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iv PREFACE.

ful effects of that degradation to which the children of Africa have, in an especial manner, been subjected by the slave trade ; and to exhibit, for encouragement and imitation, the salutary and cheering influence of the Christian religion on such as have faithfully followed its dictates, though some of them have been held in bondage.
Here we may observe, that it is not the inhabitants of any particular country or climate that are the favorites of Him who, without respect of persons, judgeth every man according to his works, and the integrity of his heart; but it is the faithful, and those only, who can look forward to the termination of their pilgrimage here, with a hope that they will then be admitted into the mansions of bliss, where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary find rest. 
Some instances will be found, where men, by yielding to the convicting power of truth, and the noble feelings of justice, have broken the chains of slavery, and said to the captive, Go free. May others, by following their example, share in the reward attendant on such acts of benevolence. And may those persons of color who enjoy the inestimable privilege of freemen, either by birthright or by emancipation, always bear in mind, that by their good conduct they not only promote their own happiness, but that they advocate the cause of Universal Emancipation, by showing to the world their capability of enjoying the benefits of society, and providing comfortably for themselves. 
In preparing these pieces for the press, I have taken the liberty of abridging some of those which have already appeared in print. And in some instances, where,

PREFACE. v

in the first narration, the character was not fully delineated or finished, I have supplied that deficiency from later writers, or from inquiries of those who had been personally acquainted with the individual; as in the cases of Joseph Rachel, Phillis Wheatley, &c.
Hickory Grove, 11th mo. 1825. A. M.

The following remarks, as well as divers other pieces in this selection, are generally taken from "An Inquiry into the Intellectual and Moral Faculties of the Negroes," by GREGORIE. 
"Many authors have borne testimony to the pleasantness and fertility of Africa, and to the generosity and filial affection of its inhabitants. In reading Ledyard, Lucas, Mungo Park, Hornman, and others, we find that the inhabitants of the interior are more virtuous and more civilized than those on the sea coast; surpass them also in the preparation of wool, leather, cotton, wood and metals; in weaving, dying and sewing. Golberry says that 'in Africa there are no beggars except the blind.' 
"Adanson, who visited Senegal in 1754, when describing the country, says, 'It recalled to me the idea of the primitive race of men. I thought I saw the world in its infancy. The negroes are sociable, humane, obliging, and hospitable, and they have generally preserved an estimable simplicity of domestic manners. They are distinguished by their tenderness for their parents and great respect for the aged -- a patriarchal virtue, which in our day is too little known.'
"Robin speaks of a slave in Martinico, who, having
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