Christian8 people have often been perfectly9 astonished and discouraged, as Miss Ophelia was, in the attempt to bring up such children decently and Christianly, under a state of things which takes away every stimulant10 which God meant should operate healthfully on the human mind.
We are not now speaking of the Southern States merely, but of the New England States; for, startling as it may appear, slavery is not yet wholly abolished in the free states of the North. The most unchristian part of it, that which gives to it all the bitterness and all the sting, is yet, in a great measure, unrepealed; it is the practical denial to the negro of the rights of human brotherhood13. In consequence of this, Topsy is a character which may be found at the North as well as at the South.
In conducting the education of negro, mulatto and quadroon children, the writer has often observed this fact:—that, for a certain time, and up to a certain age, they kept equal pace with, and were often superior to, the white children with whom they were associated; but that there came a time when they became indifferent to learning, and made no further progress. This was invariably at the age when they were old enough to reflect upon life, and to perceive that society had no place to offer them for which anything more would be requisite14 than the rudest and most elementary knowledge.
Let us consider how it is with our own children; how few of them would ever acquire an education from the mere12 love of learning.
In the process necessary to acquire a handsome style of hand-writing, to master the intricacies of any language, or to conquer the difficulties of mathematical study, how often does the perseverance15 of the child flag, and need to be stimulated16 by his parents and teachers by such considerations as these: “It will be necessary for you, in such or such a position in life, to possess this or that acquirement or accomplishment17. How could you ever become a merchant, without understanding accounts? How could you enter the learned professions, without understanding languages? If you are ignorant and uninformed, you cannot take rank as a gentleman in society.”
51Does not every one know that, without the stimulus18 which teachers and parents thus continually present, multitudes of children would never gain a tolerable education? And is it not the absence of all such stimulus which has prevented the negro child from an equal advance?
It is often objected to the negro race that they are frivolous19 and vain, passionately20 fond of show, and are interested only in trifles. And who is to blame for all this? Take away all high aims, all noble ambition, from any class, and what is left for them to be interested in but trifles?
The present attorney-general of Liberia, Mr. Lewis, is a man who commands the highest respect, for talent and ability in his position; yet, while he was in America, it is said that, like many other young colored men, he was distinguished22 only for foppery and frivolity23. What made the change in Lewis after he went to Liberia? Who does not see the answer? Does any one wish to know what is inscribed24 on the seal which keeps the great stone over the sepulchre of African mind? It is this;—which was so truly said by poor Topsy,—“Nothing but a nigger!”
It is this, burnt into the soul by the branding-iron of cruel and unchristian scorn, that is a sorer and deeper wound than all the physical evils of slavery together.
There never was a slave who did not feel it. Deep, deep down in the dark, still waters of his soul is the conviction, heavier, bitterer than all others, that he is not regarded as a man. On this point may be introduced the testimony25 of one who has known the wormwood and the gall26 of slavery by bitter experience. The following letter has been received from Dr. Pennington, in relation to some inquiries27 of the author:
{ 50 Laurens-street,
{ New York, Nov. 30, 1852.
Mrs H. B. Stowe.
Esteemed28 Madam: I have duly received your kind letter in answer to mine of the 15th instant, in which you state that you “have an intense curiosity to know how far you have rightly divined the heart of the slave.” You give me your idea in these words: “There lies buried down in the heart of the most seemingly careless and stupid slave a bleeding spot, that bleeds and aches, though he could scarcely tell why; and that this sore spot is the degradation of his position.”
After escaping from the plantation29 of Dr. Tilghman, in Washington County, Md., where I was held as a slave, and worked as a blacksmith, I came to the State of Pennsylvania, and, after experiencing there some of the vicissitudes30 referred to in my little published narrative31, I came into New York State, bringing in my mind a certain indescribable feeling of wretchedness. They used to say of me at Dr. Tilghman’s, “That blacksmith Jemmy is a ‘cute fellow; still water runs deep.” But I confess that “blacksmith Jemmy” was not ‘cute enough to understand the cause of his own wretchedness. The current of the still water may have run deep, but it did not reach down to that awful bed of lava32.
At times I thought it occasioned by the lurking33 fear of betrayal. There was no Vigilance Committee at the time,—there were but anti-slavery men. I came North with my counsels in my own cautious breast. I married a wife, and did not tell her I was a fugitive34. None of my friends knew it. I knew not the means of safety, and hence I was constantly in fear of meeting with some one who would betray me.
It was fully11 two years before I could hold up my head; but still that feeling was in my mind. In 1846, after opening my bosom35 as a fugitive to John Hooker, Esq., I felt this much relief,—“Thank God there is one brother-man in hard old Connecticut that knows my troubles.”
Soon after this, when I sailed to the island of Jamaica, and on landing there saw colored men in all the stations of civil, social, commercial life, where I had seen white men in this country, that feeling of wretchedness experienced a sensible relief, as if some feverish36 sore had been just reached by just the right kind of balm. There was before my eye evidence that a colored man is more than “a nigger.” I went into the House of Assembly at Spanishtown, where fifteen out of forty-five members were colored men. I went into the courts, where I saw in the jury-box colored and white men together, colored and white lawyers at the bar. I went into the Common Council of Kingston; there I found men of different colors. So in all the counting-rooms, &c. &c.
But still there was this drawback. Somebody says, “This is nothing but a nigger island.” Now, then, my old trouble came back again; “a nigger among niggers is but a nigger still.”
In 1849, when I undertook my second visit to Great Britain, I resolved to prolong and extend my travel and intercourse37 with the best class of men, with a view to see if I could banish38 that troublesome old ghost entirely39 out of my mind. In England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Belgium and Prussia, my whole power has been concentrated on this object. “I’ll be a man, and I’ll kill off this enemy which has haunted me these twenty years and more.” I believe I have succeeded in some good degree; at least, I have now no more trouble on the score of equal manhood with the whites. My European tour was certainly useful, because there the trial was fair and honorable. I had nothing to complain of. I got what was due to man, and I was expected to do what was due from man to man. I sought not to be treated as a pet. I put myself into the harness, and wrought40 manfully in the first pulpits, and the platforms in peace congresses, conventions, anniversaries, commencements, &c.; and in these exercises that rusty41 old iron came out of my soul, and went “clean away.”
You say again you have never seen a slave how ever careless and merry-hearted, who had not this sore place, and that did not shrink or get angry if a finger was laid on it. I see that you have been a close observer of negro nature.
52So far as I understand your idea, I think you are perfectly correct in the impression you have received, as explained in your note.
O, Mrs. Stowe, slavery is an awful system! It takes man as God made him; it demolishes42 him, and then mis-creates him, or perhaps I should say mal-creates him!
Wishing you good health and good success in your arduous43 work,
I am yours, respectfully,
J. W. C. Pennington.
People of intelligence, who have had the care of slaves, have often made this remark to the writer: “They are a singular whimsical people; you can do a great deal more with them by humoring some of their prejudices, than by bestowing44 on them the most substantial favors.” On inquiring what these prejudices were, the reply would be, “They like to have their weddings elegantly celebrated45, and to have a good deal of notice taken of their funerals, and to give and go to parties dressed and appearing like white people; and they will often put up with material inconveniences, and suffer themselves to be worked very hard, if they are humored in these respects.”
Can any one think of this without compassion46? Poor souls! willing to bear with so much for simply this slight acknowledgment of their common humanity. To honor their weddings and funerals is, in some sort, acknowledging that they are human, and therefore they prize it. Hence we see the reason of the passionate21 attachment47 which often exists in a faithful slave to a good master. It is, in fact, a transfer of his identity to his master. A stern law and an unchristian public sentiment has taken away his birthright of humanity, erased48 his name from the catalogue of men, and made him an anomalous49 creature—neither man nor brute50. When a kind master recognizes his humanity, and treats him as a humble51 companion and a friend, there is no end to the devotion and gratitude52 which he thus excites. He is to the slave a deliverer and a saviour53 from the curse which lies on his hapless race. Deprived of all legal rights and privileges, all opportunity or hope of personal advancement54 or honor, he transfers, as it were, his whole existence into his master’s, and appropriates his rights, his position, his honor, as his own; and thus enjoys a kind of reflected sense of what it might be to be a man himself. Hence it is that the appeal to the more generous part of the negro character is seldom made in vain.
An acquaintance of the writer was married to a gentleman in Louisiana, who was the proprietor55 of some eight hundred slaves. He, of course, had a large train of servants in his domestic establishment. When about to enter upon her duties, she was warned that the servants were all so thievish that she would be under the necessity, in common with all other housekeepers56, of keeping everything under lock and key. She, however, announced her intention of training her servants in such a manner as to make this unnecessary. Her ideas were ridiculed57 as chimerical58, but she resolved to carry them into practice. The course she pursued was as follows: She called all the family servants together; told them that it would be a great burden and restraint upon her to be obliged to keep everything locked from them; that she had heard that they were not at all to be trusted, but that she could not help hoping that they were much better than they had been represented. She told them that she should provide abundantly for all their wants, and then that she should leave her stores unlocked, and trust to their honor.
The idea that they were supposed capable of having any honor struck a new chord at once in every heart. The servants appeared most grateful for the trust, and there was much public spirit excited, the older and graver ones exerting themselves to watch over the children, that nothing might be done to destroy this new-found treasure of honor.
At last, however, the lady discovered that some depredations59 had been made on her cake by some of the juvenile60 part of the establishment; she, therefore, convened61 all the servants and stated the fact to them. She remarked that it was not on account of the value of the cake that she felt annoyed, but that they must be sensible that it would not be pleasant for her to have it indiscriminately fingered and handled, and that, therefore, she should set some cake out upon a table, or some convenient place, and beg that all those who were disposed to take it would go there and help themselves, and allow the rest to remain undisturbed in the closet. She states that the cake stood upon the table and dried, without a morsel62 of it being touched, and that she never afterwards had any trouble in this respect.
A little time after, a new carriage was bought, and one night the leather boot of it was found to be missing. Before her husband had time to take any steps on the subject, the servants of the family called a convention among themselves, and instituted an inquiry63 into the offence. The boot was found and promptly64 restored, though they 53would not reveal to their master and mistress the name of the offender65.
One other anecdote66 which this lady related illustrates67 that peculiar68 devotion of a slave to a good master, to which allusion69 has been made. Her husband met with his death by a sudden and melancholy70 accident. He had a personal attendant and confidential71 servant who had grown up with him from childhood. This servant was so overwhelmed with grief as to be almost stupefied. On the day of the funeral a brother of his deceased master inquired of him if he had performed a certain commission for his mistress. The servant said that he had forgotten it. Not perceiving his feelings at the moment, the gentleman replied, “I am surprised that you should neglect any command of your mistress, when she is in such affliction.”
This remark was the last drop in the full cup. The poor fellow fell to the ground entirely insensible, and the family were obliged to spend nearly two hours employing various means to restore his vitality72. The physician accounted for his situation by saying that there had been such a rush of all the blood in the body towards the heart, that there was actual danger of a rupture73 of that organ,—a literal death by a broken heart.
Some thoughts may be suggested by Miss Ophelia’s conscientious74 but unsuccessful efforts in the education of Topsy.
Society has yet need of a great deal of enlightening as to the means of restoring the vicious and degraded to virtue75.
It has been erroneously supposed that with brutal76 and degraded natures only coarse and brutal measures could avail; and yet it has been found, by those who have most experience, that their success with this class of society has been just in proportion to the delicacy77 and kindliness78 with which they have treated them.
Lord Shaftsbury, who has won so honorable a fame by his benevolent79 interest in the efforts made for the degraded lower classes of his own land, says, in a recent letter to the author:
You are right about Topsy: our ragged80 schools will afford you many instances of poor children, hardened by kicks, insults and neglect, moved to tears and docility81 by the first word of kindness. It opens new feelings, develops, as it were, a new nature, and brings the wretched outcast into the family of man.
Recent efforts which have been made among unfortunate females in some of the worst districts of New York show the same thing. What is it that rankles82 deepest in the breast of fallen woman, that makes her so hopeless and irreclaimable? It is that burning consciousness of degradation which stings worse than cold or hunger, and makes her shrink from the face of the missionary84 and the philanthropist. They who have visited these haunts of despair and wretchedness have learned that they must touch gently the shattered harp85 of the human soul, if they would string it again to divine music; that they must encourage self-respect, and hope, and sense of character, or the bonds of death can never be broken.
Let us examine the gospel of Christ, and see on what principles its appeals are constructed. Of what nature are those motives86 which have melted our hearts and renewed our wills? Are they not appeals to the most generous and noble instincts of our nature? Are we not told of One fairer than the sons of men,—One reigning87 in immortal88 glory, who loved us so that he could bear pain, and want, and shame, and death itself, for our sake?
When Christ speaks to the soul, does he crush one of its nobler faculties89? Does he taunt90 us with our degradation, our selfishness, our narrowness of view, and feebleness of intellect, compared with his own? Is it not true that he not only saves us from our sins, but saves us in a way most considerate, most tender, most regardful of our feelings and sufferings? Does not the Bible tell us that, in order to fulfil his office of Redeemer the more perfectly, he took upon him the condition of humanity, and endured the pains, and wants, and temptations of a mortal existence, that he might be to us a sympathizing, appreciating friend, “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” and cheering us gently on in the hard path of returning virtue?
O, when shall we, who have received so much of Jesus Christ, learn to repay it in acts of kindness to our poor brethren? When shall we be Christ-like, and not man-like, in our efforts to reclaim83 the fallen and wandering?
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1
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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reprobation
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infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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distinguished
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frivolity
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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testimony
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gall
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inquiries
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esteemed
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plantation
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vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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narrative
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lava
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lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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fugitive
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bosom
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feverish
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intercourse
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banish
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entirely
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wrought
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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demolishes
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arduous
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bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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celebrated
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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erased
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| v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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anomalous
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brute
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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gratitude
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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housekeepers
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| n.（女）管家( housekeeper的名词复数 ) | |
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ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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chimerical
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| adj.荒诞不经的，梦幻的 | |
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depredations
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juvenile
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| n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的 | |
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convened
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| 召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合 | |
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morsel
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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illustrates
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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allusion
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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71
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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72
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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73
rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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74
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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75
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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76
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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77
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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78
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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79
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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80
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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81
docility
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| n.容易教，易驾驶，驯服 | |
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82
rankles
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| v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的第三人称单数 ) | |
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83
reclaim
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| v.要求归还，收回；开垦 | |
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84
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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85
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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86
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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87
reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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88
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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89
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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90
taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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