Prev | Current Page 177 | Next

Adams, Nehemiah, 1806-1878

"The Sable Cloud A Southern Tale With Northern Comments (1861)"

The comparison is between horse and horse, and man and man."
"You make me think," said Mrs. North, "of an interesting passage in a
late magazine, written by a lady. She was on a voyage to Cuba. She
arrived at Nassau. She says, 'There were many negroes, together with
whites of every grade; and some of our number, leaning over the side,
saw for the first time the raw material out of which Northern
Humanitarians have spun so fine a skein of compassion and sympathy. You
must allow me one heretical whisper,--very small and low. Nassau, and
all we saw of it, suggested to us the unwelcome question whether
compulsory labor be not better than none.'"[3]
[Footnote 3: _Atlantic Monthly_, May, 1859, p. 604.]
"There is," said I, "this great question of right, with some, as to
slavery: As the State has a right to interpose and send vagrant children
to school, has the world a right to interpose, in certain cases, and
send certain races to labor for the good of mankind? This was the
question which broke upon the lady's mind. It is very interesting to see
the question thus stated, and to notice the graceful touch of apology,
and of playfulness, in the manner of stating it.


Pages:
165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189