USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Narragansett > South county studies of some eighteenth century persons, places & conditions in that portion of Rhode Island called Narragansett > Part 13
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It is admitted that, in Rhode Island, polemical con- troversy never attained that degree of bitterness by which it was marked in many other quarters of New England. The numerous sects that made this Colony their home lived together, upon the whole, in mutual toleration and content. Dr. MacSparran refers to the power and consideration long enjoyed by the Quakers of the Colony. The Rev. Marmaduke Browne, rector of Trinity Church, Newport, describes "the good har- mony here subsisting between Churchmen and Dis- senters, in particular the Quakers." Still, since human nature is always the same, we cannot doubt that the
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average Episcopalian of that day looked upon the dis- ciples of "mad George Fox" with all that shrinking wonder and disapproval which proceeds rather from imperfect sympathy than from voluntary harshness of judgment. "The man of thirty-nine beliefs counts the man of one belief a pauper." Nor is it quite im- probable that many a worthy "member of society," prominent among the chiefs of the old slaveholding Quaker aristocracy of Rhode Island- whose ships were perhaps even then slowly making their home- ward way from African ports, laden with human mer- chandise- might have been heard to dwell, with a most edifying emphasis, upon the sinful follies of the world's people, in especial that giddy generation who walked after the unspiritual teachings of the hireling priest James MacSparran, perverting the sincere word with the vanities of mere human learning. Meanwhile, the humble follower of Roger Williams austerely re- jected the erroneous doctrines of both, and in his way- side talks, or during the pauses of work in the field, was wont to exhort his neighbors and friends to con- tinue diligent in the somewhat limited round of belief and duty honestly accepted by him as the undoubted, immutable legacy, bequeathed by the Father of the Colony to his children in the faith.
Amid this armed neutrality of opinions, this harm- less clashing of spiritual weapons, all that was truest and worthiest in the nurture, discipline, and worship of the Society of Friends obtained a firm and lasting hold upon the heart and the intelligence of a thought- ful people. The benefits of "a guarded education" be- came more and more apparent in the pure and noble [ 181 7
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lives of its best exemplars, those sacred teachers whose testimony, inspired by steadfast faith, was delivered with a zeal that welcomed the severest tests. Their holy tasks, pursued in the "stillness and the quiet- ness," were attended by those chastening and strength- ening influences that afford composure and resignation in the darkest hours of sorrow and trial.
Imagination, with one magic touch, restores the sim- ple outline of the primitive structure so long frequented by the Friends in Narragansett, presenting to the men- tal vision the grave, calm-featured elders and matrons assembled in that profound silence that seems the full- est and fittest means of communion with an invisible world. Not without a thrill of awe comes the sudden remembrance that among these quiet worshippers there is not one who does not recognize, as one of the ever recurring events of daily life, a constant allegiance to the "familiar divine sign" of Socrates, which Professor Jowett's wonderful translation has of late made so in- timate a reality to the mere English reader. In obedi- ence to the inward prompting of a similar impulse, one of the number kneels to offer prayer. "Our friend ap- peared in supplication" is the sad, meek, humble phrase that compresses, within the limits of a single word, the history of a persecuted people. Or, like one com- missioned to declare the truth, he rises to address the listening Friends in such words as it shall be given him to utter, and which will be fully accepted by the devout assemblage as a genuine message from the sphere of a Higher Intelligence. With hands firmly grasping the railing before him, or slowly moved, from time to time, in the carefully repressed access of emo-
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tion, with fixed, far-seeing eyes, with high-pitched voice rising into a shrill, unmodulated chant, the speaker pro- ceeds, followed by the rapt and reverential attention of his hearers. Is this, then, eloquence? It is more; it is conviction ! Here the loftier virtues were nurtured in sternness and in gloom. Here, amid loneliness and obscurity, the rugged strength of a people was ma- tured. Here the young were taught the grand lesson, the central truth of revelation, that RIGHTEOUSNESS ex- alteth a nation. These were religionists far too deeply in earnest, too sincere in seeking the fullest realization of the holy life possible on earth, to admit that most undermining, soul-ensnaring disparagement of "mere morality," which some sects have been so thought- lessly ready to adopt, and which has wrecked so many lives of fairest promise that rose in the glow of ecs- tacy and went down in the darkness of despair. They were Christians of even unassuming character, up- right and moral, no less than devotional, calm and hopeful rather than enthusiastic. It was the power of their honest teachings, their consistent example, that wrought upon the lives of those men of sterling worth, whose deeds of integrity and humanity are written in our brightest annals. In the deep repose of that holy silence were unfolded those gentle natures, those mild and lovely spirits, the Quaker wives and mothers of our land, whose tender benevolence, unconfined by the limits of their own households, has flowed on, in ever brightening, ever broadening streams to soothe and bless the afflicted, the degraded of the race, with loving help and sympathy and consolation.
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II
Many eventful years have passed since these ancient walls were hallowed by the rise of a special mission of peace and good-will to man. It was here that the principles of universal freedom were first announced to the people of this Colony, by a preacher of the Soci- ety of Friends in Narragansett. The circumstances at- tending his adoption of such sentiments have already been related by one of his descendants; but they can- not lose their interest while the purest moral courage and the generous influence of a lofty example shall con- tinue to command the willing tribute of human grati- tude and reverence.
Toward the middle of the eighteenth century, Tho- mas Hazard, of South Kingstown (a "birthright mem- ber "of the Society), was about to identify himself with it more closely by marrying a daughter of William Robinson, the Quaker governor. His father, wishing to provide him with a separate establishment, sent him on a journey to North Stonington, Connecticut, in order that he might make some of the large purchases that would be required for his new estate; also recommend- ing him to obtain the advice of an old business ac- quaintance residing there, a deacon of the Presbyterian Church. It was late on a Saturday afternoon when the young man arrived, and, unwilling to offend the well- known prejudices of old Connecticut concerning the due observance of the Puritan Sabbath, he made no at- tempt, at that hour, to enter upon the transaction of any business, merely securing lodgings at the village inn. But the deacon, happening to meet the son of his friend,
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insisted that he should accompany him home. The invitation was accepted, and, soon after sundown, "holy time" having begun, the good deacon turned the con- versation upon religious, or rather polemical subjects, then so frequently the chosen course of thought pur- sued by a New England evening fireside. The merits of several sects having been reviewed, the Friends were at length mentioned by the Rhode Island guest. "Quak- ers !" exclaimed his interlocutor. "They are not a Chris- tian people !" As the young representative of the So- ciety was lately from Yale College, where his natural taste and ability had disposed him to pursue with es- pecial interest the close investigation and analysis of metaphysical and logical subtilties, he believed himself able to silence any of the objections commonly urged against the doctrines of his people, and would willingly have led his host into those thorny and tortuous paths of controversy. But, greatly to his surprise, the deacon, waiving all argument, merely replied with the settled calmness of long-matured conviction: "They hold their fellowmen in slavery." To so unexpected a diversion, the eager advocate of Friends' doctrines could make no reply, or rather, did himself honor by attempting none. As the sudden shadow of doubt rapidly darkened into greater and graver proportions, he silently com- mitted the question to the solemn keeping of his con- science, and availed himself of the first opportunity to change the subject of conversation. Nothing could more clearly indicate the higher order of minds to which he belonged.
After concluding the business which had called him to the village, he departed for home. How seriously
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meditative, how anxiously thoughtful a journey must not that have been ! Many doubts and questions arose in the course of that long ride, to be firmly answered or swiftly dispelled by the energy of an awakened con- science. As the son of the largest landed proprietor, and consequently one of the largest slaveholders in New England, his duty was no less difficult and painful than imperatively urgent. Nor could he recall, without some natural degree of apprehension, his father's proverbial force of will. How would he receive so unexpected a decision as that now gradually forming in the mind of his son? What would be the course of the Society, so sincerely honored by its young disciple, at the avowal of sentiments so strongly at variance with the practices then followed by its members, as by all their contem- poraries, without scruple or hint of blame ? At that time the Quaker merchants and farmers were even prom- inent among the slaveholders of the country, and there was one point of morals upon which "a guarded edu- cation" was guarded indeed! Temptation came then to him, as to all of us in some supreme moment of our lives. How subtle a whisper it sent into the ready ear of inclination, bidding the brave young inquirer after truth abandon all thought of so fruitless a struggle, and acquiesce in the tried wisdom and virtue of the elders. It was surely best to leave all these grave ques- tions of duty to them. But the passing of a moment, and the feeble counsels of a false humility had died into silence, and everlasting Right had conquered. We know that his thoughtful consideration had been di- rected, more than once before, to the injurious condi- tions of life involved by the custom of enforced servi-
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tude. Perhaps the sad scenes witnessed by him in the past swept in sudden review before him, and indignant sympathy completed the work of judicious and con- scientious reflection. As in the last glow of sunset light he enters the broad avenue leading to his ancient home, he rises before us a figure of moral grandeur, prepared to meet all opposition with the calmness of a mind that is firmly stayed on the rock of principle.
His intention to employ free labor only on his estate was, in due time, communicated to his father. Then the anticipated storm broke forth. The paternal resent- ment was, for a time, intense and indeed portended to be lasting. Threats of disinheritance were repeatedly uttered, threats which the son never doubted would be fully executed, and for some years a degree of es- trangement existed between the two; but it is pleasant to record that this injustice finally yielded to the feel- ings of nature; and the sincerity of the reconciliation was practically evinced in that the elder Mr. Hazard not only left all his slaves free by his will, but also made his son Thomas co-equal heir with his other children.
Meanwhile, regardless of all discouragements in the course of duty, the youthful philanthropist immediately began the serious work of his life. Becoming a preacher among the Friends, he constantly presented and for- cibly urged his convictions, first before the Society of South Kingstown, and subsequently as a travelling Friend in various parts of New England and New York. A similarity of views and interests was the foun- dation of the close friendship which he formed with one who was then engaged in the same humane pur- suit-the noble John Woolman, who is known to have
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visited Narragansett, where he doubtless preached in the old meeting-house. Giving his life unreservedly to the cause of his helpless and suffering fellow-creatures, he, during forty years, persevered in his self-imposed mission, and at last had the happiness to arrive at the desired result of his labors. He brought before the Gen- eral Assembly a plan for the gradual abolition of slav- ery in the Colony, which he lived to see adopted as law by the revolutionized State; while, previous to his death, in 1798, at the age of eighty years, his views had been generally received throughout New England and the Middle States.
Perhaps we cannot contemplate this truly noble man, this worthy leader of a people, at a more impressive moment than on those occasions when he rose to ad- dress his friends in the obscure place of worship on the bleak Narragansett hillside. Tradition delights to describe those scenes; to recall the earnestness, the in- spiration of the speaker; his tall, majestic form erect, his eyes kindling with the grandeur of the theme, as, in the strong and vigorous words of a natural eloquence, he presented to his hearers the fair, the glorious ideal of liberty, or softening into pity for the wrongs and sufferings of the unhappy race to whose release the best years of his life were solemnly dedicated. In him the weak, the afflicted, the oppressed, might find the true impersonation of a Greatheart-the noble gen- ius of protecting strength and guidance. A consistent Friend-yet in the unconscious dignity of his look and bearing, a king of men-there was a degree of impressiveness approaching the sublime in the thought that all this power of personal presence, this suprem-
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acy of intellect, had, from earliest youth, been wholly devoted to the highest and purest purposes that can engage the human will.
And now the chief office of the old meeting-house on the hill would seem to have closed with the mission of its apostle, who came bearing the lofty decrees of freedom, arousing all hearts and all consciences to a stern contest between the lower instincts of self-interest and the holy commands of an exalted religion. Many and varied were the associations united with its past, from the seasons when its worshipping congregation had heard in sad, humble resignation, the recitals of afflicted Friends but lately liberated from severe im- prisonment in the persecuting town of Boston, to the later time when Thomas Hazard had boldly borne testimony against the grievous sin of the age. How dim in the fading past lay those days of probation and struggle! The quiet, faithful people, who met from week to week and from year to year in that humble building, had meekly accepted the thrilling words of exhortation uttered by their earnest guides; they had followed the divine leadings; and now, secure in the respect and regard of their fellowmen, they were wor- thy to receive the affectionate message of friendly sym- pathy and good-will, borne to them across the sea from thousands of sober English homes, by the gentle Gurney. He came as if to bring peace and rest after the stormy hours of a spiritual conflict- as if to bless the sacred tasks here begun in the fear of God, and in the love of liberty -purposes the ultimate results of which are yet to be traced in the far future of hu- manity. Many who then listened to him in the meeting-
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house, or knew him as a guest in their homes, show a ready interest and pleasure in relating their remi- niscences of him. They love to recall the manifesta- tions of his serene and saintly life and sunny tem- perament; or to describe his noble features, his full, sonorous voice, -in a word, to revive the gracious im- pressions communicated by the mild harmonies of a generous and genial nature. It is whispered that some of the older and plainer Friends looked askance at his rich velvet cloak, worn with an easy grace quite for- eign to the accepted traditions of the Society-but none could doubt the genuine goodness of the heart be- neath it. Responsive to each appeal of the afflicted and the disconsolate, cheerful in his kindly visitings at the houses of the Friends, gentle and winning in his inter- course with children, he was an honored and regretted guest in Narragansett, where his memory still lingers in unfading bloom, a winter flower set in the brown slope of the bare and rugged hillside.
Still the Friends continued to gather at the old place of meeting, coming in sunshine and in storm, through all the varying seasons, ever seeking and finding, as the tranquil years glided by, the strength and hope and courage infused into the soul from the calm repose of consentient silence and meditation. Then, as their num- bers declined, and the younger members of the Society left the homesteads of their people for the distant west, or perhaps, while never forgetting the benign influ- ences of their early training, chose rather to mingle with the spheres of other religious sects, the few re- maining worshippers judged it best to depart from the long-hallowed spot, sacred to them by the presence of
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countless associations. The austere teachings of their faith forbade them to attach any sentiment of rever- ence to the ancient structure, the spiritual home of many generations, but none the less will those of us who own a less rigid creed continue to hope that at least its memory is still dear to their hearts.
What though, as kindly Charles Lamb lamented, " the goodly sect is dwindling, dwindling"? What though the youth of the Society are to-day turning to other thoughts and following in other ways than those their fathers knew? Inevitable changes, such as these, do not lessen the power of the pure teachings early im- planted in their minds. They may change the fashion of their dress, the custom of their speech; they may cease to be known to the world as "Quakers," but by whatever name they are called, they will still be Friends at heart. They cannot, if they would, do away with the enduring impulses derived from an heroic ancestry. When the inspired peasant of Leicestershire bore a stern testimony against sins enthroned in high places, when the martyrs of New England were made strong through faith to pass the trial of the scourge, of the prison, of slavery, even of death, they left a lasting wit- ness in the memory of their deeds, to be recognized and revered by a wiser generation than that which was drawn on by therfanatic ardor of ecclesiastical power, to visit with the cruel baptism of persecution the gen- tlest race that ever suffered beneath the multiplied se- verities of a two-fold tyranny. If the externals of a sys- tem perish, it is because these were immaterial to its true life and growth. The outward form of Quaker- ism may change, may vanish, but its highest thoughts,
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its broadest principles, are of another sphere than that which comprises the arbitrary regulations or customs of a sect, and have become a part of the universal her- itage of mankind. Thus has it come to pass that the meek-spirited have possessed the earth. Individuals, races, systems, creeds,-these rise, fulfil their mis- sion, and pass away, summoned by inexorable fate. But humanity remains. Into that mighty ocean roll all the rivers of thought. Is their collective volume lost, because forever blended with the greater mass ? Rather let us trust that, in the spiritual, as in the material world, all that is superlatively worthy of life still en- dures to claim an eternal share in the far-reaching se- quences, in the inconceivable harmonies of the here- after.
Beautiful and peaceful, in this mild, genial season of early winter, is the aspect of the lonely hill where once stood the honored structure that among a more imaginative people would have been cherished as the ancient temple of civil and religious liberty. It is one of those still gray days of an exquisite loveliness that seems infused with a deeper meaning, a more restful content, than is imparted even by the loving gladness of sunshine. In its surpassing harmony of melting hues, the atmosphere is like one great softened pearl. Along the changeful horizon, the veiled tints, the ten- der half-lights, are deliciously blending into purest amethyst that again passes into solemn depths of rich purple shadow, overhanging the leafless woods and the sad brown slopes, soothing the grief of the deserted landscape with a lingering memory of the warm au- tumnal haze. The near Atlantic owns the sacred influ-
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ence of the halcyon hour, forgets to chafe the rocks with harsh accustomed roar, and sends up a deep voice of music from the winding shore. Dare one dream of an unseen Italy, here in the fast gathering shades of a New England winter? Yet is not the sentiment of a southern scene suggested by the melancholy beauty of the tombs, by the fantastic forms of the strangely in- tertwined trunks and branches of the old forest trees, like ancient ilexes in some historic place of sepulchre ? The purple-toned atmosphere, the mild brooding still- ness, yielding only to the distant, softened sound of the surf,- are not these among the elements of the subtile spell that thrills our hearts and our imagina- tions, in contemplating the unfading pictures wrought by poets and artists, of a fairer land than ours? Yes, it is the heart that creates its own Italy; and beauty is no haughty sovereign, no remote angel vision, but a gentle, familiar deity, whose shrine is on every hillside, whose gracious words of response are borne to her worshippers on every evening breeze.
Suddenly the fast westering sun looks forth in a burst of transcendent glory; dispersing the soft, float- ing gossamer web of evanescent cloud. With the de- parting mists vanish all the wandering vaporous fan- cies that love to linger half revealed in the subdued tones, the quiet lights of a dreamy day. This is New England soil below; it is the clear, cold, stainless blue of a northern heaven that gleams above. No strange, distant scene is this, but the long-familiar, oft-visited spot, endeared to human recognition as the centre of the virtuous annals of a simple people. Where the stranger views but desolation and oblivion, the eye of
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faithful memory shall trace as fair, as bright a record as ennobles many a prouder site, graced by the art of the historian and the sympathy of the poet. The wintry brown hillside, long abandoned by man to the unforgetting ministry of nature, has been clothed by her in daily beauty. Now caressed by the last warm smile of the departing sun, it glows for an instant in full radiance, then, through gray gradations of twi- light shades, passes into the solemn sphere of silence and gloom. Night descends upon the scene and wraps the tombs of the fathers in darkness. Shall we leave them to the deeper night of forgetfulness ? In the brief moment that is ours, ere we too enter the fast falling shadows, may we not spare one thought of grateful remembrance to the humble, unknown benefactors of a nation, who here sleep in seclusion and neglect? To memories such as these shall we not yield the spon- taneous tribute of an affectionate homage, inspired by the deepest, most earnest sympathy, gratitude, and devotion ?
194
NEGRO SLAVERY IN THE COLONY OF RHODE ISLAND
T HE comparatively mild and favorable conditions of negro slavery, as it formerly prevailed in New England, are well known. Rhode Island has been se- verely censured for her share in the iniquitous slave- trade; but her accusers have not infrequently been wanting either in ability to observe or in candor to ac- knowledge the truth, that the crime was never coun- tenanced by her Legislature, or sanctioned by public opinion among her worthiest citizens. Although many merchants of Newport and Providence were deeply im- plicated in the guilt of the "Guinea coasting-trade,"- such was the euphemism devised by the uneasy mer- cantile conscience to veil the actual horrors of the traffic in humanity,-and although the later colonial laws permitted the holding of slaves, yet it does not appear that their numbers in this Colony were ever propor- tionately large, and it is believed that the degree of commendation which has been granted to the general course of Rhode Island legislation relative to this sub- ject by those who have long enjoyed the most ample opportunities for a careful examination and compar- ison of the ancient records, has not been lightly or undeservedly bestowed.
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