with the imputation of having left one hundred and seventy human beings, to be sold, for the benefit of his descendants, or the extinction of his debts, into a state of hopeless and hereditary servitude? Would it not be a noble testimony of national gratitude, to redeem these slaves from their forlorn situation, and place them if possible, in a condition to understand and appreciate the doctrines which their late master proclaimed in the face of the world? If disembodied spirits ever revisit the scenes of their earthly pilgrimage, would not the spirit of Jefferson rejoice to discover that his surviving friends had done for him, what he would unquestionably have done himself, if his possessions had been free from incumbrance? One noble president has bequeathed liberty to his slaves, let those who follow in his wake, imitate, either in person or by proxy, the illustrious example.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF PHILLIS WHEAT

LEY,-From A. Mott.

Although the state of Massachusetts never was so deeply involved in the African slave trade as most of the other states, yet before the war which separated the United States of America from Great Britain, and gave us the title of a free and independent nation, there were many of the poor Africans brought into their ports and sold for slaves.

In the year 1761, a little girl about 7 or 8 years old, was stolen from her parents in Africa, and being put on board a ship, was brought to Boston, where she was sold for a slave to John Wheatley, a respectable inhabitant of that town. Her master giving her the name of Phillis, and she assuming that of her master, she was of course called Phillis Wheatley.

Being of an active disposition, and very attentive and industrious, she soon learned the English language,

and in about sixteen months so perfectly, that she could read any of the most difficult parts of the Scriptures, to the great astonishment of those who heard her. And this she learned without any school instruction, except what was taught her in the family.

The art of writing she obtained by her own industry and curiosity, and in so short a time, that in the year 1765, when she was not more than twelve years of age, she was capable of writing letters to her friends on various subjects. She also wrote to several persons in high stations. In one of her communications to the Earl of Dartmouth, on the subject of Freedom, she has the following lines:

"Should you, my lord, while you peruse my

In her leisure moments she often indulged herself in writing poetry, and a small volume of her composition was published in 1773, when she was about nineteen years of age, attested by the Governor of Massachusetts, and a number of the most respectabie inhabitants of Boston, in the following language:

"We, whose names are under-written, do assure the world that the Poems specified in the following pages were, (as we verily believe,) written by Phillis, a young negro girl, who was but a few years since, brought an uncultivated barbarian from Africa; and has ever since been, and now is, under the disadvantage of serving as a slave in a family in this town. She has been examined by some of the best judges, and is thought qualified to write them."

Her master says, "Having a great inclination to learn the Latin language, she has made some progress in it.*

* Most of her poetical productions have a religious or moral cast: all breathe a soft and sentimental feeling. Twelve relate to the death of friends. Others on the works of Providence; on virtue, humanity, and freedom; with one to a

After the publication of the little volume mentioned, and about the 21st year of her age, she was liberated; but she continued in her master's family, where she was much respected for her good conduct. Many of the most respectable inhabitants of Boston and its vicinity, visiting at the house, were pleased with an opportunity of conversing with Phillis, and observing her modest deportment, and the cultivation of her mind.

When about 23, she was married to a person of her own colour, who having also obtained considerable learning, kept a grocery, and officiated as a lawyer, under the title of Doctor Peters, pleading the cause of his brethren the Africans, before the tribunals of the state.

The reputation he enjoyed, with his industry, procured him a fortune; but Phillis being much indulged, had not acquired sufficient knowledge of domestic concerns; and her friends continuing their particular attention to her, gave him uneasiness, which operating on a disposition that was not willing to have her more respected than himself-which first manifested itself by reproaches; which were followed by harsh treatment. The continuance thereof affecting her susceptible mind, and delicate constitution, she soon went into a decline, and died in 1780, about the 26th year of her age, much lamented by those who knew her worth. She had one child, which died very young; and her husband survived her only three years.

REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO THE SLAVE TRADE IN GUATIMALA.

"One of the first acts of the Constituent Assembly of Guatimala was the abolition of Slavery, which disgrace of civilized ages was annihilated by a decree of the 17th of April, 1824. Nevertheless the law settled a rate of indemnity for the owners of slaves. Senor del Valle, ever foremost in the paths of patriotism and humanity, was very urgent in recommending such a compensation, and his example was followed by the greater part of the

young painter of her own colour. On seeing his works, she vented her grief for the sorrows of her countrymen, in a pathetic strain.

proprietors. The number of slaves at that time in the Republic did not exceed 500. The epoch of that decree was observed by the Government as a season of festivity and jubilee; and the Legislative Power, rejoicing in the benefit done to humanity, declared in its message, that the decrees of the Assembly deserved to be registered on tablets of brass, in the hall of the Assembly, as one of its greatest orna

ments.

"In process of time, the Constitution was promulgated by the National Assembly, and confirmed the abolition of Slavery by the 13th Article, worded as follows:

"Every man in the Republic is free; and no one who takes refuge under its laws can be a slave: nor shall any one be accounted a citizen who carries on the Slave Trade.'

66

By means of this Article, the Republic was placed by the Constitution on a footing with the temples of the ancients, which served as an asylum to the unfortunate. In consequence, during last spring, one hundred slaves, belonging to the English settlers at Belize, fled from the colony, and sought refuge in the Republic. The superintendent of the establishment demanded the restitution of the fugitives. The Executive, in the message with which it forwarded the demand to the Legislative Power, gave its opinion in favour of the required restitution, influenced, no doubt, by an apprehension that the British Government would not tamely permit a refusal to be given, which would so materially tend to alarm its subjects, proprietors of slaves in the West Indies, where slavery is still tolerated. The public of Guatimala, on that account, were anxious to know the resolve of the Legislative power upon so delicate an affair. The 6th of June was fixed for the debate, and the hall of Congress was crowded to excess.

"Senor Alvarado, in addressing the Congress, said: "This is the sacred ægis, under cover of which the slaves of Belize have taken refuge; and I call on you to recollect, that you have sworn to maintain it inviolate. Shall we break that oath so shortly after having pronounced it? What are commercial interests, when put in

competition with the paramount duty of preserving justice? They should weigh as a feather in the balance! England, it is true, protects the interets of her traders; but is she not bound still more, to prefer and protect the sanctity of oaths?"

"His speech was received with reiterated expressions of approbation. After him arose an opponent, who exerted himself to prove the propriety of the restitution; and, by quotations from ancient and modern history, to show that the principles of justice, which ought to regulate the conduct of individuals, cannot be always made applicable to a state.

"Many others followed on the same false side of the argument: but Senor Alvarado was not disheartened; and, returning to the charge, adduced fresh arguments in reply, declaring, in conclusion, that if the English Government should insist on recovering possession of the slaves by force, he would prefer to fall a victim to violence, rather than become an accomplice to injustice. These last words, pronounced loudly, and with impassioned emphasis, again drew down the plaudits of his hearers, whose hearts were, without exception, in unison with jus. tice. However, notwithstanding the manly resistance of Senor Alvarado, the discussion was eventually decided by a majority in favour of the contrary opinion; and, in consequence, the Congress ordered the restitution of the slaves-a decision which fortunately was subject to the revision of the Senate. That second legislative Chamber, therefore, resumed the discussion, and pronounced an opposite decision, declaring the slaves to be free: but, at the same time, uniting the rights of liberty with the claims of property, it determined to award a compensation to the English owners of the slaves. The senators who most distinguished themselves in the discussion in favour of these slaves, were the Senors Barrundia, Alvarado, Alcayagua, and Mendez."

AFRICAN MAGNANIMITY.

Abdulkader, king of Foota Torra, inflamed with zeal for propagating his religion, sent an embassy to Damel, king of the Jaloffs, requiring him to

The

embrace the Mahomedan faith. ambassador was accompanied by two of the principal Bushreens, who carried each a large knife, fixed on the top of a long pole. As soon as he had procured admission into the presence of Damel, and announced the pleasure of his sovereign, he ordered the Bushreens to present the emblems of their mission. The two knives were accordingly laid before Damel, and the ambassador explained himself as follows: "With this knife, Abdulkader will condescend to shave the head of Damel, if Damel will embrace the Mahomedan faith; and with this other knife, Abdulkader will cut the throat of Damel, if Damel refuses to embrace it take your choice." Damel coolly told the ambassador, that he had no choice to make; he neither chose to have his head shaved or his throat cut; and with this answer the ambassador was civilly dismissed.

Abdulkader took his measures accordingly, and with a powerful army invaded Damel's country. The inhabitants of the towns and villages filled up their wells, destroyed their provisions, carried off their effects, and abandoned their dwellings, as he approached. By this means he was led on from place to place, till he had advanced three days' journey into the country of the Jaloffs. He had, indeed, met with no opposition; but his army had suffered so much from the scarcity of water, that several of his men had died by the way. This induced him to direct his march towards a watering place in the woods, where his men, having quenched their thirst, and being overcome with fatigue, lay down carelessly to sleep among the bushes. In this situation they were attacked by Damel before day break, and completely routed. Many of them were trampled to death as they lay asleep, by the Jaloff horses; others were killed in attempting to make their escape; and a still greater number were taken prisoners. Among the latter was Abdulkader himself. This ambitious, or rather frantic prince, who, but a month before, had sent the threatening message to Damel, was now led into his presence as a miserable captive. The behaviour of Damel, on this occasion, is never

me

mentioned by the singing men but in terms of the highest approbation; and it was, indeed so extraordinary in an African prince, that the reader may find it difficult to give credit to the recital. When his royal prisoner was brought before him in irons, and thrown upon the ground, the magnanimous Damel, instead of putting his foot upon his neck, and stabbing him with his spear, according to custom in such cases, addressed him as follows: "Abdulkader, answer this question: If the chance of war had placed me in your situation, and you in mine, how would you have treated me?" "I would have thrust my spear into your heart;" returned Abdulkader, with great firmness, “and I know that a similar fate awaits me." "Not so," said Damel, "my spear is, indeed, red with the blood of your subjects slain in battle, and I could now give it a deeper stain, by dipping it in your own; but this would not build up my towns; nor bring to life the thousands who fell in the woods. I will not, therefore, kill you in cold blood, but I will retain you as my slave, until I perceive that your presence in your own kingdom, will be no longer dangerous to your neighbours, and then I will consider of the proper way of disposing of you." Abdulkader was accordingly retained, and worked as a slave, for three months; at the end of which period, Damel listened to the solicitations of the inhabitants of Foota Torra, and restored to them their king. Park's Travels, chap. 25.

POETRY.

SELECTED FOR THE AFRICAN OBSERVER.

Why droops this heart, with fancied woes forlorn?
Why sinks my soul, beneath each wintry sky?
What pensive crowds, by ceaseless labours worn!
What myriads wish to be as blest as I!

What though my roof devoid of pomp arise,
Nor tempt the proud to quit his destined way;
Nor costly art my flowery vales disguise,
Where only simple friendship deigns to stray.
See the wild sons of Lapland's chill domain,
That scoop their couch beneath the drifted

snows;

How void of hope they ken the frozen plain, Where the sharp east for ever, ever blows.

Slave though I be, to Delia's eyes a slave, My Delia's eyes endear the bands I wear; The sighs she causes well become the brave, The pang she causes 'tis even bliss to bear.

See the poor native quit the Lybian shores,
Ah! not in love's delightful fetters bound;
No radiant smile his dying peace restores,
Nor love, nor fame, nor friendship heals his
wound.

Let vacant bards proclaim their boasted woes;
Shall I the mockery of grief display?
No, let my muse his piercing pangs disclose,
Who bleeds and weeps his sum of life away.
On the wild beach, in mournful guise, he stood,
Ere the shrill boastwain gave the hated sign;
He dropped a tear unseen into the flood,
He stole one sweet moment to repine.

Yet the muse listened to the plaints he made,
Such moving plaints as nature could inspire;
To me the muse his tender plea conveyed;
But smoothed, and suited to the sounding lyre.
Why am I ravished from my native strand?
What savage race protects this impious gain?
Shall foreign plagues infest this teeming land;
And more than sea-born monsters plough the
main?

Here the dire locusts' horrid swarms prevail;
Here the blue asps with livid poison swell;
Here the dry dypsa writhes his sinuous mail;
Can we not here secure from envy dwell?

When the grim lion urged his cruel chase, When the stern panther sought his midnight prey,

What fate reserved me for this christian race?
O race more polished, more severe than they !

Ye prowling wolves, pursue my latest cries;
Thou hungry tiger, leave thy reeking den,
Ye sandy wastes, in rapid eddies rise,
O, tear me from the whips and scorns of men.

Yet in their face superior beauty* glows,
Are smiles the mean of rapine and of wrong?
Yet from their lips, the voice of mercy flows,
And, even religion dwells upon their tongue.

Of blissful haunts they tell, and brighter climes,
Where gentle minds, conveyed by death, repair;
But, stained with blood, are crimsoned o'er with
crimes,

Say shall they merit what they paint so fair?

No, careless, hopeless of those fertile plains, Rich by our toils, and by our sorrows gay, They ply our labours, and enhance our pains, And feign those distant regions to repay.

For them, the tusky elephant expires,
For them, we drain the mine's embowelled gold;
Where rove the brutal nation's wild desires?
Our limbs are purchased, and our life is sold.

Yet shores there are, blest shores for us remain, And favoured isles, with golden fruitage crown. ed:

Where tufted flowrets paint the verdant plain, And every breeze shall med'cine every wound.

There the stern tyrant, that embitters life,
Shall, vainly suppliant, spread his asking hand;
There shall we view the billows' raging strife
Aid the kind breast and waft his boat to land.
SHENSTONE.

* The author has here given his own opinion of beauty not those of the negroes; among the natives of the interior of Africa, a white skin is considered as a blemish, and even viewed with horror.

It has been frequently asserted by the advocates of slavery that a large part of the Africans are slaves in their own country, and that their transportation across the Atlantic, though they are still subjected to the servile yoke, is an important melioration of their state.

B. Edwards observes, when speaking of the slave trade, which he admits to be incapable of general defence, "A good mind may honestly derive some degree of consolation in considering that all such of the wretched victims as were slaves in Africa, are by being sold to the whites, removed to a situation infinitely more desirable, even in its worst state, than that of the best and most favoured slaves in their native country. It is, on all hands, admitted, that the condition of these poor people, under their own governments, is the most deplorable that we can conceive a human creature to be subject to. They have no security for property, nor protection for their persons; they exist at the will and caprice of a master, who is not amenable to any VOL. I.-5.

law for his ill treatment of them, and who may slaughter them at his pleasure. He has in truth, very little interest in their preservation, having no means of employing them in profitable labour, and when provisions are scarce, he has even a strong inducement to destroy them."*

For these sweeping declarations, no authorities are cited,† but from whatever source he derived his information, he must have been unhappy in his se

*Hist. W. Indies, vol. 2, p. 99.

Unless the anonymous witness cited in a former part of the chapter, and the witnesses examined by the Privy Council, and the House of Commons, are to be considered as such. If they are, the conclusion is certainly much too broad for the premises. The paraphrase owes more of its fulness and generality to the genius of the writer, than to the facts established by the original. It may be proper here to remark, that the writer of these essays has no desire to impeach the veraeity of the eminent historian, from whose work the above extract is taken. We have here an instance, not by any means a novel one, of the readiness, even of a powerful mind, to consider a conclusion, which corresponds with a favourite hypothesis, as fairly proved by testimony, which to an understanding, not similarly biassed, would appear totally inadequate to its support.