A Visit to Mount Vernon—Dr. Robinson—Welsh Deputation—Queen Anne and
New York—The Sabbath—Preaching at Dr. L's—Afternoon Service at Mr.
C——'s—Tea at Dr. L——'s—Evening Service at Mr.——'s.

The next day my wife and I paid our promised visit to the institution of the Abbotts at Mount Vernon. In its government there are neither rewards nor punishments; but each pupil, at the close of the day, has to present a brief report of her own conduct. Her good deeds and her bad deeds must be alike proclaimed—proclaimed by herself,—and that in the presence of her fellow-pupils who were witnesses of the conduct to which she refers. This compels her to be faithful. If she tries to conceal what was faulty, she is surrounded by those who will detect that concealment: if she ostentatiously parades her own excellences, she knows she will sink in the estimation of her friends. The encouragement of self-respect, and of a regard for that which is good for its own sake, are the great principles of government in this establishment.

Mr. Abbott's plan of teaching a language is, not at first to weary the pupils with the dry rules of grammar, but to store their memories with words. He read a word or a short sentence in French, for instance, and asked the pupils to translate it into English. Then, with closed books, he would give them the English in like manner to be turned into French. I have since adopted the plan with Latin pupils with pleasure and success.

Mr. Abbott allows a recess of five minutes at the close of every half-hour. The hours of attendance are from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M.; but a rest of half an hour is allowed in the midst of that period. We happened to be there when the said half-hour arrived. All the Abbotts, the pupils, and ourselves went out to the playground, which was furnished with seats, and swings, and skipping-ropes, and swinging-boats, and all sorts of machines for exercise and amusement. In these gymnastic performances the Abbotts themselves joined the pupils, with a beautiful combination of freedom and propriety. A happier assemblage I never saw. We retired highly delighted with all we had witnessed.

In the afternoon I had the honour of being introduced to Dr. Robinson, whose Greek Lexicon I had often thumbed with advantage. He appeared to be from 45 to 50 years of age. His manners were exceedingly simple and unostentatious,—the constant characteristics of true greatness. I looked upon him with high respect and veneration. He is a man of whom America may well be proud. He pressed me to go and address the students at Union College, of which he is one of the Professors; but an opportunity of doing so did not occur.

In the evening I was waited upon by two gentlemen who announced themselves as the "President and Secretary" of a Welsh Temperance Society, and wished me to attend and address one of their meetings at a given time. This I could not do. In conversation with them about slavery, and the oppression of the coloured people, I was surprised and grieved to find how soon the Welsh people imbibed the feelings and aped the conduct of the Americans in those matters. On their pressing me to attend a meeting of their society on some future occasion, I told them I was one of the most downright Abolitionists that ever lived, and, if I came, would terrify them all with such an abolition speech as they had never heard. This, of course, was cold water upon their love, and our interview soon terminated.

The weather for the next two days was so unfavourable that we could not go out at all. Among the information I then derived from books were the following precious morsels from the Introduction to the Natural History of New York: "The Governor was directed by Queen Anne to take especial care that the Almighty should be devoutly and duly served according to the rites of the Church of England," and was at the same time desired by the Queen "to take especial care that the colony should have a constant and sufficient supply of merchantable negroes at moderate rates." Just what our own West India planters now want! Oh! how they would hail the return of the palmy days of Queen Anne!

On Sabbath the 28th of March I was invited to preach in the morning in the church of Dr. L——, a Congregational place of worship, capable of accommodating about 500 persons. The attendance was not more than 200. There I was delighted to find no negro pew. A few coloured children were intermingled with the white ones in the gallery. The Doctor, to whom I had not been introduced, was already in the pulpit when I arrived. The ceremony of introduction to each other had to be duly performed in the rostrum. He is a fine, tall, clean, and venerable-looking old gentleman. He began the service, and, before sermon, announced that they would then "take up" the usual collection. That place of worship is what they call a "Free Church,"—i.e. there is no pew-letting; as a substitute for which, they "take up" a weekly collection. The Doctor also made the following announcement: "A Missionary of the London Missionary Society, from Guiana, one of the South American possessions of Britain,—his name is Mr. Davies,—will now preach; and in the evening Professor Kellog from——, a long friend of mine, will preach." At the close I was introduced to the Doctor's long friend, Professor Kellog; and sure enough he was a "long" one! There was present also Professor Whipple, of the Oberlin Institute, to whom I had before been introduced.

In the afternoon I preached for a Mr. C——, in a Presbyterian Church. The place was beautiful, commodious, and nearly full. The pastor introduced the service. In his manner of doing so, I was very much struck with—what I had before often observed in our Transatlantic brethren—a great apparent want of reverence and fervour. The singing was very good—in the choir. In my address, I urged them to give their legislators, and their brethren in the South, no rest till the guilt and disgrace of slavery were removed from their national character and institutions. I also besought them, as men of intelligence and piety, to frown upon the ridiculous and contemptible prejudice against colour wherever it might appear. To all which they listened with apparent kindness and interest.

We took tea by invitation with Dr. L——, for whom I had preached in the morning. There we met with his nice wife, nice deacon, nice little daughters, and nice nieces,—but a most intolerable nephew. This man professed to be greatly opposed to slavery, and yet was full of contempt for "niggers." He talked and laughed over divisions in certain churches, and told the company how he used occasionally to go on Sunday nights to hear a celebrated minister, just "for the sake of hearing him talk—ha—ha—ha!" And yet this was a professor of religion!

On the subject of slavery the following conversation took place:—

Nephew.—"If I were in a Slave State, I would not hold slaves."

Aunt.—"Ah! but you would."

Nephew.—"No! that I would not."

Aunt.—"You could not live there without."

Dr. L.——(gravely).—"Well, I guess we had better pray, 'Lead us not into temptation.'"

Aunt. (devoutly)—"I guess we had."

By-and-by one of the young ladies said to my wife, "I guess we had better go and fix our things, and get ready for church." This was the signal for the breaking up of our social enjoyment, which would have been one of unmingled pleasure, had it not been for this noisy, conceited, talkative nephew.

In the evening I had to preach again for Mr.——, the place where the coloured gentleman was refused admission to the body of the church. The building was very fine, and the congregation very large. Professor Fowler, of Amherst College, who happened to be present, read the Scriptures and prayed. My subject was "the woes and wants of the African race." I touched upon American slavery, and gave details of the horrors of the slave traffic as at present carried on. I also bore testimony against the cruel prejudice which so extensively exists against the African colour. All were attentive, except one man, who rose and walked out; and I fancied him saying to himself, "I am not going to sit here to listen to this abolition nonsense any longer." And so ended my Sabbath in New York.