Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-11-25
ONLY SLAVE DIARY.
An Extraordinary and Interesting
Relic in British Museum.
Kept by nm Arabian Prince Who Was n
Slave Attracting Attention of Scholars
Who arc Trying Hard to Deciphcr 1t.

There is no music lover in Richmond
who would not have been pleased and
delighted with seeing the original
music to one of the best known hymn
tunes In America, that was brought
to The Times office last week BY Mr..
b. &. Goulding, of Chattanooga. The
score was for that most celebrated of
missionary hymns. From Greenlands
Icy Mountains" which was written by
Bishop Heber, and has probably been
sung at more missionary meetings than
any other hymn In the hymn book. 1t
is known and used by all denomina-
lions, and has been translated into
many of the languages of the very
heather, for whose benefit it was writ
ten. a most interesting fact about
this hymn is that the rustic music to it
was composed by Dr. Lowell Mason, of
Georgia, from which State came the
composer of Home, Sweet Home"
than which there is no better known
or beloved piece OF music in the En-
glish-speaking world. DR.. Mason ded-
icated this composition to Miss Mary
Wallace Howard, of Georgia. Miss
Howard married the Rev. T. II. Could
ing. who was the well-known author of
"rhe Young Marooners." This book of
adventure was probably read by more
young people in the generation of the
war than any other young PERSONS
book of the period. 1t ran through nu-
merous editions, one of which was
printed during the war by Burke, Boy
kin Sc CO., who Were publishers at Ma
con, Ga. This edition was printed in
1863. and was entitled. "The First Con-
federate from the Eighth United States
Edition" Mr.. b. f. Goulding. the son
of the author. showed a copy of this
Confederate edition to the Duke of
Argyle, who is a wel-known admirer
of the Confederacy, its history its as
pirations, its literature and relies. The
Duke is one who would especially
treasure a publication which was pro
duced during the stress of that great
war, and under the heavy difficulties
with which the Southern printers then
had to labor. THE Young Marooners''
is enjoying a return to popular favor,
but we doubt If there can be any edi-
.tion gotten up in gold and Russia
leather today that will equal in value
of memory and associations that little
green book published in Macon in 1863.
THE ONLY SLAVE DIARY.
But perhaps the most extraordinary
and interesting relic of slavery that is
now extant in America if not in the
buckskin, which is In the possession of
Mr.. Goulding. This book contains the
only known diary that was kept by n
slave. We do not refer to the men,
oranda made by the slaves who spoke
English as their mother tongue. and
who for generations had lived and
grown up among white people and had
insensibly adopted white ideas and
standards. But when we consider that
the first slaves brought to America
were caught in their native iunglcs in
Africa like so many wild beasts. and
that the great majority not only spoke
the widest dialects, but had no scin-
tilla of a written language, it is doubly
extraordinary that there should. among
one of the first shiploads OF slaves 10
Georgia, have been found a man of
sufficient education and fxity of pur-
pose, not only to understand written
language, but to have the intelligence
and IL we may use the expression. in
Irrespective interest TO put his opinions
on the new and strange SURROUNDINGS
which confronted him into the durable
form of diary. The slave who did
this extraordinary thing was an Arab
prince. named Ben All, who, while on
q raid himself against the blacks of the
west coast of Africa. was captured
along with the natives.
CAPToR CAPTURED.
Master and man. prince and under
4 Ling. captor and captlye, were alike