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and to familiarize them with some of the details of the controversy itself. Mr. Clarkson's attention was first drawn to the African Slave Trade in 1785. Dr. Peckhard, the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, proposed, in that year, to the senior Batchelors of Arts, the following subject for a Latin dissertation:" Is it right to make slaves of others against their will?" Mr. Clarkson having, the previous year, obtained a prize for the best Latin dissertation, felt he should sink in the estimation of his college, if he did not succeed this year also.

I reflected upon them, or rather upon the
authorities on which they were founded,
the more I gave them credit. Coming in
sight of Wade's Mill, in Hertfordshire, I
sat down disconsolate on the turf, by the
Here a
road-side, and held my horse.
thought came into my mind, that, if the
contents of the Essay were true, it was
time some person should see these cala-
mities to their end. Agitated in this
manner, I reached home. This was in
the summer of 1785."*

per

considerably aided the parliamentary efforts of Mr. Wilberforce. He did not pursue this course without much opposition. The same parties who now oppose the abolition of Slavery were then equally strenuous in their opposition to the abolition of the Slave Trade. The most violent and infamous means were employed to counteract the labours and to blast the character of Mr. C. Even his life was sometimes threatened. This was particularly the case at Liverpool. "The temAfter this, Mr. Clarkson translated and of many of the interested people of published his Dissertation, and, at length, Liverpool had now become still more irriUnder the influence of this literary determined on sacrificing the fair prospect table, and their hostility more apparent, ambition, he commenced his inquiries. of preferment in the church which he than before. I received anonymous letHe soon found himself at a loss for ma- had, in order to devote himself entirely ters, entreating me to leave it, or I should terials on which to form an enlightened to this work of mercy. In 1787 a com- otherwise never leave it alive. The only judgment respecting the African trade, mittee was formed in London, for the effect which this advice had upon me was and repaired to London to obtain them. purpose of procuring and putting into to make me more vigilant when I went Having procured the information which circulation authentic information respect-out at night. I never stirred out at this he needed, he began his work; but ing the Slave Trade. Mr. C. was the time without Mr. Falconbridge; and he he had not proceeded far before his most active member of this body. He never accompanied me without being well mind underwent a thorough revolu- called on the leading members of the two armed. Of this, however, I knew notion. It would be injustice to the Houses of Parliament, soliciting their at- thing until we had left the place. There subject to substitute any phraseology in tention to the subject, and furnishing was certainly a time when I had reason the place of his own unaffected and them with whatever information he had to believe that I had a narrow escape. I touching narrative :- "But no person procured. Amongst other persons he was one day on the pier-head, with many can tell the severe trial which the writing called on Mr. Wilberforce; and it is in- others, looking at some little boats below of it proved to me. I had expected teresting to know the reception which at the time of a heavy gale. Several pleasure from the invention of the argu- was given to this subject by that distin- persons, probably out of curiosity, were ments, from the arrangement of them, guished and philanthropic statesman, hastening thither. I had seen all I infrom the putting of them together, and when it was first proposed to him. "On tended to see, and was departing, when I from the thought, in the interim, that I my first interview with him, he stated noticed eight or nine persons making towas engaged in an innocent contest for frankly, that the subject had often em- wards me. I was then only about eight literary honour. But all my pleasure was ployed his thoughts, and that it was near or nine yards from the precipice of the damped by the facts which were now his heart. He seemed earnest about it, pier, but going from it. I expected that continually before me. It was but one and also very desirous of taking the trou- they would have divided to let me through gloomy subject from morning to night. ble of inquiring further into it. Having them; instead of which they closed upon In the day-time I was uneasy-in the read my book, which I had delivered to me and bore me back. I was borne night I had little rest. I sometimes never him in person, he sent for me. He ex-within a yard of the precipice, when I closed my eyelids for grief. It became pressed a wish that I would make him discovered my danger; and, perceiving now, not so much a trial for academical acquainted with some of my authorities among them the murderer of Peter Green, reputation as for the production of a work for the assertions in it, which I did after- and two others who had insulted me at which might be useful to injured Africa. wards to his satisfaction. He asked me He asked me the King's Arms, it instantly struck me And, keeping this idea in my mind ever if I could support it by any other evi- that they had a design to throw me over after the perusal of Benezet, I always dence. I told him I could. I mentioned the pier-head; which they might have slept with a candle in my room, that I Mr. Newton, Mr. Nisbett, and several done at this time, and yet have pleaded might rise out of bed and put down such others to him. He took the trouble of that I had been killed by accident. There thoughts as might occur to me in the sending for all these. He made memowas not a moment to lose. Vigorous on night, if I judged them valuable, con- randums of their conversation, and, sendaccount of the danger, I darted forward. ceiving that no argument should be lost ing for me afterwards, showed them to One of them, against whom I pushed in so great a cause. Having, at length, me. On learning my intention to devote myself, fell down. Their ranks were finished this painful task, I sent my Essay myself to the cause, he paid me many broken, and I escaped, not without blows, to the Vice-Chancellor, and soon after-handsome compliments. He then desired amidst their imprecations and abuse."* wards found myself honoured, as before, with the first prize.

me to call upon him often, and to ac-
quaint him with my progress from time to
time. He expressed also his willingness
to afford me any assistance in his power
in the prosecution of my pursuits."+

"As it is usual to read these essays publicly in the senate-house soon after the prize is adjudged, I was called to Cambridge for this purpose. I went and perFrom this period Mr. C. was employed formed my office. On returning, how-in visiting the different sea-ports of the ever, to London, the subject of it almost wholly engrossed my thoughts. I became, at times, very seriously affected while upon the road. I stopped my horse occasionally, and dismounted and walked. I frequently tried to persuade myself, in these intervals, that the contents of my Essay could not be true. The more, however,

kingdom, in order to obtain, from persons
engaged in the Slave Trade, authentic
information of the manner in which it
was conducted. The facts elicited, in the
course of his inquiries, were of the most
revolting and atrocious character, and

History of the Abolition, vol,, i. p. 208.
+ History of the Abolition, vol. i. p. 241.

We should be glad to pursue our narrative of Mr. Clarkson's labours, but our limits forbid. Such of our readers as wish to know more of the details of the Abolition controversy, we refer to his History, from which we have quoted. This work, though little read at the present day, is one of the most deeply interesting publications which our language supplies. It is written with all the simplicity of truth, and will serve to disclose the falsehood and hypocrisy of many statements which the colonists now.

* History of the Abolition, vol. i. P. 409.

put forth.

We need not attempt a nomy, which became the leading passion of formal delineation of Mr. C.'s charac- his life. Quitting a profession uncongenial to ter. His moral worth was seen in the such pursuits, he went to Bologna to study astrounwearied and disinterested labours which nomy under Dominic Maria; and, after having enjoyed the friendship and instruction of that he prosecuted for upwards of twenty able philosopher, he established himself at years. Enlightened posterity will enrol Rome in the humble situation of a teacher of his name amongst the benefactors of his mathematics. Here he made numerous asspecies; while the consciousness of hav-tronomical observations which served him as ing aided the triumph of humanity must the basis of future researches; but an event soon occurred which, though it interrupted for console and gladden his own spirit in this a while his important studies, placed him in a latest stage of his earthly pilgrimage. situation for pursuing them with new zeal. May he and his distinguished coadjutor, The death of one of the canons enabled his Mr. Wilberforce, yet survive to witness uncle, who was Bishop of Ermeland, to apthe entire abolition of Colonial Slavery! point him to a canonry in the chapter of FrauMr. Clarkson was the author of the enberg, where, in a house situated on the brow following works :-"Essay on the Slavery of a mountain, he continued, in peaceful secluand Commerce of the Human Species, sion, to carry on his astronomical observations. particularly the African. 8vo. 1786." been so well appreciated that the Bishop of The Impolicy of the African Slave Fossombrona, who presided over the council Trade. 8vo. 1788."-" The Comparative for reforming the Calendar, solicited the aid Efficiency of the Regulation and Aboli- of Copernicus in this desirable undertaking. tion of the Slave Trade. 8vo. 1789."- At first he entered warmly into the views of "Letters on the Slave Trade, &c. 4to. the council, and charged himself with the 1791."—"Three Letters to the Planting the month, and of the other motions of the determination of the length of the year and of and Slave. Merchants. 8vo. 1807."sun and moon that seemed to be required; but "The Portraiture of Quakerism. 3 vols. he found the task too irksome, and probably Svo. 1807."-" History of the Abolition, felt that it would interfere with those inter&c. 2 vols. 8vo. 1808."" Memoirs of esting discoveries which had already began to William Penn. 2 vols. 8vo. 1813."- dawn upon his mind.

66

Thoughts on the Necessity of Improving the Condition of Slaves, &c. 8vo.

1823."

ANCIENT ASTRONOMERS.

NO. I.

COPERNICUS.

In the century which preceded the birth of Newton, the science of astronomy advanced with the most rapid steps. Emerging from the darkness of the middle ages, the human mind seemed to rejoice in its new-born strength, and to apply itself with elastic vigour to unfold the mechanism of the heavens. The labours of Hipparchus and Ptolemy had indeed furnished many important epochs and supplied many valuable data; but the cumbrous appendages of cycles and epicycles with which they explained the station and retrogradations of the planets, and the vulgar prejudices which a false interpretation of Scripture had excited against a belief in the motion of the earth, rendered it difficult even for great minds to escape from the trammels of authority, and appeal to the simplicity of nature.

During his residence at Rome his talents had

Copernicus is said to have commenced his inquiries by a historical examination of the opinions of ancient authors on the system of the universe; but it is more likely that he sought for the authority of their great names to countenance his peculiar views, and that he was more desirous to present his own theory as one that he had received, rather than as one which he had invented. His mind had been long imbued with the idea, that simplicity and harmony should characterize the arrangement of the planetary system; and, in the complication and disorder which reigned in the hypothesis of Ptolemy, he saw insuperable objections to its being regarded as a representation of nature. In the opinions of the Egyptian sages, in those of Pythagoras, Philolaus, Aristarchus, and Nicetas, he recognized his own earliest conviction that the earth was not the centre of the universe; but he appears to have considered it as still possible that our globe might perform some function in the system more important than that of the other planets; and his attention was much occupied with the speculation of Martianus Capella, who placed the sun between Mars and the moon, and made Mercury and Venus revolve round him as a centre; and with the system of Apollonius Pergæus, who made all the planets revolve round the sun, while the sun and moon were carried round the earth in the centre of the universe. The examination, however, of these hypotheses gradually dispelled the difficulties with which the subject was beset, and, after the labours of more than thirty years, he was permitted to see the true system of the heavens. The sum he considered as inmovable in the centre of the system, while the earth revolved between the orbits of Venus and Mars, and produced by its rotation about its axis all the diurnal phenomena of the celestial sphere. The precession of the equinoxes was This great man, a native of Thorn, in Prus- thus referred to a slight motion of the earth's sia, following his father's profession, began his axis, and the stations and retrogradations of career as a doctor of medicine; but an acci- the planets were the necessary consequence of dental attendance on the mathematical lec- their own motions combined with that of the tures of Brudzevius excited a love for astro-earth about the sun. These remarkable views

The sovereign of Castile, the generous and noble-minded Alphonso, had long before proscribed the rude expedients of his predeces sors; and when he declared that, if the heavens were thus constituted, he could have given the Deity good advice, he must not only have felt the absurdity of the prevailing system, but must have obtained some foresight of a more simple arrangement. But neither he nor the astronomers whom he so liberally protected seem to have established a better system, and it was left to Copernicus to enjoy the dignity of being the restorer of astronomy.

were supported by numerous astronomical observations; and, in 1530, Copernicus brought to a close his immortal work on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies.

But, while we admire the genius which triumphed over so many difficulties, we cannot fail to commend the extraordinary prudence with which he ushered his new system into the world. Aware of the prejudices, and even of the hostility, with which such a system would be received, he resolved neither to startle the one nor provoke the other. He allowed his opinions to circulate in the slow current of personal communication. The points of opposition which they presented to established doctrines were gradually worn down, and they insinuated themselves into reception among the ecclesiastical circles by the very reluctance of their author to bring them

into notice.

Schonberg, Bishop of Capua, and Gyse, In the year 1534, Cardinal Bishop of Culm, exerted all their influence to induce Copernicus to lay his system before the world; but he resisted their solicitations; and it was not till 1539 that an accidental circumstance contributed to alter his resolution. Wirtemberg, having heard of the labours of George Rheticus, Professor of Mathematics at Copernicus, resigned his chair, and repaired to Frauenberg to make himself master of his discoveries. This zealous disciple prevailed upon his master to permit the publication of his system; and they seem to have arranged a plan for giving it to the world without alarming the vigilance of the church, or startling the prejudices of individuals. Under the disguise of a student of mathematics, Rheticus published, in 1540, an account of the manuscript volume of Copernicus. This pamphlet was received without any disapprobation, and its author was encouraged to reprint it at Basle, in 1541, with his own name. The success of these publications, and the flattering manner in which the new astronomy was received by several able writers, induced Copernicus to place his MSS. in the hands of Rheticus. It was accordingly printed at the expence of Cardinal Schenberg, and appeared at Nurem berg in 1543. Its illustrious author, however, did not live to peruse it. A complete copy was handed to him in his last moments, and he saw and touched it a few hours before his death. This great work was dedicated to the Holy Pontiff, in order, as Copernicus himself says, that the authority of the head of the church might silence the calumnies of individuals who had attacked his views by arguments drawn from religion. Thus introduced, the Copernican system met with no ecclesiastical opposition, and gradually made its way in spite of the ignorance and prejudices of the age.—Brewster's Life of Sir Isaac Newton.

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THE ORIGIN OF THE BUILDING OF ing of corresponding magnificence; to prose

cute the undertaking money was wanted, ST. PETER'S, ROME. and indulgencies were sold to supply the deTHE views of Julius II. were as distinguished ficiency of the treasury; and a monk of Saxony for the encourage-nent of talents as his ambi-opposing the authority of the church produced this singular event, that whilst the most tion was impetuous and unbounded in the splendid edifice which the world has ever seen exercise of sovereign power. It was a favourite was building for the Catholic faith, the reliobservation of his, that LEARNING elevated the gion to which it was consecrated was shaken lowest orders of society-stamped the highest value on nobility-and, to princes, was the to its foundation.-Duppa's Life of Michael most splendid gem in the diadem, or the Angelo. reignty. He was no sooner seated on the throne, than surrounded by men of genius. Michael Angelo was among the first invited to his court, and he accompanied his invitation with an order for a hundred ducats to pay his expences to Rome. After his arrival some time elapsed before any subject could be determined upon for the exercise of his abilities; at length the Pope gave him an unlimited commission to make a mausoleum, in which their mutual interest should be combined; but the sculptor may be said to make the monu-Light zephyrs of fragrance round thee float,

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I've wandered o'er yon field of light,
Where daisies wildly spring,
And traced the spot where fays of night
Flew round on elfin wing on acH
And I've watched the sudden darting bear
Make gold the field of grain,

Until clouds obscured the passing gleam,
And all frowned dark again.

Then awake, awake!-each warbling bird
Now hails the dawning sun;id

Labour's enlivening song is heard,

For the young day has begun.

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Is there to Contemplation givenga 3-
TQAn hour like this sweet one,
Lad
When twilight's starless mantle's riven

And tremble bright in the sun, or fire of furthest By the uprising sun?
And the river shines a lake of gold,-
www.For the young day has begun.
The air is blithe, and the sky is blue,

And the lark, on lightsome wings,
From bushes that sparkle rich with dew,
To heaven her matin sings.
Then awake, awake, while music's note
Now bids thee sleep to shun;

For the young day has begun.

When feathered warblers fleet awake,
His breaking beams to see, beco
And hill and grove, and bush and brake,
Are filled with melody?
Then awake, awake!-all seem to chide
Thy sleep, as round they run;
The glories of heaven lie far and wide,-
For the young day has begun.
Time's Telescope.

By those who are curious in tracing the re. mote causes of great events, Michael Angelo, perhaps, may be found, though unexpectedly, thus to have laid the first stone of the Reformation. His monument demanded a build

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these few years, the population of the city having greatly increased, a more convenient Market-place was required, and, in supplying this want, it was progenuine spirit of popery, they constructed posed to demolish the cross. From this many of them with much care, and ex- fate, however, it was saved, by the interpended considerable sums in their embel-vention of certain members of the corpolishments. Their situations and specific ration, to whom the antiquary owes a objects were various: frequently at the considerable debt of gratitude. entrance of churches, to impress a feeling of devotional reverence for the edifice, and its sacred uses; frequently, on high roads, as at present in many countries of Europe, to remind the traveller of the respect due to religion. They are also found in Market-places, where they were designed, by the associations connected with them, to enforce integrity and fair dealing; sometimes, on the site of battles, to commemorate victory or peace, and sometimes they were erected to mark civil or ecclesiastical boundaries.vered The Cross at Chichester was designed as one of the Market Crosses, to which we have alluded, and of which one was formerly to be found in almost every town which had a religious foundation. To this use it was applied until, within

From some deeds still extant, it appears that this cross was completed about the year 1500; but the name of the architect, and the total expence at which it was built, are unknown. It is considered one of the finest structures in the florid Gothic style which England contains. Its form is octangular, with pier buttresses at each angle, surmounted with pinnacles: on the summit are vanes, bearing the arms of the see. In each of its eight sides is an entrance under an arch; on four of these sides are niches, formerly occupied by figures, and, on the other four, are dials, facing the principal streets. It is also ornamented with a bust of Charles the Second, in whose reign it was first. repaired.

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In January, 1604, Hampton Court palace was the scene of the celebrated conference on the subject of conformity, held before King James, as moderator, between the Presbyterians and the members of the established Church; the most important result of which was the order of the new translation of the Bible, which is now generally received.

WE owe this stately building to the | his reign, it became one of his principal | ambition and luxury of Cardinal Wolsey. residences. Queen Elizabeth also freHe became the lessee of the manor of quently resided here, Hampton in the early part of the reign of Henry VIII., and expended large sums of money in converting the manor-house into a palace, so gorgeous that, to avoid the envy it occasioned, he gave it to the king in 1526. After this time, however, he occasionally inhabited it (probably as keeper), and made it the scene of boundless magnificence and pomp, more especially when, as the king's representative, he entertained the French ambassadors there in 1527. Subsequently to this, Henry added considerably to the extent of the palace, and, in the latter part of

In 1625, Charles I. retired to this palace, to avoid the ravages of the plague; and in August, 1647, he was brought hither as a captive, and remained in a state of splendid imprisonment until he

made his escape on the 11th of November of that year.

King William III. was particularly partial to this residence, and employed the skill and taste of Sir Christopher Wren in effecting considerable alterations in it. In its present state it consists of three principal quadrangles, the eastern, middle, and western; of which the first contains the state apartments, which are exceedingly superb, and decorated with some valuable pictures by the old masters. Among the works of art which embellish this palace the Cartoons of Raphael hold by far the most distinguished place.

THE CAPTIVE OF CAMALU.

O CAMALU-green Camalu!

'Twas there I fed my father's flock,
Beside the mount where cedars threw,
At dawn, their shadows from the rock;
There tended I my father's flock

Along the grassy margined rills,
Or chased the bounding bontébok,*
With hound and spear, among the hills.

Green Camalu! methinks I view

The lilies in thy meadows growing;

I see thy waters bright and blue
Beneath the pale-leaved willows flowing;
I hear, along thy valleys lowing,
The heifers wending to the fold,
And jocund herd-boys loudly blowing
The horn-to mimic hunters bold.

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My brothers too!-Green Camalu,
Repose they by thy quiet tide?
Ay! there they sleep where white men slew
And left them-lying side by side:
No pity had those men of pride,

They fired the huts above the dying!-
White bones bestrew that valley wide-
I wish that mine were with them lying!

I envy you, by Camalu,

Ye wild harts on the woody hills;
Though tigers there their prey pursue,
And vultures slake in blood their bills:-
The heart may strive with nature's ills,
To Nature's common doom resigned;
Death only once the body kills-

But thraldom brutifies the mind.
Oh, wretched fate !-heart-desolate,
A captive in the spoiler's hand,
To serve the tyrant whom I hate
To crouch beneath his proud command-
Upon my flesh to bear his brand-

His blows, his bitter scorn to bide!-
Would God, I in my native land
Had with my slaughtered kinsmen died!
Ye mountains blue of Camalu,
Where once I fed my father's flock,
Though desolation dwells with you,
And Amakosa's heart is broke,-
Yet, spite of chains these limbs that mock,
My homeless heart to you doth fly,-

As flies the wild dove to the rock

To hide its wounded breast-and die.

Yet, ere my spirit wings its flight
Unto death's silent shadowy clime,
UTIKA!* Lord of life and light,

Who, high above the clouds of Time,
Calm sittest where yon hosts sublime
Of stars wheel round thy bright abode,--
Oh, let my cry unto Thee climb,

Of every race the Father-God!

I ask not judgments from thy hand-
Destroying hail, nor parching drought,
Nor locust swarms to waste the land,
Nor pestilence by famine brought :
I say the prayer Jankannat taught,
Who wept for Amakosa's wrongs
"Thy Kingdom come-thy Will be wrought
For unto Thee all power belongs."+

Thy kingdom come! Let light and grace
Throughout all lands in triumph go;
Till pride and strife to love give place,
And blood and tears shall cease to flow ;-
Till Europe mourn for Afric's woe,
And o'er the deep her arms extend
To lift her where she lieth low,

And prove indeed her CHRISTIAN FRIEND!

Ulika, a word of Hottentot origin, signifying The Beautiful, now used by most of the South African tribes as the name of the Supreme Being-the Christian God, The Caffer name for Dr. Vanderkemp.

In the Amakosa tongue as follows:- Amanhla ukusa kuaku makulu; yenza gokuakn-Akandaunios, amanhla, asinkosiné napakete,"

A FEW DISJOINTED FACTS

CONNECTED (WITH

SLAVERY IN JAMAICA,
BY CHARLES JOHNSTON,
Late Book-keeper, Llandovery Estate, St. Ann's,
Jamaica.

THE writer of the following paper,
though not a full year in Jamaica, had
ample opportunities, from the situation
which he occupied, of observing the
every-day details of slavery. He has
returned to this country with a deep
abhorrence of the system, and is pre-
pared to depose on oath to the truth of
the following statements, and to many
other facts of a similar character, which
have come under his own observation.
WE hear a great deal stated in this country
about the comforts enjoyed by the slave popu-
lation in the colonies-comforts which are
roundly asserted by some far to surpass those
of our labouring population. I deny, without
any hesitation, this libel upon truth. Are the
peasantry of our beloved country driven to the
field as so many cattle, and treated as such?
Are their dearest ties and sympathies torn
asunder and broken? Are their sportive chil-
dren struck and flogged, in presence of their
parents, with impunity? Are their wives and
kindred sold to different individuals, and se-

parated by hundreds of miles? Are their daughters forced to yield to the base devices of depraved men? Do their fathers encourage it for gain? Do they toil night and day, and yet rest not? But I shall not stretch the glaring dissimilitude of their condition further. They are not so comfortably situated as our labourers, and never can be so as long as they continue slaves. And I trust that the details I now proceed to enter upon may go far to prove the truth of this proposition. I must be generally understood as speaking of what came under my own immediate notice: where this is not the case, I have uniformly said so. The estate on which I was placed was possessed of nearly four hundred slaves and three hundred working cattle, and made, yearly, five hundred hogsheads of sugar, and fifty puncheons of rum. So now for facts.

*

grilled rat; nay, even cats are by them es-with a whip and switches of bamboo, is their
teemed delicacies. I can't speak as to cats; stern conductress. -
but many a time and oft, while "grieving" Frequently have I pitied the poor things, to
(Scottice) the gang, during operations in the see their little bodies in one universal tremor
mountains, have I seen a spitful of rats roast- of fear, casting their glances askance to assure
ing on the same fire that my own dinner was themselves that the "schoolmistress" was at a
cooking upon. I recollect one of these poor respectful distance. The happy hours of child-
creatures (who, were he to appear before a hood in free countries, alas! are never enjoyed
British public with the detail of his woes, by them. Their little hearts are saddened and
would strike compassion into all hearts, saving grieved: night may bring temporary relief, but
that of a slave-holder), coming to me one day, they are awakened in the morning, by the
with a very piteous expression of countenance: thundering of the driver's whip, to the stern
-“Ah, massa!" says he, "me caught tree realities of their bitter lot. In tears and dis-
rats, and cat nyam (cat) all but one head."tress they resume their labours. Some, not so
Thus, this poor fellow might perhaps be starv- fortunate as their fellows, may have indulged
ing for days to come after this incident; per- in a longer sleep; but woe to them when they
haps had been so days previous. The head of arrive at the scene of operations!-their treat-
a rat is but a poor mouthful, I should think,ment is cruel. The old dame begins the drama
to a hungry man. They never taste butcher's by abusing them roundly with her screeching
meat, unless in circumstances such as I now tongue, that, shrilly as the peacock's, forebodes
proceed to narrate. I having had the super- the storm. She orders the trembling little cul-
intendence of some hundred cattle, one of prit to be seized by its companions, and in-
them, by accident, had its leg broke, and, upon stantly belabours it with blows till its flesh
informing the overseer, I was desired to see it quivers with pain. No wonder, then, that the
killed, but to take care that no negro should negroes should sometimes be cruel (although
this is very rare), when their best feelings are
have a single morsel of its flesh. Such were
my orders, and of course I was obliged to act seared from their infancy; and, therefore, what
up to the letter, or turn "walking-buckra," goodness of heart and feeling they do possess,
which would have broken my heart, I dare in spite of obstacles, they have not to thank
say, and been productive of no good to the their task-masters for it. "But it is well known
slaves. Well; the animal was skinned and cut that it is the interest of the whites thus to de-
in quarters, and buried three or four feet deep grade their minds. Let but the schoolmaster be
in a dunghill. The overseer and book-keeper abroad in Jamaica, and slavery is no more a
never dreamt of its being disturbed. Judge thing of other days. But I have not done with
what must have been the surprise of the for- punishments, One little girl there was on
mer, when, the next morning, as he was taking our estate who was flogged and abused in a
his ride, on passing a watchman's hut, he ob- cruel manner, almost daily. Her life was, in-
served a large piece of the animal hung up as deed, a routine of wretchedness and misery.
a prize a great prize-by its occupant. The She was actually quite lame from the effects of
poor fellow was, of course, severely flogged, the lash, and frequently have I seen her rolling
and the piece again buried, he being left to on the road, feigning sickness, to escape the
the solitary "enjoyment" of his woes.
daily punishment in store for her, well knowing
that I would pass that way. But what could I
do? Little, indeed; however willing and le
nient I endeavoured at all times to be. Those
who know any thing of the life of a book-
decamp from the estate.
keeper know full well that he must obey, or

Situation of the aged Slaves.

The grass-cutters are a set of miserable old women, with a male driver at their head, who hook, to serve as fodder for the cattle and are engaged in cutting grass with a reaping

horses.

woman of seventy, there is no distinction-the
whip keeps them all in terrorem, and its effects
descend with the crippled and broken-hearted
negro to the only place where his sorrows are
at an end-to the grave. Yes; to a feeling
heart a negro's funeral calls to mind all that
he has suffered on this earth, where he has
ranked with the brutes that perish. But, as
been degraded in the scale of existence, and
suredly as there is a God in heaven, these
wrongs shall be avenged!

down with age and infirmities, and their feet Numbers of them are quite bent the effects of some disease. Nevertheless, are frequently swelled to an enormous size, by they are flogged as often as the others: and The watchmen's huts are in general misera-child of five years of age to the old man or here it may be as well stated that, from the ble abodes of wretchedness. They are built of bamboos, and thatched with the branches of the cocoa-nut and under-wood. Within is generally a bench of boards, covered with matting, where reposes the aged African, to seek, in slumber, some alleviation of his woes. There is no chimney whatever in the hut; a fire of burning embers is collected on the floor, around which may be seen lying his terrier dogs, his assistants in destroying the rats which infest the cane-pieces; suspended from the roof, or arranged on the shelf of his humble abode, are the calebashes, which serve him for culinary utensils; a piece of a herring, far gone in decay, in one corner; a little sugar, or decayed, magoly rice, in another. Happy, indeed! Can bappiness be connected with such assured wretchelness? NO! Their food is utterly insufficient to support their tail-worn frames. The herrings they receive are actually putrified, of the consistence of soap, and these, along with cocoes, a very indigestible esculent root-these are their richest fare so rich, that a beggar in Scotland would consider himself insulted by the proffer of them. They vary this sort of meal, occasionally, by the dainty morsel of a

Punishments.

I shall begin with the children, who constitute the first step of the ladder of West India slavery.

The children are made to work at the early age of five years; they are either sent to gather sour oranges for the hogs, or hoes are put into their hands, and they assist in clearing and weeding the canes, or in putting the overseer's garden in order. An old dame, armed

*The office of an overseer during harvest in Scotland, singularly expressive as applied to Ja

maica.

The slaves are given to understand that they may have redress from the attorney, at his peprove they have been ill-used. But how is the riodical visits to the estate, provided they can boon (if such it may be called) rendered mugatory! A mulatto slave, who had received some unkind treatment from the overseer, on threatening to complain to the attorney, was laid down by that "dignitary," with her face to the earth, and received the usual panacea of thirty-nine stripes. Here is one instance of the many abuses of the system-a system which, from beginning to end, is one lie!

I have seen the old man of seventy flogged, youth, and he in pride of manhood, the young the infant of five years flogged, the slender woman, just budding into life, and she who had reared a large family nay, 1 have seen her who was with child flogged, CRUELLY flogged, because the overseer, forsooth, did not believe that she was in that state, which, of all others, demands the kindest treatment. compared to the foul deeds daily witnessed in short, "there is nothing under heaven to be the islands of the west ❞—

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In

That lie like jewels on the Indian deep." Surely such a fair portion of this lower world was and is destined to be the theatre of higher deeds than those of the paltry and cowardly tyranny of white oppressors, and persecuted black slaves. Yes, the flag of liberty will yet

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