American Scenes, and Christian Slavery
by
Ebenezer Davies
Part 3 out of 5
around, it has lost in a great measure that peculiarity. There is now
but little done in that way, though it is still recorded in italics
among its regulations, that "every student is expected to labour three
hours a day at some agricultural or mechanical business." "While the
leading aim of this regulation," it is added, "is to promote health and
vigour of both body and mind, compensation is received according to the
value of the labour."
No charge is made for tuition. Rooms are fully furnished and rented at
5 dollars a year from each student. The incidental expenses, including
fuel and light for public rooms, ringing the bell, and sweeping, are 5
dollars more. The room-rent and incidental bill are paid in advance.
For the aid of indigent students funds are collected annually, by means
of which board is furnished to such gratuitously. To those who receive
no assistance from the funds, the price of board is about 90 cents a
week. The cost of fuel and lights for each student, in his own room,
will average from 8 to 12 dollars a year. Thus the entire expense to a
young man for a whole term of nine months is only from 50 to 60
dollars, or from 10 to 12 guineas of our money.
"The results of these thirteen years of labour," say the trustees in a
document recently issued, "considering the difficulties attending the
establishment of such an institution in a new country, amid a
population as yet unassimilated in feelings and habits, and whose
schools, academies, and colleges are of comparatively recent origin,
are indeed highly encouraging. The friends of the institution, and of
religion and learning generally, thankful for what has already been
accomplished, will feel encouraged to do whatever may be necessary for
the highest efficiency of the seminary; and will give their prayers
that the labours of the 300 young men, who have enjoyed or now enjoy
its advantages," (there being about 50 then in the house,) "may be
abundantly blessed by the Head of the Church."
Lane Seminary is a valuable and catholic institution. At their
entrance, the students have to subscribe to no confession of faith;
and, when they have completed their curriculum, they are at perfect
liberty to exercise their ministry among whatever denomination they
please. Congregational as well as Presbyterial Churches obtain pastors
from this "school of the prophets."
The "Faculty" at present consists of the Rev. Lyman Beecher, D.D.,
President, and Professor of Theology; the Rev. Calvin E. Stowe, D.D.,
Professor of Biblical Literature, and Lecturer on Church History; and
the Rev. D. Howe Allen, Professor of Sacred Rhetoric and Pastoral
Theology, and Lecturer on Church Polity.
Nothing struck me more than the feeling of equality that seemed to
subsist between students and professors. The latter, in speaking to or
of any of the former, would generally say "Brother" So-and-so. The
students also, in their bearing towards the professors, seemed each to
say, "I am as good a man as you are." This is the genius of America.
You meet it everywhere. There man is man (except his skin be black),
and he expects to be treated as such. Respect to superiors is not among
the maxims of our Transatlantic brethren. The organ of veneration is,
perhaps, imperfectly developed.
LETTER XIX.
A Sabbath at Cincinnati--The Second Presbyterian Church--Mutilation of
a Popular Hymn--The Rushing Habit--A wrong "Guess"--A German
Sunday-School--Visit to a Church of Coloured People--Engagement at the
Welsh "Church"--Monthly Concert--The Medical College of Ohio--Tea at
the House of a Coloured Minister.
On the previous Friday, Professor Allen called to request me to preach
in his stead at the Second Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning, the
28th of February, as he had to go some twenty miles into the country to
"assist at a revival." I agreed to do so. Sunday morning was
excessively cold, with a heavy fall of snow. On arriving at the
"church," I found there was no vestry. Indeed, a vestry, as a private
room for the minister, is seldom found in America. The places are
exceedingly neat and comfortable, but they want _that_ convenience. I
had therefore to go with my hat and top-coat, covered with snow, right
into the pulpit. This church outside is a noble-looking building, with
massive pillars in front, and a bell-tower containing a town-clock; but
the interior seemed comparatively small. It had a gallery at one end,
which held only the singers and the organ. The seats below were not
more than one-third full. Dr. Beecher ministered in this place for
about ten years. It was now without a pastor, but was temporarily
supplied by Professor Allen. The congregation was far more decorous and
attentive than those in New Orleans. After the introductory service,
and while the hymn before sermon was being sung, a man came trudging
down the aisle, bearing an immense scuttle full of coals to supply the
stoves. How easy it would have been before service to place a box of
fuel in the vicinity of each stove, and thereby avoid this unseemly
bustle! But in the singing of the hymn, I found something to surprise
and offend me even more than the coal-scuttle. The hymn was--
"O'er the gloomy hills of darkness," &c.
I had selected it myself; but when I got to the second verse, where I
had expected to find
"Let the Indian, let the negro,
Let the rude barbarian see," &c.,
lo! "the Indian." and "the negro" had vanished, and
"Let the dark benighted pagan"
was substituted. A wretched alteration,--as feeble and tautological in
effect as it is suspicious in design. The altered reading, I learned,
prevails universally in America, except in the _original_ version used
by the Welsh congregations. Slave-holders, and the abettors of that
horrid system which makes it a crime to teach a negro to read the Word
of God, felt perhaps that they could not devoutly and consistently sing
"Let the Indian, let the negro," &c.
This church, I heard, was more polluted with a pro-slavery feeling than
any other in Cincinnati of the same denomination,--a circumstance
which, I believe, had something to do with Dr. Beecher's resignation of
the pastorate.
At the close of the sermon, having pronounced the benediction, I
engaged, according to our English custom, in a short act of private
devotion. When I raised my head and opened my eyes, the very last man
of the congregation was actually making his exit through the doorway;
and it was quite as much as I could manage to put on my top-coat and
gloves and reach the door before the sexton closed it. This rushing
habit in the House of God strikes a stranger as rude and irreverent.
You meet with no indications of private devotion, either preceding or
following public worship. A man marches into his pew, or his pulpit,
sits down, wipes his nose, and stares at all about him; and at the
close, the moment the "Amen" is uttered, he is off with as much speed
as if the house were on fire. In this instance, the service had not
exceeded an hour and a half; and yet they hurried out as if they
thought the beef was all burnt, and the pudding all spoiled. Of course,
there were no thanks to the stranger for his services,--to say nothing
of the _quiddam honorarium_, which to a man travelling for health, at
his own expense, with an invalid wife, might have been supposed not
unacceptable.
When, however, I got to the portico outside, a gentleman, with his
wife, was waiting to see me before they stepped into their carriage.
Here was some token of politeness and hospitality,--an invitation to
dinner, no doubt.--"Thank you, sir, I am very much obliged to you; but
I left my wife very ill at our lodgings this morning, and therefore I
cannot have the pleasure to dine with you to-day," was the civil excuse
I was preparing. Never was expectation more beside the mark. My "guess"
was altogether wrong. "What are you going to do with yourself this
afternoon?" was the gentleman's blunt salutation. "What have _you_ to
propose, sir?" was my reply. "I am the superintendent," he said, "of a
German Sunday-school in the upper part of the city, and I should like
you to come and address the children this afternoon." I promised to go,
and he to send to my "lodgings" for me. We both kept our appointment.
The number of scholars was about 100. This effort to bring the Germans
under a right religious influence is very laudable; for there are about
10,000 of that people in Cincinnati. One quarter of the city is
entirely German. You see nothing else on the sign-boards; you hear
nothing else in the streets. Of these Germans the greater part are
Roman Catholics.
After visiting the school, I found myself in time to attend one of the
chapels of the coloured people at 3 P.M. A medical student, whom I had
met in the morning, and again at the German school, accompanied me. He
was a New Englander, and a thorough anti-slavery man. When we got to
the chapel--a Baptist one--they were at prayer. Walking in softly, we
entered a pew right in the midst of them. The minister--a mulatto of
about thirty years of age, with a fine intelligent eye--was very simple
in dress, and unostentatious in manner. His language, too, was
appropriate and correct. He was evidently a man of good common sense.
His text was Psalm li. l2, l3. He referred very properly to the
occasion on which the Psalm was composed, and drew from the text a
large mass of sound practical instruction. The chapel (capable of
containing about 150 people) was only half-full. Before the sermon, I
had observed a very old negro, in a large shabby camlet cloak and a
black cap, ascending the pulpit-stairs. I supposed that, being dull of
hearing, he had taken that position that he might better listen to the
service. However, when the sermon was over, this patriarchal-looking
black man rose to pray; and he prayed "like a bishop," with astonishing
correctness and fluency! He was formerly a slave in Kentucky, and was
at this time about eighty years of age. They call him "Father Watkins."
At the close I introduced myself to him and to the minister. They both
expressed regret that they had not had me up in the pulpit, to tell
them something, as "Father Watkins" said, about their "brothers and
sisters on the other side of the water." The minister gave me his card,
and invited me and my wife to take tea with him on Tuesday afternoon.
This was the first invitation I received within the city of Cincinnati
to take a meal anywhere; and it was the more interesting to me as
coming from a coloured man.
In the evening I went, according to appointment, to the Welsh Chapel.
There I met a Mr. Bushnel, an American missionary from the Gaboon
River, on the western coast of Africa. He first spoke in English, and I
afterwards a little in Welsh; gladly embracing the opportunity to
exhort my countrymen in that "Far West" to feel kindly and tenderly
towards the coloured race among them; asking them how they would
themselves feel if, as Welshmen, they were branded and despised
wherever they went! I was grieved to see the excess to which they
carried the filthy habit of spitting. The coloured people in _their_
chapel were incomparably cleaner in that respect.
In the morning a notice had been put into my hand at the Presbyterian
Church for announcement, to the effect that Mr. Bushnel and myself
would address the "monthly concert at the church in Sixth-street" on
the morrow evening. Of this arrangement not a syllable had been said to
me beforehand. This was American liberty, and I quietly submitted to
it. The attendance was not large; and we two missionaries had it all to
ourselves. No other ministers were present,--not even the minister of
the church in which we were assembled. The people, however, seemed
heartily interested in the subject of missions. At the close, a lady
from Manchester, who had seen me there in 1845 at the missionary
meeting, came forward full of affection to shake hands. She was a
member of Mr. Griffin's church in that city, and had removed to America
a few months before, with her husband (who is a member of the "Society
of Friends") and children. I was glad to find that they were likely to
be comfortable in their adopted country.
Next morning I went with Dr. Reuben D. Mussey, a New Englander, to see
the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Mussey is the Professor of Surgery and
Dean of the Faculty, and is highly esteemed for his professional skill
and general character. He and his son, who was my guide on the Sunday,
very kindly showed and explained to me everything of interest in the
institution. The cabinet belonging to the anatomical department is
supplied with all the materials necessary for acquiring a minute and
perfect knowledge of the human frame. These consist of detached bones,
of wired natural skeletons, and of dried preparations to exhibit the
muscles, bloodvessels, nerves, &c. The cabinet of comparative anatomy
is supposed to be more extensively supplied than any other in the
United States. Besides perfect skeletons of American and foreign birds
and other animals, there is an immense number of detached _crania_,
from the elephant and hippopotamus down to the minuter orders. The
cabinet in the surgical department has been formed at great expense,
chiefly by Dr. Mussey himself, during the labour of more than forty
years. It contains a large number of rare specimens,--600 specimens of
diseased bones alone. Other departments are equally well furnished. The
Faculty is composed of six Professorships,--Surgery, Anatomy and
Physiology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Materia Medica, Obstetrics and
Diseases of Women and Children, and the Theory and Practice of
Medicine. The fees of tuition are only 15 dollars, or 3 guineas, to
each professor, making an aggregate of 90 dollars. There were 190
students. It will probably be admitted that this institution, formed in
a new country, has arrived at an astonishing degree of vigour and
maturity. It is only one of many instances in which the Americans are
before us in the facilities afforded for professional education.
In the afternoon my wife and myself went to take tea with the coloured
minister. His dwelling, though small and humble, was neat and clean.
With his intelligence and general information we were quite delighted.
He spoke with feeling of the gross insults to which the coloured
people, even in this free State, are exposed. When they travel by
railway, though they pay the same fare as other people, they are
generally put in the luggage-van! He had himself, when on board of
steam-boats, often been sent to the "pantry" to eat his food. Nor will
the white people employ them but in the most menial offices; so that it
is nearly impossible for them to rise to affluence and horse-and-gig
respectability. The consequence is that they are deeply and justly
disaffected towards the American people and the American laws. They
clearly understand that England is their friend. For one month all the
free coloured people wore crape as mourning for Thomas Clarkson.
LETTER XX.
Stay at Cincinnati (continued)--The New Roman Catholic Cathedral--The
Rev. C. B. Boynton and Congregationalism--"The Herald of a New
Era"--American Nationality.
A lady, belonging to the Presbyterian Church at which I preached,
kindly sent her carriage to take us about to see the city. We visited
the new Roman Catholic Cathedral, one of the principal "lions." It was
begun in 1841, and, though used for public worship, is not yet
finished. The building is a parallelogram of 200 feet long by 80 feet
wide, and is 58 feet from the floor to the ceiling. The roof is partly
supported by the side walls, and partly by two rows of freestone
columns--nine in each row--at a distance of about 11 feet from the wall
inside. These columns are of the Corinthian Order, and are 35 feet
high, and 3 feet 6 inches in diameter. There is no gallery, except at
one end, for the organ, which cost 5,400 dollars, or about 1,100_l._
sterling. The floor of the building is furnished with a centre aisle of
6 feet wide, and two other aisles, each 11 feet wide, along the side
walls, for processional purposes. The remainder of the area is formed
into 140 pews, 10 feet deep. Each pew will accommodate with comfort
only six persons; so that this immense edifice affords sitting room for
no more than 840 people! It is a magnificent structure, displaying in
all its proportions a remarkable degree of elegance and taste. The
tower, when finished, will present an elevation of 200 feet, with a
portico of twelve Corinthian columns, six in front and three on either
side, on the model of the Tower of the Wind at Athens. The entire
building will be Grecian in all its parts. One-fourth of the population
of Cincinnati are Roman Catholics. They have lately discontinued the
use of public government-schools for their children, and have
established some of their own, I am not so much alarmed at the progress
of Popery in America as I was before I visited that country. Its
proselytes are exceedingly few. Its supporters consist chiefly of the
thousands of Europeans, already Roman Catholic, who flock to the New
World. The real _progress_ of Popery is greater in Britain than in
America.
In the evening I preached for Mr. Boynton in the "Sixth-street Church,"
Mr. Boynton and his Church, heretofore Presbyterians, have recently
become Congregationalists. This has given great umbrage to the
Presbyterians. Congregationalism is rapidly gaining ground in the
Western World, and seems destined there, as in England since Cromwell's
time, to swallow up Presbyterianism. I make no invidious comparison
between the two systems: I merely look at facts. And it does appear to
me that Congregationalism--so simple, so free, so unsectarian, and so
catholic--is nevertheless a powerful absorbent. It _has_ absorbed all
that was orthodox in the old Presbyterian Churches of England; and it
_is_ absorbing the Calvinistic Methodists and the churches named after
the Countess of Huntingdon. It has all along exerted a powerful
influence on the Presbyterianism of America. The Congregational element
diffused among those churches occasioned the division of the
Presbyterian Church into Old School and New School.
Mr. Boynton is what a friend of mine called "intensely American." He
has lately published, under the title of "Our Country the Herald of a
New Era," a lecture delivered before the "Young Men's Mercantile
Library Association." To show the magnificent ideas the Americans
entertain of themselves and their country, I will transcribe a few
passages.
"This nation is an enigma, whose import no man as yet may fully know.
She is a germ of boundless things. The unfolded bud excites the hope of
one-half the human race, while it stirs the remainder with both anger
and alarm. Who shall now paint the beauty and attraction of the
expanded flower? Our Eagle is scarcely fledged; but one wing stretches
over Massachusetts Bay, and the other touches the mouth of the
Columbia. Who shall say, then, what lands shall be overshadowed by the
full-grown pinion? Who shall point to any spot of the northern
continent, and say, with certainty, Here the starry banner shall never
be hailed as the symbol of dominion? [The annexation of Canada!] * * *
It cannot be disguised that the idea is gathering strength among us,
that the territorial mission of this nation is to obtain and hold at
least all that lies north of Panama. * * * Whether the millions that
are to dwell on the great Pacific slope of our continent are to
acknowledge our banner, or rally to standards of their own; whether
Mexico is to become ours by sudden conquest or gradual absorption;
whether the British provinces, when they pass from beneath the sceptre
of England, shall be incorporated with us, or retain an independent
dominion;--are perhaps questions which a not distant future may decide.
However they may be settled, the great fact will remain essentially the
same, that the two continents of this Western Hemisphere shall yet bear
up a stupendous social, political, and religious structure, wrought by
the American mind, moulded and coloured by the hues of American
thought, and animated and united by an American soul. It seems equally
certain that, whatever the divisions of territory may be, these United
States are the living centre, from which already flows the resistless
stream which will ultimately absorb in its own channel, and bear on its
own current, the whole thought of the two Americas. * * * If, then, I
have not over-rated the moral and intellectual vigour of the people of
this nation, and of the policy lately avowed to be acted upon--that the
further occupation of American soil by the Governments of Europe is not
to be suffered,--then the inference is a direct one, that the stronger
elements will control and absorb the lesser, so that the same causes
which melted the red races away will send the influence of the United
States not only over the territory north of Panama, but across the
Isthmus, and southward to Magellan."
The "New Era" of which America is the "Herald" is, he tells us, to be
marked by three grand characteristics,--
"First. A new theory and practice in government and in social life,
such as the world has never seen, of which we only perceive the germ as
yet." Already have you indeed presented before the world your "peculiar
institution" of slavery in a light new and striking. Already have you a
"theory and practice" in the government of slaves such as the world
never beheld!
"Second. A literature which shall not only be the proper outgrowth of
the American mind, but which shall form a distinctive school, as
clearly so as the literature of Greece!" Under this head he says, "Very
much would I prefer that our literature should appear even in the guise
of the awkward, speculating, guessing, but still original,
strong-minded _American_ Yankee, than to see it mincing in the costume
of a London dandy. I would rather see it, if need be, showing the wild
rough strength, the naturalness and fervour of the extreme West,
equally prepared to liquor with a stranger or to fight with him, than
to see it clad in the gay but filthy garments of the saloons of Paris.
Nay more, much as every right mind abhors and detests such things, I
would sooner behold our literature holding in one hand the murderous
Bowie knife, and in the other the pistol of the duellist, than to see
her laden with the foul secrets of a London hell, or the gaming-houses
of Paris. * * * If we must meet with vice in our literature, let it be
the growth of our own soil; for I think our own rascality has yet the
healthier aspect."
"Third. A new era in the fine arts, from which future ages shall derive
their models and their inspirations, as we do from Greece and Italy. *
* * So far as scenery is concerned in the moulding of character, we may
safely expect that a country where vastness and beauty are so
wonderfully blended will stamp upon the national soul its own magestic
and glorious image. It must be so. The mind will expand itself to the
measure of things about it. Deep in the wide American soul there shall
be Lake Superiors, inland oceans of thought; and the streams of her
eloquence shall be like the sweep of the Mississippi in his strength.
The rugged strength of the New England hills, the luxuriance of the
sunny South, the measureless expanse of the prairie, the broad flow of
our rivers, the dashing of our cataracts, the huge battlements of the
everlasting mountains,--these are _American_. On the face of the globe
there is nothing like to them. When therefore these various influences
have been thoroughly wrought into the national soul, there will be such
a correspondence between man and the works of God about him, that our
music, our poetry, our eloquence, our all, shall be our own, individual
and peculiar, like the Amazon and the Andes, the Mississippi and
Niagara, alone in their strength and glory."
Now, mark you! amidst all these splendid visions of the future, there
is no vision of liberty for 3,000,000 of slaves. That idea was too
small to find a place among conceptions so vast. The lecture contains
not a syllable of reference to them. On the contrary, the empty boast
of freedom is heard in the following words of solemn mockery: "_The
soul of man_ here no longer sits _bound_ and blind amid the despotic
forms of the past; it walks abroad _without a shackle_, and with an
uncovered eye." It follows then that there is an essential difference
between "the soul of man" and the soul of "nigger," or rather that
"niggers" have no soul at all. How _can_ men of sense, and especially
ministers of the Gospel, sit down to pen such fustian? These extracts
show how intensely national the Americans are, and consequently how
futile the apology for the existence of slavery so often presented,
that one State can no more interfere with the affairs of another State
than the people of England can with France and the other countries of
the European continent. The Americans are to all intents and purposes
_one_ people. In short, the identity of feeling among the _States_ of
the Union is more complete than among the _counties_ of Great Britain.
On the morning of the 4th of March, Dr. Stowe called to invite me to
address the students at Lane Seminary, on the following Sabbath
evening, on the subject of missions and the working of freedom in the
West Indies. I readily promised to comply, glad of an opportunity to
address so many of the future pastors of the American Churches, who
will occupy the field when emancipation is sure to be the great
question of the day. In fact, it is so already.
LETTER XXI.
Stay at Cincinnati (continued)--The Orphan Asylum--A Coloured Man and a
White Fop treated as each deserved--A Trip across to Covington--Mr.
Gilmore and the School for Coloured Children--"The Fugitive Slave to
the Christian"--Sabbath--Mr. Boynton--Dr. Beecher--Lane
Seminary--Departure from Cincinnati.
In the afternoon we went with Mrs. Judge B---- to see an Orphan Asylum,
in which she took a deep interest. Requested to address the children, I
took the opportunity of delivering an anti-slavery and
anti-colour-hating speech. The building, large and substantial, is
capable of accommodating 300 children; but the number of inmates was at
that time not more than 70. While the lady was showing us from one
apartment to another, and pointing out to us the comforts and
conveniences of the institution, the following colloquy took place.
_Myself._--"Now, Mrs. B, this place is very beautiful: I admire it
exceedingly. Would you refuse a little _coloured_ orphan admission into
this asylum?"
_The Lady._ (stretching herself up to her full height, and with a look
of horror and indignation),--"Indeed, we would!"
_Myself._--"Oh, shocking! shocking!"
_The Lady._--"Oh! there is another asylum for the coloured children;
they are not neglected."
_Myself._--"Ay, but why should they not be together?--why should there
be such a distinction between the children of our common Father?"
_The Lady._ (in a tone of triumph).--"Why has God made such a
distinction between them?"
_Myself._--"And why has he made such a distinction between me and Tom
Thumb? Or (for I am not very tall) why has he made me a man of 5 feet 6
inches instead of 6 feet high? A man may as well be excluded from
society on account of his stature as his colour."
At this moment my wife, seeing I was waxing warm, pulled me by the
coat-tail, and I said no more. The lady, however, went on to say that
she was opposed to slavery--was a colonizationist, and heartily wished
all the coloured people were back again in their own country. "In their
own country, indeed!" I was going to say,--"why, this is their country
as much as it is yours;" but I remembered my wife's admonition, and
held my peace. These were the sentiments of a lady first and foremost
in the charitable movements of the day, and regarded by those around
her as a pattern of piety and benevolence. She was shocked at the
notion of the poor coloured orphan mingling with fellow-orphans of a
fairer hue.
In the evening we went to take tea at the house of an English Quaker.
About half-a-dozen friends had been invited to meet us. These were
kindred spirits, anti-slavery out-and-out, and we spent the evening
very pleasantly. One of the company, in speaking of the American
prejudice against colour, mentioned a remarkable circumstance. Some
time ago, at an hotel in one of the Eastern States, a highly
respectable coloured gentleman, well known to the host and to his
guests, was about to sit down at the dinner table. A military
officer--a conceited puppy--asked the landlord if that "nigger" was
going to sit down? The landlord replied in the affirmative. "Then,"
said the fop, "_I_ cannot sit down with a nigger." The rest of the
company, understanding what was going forward, rose as one man from
their seats, ordered another table to be spread, and presented a
respectful invitation to the coloured gentleman to take a seat with
them. The military dandy was left at the first table, "alone in his
glory." When thus humbled, and when he also understood who the coloured
man was, he went up to him to apologize in the best way he could, and
to beg that the offence might be forgotten. The coloured gentleman's
reply was beautiful and touching,--"Favours I write on marble, insults
on sand."
On the morning of the 5th of March, the sun shining pleasantly, we were
tempted to cross over to Covington, on the Kentucky or slave side of
the river. Ferry-steamers ran every five or ten minutes, and the fare
was only 5 cents. At this place the Baptists have a large and important
college. Why did they erect it on the slave rather than on the free
side of the Ohio? This institution I was anxious to see; but I found it
too far off, and the roads too bad. Feeling weary and faint, we called
at a house of refreshment, where we had a genuine specimen of American
inquisitiveness.
In five minutes the daughter of the house had asked us where we came
from--what sort of a place it was--how long we had been in the United
States--how long it took us to come--how far we were going--how long we
should stay--and if we did not like that part of America so well that
we would come and settle in it altogether! and in five minutes more our
answers to all these important questions had been duly reported to the
rest of the family in an adjoining room. This inquisitiveness prevails
more in the slave than in the free States, and originates, I believe,
in the fidgetty anxiety they feel about their slaves. The stranger must
be well catechised, lest he should prove to be an Abolitionist come to
give the slaves a sly lesson in geography.
In the afternoon I went to see the school of the coloured children in
Cincinnati. This was established about four years ago by a Mr. Gilmore,
a white gentleman, who is also a minister of the Gospel. He is a man of
some property, and all connected with this school has been done at his
own risk and responsibility. On my venturing to inquire what sacrifice
of property he had made in the undertaking, he seemed hurt at the
question, and replied, "No sacrifice whatever, sir." "But what, may I
ask, have these operations cost beyond what you have received in the
way of school-fees?" I continued. "About 7,000 dollars," (1,500_l._)
said he. Including two or three branches, there are about 300 coloured
children thus educated. Mr. Gilmore was at first much opposed and
ridiculed; but that state of feeling was beginning to wear away.
Several of the children were so fair that, accustomed as I am to shades
of colour, I could not distinguish them from the Anglo-Saxon race; and
yet Mr. Gilmore told me even they would not have been admitted to the
other public schools! How discerning the Americans are! How proud of
their skin-deep aristocracy! And the author of "Cincinnati in 1841," in
speaking of those very schools from which these fair children were
excluded, says, "These schools are founded not merely on the principle
that all men are free and equal, but that all men's children are so
likewise; and that, as it is our duty to love our neighbour as
ourselves, it is our duty to provide the same benefits and blessings to
his children as to our own. These establishments result from the
recognition of the fact also, that we have all a common
interest--moral, political, and pecuniary--in the education of the
whole community." Those gloriously exclusive schools I had no wish to
visit. But I felt a peculiar pleasure in visiting this humbler yet
well-conducted institution, for the benefit of those who are despised
and degraded on account of their colour. As I entered, a music-master
was teaching them, with the aid of a piano, to sing some select pieces
for an approaching examination, both the instrument and the master
having been provided by the generous Gilmore. Even the music-master,
notwithstanding his first-rate ability, suffers considerable loss of
patronage on account of his services in this branded school. Among the
pieces sung, and sung exceedingly well, was the following touching
appeal, headed "The Fugitive Slave to the Christian"--Air,
"Cracovienne."
"The fetters galled my weary soul,--
A soul that seemed but thrown away:
I spurned the tyrant's base control,
Resolved at last the man to play:
The hounds are haying on my track;
O Christian! will you send me back?
"I felt the stripes,--the lash I saw,
Red dripping with a father's gore;
And, worst of all their lawless law,
The insults that my mother bore!
The hounds are baying on my track;
O Christian! will you send me back?
"Where human law o'errules Divine,
Beneath the sheriff's hammer fell
My wife and babes,--I call them mine,--
And where they suffer who can tell?
The hounds are baying on my track;
O Christian! will you send me back?
"I seek a home where man is man,
If such there be upon this earth,--
To draw my kindred, if I can,
Around its free though humble hearth.
The hounds are baying on my track;
O Christian! will you send me back?"
March 7.--This being the Sabbath, we went in the morning to worship at
Mr. Boynton's church. The day was very wet, and the congregation small.
His text was, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned." The sermon, though read, and composed
too much in the essay style, indicated considerable powers of mind and
fidelity of ministerial character. Although from incessant rain the day
was very dark, the Venetian blinds were down over all the windows! The
Americans, I have since observed, are particularly fond of the "dim
religious light." Among the announcements from the pulpit were several
funerals, which it is there customary thus to advertise.
In the afternoon I heard Dr. Beecher. Here, again, I found the blinds
down. The Doctor's text was, "Let me first go and bury my father," &c.
Without at all noticing the context,--an omission which I
regretted,--he proceeded at once to state the doctrine of the text to
be, that nothing can excuse the putting off of religion--that it is
every man's duty to follow Christ immediately. This subject,
notwithstanding the heaviness of the day, the infirmities of more than
threescore years and ten (74), and the frequent necessity of adjusting
his spectacles to consult his notes, he handled with much vigour and
zeal. Some of his pronunciations were rather antiquated; but they were
the elegant New England pronunciations of his youthful days. The sermon
was marked by that close and faithful dealing with the conscience in
which so many American ministers excel.
Professor Allen called to take me up to Lane Seminary, where I was to
address the students in the evening. The service was public, and held
in the chapel of the institution; but the evening being wet, the
congregation was small. I had, however, before me the future pastors of
about fifty churches, and two of the professors. I was domiciled at Mr.
Allen's. Both he and his intelligent wife are sound on the subject of
slavery. They are also quite above the contemptible prejudice against
colour. But I was sorry to hear Mrs. Allen say, that, in her domestic
arrangements, she had often had a great deal of trouble with her
_European_ servants, who would refuse to take their meals with black
ones, though the latter were in every respect superior to the former! I
have heard similar remarks in other parts of America. Mr. Allen's
system of domestic training appeared excellent. His children, of whom
he has as many as the patriarch Jacob, were among the loveliest I had
ever seen.
At 8 o'clock in the morning of the 8th of March I left Lane Seminary,
with a heavy heart at the thought that in all probability I should
never see it again. There was a sharp frost. Dr. Stowe accompanied me
to the omnibus. "All right!"--"_Pax vobiscum!_"--the vehicle moved on,
and directly the Doctor was at a distance of a hundred yards waving a
farewell. It was the last look.
At 11 A.M. myself, wife, baggage,--all were setting off from the "Queen
City" for Pittsburgh, a distance of 496 miles, in the Clipper No. 2, a
fine boat, and in good hands.
LETTER XXII.
Cincinnati--Its History and Progress--Its Trade and Commerce--Its
Periodical Press--Its Church Accommodation--Its Future Prospects
--Steaming up the Ohio--Contrast between Freedom and Slavery--An
Indian Mound--Splendid Scenery--Coal Hills.
Before proceeding with our trip to Pittsburg, I will bring together all
the material points of information I have gathered relative to
Cincinnati.
1. _Its History and Progress_.--The first year of the present century
found here but 750 inhabitants. In 1810 there were 2,540; in 1820,
9,602; in 1830, 24,381; in 1840, 46,382. At present the population is
estimated at 80,000. The coloured population forms one twenty-fifth, or
4 per cent., of the whole. The native Europeans form one-fifth of the
white population.
2. _Its Trade and Commerce_.--The principal trade is in pork. Hence
the nickname of _Porkapolis_. The yearly value of pork packed and
exported is about five millions of dollars, or one million of guineas!
As a proof of the amazing activity which characterizes all the details
of cutting, curing, packing, &c., I have been credibly informed that
two men, in one of the pork-houses, cut up in less than thirteen hours
850 hogs, averaging 300 lbs. each,--two others placing them on the
block for the purpose. All these hogs were weighed singly on scales in
the course of eleven hours. Another hand trimmed the hams, 1,700
pieces, in "Cincinnati style," as fast as they were separated from the
carcases. The hogs were thus cut up and disposed of at the rate of more
than one per minute! And this, I was told, was not much beyond the
ordinary day's work at the pork-houses.
Steam-boat building is another important branch of trade in this place.
DOLLARS.
In 1840 there were built here 33 boats of 15,341 tons,
costing 592,600
1844 " " 37 " 7,838 " 542,500
1845 " " 27 " 6,609 " 506,500
3. _Its Periodical Press_.--There are sixteen daily papers! Of these,
thirteen issue also a weekly number. Besides these, there are seventeen
weekly papers unconnected with daily issues. But Cincinnati is liberal
in her patronage of eastern publications. During the year 1845 one
house, that of Robinson and Jones, the principal periodical depot in
the city, and through which the great body of the people are supplied
with this sort of literature, sold of
Magazines and Periodicals 29,822 numbers.
Newspapers 25,390[1] "
Serial Publications 30,826 "
Works of Fiction 48,961 " !
[Footnote 1: Besides an immense quantity sent direct per mail!]
It is estimated that the people of the United States, at the present
time, support 1,200 newspapers. There being no stamp-duty, no duty on
paper, and none on advertisements, the yearly cost of a daily paper,
such as the _New York Tribune_ for instance, is only 5 dollars, or one
guinea. The price of a single copy of such papers is only 2 cents, or
one penny; and many papers are only one cent, or a half-penny per copy.
4. _Its Church Accommodation_.--By the close of the year 1845 the
voluntary principle, without any governmental or municipal aid
whatever, had provided the following places of worship:--
Presbyterian 12 New Jerusalem 1
Methodist Episcopal 12 Universalist 1
Roman Catholic 7 Second Advent 1
Baptist 5 Mormons 1
Lutheran 5 Friends 1
Protestant Episcopal 4 Congregational 1
"Christian Disciples" 4 Restorationists 1
Methodist Protestants 3 United Brethren 1
Jewish 2 "Christians" 1
Welsh 2
German Reformed 2 Total 67
This number of places of worship, at an average of 600 persons to each,
would afford accommodation for nearly two-thirds of what the entire
population was at that time; and surely two-thirds of any community is
quite as large a proportion as can, under the most favourable
circumstances, be expected to attend places of worship at any given
time. Behold, then, the strength and efficiency of the voluntary
principle! This young city, with all its wants, is far better furnished
with places of worship than the generality of commercial and
manufacturing towns in England.
Dr. Reed visited Cincinnati in 1834. He gives the population at that
time at 30,000, and the places of worship as follows. I insert them
that you may see at a glance what the voluntary principle did in the
eleven years that followed.
Presbyterian 6 Campbellite Baptists 1
Methodist 4 Jews 1
Baptist 2 --
Episcopalian 2 Total in 1834 21
German Lutheran 2 Do. in 1845 67
Unitarian 1 --
Roman Catholic 1 Increase 46
Swedes 1
5. _Its Future Prospects_.--The author of "Cincinnati in 1841" says, "I
venture the prediction that within 100 years from this time Cincinnati
will be the greatest city in America, and by the year of our Lord 2,000
the greatest city in the world." Our cousin here uses the superlative
degree when the comparative would be more appropriate. Deduct 80 or 90
per cent, from this calculation, and you still leave before this city a
bright prospect of future greatness.
We must, however, bid adieu to this "Queen of the West," and pursue our
course against the Ohio's current towards Pittsburg. We steam along
between freedom and slavery. The contrast is striking. On this subject
the remarks of the keen and philosophic M. de Tocqueville are so
accurate, and so much to the point, that I cannot do better than
transcribe and endorse them.
"A century had scarcely elapsed since the foundation of the colonies,
when the attention of the planters was struck by the extraordinary fact
that the provinces which were comparatively destitute of slaves
increased in population, in wealth, and in prosperity, more rapidly
than those which contained the greatest number of negroes. In the
former, however, the inhabitants were obliged to cultivate the soil
themselves, or by hired labourers; in the latter, they were furnished
with hands for which they paid no wages: yet, although labour and
expense were on the one side, and ease with economy on the other, the
former were in possession of the most advantageous system. * * * The
more progress was made, the more was it shown that slavery, which is so
cruel to the slave, is prejudicial to the master.
"But this truth was most satisfactorily demonstrated when civilization
reached the banks of the Ohio. The stream which the Indians had
distinguished by the name of Ohio, or Beautiful River, waters one of
the most magnificent valleys which have ever been made the abode of
man. Undulating lands extend upon both shores of the Ohio, whose soil
affords inexhaustible treasures to the labourer. On either bank the air
is wholesome and the climate mild; and each of those banks forms the
extreme frontier of a vast State: that which follows the numerous
windings of the Ohio on the left is Kentucky [in ascending the river it
was on our _right_]; that on the right [our left] bearing the name of
the river. These two States differ only in one respect,--Kentucky has
admitted slavery, but the State of Ohio has not. * * *
"Upon the left bank of the stream the population is rare; from time to
time one descries a troop of slaves loitering in the half-desert
fields; the primeval forest recurs at every turn; society seems to be
asleep, man to be idle, and nature alone offers a scene of activity and
life.
"From the right bank, on the contrary, a confused hum is heard, which
proclaims the presence of industry; the fields are covered with
abundant harvests; the elegance of the dwellings announces the taste
and activity of the labourer; and man appears to be in the enjoyment of
that wealth and contentment which are the reward of labour."
The Kentucky and the Ohio States are nearly equal as to their area in
square miles. Kentucky was founded in 1775, and Ohio in 1788. In 1840
the population of Kentucky was 779,828, while that of Ohio was
1,519,467--nearly double that of the former. By this time it is far
more than double.
"Upon the left bank of the Ohio," continues De Tocqueville, "labour is
confounded with the idea of slavery; upon the right bank it is
identified with that of prosperity and improvement: on the one side it
is degraded, on the other it is honoured. On the former territory no
white labourers can be found, for they would be afraid of assimilating
themselves to the negroes; on the latter no one is idle, for the white
population extends its activity and its intelligence to every kind of
improvement. Thus the men whose task it is to cultivate the rich soil
of Kentucky are ignorant and lukewarm; while those who are active and
enlightened either do nothing or pass over into the State of Ohio,
where they may work without dishonour."
March the 9th was a dull day; but the scenery was of surpassing beauty.
At night a terrible storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied with
rain, compelled us to "lie to." A charming morning succeeded. During
the forenoon, we passed a small town on the Virginia side called
Elizabeth Town. An Indian mound was pointed out to me, which in size
and shape resembled "Tomen y Bala" in North Wales. These artificial
mounds are very numerous in the valleys of the Ohio and the
Mississippi. The ancient relics they are sometimes found to contain
afford abundant proofs that these fertile regions were once peopled by
a race of men in a far higher state of civilization than the Indians
when first discovered by the white man. The innocent and imaginative
speculations of a Christian minister in the State of Ohio on these
ancient remains laid the foundation of the curious book of "Mormon."
Nature being now arrayed in her winter dress, we could form but a faint
conception of her summer loveliness when clothed in her gayest green.
Hills were seen rising up, sometimes almost perpendicularly from the
stream, and sometimes skirted with fertile fields extending to the
river's edge. Here a house on the brow of a hill, and there another at
its base. Here the humble log hut, and there the elegant mansion, and
sometimes both in unequal juxtaposition. The hills are in parts
scolloped in continuous succession, presenting a beautiful display of
unity and diversity combined; but often they appear in isolated and
distinct grandeur, like a row of semi-globes; while, in other
instances, they rise one above another like apples in a fruit-vase.
Sometimes the rivulets are seen like silver cords falling
perpendicularly into the river; at other times, you discern them only
by their musical murmurs as they roll on through deep ravines formed by
their own action. These hills, for more than 100 miles before you come
to Pittsburg, are literally heaps of coal. In height they vary from 100
to 500 feet, and nothing more is required than to clear off the soil,
and then dig away the treasure.
What struck me most was the immense number of children everywhere
gazing upon us from the river's banks. At settlements of not more than
half-a-dozen houses, I counted a groupe of more than twenty children.
LETTER XXIII.
Arrival at Pittsburg--Its Trade and Prospects--Temperance--Newspapers
--Trip up the Monongahela to Brownsville--Staging by Night across the
Alleghany Mountains--Arrival at Cumberland--The Railway Carriages of
America.
Arriving at Pittsburg in the middle of the night of the 10th of March,
we remained on board till morning. As we had been accustomed on this
"Clipper No. 2" to breakfast at half-past 7, I thought they surely
would not send us empty away. But no! we had to turn out at that early
hour of a morning piercingly cold, and get a breakfast where we could,
or remain without. This was "clipping" us rather too closely, after we
had paid seven dollars each for our passage and provisions.
Pittsburg is in the State of Pennsylvania. Its progress has been rapid,
and its prospects are bright. Seventy years ago the ground on which it
stands was a wilderness, the abode of wild beasts and the hunting
ground of Indians. Its manufactures are chiefly those of glass, iron,
and cotton. It is the Birmingham of America. Indeed one part of it,
across the river, is called "Birmingham," and bids fair to rival its
old namesake. Its advantages and resources are unparalleled. It
occupies in reference to the United States, north and south, east and
west, a perfectly central position. It is surrounded with, solid
mountains of coal, which--dug out, as I have intimated, with the
greatest ease--is conveyed with equal ease down inclined planes to the
very furnace mouths of the foundries and factories! This great workshop
communicates directly, by means of the Ohio, the Mississippi, Red
River, &c., with immense countries, extending to Texas, to Mexico, and
to the Gulph. Its population, already 70,000, is (I believe)
incomparably more intelligent, more temperate, more religious, and more
steady than that of any manufacturing town in England. In fact, England
has not much chance of competing successfully with America, unless her
artizans copy more extensively the example of the American people in
the entire abandonment of intoxicating liquors. In travelling leisurely
from New Orleans to Boston (the whole length of the United States), and
sitting down at all sorts of tables, on land and on water, private and
public, I have never once seen even wine brought to the table. Nothing
but water was universally used!
At Pittsburg I bought three good-sized newspapers for 5 cents, or
twopence-halfpenny. One of them, _The Daily Morning Post_, was a large
sheet, measuring 3 feet by 2, and well filled on both sides with close
letter-press, for 2 cents, or one penny. The absence of duty on paper
and of newspaper stamps is no doubt one great cause of the advanced
intelligence of the mass of the American people. What an absurd policy
is that of the British Government, first to impose taxes upon
_knowledge_, and then to use the money in promoting _education_!
At Pittsburg the Ohio ends, or rather begins, by the confluence of the
Alleghany and the Monongahela rivers. We ascended the latter to
Brownsville, about 56 miles. Having booked ourselves at an office, we
had to get into a smaller steamer on the other side of the bridge which
spans the river. The entire charge to Philadelphia was 12 dollars each.
We went by the "Consul," at half-past 8 A.M. of the 11th of March. The
water was very high, as had been the case in the Ohio all the way from
Cincinnati. We had not proceeded far when I found the passengers
a-stir, as if they had got to their journey's end. What was the matter?
Why, we had come to falls, which it was very doubtful whether the
steamer could get over. The passengers were soon landed, and the
steamer, with the crew, left to attempt the ascent. There were locks at
hand by which, under ordinary circumstances, boats evaded the
difficulty; but the flood was now so great that they could not be used.
Our steamer, therefore, stirred up her fires, raised her steam, brought
all her powers to bear, faced the difficulty, dashed into it, cut
along, and set at defiance the fury of the flood. "There she
goes!"--"No!"--"Yes!"--"No!"--"She's at a stand,"--the next moment she
was gliding back with the torrent: she had failed! But _nil
desperandum_. "Try--try--try again!" An immense volume of smoke issued
from her chimney, and soon she seemed again to be fully inflated with
her vapoury aliment. I expected every moment an explosion, and, while
rejoicing in our own safety on _terra firma_, felt tremblingly anxious
for the lives of those on board. Having had sufficient time to "recover
strength," she made for the foaming surge once more. "There she
goes!"--"No!"--"Yes!"--she paused--but it was only for the twinkling of
an eye,--the next moment she was over, and the bank's of the
Monongahela resounded with the joyful shouts of the gazing passengers.
We now breathed more freely, and were soon on board again; but we had
not advanced very far before we had to get out once more, in
consequence of other falls, which were stemmed with the same
inconvenience, the same anxiety, and the same success as in the
preceding instance.
But ere long an obstacle more formidable than the falls presented
itself--a bridge across the river. This bridge the boats were
accustomed to pass under, but the water was now so high that it could
not be done; and we had to wait till another boat belonging to the same
company, above the bridge, came down from Brownsville, and enabled us
to effect an exchange of passengers; for neither of the boats could get
under the bridge. The down boat soon made its appearance; and a scene
of confusion ensued which I know not how to describe. Imagine two sets
of passengers, about 150 persons in each set, exchanging boats! Three
hundred travellers jostling against each other, with "plunder"
amounting to some thousands of packages, to be removed a distance of
300 or 400 yards, at the risk and responsibility of the owners, without
any care or concern on the part of the officers of the boats! Trunks
seemed to run on wheels, carpet-bags to have wings, and portmanteaus to
jump about like grasshoppers. If you had put down one article while
looking for the rest, in an instant it would be gone. In this amusing
scuffle were involved several members of Congress, returning in the
"down" boat from their legislative duties. The celebrated Judge M'Lean
was among them. But the safety of some box or parcel was just then--to
most of us--of more importance than all the great men in the world. The
baggage storm being over, and the great division and trans-shipment
effected, we moved forward in peace. By-and-by, however, each one was
called upon to show his baggage, that it might be set apart for the
particular coach to which it would have to be consigned. This was a
most troublesome affair. At half-past 6 in the evening we arrived at
Brownsville, having been ten hours in getting over the 56 miles from
Pittsburg.
And now for the stage-coaches; for, _nolens volens_, "a-head" we must
go that very night. About seven or eight coaches were filled by those
of our fellow-passengers who, like ourselves, were going to cross the
mountains. Some of the vehicles set off immediately; but three waited
to let their passengers get tea or supper, meals which in America are
identical. About 8 P.M. we started on our cold and dreary journey of 73
miles across the Alleghany Mountains. A stage-coach in America is a
very different thing from the beautiful machine that used to pass by
that name in England.
It has no outside accommodation, except for one person on the box along
with the driver. The inside, in addition to the fore seat and the hind
seat, has also a middle seat across the vehicle. Each of these three
seats holds three persons, making nine in all. In our stage we had ten
persons; but the ten, in a pecuniary point of view, were only eight and
a half. The night was fearfully dark, and the roads were altogether
unworthy of the name. Yet there is an immense traffic on this route,
which is the highway from East to West. The Americans, with all their
"smartness," have not the knack of making either good roads or good
streets. About 11 P.M. we arrived at Uniontown, 12 miles from
Brownsville. There the horses were to be changed, an operation which
took about an hour to accomplish. Three coaches were there together.
The passengers rushed out of the inn, where we had been warming
ourselves, and jumped into the coaches. Crack went the whips, off went
the horses, and round went the wheels. But, alas! while we could hear
the rattling of the other coaches, our own moved not at all! "Driver,
why don't you be off?" No answer. "Driver, push on." No reply. "Go
a-head, driver,--don't keep us here all night." No notice taken. We
began to thump and stamp. No response. At last I put my head out
through the window. There _was_ no driver; and, worse still, there were
no horses! How was this? There was no "team," we were told, for our
coach! I jumped out, and began to make diligent inquiry: one told me
one thing, and another another. At length I learned that there was a
"team" in the stable, but there was no driver disposed to go. The one
who should have taken us was cursing and swearing in bed, and would not
get up. This was provoking enough. "Where is the agent of the
stage-coach company?"--"He lives about 47 miles off." "Where is the
landlord of this house?"--"He is in bed." There we were helpless and
deserted on the highroad, between 12 and 1 o'clock, in an extremely
cold night, without any redress or any opportunity of appeal! It was
nobody's business to care for us. I groped my way, however, to some
outbuilding, where about half-a-dozen drivers were snoring in their
beds, and, with the promise of making it "worth his while," succeeded
in inducing one of them to get up and take us to the next place for
changing horses. But before we could get off it was 2 o'clock in the
morning. We reached the next station, a distance of 10 miles, at 5
P.M., and paid our driver two dollars. In America drivers are not
accustomed to receive gratuities from passengers, but ours was a
peculiar case. After a most wearisome day of travel, being tossed about
in the coach like balls, expecting every moment to be upset, and
feeling bruised all over, we reached Cumberland at 9 P.M., having been
25 hours in getting over 73 miles, at the amazing rate of 3 miles an
hour! In Cumberland we had to stay all night.
At 8 A.M. the next day we set off by railway, or (as the Americans
would say) "by the cars," to Baltimore. In committing my trunk to the
luggage-van, I was struck with the simplicity and suitableness of the
check system there adopted. A piece of tin, with a certain number upon
it, was fastened by a strap to each article of baggage, and a duplicate
piece given to the passenger. I also remarked the size, shape, and
fittings-up of the cars. They are from 30 to 50 feet long, having an
aisle right through the middle from end to end, and on each side of
that aisle rows of seats, each of sufficient length to accommodate two
persons. The arrangement reminded me of a little country meeting-house,
the congregation amounting to from 50 to 100 persons. Each carriage
contained a stove,--at that season a most important article of
furniture. The seats, which were very nicely cushioned, had their hacks
so arranged as that the passengers could easily turn them as they
pleased, and sit with either their faces or their backs "towards the
horses" as they might feel disposed. This part of the arrangement is
indispensable, as these long carriages can never be turned. The hind
part in coming is the fore part in going, and _vice versa_. The
distinctions of first, second, and third class carriages are unknown.
That would be too aristocratic. But the "niggers" must go into the
luggage-van. These republican carriages are very neatly fitted up,
being mostly of mahogany with crimson velvet linings; but you often
feel annoyed that such dirty people should get in.
LETTER XXIV.
Journey by Railroad from Cumberland to Baltimore--A Tedious Stoppage
--A Sabbath in Baltimore--Fruitless Inquiry--A Presbyterian Church and
Dr. Plummer--Richmond and its Resolutions--Dr Plummer's Pro slavery
Manifesto--The Methodist Episcopal Church.
The railway from Cumberland to Baltimore is 178 miles long, and (like
most lines in the States) is single. This fact is important, for our
cousins, in boasting of the hundreds or thousands of miles of railway
they have constructed, forget to tell us that they are nearly all
single. Here and there they have a double set of rails, like our
sidings, to enable trains to pass each other.
The ground was covered with snow, otherwise the scenery would have been
magnificent. For a long time the Potomac was our companion. More than
once we had to cross the stream on wooden bridges; so that we had it
sometimes on our right and sometimes on our left, ourselves being
alternately in Virginia and in Maryland. When within 14 miles of
Baltimore, and already benighted, we were told we could not proceed, on
account of some accident to a luggage-tram that was coming up. The
engine, or (as the Americans invariably say) the "locomotive," had got
off the rail, and torn up the ground in a frightful manner; but no one
was hurt. We were detained for 7 hours; and instead of getting into
Baltimore at 8 P.M., making an average of about 15 miles an hour, which
was the utmost we had been led to expect, we did not get there till 3
A.M., bringing our average rate per hour down to about 9-1/2 miles. The
tediousness of the delay was considerably relieved by a man sitting
beside me avowing himself a thorough Abolitionist, and a hearty friend
of the coloured race. He spoke out his sentiments openly and
fearlessly, and was quite a match for any one that dared to assail him.
His name was Daniel Carmichael, of Brooklyn. He is a great railway and
canal contractor, and has generally in his employ from 500 to 800
people. He is also a very zealous "teetotaler." We had also a _Mrs.
Malaprop_, from Baltimore, with us, who told us, among other marvellous
things, that in that city they took the _senses_ (census) of the people
every month. She was very anxious to let all around her know that her
husband was a medical man: she therefore wondered what "the Doctor" was
then doing, what "the Doctor" thought of the non-arrival of the train,
whether "the Doctor" would be waiting for her at the station, and
whether "the Doctor" would bring his own carriage, or hire one, to meet
her, &c.
March 14.--The day on which we arrived at Baltimore was the Sabbath. In
a public room in the National Hotel, at which we were stopping, was
hung up a nicely-framed announcement of the order of services in one of
the Presbyterian Churches. We wished, however, to find a Congregational
place of worship, and set off with that view. It was a beautiful day,
and Baltimore seemed to send forth its inhabitants by streets-full to
the various churches. In the _Old_ World I never saw anything like it,
nor elsewhere in the _New_, except perhaps at Boston. All secular
engagements seemed to be entirely suspended, and the whole city seemed
to enjoy a Sabbath! As we walked along, I asked a young man if he could
direct me to a Congregational church. He stared at me for a moment, and
then said, "Do you mean a church with pews in it?" I asked another,
"Can you tell me where I shall find a Congregational church in this
city?"--"What congregation do you mean, sir?" was the reply. They
evidently knew nothing at all about Congregationalism. The fact was, as
I afterwards understood, we had not yet come into its latitude; for in
America Presbyterianism and Congregationalism have hitherto been
matters of latitude and longitude rather than of earnest conviction and
firm adherence. We now inquired for a _Presbyterian_ church, and were
told that there was one not far from where we then stood, in which Mr.
Plummer--a very popular minister just come into the city--preached.
Following the directions given, we came to a certain church, in front
of which two or three grave men stood talking to each other. In answer
to the question, "What church is this?" one of these grave men said,
with a good broad Scotch accent, "It's a Presbyterian church." The
accent gave a double confirmation to the answer. "Is it Mr. Plummer's
church?" I continued. With the same accent, and in a tone of gentle
rebuke, I was told, "Yes, it is _Doctor_ Plummer's." We entered. The
congregation were assembling. We were left either to stand in the aisle
or to take a seat as we pleased. We preferred the latter. The building
was new, but built in the old Gothic style. The pews, the pulpit, the
front of the gallery, the organ, and the framework of the roof, which
was all exposed, were of oak, which had been made to resemble in colour
wood that has stood the test of 400 or 500 years. The windows also were
darkened. The whole affair was tremendously heavy, enough to mesmerize
any one. The congregation was large, respectable, and decorous. After a
few glances around, to see if there was a negro pew anywhere, I
observed several coloured faces peeping from a recess in the gallery,
on the left side of the organ,--there was the "Negro Pew," In due time
_Doctor_ Plummer ascended the pulpit. He was a fine tall man,
grey-haired, well dressed, with commanding aspect and a powerful voice.
I ceased to wonder at the emphasis with which the Scotchman called him
_Doctor_ Plummer. He was quite the _ideal_ of a _Doctor_. His text was
John iii. 18: "He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God." His subject was, that "man is
justly accountable to God for his belief." This truth he handled in a
masterly manner, tossing about as with a giant's arm Lord Brougham and
the Universalists. Notwithstanding my want of rest on the previous
night, the absurd heaviness of the building, and the fact that the
sermon--which occupied a full hour--was all read, I listened with
almost breathless attention, and was sorry when he had done.
And who was this Dr. Plummer? It was Dr. Plummer late of Richmond, in
Virginia. "Richmond," says Dr. Reed, "is still the great mart of
slavery; and the interests of morality and religion suffer from this
cause. Several persons of the greatest wealth, and therefore of the
greatest consideration in the town, are known slave-dealers; and their
influence, in addition to the actual traffic, is of course
unfavourable. The sale of slaves is as common, and produces as little
sensation, as that of cattle. It occurs in the main street, and before
the door of the party who is commissioned to make the sale." And what
was the conduct of this Doctor of Divinity in reference to this state
of things? He sanctioned it! He pleaded for it! He lived upon it! He
was once actually supported, either wholly or in part, by slave labour!
The church of which he was the pastor was endowed with a number of
slaves. These slaves were hired out, and the proceeds were given in the
way of stipend to the _Doctor_! Nor is this all. A few years ago the
slave-holders of the South were greatly alarmed by the vigorous efforts
of the Abolitionists of the North. It was about the time that the
Charleston Post-office was plundered by a mob of several thousand
people, and all the anti-slavery publications there found were made a
bonfire of in the street; and where "the clergy of all denominations
attended in a body, lending their sanction to the proceedings, and
adding by their presence to the impressive character of the scene." On
that occasion the clergy of the city of Richmond were not less prompt
than their brethren of Charleston in responding to the "public
sentiment."' They resolved _unanimously_,--
"That we earnestly deprecate the unwarrantable and highly improper
interference of the people of any other State with the domestic
relations of master and slave.
"That the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles, in not
interfering with the question of slavery, but uniformly recognising the
relations of master and servant, and giving full and affectionate
instruction to both, is worthy the imitation of all ministers of the
Gospel.
"That we will not patronise nor receive any pamphlet or newspaper of
the Anti-slavery Societies, and that we will discountenance the
circulation of all such papers in the community.
"That the suspicions which have prevailed to a considerable extent
against ministers of the Gospel and professors of religion in the State
of Virginia, as identified with Abolitionists, are _wholly unmerited_;
believing as we do, from extensive acquaintance with our churches and
brethren, that they are unanimous in opposing the pernicious schemes of
Abolitionists."
After this, are men to be branded as "infidels," because they say the
American churches are the "bulwarks of slavery?"
But what has all this to do with our fine-looking and dignified
"_Doctor_?" I will tell you. When these resolutions were passed, he was
from home; but on his return, he lost no time in communicating to the
"Chairman of the Committee of Correspondence" his entire concurrence
with what had been done,--and here are extracts from his letter:--
"I have carefully watched this matter from its earliest existence; and
everything I have seen or heard of its character, both from its patrons
and its enemies, has confirmed me beyond repentance in the belief,
that, let the character of the Abolitionists be what it may in the
sight of the Judge of all the earth, this is the most meddlesome,
impudent, reckless, fierce, and wicked excitement I ever saw.
"If Abolitionists will set the country in a blaze, it is but right that
they should receive the _first warming at the fire_.
"Let it be proclaimed throughout the nation, that every movement made
by the fanatics (so far as it has any effect in the South) does but
rivet every fetter of the bondman, and diminish the probability of
anything being successfully undertaken for making him either fit for
freedom or likely to obtain it. We have the authority of Montesquieu,
Burke, and Coleridge, three eminent masters of the science of human
nature, that, of all men, slave-holders are the most jealous of their
liberties. One of Pennsylvania's most gifted sons has lately pronounced
the South the _cradle of liberty_.
"Lastly. Abolitionists are like infidels, wholly unaddicted to
martyrdom for opinion's sake. Let them understand that _they will be
caught_ [lynched] if they come among us, and they will take good heed
to keep out of our way. There is not one man among them who has any
more idea of shedding his blood in the cause, than he has of making war
on the Grand Turk."
So much for my splendid D.D., on whose lips I hung with such intense
interest. I did not know all this at the time, or I should have felt
very differently. As he had but recently left Richmond when I saw him,
it is not at all unlikely that those fine clothes he had on were the
fruit of the slave's unrequited toil. He has always, I believe, stood
high among his brethren, and one or two excellent tracts of his are
published by the American Tract Society.
All denominations are here alike guilty in reference to their coloured
brethren. In this very city the General Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church for 1840 passed the following resolution:--
"That it is inexpedient and unjustifiable for any preacher to permit
coloured persons to give testimony against white persons in any State
where they are denied that privilege by law."
Against this iniquitous resolution the official members of two of the
coloured Methodist Episcopal Churches in Baltimore immediately
remonstrated and petitioned. The following powerful and pathetic
passages are from their address:--
"The adoption of such a resolution by our highest ecclesiastical
judicatory,--a judicatory composed of the most experienced and the
wisest brethren in the Church, the choice selection of twenty-eight
Annual Conferences,--has inflicted, we fear, an irreparable injury upon
eighty thousand souls for whom Christ died,--souls who, by this act of
your body, have been stripped of the dignity of Christians, degraded in
the scale of humanity, and treated as criminals, for no other reason
than the colour of their skin! Your resolution has, in our humble
opinion, _virtually_ declared that a mere physical peculiarity, the
handiwork of our all-wise and benevolent Creator, is _prima facie_
evidence of incompetency to tell the truth, or is an unerring
indication of unworthiness to bear testimony against a fellow-being
whose skin is denominated white. * * *
"Brethren, out of the abundance of the heart we have spoken. _Our
grievance is before you_! If you have any regard for the salvation of
the eighty thousand immortal souls committed to your care,--if you
would not _thrust_ beyond the pale of the Church _twenty-five thousand
souls in this city_, who have felt determined never to leave the Church
that has nourished and brought them up,--if you regard us as children
of one Common Father, and can upon reflection sympathize with us as
members of the body of Christ,--if you would not incur the fearful, the
tremendous responsibility of offending not only one, but many thousands
of his 'little ones,'--we conjure you to wipe from your journal the
odious resolution which is ruining our people."
This address was presented to one of the Secretaries, a delegate of the
Baltimore Conference, and subsequently given by him to the Bishops. How
many of the members of Conference saw it, is unknown. One thing is
certain, _it was never read to the Conference_.
LETTER XXV.
A Sabbath at Baltimore (continued)--A Coloured Congregation--The
Thought of seeing Washington abandoned--Departure from Baltimore
--Coloured Ladies in the Luggage-Van--American Railways--Chesapeak
Bay--Susquehannah--State of Delaware, and Abolition of Slavery
--Philadelphia--Albert Barnes--Stephen Girard's Extraordinary Will.
In the afternoon of my first Sabbath at Baltimore I found, after much
inquiry, a congregation of coloured people, who were some sort of
Methodists. My wife and I were the only white people in the place. We
were treated with great politeness, and put, not in a pew apart by
ourselves, but in one of the best places they could find, in the very
midst of the congregation. A serious-looking coloured man opened the
service, with great propriety of manner and expression. He was the
regular pastor. A black man, a stranger as I understood, preached. His
text (he said) was, "Behold, I come quickly;" and they would find it in
the Book of Revelation. But chapter and verse were not given, nor had
he the Bible open in Revelation at all. I suspected that he could not
read; and that suspicion was confirmed by the amount of nonsense which
he soon uttered. At first his words were "few and far between," uttered
in a tone of voice scarcely audible. Soon, however, he worked both
himself and his audience into a tremendous phrenzy. The burden of his
song was--how John had lived to a very great age, in spite of all
attempts to put him to death; how his enemies had at last decided to
try the plan of throwing him into a "kittle of biling ile;" how God had
said to him, "Never mind, John,--if they throw thee into that kittle,
I'll go there with thee,--they shall bile me too;" how John was
therefore taken up alive; and how his persecutors, baffled in all their
efforts to despatch him, ultimately determined to throw their victim
upon a desolate island, and leave him there to live or perish as he
might. During the delivery of all this nonsense, the laughing, the
shouting, the groaning, and the jumping were positively terrific. It
was Methodism gone mad. How disgraceful, that American Christians, so
called, with all their schools and colleges, and with all their efforts
to send the Gospel to Africa, should leave these people at their very
doors thus to feed upon "husks" and "ashes!" Between 500 and 600 people
were listening to this ignorant man, giving as the pure and positive
word of God what was of very doubtful authority, intermingled with the
crudities of his own brain. I wished to stay through the service, and
perhaps at the close express my fraternal feelings; but I was so
shocked and grieved at this ranting exhibition that I felt it
unwarrantable to remain.
Leaving these unfortunate people, we peeped into two cathedral
churches,--that of the Church of England, or (as it is here called) the
Protestant Episcopal Church, and that of the Church of Rome. Both
buildings are very splendid. We had been in the former some time before
we felt quite sure that we were not in a Popish place of worship, so
papistical were its aspect and arrangements. It was evident that
Puseyism, or Popery in some form, had there its throne and its sceptre.
The avowedly Popish cathedral was crowded with worshippers; and, to the
shame of Protestantism be it spoken, black and coloured people were
_there_ seen intermingled with the whites in the performance of their
religious ceremonies! The State of Maryland, of which Baltimore is the
capital, having been first settled by a colony of Roman Catholics,
might be expected to be a stronghold of Popery. Yet, it is not so. The
adherents of that system are but a small minority of the population.
Baltimore is, however, a stronghold of slavery. Here Garrison's
indignation against the system was first kindled--here Frederick
Douglas tasted some of its bitter draughts--and here Torrey died its
victim. The following are specimens of the manner in which the trade in
human flesh is carried on in this city:--
"NEGROES WANTED.--I have removed from my former residence. West
Pratt-street, to my new establishment on Camden-street, immediately in
the rear of the Railroad Depot, where I am permanently located. Persons
bringing Negroes by the cars will find it very convenient, as it is
only a few yards from where the passengers get out. Those having
Negroes for sale will find it to their advantage to call and see me, as
I am at all times paying the highest prices in cash.
"J. S. DONOVAN, Balt. Md."
"o28--6m*."
"CASH FOR FIVE HUNDRED NEGROES.--At the old establishment of Slatter's,
No. 244, Pratt-street, Baltimore, between Sharp and Howard Streets,
where the highest prices are paid, which is well known. We have large
accommodations for Negroes, and always buying. Being regular shippers
to New Orleans, persons should bring their property where no
commissions are paid, as the owners lose it. All communications
attended to promptly by addressing
"H. F. SLATTER."
"j5--6m*."
Before and since my arrival in the United States, I had thought much of
seeing Washington, and, if possible, Congress in session. But such was
the severity of the weather that we could not cross the Alleghanies
before that assembly had risen and dispersed. At Baltimore I was within
two hours' journey of the capital. Should I go and see it? No; for what
can _there_ be found to gratify the friend of freedom and of man? The
Missouri compromise, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican War, are
all associated with Washington. The capital itself is but a great
slave-mart, with its baracoons and manacles, its handcuffs and
auction-stands! Ay, and all this in full view of the national edifice,
wherein is deposited that instrument which bears on its head and front
the noble sentiment--"That all men are created equal; that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Under the
influence of these recollections, I abandoned the idea of visiting
Washington.
At 9 o'clock on Monday morning we set off by railway for Philadelphia.
While I was taking a last glance at my trunks in the luggage-van, at
the Baltimore station, about half-a-dozen very clean and respectable
coloured ladies came up, and made for the said van as a matter of
course. It was the only accommodation that would be allowed them,
though they paid the same fare as other people! They were ladies to
whom any gentleman in England would have been proud to resign a seat.
But in the land of equality, they were consigned to the cold, dark, and
dirty regions of the luggage-van. I noticed one important difference
between the railway economy of England and that of America. In the
former, as you know, the railway is haughty, exclusive, and
aristocratic. It scorns all fellowship with common roads, and dashes
on, either under or over the houses, with arbitrary indifference. In
America, it generally condescends to pass along the public streets to
the very centre of the city, the engine being taken off or put to in
the suburbs, and its place _intra muros_, if I may so say, supplied by
horses. In leaving Baltimore, the engine was attached _before_ we got
quite out of the city; and we were going for some time along the common
road, meeting in one place a horse and cart, in another a man on
horseback, in another a pair of oxen fastened to each other, and so on.
Dangerous enough, apparently! yet railway accidents are much less
frequent in America than in England. It is, besides, an immense saving
of capital.
In our progress, we had to cross several arms of the Chesapeak Bay.
These arms were from one to two miles wide, and the railway is carried
over them upon posts driven into the ground. It seemed like crossing
the sea in a railway carriage. At Havre de Grace we had to cross the
Susquehannah River. This word Susquehannah is Indian, and means
literally, I am told, "the rolling thunder." In crossing it, however,
we heard no thunder, except that of the luggage-van over our heads, on
the top of the steamer. Here we changed carriages. We soon got sight of
the Delaware, which kept us company nearly all the way to Philadelphia.
Delaware, the smallest of all the States except Rhode Island, we
entirely crossed. A few days before, Delaware had well nigh done
herself great honour. Her House of Representatives carried, by a
majority, a vote for the abolition of slavery within her boundaries;
but the measure was lost in her Senate by a majority of one or two. The
State legislature will not meet again for two years. All parties are
confident that the measure will then be triumphantly carried through.
In America, however, the abolition of slavery in any State does not
always mean freedom to the slaves. Too often it is a mere
transportation of them to the Southern States. Had Delaware passed a
law that all slaves should he free at the expiration of five years, or
that all children born after a certain period should he free, the
owners of slaves would have had an obvious interest in disposing of
their human property to the Southern traders _before_ that period
arrived. Mothers, too, would have been hastened Southward to give birth
to their offspring; so that the "peculiar institution" might lose none
of its prey. Measures for the abolition of slavery in any part of
America do not arise from sympathy with the negro, and from a wish to
improve his condition and promote his happiness, but from aversion to
his presence, or perhaps from a conviction that the system of slavery
is expensive and impolitic. Those who feel kindly towards their
coloured brother, and act towards him under the impulse of pure and
lofty philanthropy, are, I am sorry to say, very few indeed.
These views may appear severe and uncharitable towards the American
people, but they are confirmed by M. de Tocqueville. "When a Northern
State declared that the son of the slave should be born free," observes
that impartial writer, "the slave lost a large portion of his market
value, since his posterity was no longer included in the bargain, and
the owner had then a strong interest in transporting him to the South.
Thus the same law prevents the slaves of the South from coming to the
Northern States, and drives those of the North to the South. The want
of free hands is felt in a State in proportion as the number of slaves
decreases. But, in proportion as labour is performed by free hands,
slave labour becomes less productive; and the slave is then a useless
or an onerous possession, whom it is important to export to those
Southern States where the same competition is not to be feared. _Thus
the abolition of slavery does not set the slave free: it merely
transfers him from one master to another, and from the North to the
South_." M. de Tocqueville adds, in a note, "The States in which
slavery is abolished usually do what they can to render their territory
disagreeable to the negroes as a place of residence; and as a kind of
emulation exists between the different States in this respect, the
unhappy blacks can only choose the least of the evils which beset
them." This is perfectly true.
Crossing the Schuilkyl, we arrived about 3 o'clock P. M. in
Philadelphia, "the city of brotherly love," having performed the
journey of 97 miles in six hours, a rate of only 16 miles an hour!
In Philadelphia were many men and things that I wished to see. First
and foremost, in my professional curiosity, was Albert Barnes; but
being anxious to push on to New York that night, I had but an hour and
a half to stay. Of a sight of the famous author of the "Notes," I was
therefore compelled to deny myself. My regret was diminished, when I
learned from an English minister of high standing, who, under the
influence of the best feelings, and with an excellent introduction, had
called upon the Commentator, that he received him with a degree of
indifference bordering on rudeness.
In Philadelphia there is no Congregational Church. A few years ago John
Todd, the well-known author of "The Student's Guide," attempted to
raise one. He was but little countenanced, however, by Albert Barnes
and the Presbyterians, and failed.
In passing through this city, I had a distant glimpse of a most
remarkable institution. M. Girard, an old bachelor, a native of France,
who had accumulated immense wealth, died a few years ago, leaving by
will the enormous sum of two millions of dollars, or upwards of four
hundred thousand pounds sterling, to erect and endow a college for the
accommodation and education of three hundred orphan boys. The ground on
which it was to be built, consisting of no less than 45 acres, he
ordered to be enclosed with a high solid wall, capped with marble, and
lined upon the top with long iron spikes. He also inserted in his will
the following extraordinary clause: "I enjoin and require that no
ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of any sect whatever, shall ever
hold or exercise any station or duty whatever in said college; nor
shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a
visitor, within the premises appropriated to the purpose of said
college." An attempt was made before the Supreme Court of the United
States to set aside this will, and Daniel Webster, the great New
England barrister, delivered a powerful "plea" against it; but the
attempt was overruled. For some years the building has been slowly
proceeding, and is not yet ready for occupation. Had I had time, I
could not, being a minister, have entered the premises. To me, and to
all like me, "_Procul, procul, este, profani_" is chiselled on every
stone!--a singular monument of the priest-hating propensities of the
old French Revolutionists.
LETTER XXVI.
Departure from Philadelphia--A Communicative Yankee--Trenton--The
Mansion of Joseph Bonaparte--Scenes of Brainerd's Labours One Hundred
Years ago--First Impressions of New York--150, Nassau-street--Private
Lodgings--Literary Society--American Lodging-houses--A Lecture on
Astronomy--The "Negro Pew" in Dr. Patton's Church.
At half-past 4 in the afternoon of March 15 we left Philadelphia by
railway for New York, which we reached at 10 P.M., an average again of
about 16 miles an hour. In this journey I met with a very communicative
Yankee, who, though not a religious man, was proud to trace his
genealogy to the "Pilgrim Fathers," and, through them, to the Normans.
Intercourse, he said, had been maintained for the last two centuries
between the English and American branches of the family. He also took
care to inform me that the head of the English branch was a baronet.
This was but one of many instances in which I found among our
Transatlantic friends a deep idolatry of rank and titles. In talking of
their own political institutions, he declared their last two Presidents
to have been--the one a fool, and the other a knave,--Polk the fool,
and Tyler the knave. He entertained an insane and cruel prejudice
against those whose skin was not exactly of the same colour with his
own, and "thanked God" that he had no African blood in his veins.
We passed through Trenton, celebrated as the scene of a bloody conflict
between the British and the American forces. The Americans, I am sorry
to say, dwell too fondly on the remembrance of those deadly struggles.
They cherish the spirit of war. The influence of Elihu Burritt and his
"bond of brotherhood" is indeed greatly needed on both sides of the
Atlantic.
We also passed what once was the residence of ex-royalty--the princely
mansion which Joseph Bonaparte erected for himself after he lost the
throne of Spain. It is surrounded with about 900 acres of land, his own
private property; and was still in the family, though about to be sold.
What a home has America proved both to fallen greatness and to
struggling poverty! Princes and peasants alike find shelter here.
This journey conducted us through New Brunswick, Elizabeth Town,
Newark,--places associated with the name of David Brainerd, and often
(a hundred years ago) the scenes of his toils and travels. But where
are the descendants of those Indians on whose behalf he felt such
intense solicitude? Alas! not a vestige of them is to be seen.
Having thus crossed New Jersey State, we came to New Jersey city, where
we crossed a ferry to New York. After rather more than the usual amount
of anxiety about baggage, &c., we reached the Planter's Hotel a little
after 10 at night.
Next morning I sallied forth to gaze, for the first time, at the
wonders of New York. The state of the streets impressed me
unfavourably. The pigs were in the enjoyment of the same unstinted
liberty as at Cincinnati. Merchants and storekeepers spread their goods
over the entire breadth of the causeway, and some even to the very
middle of the street. Slops of all sorts, and from all parts of the
houses, were emptied into the street before the front doors! The ashes
were disposed of in a very peculiar manner. Each house had, on the edge
of the parapet opposite, an old flour-barrel, or something of the sort,
into which were thrown ashes, sweepings, fish-bones, dead rats, and all
kinds of refuse. A dead rat very frequently garnished the top of the
barrel. This was the order of things, not in small by-streets only, but
also in the very best streets, and before the very best houses. The
pavement too, even in Broadway, was in a very wretched state.
I made for No. 150, Nassau-street, where the Tract Society, the Home
Missionary Society, and the Foreign Missionary Society have their
rooms. To some parties in that house I had introductions. The brethren
connected with those societies treated me with great kindness and
cordiality, and made me feel as though I had been in our own missionary
rooms in Blomfield-street. By their aid I obtained private lodgings, in
a good situation and in good society.
The landlady was a Quaker, with half-a-dozen grown-up daughters. Our
fellow-lodgers consisted of the Rev. A.E. Lawrence, Assistant-Secretary
of the American Home Missionary Society (who had a few months before
become the landlady's son-in-law); the Rev. Mr. Martyn, and his wife, a
woman of fine talents, and editor of "The Ladies' Wreath;" the Rev. Mr.
Brace, an editor in the employ of the Tract Society; Mr. Daniel Breed,
M.D., a Quaker, and principal of a private academy for young gentlemen
(also the landlady's son-in-law); Mr. Oliver Johnson, a sub-editor of
the _Daily Tribune_, and a well-known Abolitionist; and Mr. Lockwood, a
retired grocer,--who, having gained a small independence, was thus
enjoying it with his youthful wife and child in lodgings.
Into society better adapted to my taste and purposes I could not have
gone. This mode of life is very extensively adopted in America,
--married couples, with families, living in this manner for
years, without the least loss of respectability. They seldom have
sitting-rooms distinct from their bed-rooms, which are made to answer
both purposes; and as to meals, all meet to eat the same things, at the
same table, and at the same time. The custom is economical; but it has
an injurious effect upon character, especially in the case of the
women. The young wife, not being called upon to exercise herself in
domestic economy, is apt to become idle, slovenly, and--in a certain
sense--worthless. The softening associations and influences, and even
the endearments, of "home," are lost. There is no _domesticity_.
In the evening of the 17th I went to the Broadway Tabernacle, to hear a
lecture on Astronomy from Professor Mitchell of Cincinnati, no ordinary
man. Although the admission fee was half-a-dollar, upwards of a
thousand persons were present. Without either diagrams or notes, the
accomplished lecturer kept his audience in breathless attention for
upwards of an hour. He seemed to be a devout, unassuming man, and threw
a flood of light on every subject he touched. His theme was the recent
discovery of the Leverrier planet; and perhaps you will not be
displeased if I give you a summary of his lucid observations. In
observing how the fluctuations of the planet Herschel had ultimately
led to this discovery, he said:
"For a long time no mind dared to touch the problem. At length a young
astronomer rises, unknown to fame, but with a mind capable of grasping
all the difficulties involved in any of these questions. I refer of
course to LEVERRIER. He began by taking up the movements of Mercury. He
was dissatisfied with the old computations and the old tables; and he
ventured to begin anew, and to compute an entirely new set of tables.
With these new tables, he predicted the _precise instant_ when the
planet Mercury, on the 18th of May, 1845, would touch the sun, and
sweep across it. The time rolls round when the planet is to be seen,
and his prediction verified or confuted. The day arrives, but, alas!
for the computer, the clouds let down their dark curtains, and veil the
sun from his sight. Our own Observatory had just been finished; and if
the audience will permit, I will state briefly my own observations upon
the planet. I had ten long years been toiling. I had commenced what
appeared to be a hopeless enterprise. But finally I saw the building
finished. I saw this mighty telescope erected,--I had adjusted it with
my own hands,--I had computed the precise time when the planet would
come in contact with the sun's disk, and the precise point where the
contact would take place; but when it is remembered that only about the
thousandth part of the sun's disk enters upon the field of the
telescope, the importance of directing the instrument to the right
point will be realized. Five minutes before the computed time of the
contact, I took my place at the instrument. The beautiful machinery
that carries the telescope with the sun was set in motion, and the
instrument directed to that part of the sun's disk at which it was
anticipated the contact would take place. And there I sat, with
feelings which no one in this audience can realize. It was my first
effort. All had been done by myself. After remaining there for what
seemed to be long hours, I inquired of my assistant how much longer I
would have to wait. I was answered _four minutes_. I kept my place for
what seemed an age, and again inquired as before. He told me that but
one minute had rolled by. It seemed as if time had folded his wings, so
slowly did the moments crawl on. I watched on till I was told that but
one minute remained; and, within sixteen seconds of the time, I had the
almost bewildering gratification of seeing the planet break the
contact, and slowly move on till it buried itself round and deep and
sharp in the sun.
"I refer to this fact for two reasons,--first, to verify Leverrier;
and, second, to impress upon your minds the desirableness of locating
our observatories in different parts of the earth. No European
astronomer could have made this observation, because in their
longitudes the sun would have set previous to the contact of the planet
with its disk. I had the gratification of furnishing these observations
to Leverrier himself, who reported upon them to the Academy of
Sciences. The triumph of Leverrier was complete. It was after this that
Arago, seeing the characteristics of his mind, said to him, 'Take up
the movements of the planet Herschel,--watch them, analyze them, and
tell us what it is that causes them.' Leverrier throws aside all other
employments, and gives his mind to the investigation of this subject.
He begins entirely back. He takes up the movements of the planets
Jupiter and Saturn, and investigates them anew: he leaves nothing
untouched. Finally, after having in the most absolute manner computed
all the influence they exercise upon the planet Herschel, he says, 'I
now know positively all existing causes that disturb the planet; but
there is an outstanding power that disturbs it not yet accounted for,
and now let me rise to a knowledge of that outstanding cause.' He did
what no other man ever had attempted. He cleared up all
difficulties;--he made all daylight before his gaze. And now, how shall
I give to you an account of the train of reasoning by which he reached
out into unknown space, and evoked from its bosom a mighty world? If
you will give me the time, I will attempt to give you an idea of his
mighty workings in the field of science.
"In the first place, let it be remembered that the planets circulate
through the heavens in nearly the same plane. If I were to locate the
sun in the centre of the floor, in locating the planets around it, I
should place them upon the floor in the same plane. The first thing
that occurred to Leverrier, in looking for the planet, was this,--he
need not look out of the plane of the ecliptic. Here, then, was one
quarter in which the unknown body was to be found. The next thing was
this,--where is it located, and what is its distance from the sun? The
law of Bode gave to him the approximate distance. He found the distance
of Saturn was about double that of Jupiter, and the distance of
Herschel twice that of Saturn; and the probability was that the new
planet would be twice the distance of Herschel,--and as Herschel's
distance is 1,800,000 miles, the new planet's would be 3,600,000.
Having approximated its distance, what is its periodic time?--for if he
can once get its periodic time, he can trace it out without difficulty.
According to the third of Kepler's laws, as the square of the period of
Herschel is to the square of the period of the unknown planet, so is
the cube of the distance of Herschel to the cube of the distance of the
unknown planet. There is only one term unknown. The periodic time of
Herschel we will call 1, and its distance 1, and by resolving the
equation, we find the periodic time of the new planet to be a fraction
less than three times that of Herschel, or about 220 years. Now, if it
be required to perform 360 degrees in 220 years, it will perform about
a degree and a half in one year. Only one thing more remains to be
accomplished. If it is possible to get the position of the unknown body
at _any time_, we can trace it up to where it should be in 1847.
"First, then, let us suppose the sun, Herschel, and the new planet in
certain fixed positions, which we will represent as follows,--
[Illustration:
A B C
Sun. Herschel. Unknown, or
Leverrier Planet.
]
"It will be observed that a line drawn out from the sun to the right
will pass through Herschel, and if continued will intersect the new
planet. It is very apparent that, when these three orbs occupy the
position assigned them above, the influence of the unknown planet upon
Herschel will be exercised in the highest degree, and consequently that
Herschel will be drawn farther from the sun at that juncture than at
any other; and if we know where _Herschel_ is, when this effect is
produced, by prolonging the line through Herschel outward, it must pass
through the new planet. The delicate observations upon Herschel gave
this result, and showed when it was that it was swayed farthest from
the sun. By taking the place occupied by the planet at that time, and
increasing it onward one degree and a half per annum, we can point out
the place it must occupy at any given period. In September last we find
Leverrier communicating these results to his friends in Berlin. They
are provided with charts, on which every observed star is mapped down;
and if any new object presents itself in the heavens, it is immediately
subjected to a rigid scrutiny. On the very night on which Leverrier's
letter had been received, we find the telescope directed to the
designated point in the heavens. A stranger appears, but has only the
aspect of a fixed star. Long did the eye watch that night, but no
motion was found. When twenty-four hours rolled round, and it was once
more possible to fix the instrument upon this strange body, it had
moved in the precise degree and direction computed. The new planet was
found. The news spread with the utmost rapidity throughout the
world,--all Europe was electrified, and soon the intelligence crossed
the waters. Our telescope was directed to this object. All had hitherto
failed,--no eye had ever seen it round and planet-like from its disk.
The evening finally came round for the examination. Time moved on its
leaden wings; but twilight faded away at length, and I took my seat,
with my assistant, at the instrument. I directed the telescope to that
point of the heavens. I found four stars in the field of view. The
first was brought to the field of view of the instrument, and
pronounced to be a fixed star; and so with the second. The third was
brought forward; and before it had reached the centre of the field, I
heard the exclamation, 'There it is!' and there it was, as bright and
beautiful as Jupiter himself. Here was a result not attained by any
other instrument in the world. When we know that a body is a planet,
then, and not till then, do we find the disk. The great rival of our
instrument had seen it, but did not recognise it.
"Before five minutes had elapsed, the micrometical wires pronounced its
diameter to be 40,000 miles. Here were results such as no previous one
had attained, I mention it, because I think it is right that our own
country, which has but just commenced its career in this science,
should know what is her due; and I trust the day is not far distant
when we shall become as distinguished for our proficiency, for our
learning, for our researches, and for our efforts in behalf of
Astronomy, as we have hitherto been for our profound neglect of
everything belonging to this sublime science."
So much had been recently said in England about the "Negro Pew" in Dr.
Patton's Church that I naturally felt curious to see it for myself,
resolving (if possible) to sit in it. On Sabbath morning the 21st of
March I set off with my wife on this errand, taking for our guide as to
the precise position of the "locality" Mr. Page's "Letter of
Apology,"--in which it was stated that in that church they treated the
coloured people well; that they were elevated above the rest of the
congregation, and nearer heaven; and, finally, that they occupied a
position of honour, being on the right hand of the minister, as Jesus
Christ was on the right hand of God! We found two coloured people--an
old man and an old woman--seated in the front pew close to the
minister's right hand; and at once concluded that the section of pews
at the end wall must be the favoured spot, the terrestrio-celestial
elevation commonly called the "Negro Pew." We advanced, and installed
our white faces in the pew immediately behind the sable couple. The old
lady seemed really alarmed, and, with amusing earnestness, motioned us
to take a seat elsewhere. Remonstrance was all in vain,--we were
determined to sit among the happy favourites. At this time but few
persons were present. By-and-by the children of the Sunday-school were
marched into the neighbouring pews on the other side of the aisle, and
one of the lady teachers made eager signs for us to come away from our
strange position. I nodded an intimation that we were all right, and
perfectly comfortable. After the lapse of a few moments, another polite
and compassionate lady actually rose and came to the pew-door to
remonstrate with us.
In a serious yet coaxing tone, she said, "Won't you take a seat here on
this side of the aisle?"
"No, thank you, madam," I replied; "we are quite comfortable."
"But," she continued, in a voice of deep commiseration, "this is the
place allotted to the coloured people."
"Thank you," I rejoined; "we have made no mistake."
"Well, just as you please, sir!" (as though she had said _De gustibus
non disputandum_) and with that she retreated.
The eyes of all in the synagogue were upon us. The little people
whispered, and the big people stared, and all the people marvelled.
The morning was dark and wet, and yet (as usual) the Venetian blinds
were all down. The gallery was occupied by three classes of persons:
the black people--about a dozen in number--on the "right hand," the
singing people in front, and the Sunday-school children everywhere
else. The regular congregation, amounting perhaps to 300, were all
downstairs.
Dr. Patton ascended the pulpit-stairs with his cloak on, placed a
manuscript "fresh from the mint" under the cushion, sat down, took out
his pocket-handkerchief, applied it vigorously, and then gazed
leisurely around.
The pulpit service commenced with a short prayer; then followed singing
by the choir, all else sitting silent. The tenth chapter of Romans was
read; then came the long prayer, in which the Doctor prayed for the
abolition of slavery, and for the spread of the Gospel. The text, which
succeeded, was Rom. x. 3, 4. Having noticed the context, the preacher
proposed--
I. To explain the text. (Here he examined very critically the meaning
of the Greek word [Greek: dikai-osunous], quoting Moses Stuart and
others.)
II. To designate those who go about to establish their own
righteousness.
III. To remonstrate against such conduct, as being unnecessary,
criminal, and dangerous.
The discourse was sound and good, but every word read. The disorderly
conduct of the children in the gallery proved a great annoyance; and
for all the solicitude of the ladies to get us away from the vicinity
of coloured skins, not one of them had the politeness to offer us
either Bible or hymn-book.
This visit of ours to the "Negro Pew" was immediately laid hold of by
the Abolitionists, and made to go the whole round of their papers as a
"testimony against caste." This provoked into action the prolix pen of
the celebrated Mr. Page, who wasted on the subject an immense quantity
of ink and paper. "Page" after page did he pen; continued to do so, to
my certain knowledge, for about three months after; and, for aught I
know to the contrary, he may be _paging_ away to this very day. This
commotion answered my purpose exceedingly well,--my object being to
bear testimony against the impiousness of such a distinction and
separation in the house of God. It is, however, but justice to Dr.
Patton to observe that the case is not singular, the peculiar celebrity
of his "Negro Pew" arising entirely from the imbecile and somewhat
profane apology volunteered by Mr. Page. In point of fact, Dr. Patton
and his people, as I ascertained in conversation with him on the
subject, are rather in advance of their neighbours in kind feeling
towards the coloured people.
LETTER XXVII.
A Presbyterian Church in New York, and its Pastor--The Abbotts and
their Institution--Union Theological Seminary--Dr. Skinner's
Church--New York University--A threatening "Necessity"--Prejudice
against Colour--A Fact connected with Mr. ------'s Church--Another Fact
in Pennsylvania--State of Public Opinion in New York--An Interview with
Dr. Spring--A Missionary Meeting in Dr. Adams's Church.
In the evening I preached by engagement for the Rev. ------, in the
---- Presbyterian Church. It was pouring with rain, and not more than
150 persons were present. The pastor, who had visited me in a very
fraternal manner, kindly proposed to devote part of the next day to
showing me some of the "lions" of the city. The first place we visited
was Mount Vernon, the institution of the Abbotts. It is a seminary for
young ladies, with 200 pupils. The first of the brothers to whom we
were introduced was John Abbott, the author of "The Mother at Home." He
is apparently 40 years of age. He introduced us to the room of the
senior class, which consisted of 30 or 40 young ladies, from 14 to 25
years of age. They were engaged in a French exercise with Jacob Abbott,
the author of "The Young Christian," "The Corner Stone," "The Way for
a Child," &c., &c. The exercise over, we were introduced to Mr. Jacob
Abbott, and were requested to accompany him to a private sitting-room.
I found him an exceedingly pleasant and unassuming man. He is 43 years
of age, but looks younger. He wrote both "The Young Christian" and "The
Corner Stone" when he was only 25. John is two years younger than
Jacob; Charles, to whom also I was introduced, is younger still; and
Gorham, whom I did not then see, is the youngest of the four. All are
ministers, though not pastors,--all highly intellectual men, and
connected more or less with this seminary, which is one of the best
conducted I have ever seen. The pupils are not boarders, but they pay
from 10_l._ to 15_l._ a year for their tuition alone. I subsequently
made another visit to this institution in company with my wife, upon
whom Mr. Jacob Abbott had very politely called.
Mr. ------ intended to introduce me to Dr. Spring, but he was not at
home. He then took me to the Union Theological Seminary. In that
institution about 120 young men are preparing for the Christian
ministry. The library contains _twenty thousand_ volumes on theology
alone--musty and prosy tomes! What a punishment it would be to be
compelled to wade through the whole! We saw neither professors nor
students. My principal recollection of the place is that of feeling
intensely hungry, and smelling at the same time the roast beef on
which, in some of the lower regions of the buildings, the young divines
were regaling themselves. In vain I wished to join them in that
exercise.
When we came out, my guide proposed to take me to see Dr. Robinson.
Much as I wanted to see the author of the "Greek Lexicon," and the
Traveller in Palestine, there were other claims that then more urgently
pressed themselves. I had breakfasted at 7, and it was now near 1. I
gave my friend a hint to that effect. But he overruled it by saying,
"It is close by, and won't take us many minutes." We went, but the
Doctor was not in. We were now opposite Dr. Skinner's Church, and my
friend insisted on my going to see it. It will hold about 1,000 people.
All the pews are cushioned and lined, and the place has a decided air
of aristocracy about it. The school-room, the lecture-room, the vestry,
&c., were very complete and convenient. "How strange," I observed to my
friend, "that you should so far exceed us in the comfort of your places
of worship, and at the same time be so far behind us in domestic
comforts." "_That_" said he, "was the principle of the Puritans,--the
house of God first, their own after." I ventured to ask him what
salaries ministers in New York generally received. He told me from
1,000 to 4,000 dollars, or from 200_l._ to 800_l._ "My own," he added,
"is 2,000 dollars." We were now not far from the New York University.
"You must go and see that," said he. I went, but saw nothing particular
except the library, empty lecture-rooms, and chapel,--no professors. My
friendly guide pointed to a portrait of Lord Lyndhurst, told me with
evident pride that he was a Yankee, and marvelled at my ignorance of
the fact.
From time to time I had given him hints that I was afraid of being too
late for dinner at my lodgings; and when the sight-seeing was at last
ended, he very coolly and complacently said, "Now, if you really think
you are too late for dinner at your place, I shall be under the
_necessity_ of asking you to go and take a plate with me." Those were
the _ipsissima verba_. I could scarcely keep my gravity; but I replied,
"Thank you, sir; I want to go to the centre of the city, and I can
easily get a dinner at any eating-house." He both nodded and expressed
an entire concurrence, and seemed to think it an _admirable_
arrangement. In parting, he pressed me to preach for him on the
following Thursday, but I declined. The next day I was told, on
unquestionable authority, that two or three years ago one of the elders
of this gentleman's church, meeting a man from South America whom he
took to be a mixture of Spaniard and Indian, requested his company to
church. The stranger assented, and sat with him in his pew. He liked
the service, became interested, and went again and again. At last it
was whispered that he was a "Nigger,"--_i.e._ had a slight mixture of
African blood in him. The next week a meeting of the Session was held,
at which it was unanimously resolved that the intruder's entrance into
the body of the church must be prohibited. Two men were stationed at
the door for that purpose. The stranger came. He was stopped, and told
that he could not be allowed to enter the body of the church, there
being a place up in the gallery for coloured people. The man
remonstrated, and said he had been invited to take a seat in Mr.
So-and-so's pew. "Yes," they replied, "we are aware of that; but public
feeling is against it, and it cannot be allowed." The stranger turned
round, burst into tears, and walked home.
Mr. Johnson, of the _Tribune_, told me that two or three years ago he
and thirty or forty more were returning from an Anti-slavery Convention
held at Harrisburgh in Pennsylvania. They had left by railway for
Philadelphia at 3 o'clock in the morning. At a town called Lancaster
they stopped to breakfast. In the company were two coloured gentlemen,
one of whom was a minister. They all sat down together. Soon the
waiters began to whisper, "A nigger at table!" "There is two!" The
landlord quickly appeared, seized one of the coloured gentlemen by the
shoulder, and asked him how he dared to sit down at table in his house.
The company remonstrated, and assured him that those whose presence
appeared to be so offensive were very respectable men, friends of
theirs, whom they had invited to sit down. It was all in vain. The
landlord would hear nothing; "the niggers must go." "Very well," said
the rest of the company; "then we shall all go." Away they went, and
left the refined landlord to console himself for the loss of a large
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