[Page]
THE American in Algiers, OR THE PATRIOT OF SEVENTY-SIX IN CAPTIVITY.
A POEM, IN TWO CANTOS.
When God from Chaos gave this world to be, Man then he form'd, and form'd him to be free.
FRENEAU.
New York: Printed and Sold by J. BUEL, N O. 153, WATERSTREET, corner of FLY-MARKET. M, DCC, XCVII.
[Page 2]
THE
American in Algiers, OR THE PATRIOT OF SEVENTY-SIX IN
CAPTIVITY.
[Page] THE
AMERICAN in ALGIERS, &c, CANTO I.
[Page]
ARGUMENT PROPOSED.
INVOCATION—American Captive's address to his Countrymen—His happiness at home—Commencement of the American Revolution—Battle of Bunker's Hill—Death of Gen. Warren—Battle on Long-Island—Death of Gen. Mercer—Surrender of Burgoyne—The fatigues of war, and the American's return home—His misfortunes—He embarks for Genoa—His arrival and debarkation for home—A storm—Taken by an Algerine Corsair—Sea-fight between the Corsair and a French man of war—Arrival at Algiers—The American Captive is carried before the Dey, and offered pardon upon renouncing his religion—He rejects the proposition—Is sold at auction—His sufferings.
BLESS'D truth from heaven, descend in strains sublime,
To trump the ills of this despotic clime;
To rouse
Columbia from her torpid dream,
And bid her every free-born son reclaim,
The fate of Slavery's hapless sons to scan,
And haste the triumph of the rights of man.
While you my countrymen each blessing share,
I claim the gen'rous sympathetic tear,
While free as wind you rove from pole to pole,
(No locks, nor bars, nor dungeons to control)
Trembling I bend beneath a tyrants rod,
Or meet the vengeance of an earthly god,
Whose pride and cruelty to Pluto equal,
Shall stand recorded in my story's sequel:
While you enjoy prosperity and ease;
Live without care and taste the sweets of peace,
From me that birthright of Columbia's sons;
Deserv'd by virtue and by valor won,
For which they bade their warlike thunders roar,
And drench'd their native soil in kindred gore;
[Page 6]My much lov'd mistress, Liberty has flown,
And with her all the sweets of life are gone:
While unconsol'd the mighty loss I mourn,
A slave forgotten and a wretch forlorn.
Ye sons of ease, your ears attentive lend,
And while I sng of griefs, your joys suspend.
Attentive list while I a tale unfold,
"Whose lightest word shall harrow up the soul,"
Bolt upright set each scattering tuft of hair,
Chill the warm blood of each kind hearted fair,
And make each freeman with amazement stare.
That place where first fair freedom made her sstand,
And bade her genial rays o'er earth expand;
Whose hardy sons, first taught proud Albion's race
To turn their backs where they should turn their face,
*
Where num'rous domes emit the lofty spire,
And social lasses grace the winters fire;
Thy pride
Columbia, and thy queen O earth,
Britain thy scourge, fair Boston gave me birth;
Here joyful days and pleasant nights I spent,
Free from ambition, care or discontent;
Ceres with plenty crown'd my father's board,
And Pluto's bounty well his coffer stor'd,
Days, months and years in swift succession move,
And doubly blest I ask'd no more of Jove;
But when at Lexington the dread alarms,
Loud founding calls each citizen to arms,
And
Britain's sons with brutal pride display'd
Their thorough knowledge of the butcher's trade:
I flew to guard my injured country's right,
And arm'd and mingled in the bloody fight;
[Page 7]There untaught striplings fought in freedom's cause,
And wond'ring nations crown'd them with applause:
I saw that day
Britannia's warlike sons,
Routed by sticks, by clubs and pebble-stones,
Surpass'd in bravery, and in feats undone
By country boys, who scarce could weild a gun;
From crimson fields in haste they fled away,
Scatter'd by discord, terror and dismay,
Like hen-roost thieves, their flight was urg'd with speed,
And the best fellow had the foremost lead:
Then read vile scourges of the human race,
These lines the hist'ry of that day's disgrace;
For while I live my tongue shall loud proclaim
Columbia's triumph, and Britannia's shame;
Next on that day that led the tyrant Gage,
Gainst Charlestown heights, a flaming
* war to wage,
Where Mars in triumph roll'd his thund'ring car,
On Bunker's-Hill I brav'd the bolts of war;
Here I beheld destrustion hurld'd around,
And dying heroes strew'd upon the ground;
Smoke and confusion veil the angry sky,
And deadly balls in swift succession fly;
Here WARREN fell, of all our host the pride,
In freedom's cause he fought, and bled, and dy'd,
In private life, each virtue he possess'd,
The first of heroes, and of men the best;
In him the world sustain'd a loss indeed,
And freedom's cause from every vein did bleed;
Oh had I found like him that day a grave,
I'd dy'd a freeman, and not liv'd a slave,
[Page 8]Nor heard the direful clanking of my chain,
Insult the sacred long lost rights of man.
The heights of Brooklyn fresh to mem'ry rise,
And fill my ears with wounded heroes cries,
There fell Virginia's patriotic band,
*
Whose blood e'en fertiliz'd the barren sand;
Where Hudson's craggy shores enclose his flood,
†
I saw the earth besmear'd with human blood;
The grim look'd king of terrors stalk around,
And dying warriors bite the sordid ground;
Caecaria's crimson fields, full well I know,
Where oft I fac'd the bold terrific foe;
Witness where Princeton's gentle ascents swell,
Close by my side the gallant MERCER fell,
Belov'd like WARREN, and like him renown'd,
He fell like him with deathless honor crown'd;
Again where Monmouth's fertile plains are spread,
These eyes have seen full many a hero bleed:
Nor here alone, at
Saratoga's field,
I saw the great Burgoyne compell'd to yield,
To own the prowess of our rising States,
And lay his laurels at the feet of Gates.
To trace each scene of sufferings and alarms,
For eight long years amidst the din of arms,
Would swell my tale beyond its proper size,
And draw soft tears of pity from your eyes;
Suffice to say, expos'd to cold and rain,
I suffer'd hunger, thirst, disftress and pain,
[Page 9]The earth's damp surface, form'd my healthless bed,
And heav'n's vast concave, canopy'd my head;
Full oft a winter's march through ice and snows,
Have I perform'd, with neither coat nor shoes;
And oft been plac'd thus on a midnight post,
Expos'd to tempests and congealing frost,
That eight long years the threat'ning hostile flood
I brav'd, and purchas'd freedom with my blood;
This mangled body now with chains opprest,
As wounds and prison-ships can well attest,
Whene'er I fought, I fought for freedom's sake,
And hop'd her promis'd blessings to partake;
Nor dream'd, I serv'd my country eight long years
To end my days in slavery in Algiers.
When bravery broke the British tyrant's chains,
And hostile bands, forsook my native plains;
Weary of war I fought my native home.
Resolv'd abroad, henceforth no more to roam.
Prompted by love, I chose myself a bride,
Rosina fair, of all her fex the pride;
Who e'er twelve months to crown my promis'd joy,
Dubb'd me the father of a lovely boy!
A female pledge, of mutual love sincere,
Next grac'd our arms, before another year.
But now dread poverty drew on apace,
And stern misfortune star'd me in the face;—
Some daring villains with unfeeling soul,
Near all my father's property had stole;
My eight years' earnings in the hostile field,
Their real value scarce one tenth would yield;
Yet as no choice my wretched state could,
I sacrific'd them to the
[...]
[Page 10]And now embrace vile slavery's iron chains,
While splendor round the sunshine patriot reigns,
To see my wife and children thus distress'd,
Fill'd with remorse my sympathetic breast;
I sought the means long time, but sought in vain,
To snatch them both from poverty and pain.
In Boston port a gallant ship was found
Well man'd and laden, to Genoa bound;
A birth lucrative here I soon did gain,
And left my home to plough the raging main;
That home which sire nor husband saw not since,
Ten years ago the breezes bore him thence;
To aid my fortune, one kind hearted friend,
His little all in cash to me did lend:
For which (to pay in twelve months time) I pawn'd
My household furniture, and gave a bond.
The anchor weigh'd, the wide spread canvass sails
Receive the tribute of the western gales;
Full oft' I saw our ship with gallant pride
O'er cloud cap'd waves majestically ride,
'Till past the realms of ocean's wat'ry god,
We safely anchor'd in the wish'd for road;
One cargo sold, and strait another bought,
Our bus'ness to a happy issue brought:
The nimble seamen quick unfurl the fails,
And spread their canvass to the fav'ring gales,
Thus on we drove 'till past the narrow streights,
O'er hung on either side with rocky height;
[...] urg'd our way, our native port to gain,
And thought ourselves secure from slavery's chain:
With fortune flush'd, and free from all alarms,
I long'd to fold Rosina in my arms
[Page 11] My new made treasure in her lap to pour,
And clasp my infant boy and girl once more;
My heart anticipated more than joy,
And future pleasure sparkled in my eye;
What secret pleasure in my bosom dwelt,
No one can tell, but who the like has felt.
But now head winds less rapid progress gave,
The ship hard lab'ring through the adverse wave,
A storm arose—and just beneath the deck
Our main-mast went, and left our ship a wreck.
Rude Boreas blust'ring from the angry skies,
Caus'd vales to sink and mountain waves to rise;
Three days and nights heav'ns awful thunders roar'd,
Loud howl'd the winds, and all was grief on board:
Yet this was happiness, compar'd to those
Unhappy scenes my tale shall yet disclose.
The storm now ceas'd, the weather-beaten crew
Their wanted voyage preparing to pursue;
When from the fore-mast's tall top gallant height
A distant sail salutes the seaman's sight;
Wide from her yards her canvas wings were spread,
And western breezes waft her on with speed,
[...] and more near she wings her rapid way,
And full to view her bloody flags display;
Now consternation fills each mind with pain,
All cry for mercy, but all cry in vain.
[...] along side, the lordly pirate cries,
"
Strike, or be sunk this instant, d—n your eyes."
Nor had his tongue pronounc'd the threat'ning word,
[...] a full b
[...]adside on our ship be pour'd;
[Page 12] Swift came the boats with fierce barbarians mann'd,
Took full possession, and the crew enchain'd;
A barb'rous wretch whose heart ne'er sympathiz'd,
Than whom the tyger is more civiliz'd,
A wretch through fear (and not respect) obey'd
This hoard of pirates train'd to plunder—led.
Meantime a torpid frenzy seiz'd my mind,
While pious Musselmen my limbs confin'd,
Then as unfeeling butchers handle goats,
But with less care, they threw us in their boats;
Close to the lofty hostile frigate row'd,
And there in haste their fetter'd slaves unload.
When sense return'd, I try'd to contemplate
The four-fold mis'ries of my present state.
Broad on my back, and fetter'd to the deck,
Huge iron chains embrac'd hands, feet and neck;
While from the zenith Sol's bright burning rays
Pour'd unobstructed full upon my face;
Now two long days and nights a prey to grief,
Food, drink, nor sleep, ne'er came to my relief,
'Till one more kind, with scanty crust of bread
My craving appetite in mercy led.
Thus three whole weeks I journey'd on the main
Scorch'd by the sun and delug'd by the rain,
Until full fraught with wealth, toward Algiers
With flowing sails at length the frigate steers.
Now as we roll'd, our grief afflicted eyes,
Which bolts and chains had fix'd upon the skies,
Far in the east upon the azure tide,
In hostile pomp, a lofty ship espy'd,
From whose tall mizzen-yard, than snow more white
A Gaulic ensign was unsurl'd to sight;
[Page 13] Now transient pleasure beam'd in ev'ry eye,
And whisper'd, wish'd for liberty was night;
Transient indeed—sent only to prepare
Our hapless minds for more complete despair.
The boatswain's pipe convey'd the shrill alarms,
And call'd each bloody Mussulman to arms;
Urg'd by the gale the ships each other near'd,
Alike for battle, and for blood prepar'd;
In warlike pomp they o'er the billows ride,
And place anon their thunders side by side,
With mutual fury each the foe attacks,
And kill'd and wounded soon bestrew the decks,
Broadside on broadside, each incessant pour'd
And one continued peal of thunder roar'd,
Round, grape, and langrage, bar, and chain shot too
From cannon's mouths in swift succession flew;
Heads, legs, and arms in wild confusion lay,
And clouds of smoke obscur'd the face of day;
Each fore and aft the foe alternate swept,
And crimson tears the full fraught scuppers wept.
Here death in hideous aspect stalk'd about,
Review'd the lines, and mark'd his victims out;
At length (by hell assisted) in the 'fray,
The pirate cut each Gaulic mast away;
And fore and aft for three long hours and more,
His utmost vengeance on the wreck did pour;
Whose boatswain's mate led on the gallant crew,
Amounting now to only thirty-two,
Who all resistance now conceiving vain,
And death preferring to a tyrant's chain,
Seiz'd the last sad resource, that deep despair
Had left, and blew the frigate in the air.
[Page 14] Meantime confusion walk'd the pirate's deck,
His men half slain, his ship a scatter'd wreck:
Here lay a sail, and there a top-sail-yard,
And dying groans throughout the ship were heard;
While setter'd slaves grew frantic with the fright,
Expos'd unshielded to this dreadful fight;
Of all our hapless crew to grief a prey,
Myself alone surviv'd the dismal day;
And even I, since liberty has fled,
Would freely have been number'd with the dead.
But why should I the mournful tale prolong,
And tire the Muse thus with a pensive song?
Suffice to say, from all her rubbish clear'd,
With rigging temporarily repair'd,
For Barbary's coast once more the frigate steer'd.
The winds were prosp'rous, and within a week
In Algiers' port the pirates moor'd the wreck.
Now thro' the streets insulted all the way,
In rat'ling chains they led me to the Dey;
A wretch austere! whose haughty looks, denote
A soul more savage than the forest brute;
With scornful visage and insulting mein,
Vile wretch, (said he)
my subjects rule the main;
My God commanded, and Mahomet gave
Full leave to make each Infidel a slave;
But if you'll turn Mahometan at once,
And all your former principles renounce,
Swear by that God who reigns in paradise,
You hate a Christian, and a Jew despise;
That Mah'met is the prophet of the Lord,
The blest revealer of his Holy Word;
[Page 15] My princely favor shall to you extend,
And break the chains that o'er your limbs impend.
Proud Turk, (said I) e'er I abjure my faith,
I dare the utmost vigor of your wrath;
E'er I the Saviour of this world deny,
In chains, and racks, and gibbets let me die.
I'll curb thy insolence, the Dey replies,
Since you my proffer'd lenity despise:
Guards to the market bear th' insulting slave,
That the best bidder may the villain have.
Follow'd by crouds, on change I next appear'd,
Where boys huzza'd, and men and women jeer'd.
And as hogs, sheep, or oxen oft' are sold
To him who pays the weightiest mass of gold,
So was Columbia's son to market bro't,
And by a Moor at public auction bought;
In whose dark bosom all the vices reign,
The vilest despot and the worst of men.
Naked and hungry, days, and months, and years,
I've serv'd this thankless tyrant in Algiers;
My naked back oft' feels with keenest smart
The pow'rful lash that pierces to the heart;
Laborious days, and restless nights, in tears,
Chain'd in a dungeon, wear away my years;
My nightly cell is hung with cobwebs round,
A stone my pillow, and my bed the ground;
Absorb'd in grief, I spend each hapless hour,
Sigh for lost friends, and my sad fate deplore:
My lov'd Rosina, and my infants, Oh!
My soul runs frantic when I think of you;
[Page 16] I rave with madness, and attempt in vain,
By dint of strength, to break my galling chain.
Thus to nocturnal woes I constant yield,
'Till day-light calls me to the busy field;
When locks refound, and bolts and massy bars
Bid me for toil and tyranny prepare;
Urg'd by the driver, whose unfeeling lash
Extorts the blood that trickles from the gash.
And does Columbia still disdain to own
A well-try'd Patriot and a free born son?
And has she means within her pow'r to save
Her num'rous offspring from becoming slaves?
She does—and has—and Oh! my country hear
Thy offcast son, prefer his humble pray'r:
Where grows the lively oak or sturdy pine,
Or where are seaman half compar'd with thine?
Roufe! roufe! my country, from thy torpid dream,
Unsheath thy sword, let vengeance by thy theme;
Thy long triumphant flag once more unfurl,
And on piratic fleets thy thunders hurl;
Then steer the hostile prow to Barb'ry's shores,
Release thy sons, and humble Afric's pow'rs.
Secure old Janus' doors with double bars,
†
And free the world from massacres and wars.
If thou, my country, deign'st to hear my prayer,
I live to breath thy vivifying air;
[Page 17] If not, adieu my much lov'd native plains,
The curtain falls, and I expire in chains;
The silent grave shall hide me from thy sight,
And wrap me in the chaos of eternal night.
END OF THE FIRST CANTO.
[Page]
THE
American in Algiers, OR THE PATRIOT OF SEVENTY-SIX IN
CAPTIVITY.
[Page] THE
American in Algiers, &c. CANTO II.
[Page]
ARGUMENT PROPOSED.
ADDRESS to the Reader—Effects of the SugarCane—On the Declaration of American Independence—Address to the Congress of 1776—Inconsistency of African Slavery—A Tribute to Washington—Domestic Slavery Delineated—The African's Complaint—His captivity—His arrival in America—Himself and family sold—Worn out with servitude—Conclusion.
NOW gentle reader, think thy task not hard
Awhile to listen to a sable bard,
Whose pen undaunted thus shall dare address
A world of critics, and her thoughts express,
Th' envenom'd source of every ill to trace,
That preys incessant on his hapless race;
And trump the inconsistency of those
Feign'd friends to liberty, feign'd slavery's foes;
From that piratic coast where slavery reigns,
And freedom's champions wear despotic chains;
Turn to Columbia—cross the western waves,
And view her wide spread empire throng'd with slaves
Whose wrongs unmerited, shall blast with shame
Her boasted rights, and prove them but a name.
To call forth all the vices of the cane,
Confusion's sire, and friendship's mortal bane;
*
[Page 22] To introduce luxurious rules of art,
To sink the genius and enslave the heart,
To make mankind in vicious habits bold,
By bart'ring virtue for the love of gold.
For these, old Europe's fleets first cross'd the flood,
And bath'd the coast of Africa in blood;
Far these, her sons have rob'd the world of peace,
And sluie'd the veins of half the human race;
*
For these, Hispania's pious children hurl'd
Death and destruction round the western world;
†
For these, Britannia loos'd the dogs of war,
And pour'd her vengeance from Belona's carr;
[Page 23] For these, French, Dutch, and Portuguese, and Danes,
Have slaughter'd millions on Columbia's plains;
And with our sable sons the place supply'd
Of tribes less suited to sustain their pride.
*
Such are the boasted virtues that possess
These pious scourgers of the human race;
Their title such, to fair unsullied fame,
Which zones and climes, and distant realms proclaim;
Such are the murders—such the deeds of blood,
Vile Christians perpetrate to serve their God;
Who ne'er taught men his brother to enslave,
But dy'd, they boast, all human kind to save.
A God of wisdom, justice, mercy, peace!
Whose word (constru'd by potentees of grace)
†
Breathes death and vengeance to the human race.
I pause to freedom's sons—my lays belong,
And hence to
them I consecrate my song:
Rulers and rul'd in turn, shall share my rhyme,
Well made, and suited to Columbia's clime.
Ye rev'rend Sages! who first fram'd the plan,
And rear'd the fabric of the rights of man,
‡
[Page 24] To you I speak, in truth's undaunted tone,
And plead the cause of Afric's injur'd sons.
Say then, ye Sires! who, by a just decree,
O'erturn'd a
throne, and made a nation
free;
Does not that Sacred Instrument contain
The Laws of Nature, and the Rights of Man?
If so—from whence did you the right obtain
To bind our Africans in slav'ry's chain?
To scourge the back, or wound the bleeding heart,
By all the base tyrannic rules of art?
Nature ne'er gave it.—Read that first of laws,
The Manifesto of Columbia's cause;
'Tis your own act, on which you found your claim
Thro' endless ages to unrival'd fame;
Whose well form'd sentences thus spread abroad
The Rights of Nature, and the Gift of God:
We hold these Truths self-evident to be,
All men are Equal and created Free;
Endow'd with Rights, no Law can e'er suppress,
Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness.
*
Recall the feelings of each Patriot mind,
When first this mighty Instrument was sign'd,
Hear the loud echoes rend the distant sky,
And
death, or
freedom, was the general cry.
What then, and are all men created free,
And Afric's sons continue slaves to be,
[Page 25] And shall that hue our native climates gave,
Our birthright forfeit, and ourselves enslave?
Are we not made like you of flesh and blood,
Like you some wife, some fools, some bad, some good?
In short, are we not men? and if we be,
By your own declaration we are free;
Forbear then sires to boast your glorious deed,
While yet humanity in torrents bleed,
Turn to your kitchens recognize your shame,
And cease to stun our ears with freedom's name:
The Spaniards say, that he's a silly dunce,
Whose house is glass, yet 'gins at throwing stones;
So he who lords it o'er his fellow man,
Should ne'er of wrongs or tyranny complain.
Great son of Mars, with deathless honor crown'd,
Mount Vernon's pride o'er earth and seas renown'd,
Freedom's first born, who stem'd the hostile flood,
And march'd to liberty through fields of blood;
Oh how my bowels yearn to see the brave,
The worthy WASHINGTON possess a slave;
If you whose sword still reeks with despots blood,
Have drench'd your fields with Afric's purple flood;
Sure some malicious fiend to blot your fame,
Has sanction'd usurpation with your name;
Look o'er your fields, and see them black with slaves,
Where freedom's flag in boasted triumph waves,
Nor let your soul despotic laws despise,
Since as despotic ones yourself devise,
And now convert to slavery's galling chain,
That sword you drew to aid the rights of man:
[Page 26] Such mighty chieftain is thy portrait drawn,
By one who knows not basely how to fawn.
I now address a much respected band,
And bid my lays to ev'ry heart expand;
You who have triumph'd in the field of mars,
And led whole squadrons to the din of wars:
And you brave patriots who in private ranks,
Laid claims well founded to your country's thanks;
Who now the last, o'er trembling slaves extend,
And insult daily with oppression blend;
Kings of your kitchens, say tyrannic lords,
What impulse prompted to unsheath your swords,
'Midst toils and dangers eight long years to wield,
Each murd'rous weapon in th' embattled field;
If love of liberty impell'd the fight,
Why now deprive another of his right?
That very right for which you shed your blood,
And solemnly appeal'd to nature's God;
Where are the rights you once so fondly taught?
Or where the liberty for which you fought?
You say all men were first created free,
Whence then the right t'usurp their liberty?
Hath not the African as good a right,
Deriv'd from nature to enslave the white?
As whites to say the hue our climate gave,
Our rights shall forfeit and ourselves enslave?
Do we not see where'er we turn our view,
Throughout all nature's children different hues?
And do white hogs the unjust priv'lege claim,
To make the black ones root the ground for them?
[Page 27] Did e'er the whites among the feather'd brood,
Compel the blacks for them to gather food?
Think what an inconsistency 't would be,
Such usurpation in the brutes to see:
As inconsistent are the steps you trace,
You conquer'd tyrants to supply their place.
Thus freedom's sons, who once a despot spurn'd,
Now plac'd in pow'r have equal despots turn'd,
Rul'd by the Deamon of inconstancy,
They fought for freedom, yet enslave the free;
If in past ages steps you're now to tread,
In vain your vaunted heroes fought and bled;
In vain Montgomery, Warren, Mercer fell;
In vain the World their wond'rous actions tell;
Because your fathers stole their neighbor's good,
Must you pursue the crooked paths they trod?
If rogues obtain our property by stealth,
Should that debar the owner from his wealth?
Your laws are strict—and woe to he or she
Who dares infringe the right of property!
'Tis a vast crime to steal man's worthless pelf,
But virtue rare to steal the man himself.
Such is your system which all good men curse,
The Theory is bad, the practice worse.
And now all you whose stomachs gorge in food
Obtain'd by tyranny, and steep'd in blood,
Who boast of liberty and equal laws,
And croud your fields with slaves to damn your cause,
In undivided mass, Slave-holders, all,
Jointly, and severally, to you I call,
And crave attention, while the bard recites,
The usurpation of his country's rights;
[Page 28] Daring each artful sophist to confute
The stubborn truths hit pen shall thunder out.
On yon wide plains, toward the rising sun,
(Lords of creation and the world their own)
Free as wild nature's self with guiltless souls,
Near where the Gambia's mighty current rolls,
My ancestors from immemorial time
Had liv'd contented in old Afric's clime;
Here on the summit of a verdant hill,
That smil'd beneath his tender care and skill,
Facing rude Neptune's realm of azure hue,
Where skies join seas to circumscribe the view,
My father liv'd—of all mankind the friend,
Whose constant care was virtue to defend,
And sweet relief to ev'ry want extend.
Of wealth possess'd, and to the needy free,
His heart ne'er knew ungenerosity.
Beneath this tender parent's fost'ring care,
My father's joy, my mother's only dear,
In youth's gay hours, I spent a joyous life,
Free from contention, 'care, or feudal strife;
Nurs'd in the lap of luxury and ease,
Nocturnal plealsures follow'd days of peace,
And life was one continued scene of bliss;
An only sister, virtuous, kind, and fair,
Partook my joys and all my pleasures shar'd.
To crown which pleasing scenes, love lent his aid,
And me a captive to fair Zephra made;
A lovely orphan by my father rear'd
Who with my sister half his favors shar'd:
Whose rare perfections ev'ry pen defy,
Nor can description half her worth convey;
[Page 29] (Nor here let scorn attempt the point to prove
That blacks ne'er feel the soft impulse of love;
If actions speak the feelings of the mind,
Whites have the bluntest of the human kind.)
This heav'nly maid on me bestow'd her heart,
And pleas'd me well, altho' I felt the smart;
In courtship's hours on Gambia's verdant banks,
Oft' have we sat and play'd our artless pranks,
'Till that wish'd mark arriv'd to make her mine,
And me the happiest of the human kind.
The guests attend, the rev'rend priest appears,
The vet'ran cook the costly feast prepares;
All things in readiness, upright we stand,
And strait are link'd in wedlock's holy band;
Eager, anon, we to the banquet hie,
And all was mirth, festivity and joy,
Swift flew the glasses fill'd with cheering wine,
And ev'ry guest seem'd anx'ous to entwine
Venus' myrtle with old Bachus' vine.
But oh! what mis'ries tread on heels of joy!
How soon dark clouds oft' veil the beautious sky!
Roses with thorns are twin'd by native art,
And he who plucks them must expect the smart.
Sudden o'er distant waves appears a fail,
Whose canvas wings arrest the western gale,
Borne on by which, she nears our peaceful shore,
(Which ne'er beheld a hostile ship before,)
And here secure from ev'ry danger, moor;
Swift to the shore a band of ruffians came
And wrap'd our peaceful mansion in a flame,
[Page 30] While unarm'd warriors met the desp'rate clan,
And fought impetuous for the rights of man,
But skill or bravery here could nought avail
'Gainst foes well arm'd, who ev'ry side assail;
Friends, children, lovers, age nor sex they spare,
But wife from husband, child from parent tear.
Fast lock'd in captive bands, the hapless few
Now bade to blythe festivity, adieu;
With burning rage I saw my lovely bride,
By ruffian hands, insulted, sciz'd, and ty'd;
Rage nought avail'd—myself, and all my friends
Meantime were fetter'd by their impious hands;
In haste the monsters now their pris'ners strip,
And with a lash more keen than phaeton's whip,
Drive them unfeelingly toward the ship.
My much lov'd sister and my new made bride,
Scourg'd by the hands of insolence and pride;
Fainting beneath the deep afflicting wound,
Victims to grief, fell senseless on the ground;
But soon reviv'd to feel the lash again,
And recognize in tears their galling chain;
Welt'ring in blood and petrify'd with fear,
On board the ship at length we all appear.
A faint description of which floating hell,
Aid me, ye heav'nly muses, to reveal.
Here groans of anguish, screams, and dismal cries,
Forth from the deep and noxious hole arise;
Lashes, and oaths, and threats, and clanking chains,
Form the hoarse music of those curs'd domains;
[Page 31] Hundreds of human beings here confin'd,
In liquid torrents melt away their mind;
While savage seamen with ferocious pride,
Damn, huff, and beat, the slaves on ev'ry side;
For eight long weeks amidst this doleful scene,
I liv'd confin'd upon the boist'rous main;
Parching with thirst, and threat'ned with starvation;
Nor in that time beheld the fair I prize,
Though oft' I heard her agonizing cries.
At length in sight Columbia's shores appear,
Where Baltimore her lofty turrets rear,
And Albion's flag in haughty triumph wav'd,
The proud insignia of a world enslav'd.
Now money'd crouds advance with eager pace
To cull this cargo of the human race;
With caution great, and scrutinizing eyes,
Each jockey views the slaves before he buys;
Tears from one family a tender mother,
A father, wife, or sisster from another;
My father, mother, sister, self, and wife,
To diff'rent ones were sold, and sold for life.
One short embrace we crave, this they refuse—
The drivers lash precludes all interviews;
By vi'lence parted, each reluctant mov'd
With tardy steps from objects so belov'd.
Since which, the earth has round yon central sun
Full five and twenty times her orbit run;
Yet where those friends, to me than life more dear,
Drag out their wretched days, I ne'er could hear.
[Page 32] Suffice to say, 'gainst me all ills combin'd,
Enerv'd my body, and unhing'd my mind;
The galling whip unceasing greets my ears,
Wielded by savage brutes and overseers;
Its constant echo rends my bleeding heart,
Alike men, women, children, feel its smart.
To heat, to cold, and nakedness I yield,
And brave half starv'd the labours of the field;
When languishing with sickness no kind friend
With soothing hand his gen'rous service lend:
In leaky hutt, all comfortless I lie,
Left there alone in solitude to die.
Eternal God! and is this freedom's land,
Where whip is law, and mis'ries wings expand?
Are these the men who spurn'd despotic pow'r?
And drench'd their swords in haughty Albion's gore?
Freedom, avaunt! your sweets I'll never crave,
If this is Liberty, oh! let me be a slave.
I'm now worn out with servitude and woe,
And patient wait for death to strike the blow
That ends each care, each suffering and dread,
Lets drop the curtain of oblivion's shade,
And sends me headlong to the silent dead.
Yet apprehensions haunt my wretched mind,
To think I leave so many friends behind.
And now base tyrants, who no mercy shew,
I crave no sympathetic tears from you;
Callous to every feeling of the heart,
Language must fail, your baseness to impart.
[Page 33] But you, whose breasts with warm affections glow,
Whose ears are open to the tale of woe,
Whose softer bosoms feel paternal care,
Fraternal love or silial duty share;
And you whose hearts, a tender passion warms,
Who know the pow'r of love's ten thousand charms.
To hearts like yours, which soft impressions feel,
Of Afric's race, I make the just appeal;
And leave the portrait which my pen has drawn,
A short, concise, and comprehensive one.
CONCLUSION. A WORD OF COMFORT TO THE AUTHOR.
HAPLESS descendant of old Afric's race,
Check the big tear that damps thy aged face;
See o'er the south, the Gaulic flag unfurl'd,
*
Proclaiming peace and freedom to the world:
That splendid sun that gilds the Indian isles,
On tyrants frown, but on your brethren smiles;
Anon Columbia'll rouse, from prej'dice freed,
To share the glories of that godlike deed;
E'er long (to set no more) shall Freedom rise,
Emancipate the world, and glad the skies.
FINIS.
EXTRACT FROM A PAMPHLET, ENTITLED, "Reflections on the Inconsistency of Man."
[Page]
[Printed and Sold by J. Buel.]
IN the first movements of the American Revolution, it was insisted, and generally accepted as a given point, that all men by nature are equal; and this truth is the foundation of all Liberty. It was upon this principle, that our Conventions endeavored to form both the State and Federal Constitutions: But as eminent a monument of human wisdom as the Federal Constitution may be, it yet contains a certain clause, which the benevolent mind can never contemplate, but with detestation.
"The migration, or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress, prior to the year 1808." A short paraphrase on this remarkable clause, perhaps may read nearly as follows:
Although our Constitution is built on principles, which have for their basis the perfect equality of man: Although we hold that freedom is the birthright of every individual of the human race, whatever
[Page 35] may be his country, or his color: Although we maintain that no person has any legal authority over another, but what is derived from the voluntary consent of the person over whom it is exercised: Although we believe that when one person attempts to usurp authority over another, that it is not only the right, but the duty of the injured person to resist: Although we hold that tyranny is the greatest of curses and vices; and that liberty is the greatest of blessings—Yet we believe, that the Negroes of Africa, because they are black, and we are white—because it is necessary for us to live in genteel refinement, at the expense of the misery of the stupid negroes—because liberty and property are our rights, and necessarily extinguish theirs: We therefore maintain it to be perfectly right and just, to keep them and their children to languish in hopeless bondage, without the least right or title to the profits of their labor, or the liberty of their persons; and that whenever they make the least attempt to resist our authority, or to regain their liberty, to punish them, or put them to death, as the case may require. And that whereas there are not enough of these wretched victims in the United States, this land of liberty and equality; (Though there are near seven hundred thousand) we will not prohibit, but will virtually gurantee the slave trade, that is we will allow our merchants and our sailors to go to the defenceless shores of Africa, and either by fraud or violence, or whatever way you can, seize upon the wretched natives, (though as innocent as to any injury they ever did us, as the angels are in Heaven) take fathers, aged trembling fathers,
[Page 36] from their wretched starving children!— Weeping children, from their agonizing parents!— Husbands from their shrieking, distracted wives!— Wives from the embraces of their tender wishful husbands! Lover and friend, from his wished for mate! Take them men, women and children, load them with irons, and crowd them promiscuously into a stifled stinking hole. There feed them on their passage with the bread of affliction—if they are sullen perhaps you may knock them in the head, and throw their mangled bodies to the sharks! When you have arrived in the free zone of America, that assylum of the oppressed, immediately advertise that you have a cargo of human beings for sale; when the purchaser arrives, let him examine them as critically, and with as much decency as if they were oxen, or cows, then let him take them to his plantations, and assign to each his burden. Let them toil incessantly in in the burning summer's fun. Let them shiver with nakedness in the rigorous and inclement winter. Let the cruel the unfeeling task-master raise them by the break of day, with the crack of his whip. Let its discipline be extended over them during the day, and for a small fault or mistake, let their backs be 'whipt to a jelly. Let the aged female while bending over her spade, and worn out with enormous hardships, be spurred on to a nimbler pace by the cruel whip. Let a small portion of Indian corn, a few yams or potatoes, be their principal food, whilst emaciated with hunger, and exhausted by ceaseless and 'nsupportable labor, 'til death the often implored 'and most welcome messenger, preaches to them the principles of equality indeed.