The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1781-12-01 00:00:00, page 2

^nd feme days after acknowledged fa Murray himfelf,
how happy they were that they had not committed a
crime, which would occasioned them perpetual remorse.
This event; continues the Abbe, renders it probabe,
that the firfl imprefious which the Africans receive in
the new world determine them either to good or bad ac
tions. Repeated experience confirms the truth of this
obferyation: thufe ^ho fall to the Ihare of a humane
master, willingly espouse his interefU. They insensibly
adopt the spirits and manners of the place where they,
are fixed. This attachment is fomeimes exalted even
into heroism. A Portuguese have, who had fled into
the woods, having learnt that his old matter had been
taken up for an assassination, came in f o the court of
jufice, and acknowledged himfelf guilty of the fad ;
let himself be put in prison in lieu of his master;
brought falfe, though judicial, proofs of his pretended
Crime, and fuffered death inflead of the guilty person.
With refpeft to their being fufcepriMe of love and
friendship, the fame excellent writer relates an infiance,
that is hardly to be paralleled in fable or hiflory.
Two negroes, both young, haudfome, robust, cou
rageous, and born witn a foul of an uncommon cast,
had been fond of each other from their infancy.
Partners in the fame labours, they were united by
their (offerings,which, in feeling minds, form a ftong
er attachment than pieafures. If shey were oot happy,
they comforted each other at least in their misery.
Love, which generally obliterates the remembrance of
all misfortunes, (erred only to make theirs complete.
A negro girl, who was likewise a slave, and whofr ryes
fparkkd, no doubt, with greater vivacity and fire
from the contrafl of her dark complexion, excited an
equal flame io tie hearts of these two friends The
girl, who was more capable of iufpiring than of feel
ing a firong psffion, would readily have accepted ei
ther; but neither of them would deprive his friend of
her, or yield her up to him. Time served only to In
crease the torments they buffered, without affecting
their friendship or their love. Often times did tears
of anguish fircam from their eyes, in the midfl of the
demooflrations of friendfhip they gave each other, at
the fight of tire toQ-beloved object that threw them in
todefpair. They sometimes fw.re that they would
love her no mere, and that they would rather part
with Hfe than forfeit their friendship. The whole plan
tation was moved at the fight of these conflids. The
love of the two friends' for the beautiful negro girl was
the topic of every conversation.
One day they fedowed her into a wood ; there each
embraced her, clasped her a thoufaud times to his heart,
(wore all the oaths of attachment, and called herevery
tender name that love could inspire; when, fuddeoly,
without (peaking or looking at each other, they both
plunged a dagger into her breast. She expired, and
they mingled their te; rs and groans with her lafi breath.
They roared aloud; and made the wood resound with
their violent outcries. A slave came running U their
affiflaoce, and saw them at a distance ftifling the victim
of their extraordinary paffon with their kisses. He called
ou? to fame others, who soon came up and found these
two friends embracing each other upon the body of this
unhappy giri, and bathed in her blood; while they
thOTlelves were expiring in the streams that flowed
from their own wounds.
These lovers and these friends belonged to a body of
2,5000 negroes, destined to furnilh Europe with twelve
or thirteen thousand hogsheads of sugar. Is it then in
the midst of such severe labours, and in so degrading a
flation, that we fee such anions as must aflonifh the
whole world ? If there can be a man who r not flruck
with horror and companion at the greatness of this fe
rocious love, nature nonft have formed him, not for
the slivery of the negroes, but for the tyranny of their
matters. Such a man mull have lived without commi
faating others, and will die withoutcomfort ; be mu ft
never have ffied a tear, and none will ever be shed for
him.
Their tenderriffs for their offspring and their great
fa! recollection of good and generous aftions, is remarka
bly Hloftrated by the following inhauce, related by
captain Snelgrave, who traded many years on the coast
of Guinea.
The chief, or king of tl e country, on the river of Old
Callebar ( for there are many petty princes on that river)
wenton board capt- Snelgrave, having a curiosity to view
trefhb. and Co hear the European foufic. Being high
ly pierid with his entertainment, he invited the cap
tain to gc on shore. Snelgrave confected ; but, know
ing the lerbcicy of that nation, he took care to be ac
companied by the gunner and ten sailors, well armed.
When lie landed, he was conduced to some difiance
from the (here, where he found the king, felted on a
stool, under some shady trees. On one fide was another
flooi, on which he was desired to feat himfelf. The
king (poke not a word, nor made the least motion, till
bis g^fi was seated ; when be bid him welcome, and
enquired after his health. Snelgrave returned these com
pliments, at the fame time bowing, and takii g off his
hat. Many of the negro courtiers were flanding round
their mafier; and at some distance were about fifty of
his guards, armed with bows and arrows, their swords
by their sides, and a barbed lance in their hands The
English sailors polled themselves opposite to these, at
the distance of 20 paces,
After having pr.fented the king with some toys,
with which be seemed delighted, Sneigrave saw a lit
tie negro child tied by the leg to a Hake, that was
driven in the ground, flies arid other infests crawling
over him, and two priests landing by. Surprized at
this fight, he asked the king the reason why the child
was tied to the flake in that manner. The prince an
swered that he was a vfflim, who was to be facrificed
that night to the god Egho, for the prosperity of his
kingdom. Snelgrave instantly felt such emotions of
horror and compassion, that, as he himfelf owns, he ra
ther too precipitately, ordered one of his people to un
tie the ?i&im,'in order to save his life. He had no
sooner done this, than one of the guards advanced to
wards him, with his lance raffed, and with a threat
ening air. Smelgrave, apprehensive that he would run
the fader through, inflantly drew from his pocket a
small pistol, the fight of which greatly terrified the king.
But the captain bid the interpreter allure the prince,
that he would notofflrr the least violence to him orh ,
Provided he would order his guard not 10 molest the En
giifh.
The king consenting to this, and harmony being again
restored, the captain, however, expoflulated with him,
for having thus violated the laws of hospitality, by per
mitting t:is,gu\rd to threaten his man with his lance.
To mis rhe negro monarch answered, that he was the
firflaggrtflor, in ordering his people to release the vic
tim, who was his property. The captain candidly ac-
I Kuowledgtd that no cad been too hahy; at the fame time
!ripologifing forhis conduct,upon the principles of his re
legion, w^ch, "rime it forbad the taken away the pro
perry of anoth t, forbad also the putting of the innocent
to death: that such a conduct, so far from rendering
heaven propii^us, would incur the wrath of the omni
potent God, whore t' : e white man adored. He added,
that the great law of human n tore was, ' not to do un
to others that which we would not have them do unto
us.'* He then offered to purchase the child, to which
the king readily ce rented.; and to the captain's great
surprise, only miked ^firing of blue beads, worth about
half a crown, when it was imagined that he would have
demanded ten times that sum; it being common with the
negroes, from the bigheft to the lowest, to take ail ad
vantages of the Europeans. This 'avour being obtain
ed, tbecaptain flaid aboutan hourVith the king, treat
ing him with the European liquors and provisions, woich
he had brought on fllore on purpose. After this, he
took leave, and tire king exprefled himfelf io highly
pleated with This vifr, that he promised to go on board
the (hip again, before the captain left the river.
The day before he landed, Snelgrave had purc^a
fed the mother of this child, without dividing what
would happen in the sequel. The surgeon observing
that ffie had much milk in her breasts, queflioned the
person, who had brought her from the inland country,
whether fne hed not a child, to which he was anf.wer
edin the negative. But, no sooner was the little ne
gro brought on board, than, inflantly perceiving him
in the arms of the Tailors, she sprang towards h ; m with
material impetuosity, andfnatched him into her own.
The whole feene was the most affecting that can be
imagined. The child was as handsome as a negro can
b% and was about eighteen months old. But when
the mother understood from the interpreter that the
captain had refeued her child from death, the ex
preffions of her grateful heart were as lively as had
been those of maternal tenderness. This adventure
was no sooner known to the negroes, of whom there
were above three hundred on board, than they all be
gan to clap their hands, and to sing in the captain's
' P- aife - What hea t could be unaffected by such a
.feene? Such an impression did it makeon these poor
negroes, such favourable ideas did it give them of the
white men, that the captain failed not to find the hap
py effe&s of this adventure, by their peaceable demea
nor through the voyage. When the captain arrived at
Antigua, where he was to dispose of his cargoe, he re
lated every circumstance to Mr. Studely, a planter,
who inflantly purchased the mother and son, and ever
treated them with the most humane attention.
If, then, the fable race are susceptible of reason, vir
tue, fidelity, and heroic generosity ; if their savage bo
soms glow with love, friendship, and the tendernesses of
human nature, we muftju#ify,our treatment of them on
fomeother principles than that of the mere difference of
fliape and colour. 'The slave trade is advantageous? t
And, in the famefenfe, equally advantageous is rapine
and murder. 'But they generally live much better in
our plantations than they ever did in their own coun
try? I But admitting this to be universally the case, is
there any life so luxurious, that can compensate the
loss of freedom? They are criminals, who have for
feited their liberty to fociety.'H But had they forfeited
it to you ? Have you reason to think the decisions al
ways equitable? Are you not rather more certain that
you have introduced & thirst of gain among them, more
savage than thtmfelves: and that vafi numbers are con
demned, as criminals, merely that they may be fold
asflaves? 'They are debtors, who have become the pro
perty, of their mafters.'—And can Englishmen bear this
barbarous idea?' They are prifeners of war, great num
bers of whom would otherwise be inhumanly destroyed,
were there not an opportunity of disposing of them to
the Europeans.'§ But do you not contribute infinitely
more to their depopulation, than their own intestine
wars?' The Abbe Raynal affarts, that out of nine mil
lions of unhappy beings, who have been exported
from Guinea, 1,400,009 are the only survivors in Ameri
ca and the Weft-Indies. This account will not appear
surprising, when it is known to be a fad, that an annu
al importation ®f 30,000 negroes is necessary to recruit
the European plantations. The salvation of lives, there
in as much the governing principle in the slave trande
as the filvatiou of fouls.
But leaving this important queflion, we cannot but
congratulate every humane mind, on the certainty,
that, within a few years past, the planters have become
more enlightened with regard to their best inte^efts, and
that even the negro slaves are now deemed objects of
humanity. In our iftands all poffinie care is taken of
them in sickness. They are permitted to create a pro
perty of their own. They have a piece ofground for
themselves, which they are allowed time to cultivate
on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. Nor let this in
* An admirable argument this in the mouth of a
captain in the Have trade! Shenftone, who in his 20th
elegy has put a pathetic lamentation in the mouth of
an African slave, makes him speak thus of his chrifti
an tyrants:
Yet, in their face, superior beauty glows :
r Are imiles the mien of rapine and of wrong ?
Yet from their lip the voicv of mercy flows,
And e'en religion dwells upon their tongue.
f Though, to traffic in human creatures may, at
firft fight, appear barbarous, inhuman and unnatural;
yet the traders have as much to plead in their own ex
. cufe, as can be said for some other branches of trade,
gamely, the f advantage' of it; and that not only in
regard of the merchants, but also of the slaves them
selves, Snelgrave's account of Guinea, t Ibid.'
^ Snelgravc's account of Guinea. § Ibid.
diligence alarm the fernputous. A planter may natu
rally confider a negro's day of labour for himfelf, as, to
all intents and purposes, a Sabbath, or day of rest.
They deal in horses, cattle, poultry, &c. and are
foretimes known to die worth money enough to have
a quantity of Spanish dollars ! uried with them for their
solace, wen they return to thvir native country. $
The French are still more indulgent Humanity dis
dains not to be indebted to superstition, and gives ma
ny a fainc's day to the good catholic slaves. Nor are
such a number of lives loft in the voyage from Guinea
as used to be, through want of cleanliness and c\re, as
well as from mutinies. And how essential cleanliness
and care must be, appears rom the hriking difference
of two fllips, that loaded at the fame time on the
Gold-coilfl. Both arrrived fafe at Guadaloupe. Of
6oq slaves in one, only 175 remained, and the owners
loft 70001. Of 670 slaves io the other, 661 were fafely
landed, and produced a clear gain of 90001.
II The negroes have all the notion, that, after death,
they shall return happy to their own country. To
this Shenftone alludes in his 20th Elegy:
Yet chores there are, bleft fllores for us remain,
Ard favour'd isles, with golden fruitage crown'd;
Where tufted flow'rets paint the verdant plain,
Where ev'ry breeze shall msd'cine every wound.
There the flern tyrant, that imbitters life,
Shall, vainly (uppliant, spread his asking hand ;
There fhdl we view the billows raging firife.
Aid the kind brerif, and waft his boat to land.
@^¥^w^^^w
A Further SALR,of the
Public Lots of this City,
For the redemption of the Bills of Credit
c! thio &&<#, A^i April tbs 295, £7Bos will be held
at the Cofferbet!' , on THURSDAY, th, 6th of De
member inftantg at TR N o'clock in the forenoon. A
Plan of the Lota m*y be seen at the Coffee house, and
at the Surveyor General's Office. The conditions the
& % nthe luH files.
Having compkaced the Sales of
the brig^finr Freeland aid Cargo, taken by the let
ter of Qiqua brigantine Two Efthetsi and of the
rtcr-n tofan out or tb^ thip Stvage, by the privateer
(hip C?n;f,A ; verr^mn'd ^ the court of admiralty
lor this state: All perlons who h?^ demands on said
prizes, fr charges, or who era authorized or entitled
to receive fha^i th^eof, a<a defend to m^ke their
claims at my ol?i % wit in three days from the date
hereof „ „ CLEMENT BIDDLE, Maifhal.
Philadelphia, Nov. 30, 1781.
Bartholomew Robiglio,
A ND
Augustin Florimont,
LT AVE the honour to return their Thanks to those
" Ladies and Gentlemen that have employed them;
mean time they have the honour to inform the Public
in general, that they continue, the said B. ROBIGLIO
to teach the EnttEfh, French, and Italian Languages,
the Italian IVDtfcd of Book-Keeping; And A FLO.
RIMONT to teach sh: Art of Drawing and Fencing ;
Having taken, lor that purpofa, a convenient Apart,
nu^t in F/bewJans, near th^ White-horse, in Chef
nut-ftreet, between Second and T i;d streets ; where
proper Attendance will be given, on reafcnabla Terms.
N. B. An Evening SCHOOL is opm from five to
eight o'clock.
To ZTE °S "o-lI),
An elegant Chariot,
With HARNESS complect for four Horles. Also,
A FAIR OF
High blooded Bay Horses,
From Virginia. For Terms apply to Mr. JACOB
HILTZHEIMER. Philadelphia Nov. 30.
Four Dollars Reward.
WAS stolen, on the 19th instant, from the sub-
Icriber, near ths borough of Wilmington, a
dark Bronn MARE, 13 years old, about 14 hands
high, with a ft ar in her forehead, and some white hairs
on her back, ^nd when Ist Idoie is pretty hard to cutch.
Any person finding the said Mare, and will deliver her
to Mr. DAVID BRINTON, Tavern keeper in Wil
minpton, thall have the above Reward, paid by me,
Nov. 19. SAMUEL BYARS.
Twelve Dollars Reward,
RAN aw„ from the fubCriber, a Negro BOY, na
med 808, about eleven years old : Had on when
he went away, a blue frize jacket and trowfers:
Also a N-^ro GIRL, about 12 wexra old, named MOL
LY, artffed in blue friz^. They are lately from St.
Thomas and both fpe^k bad English, It is apprehended
they are harboured by free Negroes in the city. Who
ever will return them to JOHN PRINGLE, in Fronts
flreeq near the D.aw-bridge, (hall receive for the for
mer Eight, and the latter Four Dollars Reward.
SAMUEL M. BROWN.
WAS taken up and brou ht to the Work house
of this city, a Negro BO Y, named TOM;
taken on the road to N^w-York, where he said he was
going; fays he came from St. Thomas's with Captain
Thomas Campble of the Brig Ranger: He is about 12
years of age, full, hreoth faced, and very black; had
on a blue jacket and uowfers. Philadelphia, Nov. 8.