Some years ago, Andrew Searle, an English gentleman had occasion to visit North America, where the following circumstance occurred, as related in his own words:—

“Every day's observation convinces me that the children of God are made so by his own special grace; and that all means are equally effectual with Him, whenever He is pleased to employ them for conversion.

“In one of my excursions, while I was in the State of New York, I was walking by myself over a considerable plantation, amused with its husbandry, and comparing it with that of my own country, till I came within a little distance of a middle aged Negro, who was tilling the ground. I felt a strong inclination, unusual with me, to converse with him. After asking him some little questions about his work, which he answered in a sensible manner, I asked him to tell me whether his state of Slavery was not disagreeable to him, and whether he would not gladly be at liberty. ‘Massah,’ said he, looking seriously upon me, ‘I have a wife and children; my Massah take care of them, and I have no care to provide any thing; I have a good Massah, who teaches me to read; and I read good book that makes me happy.’—‘I am glad,’ replied I, ‘to hear you say so; and pray what is the good book you read?’ ‘The Bible, Massah, God's own book.’—‘Do you understand, friend, as well as read, this book? For many can read the words well, who cannot get hold of the true and good sense.’

“ ‘O Massah,’ said he, ‘I read the book much, before I understand; but, at last, I felt pain in my heart; I found things in the book that cut me to pieces.’—‘Ah!’ said I, ‘and what things were they?’ ‘Why, Massah, I found that I had a bad heart, a very bad heart indeed; I felt pain that God would destroy me, because I was wicked, and done nothing as I should do. God was holy, and I was very vile and wicked; I could have nothing from Him but fire and brimstone in hell.’

“In short, he entered into a full account of his convictions of sin, which were indeed as deep and piercing as almost any I had ever heard of; and stated what Scriptures came to his mind, which he had read, that both probed to the bottom of his sinful heart, and were made the means of light and comfort to his soul. I then inquired of him what ministry or means he made use of, and found that his master had taught his Slaves to read, but had not conversed with this Negro upon the state of his soul.

“I asked him likewise, how he got comfort under all this trial? ‘O Massah!’ said he, ‘it was Christ gave me comfort by his dear word. He bade me come unto Him, and He would give me rest; for I was very weary and heavy laden.’ And here he repeated a number of the most precious texts in the Bible, showing, by his artless comment upon them, as he went along, what great things God had done in the course of some years for his soul. Being rather more acquainted with doctrinal truths, and the Bible, than he had been, or in his situation could easily be, I had a mind to ascertain how far a simple experience, graciously given without the usual means, could preserve a man from error; and I therefore asked him several questions about the merit of works, the justification of a sinner, the power of grace, and the like, and I own I was as much astonished at, as I admired, the sweet spirit and simplicity of his answers, with the heavenly wisdom that God had put into the mind of this Negro.

“His discourse, flowing merely from the richness of grace, with a tenderness and expression far ‘beyond the reach of art,’ perfectly charmed me, On the other hand, my entering into all his feelings, together with an account to him, which he had never heard before, that thus and thus the Lord, in his mercy, dealt with all his children, and had dealt with me, drew streams of joyful tears down his black face; and we looked upon each other, and talked with that inexpressible glow of Christian affection, that made me more than ever believe, in what I have often too thoughtlessly professed to believe—the communion of saints.

“I shall never forget how the poor creature seemed to hang upon my lips, and to eat my very words, when I enlarged upon the love of Christ to poor sinners—the free bounty and tender mercy of God—the frequent and delightful sense He gives of his presence—the faith He bestows in his promises—the victories this faith is enabled to get over trials and temptations— the joy and peace in believing—the hope in life and death, and the glorious expectation of immortality. To have seen his eager, delighted, animated air and manner, would have cheered and warmed any Christian's heart, and have been a master-piece for any painter. He had never heard such discourse, nor found the opportunity of hearing it, before. He seemed like a man who had been thrown into a new world, and at length had found company.

“Though my conversation lasted at least two or three hours, I scarcely ever enjoyed the happy swiftness of time so sweetly in all my life. We knew not how to part. He would accompany me as far as he might; and I felt, on my side, such a delight in the artless, solid, unaffected experience of this pious soul, that I could have been glad to have seen him oftener then, or to see his like at any time now; but my situation rendered it impossible. I therefore took an affectionate leave, with feelings equal to those of the warmest and most ancient friendship; telling him that neither the colour of his body, nor the condition of his present life, could prevent him from being my dear brother in our dear Saviour; and that, though we must part now, never to see each other again in this world, I had no doubt of our having another joyful meeting in our Father's home, where we should live together, and love one another, throughout a long and happy eternity. ‘Amen, Amen, my dear Massah’ said he,— ‘God bless you, and poor me, too for ever and ever.’

“If I had been an angel from Heaven, he could not have received me with more ardent delight than he did; nor could I have considered him with a more sympathetic regard, if he had been a long known Christian of the good old sort, grown up into my affections in the course of many years.”

The following testimony was issued by the Society of Friends, at Little Creek, North America, respecting Richard Cooper, a descendant of Africa, who died in 1820.

“Our esteemed friend, RICHARD COOPER, departed this life about the age of 100. He was a descendant of the greatly oppressed Africans, a native of the island of Barbadoes, and, by birth, a Slave. At the age of 12 or 14 h was brought to this country and sold. Having frequently changed owners, he at length became the property of member of the Society of Friends; and at the time of the total emancipation, by the Society, of its Slaves, he was liberated from an unmerited and unjust bondage.

“About this time, he became convinced of the religious principles of Friends, which he ascribed to the tender care and frequent admonition of his mistress, in directing his mind to the principle of divine grace and truth in the heart. He was a frequent attendant of Friends' meetings, and, in advanced life, he requested to be admitted a member of the society, and was received.

The Bushmen are doubtless in a very ignorant and degraded state; but what has been adduced in proof of their incapability of being improved, affords a better criterion of their depressed condition, than of the absence of mental capacity. Many of the accounts which have been published respecting the savage, ferocious, and untameable character of the Bushmen, can scarcely be read in Africa without a smile. The civilization of that degraded people is not only practicable, but might be easily attained: while they are by no means deficient in intellect, they are susceptible of kindness; grateful for favours; faithful in the execution of a trust committed to them; disposed to receive instruction; and, by the use of proper means, could be easily brought to exchange their barbarous manner of life for one that would afford more comfort.

In a journey undertaken into the interior of a colony in 1819, we had two Bushmen in our train. One of them had only been a few months in the service of our missionary when he joined us; and we had not in our party any one that was more teachable, faithful, and obliging. During the last four months of our journey, he served at table; and after a month's apprenticeship, conducted himself with as much propriety as any English servant might have been expected to do with as little training.

The following extract of a letter, dated 24th Nov., 1825, from Sir J. Brenton, Bart., giving an account of a Bushman boy brought by him from the Cape of Good Hope, may be adduced as strongly confirmatory of the opinions which have been advanced of the talents and disposition of the Bushmen people:—

Col. Collins, in his report to government in 1809, speaks of the Bushmen as being most liberally gifted by nature with talents. To the same effect, the following passage, related to me as a part of an address delivered by a Bushman to his countrymen, at a missionary station, when some colonists were present, may be adduced as displaying a very considerable knowledge of Scripture, and no mean share of ability. “Why is it,” said he, “that we are persecuted and oppressed by the Christians? Is it because we live in desert lands, clothe ourselves with skins, and feed on locusts and wild honey? Is there anything morally better in one kind of raiment, or in one kind of food, than another? Was not John the Baptist a Bushman? Did he not dwell in a wilderness? Was he not clothed with a leathern girdle, such as we wear? And did he not feed on locusts and wild honey? Was he not a Bushman? Yet Christians acknowledge John the Baptist to have been a good man. Jesus Christ (whose forerunner he was) has said that there has not arisen among men a greater than John the Baptist. He preached the doctrine of repentance to the Jews, and multitudes attended his ministry; he was respected even by the Jews, and preached before a great king. It is true John the Baptist was beheaded, but he was not beheaded because he was a Bushman, but because he was a faithful preacher; and where, then, do the Christian men find anything in the precepts or example of their religion to justify them in robbing and shooting us, because we are Bushmen?”

Sparrmann gives the following description of the manner in which these people were treated when he travelled in the colony of the Cape of Good Hope. “The Slave business, that violent outrage against the natural rights of mankind, which is always in itself a crime, and leads to all manner of misdemeanours and wickedness, is exercised by the colonists with a cruelty towards the Bushmen, which merits the abhorrence of every one, though I have been told that they pique themselves upon it: and not only is the capture of the Hottentots considered by them merely as a party of pleasure, but, in cold blood, they destroy the bands which nature has knit between husband and wife, and between parents and their children. Not content, for instance, with having torn an unhappy woman from the embraces of her husband, her only protection and comfort, they endeavour all they can, and that chiefly at night, to deprive her likewise of her infants; for it has been observed, that the mothers can seldom persuade themselves to flee from their tender offspring.”

In the instructions given to Col. Collins by the Colonial Government, on his visit into the interior, among other subjects on which he was called to collect information, his attention was particularly directed to the Bushmen. Having studied their character, as far as his opportunities allowed him, he asserts, without the slightest qualification,—that there is not upon the face of the globe a people possessed of better natural abilities or more susceptible of mental or moral improvement.

A Bushman, says Dr. Philip, on one occasion remarked, that before they heard the Gospel, they had several times stolen cattle, but declared they would do so no more; that they now detested stealing, particularly as means were put into their hands whereby they might support themselves; and the missionary adds, in a letter in my possession, that had the institution been continued, as far as civilization is concerned, a better race of men could not, perhaps, have been found.

A. Faure, a respectable colonial clergyman, writes as follows, respecting the Bushmen:—“I visited,” says he, “the spot lately occupied by Mr. Smith, (at Toverberg, South Africa). Here I found a beautiful garden, an excellent vineyard, fine wheat, &c., &c. Some of the Bushmen, whom Mr. Smith baptized, had acquired very rational ideas of the principles of the Christian religion; and appeared to feel its constraining influence in their habitual conduct. They were zealous in trying to convey the same inestimable blessings to their unhappy countrymen, who lived without God, and without hope in the world. It was delightful to hear the children sing the praises of Jehovah, and to witness the progress they have made in spelling and reading. These facts, which have come under my own observation, prove that the conversion of this race of immortal beings is not impossible.”

Uithaalder, the Bushman Chief of Toverberg, and a few of his people, were baptized by the missionary Smith, and their good sense and piety, and the improvement which had taken place in their condition, excited the admiration of others as well as the clergyman above quoted.

Some singular stories had been told us, says Dr. Philip, while travelling in the colony, respecting the chief Uithaalder and his family. On their being driven from Toverberg, we were told that he and a few who adhered to him had been cruelly treated; that they were then hiding in the most retired parts of the district; that they were reduced to live upon roots only, and what game they could catch in the night; that they were afraid to appear abroad in daylight, for fear of being shot; that, in this situation, they kept up the worship of God among themselves, and that the chief constantly exhorted them to remain steadfast in their profession, and to continue instant in prayer to God that he would again send them a missionary in the room of those that had been taken from them.

Born in Guinea, was brought to Europe when very young; and the Princess of Brunswick took charge of his education. He pursued his studies at Halle, in Saxony, and at Wittemberg; and so distinguished himself by his talents and good conduct, that the Rector and Council of the University of the last mentioned town, gave a public testimony to them in a letter of congratulation.

Amo, skilled in the knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages, delivered with success, private lectures on philosophy, which are highly praised in the same letter. In an abstract, published by the Dean of the Philosophical Faculty, it is said of this learned Negro, that having examined the systems of the ancients and moderns, he selected and taught all that was best of them. Besides his knowledge of Latin and Greek, he spoke Hebrew, French, Dutch, and German, and was well versed in astronomy.

In 1774, Amo published dissertations on some subjects which obtained the approbation of the University of Wittemberg, and the degree of Doctor was conferred upon him. The title of one of these was “Dissertio inauguralis philosophica de humanæ mentis

Another was entitled “Disputatio philosophica continens ideam distinctam earum quæ competunt vel menti vel corpori nostro vivo et organico, quam consentiente amplissimorum philosophorum ordine præside M. Ant. Guil. Amo, Guinea— afer, defendit Joa. Theod. Mainer, philos., et J. V. Cultor, in 4°, 1734, Wittenbergæ.” At the conclusion of these works are letters of approbation from the Rector of the University of Wittemberg, who, in speaking of one of them, says:—“it underwent no change, because it was well executed; and indicates a mind exercised in reflection.” In a letter addressed to him by the president, he styles Amo, “vir nobilissime et clarissime.” Thus the University of Wittemberg has not evinced a belief in the absurd prejudice which exists against the Coloured portion of mankind.

The Court of Berlin conferred upon Amo the title of Counsellor of State, but after the death of his benefactress the Princess of Brunswick, Amo fell into a profound melancholy, and resolved to leave Europe, in which he had resided for 30 years, and to return to the place of his birth at Axim, on the Gold Coast. There he received, in 1753, a visit from the intelligent traveller, David Henry Gallandat, who mentions him in the Memoirs of the Academy of Flessingue, of which he was a member. Amo, at that time about fifty years of age, led there the life of a recluse. His father and a sister were living with him, and he had a brother who was a Slave in Surinam. Some time after, it appears, he left Axim, and settled at Chama.

The Abbé Gregoire, from whose work the foregoing particulars are translated, says, that he made unavailing researches to ascertain whether Amo published any other works, or at what period he died.

TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE has been justly designated “one of the most extraordinary men of a period in which extraordinary men were numerous.” He is a remarkable instance of genius exhibiting itself in the Negro race, although, as in most other cases, having to contend with circumstances very inconducive to the free growth either of the moral qualities, or the intellectual faculties of the mind. Among the individuals of the African race who have distinguished themselves by intellectual achievement, Toussaint L'Ouverture is pre-eminent; and while society is waiting for evidence of what the Negro race at large can do and become, it seems only rational to build high hopes upon such a character as that of the man, who was, as a Dictator and a General, the model upon which Napoleon formed himself;* who was as inclined to peace as renowned in war; and who will ever be regarded in history, as one of the most remarkable men of an age teeming with social wonders.

That Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose life we have just sketched, “was not a mere exceptional Negro, cast up as it were once for all, but that he was only the first of a series of able Negroes, and that his greatness may be fairly taken as a proof of certain capabilities in the Negro character, will appear from the history of St. Domingo subsequent to his imprisonment and death.”

The forcible suppression of Toussaint's government, and his treacherous removal from the island, did not prove a happy stroke of policy. Le Clerc, with all the force committed to his care by Bonaparte, signally failed in his designs. The contemptuous and cruel manner in which he treated the Blacks, and the attempts made to restore them to Slavery, provoked a wide spread insurrection. Independent of the natural right of the Negroes to liberty, their freedom had been declared by the French government, who now attempted to enslave them again. Could it be for a moment expected that they would allow this without making any resistance? They had felt the rigours of Slavery, and endured them too long to be forgotten. They were now in possession of their freedom, and were not to be suddenly deprived of it without making one effort in its defence.

Toussaint's old friends and generals, Dessalines, Christophe, Clervaux, and others, rose in arms, and all the resources of European military skill opposed to them were in vain. The French were soon driven out of several important positions. In 1802 Le Clerc died, and was succeeded in the command by Rochambeau, a determined enemy of the Blacks. Cruelties such as Le Clerc shrunk from, were now employed to assist the French arms. The Whites, regarding the Blacks as a species of brutes, had recourse to such methods of cruelty and death, as would be selected only for the purpose of exterminating a dangerous and destructive race of animals; to barbarities worse than had ever before stained the annals of any people pretending to the character of civilization. All the male Negroes and Mulattoes they could lay their hands on were murdered in the most shocking manner. Five hundred of these unfortunate beings were at one time shot near Cape François; and an equal number were, on another occasion, coolly massacred in view of the Negro army. Thousands were carried on board the vessels in the harbour, and were either suffocated in the holds, or thrown overboard in chains and drowned. Even these methods failed to accomplish the horrid purposes of blood-thirsty tyrants—till at length they had recourse to the dreadful expedient of hunting and destroying the unhappy victims of their rage by bloodhounds. These animals, pursuing the Negroes to the parts of the mountains inaccessible to their no less bloody employers, easily gained their retreats, and devoured all who were so unfortunate as to be discovered. Such of the Black prisoners as had evinced the greatest zeal and activity in defence of liberty, were selected from the rest, and on the Sabbath were dragged to a spot chosen for the purpose, and in sight of thousands of spectators, were thrown to these terrible animals and torn to pieces. In short, the attempt was founded in injustice, commenced by treachery, and conducted in a manner the most inhuman and barbarous.

To the arms, the treachery, and the cruelty of the French, what had the Negroes to oppose? By what means were a body of men, in a great measure ignorant of all that was necessary to a successful enterprise, trained in the school of Slavery, and knowing little except its rigors, frequently destitute of a sufficient number of leaders, and but ill-furnished with arms, to contend successfully with troops trained to every mode of warfare, and stimulated by a resolution to subdue, or to exterminate. However hopeless their case for some time appeared, they determined on resistance as long as there should be any left capable of opposing their enemies. They first united in one body and entered into a common vow, either to expel their oppressors, or to die in the attempt. “La Liberté oû la mort!” was their rallying cry; and though there appeared little or no prospect of success, they ever felt animated by the conviction, that they fought in the best of causes—the cause of freedom and independence. Right and justice were on their side; they felt it so, and it rendered them unconquerable. In the early part of the contest, they were deprived by treachery of their ablest leader; but his loss served only to increase their rage, and consequently to render them more formidable. During this severe struggle, they displayed a degree of courage and firmness, with a patient endurance of privations and sufferings, far above their condition and character. At the same time they sought and found opportunities of revenge; and the cruelties which they perpetrated were perhaps equal in number and atrocity to those committed by their oppressors. But it will be remembered that they were, in the first instance, compelled to take up arms in their defence, by the unjust designs of the French; and were then urged by their subsequent barbarities, to avail themselves of every occasion and mode of retaliation. They fought for liberty; and if they found that the only way to secure it was through blood, it was an alternative to which their enemies had reduced them. Nor will those who have paid attention to the circumstances of the war, hesitate to consider the French as chiefly chargeable with the horrors, cruelties, and massacres of this sanguinary contest.

After a doubtful and desperate struggle, success crowned the exertions of the Negroes. They expelled their foes, secured their rights, and took possession of the island, which their toils and sufferings had purchased; and in 1804, at an assembly of generals and chiefs, its independence was declared, and all present bound themselves by an oath to defend it. At the same time, to mark their formal renunciation of all connection with France, it was resolved that the name of the island should be changed from St. Domingo to Hayti, the name given to it by its original Indian inhabitants.

Dessalines was appointed Governor-General of the Island for life, but subsequently changed his title to that of Emperor. He was solemnly inaugurated under the name of James I., Emperor of Hayti; and the ceremony of his coronation was accompanied by the proclamation of a new constitution, the main provisions of which were exceedingly judicious. Entire religious toleration was decreed, schools were established, public worship encouraged, and measures adopted, similar to those which Toussaint had employed for creating and fostering an industrial spirit among the Negroes. As a preparation for any future war, the interior of the Island was extensively planted with yams, bananas, and other articles of food, and many forts were built in advantageous situations. Under these regulations the Island again began to show symptoms of prosperity. Dessalines was a man in many respects fitted to be the first sovereign of a people rising out of barbarism. Born a Slave, he was quite illiterate, but had great natural abilities, united to a very ferocious temper. His wife was one of the most beautiful and best educated Negro women in Hayti. For two years Dessalines continued to govern the Island; but at length his ferocity provoked his Mulatto subjects to form a conspiracy against him, and in 1806 he was assassinated by the soldiers of Petion.

A schism now took place in the Island. Christophe, who had been second in command, assumed the governnent of the northern division, and Petion, the Mulatto general, assumed the government of the southern division. For several years a war was carried on between the two rivals, but at length, by a tacit agreement, Petion came to be regarded as a legitimate governor in the south and west, and Christophe in the north. Christophe, trained like Dessalines in the school of Toussaint L'Ouverture, was born a Slave, but was an able as well as a benevolent man; though, like most of the Negroes who had arrived at his period of life, he had not had the benefit of any systematic education. Petion, on the other hand, had been educated in the Military Academy of Paris, and was accordingly as accomplished and well-instructed as any European officer. The title with which Petion was invested, was that of President of the Republic of Hayti, in other words, President of the republican part of Hayti; the southern and western districts preferring the republican form of government. For some time Christophe bore the simple title of chief magistrate, but was, in all respects the president of a republic like Petion. In 1811, by the desire of his subjects, he assumed the title of Henry I., king of Hayti. The coronation was celebrated in the most gorgeous manner; and the creation of an aristocracy took place, the first act of the new sovereign being to name four princes, seven dukes, twenty-two counts, thirty barons, and ten knights.

Both parts of the Island were well governed, and rapidly advanced in prosperity and civilization. On the restoration of the Bourbons to the French throne, some hope seems to have been entertained in France, that it might be possible yet to obtain a footing in the Island, and commissioners were sent out to collect information respecting its condition; but the conduct both of Christophe and Petion was so firm, that the impossibility of subverting the independence of Hayti became manifest. It was therefore left in the undisturbed possession of the Blacks and Mulattoes.

In 1818 Petion died, and was succeeded by General Boyer, a Mulatto who had been in France, and had accompanied Le Clerc in his expedition. In 1820, Christophe having become involved in differences with his subjects, shot himself; and the two parts of the Island were then reunited under the general name of the Republic of Hayti, General Boyer being President. In 1825, a treaty was concluded between him and Charles X. of France, by which the latter acknowledged the independence of Hayti, in consideration of a payment of 150 millions of francs (six millions sterling), which was afterwards reduced to 60 million francs (£2,400,000). In the political constitution of the island, no change of any importance has taken place till the present time; and the republic of Hayti continues to be governed by a president elected for life, and two legislative houses; one, a senate, the other, a chamber of representatives.

The following notice of a son of Toussaint L'Ouverture is from a letter written by a member of the Society of Friends at Exeter, about the commencement of the present century.

A Bible Meeting being convened in that city, the audience were unexpectedly impressed by the powerful speech of “a young Black from St. Domingo, son of the late General Toussaint, a most interesting youth, who, having escaped from Napoleon, the murderer of his father, had, by a variety of providences, been brought to England, and to the knowledge of God. This knowledge he obtained through reading the Scriptures, and fervent prayer that they might be opened to his understanding. He seemed to be swallowed up in love to his Divine Protector, and to his creature man; desirous that all the inhabitants of the world might be brought to the same source of never failing consolation he himself experiences.

“The amiable Toussaint left Exeter next morning. As he returned from Honiton, after the meeting, when he had passed the door, we felt as we formerly did when we had parted with some of our dearest friends in the ministry; nor do I ever remember the presence of the Most High more evidently felt than when he was in our house for a short time, when he addressed the language of consolation to our aged parent, and afterwards poured forth his fervent supplications on her behalf. I was almost lost in amazement at this unexpected occurrence, for although we had been given to understand that he was a serious youth, we had no idea that he was so eminently favoured. Our joy at thus meeting with one whom we can call a brother beloved, was, and is, mixed with a fear for him, lest by any means his mind should be diverted from its religious exercise. May he be preserved in the hollow of the Almighty's hand, that nothing may separate him from the love of his Creator. His manners are graceful and elegant; his disposition affectionate, and his person handsome for a Black; before religion exerted its influence, he was proud and obstinate.”

Geoffrey L'Islet, a Mulatto, was an officer of artillery, and guardian of the dêpot of maps and plans of the Isle of France. In 1786, he was named a correspondent of the French Academy of Sciences, and is acknowledged as such in the “Connoisance des temps” for 1797, to which learned society L'Islet regularly transmitted meteorological observations, and sometimes hydrographical journals. His maps of the Isles of France, delineated according to astronomical observations, were published with other plans, in 1791, by order of the minister of marine. A new edition appeared in 1802, corrected from drawings transmitted by the author. Gregoire speaks of them as the best maps of those isles that had appeared.

In the almanac of the Isle of France, several contributions of L'Islet's were inserted, among others a description of Pitrebot, one of the highest mountains of the Islands.

A collection of his manuscript memoirs are deposited in the archives of the Academy of Sciences. Amongst these is the account of a voyage of L'Islet to the Bay of St. Luce, an island of Madagascar; it is accompanied with a map of the Bay, and of the coast. He points out the exchangeable commodities, the resources which it presents, and which would increase, says he, if instead of exciting the natives to war, in order to obtain Slaves, industry were encouraged by the prospects of advantageous commerce. The description he gives of the manners and customs of the natives of Madagascar is very curious.

L'Islet was well versed in botany, natural philosophy, geology, and astronomy. He struggled more succesfully than many against the prejudices attached to his race. He never visited Europe to improve his taste or acquire knowledge; had he been able to do this in his youth, to breathe the atmosphere of the learned, it would have probably tended to the expansion of his genius and talents.

L'Islet established a scientific society in the Isle of France, of which some Whites refused to become members, merely because its founder was a Black. “Did they not prove, by their conduct,” asks the Abbé Gregoire, “that they were unworthy of such an honour?”

Captain Stockenstrom, at the time of the commando of the expedition against Makanna, had once the misfortune, while walking in the rear, to be taken suddenly ill. He was thus, unobserved by his men, left behind, unable to move and ignorant of the way. He expected that as soon as he was discovered by the enemy he would be instantly put to death. While in this anxious predicament, he observed a solitary Kafir approaching him, armed with a bundle of arrows. As soon as the Kafir, who was one of the enemy's warriors, ascertained his case, without saying a word, he laid down his mantle and arms at his feet, and darted off at full speed. Captain Stockenstrom could form no idea what was his intention, until in about an hour, to his agreeable surprise, he saw him return, accompanied by a Boor on horseback, leading another horse. The Kafir having resumed his mantle and arrows, suddenly disappeared in the jangle, and captain S. rode to rejoin his party.

James E. J. Capitein was born in Africa. He was purchased when seven or eight years of age, on the borders of the river St. Andre, by a Negro trader, who made a present of him to one of his friends.

By his new master, who proved to be his friend, he was first named Capitein; and he instructed him, baptized him, and brought him to Holland, where he acquired the language of the country. He devoted his time to painting, for which he had a great inclination. He commenced his studies at the Hague, where a pious and learned lady, who was much occupied in the study of languages, is said first to have taught him Latin, and the elements of the Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldean tongues. From the Hague he went to the University of Leyden, meeting everywhere with zealous protectors. He devoted himself to theology, under able professors, with the intention of returning to Africa, to preach the Gospel to his countrymen.

Having studied four years, Capitein took his degrees, and in 1742, was sent as a Christian minister to Elmina, on the Gold Coast. In 1802, a vague report was spread, that he had abjured Christianity, and embraced idolatry again. Blumenbach, however, who inserted a portrait of Capitein in his work on the varieties of the human race, could detect no authentic information against him.

The first work of Capitein is an elegy in Latin, on the death of Manger, minister at the Hague, his preceptor and his friend. It is as follows:

On his admission to the University of Leyden, Capitein published a Latin dissertation on the calling of the Gentiles, “De Vocatione Ethnicorum,” which he divided into three parts. From the authority of the sacred writings he establishes the certainty of the promise of the gospel, which embraces all nations, although its manifestation is only gradual. For the purpose of co-operating in this respect with the design of the Almighty, he proposes that the languages of those nations should be cultivated to whom the blessings of Christianity are yet unknown; and also that Missionaries be sent among them, who, by the mild voice of persuasion might gain their affections, and dispose them to receive the truths of the gospel.

The Spaniards and the Portuguese, he observes, exercise a mild and gentle treatment of their Slaves, establishing no superiority of colour, &c. In other countries, Planters have prevented their Negroes from being instructed in a religion which proclaims the equality of men, all proceeding from a common stock, and equally entitled to the benefits of a kind Providence, who is no respecter of persons.

“In one of my early journeys,” says Moffat, “with some of my companions, we came to a heathen village on the banks of the Orange River. We had travelled far, and were hungry, thirsty, and fatigued. From the fear of being exposed to lions, we preferred remaining at the village to proceeding during the night. The people at the village, rather roughly, directed us to halt at a distance. We asked water, but they would not supply it. I offered the three or four buttons which still remained on my jacket for a little milk; this also was refused. We had the prospect of another hungry night at a distance from water, though within sight of the river. We found it difficult to reconcile ourselves to our lot; for, in addition to repeated rebuffs, the manner of the villagers excited suspicion.

“When twilight drew on, a woman approached from the height, beyond which the village lay. She bore on her head a bundle of wood, and had a vessel of milk in her hand. The latter, without opening her lips, she handed to us, laid down the wood, and returned to the village. A second time she approached with a cooking vessel on her head, and a leg of mutton in one hand, and water in the other. She sat down without saying a word, prepared the fire, and put on the meat. We asked her again and again who she was. She remained silent, till affectionately entreated to give us a reason for such unlooked for kindness to strangers. The solitary tear stole down her sable cheek when she replied, ‘I love Him whose servant you are; and surely it is my duty to give you a cup of cold water in his name. My heart is full; therefore I cannot speak the joy I feel to see you in this out-of-the-world place.’ On learning a little of her history, and that she was a solitary light, burning in a dark place, I asked her how she kept up the life of God in her soul, in the entire absence of the communion of saints. She drew from her bosom a copy of the Dutch New Testament, which she had received from Mr. Helme, when in his school some years previous, before she had been compelled by her connexions to retire to her present seclusion. ‘This,’ she said, ‘is the fountain whence I drink; this is the oil which makes my lamp burn.’*

I looked on the precious relic, printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society; and the reader may conceive how I felt, and my believing companions with me, when we met with this disciple, and mingled our sympathies and prayers together at the throne of our Heavenly Father.”

All the information I can glean respecting the Negro Othello, is, that he published at Baltimore, in 1788, an essay against the Slavery of his race.

“The European powers,” says he, “ ought to unite in * Christ alone is the well of living water, and from Him flows alone the oil whereby the lamp is fed. The inspired words of Scripture, applied to her soul by the Holy Spirit, continually brought comfort and peace to this solitary Christian. abolishing the infernal commerce in Slaves: it is they who have covered Africa with desolation. They declaim against the people of Algiers, and they vilify, as barbarians, those who inhabit a corner of that portion of the globe, where ferocious Europeans travel to purchase men, and carry them away for the purpose of torture. These are the people who pretend they are Christians, whilst they degrade themselves by acting the part of an executioner.” “Is not your conduct,” adds Othello, “when compared with your principles, a sacrilegious irony? When you dare to talk of civilization and the Gospel, you pronounce your anathema. In you, the superiority of power produces nothing but a superiority of brutality and barbarism. Weakness, which calls for protection, appears to provoke your inhumanity. Your fine political systems are sullied by the outrages committed against human nature and the Divine Majesty. When America opposed the pretensions of England, she declared that all men have the same rights of freedom and equality. After having manifested her hatred against tyrants, ought she to have abandoned her principles? Whilst we should bless the measures pursued in Pennsylvania in favour of the Negroes, we must execrate those of South Carolina, which even prevent the Slaves from learning to read. To whom can these unfortunates then address themselves? The law either neglects or chastises them.”

Othello paints in strong colours the griefs and sighs of families suddenly torn asunder and forcibly dragged from the country which gave them birth,—a country always dear to their heart, from the remembrance of kindred ties and local impressions. So dear to them, indeed, does it remain, that one of the articles of their superstitious credulity, is to imagine, that after death they will return to Africa.” With the happiness which they enjoyed in their native soil, Othello contrasts their horrible state in America; where, naked, hungry, and without instruction, they see all the evils of life accumulate on their heads. He desires that their cries may reach to heaven, and that heaven may answer their prayers. Few works can be compared to this of Othello's, for force of reasoning, and fire of eloquence; but, alas! how little can reason and eloquence perform, when opposed by avarice and crime?

This intelligent descendant of Africa, originally a Slave in Philadelphia, was sold to a medical man, who employed him as an assistant in the preparation of drugs. During the American war he was sold to a surgeon, and by him to Dr. Dove, of New Orleans. He learned the English, French, and Spanish languages, so as to speak them with ease.

He was received a member of the English church; and in 1788, when about 21 years of age, he became one of the most distinguished physicians at New Orleans. “I conversed with him on medicine,” says Dr. Rush, “and found him very learned. I thought I could give him information concerning the treatment of diseases; but I learned more from him than he could expect from me.”

The Pennsylvania Society, established in favour of the people of Colour, thought it their duty, in 1789, to publish these facts; which are also related by Dickson. In the Domestic Medicine of Buchan, and in a work of Duplaint, we find an account of a cure for the bite of a rattlesnake. It is not clear whether Derham was the discoverer; but it is a well known fact, that, for this important discovery, we are indebted to one of his Colour, who received his freedom from the general assembly of Carolina, and also an annuity of £100.

In the most flourishing period of the reign of Louis XIV., two Negro youths, the sons of a prince, being brought to the court of France, the king appointed a Jesuit to instruct them in letters, and in the Christian religion; and gave to each of them a commission in his guards.—The elder, who was remarkable for candour and ingenuity, made great advances, more especially in the doctrines of religion; and gave to each of them a commission in his guards.—The elder, who was remarkable for candour and ingenuity, made great advances, more especially in the doctrines of religion.

A brutal officer, in a dispute, insulted him with a blow. The gallant youth did not so much as offer to resent it. One of his friends spoke to him that evening alone upon his behaviour, which he told him was too tame, especially in a soldier. “Is there then,” said the young African, “one revelation for soldiers, and another for merchants and gownsmen? The good father to whom I owe all my knowledge, has earnestly inculcated in me the forgiveness of injuries; assuring we that a Christian was by no means to retaliate abuses of any kind.” “The good father,” replied his friend, “may fit you for a monastery by his lessons, but never for the army, and the rules of a court. In a word,” continued he, “if you do not call the officer to an account, you will be branded with the infamy of cowardice, and have your commission taken from you.” “I would fain,” said the young man, “ act consistently in everything: but since you press me with that regard to my honour which you have always shown, I will wipe off so foul a stain; though I must own I gloried in it before.”

He desired his friend to appoint the aggressor to meet him early in the morning. They met and fought; and the brave African youth disarmed his adversary, and forced him to ask his pardon publicly. This done, he threw up his commission, and desired the king's leave to return to his father. At parting, he embraced his brother and his friends, with tears in his eyes, saying, “he did not imagine the Christians had been such an unaccountable people; and that he could not apprehend their faith was of any use to them, if it did not influence their practice. In my country, we think it no dishonour to act according to the principles of our religion.”

THOMAS JENKINS was the son of an African king, and bore externally all the features of the Negro. His father reigned over a country on the coast of Guinea, resorted to by British vessels for the purchase of Slaves. The Negro sovereign having observed the superiority civilization and learning gave to the Europeans, resolved to send his eldest son to Britain, that he might acquire the advantages of knowledge. He bargained with Captain Swanstone, a native of Hawick, who traded to the coast for ivory, gold dust, &c., that the boy should be taken by him to his own country, and returned in a few years fully educated, for which he was to receive a certain consideration in the productions of Africa. The boy recollected a little of the scene which took place on his being handed over to Swanstone. His father came with his mother, and a number of Sable courtiers, to a green eminence near the coast, where, amidst tears, he was formally consigned to the care of the British trader, who pledged himself to return his tender charge, some years afterwards, endowed with as much learning as he might be found capable of receiving. He was then conveyed on ship-board, where the fancy of the master conferred upon him the name of Thomas Jenkins.

Swanstone brought his protegé to Hawick, and was about to take the proper means for fulfilling his bargain, when he died. No provision having been made for such a contingency, the young Negro was thrown upon the wide world, not only without the means of obtaining an education, but destitute of everything necessary to supply more pressing wants. Swanstone died at the Tower Inn at Hawick, where Tom very faithfully attended him, though almost starved by the cold of a Scottish winter. After his guardian had expired, he was in a state of the greatest distress from cold, till the landlady brought him to her kitchen fire, where he found a climate agreeable to his nerves, and he was ever after very grateful for her kindness. After remaining some time at the inn, a farmer in Teviot-head, the nearest surviving relation of his guardian, took charge of him, and he was removed to his house, where he soon made himself useful in humble duties. When he left the inn, he understood hardly a word of English; but here he speedily acquired the dialect of the district, with all its peculiarities of accent and intonation. He lived in this family several years, in the course of which he was successively advanced to the offices of cow-herd and driver of peats to Hawick for sale on his master's account, which he discharged very satisfactorily. After he had become a stout boy, Mr. Laidlaw of Falnash, a gentleman of great respectability and intelligence, took a fancy for him, and prevailed upon his former protector to yield him into his charge. Black Tom, as he was called, became at Falnash a sort of Jack-of-all-trades. He acted as cow-herd at one time, and stable-boy at another: in short, he could turn his hand to anything. It was his especial duty to go errands to Hawick, for which a retentive memory well qualified him. He afterwards became a regular farm-servant to Mr. Laidlaw, and while in this capacity, he first discovered a taste for learning. How he acquired his first instructions is not known. The boy probably cherished a notion of duty on this subject, and was anxious to fulfil, as far as his unfortunate circumstances would permit, the designs of his parent. He picked up a few crumbs of elementary literature at the table of Mr. Laidlaw's children, or interested the servants to give him what knowledge they could.

In a short time, Mrs. Laidlaw was surprised to find that Tom began to have a strange liking for candle-ends. Not one about the farm-house could escape him. Every scrap of wick and tallow he fell in with was secreted and taken to his loft above the stable, and suspicions were entertained respecting the use he made of them. Curiosity incited the people about the farm to watch his proceedings after he had retired to his den; and it was then discovered, to the astonishment of all, that the poor lad was engaged, with a book and a slate, in drawing rude imitations of the letters of the alphabet. On the discovery of his literary taste, Mr. Laidlaw put him to an evening school, kept by a neighbouring rustic, at which he made such rapid progress as to excite astonishment all over the country, for no one had ever dreamt of his becoming a scholar.

Though daily occupied with his drudgery as a farm-servant, he began to instruct himself in Latin and Greek. A boy friend lent him several books necessary in these studies; and Mr. and Mrs. Laidlaw did all in their power to favour his wishes, though the distance of a classical academy was a sufficient bar, had there been no other, to prevent their giving him the opportunity of regular instruction. In speaking of the kind treatment he received from these worthy individuals, his heart was often observed to swell, and the tear to start into his honest dark eye. Besides acquainting himself with Latin and Greek, he initiated himself in the study of mathematics.

A great era in Tom's life was his possessing himself of a Greek dictionary. Having learned that there was to be a sale of books at Hawick, he proceeded thither, in company with his boy friend. Tom possessed twelve shillings, saved out of his wages, and his companion vowed that if more should be required for the purchase of any particular book, he should not fail to back him in the competition—so far as eighteen-pence would warrant, that being the amount of his own little stock. Tom at once pitched upon a lexicon as the grand necessary of his education, and began to bid for it. All present stared with wonder when they saw a Negro competing for a book which could only be useful to a student at a considerably advanced stage. A gentleman named Moncrieff, who knew Tom's companion, inquired with great curiosity into the seeming mystery. When it was explained, and Mr. Moncrieff learned that thirteen shillings and sixpence was the utmost extent of their joint stocks, he told his young friend to bid as far beyond that sum as he chose, and he would be answerable for the deficiency. Tom had now bidden as far as he could go, and he was turning away in despair, when his young friend threw himself into the competition, and soon had the satisfaction of placing the precious volume in the hands which were so eager to possess it. Tom carried off his prize in triumph, and, it is needless to say, made the best use of it.

It may now be asked—what was the personal character of this interesting African? We answer at once—the best possible. He was mild and unassuming, free from every kind of vice, and possessing a kindliness of manner which made him the favourite of all who knew him. In fact, he was one of the most popular characters in the whole district of Upper Teviotdale. His employers respected him for the faithful and zealous manner in which he discharged his duties, and all were interested in his efforts to obtain knowledge. Having retained no trace of his native language, he resembled, in every respect except his colour, a Scotch peasant: only he was much more learned than most of them, and spent his time more abstractedly. He was deeply impressed with the truths of Christianity, and was a regular attender on religious ordinances. Altogether, he was a person of the most worthy and respectable properties, and, even without considering his meritorious struggles for knowledge, would have been beloved and esteemed wherever he was known.

When he was about twenty years of age, a vacancy occurred in the school of Teviot-head. A committee was appointed to examine the candidates: among three or four competitors appeared the Black farm-servant of Falnash, with a heap of books under his arm. The committee was surprised; but they read his testimonials of character, and put him through the usual forms of examination. His exhibition was so decidedly superior to the rest, that they reported him as the best fitted for the situation.

For a time this prospect was dashed. On the report coming before the presbytery, a majority of the members were alarmed at the idea of placing a Negro in such a situation, and poor Tom was voted out of all the benefits of the competition. He suffered dreadfully from this sentence, which made him feel keenly the misfortune of his colour, and the awkwardness of his situation in the world. But the people most interested in the matter felt as indignant at the treatment which he had received, as he could possibly feel depressed. The heritors, among whom the late Duke of Buccleuch was the chief, took up the case so warmly, that it was resolved to set up Tom in opposition to the teacher appointed by the presbytery, and to give him an exact duplicate of the salary which they already paid to that person. A place was hastily fitted up for his reception, and he was immediately installed in office, with the universal approbation of both parents and children. The other school was completely deserted; and the Negro, who had come to this country to learn, soon found himself fully engaged in teaching, and in the receipt of an income more than adequate to his wants.

To the gratification of his friends, and confusion of face to the presbytery, he proved an excellent teacher. He had a way of communicating knowledge eminently successful, and was as much beloved by his pupils as he was respected by those who employed him. On the Saturdays, he walked to Hawick (eight miles distant), to make an exhibition of what he had himself acquired during the week, to the master of an academy there; thus keeping up his own gradual advance in knowledge. His untiring zeal for religious instruction shewed itself in his always returning to Hawick next day—(of course an equal extent of travel)—to attend the church.

After he had conducted the school a year or two, finding himself in possession of about £20., he determined to spend a winter at college. He waited upon Mr. Moncrieff (the gentleman who had enabled him to get the lexicon, and who had since done him many other good offices), to consult him concerning the step he was about to take. Mr. Moncrieff, though accustomed to regard him as a wonder, was surprised at this new project. He asked the amount of his cash. On being told that £20. was all, and that he contemplated attending the Latin, Greek, and mathematical classes, he informed him this would never do: the money would hardly pay his fees. Tom was much disconcerted at this; but his generous friend soon relieved him, by placing in his hands an order upon a merchant in Edinburgh for what ever might be required to support. him for a winter at college.

He pursued his way to Edinburgh with his £20. On applying to the Professor of Latin for a ticket to his class, he looked upon him with wonder, and asked if he had acquired any rudimental knowledge of the language. Mr. Jenkins, as he may now be called, said modestly that he had studied Latin for a considerable time, and was anxious to complete his acquaintance with it. Mr. P—him with a ticket, for which he generously refused to take the usual fee. Of the other two professors to whom he applied, both stared as much as the former, and only one took the fee. He was thus enabled to spend the winter in a most valuable course of instruction; and next spring returned to Teviot-head, and resumed his professional duties.

A gentleman, animated by the best intentions, subsequently recommended Thomas Jenkins to the Christian Knowledge Society, for a missionary among the colonial Slaves; and he was induced to go out to the Mauritius, where he attained eminence as a teacher, and is probably still living there.

The enterprising traveller, Mungo Park, was employed by the African Association, to explore the interior regions of Africa, in which he encountered many dangers and difficulties. His wants were often supplied, and his distresses alleviated, by the kindness and compassion of the Negroes. He gives the following interesting account of the hospitable treatment he received from a poor Negro woman.

“Being arrived at Sego, the capital of the kingdom of Bambarra, on the Niger, I wished to pass over to that part of the town in which the king resides. The people who crossed the river, carried information to Mansong the king, that a White man was coming to see him. He immediately sent one of his chief men, who informed me that the king could not possibly see me, until he knew what had brought me into his country. He advised me to lodge for the night in a village to which he pointed. As there was no remedy, I set off for the village; where I found, to my great mortification, no person would admit me into his house. From prejudices infused into their minds, I was regarded with astonishment and fear; and was obliged to sit the whole day without victuals, in the shade of a tree.

“The night threatened to be very uncomfortable; the Wind rose, and there was great appearance of a heavy rain. The wild beasts, too, were so numerous in the neighbourhood, that I should have been under the necessity of climbing up the tree, and resting among the branches. About sun-set, however, as I was preparing to pass the night in this manner, and had turned my horse loose, that he might graze at liberty, a Negro woman, returning from the labours of the field, stopped to observe me; and perceiving that I was weary and dejected, inquired into my situation. I briefly explained it to her; after which, with looks of great compassion, she took up my saddle and bridle and told me to follow her. Having conducted me into her hut, she lighted a lamp, spread a mat on the floor, and told me I might remain there for the night. Finding I was very hungry, she went out to procure me something to eat; and returned in a short time with a very fine fish, which, having caused to be half broiled upon some embers, she gave me for supper. The rights of hospitality being thus performed towards a stranger in distress, my worthy benefactress (pointing to the mat, and telling me I might sleep there without apprehension) called to the female part of her family, who had stood gazing on me all the while in astonishment, to resume their task of spinning cotton; in which they continued to employ themselves great part of the night.

“They lightened their labour by songs, one of which was composed extempore: for I was myself the subject of it. It was sung by one of the young women, the rest joining in a chorus. The air was sweet and plaintive, and the words literally translated, were these:—‘The winds roared and the rain fell. The poor White Man, faint and weary came and sat under our tree. He has no mother to bring him milk—no wife to grind his corn.’ Chorus. ‘Let us pity the White man; no mother has he to bring him milk—no wife to grind his corn.’ ”

These simple and affecting sentiments have been very beautifully versified in the following lines:—

Was born in the town of Agimaque, on the coast of Fantin, in Africa; and was dragged from his country, with twenty other children of both sexes, by European robbers, who, brandishing their pistols and sabres, threatened to kill them if they attempted to escape. “They confined us,” he says, “and soon I heard nothing but the clanging of chains, the sound of the whip, and the cries of my fellow prisoners.” In this dreadful situation he was carried to Grenada, and sold into Slavery.

Cuogoano was indebted to the generosity of Lord Hoth, who liberated him and carried him to England, where, in 1788, he was in the service of Cosway, the first painter to the Prince of Wales. Piatoli, an Italian author, who, during a long residence in London, was particularly acquainted with Cugoano, then about forty years of age, and whose wife was an English woman, praises this African highly; he speaks in strong terms of his piety, his mildness of character, modesty, integrity, and talents.

Like Othello, Cugoano has described in an affecting manner, the heart-rending spectacle of those unfortunate Africans, who are forced to bid an eternal adieu to their native country—to fathers and mothers, husbands, brothers and children, invoking heaven and earth, throwing themselves, bathed in tears, into each other's arms asunder! “This spectacle,” says he, “calculated to move the hearts of monsters, does not that of the Slave dealer.” At Grenada, he saw Negroes lacerated by the whip, because, instead of working, they went to church on the Sabbath. He saw others have their teeth broken, because they dared to suck the sugar cane.

Cugoano published his reflections on the Slave Trade, and the Slavery of Negroes, in English; and it was also translated into French. He raised his voice to spread abroad the spirit of religion, and prove from the Scriptures, that the stealing, sale, and purchase of men, and their detention in a state of Slavery, are crimes of the deepest die. His writings are not very methodical, but they speak the language of a feeling heart. There are repetitions, because grief is verbose. An individual deeply affected, is always afraid of not having said enough—of not being sufficiently understood.

Was originally a Slave on the Bog Estate, near Hopeton, Jamaica. His sufferings during the last years of Slavery in that Island, were given in evidence before the Apprenticeship Committee of the House of Commons.

Hamilton was the only Slave on the estate who dared to attend a place of worship; the only one of upwards of 400 Negroes who dared to live with his partner in marriage. For these offences he was degraded from being a first-rate mechanic and copper-smith, to the rank of a common field labourer, and sent to a swampy estate, 30 miles distant from his wife and family, where he narrowly escaped with his life. He had learned to read and write when a boy, by stealth, and during his banishment he kept a journal, which, though it is chiefly the record of his spiritual conflicts and his religious labours among the neglected heathen Negroes with whom his lot was cast, yet contains many incidental allusions to the sufferings of himself and his fellow Slaves. It affords an interior picture of Slavery, which exceeds perhaps, any that the world has yet seen; it lifts a veil that conceals the true lineaments of Slavery, which forcibly impress the mind with the conviction, that the worst features of that horrible state of society, neither have been, nor can be, laid open to public view.

William Hamilton, soon after the introduction of the Apprenticeship system, purchased his freedom by valuation, for £209; and has since been employed as the overseer of the Lenox estate. He has also purchased 70 acres of land for himself. “Though self educated,” say Sturge and Harvey, “he is evidently a person of an intelligent and reflecting mind, which has been improved by reading and disciplined by a life of adversity, such as rarely falls to the lot of a Slave.”

Although the state of Massachusetts was never so deeply involved in the African Slave Trade as most of the other states of America, previous to their separation from Great Britain, many Negroes were brought into its ports, and sold for Slaves.

In 1761, Mrs. John Wheatley, of Boston, went to the Slave-market, to select, from the crowd of unfortunates there offered for sale, a Negro girl, whom she might train, by gentle usage, to serve as an attendant during her old age. Amongst a group of more robust and healthy children just imported from Africa, the lady observed one, slenderly formed, and suffering apparently from change of climate and the miseries of the voyage. The interesting countenance and humble modesty of the poor little stranger, induced Mrs. Wheatley to overlook the disadvantage of a weak state of health, and Phillis, as the young Slave was subsequently named, was purchased in preference to her healthier companions, and taken home to the abode of her mistress. The child was almost in a state of perfect nakedness, her only covering being a strip of dirty carpet. These things were soon remedied by the attention of the lady into whose hands the young African had been thrown, and in a short time the effects of comfortable clothing and food were visible in her returning health.

Phillis, at the time of her purchase, was between seven and eight years old, and the intention of Mrs. Wheatley was to train her up to the common occupations of a menial servant. But the marks of extraordinary intelligence which the young Negress soon evinced, induced her mistress's daughter to teach her to read; and such was the rapidity with which this was effected, that in sixteen months from the time of her arrival in the family, the African child had so mastered the English language, to which she was an utter stranger before, as to read with ease the most difficult parts of Scripture. This uncommon docility altered the intentions of the family regarding Phillis, and in future she was kept constantly about the person of her mistress, whose affections she entirely won by her amiable disposition and propriety of demeanour. All her knowledge was obtained without any instruction, except what was given her in the family; and the art of writing she acquired entirely from her own exertion and industry. In the short period of four years from the time of her being stolen from Africa, and when only 12 years of age, she was capable of writing letters to her friends on various subjects. In 1765, she wrote to Samson Occum, the Indian minister, while he was in London.

The young Negress soon became an object of very general attention and astonishment, and in a few years she corresponded with several persons in high stations. At this period neither in the mother country nor in the colonies was much attention bestowed on the education of the labouring classes of the Whites themselves, and much less, it may be supposed, was expended on the mental cultivation of the Slave population. It is scarcely possible to suppose that any care should have been expended on the mind of the young Negress before her abduction from her native land; and indeed her tender years almost precluded the possibility even of such culture as Africa could afford. Of her infancy, spent in that unhappy land, Phillis had but one solitary recollection, but that is an interesting one. She remembered that every morning her mother poured out water before the rising sun—a religious rite, doubtless, of the district from which the child was carried away. Thus, every morning, when the day broke over the land and the home which fate had bestowed on her, was Phillis reminded of the tender mother who had watched over her infancy, but had been unable to protect her from the hand of the merciless breakers-up of all domestic and social ties. The young Negro girl, however, regarded her abduction with no feelings of regret, but with thankfulness, as having been the means of bringing her to a land where a light, unknown in her far-off home, shone as a guide to the feet and a lamp to the path.

As Phillis grew up to womanhood, her progress and attainments kept pace with the promise of her earlier years. She attracted the notice of the literary characters of the place, who supplied her with books, and encouraged the ripening of her intellectual powers. This was greatly assisted by her mistress, who treated her like a child of the family—admitted her to her own table—and introduced her, as an equal, into the best society of Boston. Notwithstanding these honours, Phillis never departed from the humble and unassuming deportment which distinguished her when she stood, a little trembling alien, to be sold, like a beast of the field, in the Slave-market. Never did she presume upon the indulgence of those benevolent friends who regarded only her worth and her genius, and overlooked in her favour all the disadvantages of caste and of colour. So far was Phillis from repining at, or resenting the prejudices which the long usages of society had implanted, too deeply to be easily eradicated, in the minds even of the most humane of a more favoured race, that she uniformly respected them, and, on being invited to the tables of the great and the wealthy, chose always a place apart for herself, that none might be offended at a thing so unusual as sitting at the same board with a Woman of Colour—a child of a long-degraded race.

Such was the modest and amiable disposition of Phillis Wheatley: her literary talents and acquirements accorded with the intrinsic worth of her character. She studied the Latin tongue, and if we may judge from a translation of one of Ovid's tales, appears to have made no inconsiderable progress in it. In her leisure moments she often indulged herself in writing poetry. At the early age of fourteen, she appears first to have attempted literary composition; between this period and the age of nineteen, the whole of her poems which were given to the world seem to have been written. They were published in London in 1773, in a small octavo volume of above 120 pages, containing 39 pieces, which she dedicated to the Countess of Huntingdon. This work has gone through several editions in England and the United States, the genuineness of which was established in the first page of the volume, by a declaration of the Governor of Massachusetts, the Lieutenant-Governor, her master, and fifteen of the most respectable inhabitants of Boston, who were acquainted with her talents, and the circumstances of her life.

Most of her productions have a religious or moral bearing; all breathe a soft and sentimental feeling. Many of them were written to commemorate the decease of friends. The following lines she composed on the death of a young gentleman of great promise:—

Was a native of a country some leagues inland from the Sherbro river. His father was a Chief of some consequence, and so was his uncle. They resided at different towns, and when Kizell was a boy, he was sent by his father on a visit to his uncle. On the very night of his arrival the town was attacked: a bloody battle ensued, in which his uncle and many of his people were killed. Some escaped: the rest were taken prisoners, amongst whom was Kizell. His father, as soon as he heard of his son's disaster, made every effort to release him, but in vain. He was taken to the Gallinas, put on board a ship, and carried, as one of a cargo of Slaves, to Charlestown.

On the passage, one of the women pining away with grief on account of her situation, was tied up to the mast and flogged to death, as a warning to others not to indulge their melancholy to the detriment of their health, and thereby injure their value to their Christian owners.

John Kizell arrived in Charlestown a few years before it was taken by Sir H. Clinton; and in consequence of that general's proclamation, with many others, he joined the royal standard. After the war he was removed to Nova Scotia, and from thence to Sierra Leone. He was an intelligent man, always preserved an excellent character, and had the welfare of his native country sincerely at heart. The government of Sierra Leone often employed him in their negociations with the native chiefs; and he always discharged his duty with integrity and address.

In 1810, John Kizell was sent by governor Columbine, with a letter to some of the chiefs on the Sherbro river, recommending them to discontinue the Slave Trade, and to turn their attention to the cultivation of the earth. While on this mission, he wrote many letters to the governor, from which the following are extracts:—

“I went to Sumarro with the head-man, and gave him the things you sent for him: he was glad, and all his people. I then showed them your letter. The young people were thankful for the word they heard, but there were some that did not like it. I then asked them: ‘From the time that your fathers began to sell Slaves, to this day, what have you got by it? Can any of you show me how much money you have—how much gold—how many Slaves, and vessels, and cattle—how many people you have?’ They said, ‘None!’

“I went to take a walk with one of my boys, and was surprised to see so many coffee-trees: some places being entirely covered with them. I was concerned to think that there was no man to be found who had the welfare of this country and people at heart, to observe what is in it, and what it will produce, instead of taking the natives, and carrying them to European islands to raise coffee, which is the natural plant of Africa. But I thank Almighty God for his over-ruling power: He does all things in their season; and this is the time he has appointed, in which to rouse the great men of England, and to put it in their hearts to consider the human race. May Almighty God incline them to persevere! for these men of sin desire to keep the Black people in Slavery, and their minds in darkness; so that they may enjoy neither the good of this world, nor the happiness of the world to come.

“This country wants nothing but people to bring them to order; to let them see that by working they will get money, and not by the Slave Trade; for that destroys their happiness. Of all people I have ever seen, they are the kindest. They will let none want food; they will lend and not look for it again. If strangers come to them, they will give them water to wash, and food for nothing. If they had the same learning as Europeans, the best lawyer could not excel them in words and speeches. They are a sensible people to talk to in their palavers. The land is rich and good; and if it was not for the cursed Slave Trade, I think they would be the happiest people in the world.”

Was born in Baltimore County, his father being an African, and his mother of pure African descent. His parents having obtained their freedom, were enabled to send him to an obscure school, where he learned, when a boy, reading, writing, and arithmetic; and they left him at their decease, a few acres of land, upon which he subsequently supported himself with economy and exertion, so as always to preserve reputation.

To struggle incessantly against want, is by no means favourable to improvement. What he had learned he did not forget, and as some hours of leisure will occur in the most toilsome life, he availed himself of these, not to read and acquire knowledge from writings of genius and discovery, (for of such he had none), but to digest and apply, as occasions presented, the few principles of the few rules of arithmetic he had been taught at school. This kind of mental exercise formed his chief amusement, and soon gave him a facility in calculation that was often serviceable to his neighbours, and at length attracted the attention of the Messrs. Ellicott, a family remarkable for their ingenuity. It was about the year 1788, that George Ellicott lent him three astronomical works, and some instruments, accompanying them with neither hint or instruction that might further his studies, or lead him to apply them to any useful result. These books and instruments, the first of the kind Banneker had ever seen, opened a new world to him, and began to employ his leisure in astronomical researches.

A person going to see a very aged woman of Colour, found a respectable looking White girl sitting by her, reading the Bible for her. On inquiring of the old woman whether she could ever read, she answered “O yes! and I used to read a great deal in that book,” (pointing to a Bible very much worn, that lay on the table,) but now I am almost blind, and the good girls read for me; but by and by, when I get on Zion's hill, I shall see as well as any body.”

Mrs. Williams in relating some particulars respecting the death of her husband, says, on the day before his decease, I was at length enabled to resign and give him up to the Lord to do his pleasure concerning him. I asked one of the Kafirs if he had no wish to see his teacher before the Lord took him to himself. “Yes, but I do not like to ask you, because I think it will make your heart sore.” He then came and sat clown by the bedside. I asked him if he prayed. “Yes.” “What do you pray for?” “I pray the Lord as he hath brought us a teacher over the great sea and hath thus long spared him to tell us His word, that he would be pleased to raise him up again to tell us more of that Great Word.” I asked, “Do you pray for me?” “Yes.” “What do you ask, when you pray for me?” “I pray that if the Lord should take away your husband from you, he would support and protect you and your little ones in the midst of this wild and barbarous people.”

“This was to me a precious sermon,” adds Mrs. Williams, “at such a season, from the mouth of a Kafir.”

During the residence of Thos. Pringle in South Africa, he made an excursion to Bethelsdorp, where he was welcomed by the resident Missionary.

“While tea was preparing,” he writes, “and before the twilight had yet closed in, my host was called to speak to a stranger. This was a Kafir woman, accompanied by a little girl of 8 or 10 years of age, and having an infant strapped to her back. She was one of a number of Kafir females, who had been made prisoners by order of the Commandant on the frontier, for crossing the line of proscribed demarcation without permission, and who were now to be given out in servitude among the White inhabitants of this district. The woman before us was to be forwarded by the missionary, to a colonist, about 20 miles to the westward.

“While the constable who brought her was delivering his message to this effect, the Kafir woman looked at him and at us with keen and intelligent glances; and though she very imperfectly understood his language, she appeared fully to comprehend its import. When he had finished, she stepped forward, drew up her figure to its full height, extended her right arm, and commenced a speech in her native tongue. Though I did not understand a single word she uttered, I have seldom been more struck with surprise and admiration. The language, to which she appeared to give full and forcible intonation, was highly musical and sonorous; her gestures were natural, graceful, and impressive, and her dark eyes and handsome bronze countenance, were full of eloquent expression. Sometimes she pointed back towards her own country, and then to her children. Sometimes she raised her tones aloud, and shook her clenched hand, as if she denounced our injustice, and threatened us with the vengeance of her tribe. Then again she would melt into tears, as if imploring clemency, and mourning for her helpless little ones. Some of the villagers who had gathered round, being whole or half Kafirs, understood her speech, and interpreted it in Dutch to the Missionary; but he could do nothing to alter her destination, and could only return kind words to console her. For my own part, I was not a little struck by the scene, and could not help beginning to suspect that my European countrymen, who thus made captives of harmless women and children, were in reality greater barbarians than the savage natives of Caffraria.”

“After our interview with the Kafir female,” continues Thos. Pringle, “I attended the evening service in the rustic chapel of Bethelsdorf. The place was occupied by a very considerable number of the inhabitants of the village, a large proportion being females. The demeanour of the audience was attentive and devout, and their singing of the missionary hymns was singularly pleasing and harmonious. The effect of the music was no doubt greatly heightened by the reflections which the sight of this African congregation

JAN TZATZOE is an hereditary Chief of the Amakosa Kafirs, a tribe whose country borders on that formerly belonging to the Hottentots. His father, who was always held in high estimation by the other Chiefs, for his integrity and peaceable disposition, as well as for the good order so uniformly maintained among his people, was living a few years ago, supposed to be nearly one hundred years of age, though he had long been too feeble to take any share in the government of his people. This old Chief was related to Habaki, the grandfather of Gaika, and consequently belongs to the ancient reigning families of the country.

His son, Jan Tzatzoe, was born about the year 1791, and while yet a child, his father removed, with his tribe, into the Zuirveld, where the old Chief and his people were residing, when the London Missionary Society's Institution at Bethelsdorp was established. According to the custom of the country, the old Chief had several wives. The mother of Tzatzoe being a woman of the highest rank among them, and a great favourite, the father determined that her son should succeed him in the chieftainship of the tribe; and in order to secure for him every possible advantage, he requested Dr. Vanderkemp and James Read, to receive him into the Missionary Institution at Bethelsdorp, which he entered in 1804. He was then about thirteen years of age, and, though an unclothed, untutored African boy, he evinced a mildness and docility of disposition, a patient endurance of the restraints which his altered circumstances imposed, and a persevering application to his lessons, which greatly endeared him to his teachers. The venerable Dr. Vanderkemp, who had long mourned over the injustice and cruelty practised towards the African race, received his young pupil with the most grateful joy,—loved him, and treated him as his own child, and spared no pains, while engaged in teaching him the use of letters, and a knowledge of the Dutch language, to instil into his mind the principles of truth and justice, while he sought to impress upon his heart the sublime doctrines of the Bible. On two occasions the Doctor took his industrious and observant scholar with him to Cape Town, and endeavoured by every means in his power to prepare him to discharge, with the greatest benefit to his race, the duties to which in future years he would be called.

In 1815, a remarkable attention to personal religion prevailed among all classes at Bethelsdorp; and during this period there is reason to believe that Tzatzoe, then about twenty-four years of age, experienced, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, that entire change which rendered him a sincere and decided Christian. In him, as in most instances among the heathen, one immediate effect of the Divine mercy, was a desire to make the salvation of Christ known to his countrymen. He sought to improve the period of his continuance at Bethelsdorp, with greater diligence than ever, and from higher motives; and in order to promote, by every possible means, the improvement of his countrymen, he applied himself to the most useful mechanical arts, and learned to work in wood as a carpenter and wheelwright, and also to work in iron and stone. About this time he married a pious female of the Hottentot nation, who had long been connected with the Institution at Bethelsdorp. In the following year, Tzatzoe accompanied that eminently devoted man of God, John Williams, to the neighbourhood of Gaika's residence, and continued with him till the lamented death of Williams interrupted the Kafir mission.

In 1817, when Lord Charles Somerset, then Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, visited the frontier, and entered into a treaty with Gaika, the chief of the tribes inhabiting the country adjacent to the Kat river, Tzatzoe was present, and acted as interpreter. He afterwards returned to Bethelsdorp, and was chosen by the people one of the local authorities for hearing complaints and adjusting differences among the inhabitants of the place. His conduct, in discharging the duties of this office, which has ever been found of great importance to the harmony and order of the settlement, was distinguished by great shrewdness, and the most scrupulous adherence to integrity and justice.

Tzatzoe continued at Bethelsdorp until 1817, when he accompanied John Brownlee to his own country, and rendered important services in the commencement of the missions among the people in that neighbourhood. He also, shortly afterwards, rendered very valuable aid to W. Shaw, Wesleyan missionary, in the establishment of the mission at Wesleyville, and W. Shaw has frequently expressed his deep sense of obligation to Tzatzoe for the advantages derived from his assistance and advice, especially in the early stages of his labours among the Kafirs.

Tzatzoe's aged father, who had long been anxious for the establishment of a mission in his own territory, now repeated his solicitations to his son, and to the Missionaries, requesting that they might be instructed in religion, and the arts of civilized life. In compliance with his request, the mission at the Buffalo river was commenced in 1826 by John Brownlee, aided by Tzatzoe, who has ever since resided at the station, acting as an assistant missionary. In this capacity his exertions have been peculiarly acceptable and valuable. His knowledge of the opinions, habits, and superstitions of his countrymen have afforded important facilities in exposing their errors, and instructing them in a more excellent way: and he has been employed with great advantage in preaching the gospel, and assisting in the translation of the Scriptures into his native language.

John Williams and John Brownlee have borne the warmest testimony to his zeal and talents, and he was always regarded by Dr. Vanderkemp with peculiar affection and solicitude.

While Tzatzoe was occupied in assisting the missionaries, the duties connected with the civil affairs of his tribe were discharged by an elder brother; but Tzatzoe was held in such high estimation that he was frequently consulted in matters of importance; such, in fact, was the influence of his acknowledged integrity and justice, that the subjects of other chiefs often mutually requested him to decide matters in dispute between them. On one occasion two Kafirs appeared before the young chief, each claiming as their own a colt which they led to the place. In support of their claims, each stated that he was in possession of the dam of the colt. Having listened to their respective statements, Tzatzoe directed them to bring both the animals, and then ordered the colt to be let loose before all the people. This was no sooner done, than it repaired to one of the animals, by which it was immediately recognized, and treated with expressions of evident pleasure, while it was unnoticed by the other animal, which it also seemed to avoid. The dispute was now at an end, and all parties appeared pleased at the manner in which the proprietorship in the animal was so satisfactorily determined.

The Hottentot churches which have been gathered by the missionaries in South Africa, contain many eminent examples of Christian character and worth. With these fellow members of the same spiritual body, the Christians of Europe and other parts of the world would find it delightful occasionally to hold personal intercourse; but such meetings have been hitherto exceedingly rare, nor is it probable that circumstances will arise to make them of more frequent occurrence for the future. Andries Stoffles was one of the very few of the Hottentot converts whom we have had the happiness of welcoming amongst us in Great Britain. By multitudes of the friends of Africa in this country, he is affectionately remembered, as one who was renewed after the image of Christ.

Stoffles, as has already been stated, came to plead the cause of his wronged and suffering countrymen; and to ask, another behalf, the sympathy and aid of British Christians. He was a powerful advocate, for he possessed, in union with the influences of religion, the eloquence of nature and the strength of truth, and left no heart unmoved, no mind unconvinced by his statements and his appeals. Having sickened in our ungenial climate, he returned to Africa, but only survived a few days after reaching the Cape. To his latest hour he had peace and joy in believing, and the light of the Saviour's love fell fully on his soul as it departed to the world of glory.

The following brief account of the life of Andries Stoffles, detailing his conversion to Christianity, his progress in the Christian life, and imprisonment for preaching the gospel, his attachment to the Missionary cause, his patriotic visit to England, with some particulars of his death, will be found interesting.

Andries Stoffles was born in South Africa, about the year 1776. He was a Hottentot of the Gonah tribe, inhabiting a country called the Zuirveld, lying between the Gamtoos and the Great Fish River. From his boyhood, Stoffles was a close observer, and was gifted with an excellent memory. With a naturally sound judgment, he possessed an active mind and a sanguine temperament; and consequently, at an early age he was found mingling in the fierce feuds and conflicts which arose at that period between the Dutch settlers and the Hottentots. In one of these engagements, he was severely wounded, and narrowly escaped the loss of life. On another occasion, a waggon went over his body and nearly killed him. After his conversion, the remembrance of occurrences which had so nearly proved fatal, always deeply affected him, and he was frequently heard to remark, that had he died then, he should have been lost for ever.

An event which greatly determined his future course in life, was the circumstance of his being taken prisoner by the Kafirs, and carried from his own country into Kafirland. There he resided for some time, learnt the Kafir language, and was employed as an interpreter, in which capacity he was taken by a Kafir chief to Bethelsdorp, about the year 1810. Stoffles was then in a savage state, and arrayed in the manner of the Kafirs, his only clothing a dressed cow skin thrown loosely over his shoulders, and his body smeared with grease and red ochre. When he first attended divine worship at Bethelsdorp, he was so ignorant of its purpose and meaning, as to suppose that the people had assembled to receive rations of provisions, of presents of beads and buttons. But he was soon undeceived— divine grace speedily reached his heart, though it was some time before his mind was fully enlightened as to the way of salvation. His second attendance in the house of God, which has been characteristically described by himself, made a deep impression upon him. The conviction of sin smote immediately upon his conscience, and he was no longer the same man. He returned to the Kafirs, and tried to be happy in his former ways; in dancing, and merriment, and idle mirth; but conscience pursued him, and he could find no rest.

Labouring under a deep sense of sin, and having in vain sought relief to his mind in heathen companionship, Stoffles returned to Bethelsdorp, and again listened to the preaching of the gospel; but his convictions were only strengthened, and the agitation of his mind increased in proportion. Overcome by his internal conflicts he frequently hastened from the chapel to the bush, weeping aloud. Here, it is said, he would spend hours, and even days, apart from human intercourse, praying to God for mercy, and seeking for rest to his heavy laden spirit. In this state he continued for two or three years, bowed down under the consciousness of guilt, beset with the terrors of self-condemnation, and unable to apply to himself the rich remedies of the gospel of peace. But He who hath promised not to break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, at length shod abroad a clearer light in his soul—the way of salvation through a crucified Saviour was fully revealed to him—his penitential sorrow did not cease, but its bitterness was gone—he saw by faith the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”—the burden of sin passed away-his eye glistened, and his heart was filled with joy, for the blood of Christ had imparted peace to his soul.

The more I have seen of the Negroes in Jamaica, writes Dr. Madden, and observed their conduct, the more reason I have to think that they are naturally a good-humoured, easily-contented, kind-hearted race, amply disposed to appreciate kind treatment and to be grateful for it. Of their disposition to appreciate benefits, even in the trifling way I have endeavoured to be serviceable to them, by protecting them from injustice to the best of my poor ability, I have had proofs enough of their grateful feelings towards me. One poor fellow of the name of Cochrane came to me the other day to take leave of me: I had never rendered him the slightest service, but I had been civil to him, and he had been in the habit of coming to my house. He took leave of me with tears in his eyes: Dr. Chamberlaine was present: he took me aside and put a paper into my hand, which he said was a small present, which he hoped I would accept, to think of him when I was gone. I opened the paper, and to my surprise, I found it contained three Spanish doubloons, (equal to £10. sterling). I cannot describe what I felt in assuring this poor Negro I did not need his gold to remember him and his race with kindly feelings. It was with difficulty I could prevail on him to take it back. He turned away abruptly from me, and that night I had a kid sent to me, which he sent me word he hoped might be of use to me on my voyage home.

Two days ago, an old man, whom I had never seen before, entered the gate as I was going out, and addressed me in Arabic, he was a native of Africa, and he presented a pair of ducks, which he said he brought for me a long way, to make part of my sea stock. He seemed to think I was a friend to his countrymen, and he wished to prove to me that he was grateful for it. I accepted the old man's ducks, with more gratification than, perhaps, a European minister ever felt at receiving a diamond snuff-box from the Sultan. In short, for the last week, I have been receiving more presents of fruit and poultry than I know what to do with. In every instance in which I have been able to render any service to a Negro, I have found him mindful of it, and far more grateful for it than I could have expected.

Was born on the west coast of Africa, about the year 1800, and was received when nine years old into the Missionary School at Bashia. He manifested a teachable, gentle, affectionate disposition, had a pleasing countenance, and was much gratified with the pains taken to instruct himself and other African children in knowledge and religion. About the year 1815, he was baptized, and had the name of Simeon Wilhelm given to him, after the missionary Wilhelm, who was much attached to him.

In 1816, Edward Bickersteth visited the Settlements of the Church Missionary Society in Africa, and staid some time at Bashia. “The more I saw of Simeon,” says he, “the more I was pleased with him, and as he desired to visit England, that he might qualify himself to be useful to his countrymen, it appeared that I might be really serving the cause of religion by taking him to England. His heart bounded within him, and his eyes beamed with joy and thankfulness, when I told him he might go with me. He promised to do everything that I wished, and he never broke this promise.”

The African youth set sail with his kind preceptor in 1816. “During our passage,” writes the latter, “we often sang hymns together, in a retired part of the deck; and I had frequently interesting conversation with him. The weather was, in general, very favourable; but towards the end of the voyage it became stormy. On the 13th of August, in particular, we had a very stormy night; but Simeon did not seem in any way alarmed or agitated. He slept in my cabin, and I talked with him on our danger; but he seemed wholly to rely on God, committed himself to his protection at bed-time, and soon fell asleep.

After arriving in England, Edward Bickersteth being himself too much occupied to superintend his education, the offer of F. Cunningham, Vicar of Pakefield, to instruct him in useful knowledge, and prepare him to become a blessing to his countrymen, was gladly accepted. He sojourned under the hospitable roof of that gentleman for some time, where his conduct gave great satisfaction, but his health soon required his being removed, and he was admitted into the National School in Shoe-lane, where he soon rose to the first class. Here he was attacked with a pulmonary complaint, and as it was feared the climate of this country would not suit his constitution, it was proposed that he should return to Africa, and his physician informed him of it. He expressed a very strong desire to remain in England, and as he cheerfully resigned his life to God, it was thought best to indulge him with staying. He gradually recovered from this sickness: and his gratitude, exemplary conduct, meek and affectionate spirit, increased the love of those about him.

“His general behaviour,” says E. Bickersteth, “ was truly exemplary. Those who had the happiness of seeing it, will never forget his meek, gentle, and affectionate spirit. He was grateful for the least kindness. His ardent attachment to myself, the way in which his eye followed me when I at any time left home, and the manner in which he welcomed me on my return, showed how sensible he was of the least kindness. He was always very attentive when the Scriptures were explained, and heartily joined when a psalm or hymn was sung. We found it sometimes useful to refer, when reading the Scriptures, to parallel passages. Those who first found these passages, read them aloud. Simeon was frequently, if not generally, the first, on these occasions, being well acquainted with his Bible.”

Arabic being understood by the Mandingoes, on the western coast of Africa, and the knowledge of it giving an ascendancy in their opinion, Simeon began to learn Arabic; and had made, before his death, considerable progress in reading and writing that language. He had also begun to learn Latin.

His worthy preceptor requested him to endeavour occasionally, to write on any texts which he might choose, such sermons as he would wish to address to his countrymen when he should return to Africa. I regret that space will not allow the insertion of some of these, indicating as they do a clear discernment of the gospel, and of its powerful influence on the mind of this African youth! Several letters he wrote show where his treasure and his heart were. “Oh, may I fear the Lord,” he writes, “that he may teach me, above all, to love Him and keep his commandments. May the Lord deliver me from the vanity of my own heart, and entirely keep me from the world, and not let me be a mere professor of religion, but a doer of it! &c. When he became, from increasing weakness, confined to his bed, the servants of the family waited on him with unwearied affection. He was attended by medical men, who strove to recover him to health and usefulness, but in vain. The Missionary, Henry C. Decker, watched over him with the most constant and kind attention, and his copious notes made during his last illness, furnish an interestingly affecting view of the gradually closing scene.

“Simeon,” he says, “delighted in prayer, and in hearing the Bible read to him; and reminded me of a tender lamb, which the faithful Shepherd bears in his arms, and nurses in his bosom I asked him sometimes if he was comforted in his mind. ‘Can you think on the Saviour?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you hope that your sins are forgiven you?’ ‘O yes!—He has shed his blood for me.’ ”

“He was very grateful for every thing that was done for him. He desired me one day to read some chapters in the Bible. I read the 3rd and 17th chapters of John, and made some remarks on them. After being silent about half an hour, he said: ‘True repentance! pardoning grace! sanctification!’—and frequently repeated these words. I asked him if he wanted anything. He answered: ‘No! I must be silent and pray. I have very much to think respecting true repentance.’ He was, through the night, very silent, and much occupied in prayer.”

One morning H. D. having prayed with him, he prayed beautifully himself at some length. “ I was very glad to hear this prayer,” says H. D., “and was obliged to retire for some minutes, in order to give free course to my tears of gratitude to the Lord, for the grace given to this dear youth. He was all the day very quiet and patient, notwithstanding the increase of his fever. He expressed himself as being happy, and able to think on the Saviour and his love but added, ‘I have much to think respecting conversion; therefore I want to be silent, and to pray in my thoughts.’

“Simeon's illness continued to increase. When I sometimes spoke to him, he would say, ‘I must be silent: I have much to think on, and to pray for. I must be really converted.’ The Holy Spirit seemed to be more and more preparing him for his heavenly mansion. After I had communicated something comfortable to him, he remarked, with a smiling countenance, ‘That is a joyful message,’—meaning it was adapted to his state—‘I am comfortable, I feel no pain, all is over, I pray only that I may love the Saviour more, who is so kind to me.’ It was delightful to see him so happy. He found it a great comfort, that he had physicians, who not only provided him with medicines for the body, but spoke to him concerning his soul.

“He one day asked for some paper, and tried to write; but being too weak to hold the pen, he said: ‘Mr. Decker, tell the boys at Bashia,’ naming four of them, ‘that Simeon is going to the Saviour in heaven; but he prays with his dying lips to the Lord, that they may turn with all their hearts to Jesus, and may be really converted by the power of the Holy Spirit. He begs them to give over all their hearts to him, that none of them, by remaining in unbelief and sin, may be lost; but that all, as true believers, may meet with him in heaven.’ ” ‘On his friend's saying, “Simeon, you are very happy; you will in a short time see the Saviour in whom you have believed, and be a partaker of his glory:” raising his voice, he exclaimed “O Saviour, come! O Lord Jesus! take me home to Thee; I want to be with Jesus!—You go to Africa, and I to heaven; but we are united in Christ.” He afterwards said: “O Lord! look with thy compassion on a poor Negro lying here! O Lord! hear the prayer of a dying Negro, and convert my countrymen! send true preachers to them. Take me to heaven, Lord Jesus!” All present were moved to tears.

About two o'clock, on the morning of his death, he asked for some refreshment; when he had ate and drank, he said cheerfully: “ This is the last time—I want no more—I shall go to my Saviour in heaven.” He then poured out, with a loud and distinct voice, a fervent prayer for himself, for his relatives, for his countrymen, and for all his friends and benefactors. He spoke continually of the joy of being for ever with the Lord. About nine, he said to a companion, “pray for Simeon, that the Lord may give him patience. He then fell into a slumber; and about ten o'clock, after an illness of six weeks, he calmly fell asleep in Jesus. One of the kind friends who had been a good deal with him during his last illness, and witnessed his final close, observed, in a letter written soon after:—“This young African died, under the most clear, decided, and powerful influence of divine grace. His Christian intelligence and tenderness charmed every one around him. His love to his poor country was ardent, and his prayers unceasing. His death has deeply impressed all of us who witnessed it. We have had many anxious hours in this house respecting Africa; but God has placed before our eyes a scene, which is a full reward for all that we have felt and feared. These first-fruits gathered home to God assure us that an abundant harvest will follow.”

John Cooper, a brother-in-law of E. Bickersteth's, says:—“I visited Simeon occasionally during his illness; but within the last week of his life, I saw him daily, and sat up with him part of the two nights preceding the last. He was usually in a serene and heavenly state of mind. At every interview, I was constrained to admire the grace of God in him. I cannot repeat all that he said on these occasions; but it was expressive of that humble and believing state of mind, and that lively hope and longing to be with Christ, which the Christian, who has borne the burden and heat of the day for half a century, might rejoice to experience when he comes to die.”

Pinsum, a captain in the Slave Trade, and a Planter of St. Domingo, had a confidential Slave, whom he was perpetually flattering with the hope of speedy freedom; but the more pains he took to render himself useful, the more firmly were his fetters rivetted. Louis Desrouleaux, whose schemes for obtaining his liberty rendered him very economical and laborious, soon amassed funds more than sufficient to purchase his freedom. He offered them with transport for the purchase of his independence, which had been so often promised him. “I have too long traded with the blood of my fellow-creatures,” said his master, in a tone of humiliation; “be free; you restore me to myself.”

Pinsum, whose heart had been rather led astray than corrupted, now sold all his effects, and embarked for France with great riches; but in a few years lost all and returned to St. Domingo. Those who, when he was rich, called themselves his friends, now took very little notice of him; but his emancipated Slave, who had acquired a fortune by his industry, now supplied the place of his former friends. Hearing of the situation of his old master, he hastened to find him, and gave him lodging and food. Perceiving him, however, unhappy, he proposed that he should return again to France, and reside where his feelings would not be mortified by the sight of ungrateful men. “ My gratitude will follow you,” said the Negro, embracing his old master, “here is a contract for an annual income of 1500 livres.”

Pinsum wept for joy; the annuity was always paid beforehand; and some presents, as tokens of friendship, often accompanied it, until the death of Louis Desrouleaux, in 1774.

Benoit the Black, of Palermo, also named Benoit of St. Philadelphia, or of Santo Fratello, and sometimes Benoit the Moor, was a Negro, the son of a Negress Slave. Reecho Pirro, author of the Sicilia Sacra, characterizes him by these words:— “Nigro quidem corpore sed candore animi praeclarisimus quem et miraculis Deus contestatum esse voluit.” “His body was black, but it pleased God to testify by miracles the whiteness of his soul.”

Historians praise in Benoit that assemblage of eminent virtues, which, content to have God only as a Witness, conceal themselves from the sight of man; for real virtues are mostly silent. Sometimes, however, the modest veil which conceals merit is removed, and it is owing to this that Benoit has escaped oblivion. He died at Palermo, in 1589, where his tomb and memory are generally revered. Roccho Pirro, Father Arthur, Gravima, and many other writers, are full of eulogy concerning this venerable Negro.

“I had a visit very lately,” says Dr. Madden, “from three Mandingo Negroes, natives of Africa. They could all read and write Arabic; and one of them showed me a Koran written from memory by himself. One of them, Benjamin Cockrane, a free Negro who practised with no little success as a doctor in Kingston, was in the habit of coming to me on Sundays, to give me information about the medical plants and popular medicine of the country; and a more intelligent and respectable person, in every sense of the word, I do not know. As an Arabic scholar, his attainments are very trifling, but his skill as a Negro doctor, one of the English physicians of Kingston assured me was considerable. He had lately known him called to a young lady, where, with his herbs and simples he had effected a successful cure of a serious malady. When he comes to me, he drives in his own gig, attended by his servant. His history is like that of hundreds of others in Jamaica, ‘except these bonds,’ which he, by extraordinary industry and good conduct, has managed to shuffle off. I took down the heads of his story pretty much in his own words, as he related it to me in the presence of the attorney-general, to whom I made him known, likewise to Dr. Chamberlain; and I believe both these gentlemen will vouch for the fact that there is at least one Negro in the world who is an intelligent, well-conducted, right-thinking man, and not so very nearly connected with the class of brutes, as the reverend author of ‘Annals of Jamaica’ would lead us to infer.

“I received a letter, about a month before I left Jamaica, from my friend Cockrane. He wished to become a member of the College of Physicians here, and, knowing no reason why a Negro should not be admitted, if duly qualified, I undertook to speak to one of the officers, and ascertain if there would be any opposition to his presentation as a candidate for examination on the score of complexion, provided he was duly qualified. Had I remained, it was my intention to assist him to carry his purpose into effect.”

Robert Jowitt, of Leeds, states that he was much pleased with an intelligent American gentleman from Virginia, who visited England some years ago. In conversing with him on the subject of Slavery, he acknowledged it to be a very great evil, and that the wretched condition of the State in which he resided afforded strong evidence of it; but he considered it a necessary evil, so interwoven with their various institutions that it could not by any means be abolished.

We need not be surprised at this gentleman's viewing Slavery in this light, as he was himself interested in the system; yet on this very ground, his evidence respecting the capabilities of the Negro is the more valuable. He asserted that he had not the slightest doubt of the equality of the Black and White races; and moreover, that the integrity and faithfulness of some of the Blacks was remarkable. As a proof of this, he instanced a Slave he had in his own employment at home, who was a most valuable assistant to him, and in whom his confidence was unbounded.

ALEXANDRE PETION, already alluded to in our “Glance at the History of St. Domingo,” was one of the first Presidents of the republic of Hayti. He was a Mulatto, but of a very dark complexion, and received his education in the military school of Paris. Being a man of cultivated understanding, and attractive manners, and moreover, well instructed in the art of war, he served in the French, and afterwards in the Haytian armies, with success and reputation. He was in high esteem as a skilful engineer, in which capacity he rendered the most essential service to Toussaint and Desalines.

Petion was a man of fine talents, acute feelings, and honourable intentions, but not fully adapted for the station he was called upon to fill. The Haytians, just liberated from absolute Slavery, without education, habits of thought, moral energy, and perfect rectitude of character, so necessary in a government perfectly republican, stood in need of a ruler less kind, gentle, and humane, than Petion. In consequence of this, his people relaxed in their attention to agriculture, his finances became disorganized, and his country impoverished. The unfortunate Petion, disheartened at a state of things which he saw no means of remedying, sunk into a state of despondency, which ended, it is said, in voluntary death.

Petion was perhaps less beloved in his life-time, than his memory has been venerated since his death. High mass is said every year for his departed soul, with great pomp and circumstance, according to the rites of the Romish church; and the people appear to look back upon him with more than a common feeling of kindness and regard, as the father and friend of his country. His body, encased in a coffin, lies in an open cenotaph fronting the government house, and by the side of it, that of his only daughter: both coffins are occasionally decorated with simple native offerings.

“There is no doubt,” says Candler, “that Petion was a patriot, and that he sincerely desired the welfare of Hayti: he was greatly averse to the shedding of blood, and had often to check the impetuosity and vengeance of the generals who commanded under him; some accounts represent him to have starved himself to death through vexation at the slow progress of his people towards civilization; this may have been the case, as he was of a sanguine temperament, and was exceedingly thwarted in some of his plans for the public good; but a physician of Port-au-Prince assured me that such was not really the fact, and that he died of inanition from natural causes.”

An interesting and pleasing trait in the character of Petion is exhibited in an anecdote related by the author above quoted, with which I shall conclude this brief sketch. “In 1815, a visit of a religious character was paid to some parts of Hayti by Stephen Grellet, a native of France, and a minister of the Society of Friends. Petion, who was at that time President of the Island, received him with great cordiality, and permitted him to preach to his soldiers from the steps of the palace; himself and his staff attending as auditors.”

The minister of the first Coloured Presbyterian church in New York, a man truly exemplary, and of high moral and religious standing, is a fugitive from Slavery. His parents and grand-parents were stolen from Africa and died in Slavery. He was therefore born a Slave, and remained one a considerable portion of his life. Such, in all probability, he would have continued to remain, had he not effected his escape from the oppressor;—have worn out his life in perpetual bondage, and ended his days, like most of his race, under the galling yoke of fetters and chains, or the smart inflicted by the whip of the unrelenting driver. This estimable man, who, in Slavery was degraded to nearly a level with the brute, is still liable to be re-enslaved according to the laws of the United States. In him we have a specimen of what the Slave population consists, and a living proof as to how far they are capable of being elevated, in a moral, intellectual, and religious point of view.

James W. C. Pennington was born in Maryland, in 1809. His grandfather was a Chief of the Mandingoes, and both his parents and grand-parents being Negroes, he is of pure African blood and descent. He was a Slave until twenty years of age, at which period he effected his escape.

The fugitive first found a shelter at the house of a Friend in Pennsylvania, with whom he remained six months. “It was while living with this Friend,” he observes, “and by his kind attention in teaching me, that I acquired my first knowledge of writing, arithmetic, and geography.” In these he made rapid progress during the six months, at the expiration of which, it became necessary for his safety to remove further north, to be more out of the reach of menstealers. He therefore removed to Long Island. Here, he soon felt the loss of his kind Friend and tutor, but he was successful in obtaining employment, and remained in the service of one gentleman for three years, during the whole of which period his scanty leisure was closely occupied in study.

Pennington had so far improved himself at the expiration of five years from the time of his escape from Slavery, that an application was made to him, to teach a small school of Coloured children, at New Town, near Flushing, on Lon-Island. Being previously examined by a committee, his services were accepted, and he taught the school successfully for two years.

“Eva Bartels,” says Shaw in his Memorials of South Africa, “is a Mulatto woman, who was living in Cape Town, when we commenced our school for the heathen. Two Slave girls first brought her to our religious services. She was about fifty years old, and was very desirous of learning to read the Scriptures, which she soon accomplished. She not merely learned to read, however, but the divine spirit so wrought upon her heart, that there was not a shadow of a doubt of her real conversion to God. She became humble and lowly, was regular in her attendance on the means of grace, and her conduct was most circumspect. She was an example of piety to all around her, and was zealous in inviting and bringing others to the means of grace.

“Going to visit her on one occasion, when in affliction, I found her engaged in prayer. She knew not that I was present, and prayed thus:—‘Oh! how I have sinned! Oh! how I have sinned! but thou, Lord, hast had mercy. Thou hast had mercy upon me; thou hast given me the joy of salvation. Lord Jesus Christ, thou hast shed thy precious blood for me.’ When told that I was present, she said—‘Mynheer, I was almost in despair for a time, for I have been a great sinner. I therefore requested that I might be left alone, in order that I might wrestle with the Lord, and cry to him for help. I took up the book to see if there was anything for me, and as I continued in prayer, those sweet words fell upon my heart,—‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.’ This invitation brought me such peace and joy, that all my sorrows departed, and I have now strong consolation. I have been thinking of the great love of God in giving his Son. We are debtors, and have nothing wherewith to pay our debt; but Jesus Christ came and discharged it by the shedding of his blood. While thus meditating, I shed many tears; but they were tears of joy, on account of the great love of God to sinners.’

“On another occasion, when several persons were in the room, who were expecting that the time of her departure was at hand, she desired them to raise her up on the bed, and support her with pillows. This being done, she began to address those around her, exhorting them to come to the Redeemer. From this sickness she was restored to health, and became a ‘living epistle’ to all who knew her, continuing to adorn her profession by a holy walk and conversation. She has become a mother in our Israel, and though often afflicted, is like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in old age.”

Of Hartford, in Connecticut, an aged Coloured man, was well known for his industry, prudence, and integrity. Having no relations, he devoted his property to charitable objects. By his will, he gave to the Hartford Female Beneficent Society, 100 dollars; to the American Colonization Society, 200 dollars; to the Bible Society, 100 dollars; to the Education Society, 100 dollars; and after other legacies, the residue of his estate to a Missionary Society.

A woman of Colour, died at Hartford in 1824, aged 67. For the first forty years of her life, she was a Slave. She sustained an excellent character, was for many years a professor of religion, and gave satisfactory evidence of sincere and lively piety. At the time of her death, she had acquired, by her industry and care, more than 400 dollars, which, (after paying the expenses of her last sickness and funeral,) she left to charitable purposes.

This self-taught African was born a Slave, near Richmond, in Virginia. He was the only child of parents, themselves Slaves, who were of a pious turn of mind; and though he had no instruction from books, the admonitions of his father and mother may have laid the foundations of his future usefulness. In 1804, the young Slave was sent to Richmond, and hired out as a common labourer, at a warehouse in the place.

At this time he was excessively profane, and much addicted to intoxication; but God was pleased to awaken him to a sense of his sinfulness. Happening to hear a sermon, he became very desirous of being able to read, chiefly with a view of becoming acquainted with the nature of certain transactions recorded in the New Testament. Having procured a Bible he commenced learning his letters, by trying to read the chapter he had heard illustrated in the sermon; and by a little perseverance and assistance, he was able to read. This acquisition created in him a desire to write; an accomplishment he soon also mastered.

He now became more useful to his employers, by being able to check and superintend the shipping of tobacco; and having, in time, saved 850 dollars, (nearly £170 sterling,) he purchased his freedom and that of two of his children. “Of the real value of his services while in his employment (says an American writer), no one but a dealer in tobacco can form an idea. Notwithstanding the hundreds of hogsheads which were committed to his charge, he could produce any one the moment it was called for; and the shipments were made with a promptness and correctness such as no person, White or Coloured, has equalled in the same situation. The last year in which he remained in the warehouse, his salary was 800 dollars, and he might have received a larger sum, if he would have continued.”

For his ability in his work, besides being highly esteemed by his master, he was frequently rewarded by the merchant with a five-dollar note. He was allowed to sell, for his own benefit, small parcels of damaged tobacco. It was by saving the little sums obtained in this way, with the aid of subscriptions by the merchants, to whose interests he had been attentive, that he was enabled to purchase the freedom of his family. He also bought a house and some land, in Richmond, and when the colonists were fitted out for Africa, he was enabled to bear a considerable part of his own expenses.

Soon after making a profession of religion, Lott Carey commenced holding meetings, and exhorting the Coloured people; and, though he had little knowledge of books, or acquaintance with mankind, he frequently exhibited a boldness of thought, and a strength of native intellect, which no acquirement could have given him. While employed at the warehouse, he devoted his leisure time to reading such books as accident threw in his way; and it is said that a gentleman, on one occasion taking up a volume which he had left for a few moments, found it to be “Smith's Wealth of Nations.”

As early as 1815, Lott Carey began to feel special interest in the cause of African missions, and contributed, probably more than any other person, in giving origin and character to the African Missionary Society, established that year in Richmond. His benevolence was practical, and whenever and wherever good objects were to be effected, he was ready to lend his aid. He was among the earliest emigrants to Africa. At the close of his farewell sermon in the first Baptist meeting house in the city, before his departure, he remarked in substance as follows:— “I am about to leave you; and expect to see your faces no more. I long to preach to the poor African the way of life and salvation. I do not know what may befall me, whether I may find a grave in the ocean, or among savage men, or more savage wild beasts on the coast of Africa; nor am I anxious what may become of me. I feel it my duty to go; and I very much fear, that many of those who preach the gospel in this country, will blush when the Saviour calls them to give an account of their labours in his cause, and tells them, ‘I commanded you to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature:’ (and with the most forcible emphasis he exclaimed:) the Saviour may ask— ‘Where have you been? What have you been doing? Have you endeavoured to the utmost of your ability to fulfil the commands I gave you—or have you sought your own gratification and your own ease, regardless of my commands?’”

Being twice married, he lost his second wife shortly after arriving at Sierra Leone. Of her triumphant death, he gives a most affecting account in his journal of that date. On his arrival in Africa, Lott Carey saw before him a wide and interesting field, demanding various and powerful talents, and the most devoted piety. His intellectual ability, firmness of purpose, unbending integrity, correct judgment, and disinterested benevolence, soon placed him in a conspicuous station, and gave him a wide and commanding influence. Though naturally diffident and retiring, his worth was too evident to allow of his remaining in obscurity. An American writer, in speaking of this intelligent Negro about this period of his life, makes the following observations:—“Lott Carey is now more than forty years of age. He is possessed of a constitution peculiarly fitted for toil and exposure; and has felt the effects of climate perhaps less than any other individual on the Cape. He has always shown that sort of inflexible integrity and correctness of deportment towards all which necessarily commands respect; but he will probably never be able to divest himself of a kind of suspicious reserve towards White people, especially his superiors, which universally attaches itself to those reared in Slavery. The interests of the colonies, and the cause of his countrymen, both in Africa, and in this country, lie near his heart. For them he is willing to toil, and to make almost any sacrifice; and he has frequently declared, that nothing could induce him to return.”

The peculiar exposure of the early emigrants, the scantiness of their supplies, and the want of adequate medical attention, subjected them to severe sufferings. To relieve these, Lott Carey obtained all the information in his power concerning the diseases of the climate, and the proper remedies. He made liberal sacrifices of his property in behalf of the poor and distressed, and devoted his time almost exclusively to their relief. His services as a physician to the colony were invaluable, and were long rendered without hope of reward. He was made Health Officer and General Inspector of the Settlement of Monrovia, but he refused for some time to accept any other civil office. During the sickly season of the year, he was mostly occupied in attending the sick, having no other physician among them. But amidst his multiplied cares and efforts for the colony, he never neglected to promote civilization and Christianity among the natives.

In 1826, Carey was elected vice-agent of the colony, and discharged the duties of that important office till his death which occurred in 1828, in the most melancholy manner. One evening, while he and several others were engaged in making cartridges to defend the colony against a Slave-trader, a candle was accidentally overturned, which ignited some powder, producing an explosion which resulted in the death of eight persons. Carey survived for two days. Such was the unfortunate death of this active Coloured apostle of civilization on the coast of Africa, where his memory will long be cherished. The career which he pursued, and the intelligence which marked his character, prove that the race of Blacks is not destitute of moral worth and innate genius, and that their culture would liberally produce an abundant harvest of the best principles and those results which dignify human nature.

(COMMUNICATED TO THE AUTHOR.)

In 1801, the mission of the Moravians in the Danish Island of St. Thomas was deprived of one of the most intelligent and useful native assistants, who for more than fifty years had walked worthily of his calling by the Gospel—the Negro Cornelius: a man in many respects distinguished among his countrymen.

About the year 1750, he became concerned for the salvation of his soul, and felt a strong impulse to attend the preaching of the missionaries, and their private instructions. Being baptized, he ever after remained faithful to the grace conferred upon him. He had an humble and growing sense of the depravity of his heart, and made daily progress in the knowledge of Christ.

He was blessed with a good natural understanding, and having learned the business of a mason, received the appointment of master-mason to the royal buildings, in which employment he was esteemed by all who knew him, as a clever, upright, and disinterested man. He laid the foundation of six chapels belonging to the mission in the Danish islands. He was able to write and speak the Creole, Dutch, Danish, German, and English languages. Till 1767, he was a Slave in the royal plantation, afterwards belonging to Count Schimmelman. He first purchased the freedom of his wife, and then laboured hard to gain his own liberty, which he effected after much entreaty and the payment of a considerable ransom. God blessed him and the work of his hands in such a manner, that he also purchased by degrees the emancipation of his six children.

In 1754, he was appointed assistant in the mission. After his emancipation, he greatly exerted himself in the service of the Lord, especially among the people of his own Colour, and spent whole days and nights in visiting them. He possessed a peculiar talent for expressing his ideas with great clearness, which rendered his discourse pleasing and edifying to White people as well as to Negroes. Yet he was by no means elated by the talents he possessed. His character was that of an humble servant of Christ, who thought too meanly of himself to treat others with contempt. To distribute to the indigent, and assist the feeble, was the delight of his heart, and they always found in him a generous and sympathizing friend, and faithful adviser.

Whilst zealously exerting himself in promoting the welfare of his countrymen, he did not neglect the concerns of his family. We have heard how sedulously he cared for their temporal prosperity, in working hard to purchase their freedom. But he was more solicitous for the welfare of their souls. God blessed his instructions, and lie had the joy of seeing his whole family share in the salvation of the Lord. Being found faithful, they were employed as assistants in the mission.

The infirmities of age increasing upon him, Cornelius ardently longed to depart and be with Christ. A constant cough and pain in his side damped his great activity, caused occasional dejection of mind, and seemed at times to shake his faith and fortitude. He now and then complained of a declension of his love to Jesus; and once, while meditating on that text—“I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love,” he exclaimed, “Ah! I too have left my first love!” A few days before his end, being visited by one of the missionaries, he said, “I ought to have done more, and loved and served my Saviour better. Yet I firmly trust that He will receive me in mercy, for I come to Him as a poor sinner, having nothing to plead but His grace, and righteousness through His blood.” His children and several of his grandchildren having assembled round his bed, he addressed them in a very solemn and impressive manner to the following effect:—

“I rejoice exceedingly, my dearly beloved children, to see you once more together before my departure, for I believe that my Lord and Saviour will soon come and take your father home to himself. You know, dear children, what my chief concern has been respecting you, as long as I was with you; how frequently I have exhorted you not to neglect the day of grace, but to surrender ourselves with soul and body to your Redeemer, and to follow Him faithfully. My dear children, attend to my last wish and dying request. Love one another! Do not suffer any quarrels and disputes to arise among you after my decease. No, my children,” raising his voice, “ love one another cordially: let each strive to shew proofs of love to his brother or sister; nor suffer yourselves to be tempted by anything to become proud, for by that you may even miss of your soul's salvation, but pray our Saviour to grant you lowly minds and humble hearts. If you follow this advice of your father's, my joy will be complete, when I shall once see you all again in eternal bliss, and be able to say to our Saviour—Here, Lord, is thy poor unworthy Cornelius, and the children Thou hast given me. I am sure our Saviour will not forsake you; but, I beseech You, do not forsake Him.” He fell gently asleep in Jesus, on the 29th of November, being about 84 years of age.

The account of Cornelius just related, affords an evidence of the success attending the efforts of the early Moravian Missions in the Danish West India Islands, of which mention was made, and some interesting particulars given, in Part I. of this volume.

The early attempts towards the conversion of the Negroes met with great opposition from the Planters. When Count Zinzendorf visited these Islands in 1739, a few years after the first efforts to introduce Christianity amongst the Slaves, he found them in a state of unusual oppression because it was imagined that if they became Christian they would also become more intelligent, and then it would be impossible for the trifling number of White people—in comparison with whom the Blacks were fifty, if not a hundred, to one—to keep such an immense number in awe. Their conversion was also opposed, because the Negro women, if converted, would no longer yield themselves to a licentious life.

For these, and other causes, the Whites endeavoured to prevent the Blacks from becoming Christians. But the Negroes, unwilling to be restrained, their desire for salvation being incredibly great, were treated very harshly, and in some instances with cruelty. A public tumult was once excited in St. Thomas, and the missionaries were threatened to be sent out of the Island, because they taught the Slaves to be better Christians than their masters. The Negroes' Meeting House was entered in a boisterous manner, and the poor creatures were beaten most cruelly, and chased away with oaths, curses, and horrid blasphemies.

One of the missionaries at Sierra Leone accompanied the Niger expedition in 1842, sanctioned by government, for extending the missionary operations up the Niger. They took with them a liberated African, named Samuel Crowther, who, when a boy, was taken from a Slave ship, and educated in the Society's school at Sierra Leone, and who made so much progress both in theological and general knowledge (being able to read the Greek Testament) that he was sent to England to be presented as a candidate for holy orders to the Bishop of London. Another native, named King, likewise accompanied the expedition, and when the health of the Europeans failed, he was deemed competent to be left in charge of the model farm at the confluence of the Tshadda and the Niger. Another native, Simon Jonas, was employed in forming the treaties which Captain Trotter entered into with chiefs below the confluence. The competency of that individual was most striking. Mr. Schon drew up a paper in which he details the proceedings of Simon Jonas, in carrying on a communication with King Obi, on the subject of Slavery. The mode of his carrying on a negotiation is illustrative of the power of the native African, with a moderate degree of training in Sierra Leone, to become a really efficient agent in imparting knowledge to his countrymen.

Dr. Madden has made a translation of the life of a Slave recently liberated in Cuba, written in Spanish, whose name, for various reasons, he thinks it advisable not to publish. It was my intention to have given an outline of this history as well for its interest, as exhibiting a clearness of style and composition highly creditable to a self-taught Negro Slave. Space will only admit of a few extracts in addition to the information already given, at pages 130 and 131 of the present volume.

It would be tedious, says he, to detail the particulars of my early history, in which there was nothing but happiness. At the age of twelve years, I had composed some verses in memory, not being wished to learn to write. I dictated them by stealth to a young Mulatto girl named Serafina, which verses were of an amatory character.

I passed on without many changes to my fourteenth y