{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_20005/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_20005","id":"gutenberg_20005","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20005","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - American","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Davis, Noah, 1803 or 1804-","Freed persons -- Maryland","Slavery -- United States -- Personal narratives"],"text":"Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by the\nLibrary of Congress)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.\n\n\nThe object of the writer, in preparing this account of himself, is to\n\nRAISE SUFFICIENT MEANS TO FREE HIS LAST TWO CHILDREN FROM SLAVERY.\n\nHaving already, within twelve years past, purchased himself, his wife,\nand five of his children, at a cost, altogether, of over _four thousand\ndollars_, he now earnestly desires a humane and christian public to\n\nAID HIM IN THE SALE OF THIS BOOK,\n\nfor the purpose of finishing the task in which he has so long and\nanxiously labored.\n\nGod has blessed him in an extraordinary manner, not only by granting\nfreedom to him and so large a portion of his family, but by giving him\nthe hope of the gospel, and permitting him to preach that gospel among\nhis own people--in which calling he has been engaged for about\ntwenty-five years.\n\n\n[Illustration: THE SARATOGA STREET AFRICAN BAPTIST CHAPEL.]\n\n\nThe building, of which the above cut is an imperfect representation,\nfronts as above 100 feet on Saratoga street, and 46 feet on Calvert\nstreet. The house is of brick, and cost over $18,000.--(See page 45.)\n\n\n\nA\n\nNARRATIVE\n\nOF\n\nTHE LIFE\n\nOF\n\nREV. NOAH DAVIS,\n\n_A COLORED MAN._\n\nWRITTEN BY HIMSELF, AT THE AGE OF FIFTY-FOUR.\n\n\nPRINTED SOLELY FOR THE AUTHOR'S BENEFIT.\n\n\n\nBaltimore:\nPUBLISHED BY JOHN F. WEISHAMPEL, JR.,\nNo. 484 West Baltimore St.\n\n\n\n\nENTERED according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by NOAH\nDAVIS, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of Maryland.\n\n\nSTEREOTYPED BY\nJOHN F. WEISHAMPEL, JR., BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER,\nBALTIMORE.\n\n\n\n\nContents.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nEarly Life in Virginia--Example of Pious Parents.\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nApprenticed to the Shoe-making--Learns housework--Intemperance--\"A negro\ncan't be trusted\"--Learning how to write and cipher.\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nReligious Experience--Conviction and Conversion.\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nMarriage--License to Preach--Purchase of Freedom--Call to Baltimore.\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nExperience in Baltimore--Education--Purchase of a Wife\nand two Children--Great Distress of Mind--Generous Assistance--Church\nMatters.\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nA New Movement in Baltimore--Erection of a Meeting\nHouse for the African Baptist Church--Heavy Indebtedness--Account\nof the Enterprise.\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nAccount of a Visit to the northern Cities--True Friends.\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nConclusion--Object of this Book.\n\n\n\n\nNARRATIVE.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nEarly Life in Virginia--Example of Pious Parents.\n\n\nI was born a slave, in Madison county, Virginia, March, 1804. My father,\nJohn Davis, and his family, belonged to Robert Patten, Esq., a wealthy\nmerchant, residing in Fredericksburg--who was also owner, in connection\nwith Mr. John Thom, of a large merchant mill, located on \"Crooked Run,\"\na stream running between Madison and Culpepper counties. My father was\nthe head miller in that large establishment, in which responsible\nstation he was much respected.\n\nThere I was born, and remained until I was twelve years old. Mr. Patten\nwas always considered one of the best of masters, allowing his servants\nmany privileges; but my father enjoyed more than many others. Both he\nand my mother were pious members of a Baptist church, and from their\ngodly example, I formed a determination, before I had reached my\ntwelfth year, that if I was spared to become a man, I would try to be as\ngood as my parents. My father could read a little, and make figures, but\ncould scarcely write at all. His custom, on those Sabbaths when we\nremained at home, was to spend his time in instructing his children, or\nthe neighboring servants, out of a New Testament, sent him from\nFredericksburg by one of his older sons. I fancy I can see him now,\nsitting under his bush arbor, reading that precious book to many\nattentive hearers around him.\n\nSuch was the esteem I had for my pious father, that I have kept that\nblessed book ever since his death, for his sake; and it was the first\nNew Testament I read, after I felt the pardoning love of God in my soul.\n\nMy father died, August 20, 1826, aged 60 years. My mother, Jane Davis,\nat the death of my father, removed from the farm, where my father died,\nand spent the remainder of her days in Fredericksburg, with her\nchildren. She lived to good old age, and fell asleep in Jesus, Dec. 24,\n1831.\n\nMy father had been allowed to keep a cow and horse, for his own use; and\nto raise and feed his hogs and poultry from the mill. He had the\nprivilege of keeping his children with him, until they were old enough\nto put out to such trades as they might choose. I had several brothers\nand one sister. Two of my brothers, one older, the other younger than\nmyself, lived with our parents, at this place. My oldest brother worked\nin the mill, with my father, while my youngest brother and I did little\nelse than play about home, and wait upon our mother. I had several\nplaymates, besides my brothers, and among them were the sons of Col.\nThom, and the servant boys who stayed at his house. Although many years\nhave passed away since, it gives me pleasure, even now, to recollect the\nhappy seasons I enjoyed with the playmates of my childhood.\n\nBut this pleasant state of things was not to continue long. The owners\nof the mill and farm concluded to sell out the whole concern. My father\nand his family then removed to another farm, belonging to our owner,\nlocated in Culpepper county, near Stevensburg. Here I remained nearly two\nyears, working, part of the time, with a carpenter, who was building a\nsummer residence for my master; and the rest of the time, assisting my\nfather to cultivate as much ground as he and his family could tend. Here\nI learned something of a farmer's life. The overseer, Mr. Daniel Brown,\nhad the reputation of being one of the best overseers in the county. But\nmy father's family was not put under him further than for his\nprotection; for after our owner sold the mill, he set my parents free,\nand allowed them to maintain themselves, by cultivating as much ground\non the farm as they needed.\n\nSometimes my father would leave his little place in charge of my brother\nRobert and myself, and would hire himself to work in some mill, or go\npeddling poultry, vegetables, &c., at some of the market places around.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nApprenticed to the shoe-making--Learns housework--Intemperance--\"A negro\ncan't be trusted\"--Learning how to write and cipher.\n\n\nIn December, 1818, for the first time in my life, I left my parents, to\ngo a distance from home; and I was sad at the thought of parting with\nthose whom I loved and reverenced more than any persons on earth. But\nthe expectation of seeing Fredericksburg, a place which, from all I had\nthen learned, I supposed must be the greatest place in the world,\nreconciled me somewhat with the necessity of saying Good-bye to the dear\nones at home. I arrived at Fredericksburg, after a day and a half's\ntravel, in a wagon--a distance of some fifty miles. Having arrived in\ntown, a boy green from the country, I was astonished and delighted at\nwhat appeared to me the splendor and beauty of the place. I spent a\nmerry Christmas at my old master's stately mansion, along with my older\nbrother, and for a while forgot the home on the farm.\n\nBut soon, another home was selected for me, where I might learn a\ntrade, and as I preferred the boot and shoe-making, I was put to Mr.\nThomas Wright, a man of sterling integrity, who was considered the best\nworkman in the whole town. Here I had an older brother living, which was\nsome inducement for my going to live with Mr. Wright. I was bound, to\nserve until I should be twenty-one years old. This was in January, 1819.\n\nUpon entering with Mr. Wright, I learned that the colored boys had to\nserve one year with Mrs. Wright, in the house and kitchen. The object of\nthis was to train them for future usefulness, when called from the shop,\nto serve as waiters or cooks. Mrs. Wright was a good manager, and a very\nparticular housekeeper. I used to think she was too particular. But I\nhave learned better since. I have often wished, when I have been seeking\nhomes for my children, that I could find one like Mrs. Wright. She would\nspare no pains to teach her servants how she wanted her work done; and\nthen she would spare no pains to make them do it. I have often looked\nback, with feelings of gratitude and veneration, to that pious lady, for\nher untiring perseverance in training me up in the way I should go. But\nshe is gone, as I trust, to receive the reward of righteousness, in a\nbetter world.\n\nAfter I had been under Mrs. Wright's special charge the first year, she\ncould leave me to cook a dinner, or clean the house, or do anything she\nmight set me at, without her being present. I was now considered fit to\ntake my seat among the hands in the shop.\n\nHere I found quite a new state of things. The shoemakers, at that time,\nin Fredericksburg, were considered the most intemperate of any class of\nmen in the place; and as the apprentice-boys had always to be very\nobliging to the journeymen, in order to get along pleasantly with them,\nit was my duty to be runner for the shop; and I was soon trained how to\nbring liquor among the men with such secresy as to prevent the boss, who\nhad forbidden it to come on the premises, from knowing it.\n\nBut, in those days, the drinking of ardent spirits was a common\npractice, even among christians. With such examples all around, I soon\nlearned the habit of drinking, along with every other vile habit to\nwhich my companions were addicted. It was true in my case, that \"evil\ncommunications corrupt good manners;\" and had it not been for the\nstrictness with which my boss and his amiable lady watched over me, I\nshould in all probability have become a confirmed drunkard, before my\ntime was out. But they held the reins over me, and kept me in, until I\nhad served out my apprenticeship.\n\nI can say, however, that, much as I was inclined to other vices and\nsins, Mr. Wright readily gave me a recommendation for honesty,\ntruthfulness, and goodness of character. In fact, he had felt such\nconfidence in me, that he would often leave his shoe store in my care,\nwhen he would have to go to the north, for a supply of stock. And I can\ntruly say, that I never deceived him, when he thus trusted me. Nothing\nwould mortify me as much, as to hear it said, \"A negro can't be\ntrusted.\" This saying would always nerve me with a determination _to be\ntrustworthy_.--If I was trusted, I would deserve to be trusted. I wanted\nto show that principle was not confined to color. But I have been led to\nlook at it since, and have thought that perhaps it was more pride than\nprinciple in me, at that time, for I was a wicked sinner.\n\nThe first idea I ever got of writing, was from trying to imitate my\nemployer, who used to write the names of his customers on the lining of\nthe boots and shoes, as he gave them out to be made. So I tried to make\nletters, and soon succeeded in writing my name, and then the word\nFredericksburg, and so on. My father had previously taught me the\nalphabet, in the spelling book, before I had left the mill. After I\nbecame religious, I would carry my father's New Testament to church, and\nalways try to get to meeting in time to hear the preacher read a chapter\nbefore sermon. If he named the chapter before reading it, I would soon\nfind it. In this way, I gathered much information in pronouncing many\nhard words in the Scriptures.\n\nIt was a long time before I learned the meaning of the numeral letters\nput in the Bible over the chapters. I had often seen them in the\nspelling book running alongside a column of figures; but no one ever\ntold me that they were put there for the same use as the figures.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nReligious Experience--Conviction--Conversion.\n\n\nJust about the close of my apprenticeship, and as I began to feel myself\na man, I commenced to visit the girls, which induced me to go still\nmore frequently to church.\n\nAt that time, there were four churches in Fredericksburg. The colored\npeople had apartments for worship with the white people, at each of\nthese churches. They were Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and\nBaptist.\n\nI had no particular preference for any one of these denominations, more\nthan another; but, went wherever my favorites went. One night a young\nlady invited me to go to the Methodist church, where a prayer-meeting\nwas to be held. During the meeting, a venerable old gentleman rose to\nhis feet, and related an account of the sudden death of a young lady,\nwhich he had read in a newspapers. When he related that solemn\ncircumstance, it so affected me, that I felt as if I was about to die,\nin a sudden manner also.\n\nHaving always, from parental training, purposed in my mind to become\nreligious before I died, I thought that now was the time to begin to\npray. But I could not try to pray in the church, for I was afraid that\nthe girls would laugh at me. Yet I became so troubled, that I left the\nhouse, girls and all, intending to seek some place where I might pray.\nBut to my horror and surprise, when I got out of the church, this\nreflection occurred to me, \"God is in heaven, and you are on earth:--how\ncan He hear you?\" O, what distress of mind I now felt! I began to wonder\nhow God could hear my prayer; for, sure enough, He was in heaven, and I\non the earth. In my perplexity, I started for home.\n\nJust before I reached the shop, where I slept, this thought struck me,\nif possible with more force than the former reflection: \"God does see\nyou!\" It really appeared to me as if I could see that God was indeed\nlooking at me; and not only so, but I felt that He had been looking at\nme all my life. I now said to myself, \"It is of no use for me to\npray.--If God has seen all my wickedness, as I feel that He has, then\nthere is no mercy for me.\"\n\nSo I ran to my lodging-place, and tried to hide myself in a dark room.\nBut this was useless; for it appeared that God could see me in the dark,\nas well as in the light.\n\nI now felt constrained to beg for mercy, and spent the time in trying to\nobtain pardon for my sins. But the morning came, and the hour drew near\nfor the hands to go to work, and I was still unhappy.\n\nI felt so very different to what I had always felt, that I tried to\nexamine my impressions of the previous night, to learn if it was true\nthat God did see me or not; for I thought my imagination might have\ndeceived me.\n\nUp to this time, I was not fully convinced that God knew all about me.\nSo I began to study about the matter. As I sat on the shoe-bench, I\npicked up a bunch of bristles, and selecting one of the smallest, I\nbegan to wonder, if God could see an object so small as that. No sooner\nhad this inquiry arose in my heart, than it appeared to me, that the\nLord could not only see the bristle, but that He beheld me, as plainly\nas I saw the little object in my hand; and not only so, but that God was\nthen looking through me, just as I would hold up a tumbler of clear\nwater to the sun and look through it. This was enough. I felt that I\nmust pray, or perish; and now I began to pray.\n\nBut it really seemed, that the more I prayed the less hope there was for\nme. Still I could not stop praying; for I felt that God was angry with\nme. I had sinned against his holy laws; and now, if He should cut me\noff, and send me to hell, it was but right. These thoughts followed me\nday and night, for five weeks, before I felt relief. At length, one day,\nwhile sitting on my shoe bench, I felt that my time had come when I must\ndie. What troubled me most, was that I should have to appear before God,\nin all my sins;--O, what horror filled my soul at the thought!\n\nI began to wonder what I must do. I knew I was not prepared for death\nand the Judgment. It is true that two of my shopmates, at that time,\nwere members of the church; but they did not seem to care for my soul.\nAll the rest of the hands were as wicked as myself. \"What shall I do?\"\nwas in my mind, all the time I sat at work.\n\nThe reflection occurred to me, \"Your mother is a christian; it may be\nshe can save you.\" But this suggestion appeared to be offensive to God.\nThen came another thought,--\"As my master was a rich man, could he not\ndo something to help me?\" But I found no relief in either ... and while\nI sat thus, hoping and praying, light broke into my mind--all my trouble\nleft me in an instant.\n\nI felt such a love and peace flowing in my soul, that I could not sit\nlonger; I sprang to my feet, and cried out, \"Glory to God!\" It seemed to\nme, that God, whom I had beheld, a few seconds previously, angry with\nme, was now well-pleased. I could not tell why this great change had\ntaken place in me; and my shopmates were surprised at my conduct,\nsaying, that I must be getting crazy. But, just at this moment, the\nthought came into my mind, that I was converted; still, as I felt so\nvery different from what I had expected to feel, I could not see how\nthat could be. I concluded to run and see my mother, and ask her how\npeople felt, when they got converted. So I went, right away, to my\nmother's house, some five or six squares from the shop.\n\nWhen I reached the door of her house, it appeared to me that everything\nwas new and bright. I went in, and sat down. Mother asked me how I was.\nI told her, I felt _right smart_. This was a new sound from me; for my\nanswers to this question had long been--\"_poorly_.\" But now came the\ntrial; to ask mother how people felt, when they were converted. I felt\nashamed to ask the question; so I went into another room; and seeing a\nhymn book lying on the table, I took it up. The first hymn that struck\nmy sight began with these words:\n\n     \"When converts first begin to sing,\n     Their happy souls are on the wing--\n     Their theme is all redeeming love;\n     Fain would they be with Christ above.\n     With admiration they behold\n     The love of Christ, which can't be told,\" &c.\n\nThese lines expressed my feelings precisely, and being encouraged from\nthem, I went to my mother, and asked her the question--\"How do people\nfeel, when they get converted?\" She replied, \"Do you think you are\nconverted?\" Now, this was a severe trial; for, although I felt that I\nwas really changed, yet I wanted to hear from her, before I could decide\nwhether I was actually converted, or not. I replied, \"No.\" Then she\nsaid, \"My son, the devil makes people think themselves converted,\nsometimes.\" I arose, and left immediately, believing that the devil had\nmade a fool of me. I returned to my shop, more determined to pray than\never before.\n\nI arrived, and took my seat, and tried to get under that same weight,\nthat I had felt pressing me down, but a short while before. But it\nseemed to me that I could not; and, instead of feeling sad, I felt\njoyful in my heart; and while trying to pray, I thought the Saviour\nappeared to me. I thought I saw God smiling upon me, through Christ, His\nSon. My soul was filled with love to God and Jesus Christ. It appeared\nto me, I saw a fullness in Jesus Christ, to save every sinner who would\ncome to Him. And I felt, that if I was only converted, I would tell all\nsinners how precious the Saviour was. But I could not think myself\nconverted yet, because I could not see what I had done, for God to\npardon my sins. Still I felt a love to Him for what He had done for my\nsoul.\n\nThen I began to think upon my shopmates--and, O what pity ran through my\nsoul for them. I wished to pray for them; but I felt so unworthy, that I\ncould not do it. At last I promised the Lord that if He would convert my\nsoul, I would talk to them.\n\n... It was several months after that, before I was made to realize this to\nbe the work of God; and when it was made plain, O what joy it did bring\nto my poor soul!\n\nI shortly became a member of the Baptist church, and was baptized, in\ncompany with some twenty others, by Rev. Geo. F. Adams, who was then\npastor of the Baptist church in Fredericksburg--September 19, 1831. This\nchurch then contained about three hundred colored members.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nMarriage--License to Preach--Purchase of Freedom--A Call to Baltimore.\n\n\nI had not been a member of the church a great while, before I formed an\nattachment to a young woman, who ultimately became my wife. I have ever\nregarded her as the special gift of God to me. She embraced religion\nabout the same time that I did. We had been acquainted with each other\nfor several years previous, and although we associated frequently in the\nsame social circle together; yet nothing of a special liking had\nmanifested itself until the day she was baptized.\n\nBut we were both slaves, and of course had to get the consent of our\nowners, before we went further. My wife belonged to the late Carter L.\nStephenson, Esq., who was a brother to Hon. Andrew Stephenson, of Va. My\nwife's master was quite indulgent to the servants about the house. He\nnever restrained visitors from coming on his premises to visit his\ndomestics. It was said he had the likeliest set of servant girls in the\ntown; and though I cannot say I got the prettiest, yet I think I got\nthe best one among them. We have lived happily together, as husband and\nwife, for the last twenty-eight years. We have had nine children--seven\nborn in slavery, and two since my wife's freedom. Five out of the seven\nin slavery I have bought--two are still in bondage.\n\nBefore long, the brethren chose me to fill the office of a deacon. But\nit never seemed to me to be the place that God designed for me; though I\nfelt willing to do whatever lay in my power for God's glory and the good\nof His people. The impression made upon my mind at my conversion, to\ntalk to sinners, increased on me, until I could wait no longer.\n\nI related my convictions of duty to my brethren, and particularly to one\nwho was always held in high esteem for his piety and excellent\ncharacter--a colored brother, Armistead Walker. My case was first\nbrought by him before the colored portion of the church; and after a\nfull hearing of my statement, by the white brethren, with regard to my\ncall to preach, &c., I was licensed to preach the gospel, and exhort\nsinners to repentance, as opportunity might be afforded. I had ample\nopportunities at that time, for doing good, by preaching to my fellow\nmen, both in town and country.\n\nSeveral other colored brethren, about this time, gave evidence of having\nbeen called of God, to the work of preaching the gospel. Among these was\na dear brother, named Alexander Daniel. He was a bright and shining\nlight, among our people, and everything considered, I think he was the\nbest preacher of color I ever heard. But alas, he is no more! He was\nesteemed as a christian minister, and his friends, both white and\ncolored, united in erecting a monument over his grave.\n\nIn my attempts to preach the gospel to my fellow sinners, I often felt\nembarrassed, not knowing how to read a chapter in the Bible correctly.\nMy desires now increased for such a knowledge of the sacred Scriptures,\nas would enable me to read a chapter publicly to my hearers. I thought\nthat if I had all my time at my own command, I would devote it all to\ndivine things. This desire I think, led me more than anything else, to\nask permission of my master, Dr. F. Patten, to purchase my freedom. I\nmade this a subject of prayer, both night and day, that God would show\nme what he would have me do. I felt encouraged to hope that I should\nfind favor with my owner, as he had always treated me kindly. But how\nshall I get the purchase money, provided he grants my request?--This\nappeared a difficult matter, but I thought if my master would give me a\nchance, that I should be able to raise the money.\n\nI went to him, and stated my wishes, informing him why I wanted to be\nfree--that I had been led to believe the Lord had converted my soul, and\nhad called me to talk to sinners. He granted my request, without a\nsingle objection, fixing my price at five hundred dollars.\n\nBut now I had to tell him that I had no money, and that I desired him to\ngrant me another request; which was, to let me travel and find friends,\nwho would give me the money. After learning my wishes fully, he\nconsented, and told me, when I got ready to start, he would give me a\npass, to go where I pleased.\n\nI thanked him sincerely for this privilege, and after making\narrangements, in the way of obtaining suitable letters of\nrecommendation, I left Fredericksburg, in June, 1845, for Philadelphia,\nNew York, Boston, &c.\n\nAfter spending nearly four months in visiting the northern cities, I\nreturned home, with about one hundred and fifty dollars, greatly\ndisheartened.\n\nPrevious to going north, I had raised about a hundred and fifty dollars,\nwhich I had already paid on my debt.\n\nThe cause of my failure to raise all the money, I believe, was that I\nwas unaccustomed to addressing large congregations of strangers; and\noften, when I was favored with an opportunity of presenting my case to\nthe people, I would feel such embarrassment that I could scarcely say\nanything. And I met another obstacle, which discouraged me very much;\nwhich was, that some persons would tell me they sympathized with me, in\nmy efforts to get free; but they said it was against their principles to\ngive money, to buy slaves. I confess, this was new to me, and would cut\nme down much in my spirits--still I found generous and noble-hearted\nfriends, who treated me with every mark of kindness.\n\nI began to wonder to myself, whether God was in this matter, or not; and\nif so, why I had not succeeded. However, having returned home, I went\nto work at my trade, for the purpose of earning the remainder of the\nmoney. Having paid what I was able, toward my debt, and reserving enough\nto open a shop, upon my own account, my old boss, Mr. Wright, my true\nand constant friend, became my protector, so that I might carry on my\nbusiness lawfully. In this, however, I was not very successful; but I\nhad not been long engaged at it, before I received a communication from\nmy white Baptist friends in Baltimore, through my pastor, Rev. Sam'l\nSmith, informing me that if I would come to Baltimore, and accept an\nappointment as missionary to the colored people of that city, they would\nassist me in raising the balance of the money then due upon myself.\n\nThis was indeed an unexpected, and to me an undesired call. I began to\nthink, how can I leave my wife and seven small children, to go to\nBaltimore to live, a distance of more than a hundred miles from them.\nThis, I thought, could not be. I thought my children would need my\nwatchful care, more now than at any other time. It is true, they were\nall slaves, belonging to a rich widow lady. But she had always given me\nthe entire control of my family. Now, if I should leave them at their\ntender age, mischief might befall them. Still, as the letter from\nBaltimore was from gentlemen of the best standing, it became me to give\nthem an answer. This I could not do, without first consulting my master.\nI did so, and after giving the matter a careful consideration, he\nthought I had better go and see those gentlemen--he was perfectly\nwilling to leave the matter to me.\n\nThe result was, that I accepted the offer of the brethren in Baltimore;\nand by them I was enabled to pay the debt I owed; and I have never had\ncause to repent it--though I had misgivings sometimes, when I would get\ninto trouble.\n\nBut I have found those who were my friends at first, are my friends\nstill. In a few weeks after I had arrived in Baltimore, (1847,) the\nwhite Baptists who were favorable to the mission in behalf of the\ncolored people, secured for me an appointment as missionary of the\nDomestic Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, in connection with\nthe Maryland Baptist Union Association. I now felt a debt of gratitude\nto these dear friends, that I could not show more acceptably to them,\nthan by engaging heartily in the work to which I had been thus called. I\nwent to work, first, by hiring a room in a private house, where I would\ncollect what few children I could get together, in a Sabbath school. I\ncontinued in this place for nearly a year, teaching the little children,\nand preaching to a few grown persons, who would come in at times to hear\nwhat this Baptist man had to say; and who, after satisfying their\ncuriosity, would generally leave me. During my stay in this locality, I\ncould not find half a dozen colored Baptists, who would take hold with\nme in this missionary enterprise. There were some few attached to the\nwhite churches; but only two of those showed any disposition to help me\nin this great and good work. I found that everybody loved to go with the\nmultitude, and it was truly up-hill work with me. I found some who are\ncalled Anti-Mission, or Old School Baptists, who, when I called upon\nthem, would ask of what faith I was,--and when I would reply, that I\nbelonged to what I understood to be the Regular Baptists, they would\nanswer, \"Then you are not of our faith,\" &c.\n\nNow I felt lonely indeed, separated far from home, from family, from\ndear brethren and friends; thrown among strangers in a strange place.\nThose I came to benefit, stood aloof from me, and seemed to look upon\nall my movements with distrust and suspicion, and opposed to all I was\ntrying to do for the moral and spiritual benefit of our degraded race.\nBut, thanks be to God, all I found in Baltimore were not of this stamp.\nThose of the white Baptists who had been the means of calling me to this\nfield, adhered to me like brethren, indeed. Could I feel at liberty to\nmention names, I would bring to notice some dear friends who have ever\nstood by me, in all my efforts to do good, and whose acts of\ndisinterested benevolence have been rarely equaled. But their labors of\nlove are recorded on high, and I must forbear.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nExperience in Baltimore--Education--Purchase of a Wife and two\nChildren--Great Distress of Mind--Generous Assistance--Church Matters.\n\n\nWhen I came among the colored people of Baltimore, I found, to my\nsurprise, that they were advanced in education, quite beyond what I had\nconceived of. Of course, as I never had such advantages, I was far\nbehind the people; and as this did not appear well in a preacher, I felt\nvery small, when comparing my abilities with others of a superior stamp.\nI found that the great mass of colored professors of religion were\nMethodists, whose piety and zeal seemed to carry all before them. There\nwere, at that time, some ten or eleven colored Methodist churches, one\nEpiscopalian, one Presbyterian; and one little Baptist church, located\nupon the outskirts of the city. The most of the Methodist churches were\nlarge and influential; and the Presbyterian church had one of the best\nSabbath schools for colored children in the city.\n\nBut the Baptist colored membership was looked upon as the smallest; and\nunder these circumstances, I was surrounded with discouragements;\nalthough the ministers and brethren of other denominations have always\ntreated me with marked christian kindness.\n\nI had never had a day's schooling; and coming to one of the first cities\nin the Union, where the colored people had the advantages of schools,\nand where their pulpits were occupied, Sabbath after Sabbath, by\ncomparatively intelligent colored ministers--what could I expect, but\nthat the people would turn away from one who was trying to preach in the\nroom of a private house, some fifteen by twenty feet? Yet, there was no\nturning back: God had called me to the work, and it was His cause I was\nadvocating.\n\nI found, that to preach, like other preachers, I must improve my mind,\nby reading the Bible and other good books, and by studying my own\nlanguage. I started afresh--I got a small stock of books, and the white\nbrethren loaned and gave me other useful volumes, to which they added a\nword of instruction and encouragement, whenever an opportunity offered;\nand the ministers cordially invited me to attend their Monday\nministerial conference meeting, which was very useful to me.\n\n... I had now been in Baltimore more than a year. My wife and seven\nchildren were still in Virginia. I went to see them as often as my\ncircumstances permitted--three or four times a year. About this time, my\nwife's mistress agreed to sell to me my wife and our two youngest\nchildren. The price fixed, was eight hundred dollars cash, and she gave\nme twelve months to raise the money. The sun rose bright in my sky that\nday; but before the year was out, my prospects were again in darkness.\nNow I had two great burdens upon my mind: one to attend properly to my\nmissionary duty, the other to raise eight hundred dollars. During this\ntime we succeeded in getting a better place for the Sabbath school, and\nthere was a larger attendance upon my preaching, which demanded reading\nand study, and also visiting, and increased my daily labors. On the\nother hand, the year was running away, in which I had to raise eight\nhundred dollars. So that I found myself at times in a great strait.\n\nMy plan to raise the money was, to secure the amount, first, by pledges,\nbefore I collected any.... Finally, the year was more than passed away,\nand I had upon my subscription list about one half of the money\nneeded. It was now considered that the children had increased in value\none hundred dollars, and I was told that I could have them, by paying in\ncash six hundred dollars, and giving a bond, with good security, for\nthree hundred more, payable in twelve months. I had six weeks, in which\nto consummate this matter. I felt deeply, that this was a time to pray\nthe Lord to help me, and for this my wife's prayers were fervently\noffered with my own. I had left my wife in Virginia, and come to\nBaltimore, a distance of over a hundred miles; I had been separated thus\nfor nearly three years; I had been trying to make arrangements to have\nher with me, for over twelve months, and as yet had failed. We were\noppressed with the most gloomy forebodings, and could only kneel down\ntogether and pray for God's direction and help.\n\nI was in Fredericksburg, and had but one day longer to stay, and spend\nwith my wife. What could be done, must be done quickly. I went to my old\nfriend, Mr. Wright, and stated my case to him. After hearing of all I\nhad done, and the conditions I had to comply with, he told me that if I\nwould raise the six hundred dollars cash, he would endorse my bond for\nthe remaining three hundred.--This promise inspired me with new life.\nThe next thing was, how could the six hundred dollars be obtained in six\nweeks. I had upon my subscription list and in pledges nearly four\nhundred dollars. But this had to be collected from friends living in\nFredericksburg, Washington city, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.\n\nI left Fredericksburg, and spent a few days in Washington, to collect\nwhat I could of the money promised to me there; and met much\nencouragement, several friends doubling their subscriptions. When I\narrived in Baltimore, and made known the peculiar strait I was in, to my\njoyful surprise, some of the friends who had pledged five dollars, gave\nme ten; and one dear friend who had promised me ten dollars, for this\nobject, and who had previously contributed largely in the purchase of\nmyself, now gave me fifty. I began to count up, and in two weeks from\nthe time I commenced collecting, I had in hand four hundred dollars.\nPresently, another very dear friend enquired of me how I was getting\nalong; and when I told him, he said, \"Bring your money to me.\" I did\nso. It lacked two hundred dollars to make the purchase. This, the best\nfriend I ever had in the world, made up the six hundred dollars, and\nsaid, \"Go, get your wife; and you can keep on collecting, and repay the\ntwo hundred dollars when you get able.\"\n\nI was now overcome with gratitude and joy, and knew not what to say; and\nwhen I began to speak, he would not have any of my thanks. I went to my\nboarding house, and shut myself up in my room, where I might give vent\nto the gratitude of my heart: and, O, what a melting time I had! It was\nto me a day of thanksgiving.\n\nHaving now in hand the six hundred dollars, and the promise of Mr.\nWright's security for three hundred more, I was, by twelve o'clock, next\nday in Fredericksburg.\n\nAt first sight, my wife was surprised that I had come back so soon; for\nit was only two weeks since I had left her; and when I informed her that\nI had come after her and the children, she could hardly believe me. In a\nfew days, having duly arranged all things relative to the purchase and\nremoval, we left for Baltimore, with feelings commingled with joy and\nsorrow--sorrow at parting with five of our older children, and our many\nfriends; and rejoicing in the prospect of remaining together permanently\nin the missionary field, where God had called me to labor. I arrived in\nBaltimore, with my wife and two little ones, November 5th, 1851, and\nstopped with sister Hester Ann Hughes, a worthy member of the M. E.\nChurch, with whom I had been boarding for four years.\n\nThe Md. Baptist Union Association was now in session here, and it became\nmy duty to prepare my church letter and missionary report, for that\nbody. The church had now been organized just three years; commencing\nwith only four members, including the pastor. Our church statistics for\nthe year, as reported, were: Baptized, 2; Received by letter, 2; Present\nnumber of members, 15.... Sabbath school much revived, under the special\nefforts of several white brethren and sisters. Present number of Sunday\nscholars, 50.\n\nThis year was a joyful one to me--my little church increasing, and the\nSabbath school flourishing, under the superintendence of the late truly\nexcellent brother James C. Crane, though he was with us but for a short\nseason. My wife and little ones were also with me, both in the church\nand Sabbath school. I was a happy man, and felt more than ever inclined\nto give thanks to God, and serve Him to the best of my ability.\n\nMy salary was only three hundred dollars a year; but with hard exertion\nand close economy, together with my wife's taking in washing and going\nout at day's work, we were enabled by the first of the year, to pay the\ntwo hundred dollars our dear friend had loaned us, in raising the six\nhundred dollars before spoken of. But the bond for three hundred dollars\nwas now due, and how must this be met? I studied out a plan; which was\nto get some gentleman who might want a little servant girl, to take my\nchild, and advance me three hundred dollars for the purpose of paying my\nnote, which was now due in Virginia. In this plan I succeeded; and had\nmy own life insured for seven years for five hundred dollars, and made\nit over to this gentleman, as security; until I ultimately paid him the\nwhole amount; though I was several years in paying it.\n\nAmong the number that joined our little church, was a young brother,\nJos. M. Harden, who was baptized by Dr. Fuller, but soon became a\nvaluable member with us, both in the church and Sunday school. He was\nborn in Baltimore, and had been early taught to read, and though he had\nbeen at ten years old bound out, till he was twenty-one, his love of\nbooks had made him far superior to colored people generally, and he was\nvery valuable to me. Things had gone on hopefully with me, and my little\nchurch, though our progress was very slow. But we had to suffer a loss\nin brother Harden's leaving us for the great missionary field in Africa,\nwhere I trust the Lord has sent him for a great and happy work. But God\nhas blessed us in the person of brother Samuel W. Madden, whose labors\nas a licensed preacher for several years have been invaluable to us.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nA New Movement in Baltimore--Erection of a Meeting House for the African\nBaptist Church--Heavy Indebtedness--Account of the Enterprise--Personal\nTroubles.\n\n\nFor several years previous to Jan., 1855, our little church and Sunday\nschool had occupied a very inconvenient upper room on Courtland street.\nOur particular friend, Mr. William Crane, with some other white persons\nto aid him, was the devoted superintendent of our Sunday school, and the\nunfailing friend of our own little church, as well as of me personally.\nMr. Crane had felt, with us, the great disadvantage of our place of\nworship, and had exerted himself much to obtain a more commodious room\nfor us. But in July, 1853; he commenced an extraordinary effort in our\nbehalf, by purchasing a lot--one hundred feet by forty-six feet--with\nthree fronts, on Calvert, Saratoga and Davis streets, on which a chapel\nbuilding has been erected for us.\n\nOur chapel was opened for worship Feb. 18, 1855; and Rev. Dr. Fuller\npreached the opening sermon to a crowded audience.\n\nOn this occasion Mr. Wm. Crane read a detailed report of all the facts\nrelative to this building--a full copy of this report may be interesting\nprobably to my readers, and I have therefore obtained it, and here\npresent it, in connection with a picture of the building, which will be\nfound opposite the title page.\n\n\n     HISTORY OF THE SARATOGA STREET AFRICAN BAPTIST CHAPEL.\n\n\"The questions have often been asked in this vicinity during the last\nsix months, Who is putting up that large building called the 'Saratoga\nStreet African Baptist Chapel?' 'What are they putting it up for?'--'Who\nwill own it, when finished?' 'How much will it cost? and who will pay\nfor it?'\"\n\nThese questions have often been answered, but it seems proper, and\nindeed necessary, at this time to answer them plainly and clearly, for\nthe information of this large assembly.\n\nFirst, then, I reply: This entire building has been reared under my\ndirections, in the name of the Saratoga street African Baptist Church.\n\nThis Church was organized with only four members, six years ago, with\nbrother Noah Davis, a missionary of the Md. Baptist Union Association,\nas its pastor, who has labored most faithfully in his work. But,\nalthough colored churches of the Baptist denomination in all of our\nSouthern and Western cities count their members by thousands, this\nchurch has now only thirty members--but our hope and prayer is, that\nestablished here in the centre of a population of full thirty thousand\ncolored people, God may bless the humble devoted efforts of His people,\nand increase their numbers a hundred fold. Four years ago, the 1st of\nJanuary, we commenced a Sunday school in Courtland street,--where this\nchurch has always held its regular meetings, which notwithstanding its\nmany discouragements--mostly from a want of devoted self-denying\nteachers--has been unremittingly kept up morning and afternoon, till the\npresent time, with an attendance varying from thirty to over one hundred\nscholars; and we feel assured that the hundreds of Bibles and\nTestaments, tracts, &c., with the Sunday school instructions, and the\npreaching of brother Davis will have laid the foundation for a lasting\nblessing to his people. This little church and Sunday school have met\nto-day for the first time in this building, and in the language of the\nPsalmist David, probably on an occasion like this, we would exclaim,\n\"Send now, we beseech thee, O Lord--O Lord, we beseech thee, send now\nprosperity!\"--(Ps. 118: 25.)\n\nBut what are the objects for which this house has been built? I answer,\nthe first object was, to furnish such a room as this, for the use of\nthis church, where the gospel might be preached and its ordinances\nadministered, and where Sunday schools and religious associations might\nbe properly accommodated. The second was, to furnish rooms in the next\nstory, for a male high school at one end, and a female high school at\nthe other, and where colored missionaries for Africa might be educated\nfor that most important field of labor; with a large hall in the centre,\nfor a lecture room, or for any other religious, moral, or useful\npurposes. The upper story has four separate rooms, finished for renting\nto associations of colored people, with a view to paying whatever debt\nmay remain on the building, and for defraying its current expenses;--and\nit is hoped that, at some future day, a reading room and a circulating\nlibrary for colored people may also be located here--the whole of it\ncombining a most respectable, central, commodious _Colored People's\nHome_.\n\nBut it is asked, who owns this building? I admit that it is an unusually\nmixed up affair; but I will try to explain it. After a great deal of\nsearching and enquiring after a lot or building, where this Church and\nSunday school could have a settled home, about two years ago, I was\ninformed that this lot was for sale; and realizing instantly that my\ncherished objects could here be accomplished I bought it without\nhesitation, for five thousand dollars; but the loss of two years'\ninterest and the amount paid to tenants to move away, makes the cost of\nthe lot now full six thousand dollars. I obtained the deed of J. H. B.\nLatrobe, Esq., who sold it, as trustee for the estate of Hugh Finley,\ndeceased, under an order of Court. After a charter of incorporation for\nthe Church had been made, I got Mr. Latrobe to draw up also this deed,\n[here presenting it] which he says is a perfectly good one--from William\nCrane and wife, to Geo. F. Adams, J. W. M. Williams, and John W. Ball,\nas trustees for all concerned, conveying to this Church all my right\nand title forever to all of the proposed building on this lot above the\nfirst story: leaving me the basement and the cellar as my own property\nforever, with the proviso, that the Church in its own name should put up\nthe entire building. But I agreed at the same time to subscribe five\nthousand dollars on the subscription book of the Church towards erecting\nit. So that I am now sole owner of the store and cellar under the\nChapel--the Church has no ownership there at all--but the Church is\nlegal owner of this Chapel and all the rooms above it. The Church\nappointed me their agent to build the house, and as such I have made all\nthe contracts, paid out all the monies, and assumed all the liabilities.\nBefore commencing the building, as before stated, my own subscription\nwas...................................$5,000\n\nMy brother, J. C. Crane, from whom I\nexpected efficient personal aid, gave..1,000\n\nBro. Franklin Wilson,..................1,000\n\nA. Fuller Crane,.........................500\n\nJohn W. Ball,............................250\n\nJ. B. Thomas,............................100\n\nAmong our colored friends, about.........200\n                                      ------\nAmounting to, say,....................$8,050\n\nSince that time, the pressure on the money\nmarket has prevented any general effort to\nobtain subscriptions, but a city pastor has\nsubscribed..............................$150\n\nA sister of the First Baptist Church.....100\n\nBro. Jonathan Batchelor, of Lynn, Mass...100\n                                      ------\nMaking in all, a total of.............$8,400\n\nThe entire cost of the building, notwithstanding the most rigid economy,\nwill be over eighteen thousand dollars, and full half of this amount is\nyet unprovided for. The bills are not all presented, but some of the\nlarger ones which have been settled by notes will be due in a short\ntime; while the largest one, the lumber bill, has six months to run yet,\nso that I am bound to settle up and pay the entire balance of\nexpenditure on this house, as agent of the Church, within the coming six\nmonths. And whatever amount of money I advance over and above the\nsubscriptions and collections must, of course, remain as a debt due me\nby the Church, and be on interest until paid.\n\nThe last question, how is the money obtained to pay for the building?\nhas been partly answered; but a full explanation of it will depend on\nwhat the friends of the object will now contribute toward paying for it.\nI will subscribe one dollar for every ten dollars that may be subscribed\nand paid on account of the Church debt within the year 1855. In other\nwords, I will add ten per cent to any amount which may be contributed. I\nmay remark, that in engaging in this project, I had not a dollar which I\nwished to put out at interest. I want much more than my capital in my\nmercantile business. I am in fact borrowing, to lend to the Church. But\nit is God's cause, and I have had to trust in Him to bear me through it.\nThe failing health of my dear brother, J. C. Crane,[A] and the want of\nhis invaluable co-operation with me, as well as the lack of hearty,\nzealous assistance on the part of many other brethren and friends, has\nbeen painful to me. But I hope, now that the house is finished, the\nfriends of our Redeemer's cause and of the African race generally, may\nnot fail in lending their efficient aid.\n\n[Footnote A: Died March 31, 1857. See Memoir of Southern Baptist\nPublication Society.]\n\nI have only to add, brethren, \"the time is short;\" we must all of us\nsoon appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to render an account of\nall the talents committed to our charge. If God has given me a talent\nfor the acquisition of money over and above what my duty to my family\nrequires, I regard myself bound as a good steward to exert that talent\nentirely for Him. I am not my own, and I feel perfectly assured that any\nindividual who possesses the tact and ability for acquiring money is\nneccessarily (_sic._) the best qualified for a judicious and proper\ndisbursement of it; and I dare not try to leave my earthly acquisitions\nin testamentary charitable bequests--to the inexperienced and uncertain\nmanagement of those who may come after me.\n\n\"May God help us to work for Him, and at last may we hear, 'Well done,\ngood and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'\"\n\nThis paper was read to the congregation, probably a thousand people,\nimmediately after Dr. Fuller had preached the opening sermon, Feb. 18,\n1855; and a collection was taken of about one hundred dollars.\nSubsequent to this, a venerable widow lady of Baltimore contributed\n$500, and other quite liberal donations were made.\n\nOn the 1st of July, 1855, Mr. Crane rendered a full account to the\nChurch and trustees, of all the monies received and bills paid on the\nbuilding; showing that the entire cost\nof it was,............................$18,207,73\n\nTotal am't of collections credited,.....9,547,86\n                                      ----------\nLeaving balance over-paid by him, .... $8,659,87\n\nThe trustees then gave Mr. Crane a bond for this balance, and a lease on\nthe building, until this debt, with interest on it, could be paid.\n\nOur Church now had great cause of gratitude at finding ourselves in a\nfine large Chapel, in the centre of our city--a room 100 feet long, and\n19 feet high, with a gallery at each end, a baptistery, gas lights, and\nsliding partitions, to make two closed rooms under the galleries, when\nneeded for the changing of clothes on baptismal occasions, as well as\nfor our Church prayer and conference meetings.\n\nWe were in hopes that we could rent out the large hall, together with\nthe six other spacious rooms in the two upper stories, for schools,\nbenevolent societies, &c., so as to pay the interest on our debt, if no\nmore; but so far, we have not been able to do this. My own trials, with\nmy family, have greatly retarded my efforts in this matter. We have had\nthe largest and best week-day school for colored children in the city--a\npart of the time with three teachers and over one hundred scholars--but\nfor four years, no rent has been received from the school. The prices\nfor tuition have been so low, that they have hardly sustained the\nteachers; but we trust that our people have derived much benefit from\nthem already, and hope they may receive much more good from them in the\nfuture. Since the dedication of our Chapel, our Church has more than\ndoubled its membership, and the congregation has increased four-fold;\nwhile on our baptizing occasions the hall is generally full. We have\nalways held three meetings for worship every Sunday, to accommodate many\nservants, who have no command of their time, and also regular Wednesday\nand Friday evening prayer and conference meetings. Our Sunday school has\nalways had two sessions a day--an hour and a half in the morning, and an\nhour in the afternoon.\n\nI have been necessarily much hindered in my own labors, from pecuniary\nembarrassments, arising from the sale of my children, who were left in\nVirginia--two daughters and three sons. The first of these, who was\nabout to be sold, and taken away South, was my oldest daughter; and it\nwas with great difficulty and the help of friends that I raised eight\nhundred and fifty dollars, and got her on to Baltimore. But I was soon\ncalled upon to make a similar effort to save my eldest son from being\nsold far from me. Entirely unexpected, I received the painful news that\nmy boy was in one of the trader's jails in Richmond, and for sale. The\ndealer knew me, and was disposed to let me have him, if I could get any\none to purchase him. I was, of course, deeply anxious to help my boy;\nbut I began to think that I had already drawn so heavily on the\nliberality of all my friends, that to appeal to them again seemed out of\nthe question. I immediately wrote to the owners of my son, and received\nan answer--that his price was fixed at seven hundred dollars.\n\nThe fact is, God had already done so much more for me and my family than\nwe had ever expected, that we could not tell what further help He might\ngive us, until we had asked Him for it; and we could but pray over this\ntrying affair. I hardly knew what else to do, but pray. The boy was\ntwenty years old, and had been accustomed to waiting in the house, for\nthe most respectable families. It occurred to me, that I might perhaps\nget him a home near me, where we might see him and use our parental\ninfluence over him. I thought it was possible, that I might find three\nhundred persons among my friends in Baltimore, who would contribute one\ndollar each to save my son, and that I might then obtain some friend in\nBaltimore to advance four hundred dollars, and let my son work it out\nwith him: and give this friend a life insurance policy on the boy, as a\nsecurity. This plan seemed practicable, and I wrote to his owners,\nasking for ten days to raise the money; which they granted me.\n\nI now got my case made known publicly to the different colored\ncongregations in the city--and was very much surprised to find how many\nfriends I had, and how kindly they engaged in helping me. The result of\nit was, that I obtained the three hundred dollars, and also a kind\nfriend to advance the four hundred dollars, within the ten days, and\nrecovered my son; who is now doing well, in working out the money\nadvanced on him.\n\nSo far, I felt that I had great reason to say, \"Hitherto the Lord hath\nhelped me.\" I had obtained my own freedom and also that of my wife and\nfour children.\n\nBut three of my children were still in bondage. In 1856, the mistress of\nthese remaining ones died; and in settling up her estate, it became\nnecessary to sell all her servants at auction with her other property.\nThis was the decision of the Court; and commissioners were appointed to\ncarry out the sale, on the 1st of January, 1857. I felt now, that I had\ngone as far as I could in getting my family free; for I felt very\ncertain that my daughter, about whom I felt the greatest anxiety, would\nsell at auction for more money than I could get any of my friends in\nBaltimore to give for her; and I saw no way to do any thing for the two\nboys. I thought I had no chance of raising any more money myself, and I\ncould only pray the Lord to grant us His grace, to reconcile us and the\nchildren, to whatever might come upon us. But before the end of the\nyear, when the sale was to take place, the time was extended six months\nby the Court. My hopes now began to revive again; I began to think that\nif I could be at the sale, my daughter, though a grown up girl might\npossibly not bring over six or seven hundred dollars. In that case, I\nmight perhaps get six or twelve months time, and get some friend in\nBaltimore to help me, as had been the case with my son. The sale was\npostponed for six months longer, and finally occurred, Jan. 1, 1858.\n\nThe money panic, of 1857, had partially destroyed my hopes of doing\nanything to relieve my daughter;--But I had secured the promise of a\nkind friend in Baltimore, to go to Fredericksburg with me, and if he\nliked the appearance of the boys, to buy one or both of them. But in\nthis I was disappointed; for on the day of sale this gentleman was\nconfined to his house by sickness. The sale went on. My oldest son, aged\ntwenty-one, sold for $560; and the younger one, just turning his\nseventeenth year, brought $570. They were bought in by their young\nmaster. But my daughter was run up to $990, by a slave trader, who after\nthe sale agreed to let my friends have her, for me, for eleven hundred\ndollars. These friends were gentlemen of the first standing in the\nplace, who, out of kindness to me, whom they had well known for years,\ngave their bond jointly for the amount, and in this case again I got the\ngirl's life insured for one thousand dollars as a security for them. The\ngirl was of course left in the hands of these gentlemen, in whom I had\nthe most implicit confidence.\n\nI returned to Baltimore, and prepared for the redemption of my child. I\nhad a circular printed, showing the facts as they were, and scattered it\namong my friends.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nAccount of A Visit to the northern Cities--True Friends.\n\n\nDuring the winter and spring, I used every effort in my power in the way\nof collecting funds, but, though I met with the most generous sympathy\nand kindness from all my friends--up to the 1st of June I had in hand\nonly one hundred and fifty dollars. I then applied to the Mission Board,\nfor permission to travel and solicit funds to help me out of my\ndistress. This was readily granted me. Having obtained a certificate,\nrelative to the objects of my journey, signed by Rev. Franklin Wilson,\nSecretary of our State Missionary Board, as well as by the pastors and\nother friends in Baltimore, I started once more on this painful business\nof begging money, to purchase my fifth child out of slavery. I went to\nPhiladelphia, and met with marked attention from the ministers of the\nBaptist churches generally, and especially from Rev. Messrs. McKean,\nCole, and Griffith, with whom I had been acquainted in Baltimore; as\nwell as Revs. Messrs Cuthbert and Malcom, and the editors of the\nChristian Chronicle, Presbyterian, &c. I obtained in this city nearly\ntwo hundred dollars.\n\nWith a view to meet a particular friend in Boston, I was induced to\nvisit that city next. The many acts of kindness and sympathy I met with\nthere can never be effaced from my memory. I had a special introduction\nto the Messrs. Gould and Lincoln, book publishers. To the latter, I owe\na lasting obligation.--Through him I obtained a hearing of my case in\nMr. Anderson's church, Roxbury, where I obtained very liberal aid, while\nthe pastor was absent, as well as in many other cases.\n\nI called on Rev. Dr. Stow, who allowed my case to be presented to his\ncongregation, at an evening meeting, where I received some fifty\ndollars. He also gave me a letter of commendation to the other Baptist\nministers, with a request that they would also sign it, which a large\nnumber did. The article was then published gratuitously for me in the\n\"Watchman and Reflector\" and \"Christian Era.\" Rev. L. A. Grimes, pastor\nof the 12th Baptist Church, (colored,) from the respectable position\nwhich he occupied in the community, did much for me, in furthering my\ncause, and introducing me to others, especially at the daily prayer\nmeetings.\n\nI had the great privilege and pleasure of mingling with the people of\nGod of every name, in these blessed meetings. The first I went to, was\nat the old South Chapel. Here I felt at first greatly embarrassed when\ncalled on to speak or pray. I thought that those who came to these\nmeetings must be among the most pious and intelligent people in Boston.\nThe kind manner in which they treated me, confirmed me in my impressions\nof them. But the best meetings, I think I ever enjoyed on earth, for\nsuch a length of time, (nearly two months,) was at what was called the\nNorth street prayer meeting, or Father Mason's. This was in a large\nupper room. It really appeared to me, that the most of those who met at\nthis place each day at twelve o'clock to spend an hour in prayer, to\ntell what God had done for their souls, had been made \"ready,\" by the\nSpirit of God before they reached that sacred spot.--\n\nI know, I shall fail to present a true picture of this heavenly place;\nfor such it was to me, and many others. But, it may be, that my own\npeculiar circumstances may have rendered the meetings unusually\nprecious to me. But they were good to me in many respects. I was a poor\ncolored man, in distress, and needed christian sympathy. I found it\ntruly, among the many white friends with whom I met in the North street\nprayer meeting. There, in that meeting, the dear friends would pray with\nme and for me. In a word, I felt at times it was good for me to be\nafflicted, for surely, if it had not been for my peculiar circumstances,\nI should never have been inside the Old South Chapel, or North street\nprayer meeting, where I enjoyed so much of God's presence, and found so\nmany real friends, in the midst of strangers. I felt that I realized\nwhat the apostle Peter meant: \"If need be, ye are in heaviness, through\nmanifold temptation, that the trials of your faith, being much more\nprecious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might\nbe found unto praise and honor and glory, at the appearing of Jesus\nChrist.\"--(1 Peter 1: 6,7.) Also, \"For I will show him how\ngreat things he must suffer for my name's sake.\"--(Acts 9: 16.) The\narguments I drew from these passages of Scripture were, to show that\nwhen God wanted to purify our faith, and strengthen our confidence in\nHim, He would send trials upon us. And to let us see how great the\nthings we must suffer for His name's sake, and to let us see too how\ngreat the grace He gives us, to enable us to endure hardness, as good\nsoldiers of the cross.\n\nSuffice it to say, the friends in Boston and its vicinity gave me about\nfour hundred dollars towards the purchase of my daughter. I had the\nprivilege of meeting the Baptist ministers in their conference meeting.\nHere the Rev. Mr. Tilson, pastor of the First Baptist Church at Hingham,\ninvited me to spend a Sunday evening at his place, which I did, very\ngreatly to my own satisfaction and profit. During my stay in Boston, I\nvisited several of the smaller towns adjacent to it,--Lynn, Cambridge,\nMelrose, Malden, Chelsea, and others, and I was kindly received at all\nof them. I collected in Lynn something like $50, the most of which was\ngiven to me by the members of the 2nd Baptist Church. Just before\nleaving Boston, to my great and agreeable surprise, I met Dr. F. Patten,\nsurgeon in the U. S. Navy, (my former owner,) in the street, in that\ncity. I had not seen him for seven or eight years, and had no thought\nof seeing him in Boston. He recognized me first, and spoke to me before\nI knew he was near; but I instantly knew him. We greeted each other\nheartily, and he invited me to visit him at Chelsea. This I did, the\nsame afternoon, and was kindly treated.\n\nWhile I sat there with him and his children, and he was looking over my\nsubscription book, I was constrained to look back for fifteen years,\nover all the way the Lord had brought me, since the day this same\ngentleman had given me privilege to purchase my freedom, and handed me a\npass, saying, \"I am not afraid of you running away, Noah--you may go\nwhere you please.\" I reflected, suppose I had stayed away, when I was in\nBoston, twelve years ago, begging money to buy myself--how would it be\nwith me and my family to-day? But I have tried to acknowledge the Lord\nin all my ways, always asking counsel of Him, and I now feel that He has\nkindly directed and kept me.\n\nI also visited New Bedford, where I met a large number of my old\nacquaintances from Virginia, and had the privilege of presenting my\nobject to several of the Churches, and I received in all about $50. I\nnext went to Providence, Rhode Island, where I spent a couple of weeks\ngreatly to my advantage. It was indeed \"providence\" to me. I was\npermitted to present my case to nearly all the Baptist Churches in that\ncity. Five of these aided my cause; but their great kindness deserves\nsome particular notice. The first one I visited was Rev. Mr. Stone's,\nwhose congregation, with himself, greatly encouraged me. At the First\nChurch I told my story before an evening meeting, and shall never forget\nthe kindness of the pastor, the senior deacon, and others. I obtained\nhere nearly $100. I was kindly assisted by Rev. Mr. Keyser's Church, as\nalso the Fourth Baptist Church. But at the Central Baptist Church, Rev.\nMr. Fields', I found unbounded kindness and liberality. After seeing my\nletters of recommendation, the pastor invited me to his prayer meeting,\nwhere I was favored with the privilege of telling my story, freely. I\nhad been from home several months, and had collected in all about seven\nhundred dollars, but still lacked about four hundred to accomplish my\nobject. I was receiving letters every week from my Church and family,\nsaying that my presence at home was greatly needed; but the idea of\ngoing home without accomplishing my great object, filled me with\ndistress. While speaking to the meeting, and telling how God had\ndelivered me from time to time out of trials, I felt such a sense of my\ncondition, that for the moment I could not restrain my feelings--my\nheart became so full, that it stopped all utterance. At the close of the\nmeeting, the people showed their sympathy for me by giving me a\ncollection of sixty one dollars.--One dear brother, (may the Lord bless\nhim!) came forward, and presenting me with a ten dollar bill, said,\n\"Brother Davis, give yourself no more trouble about that daughter.--You\nsay you have to stop in New York. Let me say, that when you get home,\nwhatever you lack of the four hundred dollars, write to me, and I will\nsend you a check for the balance.\" This was spoken in the presence of\nthe whole meeting. I felt completely at a loss for words of gratitude\nand thanksgiving; and merely said, the day is broke, and the Lord has\nappeared for me indeed!\n\nI now left Providence, feeling in my heart that the place is rightly\ncalled by that name, as far as I am concerned.\n\nI then went to New York. In that great city, I met with considerable\nassistance. I never started out, but it seemed that the Lord directed my\nsteps. I was allowed to address a prayer meeting of the First Baptist\nChurch, whose pastor was the late excellent Rev. A. K. Nott, and was\naided to the amount of over seventy dollars.\n\nRev. Dr. Lathrop, with much christian kindness, invited me to his night\nmeeting; but a severe rain prevented any attendance. He invited me\nagain, and then he was absent because of illness. I was depressed with\ndisappointment; but he had sent a request that I might be heard, (as I\nafterward learned,) and I was called on to state my case to the\naudience. I was taken by surprise, for the pastor's illness had taken\nall hope from me of accomplishing anything there. Still I begun, by\ntelling my experience. I said that when it had pleased God to convert my\nsoul, I thought that all my trouble was gone, and gone forever; but I\nhad since learned that I was much mistaken--I had learned that \"in the\nworld we shall have tribulation.\" I then went on to state my present\ntrouble and distress--and before I left the meeting, I received with\nheart-felt gratitude, one hundred and thirty four dollars. This reminded\nme of Providence.\n\nRev. Drs. Gillette and Armitage treated me with much generous sympathy,\nas also did many others.\n\nI visited Greenport on Long Island, where Rev. Henry Knapp kindly aided\nme. Elders Swan and Read, and the brethren generally at New London,\naided me to the amount of about fifty dollars.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nConclusion--Object of this Book.\n\n\nI now left the north, for home, and arrived there safely. My friends\ngreeted me cordially on my success in collecting money.\n\nI still lacked, however, one hundred and forty-two dollars of the needed\neleven hundred. I had used every effort in my power to prevent the\nnecessity of having to call on my generous friend in Providence. But in\nspite of all my endeavors, I had to make known to him this deficiency,\nwhich he immediately and generously supplied, by remitting me a check\nfor the full amount.\n\nI was now prepared to go after my daughter, which I did, December 1st,\n1858; thus releasing her within one year from the time she was sold. She\nis now with me, and doing well.\n\nI received a promise from the young master of my two sons, at the time\nhe purchased them, that if I should succeed in paying for my daughter\nduring that year, he would let me know what I might have my two boys\nfor. At the time, my boys were about returning to Richmond, where they\nhad been hired out for several years. I charged them to let me hear a\ngood report of their conduct; and if I could do anything for them, after\nI had got through with the purchase of their sister, I would do it. This\npledge I made to the boys, in the presence of their master's agent.\n\nHaving, through the aid of a kind Providence, been enabled to pay for my\ndaughter, I have felt it my duty to turn my attention toward redeeming\nmy word to my last children now in bondage.\n\nBut this, of course, has called up anxious thought and prayerful\nmeditation. I have also considered the peculiar condition of my\nchurch--the large outlay of money in the erection of the building, and\nthe heavy debt hanging upon it, which is increased every year by the\ninterest. I have also considered how long I have been supported in this\nfield of labor by the Missionary Board of the Southern Baptist\nConvention and the Maryland Baptist Union Association.\n\nThe question then occurred to me, Could I not, by _making a book_, do\nsomething to relieve myself and my children, and ultimately, by the\nsame means, help my church, under its heavy debt, and also relieve the\nMissionary Board from helping me. This idea struck me with so much\nforce, that I have yielded to it--that is, to write a short Narrative of\nmy own life, setting forth the trials and difficulties the Lord has\nbrought me through to this day, and offer it for sale to my friends\ngenerally, as well as to the public at large; and I hope it may not only\naid me, but may serve to encourage others, who meet with similar\ndifficulties, to put their trust in God.\n\n\n\nEND OF THE NARRATIVE.\n\n\n\n\nSERMON.\n\nBY REV. NOAH DAVIS\n\n\nTEXT.--\"But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of\nhis own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an\ninfidel.\"--1 Tim. 5:8.\n\nIn this chapter, we have several christian duties set forth by the\napostle Paul, to Timothy, a young preacher of the gospel, who was to\nteach other christians to observe them, as evidences of the genuineness\nof their faith in Christ.\n\nThat faith which does not produce obedience to the commands of Jesus\nmust be regarded as defective. Religion requires us to love God, and all\nmen, and we must show our faith, by a life consistent with our\nprofession.\n\nIf human nature, fallen as it is, prompts men of the world to labor\nzealously to supply their own temporal necessities and the wants of\nthose whom Providence has made to depend upon them, how much more will\nit be expected of those who profess to have drank of that pure Fountain\nof love, the Spirit of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. God\nhas indeed doomed man to eat his bread in the sweat of his face; but as\nif to reward him, he has connected with it a pleasure in the labor, and\nespecially, in our efforts to do good to others.\n\nIn speaking from these words, let us first consider what is here meant\nby \"providing\" for \"his own;\" secondly, \"and especially for those of his\nown house;\" thirdly, what it is to \"deny the faith;\" and lastly, draw a\ncomparison between the one who \"hath denied the faith\" and the\n\"infidel.\"\n\n1. In the first place, we are to consider the duty enjoined in the text,\nto provide for our own: which we understand to mean our own temporal\nwants, such as food and raiment and every temporal benefit. Every man is\nbound by the laws of nature to provide for himself the necessaries of\nlife, honestly in the sight of God and men, as far as in him lieth. This\nboth reason and common sense dictate. This religion inspires. \"He that\nwill not work, shall not eat,\" is the teaching of the word of God.\n\"Provide things honest in the sight of all men,\" is the instruction of\nthe great apostle to the Gentiles; at the same time giving them an\nexample, by working with his own hands, to supply his necessities, and\nthe wants of those who were with him. I have heard it said that a lazy\nperson cannot be a christian, and the same idea seems to be supported in\nmy text.\n\n\"But if any provide not for his own.\" Religion benefits those who\npossess it, by regulating their appetite for temporal things, as well as\ngiving them a relish for spiritual ones. While we are in love with sin,\nwe labor hard to enjoy its pleasures. How industriously do wicked men\nlabor for what they can eat, drink and wear. And shall a christian be\nless active to secure for himself the necessaries of life?--he would\nprove himself indeed to be worse than the infidel. But we have other\nwants to be supplied, beside those of the body. God has given to all men\nan intellectual nature--a mind, which distinguishes them from the\nbrutes. These minds are capable of improvement; and every man is under\nobligation to make use of the means and opportunities which God has\ngiven him for cultivating his mind, by educating himself, that he may be\nuseful to himself and those around him. But man is a social being as\nwell as an intellectual one. \"God hath made of one blood, all nations of\nmen, for to dwell on all the face of the earth.\"--(Acts 17: 26.) Much of\nour happiness, and usefulness in this world arises from this quality\nwhich man possesses over the animal creation. And just in proportion, as\nwe shall cultivate, and refine our social and intellectual natures, just\nin that proportion, shall we rise above the level of the savage and the\nheathen.\n\nBut man has a soul, which must be fitted for the enjoyment of God, here\nand hereafter. Now to provide for the wants of the soul, is our highest\nduty on earth.--Sin has unclothed us of that innocence in which our\nCreator first made us, and the responsibility now rests upon every soul,\nto provide a clothing which will stand the inspection of God himself.\nThis clothing, Christ has prepared through His sufferings, and death,\nand it is given to all them that believe in Him. And surely, if it be\nour duty to provide temporal things for ourselves, and for those of our\nown house, how much more are we bound to seek and secure the one thing\nneedful.\n\n2. But we will consider in the second place, what is meant by providing\nfor our own house?--\"and especially for those of his own house?\" House\nhere means family. First, we will consider the duty devolving upon a\nchristian parent, in making suitable provision for his own house, or\nfamily. This embraces all we have urged as his duty to himself. It is\nthe duty of all parents, to provide for their families every temporal\ngood which adds to their own comfort or usefulness in life. And it is no\nless the duty of parents to provide for the spiritual necessities of\ntheir own families. And first--we shall consider the duty of parents, to\nprovide suitable training for their children. This is a duty which God\nhas enjoined and approves. He said of Abraham, \"For I know him, that he\nwill command his children and his household after him, and they shall\nkeep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may\nbring upon Abraham, that which He hath spoken of him.\" The duty of\nparents to train their children religiously, is clearly taught under the\ngospel dispensation.\n\n\"And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up\nin the nurture and admonition of the Lord.\" Here, we have divine\nauthority, for teaching our children, the things, which make for their\ngood, both in this life and that which is to come. But it may be asked,\nto what extent are parents bound to comply with these high and solemn\nobligations? We answer, to the utmost of their ability. To whom much is\ngiven, of him much is required, and to whom little is given, of him\nlittle is required.--But all are bound to train up their children \"in\nthe way they should go, that when they are old, they may not depart from\nit.\" This duty is seen in the judgments which God has visited upon those\nparents and children who have neglected to obey the Lord in this\nparticular.--(1 Samuel 2: 34.)\n\n3. We are, in the third place, to enquire what it is to \"deny the\nfaith.\" Much is said in the Scriptures about faith. Much depends upon\nit. We are said to be \"justified by faith,\" and \"saved by faith;\" we\n\"live by faith.\" And inasmuch, as such as are spoken of in the text are\nsaid to be worse than an infidel, because they provide not for\nthemselves and families, thereby showing that they have denied the\nfaith, therefore let us try to consider what genuine faith is, and what\nit is to deny it. This is the most important point in the subject now\nbefore us. \"Without faith it is impossible to please God.\"\n\nWe will consider some of the effects of this distinguishing grace. There\nare several kinds of faith spoken of in the Bible. In one case, men are\nsaid to \"believe for a while.\" This faith is shown us in the parable\ntaught by our blessed Saviour, in the characters represented by the seed\nsown upon the rock, \"which for a while believe, and in time of\ntemptation fall away.\"--(Luke 8: 33.)\n\nThere is a faith which is called dead.--\"Even so faith, if it hath not\nworks, is dead, being alone.\"--(James 2: 17.) But the faith which\nenables the christian to obey the Saviour in all things, is said to\n\"work by love.\"--(Gal. 5: 6.) Now we say that those who have this faith,\nwill never deny it. The counterfeit may deceive, but the genuine cannot.\nWe say this faith cannot deny itself. All who are spoken of in the Old\nTestament as having this faith never denied it. By it Abel made a more\nexcellent sacrifice to God than Cain. By it, Enoch walked with God, when\nthe other portion of mankind walked in the vain wicked imaginations of\ntheir own hearts. \"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen\nas yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house.\"\n\"Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.\"\n\nThis is the grace which enables believers to renounce the pleasures of\nsin, which are but for a season. It gives them a complete victory over\nthe world. It abideth with hope and charity. Now, whosoever professes\nthis faith, and then by his unholy life denies it, by neglecting to\nprovide for his own, and especially for those of his own house, makes it\nmanifest that he never had it. It is as unchangeable as its Author, for\nit is the gift of God. It prompted Noah to labor over a hundred years,\nto build an ark, to save his house. And what it has done, it will\ncontinue to do, for those who have it. This is the principle in religion\nwhich purifies the heart, overcomes the world, and causes christians to\nlove one another, whatever may be their circumstances, or color or rank\nin life.\n\n4. We are now in the fourth and last place to draw a comparison between\nthose who deny the faith, and an infidel. Now an infidel, is an\nunbeliever in the religion of Christ.--Yet he provides for his own, and\nespecially for those of his own house. In this he is consistent with\nhimself. Here he acts from reason, and principles of nature. But the\nindividual who denies the faith, is one, who has taken upon himself the\nsolemn vow before God and men, that he will act out what his profession\nsupposes him to be in possession of, which is superior in its influence,\nto the infidel's principles, yet he fails to do as much.\n\nBut again, an infidel is a bad man, and makes no pretensions to hide it.\nBut he who contradicts his profession, by denying it in the manner here\nset forth, is worse for attempting to cover up a character, which in\nitself is no better. But consider the effect produced by a false faith,\n(and we have shown, that such a faith, as does not come up with the\ninfidel's, is false,) it does the person no harm. Many persons, when\nthey make a profession of faith, suppose it is the true faith, but after\na while, they find that their faith does not work by love, it does not\npurify their hearts. They love sin secretly, as much as before. They\nlove worldly company as well as ever. And they find the employments,\nwhich their profession enjoins upon them, irksome and dry. Such persons\nare greatly deceived, yet they are ashamed to confess it, and throw off\nthe mask of profession. And such persons are often the greatest\nfault-finders with those, whose true faith inspires them to endure\nhardness, afflictions and deny themselves and take up their cross, so\nthat they may glorify their Saviour in their bodies and spirits which\nare the Lord's.\n\nIn conclusion, dear brethren, let us, who have made a profession of\nfaith, examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith of the gospel, or\nnot. \"Know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you,\nexcept ye be reprobates.\" AMEN.\n\n\n\n\nSTATISTICAL REPORT\n\nOF ALL THE\n\nCOLORED PROTESTANT CHURCHES\nAND SABBATH SCHOOLS\nIN BALTIMORE.\n\n\n(As quoted from the Minutes of their respective\nbodies, for the year 1859.)\n\nSharp st. and Wesley Chapel, Meth. Ep.,     1812\nOrchard st. and Asbury,         \"           1508\nDallas st.,                     \"            119\nBethel, Saratoga st.,     African M.E.,     1398\nEbenezer, Montgomery st.,      \"   \"         600\nUnion Bethel, Fell's Point,    \"   \"         100\nWater's Chapel, Spring st.,    \"   \"          98\nMission   \"     Tissia st.,    \"   \"          77\nSouth Howard st. Chapel, Zion Meth.,         200\nSt. Thomas', Chesnut st., Meth. Prot.,        70\nSt. James', Saratoga st., Episcopal,         100\nPresbyterian church, Madison st.,             69\nFirst Baptist, cor. Young and Thomson st.,    99\nUnion Baptist, Lewis st.,                     63\nSaratoga st. African Baptist Chapel,          73\n                                           -----\nTotal Col'd Prot. Religious Popul'n,        6386\n\n\nSABBATH SCHOOL REPORT.\n\n(Rendered to the S. S. Union, for 1859.)\n\n\n                                        V\n                            B     C     O\n                            I     O     L      F      M\n                            B     N     S      E      A\n                            L     V     .      M      L    S\n                            E     E            .      E    C\n                                  R     L                  H\n                            R     S     I      T      T    O\n                            E     I     B      E      E    L\n                            A     '     R      A      A    A\n                            D     N     '      C      C    R\n                            S     S     Y      H      H    S\n                            .     .     .      .      .    .\nSharp st.,  M.E.,                      200    15     15   200\nOrchard st.,            \"                      6      9   177\nAsbury,                 \"         2                  45   259\nDallas st.,             \"                     20     17   250\nJohn Wesley,            \"              250    10     10   120\nBethel, African M.E.,       60   15    200    16     16   350\nEbenezer,     \" \"                                    27   178\nSpring st.,   \" \"                      113           13   120\nAllen chapel, \" \"                              6           58\nUnion Bethel, \" \"                                    11    86\nGood Samaritan, \"                              6           60\nTissia st.,    \" \"                     108            6    30\nSt. Thomas, M.P.,                      200     3      4    56\nS. How'd st., Zion,                            5      7   102\nMt. Olive, Ind.,                               3      7    40\nPresbyterian,                                 20     10   240\nEpiscopal,                             205     5      5    70\nFirst Col'd Baptist,                    78     3      3    33\nUnion,        \"                                      11    86\nSaratoga st., \"             40    1    250     8      6   150\n                           ----------------------------------\nAggregate,                 106   18   1604    126   222  2665\n\n\n\n\nTHE SARATOGA STREET\n_INSTITUTE._\n\n\nThis Seminary for colored people, was opened in the upper rooms of the\nAfrican Baptist Chapel building, in December, 1856, and in a few months,\nover one hundred scholars, were in attendance. But from circumstances\nwhich need not be narrated, in 1857, the school was removed away,\nwithout any rent having ever been paid for the use of the rooms. A\nsecond time a school has been collected of over one hundred scholars,\nbut, up to the present time, August, 1859, the trustees of the building\nhave never received any sort of compensation for the use of the rooms,\noccupied by the Institute.\n\nMr. J. G. Goodridge, lately a teacher of a Public School, in York, Pa,\nhas now rented the rooms, and his friends feel great confidence in the\nsuccess of his labors.\n\nIt may be remarked, that the large colored population of Baltimore, now\nfrom thirty to forty thousand souls, have no sort of Public School\nprovision made for them, by the city or state governments. They are left\nentirely to themselves for any education they may obtain.\n\nThe above named Institute combines advantages for the education of\ncolored children far superior to any other in the city.\n\n\n\n\nINTERESTING BOOKS PUBLISHED BY WEISHAMPEL, BALTIMORE.\n\nPrayer Meeting Hymn Book.\n\n_Containing over three hundred Hymns, with many favorite Choruses._\n\n_PRICE TWENTY-FIVE CENTS._\n\n\nThis book is bound in leather, it convenient to carry in the pocket, and\nhas been received with much favor, many thousands having been sold\nduring the first year of its publication. It contains all the Hymns most\nused in Prayer Meetings and Revivals; these have been collected from\nmany different volumes, no other single book containing all of them. It\nis provided at a low price. The retail coat being only twenty-five\ncents, it will circulate where larger and costlier volumes are\nneglected; and being designed only for the circle of prayer and the\nrevival, will not interfere with the use of the regular Church Hymn\nBooks.\n\nThe Cheap Edition is furnished at the following prices:\n\n_Single copies_,                       25 _cts._\n_One dozen copies_,                 $2,25\n_One hundred copies_,              $17,00\n\nTo please the various tastes of purchasers, three editions\nin fine binding have been prepared, at the annexed prices:\n\n_Roan_, 40 _cts._, _Full Gilt_, 60 _cts._, _Turkey mor._, 75 _cts._\n\nThe following lots are arranged for convenience:\n\nLOT NO. 1, FOR FIVE DOLLARS:\n16 plain at 25 cts., 4 roan at 40 cts., 2 gilt at 60 cts.\nBeing $6,80 worth of books for $5.\n\nLOT NO. 2, FOR TEN DOLLARS:\n30 plain at 25 cts., 8 roan at 40 cts., 5 gilt at 60 cts.\nBeing $13,70 worth of books for $10.\n\nLOT NO. 3, FOR TWENTY DOLLARS:\n60 plain at 25 cts., 16 roan at 40 cts., 11 gilt at 60 cts.\n\nThese packages can go by Express, or any means directed.\n\n\n\n\nCharacter Book:\n\nFOR\n\nHIGH SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES,\nAND PRIMARY SCHOOLS.\n\n_PRICE SIX CENTS._\n\nThe object of this Book is to give a weekly report to parents of the\nstudies, attendance, deportment, standing and progress of pupils at\nschool. The CONDUCT of the pupil is marked under the head of General\nDeportment, with the following degrees: Excellent, Good, Tolerable,\nUnsatisfactory, Inattentive, Idle, Disorderly, Disrespectful, Careless.\nA written excuse is required for every exercise omitted, or for leaving\nschool before the hour of dismissal. Parents or guardians are requested\nto examine the weekly reports of the Character Book, sign their names to\nthem, and return the Book on Monday morning. A _good name_ is rather to\nbe chosen than great riches.\n\n_Price to Teachers: Fifty cts. a dozen._\n\n\nThe First School Book.\n\n_Illustrated with numerous Engravings._\n\n_PRICE TWELVE CENTS._\n\nThis is an instructive Primer, for children, combining a series of\nprogressive spelling lessons, commencing with the alphabet, and\ninterspersed with simple rhymes and easy sentences in prose, accompanied\nwith many pictures. The Primer contains Dr. Watts' celebrated Cradle\nHymn, the verses entitled \"Mary and her Lamb,\" the \"Busy Bee,\" &c. Those\nwho wish to change from the heavy and badly printed \"Spelling Books\" in\npresent use, will find this to be more attractive to the young beginner,\nand more likely to coax him a step forward in his first lessons.\n\n\n\n\nThe Testimony of a Hundred Witnesses:\n\n_Or, the Instrumentalities by which Sinners are brought to Embrace the\nReligion of Jesus Christ._\n\n_PRICE FIFTY CENTS._\n\nThis Volume contains the history of One Hundred Conversions, written\nmostly expressly for this publication, by Christian individuals in the\nvarious evangelical denominations. It is, in a word,\n\nAN \"EXPERIENCE MEETING\" IN A BOOK,\n\nIn which each person relates briefly the experience of his own heart\nconcerning the great salvation. Among the number are about fifty\nministers, some of the most able and renowned of the past and present\nages. These interesting narratives show some of the causes which lead\nsinners to become concerned for their eternal welfare,--their resistance\nto the force of the Truth and the strivings of the Holy Spirit,--their\nsubsequent struggles against their own evil dispositions, or \"carnal\nmind,\"--and their final perseverance toward the way of life, by true\nrepentance, and an acceptance through faith in Christ, of the blessings\nwhich follow the love of God shed abroad in the soul.\n\nPlace this book in your family, and cause it to be circulated among your\nneighbors, that it may awaken many sinners, and edify the saints of God.\nForm clubs of a dozen or more, and send for the work, which will be\nforwarded at $4.00 per dozen, cash, in any way directed. A single copy\nsent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of fifty cents.\n\nCanvassers can make good wages in selling this popular book. All orders\nmust be acccompanied (_sic._) by the cash, and addressed to the\nPublisher.\n\n\n\n\nThe Career of John Mortal,\n\nA MAN WHO ENJOYED THIS LIFE.\n\n_Illustrated with several Engravings._\n\n_PRICE TWENTY-FIVE CENTS._\n\nThis volume presents several rapid and startling pictures of the career\nof a man who enjoyed all the pleasures and profits of this world, and\nneglected to honor God. John Mortal gained the whole world, and lost his\nown soul. The style of the composition is partly allegorical and partly\nnarrative. It claims no credit for literary excellence, but is published\nwith the hope of arresting the attention of those who neglect to read\nworks of a heavier and more solemn appearance, and impressing their\nminds with the worthlessness of human vanities and honors.\n\n_Table of Contents._\n\nPART I.\n\nThe beginning of Life.--The first\ndisappointment.--Apprenticeship.--Follies of Youth.--Sin.\n\nPART II.\n\nThe Child has become a young Man.--He dissipates.--The revelers of\nVagrant Island.--Religion scoffed.--Follies and pains of an irregular\nlife.--Sickness.--The Friend in need.--Tempter.--\"RECRUITS\nWANTED.\"--Enlistment in a regiment of soldiers.--Col. Blood's speech.\n\nPART III.\n\nThe Army.--Advancement.--Mortal succeeds Col. Blood.--The fury of\nWar.--The slaughter.--Glory.--Unhappiness.--Honor to the brave.--Major\nSharper.\n\nPART IV.\n\nMortal in love.--He becomes wealthy.--He travels.--Vesuvius.--The grave\nof General Gog.--Gambling.--Ruin.\n\nPART V.\n\nThe last scene of all.--Dr. Popular Gospel.--Dimelover and Sharp die\nhopefully.--John Mortal's last conversation with Mentor and\nTempter.--Despair and Death.","title":"A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis, A Colored Man: Written by Himself, At The Age of Fifty-Four","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":16262}