A General Review of the Writer's Entire Life and Work, and an Optimistic View of the Whole Subject, With Reflections and Observations and Forecasts of the Near Future.

When I left the place where I was born, in the year 1855, and made my lucky escape to a land of freedom, in company with my fiancee, Thomas Lincoln, I had no idea whatever of the future that lay before us, and of all the pleasant ways by which the Lord would lead us. It was well for both my darling Tom and me that we were the children of religious mothers, who taught us from our earliest infancy to love the Lord at all times, and to put our entire trust and confidence in Him. Tom and I had been accustomed to a delightful home at Riverside Hall, on the banks of the Ohio, and we knew nothing about the evils of slavery, like millions of others.

In the midst of such pleasant surroundings on the banks of the "Beautiful River," it seemed easy enough for us at the time to love the Lord and put our trust in Him; but whilst the great Creator was working out his sure decrees, we considered ourselves perfectly justified in taking the law into our own hands, and whereas we could not get our rights by fair means, to take them by foul. It has been well for Tom and me that we acted as we did; and the blessings thus vouchsafed to us in that way have descended to our dear children in a full state of freedom. But while we had little risks to run compared to many refugees, there were millions left behind us who could not get along. For what could frail and feeble women do surrounded as they were by every device and scheme that slavery and Satan could invent to keep their hold on what they presumptuously called their "property?" Thus our distressed brothers and sisters were obliged to wait for the coming of the Lord, and the wisest among them knew that His coming could not be long delayed, because the signs of the times pointed to a speedy deliverance, and a child could almost hear the loud and heavy rumblings in the heavens.

But, my dear reader, the "Lord works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform." We fondly expected and hoped to see freedom in our own day—"some sweet day"—but our minds were little prepared for its coming so soon. We heard the rumblings of the storm, indeed, but there had been other storms before, and they had blown over, and why should not this one go the same as they? That is the way that we poor, limited, erring human beings are likely to go aside and miss the mark. We judged of the rising storm of 1860 that it would be like those that had gone before it, but there was not a single being on the face of the earth who ever dreamed that we were at last drifting into a mighty war, that was to continue for over four years, and would sweep away slavery and all its belongings, as the mighty tides of the ocean wash away the foot-prints on the sands. It became clear as time and war went on, that the Almighty Ruler of the Universe had risen up to strike the earth, and that He would not smite a second blow, but finish things up now. He says in His sacred word that He will hear our prayers; our oppressed people had been crying to Him for many years, "How long, O Lord, how long!" The prayers of the distressed, their tears and cries, had been heard; they had all been duly chronicled in heaven; the day for settlement with the slave-holders had now fully come, and one of those mighty changes that have followed each other these last forty years with such rapidity was now at the door. Like the prompt railroad train, or, better still, the tide of the sea, the Lord of Heaven and Earth was ready and armed from head to foot; freedom was at the door, indeed and in truth, and the doors must be opened that captives should go free!

"What hath not God wrought?" Those more than four decisive years, so heavy with fate and destiny, looked long, very long, in passing, but ah! they brought changes to the entire colored race, both collectively and individually; and as slavery had grown more and more even down to the very year when the war began, so was the joy all the greater when it was all over, and bright shining freedom came suddenly at last. There was joy and rejoicing all over the United States at the result; dancing and singing from the Potomac to the Rio Grande in particular. So much for the whole race taken collectively. To us individually as a family, that mighty upheaval, the war, brought great and varied experiences—both sorrows and joy. When the first rush of wild enthusiasm against the rebellion was over, we all found out that we had to settle down to hard work, and four full years of war and fighting were before us. Thus the children and I saw Tom leave for the seat of war, and after many a hard-fought field, Tom was wounded so badly that he lay for a long time at New Orleans. We had done an immense quantity of correspondence by this time, but more changes wrought through and by the war were at hand. The whole American nation was undergoing changes, and so were we! The children and I longed with all our hearts to see husband and father once more. He was not yet well enough to travel to Buffalo; indeed, the military authorities forbade it, and so we three determined to tear up stakes at Buffalo for a time, and make a sudden and unexpected march on the city of New Orleans. This was not my first visit to the Crescent City of the Sunny South. As my dear reader is already well aware, I went there about the year 1856, and rescued my dear mother from slavery, which I consider one of the very best things that ever I did in this world! This journey to New Orleans was a most glorious experience, for the girls in particular, and they are even talking of it now. When we were in the Lower Mississippi, we had a good time to look about us and see what a mighty work the sword of the North had already done for that section of the Union. The colored people were all free, and thousands were flocking to schools just newly set up, and learning as people had never learned before. The rebels, and all those that sympathized with them, used to say that if the slaves were set free, they would turn in and massacre their former owners, and become regular heathens and savages. This was, of course, nothing but a silly parrot-cry that nobody seriously believed, as no colored man had any other intention than to become a peaceable citizen. But during our delightful residence in the Sunny South we saw those who had been slaves in that section all working away upon the lands, and in the towns and cities, in perfect freedom, and their lives were both orderly and exemplary. But what surprised us most was to see them going to work with first readers, spelling books, slates and pencils, and all the other appliances of education, and gathering knowledge like the sands of the sea. This, indeed, augured well for the future—to see people even seventy and eighty years of age learning to read, write and figure like the rest! Here was a field of bright promise for the near future. Here was a race of people, just set free, grasping at the lowermost round of the ladder of education, and ambitious to mount higher every day.

Behold, indeed, the mighty changes that the Lord has brought about in this dear land of ours! We have already lived long enough not only to see all the captives set free, but a second generation, fifty per cent. of whom are armed, from head to foot, so to speak, with education. We have already brilliant men and women competent to shine like stars, in all the different walks and departments of life, which my two girls and I saw such abundant promise when we went to Louisiana. In due course of time Tom was pronounced completely cured, was discharged from the hospital, and our two precious children and we took our homeward journey by way of the Gulf of Mexico, the city of Havana, in Cuba, West Indies and the Atlantic Ocean to New York, after which we took the train for Buffalo, where we all arrived safe and sound in due time, and had such a welcome home as is still green in our memories. This sea voyage and land journey were delightful experiences in the young lives of our two daughters, and showed them what a great, varied, and beautiful world the great Creator had made. We thanked Him with full and grateful hearts for having laid our lines in such pleasant places, and giving us this sweet home of ours at Buffalo, where we have resided in peace, pleasure and plenty. Lo! these many years! and we are at Buffalo, still. It is a great comfort to our hearts and minds to think that the entire colored race are no longer compelled to reside, to dwell, and sleep where they are bidden, as in the bad old times of slavery; but that here again a mighty change for the better has come over all our people, inasmuch as many of them nowadays have comfortable and pleasant homes of their own, where beautiful furniture and musical instruments can be seen—yes, even fine pianos, along which the supple fingers of the rising generation can fly with the best! I bless and praise the goodness of the Lord for all these changes for the better. Instead of operating on the fiddle and the banjo, our clever musical sons and daughters can sing lovely accompaniments to the piano and the organ. The race is full of music, and their fame has reached the ends of the earth. Our churches and other institutions have a great name for sacred music and song, and I have heard good judges among the white population declare that there are no such singers as the colored race in the United States. We may at least congratulate ourselves that the entire press of the United States and the British Isles have completely endorsed the above sentiments of my own, and therefore I do not think that any conscientious man will dispute them. It is an old and a true saying that variety is the spice of life, and the beauties of the different races of people appear to the greatest advantage where their separate traits of character most differ from one another. Music and song, indeed, are quite a distinguished feature in the colored race, and there again we have seen mighty changes wrought out through and by our freedom, and again I thank the goodness of the Lord for even such changes as these.

And yet we are only at the beginning of our improvements, associated as we also are with the white race of the United States—one of the most talented and ingenious peoples that the world has ever seen! It is well for us in a way that we are so associated, because our progress in these past years, and at the present time, is all the greater on that account. And yet when we consider that it is only yesterday, as it were, that all our people were set free, that our unbroken progress is still going on along the whole line, and that our progress will continue to be more marked in the future as the years gone by, who can tell to what glorious heights of elevation our people shall attain, even within the next twenty or twenty-five years? Because in our own day and generation, all the arts and sciences seem to be coming to the front; learning, education and inventions are farther and farther advanced day by day, and every kind of improvement grows and flourishes like the green bay-tree. Progress indeed must be made; things will not go backwards, but must go forward, onward and upward. Such is the inevitable fate of the colored race. With so very much accomplished already; with fifty per cent. of our entire people throughout the whole Union who can read and write and work arithmetic, we may well wonder at the advancement still in store for our race, when education shall cover the whole land, as the waters cover the sea; when the remaining fifty per cent., who are still destitute of education, are brought into the fold, as it were, and an ignorant colored man or woman will be difficult to find in our nation.

The unparalleled progress that we have made reminds me of the progress of a great river. Take for example the Mississippi. How small it is when it issues from Lake Itasca, away up at its headwaters in Minnesota. It is of truth very small indeed, when it begins its journey to the sea. But the river advances boldly upon its long way, and keeps on and on, and still on, while every now and then a branch comes flowing in, now on the right hand, now on the left, sometimes nothing but a small rivulet, then a large and swelling stream. Thus the Mississippi still keeps advancing on mile after mile on its journey, till the great Ohio swells its waters, and then the greater Missouri comes rolling down from the Rocky Mountains, and now the Mississippi is growing large, indeed—yes, very large. And here comes the Arkansas and the Red River, with many smaller streams from the east, and thus the mighty Mississippi, that began so small in Lake Itasca, has now reached the Crescent City, and whole fleets of ships can float upon its bosom before its great and swelling waters reach the Gulf of Mexico. And thus it is with the advancement that has already been made by the colored race along the whole line. We began, indeed, very small in the year 1865, when the war closed, and the appliances of education and improvement were put into our hands. But here is the year 1902, and, like the Mississippi river, we have advanced far, very far upon our way; and yet we have by no means attained the goal of our expectations, by any means, but great changes are under way, and we are still advancing.

Many travelers have left it on record how they turned round upon the ever-ascending mountain way to mark progress, and see how far they had come. Then with fresh resolution they again turned their faces to the road that still lay before and above them, and that with renewed interest and courage. I don't know how it may be with anybody else, but as I am now about sixty years of age, I am at times given to look back, and to muse not only over all the way the Lord has led me, but also how He has led the entire race in my own days. The rising generation knows little of the thoughts and feelings, and the sufferings of their fathers and mothers on their way to freedom, and the present happy condition of things. But I am like that mountain traveller of whom I have just spoken, and I sit at times and muse and muse upon the tremendous excitement all over the North on the slavery question, and how the Abolitionists demanded freedom, and the South would not listen to any such thing. Then my mind runs back to Fred. Douglass, Henry Ward Beecher, and all those heroes and heroines who fought the good cause of liberty, and were faithful unto the end. We were in for a great and stirring time.

Little does the present generation know of the times we went through in the years immediately before the war, when I used to travel over the States of the North, assisting in the lecturing and agitation against slavery. It is a very great gratification to me nowadays to look back and think of all the wonders of that most wonderful and lengthened campaign when William Lloyd Garrison, and all the other "big guns" were thundering away, and the discharge of their mighty artillery shook all the land, even to the Gulf of Mexico! I am not so strong and supple in body now as I was in those glorious, Halcyon days; but I praise and bless the Lord that I was then endowed with health, and strength, and vigorous life to lay on the axe of liberty, and to help bring down that foul and deadly upas tree called "Slavery," that was the curse of the whole land—the public disgrace of the United States. Since then I have contributed many articles to the papers and magazines of the day to help my own people to rise up and start upon their feet; but there is nothing that I ever did that left so much pleasure upon my memory as the campaign wherein I played, sang and lectured against slavery in the South. Well, to be sure, how the surging crowds did come! It was a wonderful time that we had. The excitement was also most exhilarating. But above all, those mighty changes were on the road, that we see around us to-day. The Lord has done great things for us already, and still we can say that there is a good time coming!

Upon the whole my life has been a happy one—at least, as happy as could be expected in this shady world of ours, where ever-changing clouds and sunshine chase each other all through our pilgrim journey to our home in heaven. I have tried to make the best of things, and to consign myself to the Lord's will as nearly as my infirmities will let me. Mercy and goodness have followed me all the days of my life, and I have been most abundantly blessed by the Lord above all that I could either ask or think. My dear reader will no doubt think that I am in a very contemplative frame of mind at the present time, thus looking back and musing upon the active years of my past life. No doubt the greater part of life's long day has gone by, and the evening and night are coming on. But in my time I have learned to trust in God, to lay hold upon eternal life, to keep hope alive in my heart for all times for myself and all my people, not only my immediate family, but the entire colored race.

I am therefore able to look forward with calmness, and even joy, to the time when the great Lord will take me home to Himself. But still, as the evening and shadows of life are coming on, I will converse with my own family and friends upon the stirring events of the past years, and keep musing upon them, also. If variety is the spice of life, I am sure I have had plenty of it for my own part. I can never complain of the want of variety. And it has been a downright blessing to me, too; for it has added to my knowledge and blessing in every way. My travels and varied experiences have brought me into contact with strange and interesting peoples, and countless individuals, worth far more than their weight in gold. My many delightful journeys to the dearly beloved friends in Canada, and their return visits to me, have been like glorious rainbows that spanned the heavens of my happiness on earth. Then there is the permanent love and friendship of the many brave and true hearts that have thrown light and pleasure upon my path all along the line—good and faithful friends who assisted in pulling down the powers of slavery, and who now rejoice, in common with myself, that the mighty work was done at last, and that all our grand destiny is still before us. Thank God for this splendid prospect before us! It has been the joy of my life to see the improvements introduced into the American Constitution in our favor, and the celebration of the Fifteenth Amendment all over the land, including the one we took a part in at Louisville, Kentucky, was a series of brilliant events that can never be forgotten.

As I am by nature a great lover of the ocean, I have made two voyages from New Orleans to New York, and have even crossed the great Atlantic, and visited the British Isles upon the happy occasion when my daughters were married. But above all things, I have had the pleasure of seeing the entire colored race set free; have seen them make incredible advances in every walk and department of life, and the promise is held out that they will still go on in the path of progress. We must still trust in God and ourselves, and march forward!

And now, my dear reader, wishing for you all that is good, health and prosperity, I am

Yours most sincerely,

BEULAH LINCOLN.