dere love is jist like de love de wolf has 
 for de lamb. Dat you 11 see." 
 
 " I hardly know how to believe that, Phil, it is so dif 
 ferent from the intelligence circulated among the slaves 
 in Boone. The idea prevails there, that her gracious 
 Majesty has set apart a portion of her public domain in 
 these provinces, for the exclusive benefit of fugitive slaves 
 from the United States, and that the Canadians will 
 receive them with open arms. The Abolitionists are the 
 agents in the North to carry out this benevolent plan of 
 her Majesty." 
 
 " The Ablishners! a thousand curses on dere heads for 
 cheating poor nigger out of his eyes! I knows how dey 
 comes ober dar, and what fine parlaber dey has. You 
 wouldn t tink honey could melt in sich moufs. Dey get 
 us off, and helps us to come ober here, den we sees dem 
 no more." 
 
 u What is the reason you can t make a living among 
 these people ? Can you not find employment at good 
 wages ?" 
 
 " We comes here, Massa Henry, berry poor not ing 
 in God s yearth to live upon. I brot my wife and chil- 
 ders along dat you knows. I went to dis farmer, den 
 to dat. I sez, 4 give me work. No, no! dey sez ; ; don t 
 want you. I wouldn t bord you dis long winter for all 
 dat you can do. Dere, tinks I, now what s I m to do ? 
 Wife, childers, all be starbing for sum bread. I goes 
 hum, and sure enough, all went to sobbing and crying 
 when dey heerd I could get not in for dem to eat. Dey 
 kept sayin, I ve be starvin! how can we lib widout 
 sometin to eat? My poor heart was broke in two. I 
 goes agin and agin but finds no work. Den I begs a 
 leetle meat and bread, jist to keep us alive." 
 
 " Why did you not, Phil, go upon the public lands, set 
 apart for you and others like you ?" 
 
 " Gaze I could do not in dere, Massa Henry. I warn t 
 able to build me a house, to clar de land, and lib sich 
 time tell I could make a crap. We d bin all starbed to 
 death afore dat could be done. I tells you dat land does 
 no poor nigger any good. Dat I knows, caze he couldn t 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 starb menny days. I tells you what, dis same Phil made 
 a trial of dat only tree or four days, and if I didn t feel 
 as doe I was jist pinched right in two, den you may tell 
 dis nigger he knows not in." 
 
 " Now, Phil, what great crime have you committed 
 that has placed you in these bonds ? I did not consider 
 you a desperate rogue when you left our State. Indeed I 
 believe I never heard of your stealing at all." 
 
 "Dat s true dat s true, Massa Henry. I neber took 
 anyt ing that warn t mine. I was one honest nigger 
 dere dat s sure; but arter I comes out to dis place, dis 
 Phil be no longer de same persin. I knows of a woman 
 libing not far off, what s had money in de house. Wicked 
 thots crept into dis head de money, tinks I, must hab. 
 So one night I creeps into dat woman s house to get dat 
 money; but it was no go dere be white men in dat 
 house I knows not of dey jumps up, ketches, and binds 
 me, right in de berry act. Now you sees the dicament 
 I m in." 
 
 " But, Phil, what is the punishment for this offense 
 against the laws of the country?" 
 
 u I was brot to trial, Massa Henry ; dat ditement was 
 read, de witnesses all comes up and swears I comes dere 
 to rob dat house, in de dead hour of de night ; den one 
 lawyer gets up to parlarber for me, den t other to crimi 
 nate dis poor nigger. Den twelve men, dat s called the 
 jury, all marched off, one arter t other, to dere room. 
 Howsomeber, dey soon comes back agin wid the werdict 
 Guilty. " 
 
 u Those are the forms of the law in such cases. What 
 was the penalty?" 
 
 " Dat is the worst, arter all, Massa Henry. Phil leabs 
 dis land his wife and childers neber more to see m. 
 Poor tings! they 11 hab no one to help em cast off here 
 mong strangers and enemies to dere race. Oh ! slabery ! 
 I would dat we ware all back in dy arms! Dat would 
 be a blessing to sich freedom as dis. Poor fatuated 
 beings am we dese poor niggers! I had a hum a good 
 hum, whar I could have libed in peace so it was wid my 
 wife and childers, dey was all libing well, but dat 
 wouldn t do. I was duced to come out here wid dem to 
 
14:8 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 this climate of etarnal winters, where I s posed we d lib 
 wid each other all de time ; but we are to be parted now 
 foreber. I m to go I ll try to tink Oh! dis crazy 
 old pate ob mine! I can t tink at all. Well, I members 
 dat cussed spot where I m banished, dey calls, I tink, 
 Vandigirfs Land, or some sich place." 
 
 " How far off is that, Phil ?" 
 
 "Dat s past my telling its yond the quater some- 
 whar, and t other side of de yarth beside. The north star 
 dat is hid from de sight, and the sun rises t other side of 
 me. My poor brains will neber turn round to understand 
 dese tings. Dat land may be near on to dat place whar 
 de fire is neber quinched ; but it is afar off from de sight 
 of heaben." 
 
 " Let me say to you, Phil, you have no one to blame 
 but yourself for this trouble and disgrace. You were 
 differently situated once ; you had a kind master and 
 mistress, who took care of you in sickness and in health 
 they administered to all your wants you suffered for 
 nothing ; and, in return, you were required to labor no 
 more than all poor people have to do, let their color be 
 what it may. There is no other conceivable way but by 
 labor, to make a living." 
 
 u Dem words, Massa Henry, are true, ebery one of 
 them. Yes, yes, de kindness I had in dat good old land, 
 I neber shall forget. Dem blessed days gone, neber to 
 return. When you gits back, you ll see my good master 
 and missis, tell em how you sees de last of Phil ; dey 
 may be sorry to hear dis, but dey can t help poor Phil, 
 now, he aint in dere reach. I 11 not lib to get to Yandi- 
 gin s land I ll die by de way ; dis poor body of mine 
 must be cast in de deep to feed dein big fishes dat swims 
 in sich big waters. Oh, Lard s marcy, dat s to be my 
 end arter all." 
 
 " Be composed, Phil, your punishment is just. Hon 
 esty is the best policy in all places, and under all circum 
 stances." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 149 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Squire Gray and David discovered to be from Kentucky The Insult 
 The Negro Mob Their flight and arrival in Detroit. 
 
 SQUIKE GRAY having returned to the tavern, he and 
 David were seated on a sofa, in a back room ; to their 
 surprise a large negro fellow enters, deliberately seats 
 himself by the Squire, and throws his ponderous legs 
 across his lap, at which the former immediately rises, and 
 paces the floor in a great rage. In the meantime, the 
 latter quickly retreats. 
 
 " I tell you, David," said the Squire, " this is too great 
 an insult to be borne. I understand its meaning it is to 
 bring on a row ; such liberty would not be taken without 
 a wicked design. Get out our bowie-knives and revolv 
 ers ; let us arm for defense. If those devilish scoundrels 
 think proper to attack us, let us make it cost them 
 dear" 
 
 " Is this the kind of society, uncle, that we are to meet 
 with in these provinces ? Can we not travel here without 
 danger of our lives ? We have neither interfered with, 
 nor molested the blacks in any manner. It is simply 
 because we are from the Slave states that we have been 
 subjected to this premeditated insult." 
 
 " In the motive you are not mistaken so here are our 
 arms we will be prepared for the worst. If our lives 
 have to be sacrificed, the assailants shall suffer for their 
 temerity." 
 
 " Yes, shall they, David a set of lawless wretches, who 
 are thirsting for our blood fiends incarnate, nothing but 
 lead and steel will cure them of their folly. Two men 
 against a multitude what fearful odds ! But we will not 
 be taken alive ; death is infinitely to be preferred to the 
 falling into the hands of such desperate ruffians." 
 
 At this the tavern-keeper, under the greatest agitation, 
 rushes into the room and says : 
 
 u Gentlemen, do tell me where are you from ?" 
 
 " Can t you tell from the Register," responded the 
 Squire. 
 
150 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " That I have noticed, sir, but there is great excitement 
 among the colored people ; they are assembling in great 
 numbers in front of my tavern, breathing vengeance 
 against you ; they assert you are from the South." 
 
 "Though we are from the South, yet are we here on no 
 unlawful business/ answered the "Squire. 
 
 " Do let me tell you, gentlemen, you are in imminent 
 danger. TsTo less than three hundred blacks have filled 
 up the street in front of my house, and others are flocking 
 in all the time. If you remain here my tavern will be 
 torn down over your heads. You are my guests, and as 
 such, I don t want you injured ; and so far as I have the 
 power, I will see you harmless." 
 
 u Are there no laws in this country ?" said the Squire, 
 " no officers to protect the innocent ? Must such mobs 
 have absolute sway ?" 
 
 " None, none whatever to protect persons from the 
 Slave states," rejoined the tavern-keeper. " For this pur 
 pose our laws and our officers are inefficient. The ne 
 groes are omnipotent, and carry all things before them." 
 
 "To this condition have you arrived, sir! "said the 
 Squire. " I am sorry to hear it. If a hair of our heads 
 be injured, I hope the United States will send an army 
 here and blow the whole of those villains to h 11. We 
 are prepared to defend our lives to the last extremity ; 
 but we will submit to you, what is to be done ? We do 
 not wish your house, on our account, to be torn down or 
 damaged. As you have acted so much like a gentleman, 
 we will be governed by your advice." 
 
 "I know of only one chance to escape, gentlemen. I 
 have a very fleet pony, and an excellent buggy. I will 
 have it got ready in a moment ; place your baggage in it, 
 and you can take the road to Sandwich leave horse 
 and buggy with my friend Crane then cross to Detroit 
 and you are safe." 
 
 u Be it as you say, we will adopt the plan," replied the 
 Squire. 
 
 u I will order horse and buggy got ready, gentlemen., 
 then return to the bar-room, parley with the blacks, and 
 keep them out of the house as long as I can, so that you 
 may get considerably the start. They will pursue like 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 151 
 
 wolves, so soon as they shall find out you are gone: but 
 don t tear they have nothing that can come up with that 
 pony. Give him slightly the whip and the reins; that s 
 all you have to do, and I ll go security for the balance. 5 
 
 u Here, Mr. Tavern Keeper, 5 said the Squire, ; *is a 
 hundred dollars ; it will cover your risk, and be a remu 
 neration for your kindness. 5 
 
 " Thank you, gentlemen ; now go it with a rush ! I 
 will detain the mob, as long as I can ; trust me for that. 5 
 
 Soon after, the 5 Squire and David passed out of a 
 back door, along a narrow alley, to the buggy in wait 
 ing, unobserved by the crowd. They got in, and took 
 the road to Sandwich. Never did pony move in such gal 
 lant style the wheels whirled so rapidly, they seemed a 
 solid sheet ; the spokes were not visible, but appeared 
 cemented into one solid frame. 
 
 In the meantime, the tavern-keeper was essaying to 
 hold the mob in suspense. 
 
 i; I say, Mr. Simpson, the tavern-keeper! 55 hallooed a" 
 lusty negro fellow. " Where is dem men ? we must have 
 5 em at every hazard! No man from dem Slave States 
 shall be coming ober to dis country ; if him does, we 5 ll 
 have his blood do you hear dat ? " 
 
 4> Why, Joe ! 55 says Mr. Simpson, " these appear to be 
 well-behaved gentlemen; they have demeaned themselves 
 peaceably ; they have troubled nobody ; they came off a 
 boat this morning have put up with me; they are under 
 my roof, and I can t suffer them to be molested. 5 
 
 " Dat won t do for us, Mr. Simpson ! 55 replied Joe 
 " not at all dese South ners has been cruel to our race 
 dese menny years dey ties 5 em up and whips 5 em with 
 out marcy. Now we jest wants to show 5 em dis same 
 sort of play dat s all. 55 
 
 " But, Joe, you must know, these are citizens of the 
 United States quietly disposed. That Government 
 would not suffer her citizens to be barbarously scourged 
 ~by you! That Republic is proud, martial, and tenacious 
 of its rights. Would you wish to involve us in a war 
 with that nation ? 55 
 
 u I don t care, Mr. Simpson, a d n for the hull of 
 em dey won t fight a darn bit of it. Den we has too 
 
152 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 menny frien s, in de North, to suffer dat. Dey let dese 
 black peoples be hurt; dat won t do to tell, Mr. Simpson, 
 case we has too menny frien s dere, for dat. Dey don t 
 care how menny dem slave-holders be kilt. Dat time we 
 lays in dem bushes, waiting for dat old man Gorsuch 
 to cum along: den here he cums, sure enough, not dink- 
 ing we was in dat place hid ; den pop, pop, went de guns 
 all round down dropped de old man, all kilt right away. 
 Dem niggers which kilt him, was em hurt for it ? dat s 
 deding; so far from dat, dey was called heroes! Dey 
 lobed us de more for dat. And dese men in your house, 
 we ll sarve worser dan dat nobody won t care a bit for 
 it. We will have dem wretches ! drag em out of dere 
 hiding-places ! Now, if you don t open your doors, and 
 let us cum in, dis house will come to pieces in less dan 
 no time ! " 
 
 " I must declare, Joe, you all want to do a mighty 
 jvicked thing. These men are entire strangers in this 
 place : how do you know anything about them ? You 
 don t even know whether they own slaves or not ! or 
 even if they do, whether they are cruel or humane ! In 
 the absence of such knowledge, the most innocent may 
 suffer." 
 
 " I want to hear no more sich stuff, Mr. Simpson. To 
 de work! Hurrah, boys! rush to de work tear out de 
 windows mash up dem doors to splinters and bring 
 dem men out dead or alive dey are our meat ! " 
 
 " Stop, Joe ! I will unlock all my doors ; you may 
 have access to every room in my house. I have done 
 my best to save these men, and if you will have them, I 
 can t help it." 
 
 "Oh, ho! j^ou begin to hab some sense now, Mr. 
 Simpson. Rush in men haul em out; we ll show em 
 how de war s begun dat s what we will." 
 
 The house is rapidly searched up and down no white 
 men to be found. 
 
 The shout went up, They re fled ! they re fled ! Hunt 
 em ! hunt em up ! 
 
 A loud voice cried out, in the crowd, " I just met two 
 white men in a buggy, driving a pony, with amazing 
 speed, toward Sandwich ! " 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 153 
 
 " Dat em ! dat em ! " says Joe. " Dash arter em 
 men, wid horses, mules, and what not. Be sure to ketch 
 em and bring em back. Oh, ho ! guilty rascals, afeard 
 of dese niggers now ! " 
 
 The whole town was in a bustle : the livery stables 
 were soon all emptied of horses. Now the mob, pell- 
 mell, dashed up the road the horses feet rumbling like 
 distant thunder and a deafening yell went up, that 
 reverberated along the winding shore. Like ravenous 
 wolves, they dashed madly after their prey: the dust, in 
 curling columns, arising behind. A long train of, at 
 least, five hundred infuriated negroes, in hot pursuit of 
 our good old Squire and David a great disparity, in 
 force ! The demons were armed to the teeth, and 
 thirsting for blood. 
 
 " Did you not hear," said the Squire, to David, "that 
 horrible yell ? Those fiends are on our trail, and they 
 are coming with a vengeance." 
 
 u Yes yes, uncle, I see the dust curling in the air: 
 yonder they come, like furies. What a multitude ! they 
 reach farther than I can see. Come, pony, exert every 
 nerve thy nimble little feet seem barely to touch the 
 ground. Oh ! noble fellow, how he presses onward, as 
 though he were conscious of his important charge." 
 
 "Ah ! David, did you ever see such speed and bottom 
 in one little horse? He bids defiance to all pursuit. His 
 owner was right, when he said none could come up with 
 him I see that plainly we pass objects so quickly, that 
 it almost makes my head dizzy. Did you hear the name 
 of this grand little horse ? " 
 
 " Yes, uncle, the hostler called him c Napoleon le Grand. 
 You noticed how he pranced and champed the bit, so im 
 patient was he to be on his way. His name is very ap 
 propriate." 
 
 " That it is, David ; and I will own him, if he can be 
 bought. I will send down a letter this night, to the 
 owner, to price him and the buggy ; and if money will 
 buy them, we will take them along with us to Boone. 
 There he shall be fed up to his eyes none shall hurt him. 
 Napoleon le Grand, with this buggy, shall be kept as a 
 memento of our flight from Amherstburg." 
 
154 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 u Can you hear, David, anything of those cut-throats 
 who were hunting us like hyenas? 
 
 " No, uncle, they are out of hearing and out of sight. 
 We have fairly distanced them to a certainty." 
 
 " Yery well, David ; to the speed of this noble little 
 horse are we indebted for our salvation. We will leave 
 him and buggy here according to promise." 
 
 The horse and buggy were left with Mr. Crane, while 
 the Squire and David passed quickly over to Detroit. 
 But they had barely made their escape ere these hell 
 hounds, with dusty visages, had dashed into town. The 
 prey, was gone. Suddenly they retreated homeward, curs 
 ing their poor fatigued horses for the slowness of their 
 speed. 
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 Squire Gray and David at a Hotel in Detroit Thoughts and reflections 
 on the Incidents of the day Receives an answer Buys Pony and 
 Buggy Resolves to make another Excursion into Canada. 
 
 " I CAN but think," said the Squire to David, " of the 
 incidents of this day. How proud I am once more to see 
 that flag, so glorious, with its stars and stripes floating 
 upon the breeze. On American soil I feel safe." 
 
 " I reckon, uncle, you will be no great admirer of the 
 hospitality you experienced in Canada ? Your Quaker- 
 ship, if assumed in time, might have saved you from that 
 perilous adventure." 
 
 u I doubt it, David. Phil, the negro I visited in jail, 
 must have disclosed our true character. He knew me 
 well, and must have told where I lived. But what harm 
 ought that to have done ? Must we be mobbed because 
 we happened to reside in Kentucky ? That is a crime of 
 a very deep die in the estimation of these wretches. The 
 day of retribution may come, and much sooner than they 
 anticipate." 
 
 " Those diabolical blacks, uncle, were eager for our 
 blood. Tell me about Indians, if there ever were worse 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 155 
 
 savages than these negroes, I would not know where to 
 find them. As to government or law, it is the farthest 
 from their thoughts. The strength of a monarchy is an 
 obsolete idea. Where were the police or military that 
 they did not disperse these abominable negroes, who thus 
 disregarded the rites of hospitality, and all the usages 
 among civilized people ?" 
 
 u The reason is obvious to me, David. Great Britain 
 hates our nation. She is doing all she can to distract and 
 divide us. She does not, in reality, love the negro she 
 gives him an asylum and land by so doing, she hopes to 
 embroil the two sections of the Union the North and 
 South. There would be more charity in her setting aside 
 a portion of her land for her own starving poor ; but her 
 philanthropy passes over their heads to the slaves of the 
 South ." 
 
 " Here, uncle, is a letter just handed me from Amherst- 
 burg. We will now be advised whether Napoleon le 
 Grand and buggy can be bought. I shall always love 
 that darling little horse. Oh ! he bore us away from those 
 miscreants in such beautiful style. But read the letter : 
 
 u i H. Gray, Esq : SIR: your note is at hand. I re 
 joice to hear of your safe arrival at Detroit a fortunate 
 escape from those vile ruffians who sought your life. As 
 to your proposition to buy pony and buggy, I have to say, 
 although it is very painful for me to give up so valuable 
 a horse, you can have them at five hundred dollars. 
 Should the price please you, pay the money to my friend, 
 Mr. Crane, at Sandwich, I will instruct him, in that 
 event, to deliver to you the property. Under no other cir 
 cumstances could I have been induced to make this trade. 
 4t i With my best wishes for your welfare, 
 " 4 I remain truly 
 44 Yours, 
 
 " c D. SIMPSON. > : 
 
 4 Although the price for the horse and buggy, David, 
 appears extravagant, yet I will accept the offer, because 
 that little pony bore us off in such gallant style from that 
 accursed mob ; I shall, therefore, feel a pride in calling 
 
156 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 him mine, and giving him, while he lives, real Kentucky 
 hospitality." 
 
 " I guess, uncle, it will not be such as we met with in 
 Canada that was too warm for our comfort." 
 
 44 To have such a set of demons at our heels, David, is 
 not so pleasant as one might imagine. We could, per 
 haps, have sent a dozen or more of those dastardly ras 
 cals to the shades below ; but the preservation of our 
 lives is better than a hopeless contest with such over 
 whelming numbers ; and I was not over-anxious just 
 then to sacrifice our lives, and thus leave Abolitionism 
 not fully unveiled." 
 
 " I judge, uncle, your curiosity is satisfied, so far as 
 Canada is concerned. You will not disturb her Majesty s 
 dominions any more. As you came out with flying 
 colors, you will be contented hereafter to stay on 4 Uncle 
 Sam s side of the creek." 
 
 46 Well, David, it seems I ought. We came out flying, 
 that is true, but in our precipitate retreat we forgot to 
 hoist the colors. I rather think they were laid low in the 
 dust. At any rate it forms an incident in our history. 
 I am disposed to make one more adventure which, I flat 
 ter myself, will not be so unfortunate. We have to go 
 across to Sandwich for the horse and buggy, and while 
 there, we will ride some eight or ten miles out into the 
 country, where a railroad is building mostly by blacks. 
 I have learned my two boys, Jack and Joe, are there at 
 work, together with others who have eloped from our 
 county. I do not suppose we ought to apprehend any 
 danger in that quarter." 
 
 "Although I will go with you, uncle, wherever you 
 please, and will always be at your service yes, I will 
 stand by your side 4 in evil and good report ; yet I can 
 declare I have no faith in those Canadian black devils, 
 either in one place or another." 
 
 64 1 am sensible of your devotion, David ; but I shall 
 rely upon my good stars to extricate me in every emer 
 gency. To-morrow we will once more trust ourselves to 
 Napoleon le Grand." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 157 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Squire Gray and David in Sandwich Conversation with Mr. Crane 
 They go out into the Country Meets with his Negroes and other Ac 
 quaintances Conversation Surrounded by a mob of Negroes, and 
 narrowly escapes with his Life. 
 
 THE Squire and David, early the ensuing morning, 
 crossed to Sandwich, and having paid down the price of 
 the horse and buggy, while they were getting them ready 
 for the trip, the Squire had the following conversation 
 with Mr. Crane : 
 
 " 1 have, Mr. Crane, an anxiety to take a ride into the 
 country to meet with some colored people I once knew. 
 I wish to ascertain how they are prospering in this 
 country." 
 
 fct Prospering, Squire!" rejoined Mr. Crane, "there ia 
 no prosperity for such lazy persons anywhere. Before 
 this railroad began, the creatures were half starved and 
 nearly naked. Work they would not, and no one wanted 
 them if they would." 
 
 u What! you astonish me, Mr. Crane. Is this the feel 
 ing you whites have for these favorites of her Majesty s 
 government? She holds out strong inducements for them 
 to settle among you giving them homes c without money 
 and without price thus doing more for them than she 
 has for her white subjects." 
 
 " Yes, infinitely more, Squire ; and yet they are the 
 greatest nuisances I ever saw. They come over here, 
 ignorant, vicious, and very poor ; because we will not put 
 ourselves upon an equality with them, they soon become 
 our enemies. Some of them are savage beings, I can 
 assure you, and the most contemptible petty thieves." 
 
 "Why, you paint their characters very badly, Mr. 
 Crane. In a state of slavery they are much better than 
 that." 
 
 " There s where they ought to have staid, Squire ; for 
 that condition alone they are fitted. A good, judicious, 
 and merciful system of Slavery makes them useful and 
 productive members of society, whereas when they are 
 
158 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 liberated, they add nothing to the general stock of indus 
 try and wealth." 
 
 "What can cause this bitter animosity between the 
 two races, Mr. Crane? I came here with far different an 
 ticipations. I had supposed you were all living here in 
 perfect harmony that the lion and the lamb were repos 
 ing quietly together." 
 
 " You did, indeed, Squire ? Of the state of society 
 here it shows you had no correct information. We 
 abominate the negro upon the face of the earth. What 
 great injury we are sustaining by such population you 
 can hardly imagine. They often steal and murder. 
 Should you insult them, they are full of private revenge, 
 and soon your house or barn will be burned down. What 
 can a man do, surrounded by such secret and implacable 
 foes ? On the slightest pretext or for the smallest insult, 
 some will assassinate you, and hence we can never know 
 when we are safe." 
 
 " If they act in this manner, Mr. Crane, they undoubt 
 edly make bad neighbors. No society, where there is such 
 manifest insecurity both to persons and property, can enjoy 
 happiness. Really, I can see no advantage in that sort of 
 a life over that of the savage, for here you are taught to 
 rely somewhat upon the laws for protection and if they 
 prove inadequate, how great and serious your delusion." 
 
 u In fact, Squire, I would rather at once depend upon 
 my personal prowess to guard and vindicate my rights. 
 By considering myself the avenger of my own wrongs, I 
 would go prepared to meet every contingency. Whereas 
 when I repose confidence in the laws to be my shield, I 
 go unarmed, and might be taken by surprise." 
 
 "Hence, Mr. Crane, the absolute necessity for a rigor 
 ous and impartial administration of the laws. The cer 
 tainty of punishment, more than the amount, exercises 
 the most influence over the xvicked passions of men. The 
 chances of escape are weighed closely by every criminal 
 before he violates the laws. If he were sure punishment 
 would quickly follow upon the heels of the offense that 
 there was not a possibility of escape I will venture to 
 assert, crimes would not be so numerous." 
 
 u True as Holy Writ Squire. If our rulers could be 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 159 
 
 made sensible of those plain matters-of-fact, what a salu 
 tary reformation would soon follow. Mobism would be 
 banished from our land, domestic tranquillity would be 
 restored, and our lives and our property would not be held 
 by so precarious a tenure." 
 
 The horse and buggy being in readiness, the Squire and 
 David get in ; Napoleon le Grand is put under way, and 
 soon conveys them to a company of blacks, working on 
 the railway. The Squire leaves David in the buggy, to 
 hold the impetuous little pony, while he approaches alone 
 and chances to meet his servants that he had not seen for 
 many years. They and other old acquaintances flock 
 around him, all anxious to hear from the good old land 
 they had left. Jack, one of his former slaves, and the 
 Squire entered into the following conversation : 
 
 " Why, Jack," said the Squire, " can this be you ? 
 How glad I am to meet with you again this side the grave." 
 
 Good Lord, aint here my old massa ? I neber 
 spected to meet you agin. I neber s posed you d come 
 to dis strange land. Come up all de Boone boys, come 
 up; here be old massa. Blessy me, I feels sorter glad. 
 I neber, neber s posed I d see you any more on arth!" 
 
 "Now, Jack, I have been induced to come here and 
 see, with my own eyes, how you are all making out in 
 this distant land. You recollect I bought you and Joe 
 many years ago paid sixteen hundred dollars in cash for 
 you, in order to keep you both from being sold to a negro 
 trader, which your former owner intended to do." 
 
 " Ah ! my good massa, I ll not forgit dat blessed day ; 
 you comes like a kind angel, and took us out of de 
 clutches of dem bad men as what trades in niggers. 
 B essed God so you did, and dat makes me feel so berry 
 bad when I sees your face. It brought up all dem tings 
 a-fresh oh ! dey all stood up afore me as doe it was done 
 yes erday." 
 
 " I do not, Jack, come here to-day to upbraid you for 
 your ingratitude. I have learned to forgive all such of 
 fenses. I would not, if I could, reclaim you and Joe, and 
 take you back into slavery. I do not want you any more 
 in that capacity. I am learning to do without slaves en 
 tirely : I am working the farm by free-labor exclusively." 
 
160 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 "Den, massa, I feels worster dan eber. I to t you 
 could do wid dem left behind you had heap of niggers 
 dere to work de land I neber s posed t others would run 
 off, and if dey has, dey hasn t got to dis place." 
 
 " Well, Jack, you and Joe thought yourselves too good 
 to wait any longer upon me. Although I had saved you 
 from the cotton-fields of the South, yet, in my old age, 
 you ran off to this foreign land, leaving me to pass the 
 remnant of my days in any way I could." 
 
 " Dat s true, Massa Henry ; we be two mean niggers 
 we treated you mighty bad, dat we did ; but we was ticed 
 away by Ab litioners ; dey comes round us and sez, you 
 have jest as much rite to be free as dem white folks. Dey 
 beats dat into our poor skulls. I know d as how you d 
 snatched us away from dem jaws of de South dat I shall 
 always member. It was your money dat did dat berry 
 ting. If you had staid at hum hadn t care for us a bit 
 your money wouldn t have went, and we d bin somewhar 
 else not here, dis b essed day. Yis, yis, poor Jack and 
 Joe would ve of bin in dern big cotton swamps of de 
 souf, instead of dis here land, dat s sartin." 
 
 " Now, Jack, by these kind of tricks I gradually lost 
 confidence in negroes. I was resolved her Majesty s pro 
 vinces should never hold another slave of mine. You and 
 Joe slipped off and got here ; but I said in my heart you 
 should be the first and last; and I have been true to my 
 promise. Let your Abolition friends make the most of it. 
 I have the value of those of my negroes left behind in 
 bank in the iron safe, which has neither feet nor legs, 
 and will be apt to stay in place. Of nights now I can 
 sleep without uneasiness." 
 
 "All dese tings is bad mighty bad, Massa Henry. 
 "We niggers case a heap of trouble on dis arth. If two 
 but runs away, den twenty is sent to the South. Dis way 
 it works to our mighty in ry. Dese Ab litioners all de 
 time tinking dem doing de niggers bundance of good. 
 Oh, yes ! dey brags bout dere good work dey tinks 
 dey re doing God a rael sarvice; but dey is all de time 
 sowing de sorrows ober de land. Now here arn me and 
 Joe, dey gits us ober here den oh ! how dey joices over 
 dat ! Den you gits mad and swars dem is all de Ab li- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 161 
 
 tioners shall hab. Den here goes t others de hull 
 twenty down de riber to de cotton -fields. Dat s de way 
 dese tings work two here, twenty dere," 
 
 u But, Jack, I suppose you rejoice in your escape from 
 the house of bondage. You are very happy in your pre 
 sent condition ?" 
 
 " No, no, massa ; de nigger what hasn t no feller-feelin , 
 arn t warthy of de name. I m not to tink of dem few 
 what s in Candy. Dey s a mere not in to dem what was 
 left behind. Dere aint tirty tousand dat got out into dis 
 land dat s all. De Ab litioners crows ober dese as doe 
 dey had fected eberyting. Now tink, massa, how many 
 of em am left behind." 
 
 " Three millions, I suppose, Jack." 
 
 " Dere it is, massa, tree millins behind ; dese hardly 
 missed from dat great big pile dat s sure." 
 
 4k In truth, Jack, slavery will never be brought to an 
 end by so slow and tedious a process. We could count 
 the sands on the sea shore about as soon as we could 
 annihilate it in this way. It so happens they are coming 
 in by birth much faster than that." 
 
 u Dere it is, Massa Henry, dat jest what I s bin sayin . 
 By ticing away a few slaves neber gwine to bolish slabery. 
 Dey 11 not come it ober de masters dat way dey be too 
 cute for dat, sure. Dem men knows what dey arter ; let 
 em alone for dat. When you kitch em asleep, den you 
 may call dis nigger a fool -dat s sure." 
 
 u Since you seem to be in a fine vein for talking, Jack, 
 give me your thoughts on the Abolitionists, how you like 
 them, and how much they befriended you." 
 
 u Dem peoples, Massa Henry, I knows em up and 
 down dis way and dat, and ebery way you can take em. 
 Dey talks so good dat you couldn t hefp lubing of em. 
 Dey tells us about aleable rights, and all dat sorts o ting. 
 Dey made us begin to hate you, missis, and eberybody. 
 Dey kept tellin on us, we re jest as good as you, and 
 bime-by, Joe and me gins to tink so too. Before dat, I 
 lubed you, missis, and all ; eberyting went on well. 
 Jest den dey turned my poor head round. I hated 
 eberyting ; I want to go ; I sighed for dis here land ; 
 dey told me how dey lubed de nigger out here; I to t 
 14 
 
162 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 it was all jest de bery place for us : so we tramped to dis 
 province." 
 
 " Did you get any aid on the way, Jack !" 
 " Let dis nigger alone for dat, massa. Dese Ab litioners 
 had dem karages all at de riber, jest above de mouf ob 
 de leetle Ami, waiting for us to cum ober. We got dere 
 afore de mornin star was ris. "When I seed all dem fine 
 horses and tings, I hated ole Kantuck. Dere, sez I, de 
 darn nigger trudges t ro de mud, and de white folks roll 
 by in dere fine karages, an dey don t miserate de nigger 
 at all ; dat is de way in dat ole bominable land. 
 
 " But dis is de place for de nigger arter all. Here, he s 
 onored like dem lords ob de land. Aha, tinks I, we be 
 big folks ober here sartin. Now sez 1, when we gots in 
 dem karages an dey began to rumble long massa will 
 wake up dis mornin , call Jack Joe come out, boys, 
 make fire, feed de horses ; but dere was no Jack and Joe 
 dere dis time, he 11 be fooled dey aint dere dis blessed 
 mornin now ole hoss, cotch us if you can. Dese poor 
 h arts got mighty proud. We to t all de world was in a 
 blaze for de nigger; dey rushed us on to Wilmin ton 
 dere dey hid us wid an old Quaker, and sez, stay here 
 quiet, boys, till we can find out what s gwine on. I 
 know d you 11 be out hunting on us, like a cunnin ole 
 fox I tole em all so. Sez I, now watch dem corners 
 close, or we ll be headed yit, dat s sartin. De good, 
 ole Quaker said, Dee need not be oneasy, I 11 tell dee 
 when its safe to go on. 5 
 
 " De ole coon slipped off howsomdever whar on 
 arth he went, no one know d ; den dere we lay dree long 
 days, hid away like stolen goods. Sez I, boys, dis looks 
 darn strange dis hiding an dodging about. What does 
 all dis mean ? Bime-by de ole hoss cums hum, and sez, 
 lay still, boys dey are hunting on you eberywhar re 
 main quiet till de hunt be ober. Dey ll send me word 
 from the city when it will be safe for you to start. Two 
 blessed weeks was us kept in dat place, den we was sent 
 to Bana, den to Ob lin." 
 
 " Do tell me, Jack, how you liked Oberlin." 
 " Dat I will, Massa Henry, if dere s any truf in dis 
 nigger. We comes to Oblin all in high snuff, dat s 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 163 
 
 sartin. I tell you what, dat place looked like somet in ; 
 Dere was de white gals, de black gals, de white boys, an 
 de black boys all kinder mixed up togeder. Aha! ses I, 
 to myself, dis is de grand sideration arter all. Dis is de 
 way to edieate an bring dem up all as one, and den de 
 white gal won t tink herself too good for de nigger. I 
 kinder felt curious all ober, when I sees dem pooty white 
 gals at Ob lin. Tinks I, arter all, dis is de place for 
 Jack. Sez I to myself, get out ob de way ye darn nigger 
 gals, I hate you on de face ob de arth. I despise your 
 berry look, your t ick lips, wooly heads dem critters 
 can t please me agin, dat s sure. 
 
 " Well, bime-by, I sees a charming leetle white gal, ah ! 
 her berry looks sets dis nigger all on fire. Git away all 
 ye darn darkies, ye can t come it wid dis Wenus, dat s sar 
 tin. Her flowin black hair, all comin down de face in 
 sich nice kirls den dem black eyes of hern, dat sparkled 
 like two stars in de skies ; and den her rosy white cheeks. 
 Oh ! don t tell me any nigger can stand dat tem tation." 
 
 " Now, Jack, do tell what success you had ?" 
 
 " Dat I m gwine to tell you now. I sees her walking 
 in dem streets. Den I walks up rite by her side, and sez, 
 good mornin , Miss Ellen. She kinder looks to dis nigger, 
 den de way her face turned red is a korshen she hangs 
 down her head and was lost in fusion. I tried to walk like 
 my heels war greased, but I made a darn hoppy-te-hop all 
 de time. You knows one ob my legs was shorter dan toder, 
 maybe an inch or two ; dat day it was shorter dan eber 
 ebery time dat darn short leg comes down, it jerks dis big 
 face ob mine jest under missis bonnet. Den de way she 
 slopes from dis nigger, was a korshen. Den,tinks I, it s all 
 a lusion dem white gals arter all, aint for sich a hobblin , 
 bobblin nigger as I be. From dat day to dis, I lets em 
 alone I neber tinks ob em again." 
 
 " That is very well, Jack, one adventure cured your 
 folly. Do tell me how you got across the lake ?" 
 
 " Yes, massa, dat venture nocked ebery bit ob de lub 
 out ob dis darn nigger s head for de white gals. I sees it s 
 no go ; dem pooty critters aint gwine to lub us, dat s sar 
 tin. From dat place, we was sent to de mouf of Black 
 riber ; dar a wessel was loadin wid wheat for Candy. We 
 
164: ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 jines in and helps to git de wheat in dehole; soon she sail 
 out on de lake, but dere comes up dat night one ob de big 
 gest winds dis nigger eber saw dat made de ole vessel 
 crack as doe she ll come to pieces. De way dis nigger was 
 sick, wasn t slow fore mornin cums, I puked and puked, 
 oh, grashus ! dis critter was nearly turned inside out, and 
 neber spected to lib anoder day." 
 
 " But you landed here in safety, Jack. I wish to know 
 how you have made out to live among these people?" 
 
 " Dat is de worst part of de story, Massa Henry, arter 
 all. "We comes here among dis people dey don t likens 
 one bit, and we don t like dem either. Dis is a bery cold 
 place too. De way de winds blows an de snow falls, beats 
 all natur . Well, Massa Henry, to tell you de blessed truf, 
 1 Ve worked harder, been half-starved, and nearly naked 
 eber since I s bin in dis poor, frozen place. Dis is no place 
 for de nigger, dat s sartin, unless he can lib on de wind. 
 
 " But yonder comes big Jim, he longs to de British 
 army a nigger ossifer and den dere comes a crowd of 
 niggers rite arter him de debil s going to be to pay now, 
 massa, I m afeerd. Boys, stand firm round ole massa 
 keep dem niggers back. Dey shan t hurt him, until dey 
 blow out Jack s light fuss dat s sartin." 
 
 " What man is that Jack ?" said Jim ; " where s he 
 from ?" 
 
 " My ole Massa Henry from Kantuck, Jim." 
 
 " Your old massa how dare he to set his foot in her Ma 
 jesty s dominions. No such pirates and robbers can live 
 in this country." 
 
 " Who are you," said the Squire, " that assumes to 
 speak with such high authority?" 
 
 u I am an officer belonging to the British army, old 
 pirate. I am learning military tactics, to chastize you and 
 all others who hold my race in bondage." 
 
 " We, in Kentucky, Jim, will be glad to see you on 
 such a mission. I can assure you, we will give you a very 
 warm reception." 
 
 " Ah ! old pirate, when I come, I will stir up the slaves 
 to rebellion we will ravish your women burn up your 
 dwellings, and lay your country in waste." 
 
 These words filled the bosom of the Squire with the most 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 165 
 
 intense resentment. He suddenly drew his revolver, and 
 said : 
 
 u Open the way, boys, and let me shoot that black mon 
 ster in human shape ; he ought not to be suffered to live 
 another moment." 
 
 At these words Jack seized him by the arm, and said: 
 
 u Don t shoot massa, dem niggers will tear you to pieces 
 if you do for God s marcy, don/t do dat t ing." 
 
 u I am willing," said the Squire, " to be massacred, if 
 I can first kill that devil incarnate." 
 
 u Shoot, you old pirate," said Jim ; " I 11 have you, cost 
 what it may. I 11 serve you, as you have often served 
 many a nigger. I 11 let you know how whipping feels. 
 Rush up, men, and seize the old culprit ; he shall suffer 
 as he has made others." 
 
 " Come on," said the Squire, " I will kill the first man 
 that advances upon me. If any of you wish to die just 
 come a- head." 
 
 " Oh, massa," says Jack, " do let us carry you back to 
 de buggy. Dem niggers shan t hurt you ; dey got to pass 
 ober our dead bodies first, dat s sartin." 
 
 " Well, Jack, I do not want the lives of such devoted 
 friends to be destroyed on my account. God bless you 
 all, boys, for this noble friendship. May you be happy 
 in this life, and that which is to come. Here is a golden 
 eagle for each one of you ; keep it in remembrance 
 of me." 
 
 Jack and his friends immediately formed themselves 
 into a compact, hollow square, with the Squire in the 
 center. In this way he was escorted to his buggy, a line 
 was opened, and he stepped quickly in. David cracked 
 the whip, the pony made a sudden spring ; the mob had, 
 in the meantime, got hold of the wheels, some grabbed at 
 the reins, but the sudden movement of the pony brought 
 them sprawling to the ground. They then rushed after 
 the buggy, tumbling and falling over each other at an 
 awful rate; but they quickly gave up the chase, for Na 
 poleon le Grand went more like a bird in the air than 
 anything else. 
 
 " God be praised," said Jack, " dat good leetle pony. 
 When I peeps under de buggy as he dashed off, dat leetle 
 
106 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 fellow s feet played so quickly, darn me if I didn t t ink 
 he hardly eber to ched the ground." 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 Return to Detroit Reflections Riot at Sandwich Descend Lake Erie 
 to mouth of Black river Thence to Elyria Conversations with various 
 persons on the route. 
 
 THE Squire and David were borne rapidly out of dan 
 ger. The pony displayed his usual agility and speed. 
 The mob, in a few moments, was out of hearing and out 
 of sight. David interrupted the silence by saying: 
 
 " Well, uncle, I suppose this will satisfy you thoroughly 
 with Her Majesty s dominions ? Your curiosity will never 
 be excited again to visit these provinces." 
 
 "Only, David, upon one contingency. Should the 
 United States unfortunately get into a war with England, 
 old as I am I would be willing to shoulder my rifle to in 
 flict upon the dastardly wretches a just retribution. They 
 ought to be taught there is something like comity due 
 from one nation to another ; that as citizens of the United 
 States, without infracting any of her laws, if we thought 
 proper to visit Canada, we would at least be entitled to 
 ordinary civility. If the authorities there cannot, or do 
 not care to suppress such mobs, we can teach them how 
 to do it effectually. However, we shall soon again be on 
 American soil; and I shall think but little, hereafter, of 
 these mishaps." 
 
 " We have, uncle, got to Sandwich. What means this 
 mob? Here is more trouble again ; I hope not in reserve 
 for us. No, upon my word, the blacks and whites have 
 got into a mighty affray. Do you not see the negroes and 
 red-coats dashing into each other with a fury ?" 
 
 " Pass around the mob, David, and hurry to the ferry 
 boat; we will lose no time in arriving at Detroit. I 
 hope these licentious negroes will be chastised for their 
 insolence. This fight is not between three to five hundred 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 167 
 
 negroes, and two white men. I cannot sufficiently abhor 
 such cowardice. But the red -coats, in this case, seem about 
 equal to the blacks, so let them slash away : the negroes 
 may learn a salutary lesson." 
 
 u lt was very dangerous passing such an infuriated 
 crowd, uncle. Did you not notice how rocks, brickbats 
 and clubs flew thick in the air, and then the bullets whizzed 
 in all directions ?" 
 
 " When I meditate upon these occurrences, David, I, 
 am led to inquire into the cause of this ill-will between 
 different races. I cannot fail to notice the dangerous and 
 alarming height to which it has arisen, and it must still 
 increase until a war of extermination ensues. It was so 
 in St. Domingo ; it will be so everywhere. However, on this 
 American continent, the result must be directly the oppo 
 site. Here the Anglo-Saxon has decidedly the ascend 
 ency. Who can be so infatuated as to suppose the negro 
 is able to subjugate or destroy that race ? Here the weight 
 and power happen to be in the opposite scale, and will so 
 continue. Take the United States, for example. Twenty 
 millions of whites to four millions of Africans. How is 
 it possible for the latter ever to overcome the former? 
 Mark my words. Those who are trying to alienate these 
 two races make them implacable enemies are laying 
 the foundation for a most destructive war, a war that will 
 ultimately eventuate in the extermination of the negroes 
 upon this continent." 
 
 " Indeed, uncle, I cannot see how it can be possibly 
 otherwise. Those who are sowing the seeds of a civil 
 broil, must incur an awful responsibility ; to that point 
 matters are tending, and by whose agency, is the great 
 inquiry? Who is it that is creating alienation where 
 friendship and harmony ought to prevail ? " 
 
 u I charge it all to Abolitionism, David. It has stirred 
 up the bitter waters of strife between races. Though pro- 
 tossing to be the peculiar advocate of negro-rights, yet it 
 is silently laying the train which will ignite, and blow 
 that race, living in the United States, into eternity. I 
 have neither the time nor inclination now to dilate upon 
 that point ; but perhaps I will, at some future period, be 
 stow upon it a very critical investigation." 
 
168 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 The Squire and David, soon after their return to De 
 troit, took the pony and buggy on board of a steamer 
 bound for Buffalo. They landed them at Sandusky City, 
 and by railway conveyed them to Cincinnati, where they 
 were to be sent to the Squire s residence in Boone. In 
 the meantime, they continued on the steamer to the mouth 
 of Black river, where they landed and put up at a tavern. 
 A room was soon provided for their especial accommoda 
 tion, into which they are invited. The Squire hands to 
 the tavern-keeper a letter of introduction which he bore 
 from a friend of his in Detroit ; whereupon the following 
 conversation ensued : 
 
 " I perceive, Squire," said the landlord, u you are a 
 citizen of Kentucky, and your object in traveling is to 
 ascertain the secret operations of the Abolitionists. You 
 have, it seems, been referred to me as a friend. I have 
 no hostility to slave-holders; I feel that they are greatly 
 persecuted ; I have a sympathy for them, and will cheer 
 fully render such services as I can safely in their behalf." 
 
 "I am glad to find, Mr. Linn, (the landlord,) your 
 avowals are in accordance with what I had been previously 
 informed. I have found out, in the course of my travels, 
 that this was one of the points at which fugitive slaves 
 were often shipped off to Canada ; that Oberlin sent out 
 emissaries upon the borders of the Slave states, to decoy 
 off the slaves, who were run to that place, thence shipped 
 from this point and others." 
 
 " As to that, I can say, Squire, such is the fact. They 
 are conveyed here from Oberlin in companies, usually 
 from ten to fifteen together. An agent is generally here, 
 a few days previously, to find out whether any vessel is 
 loading for Canada, and contract for the number of pas 
 sengers they intend to send over. They are sent here a 
 short time before her departure. What I shall say to 
 you, however. I wish to be in confidence. It would be 
 ruinous to me for it to leak out that I would befriend a 
 slave-holder." 
 
 " That, Mr. Linn, is a bad state of society that con 
 strains us to act clandestinely in such matters. If there 
 is a tacit acquiescence in the encroachments of Abolition 
 ists, I do not know how they are to be exposed and pun- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 169 
 
 ished. Many in Ohio, I find to condemn their wicked 
 machinations ; but they are afraid to avow their senti 
 ments openly and boldly. A rod of terror seems to be 
 suspended over them to coerce such general silence." 
 
 * I can assure you, Squire, our lips are to be kept 
 sealed on this subject, here, at the hazard of life and pro 
 perty. You can have no idea of the danger I would run 
 by communicating any information that would lead to the 
 apprehension of a fugitive slave. If a suspicion of that 
 kind were to spread abroad, I could not live among these 
 people. The Abolitionists and free negroes would be apt 
 to burn down this house, over my head, or do me some 
 personal injury. They have us all under their thumbs 
 here, and we can t help ourselves." 
 
 "A deplorable condition, Mr. Linn, when the law-abid 
 ing citizen is held in such abject slavery. I do not know 
 how else to term it. It must be conceded, the public senti 
 ment has become more potential than the laws. You 
 acknowledge your constitutional duty under the Federal 
 Compact, and would carry out in good faith the provi 
 sions of the Fugitive Slave Law without any evasion or 
 resistance ; but unhappily, a malign influence extraneous 
 to the laws, is brought to bear upon you, so as to impair 
 your free-agency in executing such patriotic designs. The 
 omnipotence of this sentiment makes a mere nullity of the 
 Constitution and laws, and draws you into the current 
 which you feel powerless to resist. As the circling waves 
 of the Maelstrom of Norway draw all objects to its yawn 
 ing mouth, so does it act to ingulf the brightest hopes of 
 the nation." 
 
 " I confess, Squire, I have not the resolution to stem 
 this current. It is too impetuous and powerful to be re 
 sisted by mere individual effort. We, here in Ohio, have 
 apparently to coincide with this fanatical spirit, as those do 
 who see the poisonous Samiel wind approaching, bow 
 themselves in the sand until the danger passes." 
 
 " I have, Mr. Linn, nothing more on that subject to 
 say ; we will walk down in the bar-room and while away 
 a few hours there." 
 
 They had been sitting only a short time in the bar 
 room, before in walked a negro fellow and called for a 
 15 
 
170 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 drink of whisky. The bottle was set nut, and he poured 
 into the glass a very heavy charge. This was soon swal 
 lowed without a wry face ; then the amusing part of the 
 scene commenced. He ran his hand into this pocket, 
 then into that, but the dime happened not to be located 
 in either. The barkeeper, in the meantime, began to 
 indicate some impatience. 
 
 "Sarnbo," the negro said, "I know d I had a dime 
 where can it be ?" 
 
 He again examined his pockets in a very hurried man 
 ner; but with no better success. 
 
 The barkeeper at length said to Sambo: U I believe 
 you had no money, and you came in merely to sponge 
 upon me." 
 
 " Yes, I had a dime," replied Sambo ; " I know I did." 
 Feels again with the utmost precipitation, but the dime 
 was still absent. 
 
 Upon this, the barkeeper said : " Get out of here, you 
 dirty nigger ! You had no money a fact you knew before 
 you called for the drink." 
 
 " Don t you call me a nigger" retorted Sambo. u I m 
 as good and free as you are. I 11 let you know who you 
 are. talking to in that insulting way." 
 
 Sambo then advanced toward the counter in a menacing 
 manner. Whereupon the barkeeper seized a ponderous 
 horsewhip and rushed at him. Sambo then beat a quick 
 retreat, hotly pursued. So soon as he got under full head 
 way out of doors, the lashes fell thick and fast around his 
 legs. This race continued for a hundred yards or more. 
 Sambo s legs began to be too hot for endurance. He 
 stopped and turned for a fight. The courage of the assail 
 ant now evaporated, and he took the lead in the race back 
 to the house the only difference was, the pursuer and pur 
 sued had changed places. They both got back whence 
 they started. 
 
 Sambo, claiming a little over half the victory, began to 
 strut and crow around, and talked very boisterous and 
 big. The barkeeper having revived from his fright, felt 
 his courage returning, made a second charge upon Sambo, 
 whose legs played again like drumsticks, at the same time 
 the lashes fell upon his posteriors with consummate skill. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 171 
 
 Such was the power of the lash acting as heat on^a ther 
 mometerthat Sambo s blood soon got up to the fighting 
 point once more. lie whirled for battle ; but just at that 
 moment, the barkeeper s belligerent propensities failed 
 he fled, hotly pursued by Sambo. All agreed now that it 
 should be a drawn battle, as each had shown great invin 
 cibility and equal agility in retreat. 
 
 "Now, old Dad"," said a bystander to the Squire, 
 " what is your judgment of this drinking, whipping, and 
 running scrapeV 
 
 u If I must give judgment in such a singular contest," 
 replied the Squire ; " I should say the barkeeper has ex 
 tracted from Sambo s legs and posteriors ample pay for 
 the whisky drank. Therefore, my judgment is, that he 
 let him. go without bail or mainprise." 
 
 u Good! good!" said all. 
 
 "Now, Sambo, go back to your vessel, and don t try 
 land-lubbers any more," said one in the crowd. 
 
 With this he sloped for his floating castle, rejoicing in 
 this cunning achievement. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Squire and David at Elyria Conversation with Shan. 
 
 MORNING came the Squire and David departed for 
 Elyria, Ohio, in a hack. They went to a hotel soon after, 
 in came a very bright mulatto, dressed in the most fash 
 ionable style. He arrested the attention of the Squire, 
 who at once sought his acquaintance, though under the 
 garb of a Quaker, which he thought it politic to assume, 
 and thus the conversation began : 
 
 " My name, friend, is Moon from Cincinnati. What 
 may thy name be ?" 
 
 u Shan, from Pittsburgh. I have a son educating at 
 Oberlin. I am on my way there to visit him." 
 
 "Yea, friend Shan, I have heard that College very 
 
172 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 highly eulogized. It was founded, according to my infor 
 mation, by that branch of the Presbyterians termed Per 
 fectionists? Their philanthropy is reputed very com 
 prehensive, embracing every variety of color." 
 
 u Yes, friend Moon, it is one of the most liberal insti 
 tutions in the world, established on the principle of a 
 perfect equality of races. By the education of the children 
 in common, this prejudice against color is to be removed. 
 Associate them in infancy, permit them to live together 
 at the same college, and they will readily assimilate, and 
 this odious cry of negro will be no more heard in our land." 
 
 " Yerily, friend Shan, we are all the creatures of God, 
 made in his own image. If one happened to be black, 
 another yellow, a third white, they are none the less His 
 children on that account: they being still the workman 
 ship of His hands." 
 
 "Precisely so, friend Moon. We are all just as God 
 vouchsafed to make us, neither more nor less. He had 
 the power, like the potter over the clay, to fashion us ac 
 cording to His sovereign pleasure: we were passive, in 
 His hands. We cannot change the color of our skin, nor 
 the hair of our head. Why should pride insinuate itself 
 into our hearts, and make us elevate ourselves above, or 
 scorn any of His creatures ? " 
 
 " Yea, verily, friend Shan, these are salutary truths, 
 and should never be forgotten. Many of your kindred 
 after the flesh, happening to be in bondage, have caused 
 the whites to claim and exercise a superiority. To occupy 
 that relation in the United States, is truly their mis 
 fortune." 
 
 " Yes, friend Moon, that I know; and we are making a 
 vigorous effort to release my people from that degraded 
 and cruel condition. What a magnificent work are you 
 Abolitionists, in Ohio, performing ; } T OU understand your 
 business and can prosecute it most successfully. I hap 
 pened to step into the shop of a colored friend in Cleve 
 land, and inquired k What was the news ? His reply was, 
 4 We have just sent beyond the clutches of Slavery twelve 
 of our people, this morning, to the land of freedom. I 
 was not thinking about that when I asked the question; 
 but these glorious tidings, as we may well suppose, being 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 173 
 
 uppermost in his mind, would be the first to find utter 
 ance." 
 
 "Now, friend Shan, tell us how thou art prospering 
 and managing in getting oft slaves in thy section. Thou 
 art well apprized of the dexterity used by us in this laud 
 able work. God has blessed our cause, and crowned it 
 with a success, the most sanguine never anticipated. How 
 dost thou contrive matters in thy Abolition Society in 
 Pittsburgh? 1 
 
 "We have, as you know, friend Moon, an Executive 
 Committee composed of a few of our truest and best mem 
 bers. Whenever a slave arrives, he is carried before this 
 committee, who proceed to question him in relation to his 
 age, name, and his owner, where he lives, etc. All the 
 information thus elicited, is recorded in full. Then again, 
 an inquity is made as to his relatives still in bond 
 age if any left behind. If he has any he wishes to fol 
 low him, their names, place of residence, the owner, etc., 
 are likewise entered upon our books. It is the duty of this 
 committee to put their machinery in motion to entice off 
 such as above described ; and so great is the alertness of 
 our spies going under every conceivable disguise, that 
 we are but seldom defeated in our attempts. 
 
 "Again, the fugitive is asked if he has any money if 
 he has, we make him defray his own expenses ; if desti 
 tute, he is sent on at the expense of the Society. We like 
 wise register the place to which each one is sent, so that, 
 by turning to our book, we can tell in a few moments 
 where they all are. Should any relative follow, by this 
 means, we always know where to send him. I have been 
 instrumental in getting hundreds off to Canada. I know 
 precisely where they all are, and I purpose to visit them 
 ere-long. I anticipate a cordial and warm reception from 
 those I have so greatly blessed. 
 
 " With your permission, I can relate a few anecdotes." 
 
 " Go on, friend Shan, we are highly entertained with 
 thy communications. Thy anecdotes will doubtless be 
 interesting." 
 
 " In all my travels, friend Moon, I must say I have not 
 fallen into company so pleasant and agreeable. Some 
 refused me the privilege of riding in the stage others, the 
 
174: .ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 cars. I was shunned as a viper, and as to sociability, 
 until I fell into your company, I met with none on my 
 way. Now you seem to treat me as a brother. I promised 
 you some anecdotes here they are : 
 
 U A Virginian came to Pittsburgh, hunting his slave. 
 We, Abolitionists-, got around him, professing the greatest 
 friendship, and got out of him the promise of a very large 
 reward. We kept him in high hopes all the time, that 
 we would soon find and deliver to him his slave. Poor, 
 honest soul! he never thought once we were snakes in the 
 grass. While we thus, for days, amused and tantalized 
 him, at last, early one morning, we put his slave on the 
 stage bound for Erie, while he was yet asleep relying on our 
 fidelity. After we were satisfied the slave was out of dan 
 ger, we kindly told his master he had, by some means 
 unknown to us, contrived to make his escape out of town; 
 but prior to this, we had used every art to draw out of his 
 purse every dime we could, and we succeeded in fleecing 
 him very handsomely. He went home entirely unsuspi 
 cious of the trick we had so nicely played off upon him. 
 
 "Another time, we employed an honest old Quaker to 
 haul off a load of slaves to the Lake, on what we term our 
 4 underground railroad that is the name we give to our pri 
 vate conveyance. Well, as luck would have it, while he was 
 jogging along, having the slaves completely covered over 
 with brooms, as though he was going to market, the mas 
 ter overtook him on the road, with his valuable cargo, 
 and inquired if he had seen any black people passing. 
 
 " 4 Nay, friend, said the good old man, 4 thee must ask 
 others I give no heed to such things. But while the 
 owner was along, strange to say his wagon got fast stuck 
 in a mud -hole. He dared not unload, and he was in an 
 awful dilemma. At last he saw no other alternative but 
 to invite the master to help him to pry up his wheel, 
 which he did, little supposing that same wagon was con 
 veying off his live chattels. 
 
 u Yet another delightful incident I will mention, as it 
 reflects so greatly upon the way you do up business in the 
 Queen City. 
 
 u Some years ago, while Bay ley edited the c Philanthro 
 pist, a lovely young colored female from Kentucky, 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 175 
 
 named Martha Washington, eloped and arrived in the 
 city. The Executive Committee of your Abolition Soci 
 ety got Mr. Bayley to keep her secreted in his house for 
 several weeks. He finally sent her to me at Pittsburgh. 
 Hence I forwarded that charming creature to Canada. In 
 what direction she went, or what became of her, the 
 owner, though very vigilant, never could get the first item 
 of intelligence." 
 
 u Do not these instances, friend Shan, show how easily 
 we can elude the closest search of the master? Once let 
 a slave place foot on our soil and fall into the hands of 
 one of our Executive Committees, then if the owner can 
 either find or catch him, he is perfectly welcome. Com 
 pared with it, the discovery of a needle in a haystack 
 would be an easy task." 
 
 c * That it would, friend Moon. When a slave runs 
 away, very soon the master or agent will be found in hot 
 pursuit. He comes in among us, we are kind and oblig 
 ing, make great promises, but are sure to fail in the per 
 formance. The slave-hunter, when he gets on our side 
 of the river, is like Samson shorn of strength, weak and 
 blind. While they are working to his injury, we have 
 plenty of Delilahs, who will lull him upon their laps." 
 
 u Yea, verily, friend Shan, nothing could be uttered 
 more strictly true. Thou wilt recollect, that when Samson , 
 awoke, finding his strength had departed a true emblem 
 of slave-hunters in Ohio he sternly accused the Philis 
 tines of having plowed with his heifer. So it may be 
 with these slave-hunters they may rail out against us for 
 our perfidy, but that will avail them nothing; we will still 
 put out their eyes, and lead them wheresoever we please. 
 
 " To be sure the laws are rather against us, denouncing 
 tolerably severe penalties against us for thus aiding or se 
 creting, but what care we for that, there is a higher law. 
 God s Law, you know, must be obeyed rather than man s: 
 in this way, we creep out of a great responsibility." 
 
 " Indeed we do, friend Moon, just in that very way. 
 Tell me about laws they have not the strength of a 
 spider s web to restrain us in this holy work. What is 
 the stake? what is the boon ? Freedom to millions of my 
 race that have for centuries groaned in bondage; the day 
 
176 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 of liberation has at last dawned upon the land. Congress 
 may pass Fugitive Slave Laws pile one upon another 
 but we shall heed them not ; catching precedes hanging. 
 Our secret operations have no witnesses, and without 
 those, the Commissioners of the United States under the 
 act, will have no cases to try. Why, laws are mere no 
 things in our onward march. From that source we have 
 not now, nor ever had any dread." 
 
 " Yea, verily, friend Shan, it seems so. The work of 
 running off slaves has not in the least abated. All laws 
 prove inefficient to check this strong tide of elopement. 
 They come in shoals to us, begging a passage on the l un 
 derground railway to the land of freedom. We ticket them 
 through, as you have been apprized." 
 
 " Yes, friend Moon, to your lasting honor be it said, your 
 acuteness in running off slaves from the Queen City de 
 serves all commendation. Only once you came near being 
 entrapped. I allude to the Piatt slaves that case, you 
 have not forgotten." 
 
 " Nay, friend Shan, it is still fresh in my memory; the 
 arrangement in that case was wisely and judiciously made. 
 Tiie partial failure was no fault of ours. These slaves were 
 owned by A. Piatt, of Boone County, Kentucky, living op 
 posite Lawrenceburg, la. Wemadea clean sweep that time, 
 not leaving one negro on the place to call him master. 
 
 u Our emissaries do not mince their work. The whole 
 plan was fixed days beforehand. Our committee was ad 
 vised of this intended emigration. The night of their de 
 parture the hour of their arrival at the railroad depot, 
 were all fully understood. Through tickets to Sandusky 
 City for the right number of persons were procured and 
 paid. At the hour expected, sure enough, the slaves ar 
 rived. New clothing being in readiness, the old rags were 
 cast off the women appeared in silks the men in broad 
 cloth all dressed in the most fashionable manner." 
 
 "That is the right way, God bless you, old friend Moon, 
 what munificent liberality. Now, go on, tell me how they 
 came to be betrayed?" 
 
 " Just in this way, friend Shan. They were placed on 
 the cars on the Express train. Our calculation was, they 
 would be on their way to Canada about the time they 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 177 
 
 would be missed at home. Before the owner would have 
 time to make the necessary arrangements to pursue, we 
 had hoped to land them at the Lake, where a steamer would 
 be in waiting to convey them forthwith to Canada. But 
 Wycoff Piatt, an attorney from Cincinnati, and relative of 
 the owner, being on the cars, happened to recognize those 
 slaves. When the cars arrived at Urbana, what does he 
 do but takes them off, and places them in the custody of 
 another Piatt, the son-in-law of the owner. Hence, the 
 owner, Abraham Piatt, was immediately telegraphed of the 
 apprehension of his fugitive slaves, and requested to hasten 
 there with the requisite proof to identify and prove them." 
 
 " Wasn t this a tight place, friend Moon. I should have 
 thought this time you wouldn t have come out with flying 
 colors. But let s hear how you extricated yourselves 
 out of this difficulty?" 
 
 u Well, friend Shan, we were resolved not to be outdone. 
 In our elections we have always made it a rule, to put in 
 judges of the right stamp. We never trust those fellows 
 that talk about precedents, law reports, and the principles 
 settled by former adjudications. That is all stuff it never 
 suited our ideas at all. Therefore, we are sure to select 
 the proper material to answer our purposes. The muni 
 cipal law, in the old Books, has been defined to be a rule 
 of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme authority of 
 the State. But that definition, we consider entirely too 
 antiquated to please Western philanthropy. This age is 
 progressive in jurisdiction as in everything else. We 
 hold to unfixedness in everything, except that there is 
 one only thing certain ; and that is, the law cannot pre 
 scribe for us. That is the only certainty in this uncer 
 tain world." 
 
 u That sit, friend Moon the only true doctrine that 
 ought to be proclaimed. Talking about fixed rules to us, is 
 like trying to stop a tornado with a feather. Ours are 
 made pliable, so as to be bent and twisted to suit every 
 emergency. We couldn t live or prosper, tied dcrwn by 
 fixed rules. No, no they will do to catch and hold smail 
 insects that know no better ; but we are rather too cun 
 ning to be held by such flimsy cobwebs." 
 
 " Yea, verily, friend Shan, I was going to show thee 
 
178 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 how we got out of this scrape as harmless as Daniel did 
 out of the den of lions. We were apprized the owner 
 would be on quickly with his proof the time was short, 
 and hence we went to work in earnest. There was lawyer 
 Dart, imbued with true fellow-feeling to him, we gave 
 the case, assuring him, there was not a moment to lose." 
 
 " Don t fear, replied he, 1 1 will have them liberated 
 in time upon application to Judge Drake, he will grant 
 me a writ of Habeas Corpus, and if I can once get them 
 before him, all will ~be right. He don t quibble at straws ; 
 he is the man for the times, ready to say God-speed to 
 the panting fugitive. The telegraph and cars are slow, 
 compared to the way he dispatches business. 
 
 u The writ was issued, served, and in a few hours, the 
 slaves were standing in the presence of Judge Drake. 
 His honor inquired if the claimants were in Court, and 
 ready for trial. 
 
 " A. Fiatt, son-in-law to the owner, informed the judge, 
 he was expecting the claimant with his witnesses in a very 
 few hours. By telegraph, he was just informed the party 
 would be here prepared for trial, on the morning train 
 from the city, and he prayed for a delay in the trial, for 
 three hours. If his honor had any doubts as to their being 
 slaves, he and W. Piatt, would be qualified to that fact. 
 
 " k As I understand the law, replied his honor, no one 
 can hold these negroes in custody for a moment, unless it 
 be the claimant, or his regularly authorized agent. As I 
 am advised there is no such party present to go into trial ; 
 the negroes are therefore discharged from custody. 
 
 u At these words, the crowd immediately bore them off 
 triumphantly to a carriage in waiting, and where they 
 went, no one knew. They had barely got out of sight, 
 ere the shrill whistle of the cars, announced their near 
 approach from the city. The owner and witnesses were 
 all on the ground in a few moments, but a little too late 
 the birds had flown." 
 
 u That, friend Moon, is too good commend me to such 
 faithful lawyers and true judges. This mincing of matters 
 and splitting of hairs, won t do for these fast times. Only 
 think of the consequences I If precedents were allowed 
 to be pleaded, old musty decisions hunted up and brought 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 179 
 
 forth, the precious moment would have been lost irre 
 trievably lost. How plainly this shows, we need fast men 
 for these hurried times." 
 
 " Yea, verily, friend Shan. Dilatoriness would be 
 fatal in such cases. How subservient to our purpose have 
 we made this great writ of habeas coiypus. That instru 
 ment works like a charm in such emergencies. It runs 
 in every possible case it has outwitted Uncle Sam it 
 has undermined the Fugitive Slave-law, and left no legs 
 upon which it can stand. By it we can cheat the United 
 States Commissioner out of his prey, and make the Mar 
 shal answerable to our courts. When Crittenden, while 
 Attorney-General, conceded this writ to us, that act lost 
 its vitality it made it a complete humbug. The chicanery 
 of these county attorneys is too great for estimation. Let 
 them scent a negro even if he is in legal custody they 
 will have him released in despite of the Jews. Their in 
 genuity and legal subterfuges surpass all understanding. 
 This great writ was originally designed as a remedy against 
 false or illegal imprisonment ; it was never intended to 
 take cognizance of commitments made by due process of 
 law. But these notions have grown obsolete also." 
 
 u And very justly, friend Moon. Old Fogy ism don t 
 suit our latitude. The world is growing wiser every day. 
 A new order of things is about to be inaugurated. The 
 lion and the lamb are about to lie down together the 
 white and black races will, ere-long, forget their prejudices, 
 and live in harmony." 
 
 a Notwithstanding your quaint notions about the writ 
 of habeas corpus, I still like 3*011 there s something en 
 tertaining and instructive in your conversation. At times, 
 however, I hardly knew upon which side you were argu 
 ing where to place you I felt a kind of bewilderment ; 
 yet I pray you and your young friend to accompany me 
 to Oberlin, where you shall see with your own eyes an 
 exemplification of that glorious era about to burst upon 
 the world." 
 
 " Enough is said, friend Shan ; we will go with thee." 
 
180 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 Arrival at Oberlin Conversation with Professor Wren. 
 
 IN a short space of time the company arrived at Oberlin. 
 The Squire, in the name of Moon, JDeing introduced by 
 Shaw to Professor Wren, entered into a long conversation 
 as follows : 
 
 " I am very much gratified, friend Wren, in having an 
 opportunity to visit this Institution, which has acquired a 
 celebrity by its being founded upon principles somewhat 
 peculiar. This is, perhaps, the first instance of an assimi 
 lation of races by educational effort; or an obliteration of 
 colors under the influence of the arts and sciences." 
 
 " We are, friend Moon, who are founders of this Col 
 lege, a" branch of the Presbyterian Church, termed Perfec 
 tionists. It is our belief and impression, c as the twig is 
 bent, the tree is inclined. All the evils which afflict hu 
 manity are not owing so much to the depravity of our 
 natures, as to the proper training of children. Bring up 
 a child in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and when 
 he is old he will not be apt to depart from it." 
 
 "I have very little doubt, friend Wren, education has 
 much to do in forming the character. Early impressions 
 are generally the most lasting, and cannot be easily eradi 
 cated; especially those of a religious tendency. As a 
 general rule, if children embrace any religion, it will be 
 that of their parents." 
 
 " That is an undeniable fact, friend Moon, observable 
 in all the various relations of life. In this manner all the 
 different religions upon earth, even Paganism itself, have 
 been perpetuated. Religious prejudice is the most inve 
 terate ; observe how Judaism, Mohammedism, Idolatry, 
 nay, all the absurdities in belief, have withstood the zeal 
 and assiduity of the missionaries of the Cross. Great and 
 tremendous efforts to evangelize the world have been 
 made for a series of years, and vet the work 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 181 
 
 "This obstinacy in the mind of man, friend Wren, 
 accounts for the slow progress the world has made in the 
 path of true civilization. Eighteen hundred and fifty-four 
 years have rolled away since Christ personally appeared 
 upon this earth ; during that long period of time Christianity 
 has been struggling to humanize our race, to soften the as 
 perity arid cruelty of our passions, and introduce love and 
 unity where hatred and strife formerly prevailed. Now, 
 friend, when I survey the world, note the mighty throes 
 of Europe, the devastating war there prevailing, and then 
 think of my own, my native land what do I behold ? 
 Murmurings, bickerings, and bitter animosities growing 
 up in our midst. At such a sad picture, I am ready 
 almost involuntarily to exclaim, Oh! Lord, what is man 
 that thou shouldst be mindful of him ? 
 
 " If our faith, friend Moon, could be extensively dis 
 seminated, we flatter ourselves that a very salutary effect 
 would very soon be felt in the affairs of earth. Instead 
 of discord and war, rapine and devastation love, har 
 mony, and unity would be established. We believe sin 
 cerely in human perfection. Our aim is to carry it into 
 effect here. I grant the scale is very limited, but suffi 
 cient to demonstrate its entire practicability. I rejoice 
 you will have an opportunity to witness the beautiful and 
 harmonious workings of our system." 
 
 " I came for that very purpose, friend Wren. I am on 
 a tour of observation. 1 wished to notice, with my own 
 eyes, the conduct and feelings of white and black children 
 educated together. Thou hast alluded to the prejudice 
 of religion ; but there is another prejudice the most deep 
 and bitter I mean of race: the eradication of that will 
 be the grandest achievement. I feel a deep solicitude in 
 the success of this great experiment. As an honest and 
 conscientious man, and a sincere inquirer after truth, I 
 will not conceal from thee my fears and my doubts. As 
 thou knowest, our people are not prone to flattery or dis 
 simulation, if we venture to speak at all, it must be in 
 the words of soberness and truth. : 
 
 u I know, friend Moon, how to appreciate the honesty 
 of your intentions. Of the Quakers I have a very exalted 
 opinion. 1 know them to be very pious, sincere, peace- 
 
182 ABOLITIONISM UN VEILED. 
 
 able, and honest people. I will, therefore, take a great 
 deal of pleasure in showing you the practical operations 
 of our College. This prejudice against color, I hope to be 
 able to convince you is very wrong and unjust, and that 
 human pride and vanity are the source of much turmoil and 
 useless misery in this life. In the breasts of the students we 
 strenuously aim to inculcate the most deep humility. We 
 explain and elucidate to them our common origin from 
 Adam and Eve; that hence we are all kindred after the 
 flesh and should live in a common brotherhood adopting 
 for our motto equality and fraternity" 
 
 "The theory is very beautiful, friend Wren. What a 
 happy world this could be made, if discord that foul 
 demon could forever be banished from the earth; if 
 honesty, virtue, and true piety should spread and over 
 spread it, as waters do the great deep. 
 
 44 Thy French motto, I believe, was adopted by Louis 
 Napoleon until he could grasp all power in his own hands ; 
 since that event it has very little signification. The idea 
 of perfect equality is charming indeed ; but I must say to 
 thee, I am slow of faith. I have always been esteemed 
 a rather odd genius. While I was growing, and before I 
 arrived at the years of maturity, I could scarcely be made 
 to believe anything until I had time to examine into all 
 the whys and wherefores. All the good old women in 
 the vicinity, in solemn conclave decided skepticism would 
 be my ruin. Only think, said they, we told him, the 
 other day, that there were such things as ghosts and 
 witches^ and he disputed it all. We could have proved 
 it by Scripture, but we don t believe the obstinate heretic 
 then would have yielded. So thou seest I am made of 
 incredulous materials." 
 
 44 Friend Moon, we are amused and delighted with such 
 a singular commendation. These original thinkers are 
 worth a great deal to society. We have started a new 
 enterprise an institution of learning founded on princi 
 ples entirely novel having for its object the Assimilation 
 of Races and the abolition of Slavery in these United 
 States. While sojourning with us we cordially invite your 
 unrestrained criticism on what you may see and hear. 
 You need not fear giving offense a man of candor is 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 183 
 
 rarely met with in these our days. We hail, therefore, 
 your arrival among us at this particular conjuncture as a 
 most felicitous circumstance. The history of our College, 
 its endowment, etc., will be fully disclosed its objects 
 and aims readily and freely detailed. So that you may 
 return to the Queen City with a mind edified upon all 
 these points." 
 
 " 1 have heard some queer stories, friend Wren, respect 
 ing the endowment, the truth of which I would be glad 
 to ascertain. It has been insinuated that mother Eng 
 land takes a deep interest in a local question that is em 
 broiling this Union no doubt out of good motives, I hope 
 so at least I allude to Abolitionism. Thou knowest our 
 Society are the advocates of peace that we deprecate war 
 in every form and shape. It is contrary to our doctrine 
 to resent injuries if one cheek is smitten, we turn the 
 other, in obedience to the positive command of our Lord 
 and Saviour." 
 
 " I am well apprized, friend Moon, of your quiet and 
 inoffensive dispositions. In regard to your inquiry, I am 
 the best qualified to give the answer. 1 had the honor 
 of visiting England to obtain pecuniary aid in laying the 
 foundation of this College. I was well aware of the phi 
 lanthropy manifested there for the Slaves of the United 
 States. From a knowledge of this fact I went over very san 
 guine of success. I imagined the project of founding an 
 Institution like this, would be warmly and liberally en 
 couraged by those people. I considered the location 
 would be a powerful recommendation in its favor. Situ 
 ated near the Lake, we would enjoy unusual facilities of 
 dispatching Fugitive slaves to Canada. By making this 
 place the focus of Abolitionism, we could operate very 
 strongly and successfully upon the bordering Slave states. 
 By the industry and energy of our emissaries in the South, 
 with one hand we could decoy off and run to this point a 
 multitude of slaves, and with the other pass them over to 
 her Majesty s provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. 
 These striking advantages, I flattered myself, I could paint 
 in such vivid colors, as to induce the English people volun 
 tarily to supply the needed funds. 
 
 " But I regret to state, my pathetic appeals met with no 
 
184: ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 response from those cold hearts to which they were ad 
 dressed. I received an abundance of sympathy which, 
 you know, is a very cheap commodity but I wanted some 
 thing a little more tangible. I sank almost into despair. I 
 was at a great loss what to do. In this extremity I ventured 
 finally to approach the Prime Minister of England. I had 
 strong intimations of the deep solicitude felt by that gov 
 ernment in the glorious cause of Abolition in our country. 
 However, I had very strong misgivings whether a propo 
 sition of the kind would meet with any favor ; but it was 
 the dernier resort to do anything for my beloved College 
 the success of which I prized above all things. Under 
 these feelings I sought an interview, and broached the 
 subject to his lordship, but it met with a stern and decided 
 repulse. 
 
 u Thii8 the last ray of hope was extinguished. My 
 cherished dreams were apparently blasted. I began to 
 make preparations to return home, and was on the point 
 of bidding adieu to my friends, when one of them whis 
 pered in my ear that thirty thousand dollars had been 
 deposited in bank, subject to my draft by whom he was 
 not at liberty to state, nor was it very material for me to 
 know that was a secret not to be divulged. However, 
 I was not disposed to be over inquisitive very wisely 
 judging, whoever performed so great a charity would not 
 wish his name proclaimed from the house-tops. I came 
 back with the gift, not knowing, to this day, by whom it 
 was contributed. I generously placed to the credit of this 
 Institution twenty-three thousand dollars only reserving 
 seven thousand dollars to my own proper use, as a slight 
 remuneration for my services in procuring so large a 
 donation." 
 
 " Well, friend Wren, I think this College owes thee 
 a large debt of gratitude for services so distinguished. 
 It would be wicked to surmise that money came out of the 
 secret service fund of the British Government. Malig 
 nity may, and probably will, place that construction upon 
 the act, but charity would forbid it. Ignorant of the source 
 whence it was derived, we have no right to indulge in bad 
 suppositions. It ought, therefore, to be taken for granted, 
 the whole transaction was perfectly fair and legitimate." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 185 
 
 " Certainly, friend Moon, in that light, and that only, 
 it ought to be viewed. Beyond a doubt, it came into my 
 possession by the free consent of the owner immaterial 
 who he was. He chose not to let his left hand know 
 what the right was doing. When we do alms, our divine 
 Saviour enjoined it upon us to do it secretly. In con 
 formity to that command the donor, in this particular case, 
 acted. And who has any just ground to complain ?" 
 
 ;t None whatever, friend Wren. Thou hadst the money, 
 the main object of thy visit to England ; the money has 
 been faithfully applied, after deducting a small pittance 
 for thy trouble, to the endowment of this College. A 
 transaction that should be esteemed bona fide from begin 
 ning to end. That will suffice, so far as this donation is 
 concerned. 
 
 "Now I wish to examine the practical operations of 
 this wondrous College its government, progress, and the 
 sweet accord of the two distinct races under thy charge. 
 Yea, friend, I desire to see if we can make an Eden of 
 this discordant world of ours." 
 
 " That fact, friend Moon, I will demonstrate to your 
 entire satisfaction to-morrow. A room has been prepared 
 for you and David, to which this servant will conduct you. 
 A happy night s rest to you both." 
 
 CHAPTEK XXY. 
 
 Dialogue between Professor Wren and Shan. 
 
 " BROTHER WREN," said Shan, " I almost hate to in 
 timate it; yet I can t refrain from expressing my suspi 
 cions of this old Quaker, Moon. I fear some disguise is 
 practiced. I don t know I hope I may be mistaken." 
 
 " Why, Brother Shan, how you astonish me! What 
 induces you to think thus of our worthy old friend ?" 
 
 " Well, Brother Wren, I must tell you the truth ; I had 
 16 
 
186 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 a long chat with him at Elyria toward the last I did not 
 know where to place him." 
 
 " Oh, Brother Shan, that was owing to your ignorance 
 of the true Quaker character. That Society never prac 
 tice dissimulation, flattery, or deceit. In the true spirit 
 of the Gospel, they reprove or admonish. Their frank 
 ness I like ; and to-morrow I anticipate a very rich treat 
 in the remarks of this straightforward and honest old 
 Quaker. I will warrant you, he will come directly to the 
 point, without any circumlocution." 
 
 " Very good, Brother Wren ; but if you ll let me judge, 
 you will get very tired of that old man before you are 
 done with him. You ll wish you had never seen him. 
 His wholesome truths are worse than two-edged swords 
 they cut in every direction. If I am not mistaken, ere he 
 is done he will utter sentiments never before heard within 
 these walls." 
 
 " Ah ! indeed, Shan ; that is in true Quaker style. That 
 very thing commends him to me. People dissemble in 
 this age too much. You cannot get a person to tell you 
 plainly and bluntly the views he entertains on any given 
 subject. He tries to be c all things to all men ; such time 
 serving spirits I cordially despise. Now, tell me, what 
 has created your doubts of this old honest Quaker ?" 
 
 " I happened to fall into his company at Elyria, Brother 
 Wren. We soon formed an acquaintance, and entered 
 into a lengthy conversation. His easy, placid manners, 
 and entire sociability, made me feel happy in his society. 
 He and I, on the same subject of Abolition, seemed to 
 coincide in opinion, until we came to notice this powerful 
 engine in our favor the great writ of habeas corpus. 
 When he came to comment on that, I could not tell, for 
 the life of rne, whether he was pleased with our use of it 
 or not. I hold that to be our main citadel, and if that is 
 to be assailed, it leaves us without refuge." 
 
 "That shows, Brother Shan, the value of his advice 
 He elevates himself above the petty excitements of tht 
 day. That writ had its origin in times when the King * 
 prerogative in England was greatly abused. Often the 
 wisest and best men were thrown into the tower by the 1 
 Crown, on bare suspicion, or from secret information, and 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 187 
 
 there lay in confinement for years without any trial. To 
 remedy so flagrant an abuse of power, and to protect the 
 people in the enjoyment of their personal liberty, this 
 great writ sometimes called the second Magna C/iarta 
 was instituted. Its design, very truly, was not to inter 
 fere with commitments made in due process of law, but 
 with illegal and unwarrantable confinements." 
 
 " These notions, Brother Wren, are not suited to the 
 go-a-headitiveness of this our day. That old writ has 
 been shorn of its antiquated dress ; it is enrobed now in 
 modern drapery. This is the age of steam and telegraph. 
 The cars go with the velocity of birds in the air ; and as 
 to the telegraph, it don t know distance at all. The 
 old rules of law are out of date, and ought to be for 
 gotten." 
 
 " My object was to show, Brother Shan, that the com 
 ments of our old friend Moon, in relation to this writ, were 
 in conformity to the principles of the common law. For 
 aught I know, in his early day he may have imbibed 
 those notions from reading Blackstone s Commentaries. 
 His views of the writ from that source, were, in all like 
 lihood, derived. I offer this only as an apology for what 
 he may have said ; but this subject we will dismiss, as I 
 have something of greater moment, to which I design to 
 invite your attention." 
 
 " Fray, Brother Wren, what can that be ? Has any 
 thing transpired among the students of a serious and un 
 pleasant nature?" 
 
 " Yes, Brother Shan, one of our young men Tom 
 Shaw has fallen in love with Susa Bean, a very charming 
 colored young lady. Miss Susa is one of the most harm 
 less, innocent, and virtuous creatures I ever saw. Her 
 parents having intrusted her to our care and protection, 
 we shall be very vigilant in preserving her purity from 
 the wiles of the depraved and wicked. His design must 
 be evil ; I can place no other construction on the letter 
 which has fallen into our hands. He dropped it slily 
 in the letter-box at the post-office ; but it did not reach its 
 destination we were too much on the alert for that. For 
 your satisfaction I will read it : 
 
188 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " DEAR SCSA : My heart is tortured with love : thou 
 art the object. This avowal is extorted by the extremity 
 of my affection. Oh ! sweet creature, can I hope for 
 reciprocation ? How and when shall this development 
 be made ? I was going to suggest, but I tremble at the 
 thought, for you to meet me in a sequestered grove, situ 
 ate a short distance west of the College, at early dawn to 
 morrow morning. There, fanned by the soft zephyrs, we 
 will give ourselves up to amorous delights. Dear queen, 
 if you sanction this suggestion, drop me a line in reply. 
 u 4 Yours ever, 
 
 " ToM SHAW." 
 
 " Oh ! wicked wretch, Brother "Wren, thus to try to 
 ruin the bright hopes of so lovely a being. He must have 
 presumed upon her color. If she had been white, per 
 haps he wouldn t have made so revolting a proposition. 
 He merits the severest punishment : but how did you 
 manage it?" 
 
 " Here, brother, is our answer the female hand nicely 
 imitated : 
 
 " Dear Tom: I have just received your loving epistle, 
 and I hasten to respond. I will meet you in the grove, 
 at the hour you have designated. There, we can hold 
 unreserved converse, in relation to our love. 
 
 " l Yours, ever, 
 
 " l Susa Bean. " 
 
 " The plot is all laid ; several of the professors, instead 
 of Miss Susa, will meet Tom there. We will see if a 
 little of his amorous blood can t be extracted. The morn 
 ing zephyrs will not be quite so pleasant as he is fondly 
 anticipating. What amorous delights are, he will learn 
 to his sorrow. We will convince him of the folly of in 
 dulging in such wicked thoughts. This College shall be 
 celebrated, wherever it is known, as the pattern of virtue 
 and not of vice" 
 
 " Good, good, Brother Wren. Let him suffer the pen 
 alty due to all such miscreants. He wishes to be the mur 
 derer of character more dreadful than death itself. He 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 189 
 
 deliberately plans the destruction of female virtue ; thus 
 entailing upon his victim imperishable misery and dis 
 grace. He ought to atone for his base presumption to be 
 made an example of, to deter all others from similar at 
 tempts in future." 
 
 " That we will aim to do, Brother Shan. The discip 
 line of our College shall be rigid, impartial, and just. If 
 such outbreaking sins are to be tolerated, human perfec 
 tion will not be attained. They must be nipped in the 
 bud. Friend Moon shall be an eye-witness to all that 
 transpires to-morrow, so that he may take back to the city 
 the testimony of our impartial administration of our rules." 
 
 ki Brother Wren, be more on your guard with that old 
 man. I pretend to some knowledge of physiognomy, 
 having made it my study some years ago. I have, therefore, 
 marked his deep-sunk, dark-penetrative eyes those mass 
 ive eyebrows, that high and nicely-turned forehead of his. 
 Now, I declare to you candidly, that I have a presentiment, 
 all these gleanings here these conversations, and all our 
 secret acts, will come out some day in a book. I humbly 
 ask how would all these things look in print, dressed up 
 in the plain, unvarnished, homespun style of your good 
 old Quaker, Moon. If we get daguerreotyped by him, 
 take my word for it the picture will not be wanting in 
 any of its parts. I implore you to look to it." 
 
 " Alas! Brother Shan, you are unnecessarily alarmed 
 about our guest, friend Moon. I am not afraid to trust 
 him with all I know, or ever expect to know, so completely 
 has he insinuated himself into my confidence ; and to 
 morrow shall be a day long to be remembered in the an 
 nals of our College." 
 
 " Yes, Brother Wren, it will be remembered^ as long as 
 the art of Printing endures it will be stereotyped to 
 coming ages, by this good old Moon that s my predic 
 tion." 
 
190 ABOLITIONISM UN VEILED. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 Tom Shaw s Soliloquy His Chastisement and Expulsion. 
 
 AFTER Tom retired to his room, he indulged in the fol 
 lowing soliloquy : 
 
 u Here, indeed, is a nice, sweet little letter. How 
 prompt was Susa in her reply. She comes right up to 
 the point at once, avoiding all circumlocution this is the 
 reply. I will meet you in the grove. Plain, positive, 
 and direct. None of this foolish coyness of the white 
 young ladies who are afraid of their own shadows. I 
 will scrutinize again the handwriting to be sure there is 
 no deception in this matter. It must yes, it must be 
 hers it is a female hand, plain as daylight. There, I can 
 see the nice, little, modest touch the diffident, retiring 
 flourish Oh ! what a cramped, sweet hand she writes. 
 Then, she does not multiply words a few lines bear the 
 welcome tidings of her consent. In the grove silent and 
 retired, we are to meet, as the blushing morn rises in the 
 East. In those lovely bowers we will be alone not for 
 evil Oh, no, but to plight our love. In that beauteous 
 spot, we will give ourselves up to unrestrained no, not 
 that ; but to virtuous love. 
 
 " But Susa is black Oh ! direful thought, and I am 
 white. The prejudice of race how strong, how inveter 
 ate ! How can I reconcile my poor old mother, father, 
 sisters and brothers to this disgraceful match for such 
 the world will have it ? Will it not bring down the gray 
 hairs of those dear parents in sorrow to the grave ? For 
 their feeble nerves, the shock, I fear, would be too power 
 ful and overwhelming ; yet we are, in this College, taught 
 and instructed by wise and pious men, that there is no 
 difference in races that it is meritorious to amalgamate. 
 I was going to make the experiment, but I am agonized 
 at the very thought. Can 1 introduce Susa Shaw sup 
 posing she is mine with her black skin and African fea 
 tures, into polite, fashionable, and refined society ! Will 
 she be tolerated ? that s my perplexity. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 191 
 
 "Here, within these walls, a forced, social equality 
 may prevail the whites and blacks may be constrained 
 to associate be classed, instructed, and play together 
 thus apparently making them all one. May-be lam going 
 to play the fool ! Why did I not reflect upon all these 
 things before ? Oh! that I could get back that letter to 
 Susa, and it was converted into ashes. I admire rtiy race, 
 rny color why must I consent to adulteration ! It is a 
 bitter pill, and must I swallow it? Oberlin Oberlin, 
 would to God I had never come here to witness this com 
 mingling of races this illustration of the glorious scheme 
 of Abolitionism. 
 
 " I have, alas ! gone too far to retrace my steps with 
 honor. My letter is in Susa s hands. I must go to the 
 spot appointed without giving her offense, I must invent 
 some way to get out of this scrape. It ever hereafter, 
 Tom Shaw shall so far lose his self-respect, as to tall in 
 love with a Darky, set him down as crazy." 
 
 Thus ended Tom s soliloquy, just before retiring to rest. 
 Next morning early, a few of the professors, with friend 
 Moon, repaired to the grove, to meet poor Tom Shaw. 
 They had only time to secrete themselves in the thicket, 
 before they heard footsteps softly approaching. Tom came 
 to the designated spot, and with eyes dilated, gazed in 
 tently around for his beloved Susa. Uprising, the pro 
 fessors and company surrounded Tom, whose knees began 
 to smite together, like Belshazzar s of old. 
 
 " What brought you here, so early this morning, Tom ?" 
 said professor Wren. "It is rather unusual to see you 
 out airing thus early." 
 
 " The morning, sir, was beautiful I happened to wake 
 early and think of this pleasant grove, where I could 
 study my lessons without molestation." 
 
 "1 suppose so, Tom had you no other object in con 
 templation ?" 
 
 " I can t say, sir, I had." 
 
 " We can say it for you then, Tom. Look at this let 
 ter do you know the handwriting that signature ?" 
 
 " It s mine, sir." 
 
 " Did you compose, and address this letter to Susa 
 Bean T 
 
192 ^ ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 "I did, sir." 
 
 " And dropped it in the letter-box at the Post-Office in 
 this place ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 u Gentlemen, the proof is positive strip, and bind him 
 to that tree." 
 
 u What do you mean, Professor "Wren ? Am I to be 
 treated like the vilest slave or malefactor ? If I have erred, 
 it is only in intention even that, I don t admit. Do you 
 make no distinction between thoughts and actions *. And 
 you don t even know I had an evil intention upon your 
 part, that is only an inference." 
 
 "Inference indeed, Tom. Your letter convicts you of 
 a plot to ruin the happiness and reputation of one of the 
 brightest jewels in school. Miss Susa being colored, but 
 aggravates your offense." 
 
 "Ah, sir, that is what I apprehended. You could have 
 pardoned and forgiven me, if the lady had only been 
 white ; but in this case, it seems, I have committed the 
 unpardonable sin. Mercy, therefore, I need not expect. 
 You are infinitely more jealous of the character and vir 
 tue of the blacks than you are of the whites !" 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Professor Wren, u how long must 
 we submit to such insolence ? Prepare him for chastise 
 ment; his very language shows his stubborn, ungovern 
 able nature. Ere we are done with him, we will reduce 
 him to submission." 
 
 " How strangely you act !" said Tom. " Am I to be 
 stripped and bound to this rugged tree ? for what pur 
 pose ? That you may gratify your revengeful feelings 
 by inflicting upon me a disgraceful and cruel punish 
 ment ?" 
 
 " No, Tom," replied Professor Wren, " we are not in 
 fluenced by feelings of revenge at all. In the presence 
 of God, we are acting for your exclusive and especial 
 benefit. Human nature cannot attain to perfection, un 
 less it is through much tribulation : it has often to pass 
 through just such ordeals as the one to which you are 
 now exposed. 
 
 "We will fall down upon our knees in prayer to God 
 to guide and direct us by his counsel in this trying einer- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 193 
 
 gency." Whereupon Professor Johns offered up the fol 
 lowing fervent prayer : 
 
 "O Lord, our God, the Creator and Preserver of this 
 earth, we are bowed in Thy presence this morning. We 
 acknowledge we are poor worms of the earth unfit to 
 approach Thy holy throne. But we humbly implore Thee, 
 with deep humiliation, to condescend to hear our petition 
 on the present occasion ; and to guide and control us by 
 Thy holy will, and forbid that in anything, we should act 
 contrary thereto. O Lord, our God, Thou knowest the 
 secret thoughts of our hearts, our imperfections, short 
 comings, and weaknesses. We implore Thee to manifest 
 Thy will to us in the present emergency. Here is an 
 erring mortal who hath been meditating evil in his heart, 
 and who hath been led astray by the devices of the wicked 
 one. O Lord, vouchsafe to reveal to us what we shall do 
 unto him, that he may be reclaimed and sanctified unto 
 Thee. In Thy hands are the issues of life and death, and 
 into Thy holy keeping we commit ourselves, through our 
 Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen." 
 
 After the prayer all sat in solemn silence, waiting the 
 response from the court of heaven. At last Professor 
 Wren interrupted, by saying: 
 
 " Brother Johns, what sayeth the Lord 8" 
 
 * { The answer is, Brother Wren, that you scourge the 
 young man." 
 
 No sooner said than done ; Brother Wren went nimbly 
 to work on poor Tom s naked back. He made acute an 
 gles and parallels with extreme rapidity, intending to lay 
 on the rod with mathematical precision. 
 
 Brother Johns, in the meantime, with the most pious 
 feelings, ejaculated : 
 
 " Whip him prayerfully, brother ; O, let it all be done 
 in the most prayerful manner. May it be all for Tom s 
 sanctification! O Lord, may he hereafter aspire to that 
 human perfection, so essential to the peace and harmony 
 of the world, and which it has been our pious aim to 
 teach and inculcate." 
 
 Poor Tom, as might well be supposed, was writhing un 
 der the severe administration of Brother Wren, who applied 
 the lash with consummate skill, as though he bad learned 
 17 
 
194 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 the art in southern climes. At last poor Tom s mouth 
 opened, and he upbraided his torturers in the following 
 terse and energetic language : 
 
 " Oh, vile hypocrites ! your hearts are made of gall ! 
 Tell me not of prayerful whippings ! God deliver me 
 from all such. Talk of my sanctification by such means ! 
 You are more merciless than the negro-drivers of the 
 South. They don t punish for thoughts but for open dis 
 obedience. What is my offense ? What are you doing? 
 Oh, you vile wretches ! satiate your vengeance, even to 
 the taking of my life ; from this day forward it is not 
 worth preserving. How can I stand up under this dis 
 grace ? it will be a mark upon me worse than Cain s. 
 My associates will shun and despise me ; like a vile rep 
 tile they will pass around me. 
 
 " My poor back will bear the record of my ruin : there 
 the lines are written in blood and will endure. You shed 
 crocodile tears over the wretched slaves of the South : 
 for them all your sympathies if any you have are ex 
 hausted. Them you love or pretend to love ; but for me, 
 is this your respect and affection a white student, in 
 trusted to your care, by confiding parents, respectable and 
 wealthy ? What kind of a spectacle do 1 present ? Look 
 upon me, cruel monsters ; see my back lacerated by your 
 unfeeling stripes prayerful ones, if you please. Oh ! 
 what a perversion of things sacred ! And then tell me 
 what is the great offense those few lines of love to Susa 
 Bean, one of your black jewels ? You intercepted the 
 letter it never reached her at all. You penned the an 
 swer, and laid the trap for my inexperienced feet. I fell 
 into the snare, and God knows I am suffering the severest 
 penalty, considering the nature of the offense. 
 
 " Then, how does the matter stand ? I don t admit my 
 aim was injury to Susa Bean ; but have it your own 
 way ; at most it is merely a contemplated wrong an 
 offense by thought and not by action. But you have 
 decoyed me to this fatal spot. Away with such cruel 
 treachery. Tell me no more about human perfection 
 the equality of races the elysium you intended to make 
 Oberlin : if it s not a hell on earth, I am mistaken. 
 Abolitionism, from this day forward, I shall cordially 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 195 
 
 abhor. You have contrived to bring the two races here 
 together, and that is the cause of my suffering. The 
 whites are esteemed by you as inferior ; your honors and 
 affections cluster around the blacks. I shall retire from 
 this college, cured of all affection for the negro both now 
 and forever." 
 
 Tom was then released, left behind to adjust his cloth 
 ing, and then repair to the College for his trunk, with the 
 positive injunction to depart forthwith from Oberlin, 
 where his face was never more to be seen. 
 
 The company returned to College old friend Moon walk 
 ing in the rear deeply musing on the tragical scene of 
 the morning. A tear often stole down his cheek, and he 
 uttered audibly to himself, at the same time shaking his 
 head, shame shame shame! and from the fullness of 
 his heart, utterance will be given in succeeding chapters. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXYII. 
 
 Conversation between Professor Wren and Moon. 
 
 " FRIEND MOON," said Professor "Wren, " you have wit 
 nessed this morning how impartial we are in our punish 
 ments. Having the two races white and black to 
 manage and control, our rules have to be rigidly enforced. 
 We hold to be our most paramount duty the preserva 
 tion of good morals among the students. Now, do you 
 not think the chastisement inflicted on Tom Shaw will be 
 long remembered, and have a most salutary effect ?" 
 
 "Remembered! friend Wren," replied Moon; "it can 
 not be forgotten it is imprinted in the tablets of my 
 heart in living characters, there to endure till memory 
 fails. I have been a spectator of a scene that has com 
 pletely unnerved me my feelings have been too much 
 excited; I am rather too sympathetic to look oil such 
 cruelty with composure." 
 
196 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " The mark of a great and good man, friend Moon. I 
 could pray over and weep over that unfortunate youth ; 
 while at the same time, 1 felt myself under the disagree 
 able necessity of inflicting upon him the punishment I 
 did. By prayer, we appealed to God to direct us upon 
 that trying occasion : we wished to act in obedience to 
 His divine will, as it was our Christian duty. What 
 think you of that plan ?" 
 
 U I would, friend Wren, rather be excused from express 
 ing my opinions on points of so much delicacy. If we 
 are constrained to speak at all, thou art not ignorant of 
 our rule to utter, on all occasions, the genuine sentiments 
 of our minds ; but I prefer to be indulged in silence." 
 
 "Come, friend Moon, we want your criticisms without 
 reserve, in relation to our conduct, and the regulations of 
 this College." 
 
 " I am averse, friend Wren, to intrude my humble 
 opinions upon such pious and literary men. My object 
 in life has been to do good ; if I cannot do that, I pre 
 fer to do nothing. If I could think my counsel would be 
 of any avail, I would freely give it; but I presume it 
 would not be heeded. This old world of ours will move 
 on in its old beaten track, in despite of what either of us 
 can say or do. The settled notions and habits of man 
 kind are not to be changed by a straw. The affairs of 
 the world, I fear, are not susceptible of any great ameli 
 oration." 
 
 " Then, friend Moon, you are not a man of progress ?" 
 
 "In some things I am, friend Wren; in others I am 
 not. One half of me is Old Fogy ; the other, Young 
 America" 
 
 "A sort of a hermaphrodite, friend Moon ; a milk and 
 water mixture. Come, explain to us your meaning : we 
 will be glad to hear it." 
 
 " Here it is, friend Wren : in respect to government and 
 laws, I stand where the old jurists have stood for ages. I 
 have not advanced a peg. Thou mayst, in this respect, 
 charge me with old fogyism. I claim and demand for 
 the laws the same obedience and respect that have been 
 claimed for them for thousands of years. I do not mean 
 for a portion of the laws, but for the entire code. Thou 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 197 
 
 wilt see I pretend to no affinity with the higher law party 
 of the day I have not progressed to that point. 
 
 " Then, again, in all our annexations in the enlarge 
 ment of our area I am with Young America. And I 
 go for another modern doctrine, that the sons of the soil 
 shall be its rulers. 
 
 44 Again, I can tell thee, the world is progressing in a 
 direction I do not admire it is in the path of vice." 
 
 41 Tell us, friend Moon, how this state of society has 
 been produced." 
 
 "That is easily told, friend Wren. There are people 
 who are striving to elevate themselves above the govern 
 ment and laws of their country who are professing to 
 obey a higher law a thing undefined^ undefinable in 
 stead of submitting to the rules established by the supreme 
 authority of the State. This leads to anarchy and from 
 anarchy to despotism there is but a span." 
 
 Shan in the corner to himself: " Now, Brother Wren, 
 you ll find out that good old Quaker. If he don t give it 
 to you. hip and thigh, I am no judge. You have been 
 trying to stir up the volcano ; look out for the burning 
 lava." 
 
 " Friend Moon," said Wren, " do you not acknowledge 
 the superior obligations of God s laws over man s ? If 
 they conflict, which must I obey ?" 
 
 u That ?y, friend Wren, is needless; there can be no 
 conflict in the laws. In my vocabulary, there is no such 
 thing as two sets of laws. They all emanate either 
 directly or indirectly from the great Author of our 
 existence." 
 
 Shan to himself: " That s something new under the 
 sun. Let s see how he will make out that position." 
 
 He leans forward, with both ears wide open, to catch 
 every word of the argument now in progress. 
 
 " I would like, friend Moon," said Wren, u to hear by 
 what process of reasoning you can sustain a position so 
 novel, and so much at variance with the religious senti 
 ments of the world. We had supposed God s laws and 
 man s laws were, and might be, variant" 
 
 " That very supposition is the cause of infinite mischief 
 to society. Let me ask thee a few questions. Is not this 
 
198 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 earth, and all that is attached to it, the workmanship of 
 God? In His own image, divine writ informs us, He 
 created man. He is our Creator He made and fashioned 
 us according to the pleasure of His divine mind. We 
 were made the rulers over this earth ; we were to exercise 
 dominion over it and all the animals. I cannot better 
 express my ideas of creation than in this manner: God, 
 in the divine council, resolved to make man. What kind 
 of a being he should be, was all fixed in the economy of 
 heaven. He was to be endowed with reason sociable 
 in disposition to be enabled by the institution of two 
 sexes, male and female, l to multiply and replenish the 
 earth. 5 In divine contemplation, this great masterpiece 
 of creation was thus planned and arranged. 
 
 " The next inquiry was, how to supply him with a 
 place of abode, and whatever was requisite to supply his 
 wants. This earth, therefore, and all we find upon it, 
 was created for his use and enjoyment. The air, the 
 earth and water, were to teem with living creatures that 
 would supply him with meat. There was an abundant 
 and inexhaustible supply of provisions. For his bread 
 the earth was impregnated with seeds, that sprouted and 
 grew. By the sweat of the brow, the earth would bring 
 forth abundantly all the fruits and grains essential to his 
 health and existence. What more was lacking ? He 
 needed raiment. Behold the wool, cotton, hemp, flax, 
 and silk, placed within his reach. By his manufacturing 
 skill and industry, all these can be converted into fabrics 
 suitable for his clothing. 
 
 u Dost thou not see what ample provision has been 
 made by God for his children upon earth ? I think I hear 
 Him saying to man, All this earth, and every living crea 
 ture upon it, are yours ; arise, slay and eat. Make your 
 selves comfortable and happy. What beneficence in 
 Him who made us out of the dust of the earth ! We can 
 not sufficiently adore Him for so great and unmerited 
 blessings." 
 
 " All that, friend Moon, sounds well enough ; but I am 
 waiting to hear how you are going to make all laws of 
 equal force and dignity; that was your position, now let 
 us see how you will sustain it." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 199 
 
 " To that point I am hastening, friend Wren. I have 
 stated, man is a sociable, rational being, so formed by 
 his Creator. Are we not prone to form communities ? 
 and why ? Because our natures are such, that we cannot 
 endure a solitary life. This has been ordained of God. 
 Alone, we are miserable; in society, we are happy." 
 
 u Very well, friend Moon, what does that argue, as to 
 laws ?" 
 
 " Now, to that point, friend Wren. Man is so consti 
 tuted, that he must live in communities. Families are 
 the first elements of society the small sprigs that help 
 to constitute the great body politic. A nation is composed 
 of an association of families. It may be large or small, 
 according to circumstances. Hence, we find the human 
 family upon this earth divided off into numerous distinct 
 nations. 
 
 u The question recurs, how have these nations been con 
 stituted ? By forming what is termed, Government. A 
 nation is bound to have a head a common will. Other 
 wise, it would have no power to act. It would be an im 
 movable machine. After the institution of Government, 
 the enactment of Laws will necessarily follow, for the pur 
 pose of defining the civil rights and relations, which ap 
 pertain to individuals as members of society ; or, in other 
 words, commanding what is right and forbidding what is 
 wrong, 
 
 u Now, what is the conclusion ? That God formed us 
 for Society that government and laws from that very 
 fact, must necessarily result. Hence, I contend the whole 
 is in conformity to Divine arrangement society, govern 
 ment, and laws the one as much as the other ; it is in 
 accordance with His will, that these things should prevail 
 upon earth. 
 
 u But how, friend Moon, does such argument prove 
 laws, passed by a legislature, are of equal force with those 
 that are divine?" 
 
 " Just in this way, friend Wren. God made us, such 
 beings as we are, and willed our happiness. Animals 
 have instinct only; man is indued with reason, which 
 gives him pre-eminence. From this faculty, contrivance 
 results by it we are enabled to adopt means to arrive at 
 
200 ABOLITIONISM TNVEILED. 
 
 a particular end. God foresaw that reason would qualify 
 us to discover the proper measures to adopt, to attain hap 
 piness the desire of which, is implanted in every bosom. 
 He said in his Divine Wisdom, I will suppose I will 
 not openly promulgate a code of laws for man because 
 it is unnecessary having made him rational, he will dis 
 cern the proper path that leads to happiness ; he is en 
 dowed with a faculty that will guide and conduct him 
 aright. 
 
 " I have implanted in his breast the love of his species, 
 that law I have made so strong, he can never run counter 
 to it. Government and laws he will invent and establish. 
 Thus, his civil relations will be regulated in such a way 
 as to make him happy. I am willing, and have confided 
 to him this high prerogative. The great laws of nature, 
 which I have ordained, his reason will enable him to dis 
 cover and obey. I have established general principles, 
 by which all inanimate matter is controlled and regulated. 
 In respect to those things, I have left nothing to chance or 
 contingency. Then in regard to my creature man, I 
 know at a glance, what he will do. I understand the 
 secret springs of his action. If God had condescended 
 to communicate with us at all, it might have been in the 
 language I have used." 
 
 u Grant it all, friend Moon, and yet, how does it prove 
 human laws are equal to divine ?" 
 
 " Were we made in his image or not ? However that 
 may be, we are sociable in our dispositions made to live 
 in families and communities thus to unite as our natures 
 and propensities prompt us. Then the terms upon which 
 we unite, must be prescribed ; this agreement is called 
 the government. The power thus created, immediately 
 goes to work in making rules to define our duties our 
 rights, relations, as members of civil society. For what 
 purpose ? To promote harmony in the body politic ; 
 and that can only be done by affording protection to per 
 sons and property. By no other mode can domestic tran 
 quillity be promoted. By these means the will of God, 
 in creating us the owners of this earth, is clearly fulfilled. 
 Thou mayst contend these laws made by man are still 
 not binding, simply because God did not enact them Him- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 201 
 
 self. This power He did not choose to exercise; but 
 thought proper to delegate it to his creature. The dele 
 gation of the power to man, who acts as his agent, shows 
 human laws to be in coincidence with His will. They 
 are thus sanctioned and ratified as clearly within the 
 scope of man s authority, and as essential to that happi 
 ness which he intended for him to enjoy." 
 
 " That is a novel argument, friend Moon I cannot see 
 its relevancy to the point in issue." 
 
 "But let me ask thee, friend Wren, does He will our 
 happiness ?" 
 
 " J3eyond doubt, friend Moon." 
 
 " That being granted, I ask thee if we can live in so 
 ciety without the institution of government and laws ?" 
 
 " I am not prepared to say, friend Moon, that we can 
 at present." 
 
 u Then it has been ordained of God, friend Wren, that 
 government and laws shall exist. He has so organized 
 our natures, that without them, we cannot be happy. 
 Seeing, therefore, that laws are indispensable to our secur 
 ity, peace, and enjoyment, another question of the most 
 vital importance arises ought they not to be strictly 
 obeyed and enforced f Who shall dare to trample them 
 under his feet, and hold them unworthy of his observance ? 
 By so doing, a most fatal example is set. Even here, in 
 thy small community, hast thou not rules laid down, by 
 which the students are to be governed? Order is heaven s 
 first law. All the works of creation move in order. This 
 earth revolves in its orbit in obedience to laws impressed 
 upon it at the time of creation. For thousands of years, 
 in its diurnal and annual revolutions, there has not been 
 the slightest variation. Cast your eyes over the illimit 
 able universe observe the sun, stars, planets, and comets, 
 rolling in the immensity of space. Is there any disorder, 
 or collision ? None whatever. All indicate perfect har 
 mony, displaying the consummate wisdom of the Divine 
 Architect. But when we come down to man, the pro* 
 prietor of this earth there discord commences. How 
 has this happened ? Because he was made a, free agent. 
 God, in His Divine Wisdom, did not think proper to 
 make him a mere machine destitute of volition ; but 
 
202 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 gave him the liberty of choice the power to do good or 
 evil, without which, he could not have been an accountable 
 being" 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Conversation Continued. 
 
 " PERMIT me, friend Moon," said Wren, " to state, I do 
 not precisely see the application you are going to make of 
 the preceding observations. That order is manifested in 
 all the works of the universe, I am not disposed to call in 
 question; that God has made all things wisely and won 
 derfully, I humbly confess ; but I will wait to hear your 
 design in all this matter." 
 
 " I was going, friend Wren, to make a practical appli 
 cation, ere I was done. I stated, man was a free agent. 
 My aim will be to show in violation of the will of his 
 Maker how shamefully he is abusing that distinguished 
 attribute ; instead of making this a blissful home, as he 
 should do he has tilled the earth with turmoil, devasta 
 tion, rapine and bloodshed. He has converted this ely- 
 sium into misery. In the organization of man, what 
 masterly workmanship is displayed ! When I examine 
 human anatomy, the structure of our earthly tabernacle, 
 I must confess, though it is complicate, it is a wonder 
 ful piece of machinery. The mind, the spiritual sub 
 stance, controls all our movements. Reason, enlightened 
 reason is the great arbiter of our actions, that weighs as 
 it were, in a balance, the fitness of things. Reason sits 
 in judgment upon the propriety of laws, or all other mea 
 sures affecting us individually, or as a nation. It is the 
 monitor upon whose still, small voice we must rely, to 
 guide our unwary feet along the slippery paths of life, 
 flow few follow its dictates! Here is the source of all 
 our woe upon this earth. Reason is often dethroned, and 
 we abandon ourselves to the control of our wicked, un 
 governable passions." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 203 
 
 " Now I ask thee, in all sincerity, what kind of a spec 
 tacle does humanity present to us at this day. Go to 
 Europe, to the Crimea there thou canst witness what 
 pride, envy, folly, and ambition are capable of achieving. 
 Examine the heavy guns, the invention of machinery for 
 mutual slaughter. There stands Sevastopol, with her 
 towering forts and bristling cannon. The allies are 
 straggling for its capture the Russians to defend the 
 work of death still progressing. When it will end no one 
 can foresee. When we take into consideration the powers 
 involved in the contest, we cannot refrain from thinking 
 the Eastern war is destined to be of long duration, and 
 one of a very sanguinary character. 
 
 " But when I come to cast my eyes over the political 
 condition of my own my native land I find much, very 
 muck to deplore. I fear the demon of discord has been let 
 loose in our midst, and there are preparing for our beloved 
 Union calamities tenfold more terrible than those afflict 
 ing the old world." 
 
 Shan, in the corner, says "Aha ! the old rogue has 
 been in heaven, traveled up and down the universe, over 
 the old world, but has at last got back now we are going 
 to have thunder ! I told brother Wren so ; he thought 
 himself wiser than I but Pll be mute." 
 
 u You, friend Moon," said Wren, " spoke of discord in 
 our country. What has caused it but African slavery ? 
 Come, point out to us the origin of our political troubles 
 and their remedy." 
 
 " That our beloved country, friend Wren, is involved 
 in very serious troubles, will not be denied. There is ail 
 alienation growing up between North and South, deeply 
 to be deplored. By whose agency has it been produced? 
 is the great inquiry. I will tell thee how it has been 
 brought to pass. Not by slavery, no, no! that shall not 
 be made the scape-goat? but by the higher law" 1 party. 
 Thou knowest how strenuously and ardently our Society 
 opposed political Abolition, that we considered it unfor 
 tunate and unwise at the time, and yet think it the source 
 of immense evil. 
 
 " I have already intimated the value of order in society. 
 Without it there can be no happiness upon earth. 
 
204: ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " Now the end and aim of Government and Laws, 
 are to establish and maintain order; but this can only 
 be done by their strict and uniform observance. I would 
 call thy attention to the manner of making laws, not in 
 monarchies, but in our republic. We have State Legisla 
 tures and a Congress. From these bodies all the laws in 
 existence have emanated. To what respect are those laws 
 entitled by every member of our Society ? To be satisfied 
 on this point we must look for a moment at the structure 
 of our government. Ours is a representative republic. 
 The people are held to be the sovereigns not that they 
 meet in a body to enact laws or to execute them but that 
 they select the persons to whom those powers are dele 
 gated. The ballot-box gives to the people the absolute 
 control of the different departments of the government, 
 as they could have in a democracy, because the repre 
 sentative is held to be the exponent of the will and wishes 
 of his constituents. The Legislative Assembly emanates 
 directly from the people, and to them is confided the power 
 to enact laws, subject to the approval of the governor. In 
 theory, therefore, the laws are supposed to be passed in 
 accordance with public sentiment. The Law-making de 
 partment of our government is alone authorized to enact 
 the Statutes which fill up our code. If they are objec 
 tionable, the modification or repeal must proceed from the 
 same source. The way to enact laws is clearly laid down 
 in our Constitution. 
 
 " Must laws, fairly and regularly enacted by the ap 
 pointed authority, be set at naught by any portion of the 
 people? What of the higher law Gods law? I say to 
 thee I say to all how dares t thou elevate thyself above 
 the concentrated wisdom of the State, or of the nation ? 
 We have intrusted to the wisest and best men in the 
 State chosen by ourselves the right to make laws 
 for us. Did they not know God s laws fully as well as 
 thou? Are those laws only known to Abolitionists? 
 Have they been made the peculiar favorites of heaven 
 to them, and them only has God disclosed his laws, leav 
 ing all the rest of mankind in ignorance of their nature 
 and effect? 
 
 " What arrogant presumption ! But look at the effect 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 205 
 
 of this higher law doctrine. It is in that light I want 
 thee to gaze upon it to meditate upon the consequences 
 which flow from the liberty taken to abrogate a portion 
 of the laws, if thy higher law should be variant. 
 
 " Thou art not sensible of the danger produced by such 
 a contempt of the laws. Dost thou not know it opens the 
 floodgates of monocracy? What have I beheld this morn 
 ing?. A youth stripped and scourged, not in obedience 
 to the rules of the College, but by this fc higher law. 1 look 
 upon the whole tragedy as a species of petty, contemp 
 tible mobism. Then what a desecration of religion, to 
 pray over a defenseless youth bound with cords, and to 
 lay on the lash prayerfully? My God! may not these 
 aged eyes ever look upon such another mournful scene!" 
 
 u Why, friend Moon, your language is getting to be too 
 derogatory to be endured." 
 
 Shan,) in the corner "Oho! oho!" 
 
 u Be patient, friend Wren, until I can get through with 
 my admonitions. I will first give you my views of this 
 experiment to remove the prejudice of color, and then I 
 will explain more fully the pernicious tendency of Aboli 
 tionism." 
 
 * Go on, thou crusty old soul," rejoined Wren; u we 
 will try to bear with thy abuse, if we can." 
 
 u I am not particular, friend Wren, what epithets thou 
 usest in speaking of me. I was not raised in the circle 
 of courts I am a plain, blunt man, and I do not lay 
 claim to any great refinement in manners. As to the pre 
 judice of race and color, can it be removed by founding 
 colleges like this, or by any other mode we can possibly 
 adopt 2 I say emphatically, nay, nay. The whites have 
 been kept distinct up to our time, and by no mixture with 
 the blacks will they ever suffer their blood to be adulte 
 rated. The white, the black and yellow races will be 
 found upon this earth thousands of years hence, as they 
 arc at this day. Why will it be so? Because the preju 
 dice now felt, will go down from generation to genera 
 tion. Among the different nations of the whites, marriage 
 relations are. not often formed. The Irish and Germans 
 rarely intermarry. So with the Native Americans will 
 not the repugnance be much stronger to an intermarriage 
 
206 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 with the blacks ? I come to the conclusion, therefore, 
 that it is perfectly futile to expect the white and black 
 races will ever be induced to amalgamate. 
 
 " I come now to Abolitionism, of which this College 
 is the patron and the type. Is not sectional strife grow 
 ing at an awful rate ! Are not the signs of the times 
 fearfully ominous ? Are we not hurrying on to the vor 
 tex of civil discord? Is not our domestic tranquillity 
 greatly disturbed ? Yerily it is. And how have all 
 these evils been produced ? By a departure from the 
 plain, salutary principles of the Federal Compact, and 
 the liberty that has been taken to dispense with the laws. 
 What is the effort now making to raise a Northern Party, 
 who shall fight under the banner of freedom, but to in 
 crease the irritation already existing between the sections 
 North and South ? Thou wishest to add fuel to the flame 
 already intensely burning." 
 
 " We do not, friend Moon, propose to disturb Slavery 
 in the States, but only to exclude it from the Territories." 
 
 " What a flimsy pretext, friend Wren ! The great 
 contest is only over the Territories ! Thou wouldst sun 
 der this Union rather than concede to the South the right 
 to expand. Thou art bitterly opposed to the admission 
 of any more Slave States. Canst thou not see such an 
 objection goes to the severance of the Union ? If thou 
 hadst so great a distaste to Slavery, as to keep new States 
 on that account out of the Union, how canst thou tolerate 
 the company of those already in ? If the one is so ab 
 horrent, the continuance of the South in the Union must 
 be equally objectionable. If the one is unworthy to come 
 in, surely the others are equally unworthy to remain. 
 Ever since 1787, the North has been in alliance with the 
 South, and what new light has burst upon the world to 
 show that alliance should be dissolved ? Is the North 
 prepared to say she is tired and disgusted with the 
 Union? Since the day it was formed, the relative con 
 dition of the South has undergone no change. She had 
 slaves then she has them yet. She is no worse in 55 
 than she was in 87. What can be the matter ? She has 
 done nothing to give umbrage to the North. There she 
 stands, wearing the same habiliments she had on at the 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 207 
 
 time of our union with her. She is passive, bearing all 
 this vituperation without a murmur. She has not de 
 manded of the general government any special legislation 
 in her favor. On an equal footing with the North she 
 is resigned to stand or fall ; but she claims ay that is 
 her great offense an equal privilege in settling the Terri 
 tories. This, by thy party, is held to be a daring aggres 
 sion a wanton encroachment." 
 
 " What have you to say, friend Moon, of the Missouri 
 ruffians?" 
 
 " What have I to say of them, friend Wren ? Thou 
 knowest 1 abhor inobism violence of every kind, from 
 the bottom of my heart. Have I not pleaded with thee to 
 reverence and obey the laws of the land without any 
 reservation ? Have I not made it manifest that, by this 
 means only, the peace, the happiness of society, can be 
 maintained and preserved ? In all the argument that 
 is the great point I wished to place on an immovable 
 basis. 
 
 " But, as a lover of his country, as a devoted friend to 
 our free institutions, I have to examine into the causes of 
 this ruffianism, to probe thoroughly this disease that is af 
 flicting the body politic. Now, I ask thee, how it has hap 
 pened that the South is so exasperated agaiust the North ? 
 What has produced this change there in public feeling f 
 What has made the people here such bad and disagree 
 able neighbors that their company is abhorred?" 
 
 " I can assert, friend Moon, it is owing to the despot 
 ism of slave-holders." 
 
 " Ay, indeed. The North is guiltless of any wrong. 
 She has let her light so shine that others will see and con 
 fess her good works. I might say, let those who are in 
 nocent cast the first stone. Verily, verily, we can see a 
 mote in the eyes of others, while a beam is in our own. 
 The great question is, have the people North fulfilled their 
 civil and religious duties in the spirit of the Gospel ? The 
 Abolitionists, as a party, claim to be religious. And as 
 to thee, thou art aspiring to perfection. 
 
 " Then I am dealing with Christians, the followers of 
 the meek and lowly babe of Bethlehem of Him who had 
 not where to lay his head. What were his life and pre- 
 
208 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 cepts ? He went about doing good. He sought not the 
 perishing honors of this earth ; His kingdom was not of 
 this world. With government, politics, or laws He never 
 concerned. But His declaration was, l to render unto Caesar 
 the things that were Caesar s." What does this imply ? 
 Surely that His mission was not to overthrow the settled 
 orders of society, but to fulfill the law. He, therefore, 
 did not come as a political innovator as an agitator. 
 And yet, while He was incarnate there was an ample field 
 for the exercise of philanthropy. The condition of the 
 Jews the favorite people of God was at that day far 
 from being comfortable. They were groaning under the 
 iron despotism of Imperial Rome. They had been con 
 quered and absorbed in that mighty empire. Through 
 out its vast extent slavery, the most cruel and debased, 
 existed. Notwithstanding, not a word escaped the divine 
 Saviour in condemnation of the institutions of the day. 
 
 " Art thou and others aiming to tread in His footsteps ? 
 Thy duty is plain. Thou canst not be a political inno 
 vator thy agitation must cease. What did St. Paul do, 
 when he met with Onesimus, a fugitive slave ? Did he 
 aid arid secrete him so as to deprive his master of his 
 services ? Nay, nay ; so far from it, he enjoined it upon 
 him to go and submit himself to his authority ; he sent 
 him back. 
 
 " I may be singular, but I have been meditating upon 
 our want of Christian duty and fidelity. Suppose we, in 
 Ohio, had followed Paul s example. We find a fugitive 
 slave on our side ; we take him back to the owner de 
 liver him up according to our plighted faith. If it were 
 me, I would say to such slave, 4 Go with me to thy owner ; 
 it is my civil duty to deliver thee up. I cannot aid or 
 encourage thee in running away ; a few might thus make 
 their escape, but it will be a great injury to those still in 
 bondage. Go back and bear the yoke with the rest of thy 
 brethren, until the Lord shall open a way for a general 
 emancipation. If I were to assist thee in making thy 
 escape, it would make me the enemy of thy master. I 
 could not do anything with him by persuasion it would 
 harden his heart and hence he will not let thee and 
 others go. This would be unfortunate to all thy kindred 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 209 
 
 after the flesh yet in bondage. But by thy going back 
 with me, I can approach him, and my entreaties will be 
 heard, because he will esteem me his friend. On such 
 an occasion 1 could say to him : My friend, I found thy 
 slave on my side of the river, trying to escape from thy 
 service. As a citizen of this Union, and as thy neighbor, 
 I have felt myself constrained to bring him back, and to 
 deliver him up to thee ; I have exhorted him to yield obe 
 dience to thy authority, and not to attempt to leave thee. 
 I commend him to thy mercy for this transgression, and 
 by pardoning him, he will be more faithful and true in 
 future. 
 
 " Would not such a course as this, had it been univer 
 sally adopted, borne good fruits ? ay, it would have 
 cemented this Union, and its foundation would have been 
 a rock, against which factions and foreign influence would 
 have beat in vain. 
 
 " I ask thee, if this would not have been following the 
 precepts and examples of our Lord and Saviour ? As 
 Christians, we must not be the disturbers of the public 
 peace. We must respect the public authority. Dost thou 
 not find Christians living under the mildest, as well as 
 the most despotic governments ? Thou hast been in 
 England, among lords and royalty. Did it ever occur to 
 thee to proclaim thy inalienable rights then td advocate 
 a perfect equality ? Dost thou imagine Mrs. Stowe ever 
 told the Duchess of Sutherland there was no royalty in 
 blood ? that the union between Church and State was 
 absurd ? that the law of primogeniture to create and 
 perpetuate the lords of the realm was anti-republican, and 
 ought to be repealed ? Or didst thou ever assail these 
 distinctions in society ? Thy lips were sealed as well as 
 hers, on these favorite topics, while sojourning in Eng 
 land. The c higher law is unknown in the vigorous reign 
 of monarchy. The Christians in that realm, are not like 
 thee, contending for political innovation. They are 
 quietly and peaceably fulfilling their mission upon earth ; 
 to do good to all men ; to love their enemies, and diffuse 
 the spirit of love and charity. 
 
 " But what must I say to thee, the head and represen 
 tative of Abolitionism? Thou wert quiet as a lamb 
 18 
 
210 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 among lords and queens ; thou didst not open thy mouth, 
 but in praise of all the dazzling splendor thy eyes beheld. 
 Thou wast not able to see and preach the higher law, 
 among the aristocracy and nobility of that proud and 
 haughty island. The poor, in that country, never enjoyed 
 thy sympathy. Thou didst not plead for their elevation. 
 That all mankind were born equal, had slipped from thy 
 memory, or could not be very safely insisted upon at that 
 particular time. But thou didst reserve all the gall rank 
 ling in thy heart for this devoted land. 
 
 u Thou hast accused the Missourians of ruffianism. 
 Thou and thy friends must be held accountable for it 
 all." 
 
 " Why, friend Moon, how can you lay such things to 
 our charge ?" 
 
 " Pray, friend Wren, how came the Missourians thy 
 enemies ? The Scripture says, 4 those that want friends 
 must show themselves friendly. Hast thou so acted ? 
 Nay, nay. Hadst thou acted as St. Paul, in respect to 
 slaves, dost thou not know the South would, this day, 
 honor and respect thee. They would be thy friends, 
 instead of thy enemies. What has been thy course f To 
 injure, to insult, and abuse the South. Thou hast enticed 
 away their slaves, and conveyed them into a foreign juris 
 diction. Thy friends have moiled the owners or agents. 
 The blood of Gorsuch yet crieth from the ground ; how 
 many southern citizens, in traveling among us, have had 
 their slaves torn from them by mol violence! I fain think 
 the lady who had her colored nurse forcibly dragged from 
 around her neck, would be apt to accuse thy people of 
 some degree of ruffianism. How many owners, after 
 getting possession of their slaves in our State, have had 
 them violently rescued by a mob, and their lives endan 
 gered ! Was not this ruffianism too ? 
 
 " By these and similar acts, we have converted the 
 South into an enemy. Have we not much to blame our 
 selves with ? Why do the people of Missouri abhor the 
 Abolitionists ? Because they consider them dangerous 
 to their peace and safety. They have used ruffianism 
 against slave-holders. Now, when it comes to be retali 
 ated, how horrible it sounds ! These things, too, flow 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 211 
 
 from the prevalence of the high law doctrine. By its in 
 fluence the laws of the land have fallen into disrepute, 
 and have become a by- word. Now see how strangely 
 these things work. Here that law is administered with 
 out detriment to us, but to the injury and damage of the 
 citizens of our sister States. From thee and thy friends 
 1 have heard of no complaint of mobism against slave 
 holders. The liberty thou and others have taken of seiz 
 ing the law in thy own hands, has been followed by the 
 Missourians. However, in this instance, the higher law 
 chanced to work against thee. The Abolitionists now 
 become the sufferers. The scale is turned against thee. 
 I ask thee, in all charity, have not the people in Missouri 
 the same right to adopt and enforce the higher law as 
 thou hast ? Is mobism there less excusable than mobism 
 here ? If it be right in one place, it must be equally so 
 in another. But its tendency is disorganization every 
 where. It is bound to lead to the most fatal results. To 
 that point it must and will come. 
 
 " Cast thy eyes to Kansas. What is there transpiring ? 
 A resistance to the constitutional authority of the Terri 
 tory. The Legislature and its acts are spurned by the 
 Abolitionists. Why ? because the Legislature happened 
 to be pro-slavery, and hence were incompetent to pass 
 laws, though they could exhibit Governor Keeder s certifi 
 cate of election an election held in obedience to his own 
 proclamation yet these evidences of their legal existence 
 were of no avail. The Abolitionists have united to form 
 a State Government have elected Gov. Reeder as dele 
 gate to Congress in defiance of law, and without even the 
 shadow of authority. 
 
 " I implore thee to meditate upon the disorganizing 
 disposition all such acts display. Oh, my friend, what 
 awful consequences must ensue from such a dangerous 
 spirit in our country ! Is there anything cheering in this 
 aspect of public affairs ? Nay, nay, patriotism must weep 
 over the political follies of the age. How suicidal to be 
 stirring up the bitter waters of sectional strife ! 
 
 u One thing I ask myself, have we discharged our duties, 
 as citizens of this great community, with Christian fellow 
 ship? Thou knowest the North has denationalized -the 
 
212 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 Church. The different sects are divided each has a 
 Church North one South. If the lovers of "Christ, 
 whoso Church was to constitute Unity, are thus estranged, 
 how taint the hope of preserving our political Union. 
 
 "What was the test by which we could tell whether we 
 were his true disciples ? Verily, the love we felt for our 
 brethren. Where is that love which forms the essence of 
 true religion ? Friend Wren, can I read it in thy acts ? 
 Words are valueless, unless confirmed by our deeds." 
 
 " I am disposed, friend Moon, to bear with the gall 
 and bitterness rankling in thy bosom. Let it all find 
 vent like a serpent in the grass, thy tongue is forked 
 and nimble dealing censure to the right and left." 
 
 u Be not offended, friend Wren, the day may come when 
 these words, so offensive in thy ears, the world will ac 
 knowledge, were uttered in soberness and in truth. Go 
 on in thy madness. Sever the Christian community 
 that will be only a small portion of thy work. The 
 political ties which make us one people, must next be 
 destroyed. Thy sacriligious hand will not be staid till 
 both Church and State lie prostrate in the dust. 
 
 u But another important inquiry arises, Can this Union 
 be dissolved quietly peaceably ? Can we fall back into 
 our original elements by mutual consent ? The question 
 is one of deep moment to us all. Revolutions are seldom 
 bloodless ; in our case it will surely be impossible. A 
 collision will arise in Kansas between the North and 
 South, and it may spread like a devastating fire. A fear 
 ful retribution may be at hand for the abuse of those 
 great blessings we have so long enjoyed. From these 
 walls I now depart, never more to return." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 213 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Departure from Oberlin Conversation with Lucy Brown. 
 
 THE bugle of the omnibus sounded as the last words 
 dropped from the Squire s lips. He and David, without 
 loss of time, took their seats and were rattling off to 
 Cleveland in a hurried pace. Near the Squire chanced 
 to sit a very handsome young lady in the bloom of life. 
 The Squire could not refrain from introducing conversa 
 tion in the following manner : 
 
 u Thou wilt, young woman, not be offended at the 
 liberty I take of introducing conversation. I have had a 
 temporary residence at Oberlin, and I remember to have 
 noticed thee among the students. I go by the name of 
 Moon ; I am thought to be a strange old Quaker." 
 
 " From one of your age, I will not be offended at the 
 liberty you have taken, Mr. Moon. I heard it whispered 
 around among the students, this morning, you were a 
 perfect puzzle to the whole faculty. What was the mat 
 ter I could not distinctly ascertain. Hence I am prompted 
 by curiosity to form an acquaintance with you my name 
 is Lucy Brown." 
 
 " I do not know, Lucy, how I happened to be a puzzle 
 to the faculty wise men as they are. I was asked how 
 I fancied the plan of educating the whites and blacks 
 together, and I did not give a favorable response." 
 
 " Why, Mr. Moon, I did not think anybody would take 
 that liberty not even a Quaker, candid as they are." 
 
 " Verily, Lucy, if I venture to speak at all, I must ex 
 press the honest convictions of my own mind. My object 
 is to conciliate, not to widen the breach between the two 
 sections. I would like to restore domestic tranquillity, 
 to promote which was one of the objects of this Union." 
 
 "A blessing was pronounced, Mr. Moon, upon peace 
 makers, and they ought to be blessed. On this very ground 
 I have always admired your Society. How much hap 
 pier this world would be if confusion, turmoil and blood 
 shed could be banished. I am tired heartily tired of this 
 
214 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 everlasting wrangling I daily hear. Why can we not live 
 in more quietude ?" 
 
 " Prosperity has intoxicated us, Lucy. We are running 
 into licentiousness. Great as our freedom is, it does not 
 satisfy our wicked natures, we must take the law in our 
 own hands and make our government for its imbecility a 
 by -word and reproach among nations." 
 
 " Is not that too bad, Mr. Moon. What thoughtless 
 beings we must be! How strangely we act ? What more 
 do we need to make us happy ? If I were put to the tor 
 ture I could not tell what is lacking." 
 
 " I agree with thee in that, Lucy. Man is a complete 
 paradox. Now think of this nation, blessed beyond 
 measure, rent almost in twain by intestine discord and 
 faction, on the point of crumbling to atoms." 
 
 " I have often thought, Mr. Moon, of our situation as a 
 nation it reminds me of a family living near my home. 
 Their tongues were never idle from morning till night. The 
 husband and wife would quarrel and fight, then the child 
 ren would come to blows. I declare, such a life is not 
 worth living. Where that is the case, what pleasure can 
 there be on earth ?" 
 
 " Yerily, none, Lucy. Well, this nation somewhat 
 resembles that family. As to fighting, we have not quite 
 got at it, but it is close at hand. Quarreling we are doing 
 on a magnificent scale." 
 
 " I think so Mr. Moon. I hear unceasing abuse of the 
 South. Monstrous efforts are making to bring African 
 slavery to an end. Has the North a right to coerce eman 
 cipation, or to dictate in the matter ?" 
 
 " To understand that point, Lucy, we will just suppose 
 the thirty-two States are that many families living in 
 union together, each one reserving the privilege of con 
 trolling and managing its domestic affairs in its own way. 
 All these families might thus live in harmony if none 
 interfered with the private affairs of others." 
 
 "I know this from experience, friend Moon. We had 
 once the most pleasant and agreeable neighborhood you 
 ever knew. We were all living in harmony ; but a few 
 families came in among us, that were busybodies. They 
 were not Content to attend to their own business, but were 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 215 
 
 poking their noses in every one s face. It was a precious 
 short time before they had all the neighbors at variance 
 by the propensity of telling tales. They were meddle 
 some people and would cause trouble wherever they 
 went." 
 
 " It has been so with the States of this Union, Lucy. 
 They long lived in friendship, until the North began to 
 think she was more competent to manage the affairs of 
 the South than the South herself. Thou knowest no 
 family likes such interference it will be sure to give um 
 brage and make enemies." 
 
 " Yes, I know that, Mr. Moon. I have never seen a 
 family, however badly they may manage, that would per 
 mit others to direct and control them. I suppose the 
 North thinks that Slavery is an evil and ought to be 
 abolished?" 
 
 " Grant that it is an evil, Lucy, yet that is not the 
 question for this age to solve. It has descended from an 
 early period in our history down to our day. In deciding 
 upon the expediency of abolishing Slavery, we have to 
 take into consideration the interest of the whites and 
 blacks both. Thou wouldst not turn all the negroes loose 
 at the South, if thou couldst believe, by such an act, thou 
 wouldst make the condition of both races infinitely worse ?" 
 
 u Oh! no; we ought, Mr. Moon, to think of all those 
 things. Nothing ought to be done rashly." 
 
 " We should, Lucy, in the first place, ask ourselves 
 whether the negroes, if liberated, are capable of enjoying 
 freedom if they are not, it would prove a curse to them 
 and others. Take Hayti, for example. There they mas 
 sacred the owners, and have had absolute control of the 
 island ever since. A few years ago they put up a despot 
 whom they call Emperor. Solouque is now their master, 
 and they are no less slaves than they were before." 
 
 u They acted very barbarously indeed, Mr. Moon, and 
 yet they have gained nothing by such an awful tragedy. 
 Well, I do not know what to make of such creatures." 
 
 " Here is another matter we ought to think of, Lucy. 
 The whites and slaves are now living together $& friends. 
 They love and respect each other. By the proposed 
 change, shall we not make them enemies? There is. a 
 
216 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 pride of races not easily exterminated. How dost thou 
 admire this mixed school?" 
 
 " Not at all, Mr. Moon. I feel greatly mortified to 
 have to keep company with black people, but my parents 
 would have me go. * 1 would not be obstinate, and yielded 
 to their earnest entreaties." 
 
 u Then, Lucy, thou hast a little of the prejudice of race, 
 which seems inherent to the Anglo-Saxon. I have often 
 thought how it has happened the different races of people 
 have kept so distinct and separate. Europe, Asia, and 
 Africa are conterminous countries and have had, in all 
 ages, considerable intercourse. If the whites in early 
 ages had taken a fancy to the blacks, our color might have 
 been extinct long ago. But I presume, they had not been 
 indoctrinated into the equality of races a discovery 
 reserved for this age !" 
 
 " Sure enough, that is a curious piece of history, Mr. 
 Moon. I do suppose, the African belles were not so 
 charming in that day; at any rate our ancestors did not 
 think so, or otherwise there would now be no contest 
 about colors." 
 
 " Then, again, there was Asia the abode of the yellow 
 race, Lucy, to which the men might have resorted for 
 wives, if the intermixture of blood is so desirable." 
 
 u If I was bound to marry either, Mr. Moon, I don t 
 know that I would not prefer the yellow the dye being 
 not quite so deep. But I am contented with my own 
 race I want nothing better. With others, I will not fall 
 out about their peculiar tastes; all I can say, is, a colored 
 person will never please my fancy." 
 
 u That resolution is worthy of thy origin, Lucy. Our 
 mothers had the same indomitable pride. Hence the 
 purity of our blood. Whiteness is yet our peculiar char 
 acteristic, and has suffered no adulteration. But now, 
 the intermarriage of whites and blacks, is openly advo 
 cated." 
 
 " I think that is disgraceful, Mr. Moon, that we must 
 discard our own race, and prefer another, so dissimilar in 
 form and color. I shall follow, in this respect, the ex 
 ample of our mothers and fathers ; shun all admixture ; 
 and thus preserve the white race from extinction." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 217 
 
 " I flatter myself, that will meet with a response from 
 all the true-hearted Anglo-Saxon women of America. I 
 would that I could put it to a vote, to see how few the 
 number that would prefer to be affianced to the negro ; 
 but it would be an insult to them, even to propound such 
 a question." 
 
 4fc Yes, indeed, Mr. Moon, it would create such a storm, 
 that none could stand before it. I should like to see the 
 young man who would prefer black women to us. I 
 would be one who would help to black him, and drive 
 him forever from our circle." 
 
 44 Great is the complicity of our public affairs, Lucy. 
 This noble country the heritage of the Anglo-Saxon, 
 won by his valor and blood, seems to be claimed by every 
 hue and color of Adam s fallen race." 
 
 44 The black people, Mr. Moon, have held conventions, 
 and insist upon equal social, and political privileges 
 what a bold pretension !" 
 
 44 We have, Lucy, generously made this the asylum for 
 the oppressed of all nations. Foreigners have crowded 
 in among us, after the battles have been fought, and the 
 victory won ; and they have turned up their heels 
 against us. Here, again, are the negroes, from the shores 
 of Africa, no less hostile to the Americans born and 
 reared on the soil." 
 
 44 I should like to know who hold the title in fee-simple 
 to this rich and extensive domain ; if it be not in those 
 who have shed their blood, and expended their treasury 
 in its acquisition ?" 
 
 44 That is an important question, Lucy. Our fore 
 fathers came over here, found the Indians in quiet posses 
 sion the Aborigines of the country drove them back, 
 and wrested their lands from them at the point of the 
 sword. Stripped of his hunting-ground, the poor Indian 
 has melted away." 
 
 44 How cruel that was, Mr. Moon ! Only think of this 
 strange mutation! The Indians had no sympathy; they 
 were despoiled of their homes not a tear was shed over 
 their hard fate. Our whole aifection is concentrated on the 
 black people, a race who were introduced to America as 
 slaves* Are we not under stronger obligations, to admit 
 19 
 
218 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 the Indians to an equality with us and who has ever 
 thought of such a thing ?" 
 
 " Verily, Lucy, while with one hand, we press back the 
 Indian to the barren deserts of the West, there to pine 
 away and die, with the other hand, we are pressing the 
 Africans to our bosoms, and bidding them welcome to all 
 our blessings and privileges. I mean a portion of our 
 people." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I understand you in that way I can guess 
 your allusion, Mr. Moon it is to the Abolitionists" 
 
 " Yea, verily, Lucy. Upon them, and them only, the 
 censure falls. Their works are evil no good can result 
 from their schemes. The prejudice of color cannot be re 
 moved ; our race will treat with scorn and contempt, these 
 vain efforts at amalgamation. It is one of those things 
 that can never be. Cast your eyes to Europe ; there our 
 race remain in their pristine purity. It never occurred 
 to them to import wives for their sons, and husbands for 
 their daughters from Negroland, in Africa. Not at all. 
 I imagine such a proposition would meet with no favor in 
 the Old World." 
 
 " Neither ought it anywhere, Mr. Moon. The Medi 
 terranean Sea rolls its waves between Europe and Africa; 
 but though it were all dry land, intermarriage between 
 the two races would be a rarity. Not only now, but in 
 all past ages, the continent of Africa has been the pe 
 culiar abode of the black people. Though thousands of 
 years have elapsed, yet the two races have continued se 
 parate and distinct ; and I am inclined to think, they will 
 so remain until time shall end." 
 
 u Of that I have no doubt, Lucy. North America has 
 been appropriated to the Anglo-Saxons. They have sub 
 dued the wilderness, opened farms, built up cities, con 
 structed railways, and invented telegraphs. They stand 
 forth the predominant race, and will control the destiny 
 of these United States, notwithstanding all the efforts to 
 give the negro so much consequence in our history." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 David and the Squire depart from Cleveland to Cincinnati Long con 
 versation with Darby. 
 
 Soon after getting into the cars, David recognized 
 Darby, the Englishman, with whom he had heretofore 
 formed an acquaintance. He introduced him to the 
 Squire, whereupon the following conversation arose : 
 
 " I am very happy, Squire," said Darby, " to meet 
 with you. 1 have for some months, been exploring this 
 great country for great it is in magnitude, in wealth, and 
 resources. I admire it much, and have to it one strong 
 objection that is, to this abominable African Slavery." 
 
 u Well, Mr. Darby," said the Squire, " this world is 
 sadly out of joint, in many respects. We have, in our day, 
 people wise enough in their own conceit, to re-organize 
 society, and make it a great deal better than we now find 
 it. This universal Yankee nation, by giving them free 
 scope, will undertake to re-model all the governments 
 upon earth. They will tear them all down, and make 
 sad havoc of thrones, principalities, and powers." 
 
 u I judge so, Squire, if such political tinkers could 
 have their own way. The Old World would be a poor 
 theater for them to display their talents, for the heads 
 would not remain on their shoulders long enough to en 
 able them to mature their schemes." 
 
 " That is altogether likely, Mr. Darby. We have a 
 surplus of political wisdom in our country, that might be 
 profitably employed abroad. We used to flatter ourselves, 
 that we had the best government upon earth ; but it is 
 liable at last, to many and serious objections even an 
 Englishman can point out many blemishes in it." 
 
 ik Why, Squire, I merely complained of Slavery. I 
 thought what a dark stain that was upon your national 
 escutcheon." 
 
 " But you will pardon me for observing, Mr. Darby, 
 that is a very delicate question for a foreigner to touch. 
 On that point, we, of the South, are very sensitive 
 
220 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 <c Unnecessarily so, Squire, it seems to me. Why is 
 the discussion of it so dreadful ?" 
 
 " If I were disposed, Mr. Darby, I might retort by ask 
 ing you another question in true Yankee style." 
 
 " Very well, Squire. Pray, what kind of question 
 would that be ?" 
 
 " How you would like to let a live Yankee into Eng 
 land, and give him unrestrained liberty to go his whole 
 length upon the inalienable rights of man ?" 
 
 *Upon my word, Squire, you are rather a tart old 
 gentleman after all. I should consider that a dangerous 
 experiment." 
 
 u I suppose it would be, Mr. Darby ; but if your gov 
 ernment could not stand up under one tongue of that kind, 
 how do you suppose ours can exist where thousands of 
 such are continually going ?" 
 
 u I think yours, Squire, is brought to a halt. I m- not 
 so sure that your vessel of State is not tied up fast to the 
 shore, there to remain for a season." 
 
 "That is our fix, nationally, I candidly confess, Mr. 
 Darby, and that was the reason I wanted all the rest of 
 the governments tied up too, till ours could get extricated. 
 I am well apprized of the skill of the Yankees in this 
 respect, and have little doubt, with a fair opportunity, 
 they can perform the same kind office for other nations." 
 
 u We don t want any such pilots, Squire, in our seas. 
 At this critical period it will not do to tie up our govern 
 ments. They have too much work on hand just now to 
 be brought to a dead halt" 
 
 u Now you know misery loves company, Mr. Darby. 
 Our strong limbs are bound in cords, our destiny is not 
 to go ahead at this time, but to stand still, if we can." 
 
 " Now you are enjoying the rich fruits of republican 
 ism, Squire. See what your liberty of speech of the 
 press has brought you to ! Was there ever such a chaos 
 in any country such divisions and distractions?" 
 
 u 1 grant it all, but how has it been brought about, Mr. 
 Darby? Only one question has involved us in this un 
 pleasant condition that is, Slavery. The North, the 
 great hive of these Yankees, has done the whole work. 
 It would not let well enough alone; it tried to make 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 221 
 
 matters better, and it can be seen now how well it has 
 succeeded. Had the general government, or rather the 
 people of the Free States, left this question to the local 
 authorities, where it properly belongs, we should not be 
 suffering this national embarrassment." 
 
 u 1 perceive, Squire, the structure of your government 
 is widely different from ours. The Parliament of Great 
 Britain, whenever all the estates of the realm agree, is 
 held to be omnipotent. Hence the emancipation of the 
 slaves in our West India islands was effected not by their 
 local legislatures, but by the act of the home government. 
 The wishes of the planters were not suffered to have any 
 influence in deciding such a question." 
 
 u You must admit, however, Mr. Darby, it was a ques 
 tion deeply affecting their interest and prosperity. It was 
 a very arbitrary proceeding, to say the least of it, and 
 shows plainly the nature of your government. You must 
 admit the planters were more competent to settle the 
 question, having in the matter a very strong and pecu 
 liar interest" 
 
 "Away with such republican follies, Squire. How 
 ridiculous the idea to place the will of a few such persons 
 in opposition to the united wisdom of queen, lords, and 
 commons in parliament assembled. Such arrogant pre 
 tensions on the part of the colonies, we do not suffer for 
 a moment to be put forth. We, at home, claim to be the 
 best judges of what measures are best for them, and we 
 will not have our power and authority disputed." 
 
 tc The despotism of your government is an established 
 fact, Mr. Darby, that will not be controverted. In their 
 struggles for independence, our forefathers experienced a 
 little of your motherly kindness. They denied, and suc 
 cessfully, that England could bind them in all cases what 
 soever. But there is one circumstance connected with this 
 emancipation, which, for the honor of England, ought to 
 be mentioned the appropriation of twenty millions of 
 pounds as compensation to the planters for the loss of 
 their slaves" 
 
 " Of course, that fact ought not to be passed over, 
 Squire, for it shows, at the same time our government is 
 incontrollable, it is also just." 
 
222 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " Why was this large sum of money equivalent to one 
 hundred millions of dollars in our currency voted by 
 Parliament to the planters, Mr. Darby? Because these 
 slaves were property, of which the owners could not be 
 deprived without just compensation. This settles a great 
 principle the right of ownership in human beings. It is 
 recognized by the highest authority in your country; it is 
 respected and observed in this colonial Act of emancipation. 
 
 u But do the Abolitionists of the United States propose 
 to imitate this illustrious example ? Has it ever entered 
 into their heads that the emancipation of the slaves was 
 to be followed by adequate compensation ? Great Britain, 
 in the plenitude of her power, scorned to perpetrate a 
 wrong. She bowed in humble submission to the eternal 
 principles of justice. She saw, and she knew this act of 
 hers was destroying vested rights rights which she had 
 legalized and sanctioned. This implies an injury, a 
 deep injury to the owners ; then comes the repara 
 tion the twenty millions of pounds, freely and volun 
 tarily tendered. 
 
 " What is the scheme of Abolitionism in this country ? 
 Immediate and unconditional emancipation. It is boldly 
 proclaimed that there can be no such thing as property in 
 persons that one human being has no right to hold 
 another in bondage. If this were true, England might 
 have saved her gold." 
 
 " My government, after all, Squire, is not so bad a 
 despotism as you imagined. We have a constitutional 
 monarchy. All the estates in the realm are represented 
 in Parliament, and without their concurrence no law can 
 be enacted. Public liberty is thus secured." 
 
 "What constitutes public liberty in England I shall 
 not stop now to dispute. I have stated that Great Britain 
 sought to make reparation for the damage she did the 
 planters, but the act has been more destructive in its 
 effects than could have possibly been anticipated. Those 
 islands are literally ruined ; and how has it been done ? 
 By destroying their productive industry. Take Jamaica, 
 for example her exports have dwindled down to nothing. 
 Within the space of the last four years, here is an authen 
 tic statement of what has happened : 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 223 
 
 "Within that brief period it appeared, that no less 
 than 128 sugar estates, 96 coffee properties, and 30 pens 
 for cattle-breeding had been totally abandoned ; that 71 
 sugar estates, 66 coffee properties, and 22 pens had been 
 partially abandoned ; that upward of 390,000 acres of 
 land had either been thrown out of cultivation or only 
 cultivated in the despairing hope of better times ; that 
 ratable value of this property alone had sunk from 
 98,000 to 53,000; and to complete this catalogue of 
 disasters, it had been announced measures were in pro 
 gress for the total abandonment of many more estates. 
 
 u All travelers agree, that the blacks have sunk to the 
 lowest depths of degradation. Gov. Wood of Ohio, who 
 visited the island in 1853, speaks of it in the following 
 terms : 
 
 " ; Since the blacks have been liberated, they have be 
 come indolent, degraded and dishonest. They are a rude, 
 beastly set of vagabonds, lying naked about the streets 
 as filthy as the Hottentots, and I believe w r orse. So 
 much for the negroes, and now for the appearance of the 
 estates. He farther says : l We saw many plantations, 
 the buildings dilapidated, fields of sugar-cane half-worked, 
 and apparently poor, and nothing but that which will 
 grow without the labor of man, appeared luxuriant and 
 flourishing. The island itself, is of great fertility, one of 
 the best of the Antilles ; but all the large estates upon it 
 are now going fast to ruin. What has entailed upon 
 that once flourishing island so great a blight, and the 
 total overthrow of her wealth and prosperity! Was there 
 ever so sad a change wrought in the condition of any 
 people in so short a time, and that too, without war, pes 
 tilence, or famine ? The cause is obvious. The labor, 
 the source of agricultural wealth, has been annihilated. 
 The negroes, instead of being producers, as formerly, are 
 now merely consumers. They do not raise more than 
 enough to satisfy their own wants, and therefore, there is 
 no surplus for export. This transition from well-regu 
 lated and productive industry, to idleness and thievish- 
 ness, has diminished the value of real estate, and actually 
 caused its abandonment, and that too, upon a very fertile 
 
224 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 island, adapted to the raising of coffee and sugar, not to 
 say anything about cattle." 
 
 a I ask, in all seriousness, if any obstacles have been 
 thrown in the way to destroy the value of this experiment 
 at emancipation ? I suppose there could not be a fairer 
 test of the capacity of the Africans for the enjoyment of 
 freedom, than that afforded in Jamaica. It was peaceably 
 done; the planters quietly acquiesced in the enactments 
 of the home government. The negroes merged from 
 thraldom, and took their station in society as freemen. 
 Seven years or more, have revolved since that auspicious 
 period to them. What is the result ? All the large es 
 tates upon the island are now fast going to ruin ; and the 
 negroes are represented c as a set of beastly vagabonds. 
 Worse than the Hottentots. " 
 
 "Would not the same consequences flow from emancipa 
 tion in the United States ? As certainly as similar causes 
 will produce similar effects. An experiment here, would 
 most assuredly be equally, if not more disastrous. There 
 is decidedly a little more potency in British Laws, and 
 more glittering bayonets to enforce them. Hence, I arrive 
 at the conclusion, that emancipation at the present time, 
 would prove equally detrimental to the whites and 
 blacks." 
 
 u I am not disposed, Squire, to admit any such thing. 
 The cause is not emancipation ; but it arises from the de 
 moralizing influence of Slavery its curse follows its vic 
 tims for years. To that abominable Institution I charge 
 it all." 
 
 u Your remarks, Mr. Darby, remind me of an incident 
 in Jewish history. Moses had enumerated Bin-offerings 
 for every conceivable sin individuals could commit. But 
 that would not suffice. Notwithstanding these numerous 
 atonements for sin, a live goat had to be brought before 
 Aaron, who laid both his hands upon its head, and con 
 fessed over all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and 
 all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them 
 upon the head of the goat. He was then sent away by 
 the hand of a fit man, into the wilderness. Though ex 
 tremely ponderous must have been the load upon the head 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 225 
 
 of the poor goat, yet we must all acknowledge it was an 
 excellent contrivance in the Jews to get rid of their ini 
 quities and transgressions. Precisely so it is with many 
 people in our day ; they make Slavery the scape-goat for 
 ail the sins of the world. If we point to Jamaica, and, 
 in the language of Bishop Kip, tell them : l The streets 
 of Kingston are crowded with the most wretched looking 
 negroes to be seen on the face of the earth. Lazy, shift 
 less, and diseased, they will not work since the manu 
 mission act has freed them. The answer is at hand 
 Slavery is to blame for it all. What a convenience to 
 have such a scape-goat!" 
 
 "But why hold the whites responsible for the incapa 
 city of the negroes for freedom! Were they first enslaved 
 by us? Were they moral, upright, and enlightened, 
 when they were introduced into our continent ? Not at 
 all. If, by their association with us, they have not been 
 made better, in all justice it ought to be confessed, we 
 have not made them worse. Who will dare to assert 
 they are not improved in morality and intelligence, since 
 they were transported from the shores of Africa ? It 
 must necessarily require centuries to prepare a barbarian 
 for the great boon of freedom. And, until he is thus 
 fully qualified, it is worse than madness to turn him 
 loose. " 
 
 " I will be allowed to say, Squire, that the idea of 
 one man enslaving another treating God s images as 
 chattels, is becoming more abhorrent to the enlightened 
 sentiment of the North every day. My Government has 
 proclaimed, in no ambiguous language, that she goes for 
 the Abolition of Slavery throughout the world. She has 
 boldly assumed that laudable position, and to it she will 
 faithfully adhere." 
 
 " Does that announcement, Mr. Darby, come with a 
 good grace from haughty, imperious, tyrannizing Eng 
 land ? She to stand forth as the great champion, advocate, 
 and defender of the inalienable rights of man! Why, 
 the very framework of her government, is grades in so 
 ciety. She, repudiating at home the equality she is pa 
 tronizing abroad 1 Oh, tell it not in Gath ; publish it not 
 in the streets of Askelon." 
 
226 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 "Why, you seem always to have the Scriptures at the 
 tip end of your tongue, Squire. Am I to understand 
 you as questioning the sincerity of my government in the 
 noble declaration she has made in behalf of suffering hu 
 manity ? You will permit me to state, that my govern 
 ment is too exalted and honorable to resort to duplicity, 
 and I don t relish your reflections with a very kind spirit" 
 
 u You will pardon me for the want of faith in English 
 philanthropy, Mr. Darby, when I come to assign to you 
 the reasons which create this incredulity. The faculty of 
 skepticism is very strongly developed in my cranium. I 
 give very little weight to naked, empty professions the 
 old adage, that actions speak louder than words, will 
 always keep intruding itself upon my memory. Many 
 years ago, I read the declaration you have alluded to, 
 made by a British minister to the American Government. 
 I thought it l sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal 
 then L still think so. 
 
 " My first inquiry was, can monarchy really love and 
 contend for increased republican equality ? Her object seems 
 to be to coerce us to admit the slaves to be elevated to 
 an equality with us. England arrogates to herself a 
 greater devotion to Liberty, than is manifested in these 
 United States. I was tempted to look at the structure of 
 her government; there, I imagined, I should find an ex 
 emplification of the great doctrine that all mankind are 
 created equal. The first thing that staggered me, was a 
 Queen, arrayed in royal robes, proudly sitting upon a 
 throne, surrounded by fawning ministers, and cringing 
 sycophants. In her veins, and none others, the royal 
 blood presumed to flow. This, I considered not fully 
 republicanism ; but I was next tempted to take a peep at 
 the House of Lords. Here they sat Lords temporal, and 
 Lords spiritual. Very well. Now I will see how they 
 were elected. The idea of constituents came into my 
 foolish head. I found out they were Lords by patent arid 
 by birth. That they sat in parliament by hereditary 
 right. That the laws of the empire were carefully framed, 
 so as to keep up a full supply of Lords for the whole 
 kingdom for any diminution of the number might 
 weaken monarchy, and bring it into danger. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 227 
 
 " I again wondered how came these lords spiritual to be 
 honored with such elevated seats in a legislative body. I 
 was amazed to find out there was a union of Church and 
 State, for the purpose of mutual strength. When I came 
 to search into the revenues of the dignitaries of the 
 Church, instead of voluntary contributions, 1 found they 
 were supported by tithes imposed upon the industry of 
 the country by law. 
 
 " I could but see in all these arrangements a settled 
 policy to build up and sustain aristocracy that it all 
 clashed with the idea of men being born equal. I came 
 at once to the conclusion, it might safely be filed away 
 with all the abstractions of the day. I gave up the idea 
 of investigating any further her governmental machinery. 
 I was satisfied it would not do to scrutinize her at home 
 more closely if good fruits she had, I would find them 
 growing in clusters abroad. 
 
 4 Our slaves, it is but too true, she affects tenderly to 
 love she has liberally donated the fugitives a portion of 
 her public domain in Canada I do not deny, in this 
 respect, her unbounded benevolence. 
 
 "But when I cast my eyes to the East Indies, note her 
 loving-kindness there the scene is greatly altered. I 
 would gladly ask the oppressed natives how they admire 
 British philanthropy?" 
 
 " Do you mean to assert, Squire, this has been clone by 
 the government of Great Britain ? The East India Com 
 pany has subdued those countries." 
 
 " 1 know that well, Mr. Darby; but I will not under 
 take to split hairs about such matters. That Company 
 was chartered by the British government for the purpose 
 of conquering and annexing those countries to its empire: 
 and it has been done, sustained by the whole power and 
 resources of the nation. In such a case as that I will not 
 stop to discriminate ; it is sufficient for me to know, under 
 the British flag the enslavement of these people has been 
 achieved." 
 
 u How can you call it enslavement? Squire ?" 
 
 u Because it is so in reality, Mr. Darby. I am not 
 governed by the shadow, but by the substance. Slavery 
 does not exist in the name only, but in the reality. That 
 
228 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 East Indian Company has amassed immense wealth. The 
 last statement I have seen places the annual income at 
 -29,000,000 sterling. Whence is this vast sum derived ? 
 From the groans, sweat, and tears of the toiling millions 
 she holds there under absolute sway. It is wrought out of 
 the bones and sinews of the 160,000,000 natives subject to 
 her power. Where else can it come from ? God s images, 
 in that corner of the world, have enlisted no particular sym 
 pathy, either from England or the United States. What 
 claim had England to them or their country? They were 
 free and independent nations, with government, laws, and 
 institutions of their own. Why should she go there and 
 bring them under subjection to the crown ? Was it to ben 
 efit the natives, or her own emolument or aggrandizement ? 
 That it is the latter, no one can doubt. The slaves of the 
 United States only three millions in number have en 
 grossed all her sympathy. She has none left for the mil 
 lions oppressed in her East India possessions. How was 
 it with Esau ? While he was out hunting his venison, 
 Jacob, by subtlety, stole his blessing. When he came in, 
 his father had informed him of what had taken place, 
 he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, Bless me, 
 even me, also, O my father. And when he inquired if 
 there was no blessing reserved for him, Isaac would not 
 revoke what had been done, but asked, What shall I do 
 now for thee, my son ? Thus it is with England, she has 
 only one blessing, and that she has bestowed on the slaves 
 of the United States she holds none in reserve for her 
 own suffering millions. In vain they might cry, Bless 
 us, even us, O mother England!" 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 229 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Conversation Continued. 
 
 " I CAN but feel that England has done great injustice 
 in the East Indies," repeated the Squire to Mr. Darby, 
 " by the overthrow of the governments of the country, 
 and substituting in their place her own arbitrary authority. 
 Charity should begin at home. While she places her 
 leaden heel on the necks of those people in the East, and 
 is crushing them to the earth, I cannot refrain from being 
 extremely suspicious of her designs, so far as my own 
 country is concerned. I am constrained to believe there 
 is some covert design. What think you of that social 
 and political equality which form the basis of our Repub 
 lican Institutions? I can assure yon we are entirely in 
 competent to appreciate and enjoy the great advantages 
 of monarchy. We would not know how to cringe and 
 fawn at the feet of royalty} 
 
 " That is true very true, Squire. Permit me to say, 
 if you were in England, you could not take the liberty of 
 animadverting upon the acts of our government as you 
 have done. You have alluded, in no mild terms, to our 
 cruelties in the East Indies, and tyrannical oppressions at 
 home. Who created you the censor general of the world ? 
 A high prerogative surely ! You have elevated your head 
 above princes, potentates, and powers, and deal out your 
 anathemas with a cruel and unfeeling hand." 
 
 " I lay not the slightest claim to any such office, Mr. 
 Darby. England has made herself the great patron of 
 Abolitionism, the foster father of this abomination upon 
 earth. She has openly proclaimed it all her acts are in 
 coincidence with such a purpose. Has not our country 
 been honored by the presence of Thompson and others 
 her especial emissaries sent over here to indoctrinate us 
 on this great and heaven-born subject? All these things 
 indicate, upon her part, an immense love for the negroes 
 in the South a love never before manifested by her for 
 any race, kindred, or tongue. Now, I ask you, without 
 
AKOUTIONJHM UNVEILED. 
 
 > arrogate to KBJfftlf MIJ particular importance, if 
 tfltM fiteU and otlCnmitenCM an; not CftlcttUitod to prompt 
 ut to investigate her policy at home and abroad ? Her 
 acciiHation JH, thut we, an a nation, arc guilty of great cruelty 
 and tyranny over the African race among UH. That *///? 
 ehpoiiHes their flfiuMi find plcadtt for their liberation. Her 
 declaration implicH thin, if it ban any weaning at all. 
 
 "How ( tin we relinli HUC!I intcrfcrcnco coining from 
 Itor i Hhe Hold the mot of MM. < u- ; i. . to UH in tho 
 ut iiihtunco : lit- plii( e,d id- in in that very condition 
 .-. In- I) i-.ln- DC -Mit-, now to <i<-nl<n- ! Wliut great, trarmitioni 
 in the hintory of tlio world! l* or near two hundred yeurii 
 lui prOMCDtid the African Slave trade with the inont in- 
 lc-,iih - aHHiduity, Hhe had MOUtnulfttod COUntl6M wealth 
 from thin tralnc, ere the ncalcH hegan to fall iroin her cyc.H. 
 With all the all ection of a inirtcr nlic hugH thin ill-gotten 
 wealth to IP i I.-. -.Hi hut with all the humanity poHnihlc, 
 aim (ionmiiitM now Uj roecivo thone HUIVIM creatuntn into her 
 province of Upper and Lower Canada, in their imnrovcxl 
 condition, free of charge. Huc.h (li/ti Hf.?,MHt,0<f kinuntiati irt 
 not -.ii- n witneHHod in tin lh l> world of ourH. 
 
 ** lint while Englftlld hn-atheH nothing hut beneficence 
 and philanthropy in thin Wehtcrn world, in the Ktiftt H!IO 
 in ni ii terrible than an army with banner!, She in 
 hi- Inn" the l.i i |" mi 1 , from the nativcH of the IndicH. 1 
 havo recently neen it Htatcd, the torture, in applied to make 
 them pay their taxen. What a contrivance to force out 
 of them tho l.i i farthing! And yet thin in all dignified 
 an frwilinii ! ThoiU <l< |i< n ( li ut and inoHeiiHive> Kawt Jn- 
 diameii iiw h-ld to be y/vr / What a charm in there in 
 the men) name. ! How much do they have to pay for thin 
 empty bubble to aliens and foreignerH to them men who 
 luivu (Mmo thorn to deprive them of their undent privi 
 leged --in Federal currency the Hplendid Bum of $1-15,- 
 (KHHMM) ncr annum. Thm in all the Kust India (Company 
 charge them tor their paternal care -for their trouble of 
 governing thoHc^ whom they have OTUflly ( oiujucrcd. 
 
 tk How obvious it in, therefore, Kngland 18 moro aatitl.ti 
 in Jfatiinff people than wo ever have been or can bo." 
 
 "Do not lluttor yourHelf too much, Hquiro. Your 
 j ;ovornment liar* dinpluytul a diwpobition to plunder itJi 
 

 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 231 
 
 neighbors. Mexico, if brought to the stand, could tell a 
 tale not very creditable to your national character." 
 
 u Ah ! indeed, Mr. Darby. She was the instigator of 
 the war she fired the first gun. We gave her a severe 
 chastisement for her presumption, and made her foot the 
 bill, as we had a light to do. We took a slice of her ter 
 ritory as indemnity. England docs -not whip nations at 
 her own expense either. .Remember the Chinese war. 
 The Celestials refused to eat any more of her opium, and 
 for that piece of rascality England made war upon them. 
 In the end, she only charged them $20,000,000 for the 
 performance of this job, which they freely paid and 
 thought it a cheap whipping at that. 
 
 44 Wo are not in a situation to whip nations for nothing, 
 any more than England. For all such jobs we hold our 
 selves entitled to full pay. In this respect England and 
 the United States are alike. 
 
 u But when we come to look at the use they make of 
 their respective annexations, the difference is the most 
 striking. We, j>oor silly souls, have never been taught 
 the art of fleecing. We conquer people onl} T to make 
 them free fighting to diffuse liberty, to incorporate them 
 into our political family upon an equal footing in all 
 respects with ourselves. Was there ever such a curious 
 spectacle presented ? We are striving to spread the area 
 of freedom, not for our own good, but for the exclusive 
 benefit of others. If we are ambitious, it is not for filthy 
 lucre, but for the benefit of humanity. 
 
 u Our mission is grand and noble. In all our annexa 
 tions, from first to last, we have been guilty of no injury 
 to any one. Where is the complaint? where are the 
 niurmurings that come up from the people incorporated ? 
 None do I hear. They are not taxed higher than our own 
 people they are not made tributary to us, but suffered 
 to come into the full enjoyment of all our rights, privi 
 leges, and immunities. 
 
 44 Can the same be said of England ? Not by any 
 means. She extortions upon those she conquers. She 
 extracts from their hard earnings all the wealth she can. 
 It is made to flow into her lap to increase her richea and 
 prosperity. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " But let us look into her internal regulations to pro 
 mote industry. I will not say her scheme does not suc 
 ceed, but I will venture to assert it is very oppressive I 
 mean to the poor. The price of labor, like everything 
 else, ought to be left free and uncontrolled. The supply 
 and demand will be sure to fix the proper standard. But 
 this principle, so salutary in all the operations of com 
 merce, could not satisfy the prudential foresight of Eng 
 land. Hence we discover at an early period in her 
 history she undertook to fix the rate of wages. It was 
 first, by law, left to the discretion of the magistrates ; but 
 this created so much complaint that the Parliament, in 
 the reign of Henry VII, nearly three hundred years ago, 
 undertook to adjust this vexatious question. Now look 
 at the prices settled by the united wisdom of that great 
 nation. The wages of a tradesman, such as a mason, 
 bricklayer, tiler, etc., should be regulated at near ten- 
 pence a day. Does not this show her affectionate kind 
 ness for the poor ? Near tenpence a day for mechanics! 
 
 U I do suppose this price must have been fixed by the 
 nicest arithmetical calculation. The number of days in 
 a year being set down at 365, then how little meat and 
 bread can a man subsist upon so as to keep him in good 
 working condition. Those astute in such matters can tell 
 to the smallest fraction the needed quantity. Make a 
 small additional allowance for a wife and a few children, 
 then the sum may be worked out to a punctilio. Ten- 
 pence a day was the precise sum in which all this figuring 
 resulted. The subsistence point was thus fully discovered 
 and irrevocably fixed." 
 
 " You -will not deny, Squire, that England has adopted 
 a very judicious system of industry. No nation can 
 boast of greater affluence and prosperity. How came 
 this to be so ?" 
 
 u I grant all that, Mr. Darby ; but that proves nothing 
 against my position. The few are wealthy the masses 
 indigent. And why ? Because their wages have been 
 fixed and retained for ages at the bare subsistence point. 
 It is not only so at home, but in the East Indies. The 
 wages there vary from five to seven cents per day a very 
 scant allowance all made over that finds its way into the 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 233 
 
 coffers of the East India Company. The laborers, it will 
 be seen, are allowed, out of their hard earnings, barely 
 enough to keep them alive ; but they are not always that 
 fortunate, for, if my memory be correct, about 60,000 of 
 the natives, some years ago, perished of actual starvation. 
 What goes with the overplus made by their industry? 
 That is grasped by their taskmasters and oppressors. 
 
 " How can human beings work for less? To enable 
 them to undergo fatigue and exertion, nourishment they 
 must have. Wages, therefore, can never fall below the 
 subsistence point without the sacrifice of life. What 
 think you of so sad a picture ? Why shed tears over the 
 slaves of the United States ? As to comforts of life, they 
 have them in greater abundance than your peasantry. In 
 their masters they have friends and projectors. 
 
 u Your poor cannot boast of as much. From age to 
 age poverty has been their inheritance. The most con 
 stant and assiduous industry, during the longest life, can 
 make no accumulations to meet the contingencies and the 
 infirmities of old age. Not a ray of hope is permitted 
 to illuminate their pathway ; the great struggle with 
 them is not for independence, but for a mere living. 
 Thus millions have passed through time, without any 
 higher aspirations, to the great ocean of eternity." 
 
 " Well, Squire, I must confess, you manifest strong 
 hostility to England. I must be allowed to observe, if 
 you were to visit our country you would not be greeted 
 with a very hearty welcome. You may have a little love 
 for your own country even that is questionable but for 
 other nations you have no regard. You have an unusual 
 share of misanthropy in your composition." 
 
 " I may have the spirit of retaliation burning too 
 strongly in my breast, Mr. Darby. I may be following too 
 closely Moses Law, 4 an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a 
 tooth ; that may be possible, but I cannot forget England 
 has disclosed herself as the peculiar friend of the negro 
 as an advocate of their inalienable rights, so much harped 
 upon by a very dangerous Party in our midst. This cir 
 cumstance, with others, has induced me to scrutinize her 
 domestic policy, the structure of her government, and 
 the propriety of her laws. I hold her a voluntary and 
 20 
 
234 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 officious meddler in our national affairs, and as such, I 
 have not been disposed to show her a great deal of respect 
 or mercy. 
 
 u Whenever a book is published derogatory to the 
 South, she rolls it as a sweet morsel under her tongue. 
 The Duchess of Sutherland can take a delight in setting 
 apart a room arid furnishing it in oriental style for the 
 especial accommodation of one, whose work had a ten 
 dency to lower the dignity of her country and tarnish its 
 fair i ame. Spotless and pure we are not evils there 
 must be in all systems of government ; but in the aggre 
 gate, ours surely approximates nearer to perfection than 
 any other whatever. With my republican notions I 
 can assure you, I would make an awkward companion 
 for dukes, duchesses, queens, and lords. It would be 
 difficult to induce me to believe that there is nobility in 
 the blood. All such notions have been exploded in our 
 country. We cannot concede birtJi gives merit, but we 
 open the road to honors and distinctions to all alike to 
 the low as well as to the high-born. Kings, queens, and 
 nobility, by birth, we know not. We are masters of our 
 selves here free in thought, speech and religion. The 
 government was moulded and fashioned according to our 
 deliberate will we are esteemed the fountain of power, 
 the sovereigns of the land." 
 
 u And great sovereigns you are, upon my word, Squire. 
 Mobocracy would be a more appropriate name for such a 
 
 fovernrnent. Infinitely better for you all if you had a 
 ing to rule you with absolute sway. Monarchy, at last, 
 is the only form of government that can restrain the tur 
 bulence of men s dispositions. All republics have been 
 8hort-lived, and yours is approaching a catastrophe. 
 Your nation is split up into many factions, and your gov 
 ernment is a perfectly impracticable machine." 
 
 u Perhaps you may think so, Mr. Darby ; but there 
 has been, and I hope it will continue, a conservatism in 
 the great body of the people, sufficient for all the emer 
 gencies through which our nation has passed. It has 
 preserved us from harm hitherto, and the same wise 
 councils may yet prevail. This turbulent democracy if 
 it may be so termed is greatly preferable to the noiseless 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 235 
 
 waves of crushing tyranny. Yours is the stillness of 
 death death to genius, to merit, to sterling worth. 
 
 u The great Author of our being has distributed with 
 out discrimination the gems of talent among the children 
 of men. Though the riches and honors of this world 
 may be limited to a few, only one in England can be 
 queen, at a time, and a comparatively few lords ; yet 
 there are gems, splendid intellectual gems, in the lower 
 walks of life, born to blush unseen, and waste their 
 sweetness on the desert air. 
 
 u The greatest statesmen, jurists, and generals of which 
 our nation can boast, emerged from an humble sphere. 
 Each one, with us, has to be the artificer of his own 
 fortune and fame. Parentage or blood is not greatly 
 respected in the absence of intellectual worth. This is 
 as it should be. The presidential chair, high and exalted 
 as it is, dazzling with gorgeous splendor, does not belong 
 to any particular family, or descend from father to son or 
 daughter; but it is a prize to be won by a native born 
 citizen of the United States, whose civil qualifications 
 enable him to discharge its various, extensive, and 
 responsible duties." 
 
 "One must have the patience of Job -pardon my allu 
 sion to Scripture, with which you are jammed full to 
 listen to your tirade of abuse against my country, Squire. 
 You will excuse me for observing that, if the South ques 
 tions the sincerity of England s declaration, there are 
 thousands in your own country who will, and do, cheer 
 fully co-operate with her in the laudable work of philan 
 thropy. We have friends here warm and devoted 
 who will not cease the good work until Slavery is driven 
 from the land." 
 
 u Do not deceive yourself, Mr. Darby. England may 
 \\ELVQfriends in our midst this I am not inclined to dis 
 putebut as to the South, she is competent to settle all 
 questions affecting her interest. The bell sounds. We 
 are at the Depot in Cincinnati." 
 
236 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 At the Dennison House Conversation on the value of the Union in 
 reference to Cincinnati and the West. 
 
 "WELL, David," said the Squire, "we are now seated 
 in this elevated, airy, and comfortable room, having an 
 extensive view of this prosperous city, and my mind has 
 been involuntarily led to the contemplation of the im 
 mense value of the Union, more particularly to the great 
 West, and her proud cities." 
 
 U I think, uncle, it will be well enough not to omit the 
 consideration of the Union, in this particular aspect : our 
 remarks hitherto in relation to it, have been of a general 
 character ; and the West stands in a peculiar attitude to 
 the South, which demands special notice." 
 
 u To-morrow, David, without an accident, I hope we 
 will be tenants of my humble mansion in Boone. We 
 have traversed the great State of Ohio, mingled with a 
 certain class of her population, and I am unwilling to 
 depart, without some qualifications, to much that has 
 been written. More than thirty long and tedious years 
 have elapsed since I have resided near this Queen City. 
 With her people I have been more or less acquainted 
 for that period of time." 
 
 " I can say, uncle, this city bears a very bad reputation 
 South ; she is considered the focus of Abolitionism, and 
 a great disturber of the harmony of the Union." 
 
 " I admit, David, she has, in her bosom, some rabid 
 Abolitionists, who spurn the law and the Constitution of 
 the country. They profess to be the devotees of a higher 
 law a law overriding the Bible, as well as everything 
 human." 
 
 " Now, uncle, ought we not to hold the people of this 
 city responsible for this wicked and pernicious fanaticism ? 
 ought they not to extirpate it?" 
 
 " It would seem, David, they ought to use every reason 
 able effort for that purpose ; but this is a species of fanati- 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 237 
 
 cism the most incorrigible in the world. Men know not 
 how to approach it, or in what way to arrest it." 
 
 ki I must confess, uncle, it is a very subtle enemy. We 
 have, in our peregrinations, felt its dire vengeance, and 
 you have labored hard and earnestly to bring it to right 
 reason." 
 
 u And yet, David, I should not be astonished if my 
 labor were all in vain. Abolitionism will, notwithstand 
 ing, grow in her proportions, and become more ominous 
 to the peace and harmony of the country." 
 
 " Perhaps that may be so, uncle ; but if that wicked 
 spirit is to be crushed out, it must be done by the people 
 in the Free States : for we have no influence over it." 
 
 " That, David, I will not undertake to controvert. I 
 will only say, I know the people of this city well, her 
 merchants, artists, and men of property and I feel safe 
 in saying, a great majority of them are opposed to the 
 everlasting turmoil on the subject of Slavery. They are 
 willing, for the laws of the Union to be executed without 
 impediment." 
 
 u I have seen it, uncle, repeatedly stated, that it was 
 attended with serious and great difficulty, even if arrested, 
 to get a fugitive slave out of this city." 
 
 u If a slave, David, should be apprehended here, as a 
 matter of course, the Abolitionists will stir up an im 
 mense excitement about it; but it does not extend beyond 
 that faction really insignificant in number, yet capable 
 of achieving great mischief." 
 
 u However, uncle, I suppose the use of the Under 
 ground Railroad enables the Abolitionists to run off fugi 
 tive slaves with so much rapidity, that the most of the 
 owner s rights are destroyed in that way." 
 
 " Yes, David, the greatest uncertainty is, in finding 
 them. These enemies to the South have such excellent 
 contrivances now to carry on their nefarious opera 
 tions, that they but too seldom meet with detection and 
 exposure." 
 
 u ln this way, uncle, the South is continually injured 
 and irritated, and the bonds of this Union weakened. 
 
 " Yes, David, a few madcaps are thus creating bitter 
 feelings, where the most cordial friendship ought to 
 
238 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 prevail. The locality of the West and South forbids the 
 idea of a separation." 
 
 u Indeed, uncle, those whom God has joined together, 
 palsied may be the hand that would try to produce 
 alienation and separation." 
 
 "That the great Builder of the universe, David, in 
 tended the West and South to be one and indissoluble, is 
 written in characters too legible to be misunderstood. 
 The great rivers that penetrate these vast fertile valleys, 
 all flow into one common stream, that empties its vast 
 volume of water into the Gulf of Mexico ; so tremendous 
 is its rush to the sea, that the sensitive nerves of old ocean 
 vibrate to the remote shores of Newfoundland." 
 
 "I would ask, uncle, how could Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
 nay, this whole western "valley, do without the South ? 
 To my poor comprehension, their interest is one and 
 identical. Neither can do without the other." 
 
 u What an absurdity, David, to suppose this Union can 
 be split in twain, and two rival and hostile governments 
 be reared upon its ruins ! Those whose madness have 
 reached to that point, should ask themselves, in all seri 
 ousness, where shall the dividing line be run ? Let them 
 take the chain and compass and define the boundaries 
 between the North and South." 
 
 " I guess, uncle, that would be rather a puzzling btisi- 
 ness. Make the Ohio the line, and what a spectacle would 
 soon be presented ! Here is Kentucky and Ohio, two 
 bright stars in our political firmament, and floating lov 
 ingly upon the same silken flag two sisters in this great 
 confederacy of States. Make them enemies to each 
 other, how sadly would the scene be changed ! In New 
 port and Covington ere-long, massive forts would rear 
 their defiant heads, all bristling with cannon, while on 
 this side, they would be confronted by similar works. In 
 case of war, these cities, at this time mutually flourishing, 
 would lay each other in ashes." 
 
 " To carry the imagination forward to such an event, 
 David, we can see but a faint outline of the misery and 
 ruin disunion would entail. How strongly should all be 
 admonished to cling with fresh and renewed ardor to this 
 Ark of our political safety." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 239 
 
 " Indeed, uncle, we ought to discountenance, in the 
 language of WASHINGTON S Farewell Address, l whatever 
 would suggest a suspicion, that it can, in any event be 
 abandoned ; and speak of it as the Palladium of our 
 political safety and prosperity. ;: 
 
 " It is too plain, David, to my humble conception, that 
 we do not properly estimate the immense value of our 
 National Union. I have been thinking over this city 
 this State whence their great prosperity? Cincinnati 
 has spread over, and filled up this bottom since I came 
 West. The hills are pressing on her giant limbs, until 
 she is uttering groans for room to expand." 
 
 ; I must, uncle, claim a little credit for the South in 
 helping to elevate her to her queenly condition. The 
 spires of her numerous gorgeous churches penetrate the 
 clouds ; and her thousands of lofty chimneys empty their 
 dark and curling smoke, where it lies in deep sullenness 
 upon the feeble atmosphere. Her furnaces, too, with 
 blazing fury, pour out a cloud of darkness, that hovers 
 over the face of this youthful queen, like a black veil." 
 
 u From the window where we sit, David, in conse 
 quence of the rarity and stillness of the atmosphere, the 
 city presents a sombre appearance. But our inquiry is, 
 What has given her this pre-eminence in the West? 
 Living, as I have done these many years, on the Ohio 
 river, I can form some idea of the immense commerce she 
 has enjoyed with the South. Well may her manufactur 
 ing industry flourish, her enterprise and energy meet with 
 due encouragement, while she participates in a free and 
 unrestricted trade with the whole South. This is as it 
 should be. I rejoice in her growth and prosperity where 
 it results from fair and legitimate commerce." 
 
 u So do I, uncle, we want in the South her manufac 
 tured articles, her flour, whisky, and provisions ; and in 
 exchange, she gladly takes our cotton, sugar or rice. The 
 exchange of commodities thus enriches both parties." 
 
 " How important, therefore, it is, David, that the best 
 of feelings should exist on both sides. Commercial inter 
 course, the more it is encouraged, must tend to harmonize 
 the two sections. We know and understand each other 
 better. Were I less acquainted with these people, I might 
 
240 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 revile and denounce them all as enemies and traitors to 
 the South ; but knowing them as I do, and have done for 
 many years, I ought, and must, make a discrimination. 
 Let us by no means, confound the innocent with the 
 guilty. The Union has friends, strong and faithful, in 
 this very city,. Those we should encourage and strengthen 
 in the good work." 
 
 " That is all right, uncle, we ought not to include all 
 these people in one sweeping denunciation, especially if 
 a large portion of them is manfully contending for the 
 faithful observance of the Federal Compact." 
 
 ki> I can tell you, David, this Higher Law party here, is 
 but a fraction of the population. They are artful and 
 designing, and can make a terrific outcry." 
 
 " They must, uncle, contrive some way or other, to 
 give themselves great prominence. They have exasper 
 ated the South by their outside interference, to a danger 
 ous degree." 
 
 " So they have, David, and their conduct is all the time 
 producing border difficulties greatly to be deplored. Why 
 should it be so ? Kentucky has adopted Slavery, as she 
 had a right to do, and has aimed to guard and protect 
 her citizens in the possession of that species of property, 
 by severe legislative enactments ; because it would be 
 perfectly ridiculous for a State to confer legal rights, 
 without at the same time, enacting the necessary Laws to 
 enforce their observance." 
 
 44 Your penal statutes, uncle, ought to be a sufficient 
 warning to all persons to abstain from tampering with 
 Slaves." 
 
 " They ought to be, David, but they have proved in 
 sufficient to prevent this great evil. You know I am fond 
 of walking alone of a night, indulging in the serious con 
 templation of the wondrous works of the Universe. 
 Upon one of those occasions, while the moon diffused her 
 mild rays upon this earth, and the stars shone with un 
 usual brilliancy, I chanced to espy JIM CROW, wending 
 his way to a negro cabin, which he entered, and closed 
 the door. I was tempted to draw near, and place my ear 
 within hearing distance. He thus commenced : 
 
 4 Well, Sam, I thought I would just drop in to-night. 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 24:1 
 
 You have a warm, comfortable room, good bedding, a 
 wife, and four pretty children ; but still you lack one 
 thing to make you happy. 
 
 u k Pray, mist r, replied Sam, c what can that be ? 
 
 " It is only, freedom? 
 
 " Shere, man, how can I get dat ? You know, mast r 
 aint gwine to let dis nigger go. 
 
 " Oh, Sam, we care mighty little whether he wants 
 you to go or not. We don t consult his feelings about 
 it at all. 
 
 " Den how does you do, Mist r Crow ? 
 
 " That, I will tell you, Sam, at the proper time all 
 you have first to say, are you disposed to leave ? 
 
 u I tells you, Mist r Crow, dat be a mighty hard ques 
 tion. Dere is many t ings to be t ot on, when we talks 
 about such t ings. S pose I start, and be ketch, den you 
 know what follows dis nigger has to be sent off. 
 
 " Don t fear that, Sam, we are your friends, and do 
 not intend to worst your condition. If you will place 
 yourselves in our care, we will go security, you will not 
 be caught. 
 
 " Now, does you say dat, Mist r Crow ; you knows I 
 am well sitiwated now. My mast r is kine enuff I 
 works no harder dan he does. We gets along mi ty well 
 togeder. He gis us plenty to eat, an you sees he gis us 
 a good house to lib in. An we has a kine missis too. 
 What more den, does we want? 
 
 " 4 There is one thing lacking, Sam, and that is, to be 
 free. To get that, you have only to say, you are willing 
 that s all you have to do. 
 
 " Hush, Mist r Crow, don t fool dis nigger mast r 
 won t be slow hunting up dis Sam, his wife, an leetle 
 ones, if dey be gone. I knows him, an he arn t a-gwine 
 to let us get off so berry easy. 
 
 " ; I don t care, Sam, how quick he is, he can t catch 
 you on our underground railroad. That does business 
 rather too rapidly to be overtaken. 
 
 " 4 Dere it is, Mist r Crow what sort ob a darn t ing 
 is dat, as what runs under de ground. 
 
 u Never mind that at present, Sam, just say you will 
 all come at a certain time, our Director will furnish yon 
 21 
 
24:2 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 with through-tickets, and before you can say Jack Robin 
 son, you ll all be snugly landed in Canada. 
 
 " 4 Dere, aint dat curis, Mist r Crow, but s pose our ole 
 boss cums pon us fore we gets in dat dark ole, what den ? 
 
 " Oh, we will hide you, Sam, too nicely for that; but 
 we furnish another sort of a passport, that seldom fails 
 (draws a revolver) don t you see this lovely instrument? 
 That is yours, if you consent to go. 
 
 " La ! what a nice lookin t ing dis is, Mist r Crow 
 how does you work him to make him talk loud dere be 
 six leetle holes in dis t ing how can you make each on 
 em do his part? 
 
 " All you have to do, Sam, is to keep pulling the 
 trigger, and it will keep working around, until the six 
 loads are discharged. 
 
 " l "What a curis t ing dis is, pon my word. Does you 
 say, de white man will stand back, when he sees dis 
 feeful instrument ? Does you say it s mine, if we ll gree 
 to go V 
 
 " Yes, Sam, it s yours, if you ll say 3 r ou ll come. 
 
 " Dere, Mist r Crow, you temp dis nigger too much. 
 
 " Now, Peggy, my wife, what say you to gwine wid 
 our children ? 
 
 " 4 Oh, Sam you re crazy, you know we re comfortably 
 fixed now has good homes where we may live our life 
 time ; but if we try to get off and fail t ink of dat. 
 What would become of us ! 
 
 " But you know, Peggy, Mist r Crow aint gwine to 
 lie bout sich t ings, and he says, dere aint no danger. 
 
 " Alas ! I wish Mist r Crow had staid at home, and 
 mind his own business not to come to dis cabin, to put 
 sich bad noshens in dat head ob your n. 
 
 " Fear not in, Peggy, all well kum out rite. 
 
 " Why, Sam, does you inten to hazar all de blessin s 
 we enjoys, for dis unsartin business ? 
 
 " I mus confess, Peggy, new t ots has bin put in my 
 poor head. I begins to sigh for dat strange land. 
 
 " l Mis ry, mis ry, Sam; if we starts, I feels a kin of 
 bodin we ll be brought back, an den we ll be undone. 
 
 11 Oh, Peggy, you conjer up so many bogobows dey 
 won t fin us, and den how kin dey catch us ? 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 24:3 
 
 " Don t b lieve eberyt ing, Sam; you knows not what 
 may happen. We may be obertaken, an be bro t back. 
 Oh, how awful de very t ot. I m so easily frightened, an 
 den I don t know what I might do. To be sent to de 
 Souf, de berry noshen nearly kills me. All dese t ings, 
 dear husband, if we should be taken, will rush upon me 
 at once ; I shall become de perate, and what I may be 
 tem ted to do, God only knows. 
 
 " Don t t ink ob dem t ings, Peggy dey cotch us 
 all but dat ; when we gets into dat dark ole, as what 
 leads to Candy, dey ll no see us any more. 
 
 " c If I goes, God knows, Sam, it will be with a trem- 
 blin heart 1 sees woe a-plenty a-head, but I will foller 
 you de world ober if go you will. 
 
 " c Den, Mist r Crow, we ll be in de City next Sunday 
 night. 
 
 " 4 God bless you, Sam, be as early as possible ; we will 
 be prepared to give you dispatch. 
 
 lk The conversation having ended, I resumed my medi 
 tations." 
 
 " Well, uncle, let us have the sequel of the story !" 
 
 " On the very Sunday night mentioned, Sam, wife, and 
 children, with the master s horses and sleigh, departed to 
 this city ; crossing the river upon the ice, they arrived at old 
 Joe Kite s about the dawn of day, too late, as luck would 
 have it, for underground railroad operations. Therefore, 
 they had to remain in the safe-keeping of their good old 
 friend, Joe, for the day." 
 
 " Did not the owner pursue, uncle ?" 
 
 " Yes, he was on the trail bright and early in the 
 morning and soon tracked them to their den. He then 
 got out a warrant from Commissioner Pendery, placed it 
 in the hands of a United States Marshal, who, accom 
 panied by a posse, went to old Joe s, to arrest the fugitive 
 slaves. The party entered, after bursting open the door 
 Sam, relying upon his revolver, discharged it two or 
 three times, until it was wrested from his hands by ono 
 of the Deputy Marshals, who was slightly wounded. The 
 mother in the meantime, in a fit of desperation, had cut 
 the throat of one of her children, and wounded two 
 others." 
 
24:4: ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " What a horrible affair, uncle ; ought not Abolition 
 ism to be the more detested, for placing those poor, un 
 suspecting creatures in so dangerous a position ? Had 
 they let them alone, this would not have happened. 
 
 " If our Slaves, David, were voluntarily to elope, with 
 out any outside interference, and then commit such tra 
 gedies, we would have no right to censure others for it. 
 .But it seems to me, where great persuasion is used to in 
 duce slaves to abscond, under the assurance of a perfect 
 immunity from apprehension, the party bringing about 
 this change, in all justice, ought to be answerable for the 
 consequences that ensue." 
 
 " I do suppose, uncle, if Sam, Peggy, and children, 
 had remained contentedly at home, this tragedy would 
 not have happened. Upon whose hands shall the blood 
 be fastened ? that is the grand inquiry." 
 
 " To decide that question fairly, David, let us consider 
 the respective parties engaged : First, the owner. What 
 did he do to bring about this fearful result ? Did he, in 
 any particular, transcend the law, either of his State, or 
 the Union ? It is not pretended he did. He pursued his 
 absconding slaves, as he had a legal right to do, into the 
 State of Ohio. There, out of a pure reverence for the 
 law, he adopts legal steps for the recovery of his slaves. 
 They go to arrest them by the highest and most sacred 
 legal authority, bringing to their aid sufficient force to 
 accomplish the object, and no more. If the mother, under 
 those circumstances, thought proper to commit the un 
 natural deed of sacrificing the life of her child, surely he 
 stands guiltless of the deed. It was not his will or 
 wish." 
 
 " That, uncle, is evidently a legitimate conclusion. To 
 arraign the owner for what may happen, is equivalent to 
 cutting off his claim altogether. If the Slaves escape, 
 he is legally empowered to pursue and recapture." 
 
 " That is true enough, David, but let us see how the 
 account in the next place, stands with Abolitionism. If 
 I might personify her, I would say, stand up thou at the 
 bar of public opinion, and let us see if thy garments are 
 pure and unspotted ! As the serpent crept into the gar 
 den of Eden, and by his subtlety tempted Adam and Eve 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 24:5 
 
 to depart from their holy estate, so hast thou sought to 
 entwine thyself around the heart of the poor, ignorant, 
 confiding Slave, and lead him through the labyrinth of 
 ruin. Happy and contented at his home, thou didst find 
 him and poured thy poisonous breath into his ear, and 
 brought upon him irretrievable ruin. The blood of infants, 
 like Moloch of old, has stained thy hands, because thou 
 didst induce the mother to escape, who, if not tempted by 
 thee, would have remained at her home, happy and con 
 tented. Thou didst draw her into that perilous condition, 
 the most frightful to the Slave, in which, by the instiga 
 tion of the Devil, if not by thyself, she felt herself con 
 strained to pour out the blood of an innocent and harm 
 less child. But here, let the curtain fall I have done 
 with Ohio." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 The Squire and David at home The Pony Final Conversation. 
 
 " HERE we are, at home once more," said the Squire 
 to David, " and on the soil of our beloved Kentucky. 
 We have had hairbreadth escapes from those malicious 
 negroes in Canada, and for our escape, we are chiefly in 
 debted to that splendid little pony. Oh 1 I must see him 
 at once. Tell the hostler to bring him in the yard, that 
 we may feast our eyes upon him." 
 
 After a few moments absence, David returned, and 
 informed his uncle, the pony was in the yard. He imme 
 diately walked out, and addressed Henry, the hostler, in 
 the following words : 
 
 " Well, Henry, have you treated this little horse with 
 the utmost kindness, ever since his arrival? Have you 
 given him a-plenty of oats and hay or whatever he most 
 relished ; and then, a-plenty of good soft straw, upon 
 which he could repose of nights. To us, he has been a 
 precious pony, having borne us twice away from infuri 
 ated mobs of negroes in Canada. By his agility and 
 speed, our lives have been preserved, to be present with 
 you all this day." 
 
246 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " Yes, Squire," said Henry. " He has lived like one leetle 
 prince, ever since he has been here he aint wanted for no 
 thing. You sees his hair is soft and glossy oh, he is antic 
 as a monkey. I rubbed him down twice every day gave 
 him plenty of good cool water, right out of the spring. At 
 the crack of the whip, now all creation could not keep 
 up with him. I tho t I ll try him one day, to see if he 
 was such a fast goer ; so I hitched him to the buggy 
 that same nice little vehicle what comes with him ; so 
 when I comes on that pooty, smooth road, as what leads 
 down the river, I fetched a whistle and cracked the whip ; 
 of all the leetle rascals the way he played his feet was a 
 caution to Jim Crow." 
 
 " I suppose," said the Squire, " it frightened out some 
 of your Dutch wet. How did you like the speed ?" 
 
 " Speed ! mine Got ! I tried to say wo-a, and I hadn t 
 breath left to say that leetle word. I couldn t see nothing 
 all along the road but one blue streak. I hauled him up 
 arter a while, by nearly pulling off dese arms. So I 
 brings him back to the stable sez I, stay in here, ye 
 leetle varmant, till such time as the old Squire gets 
 home, for I ll not try your bottom agin I don t love such 
 fast fun as that, may be I don t." 
 
 " You can take him back to the stable," said the Squire 
 to Henry, and let him fare sumptuously we owe to him 
 a debt of gratitude, we shall never be able to repay," 
 
 After which, the Squire and David, seated in a sump 
 tuous hall, warmed up for their accommodation, in the 
 splendid mansion of the Squire, held the following 
 their final conversation : 
 
 " Now, David," said the Squire, u our journeyings 
 have come to a close. Here we are, under our own roof, 
 safe and sound. What reflections are you disposed to make 
 upon our gleanings and the boisterous scenes through 
 which we have been constrained to pass ?" 
 
 u Well, uncle, my soul is weighed down with the woes 
 I see suspended over my beloved, native land. Free- 
 Soilism, like a dark and portentous cloud, hangs sus 
 pended in the Eastern horizon ; how soon it may burst 
 and prostrate all our ardent hopes, I cannot tell." 
 
 "I know not myself, David, what to think of the 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 247 
 
 entanglement of public .affairs. I had hoped the principle 
 so fairly settled by the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, would not 
 have been disturbed. I could not find any valid objection 
 to allowing the inhabitants of the Territories to decide for 
 themselves, whether they preferred free or slave labor. By 
 this means, the disturbing question of Slavery would be 
 removed forever from the halls of Congress, where its 
 discussion has been productive of such infinite mischief." 
 
 u The South, uncle, is contented to rest the question 
 where it is now placed ; and if the North would yield, 
 the harmony of the Union would be immediately restored." 
 
 u That I admit, David ; but I can see no indications from 
 the North to encourage such a hope. Stronger feelings 
 of hostility to Southern Institutions seem to be growing 
 up in that section." 
 
 " I must say, uncle, that hostility is most unreasonable 
 and unjust. Why persecute us for an evil if it must be 
 so considered which is not of our creation, but the work 
 of our ancestors ? The great problem left for our solution 
 is, what disposition can we make of the slaves which we 
 find among us ? Have we not wisdom enough to adjust 
 this dangerous question one in which we alone are inter 
 ested without interference from the North ?" 
 
 " I suppose, David, we have to suffer for the deeds of 
 former generations. The doctors of Divinity assure us 
 that there is such a thing as original sin. Although we 
 were not in existence at the time of the transgression of 
 Eve and Adam, yet, by a mysterious connection, that sin 
 has traveled down through the long line of Adam s pos 
 terity to this generation, who are none the less guilty 
 than our head and representative." 
 
 " If that be so, uncle, and I am not going to enter into 
 a controversy on that intricate point, all I can say is, we 
 were not present to prevent it. If suffer for it we must, 
 I will aim to meet it with resignation." 
 
 " I have one objection to this incurred responsibility, 
 David, and that is, to be disgraced and punished for the 
 sins of old England, the great monopolist , at one time, 
 of the African Slave Trade." 
 
 " That is, I confess, a peculiar hardship, uncle ; but if 
 it is ordained of fate, it is folly to resist. England 
 
24:8 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 planted us in this "Western world, and at the same time, 
 placed along side of us the African, who was finally to 
 be our overthrow and ruin." 
 
 " When I think of the controversy, David, now raging 
 between the North and South, the African appears alone 
 to be the apple of discord. If he were out of the ques 
 tion, the harmony of the Union would be safe and undis 
 turbed. We are not distracted in any other respect." 
 
 " That is a mortifying spectacle for this great nation to 
 present, uncle. Our whole political machinery works 
 discordant in consequence of this African ingredient in 
 our body politic." 
 
 " That is true, David, and must be obvious to the most 
 superficial observer. Our National Government is almost 
 prostrated. So numerous are the factions in Congress, so 
 split up and divided are the members of the Lower House, 
 that a majority cannot unite in the election of Speaker. 
 After fifty-two ballots, no choice has been made ; and 
 without one, there can be no organization of the House. 
 What may be the final result, no one can tell ; but even 
 if a speaker be elected, still the government is incapable 
 of any definite action. It will be a mere incubus upon 
 the country. As to its fulfilling the great objects of its 
 creation, that is foreign to the hope. The great interests 
 of the nation must suffer and be neglected. I can see no 
 escape." 
 
 "Is not this an extremely unfortunate position for this 
 nation to be in, uncle, at this critical conjuncture in the 
 affairs of the old world ?" Our divisions and distractions 
 produce weakness, and weakness invites insult and 
 aggression." 
 
 " So it seems to me, David. The alliance between 
 England and France was not only to circumscribe and 
 humble Russia, but extends to this hemisphere. We, too, 
 must feel their chastening rod, and be brought to lick 
 the dust from their proud and haughty feet, so soon as 
 this war with Russia can be brought to an honorable close." 
 
 " The great SPIRIT of WASHINGTON, uncle, if it could 
 be invoked to look down upon our feeble and helpless 
 national condition, would weep over the distractions and 
 follies of his pountrymen." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 24:9 
 
 " Our government has lost its capacity for action, 
 David. Anarchy, confusion, and bloodshed must follow; 
 then despotism steps in to close the scene. Thus all 
 ancient republics have fallen, and can we escape a similar 
 fate ? One remarkable fact will strike the attention in 
 reading the history of nations, that LIBERTY can be easily 
 lost, but never can be permanently regained" 
 
 " That makes her, uncle, so precious a jewel a jewel 
 that can only be preserved by eternal vigilance. Why 
 are not all mankind free ? How came they to be other 
 wise ? Let the response come up from England, France 
 nay, all the nations of the earth." 
 
 ci But one response, David, could be heard, and that 
 would be, We were incapable of appreciating and preserv 
 ing so great a blessing so valuable a jewel as liberty. 
 Though the confession would be derogatory to the intelli 
 gence of our race, yet it would be true. France recently 
 had it in her power to be free was free but she soon 
 bowed her neck, gentle as a lamb, under the iron yoke of 
 Louis Napoleon. England has beheaded kings, but the 
 work was in vain in the end, monarchy was re-estab 
 lished. Rome had her commonwealth it perished ; the 
 die was cast when Caesar passed the Rubicon. Pompey 
 fell, and with him liberty vanished. The usurper was 
 slain in the Senate house, by Brutus, Cassius, and others. 
 His death, however, did not put an end to tyranny that 
 endured while Rome had an existence." 
 
 "These are historic truths, uncle, and should impress 
 upon the minds of all the weighty responsibility of main 
 taining, in their vigor and purity, our Free Institutions, and 
 transmiting them unimpaired to succeeding generations. 
 Oh ! what a rich heritage has descended to us ! Shall it 
 be said of those now living, they were incapable of its 
 preservation ? My humble aim has been to strengthen 
 the bonds of the Union, to show its immense value to 
 our happiness, individually and collectively, and warn 
 my countrymen of the dangers that now environ it. If 
 my efforts, however feeble, have had a tendency to nerve 
 their arms in its defense, I shall retire satisfied to the 
 sunny fields of the South, there to await, with fearful 
 anxiety, the momentous issues of the future." 
 
250 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 " May Heaven s choice blessings, my dear David," 
 rejoined the Squire, " rest upon thy head. Thou hast 
 journeyed with me, and participated in my perils. And 
 here, alas ! we must part." 
 
 Now, kind reader, whoever thou art, what parting 
 word must I utter ? I can but implore thee to remember 
 the value of the deposit left in thy hands the liberty of 
 thy country. Upon thee its preservation partly depends ; 
 and when years shall have rolled away, "may these States 
 be one and inseparable." May the stars that float on our 
 flag, not wane or diminish, but go on to increase in num 
 ber, and shine with brighter effulgence " until the consum 
 mation of all things." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 NOT intending to publish hereafter a KEY to the pre 
 ceding work, the Author will, in conclusion, observe, that 
 he has aimed to give the influence of Abolitionism on 
 the slave population in the border counties, in Kentucky, 
 fairly and fully. At the same time a few slaves have 
 made their escape to parts unknown, great numbers have 
 been sold and transported farther South. In this aspect, 
 Abolitionism has been a curse instead of a benefit to the 
 negroes. The mobism manifested by the negroes in 
 Canada to the citizens of the South, is not a fiction but a 
 reality, as many can testify. 
 
 A charge has been brought against the Abolitionists, 
 in the body of the work, of electing men to office with a 
 view of defeating the operations of the Fugitive Slave 
 Law. In confirmation of that charge, the Author will 
 submit the following resolution, adopted by a Convention 
 held in Lake County, Ohio: 
 
 "Resolved That our delegates are hereby instructed 
 to vote for no man, for the office of District Judge, who is 
 not opposed to the Fugitive Slave Law, on constitutional 
 grounds, and who will not by writ of habeas corpus, inter 
 pose the authority of the State against its execution." 
 
ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 251 
 
 It will be remembered that George, in " Uncle Tom s 
 Cabin," was made the inventor of a labor-saving ma 
 chine, thereby displaying considerable genius. In pure 
 deference to that high authority, the Author has endowed 
 his u Shan" with more sagacity and penetration than he 
 has conceded to a learned professor. 
 
 The author, in his travels in the vicinity of Oberlin, 
 some years ago, derived the incidents of the " prayerful 
 whipping" from sundry persons in that region of country, 
 upon whose veracity he relied. It is not, therefore, a 
 mere fiction of his brain. 
 
 It will be perceived that the Abolition excitement in 
 the United States, is ascribed to foreign influence. This 
 is a serious charge and ought not to be lightly made. 
 Sundry facts in the knowledge of the author, have forced 
 him, though reluctantly, to that conclusion. The dona 
 tion of $30,000 to the Oberlin College, by some one in 
 England, was related to the author by credible persons. 
 
 The threats of the black British officer in Canada, 
 were made to a gentleman of Kentucky, and the author 
 has given the words as reported to him. Now take this 
 donation, the threats of the negro officer, and then peruse 
 the following extract taken from a speech, delivered upon 
 the floor of Congress by the Honorable Joshua R. Gid- 
 dings what does it all signify ? 
 
 u I look forward to the day when there shall be a ser 
 vile insurrection in the South ; when the black man, 
 armed with British bayonets and led on by British offi 
 cers, shall assert his freedom and wage a war of extermi 
 nation against his master ; when the torch of the incen 
 diary shall light up the towns and cities of the South, and 
 blot out the last vestige of Slavery. And though I may not 
 mock at their calamity, nor laugh when their fear cometh, 
 yet I will hail it as the dawn of a political millennium." 
 
 Then again, the London Daily News, under date of 
 Nov. 1, publishes an article specially devoted to American 
 affairs. The Union is considered to be on the point of 
 breaking up, the National Government is pronounced to 
 be unworkable, and here is the language used in respect 
 to the Northern States : 
 
 " They have borne more indignities than we have space 
 
252 ABOLITIONISM UNVEILED. 
 
 to tell ; so that they are now asking each other, even in 
 their newspapers, was not the government of England 
 harmless compared to the tyrannical government of 
 slave-holders f" 
 
 But in what estimate do they hold the right of suffrage 
 in England ? what think they of representative govern 
 ment ? Hear the sapient editor on that point.: 
 
 " The American nation is not truly and permanently re 
 presented by any number of unscrupulous men who climb 
 into office on the towering passions of the multitude." 
 
 The editor believes a war with England would dissolve 
 the Union. He thus sums up his article : 
 
 " These are a few of the reasons which compel us to 
 agree with American citizens who say, a war with Eng 
 land would dissolve the Union. The danger is that law 
 less aggression from the South may compel us to declare 
 war ; but, in -that worst case, we still have confident hope 
 that the prudent and virtuous secession of the Free 
 States," etc. Again, t; Every one of those will assuredly 
 consider a war of aggression a war with the liberating 
 powers of Europe" etc. 
 
 The author will not extend his quotations, he com 
 mends the whole article to the careful perusal of every 
 true-hearted American. The liberating powers of En- 
 rope ! France and England in alliance strong to crush 
 one nation ay, to bring Russia to their feet. "Why this 
 vast combination against an independent power ? Is not 
 Russia entitled to her nationality ? Who can desire to 
 see her prostrated? Must England and France be the 
 arbiters of the world ? must all other nations do obei 
 sance to them ? must they hold the balance, and make 
 nations sink or rise according to their sovereign will? 
 These are solemn questions, and deserve calm considera 
 tion. iVJ- 
 
 THE END. 
 

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