A
Great Number Of Men Would Be Relieved From Those Cruel Shackles,
Under Which They Now Groan; And Under This Impression, I Cannot
Endure To Spend More Time In The Southern Provinces.
The method with
which they are treated there, the meanness of their food, the
severity of their tasks, are spectacles I have not patience to
behold.
"I am glad to see that thee hast so much compassion; are
there any slaves in thy country?" Yes, unfortunately, but they are
more properly civil than domestic slaves; they are attached to the
soil on which they live; it is the remains of ancient barbarous
customs, established in the days of the greatest ignorance and
savageness of manners! and preserved notwithstanding the repeated
tears of humanity, the loud calls of policy, and the commands of
religion. The pride of great men, with the avarice of landholders,
make them look on this class as necessary tools of husbandry; as if
freemen could not cultivate the ground. "And is it really so, Friend
Iwan? To be poor, to be wretched, to be a slave, are hard indeed;
existence is not worth enjoying on those terms. I am afraid thy
country can never flourish under such impolitic government." I am
very much of your opinion, Mr. Bertram, though I am in hopes that
the present reign, illustrious by so many acts of the soundest
policy, will not expire without this salutary, this necessary
emancipation; which would fill the Russian empire with tears of
gratitude. "How long hast thee been in this country?" Four years,
Sir. "Why thee speakest English almost like a native; what a toil a
traveller must undergo to learn various languages, to divest himself
of his native prejudices, and to accommodate himself to the customs
of all those among whom he chooseth to reside."
Thus I spent my time with this enlightened botanist - this worthy
citizen; who united all the simplicity of rustic manners to the most
useful learning. Various and extensive were the conversations that
filled the measure of my visit. I accompanied him to his fields, to
his barn, to his bank, to his garden, to his study, and at last to
the meeting of the society on the Sunday following. It was at the
town of Chester, whither the whole family went in two waggons; Mr.
Bertram and I on horseback. When I entered the house where the
friends were assembled, who might be about two hundred men and
women, the involuntary impulse of ancient custom made me pull off my
hat; but soon recovering myself, I sat with it on, at the end of a
bench. The meeting-house was a square building devoid of any
ornament whatever; the whiteness of the walls, the conveniency of
seats, that of a large stove, which in cold weather keeps the whole
house warm, were the only essential things which I observed. Neither
pulpit nor desk, fount nor altar, tabernacle nor organ, were there
to be seen; it is merely a spacious room, in which these good people
meet every Sunday. A profound silence ensued, which lasted about
half an hour; every one had his head reclined, and seemed absorbed
in profound meditation, when a female friend arose, and declared
with a most engaging modesty, that the spirit moved her to entertain
them on the subject she had chosen. She treated it with great
propriety, as a moral useful discourse, and delivered it without
theological parade or the ostentation of learning. Either she must
have been a great adept in public speaking, or had studiously
prepared herself; a circumstance that cannot well be supposed, as it
is a point, in their profession, to utter nothing but what arises
from spontaneous impulse: or else the great spirit of the world, the
patronage and influence of which they all came to invoke, must have
inspired her with the soundest morality. Her discourse lasted three
quarters of an hour. I did not observe one single face turned toward
her; never before had I seen a congregation listening with so much
attention to a public oration. I observed neither contortions of
body, nor any kind of affectation in her face, style, or manner of
utterance; everything was natural, and therefore pleasing, and shall
I tell you more, she was very handsome, although upward of forty. As
soon as she had finished, every one seemed to return to their former
meditation for about a quarter of an hour; when they rose up by
common consent, and after some general conversation, departed.
How simple their precepts, how unadorned their religious system: how
few the ceremonies through which they pass during the course of
their lives! At their deaths they are interred by the fraternity,
without pomp, without prayers; thinking it then too late to alter
the course of God's eternal decrees: and as you well know, without
either monument or tombstone. Thus after having lived under the
mildest government, after having been guided by the mildest
doctrine, they die just as peaceably as those who being educated in
more pompous religions, pass through a variety of sacraments,
subscribe to complicated creeds, and enjoy the benefits of a church
establishment. These good people flatter themselves, with following
the doctrines of Jesus Christ, in that simplicity with which they
were delivered: an happier system could not have been devised for
the use of mankind. It appears to be entirely free from those
ornaments and political additions which each country and each
government hath fashioned after its own manners.
At the door of this meeting house, I had been invited to spend some
days at the houses of some respectable farmers in the neighbourhood.
The reception I met with everywhere insensibly led me to spend two
months among these good people; and I must say they were the golden
days of my riper years. I never shall forget the gratitude I owe
them for the innumerable kindnesses they heaped on me; it was to the
letter you gave me that I am indebted for the extensive acquaintance
I now have throughout Pennsylvania.
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