- 'The Lord keep us
from being bewitched with the whore's cup, lest while we seem to reject
her with our profession, we bring her in by a _back door_ of _toleration_,
and so drink deeply of the cup of the Lord's wrath, and be filled with her
plagues!'
"During a war with the eastern Indians, a council was called, and a
proposal made to draw upon them the _Mohawks_, their ancient enemy, though
then at peace: the lawfulness of this proceeding was doubted by some
_tender consciences_; but all their doubts vanished, when it was urged,
that _Abraham_ had entered into a confederacy with the _Amorites, among
whom he dwelt_, and made use of _their_ assistance in recovering his
kinsman _Lot_ from the hands of their _common enemy_."
* * * * *
"The quakers at first were banished; but this proving insufficient, a
succession of sanguinary laws were enacted against them; such as
imprisonment, whipping, cutting off the ears, boreing the tongue with a
red-hot iron, and banishment on pain of death. In consequence of these
laws, four quakers were put to death at Boston only; when their friends in
England procured an order from king Charles the Second, which put a stop
to _capital executions_."
And now, friend Joseph, what do you think of these primitive christians?
When the _real_ Christian _William Penn_ arrived in America, what was _his
retaliation?_ He called his city _Philadelphia_, to perpetuate a memorial
of the cords of peace and good will, which bound him, and all his
followers, not only to one another, but even to his enemies at Boston,
were they inclined to come and settle with them. - The following words of
his proclamation ought to be written in letters of gold: -
"Because no people can be happy, if abridged of the freedom of their
consciences, as to their religious professions and worship; I do grant and
declare, that no person inhabiting this province, or territories, who
shall acknowledge one Almighty God, the Creator, Ruler, and Upholder of
the world, and live quietly under the civil government, shall in any case
be molested, or prejudiced in his person or estate because of his
conscientious persuasion or practice."
But to return to New England; happily for these states, the revolution
has done away great part of the severity of their ancient laws; but
the inhabitants still retain a taste for scriptural phrases and allusions
in their writings. As you are fond of _poetry_, I send you two
specimens of this kind of writing; the first is from a tomb-stone at
_Plymouth_[Footnote: The oldest settlement north of Virginia.]. It was
written by one of the first settlers, and is in the true spirit of those
times. -
EPITAPH UPON GENERAL ATHERTON.
"Here lies our captain, and major,
Of Suffolk was withal,
A _godly_ magistrate was he,
And major general.
Two troops of horse came here,
(Such love his worth did crave;)
Ten companies of foot also,
Mourning, marched to his grave.
Let all that read be sure to keep
The _faith, as he has done_.
He lives now _crowned_ with _Christ_;
His name was Humphrey Atherton."
In order to understand the second, I must inform you, it is usual for
boys, who expect christmas boxes, to present their masters' customers with
a copy of verses, expressive of their good wishes, &c. The call-boy of the
theatre, (a mechanic's son of this town,) had the following _verses_
written in the usual style by the _poet_ commonly employed on these
occasions, and when printed, delivered one to each of the performers. -
"THE CALL-BOY OF THE THEATRE,
FEDERAL-STREET,
NEW YEAR'S WISH, 1797.
"Look up, worthy friends, from yonder bright hills
See how Phoebus smiles, to hail the new year:
I bring you a tribute - rejoice thus to find,
So many are living, and meet with us here.
"May health be confirm'd, and sickness remov'd;
May no sweeping flames take place in this state;
We sympathise deeply with neighbouring friends,
Whose cup has run over with this bitter fate.
"May _teachers_ this day find _help from above_
To publish glad news, as _heralds of grace_,
While _Zion_ is mourning her light shall break forth,
And shadows of midnight away from her chase.
"I wish through this year _God's presence_ may smile
On all your just schemes at home or abroad;
I wish you his protection, by sea or by land;
May your _theatrical works_ find favour in _God_.
[Footnote: The boy must surely mean the _gods_.]
"Gentlemen and ladies, accept these wishes sincere,
And I wish you all a happy new year."
_Boston, January 1st, 1797._
DEAR FRIEND,
To answer your last, wherein you desire me to send you the exact state of
negro slavery in this country, is a task to which I am unequal.
You will conceive the great difficulty of obliging you in this request,
when you are informed, that on this subject each individual state has it's
own laws. The only point in which they are unanimous, is to prohibit their
importation, either from the Coast of Africa, or the West Indies. I can
only inform you in general terms, that in the _southern states_ there
is little alteration in the negro code since the revolution; of course the
laws are nearly the same as in the British West India islands. In the
_middle states_, though negro slavery is allowed, their situation has
been considerably meliorated, by a variety of laws in their favour, some
tending to their gradual emancipation, others to render their servitude
less irksome, &c.
Societies are formed in several of the large towns to enforce these
lenient laws, and to purchase the freedom of a few of the most deserving
slaves.
