From Slavery to a Bishopric; Or the Life of Bishop Walter Hawkins of the British Methodist Episcopal Church, Canada (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1891 edition. Excerpt: ...bring it to an end." What would not this Quaker have done for the slaves who fled to his city for their freedom, if.he had lived on? There never was such a man since the humane Solon Oh, that the spirit of WilliaIn Penn could but influence the corruption of the Republic which he helped to build About the time when the runaway slave Hawkins arrived in Philadelphia there were 18,708 Negroes living in the city, 250 of whom had paid for their freedom. Some were free-born, while others were--like young Hawkins---escaped slaves. These Negroes were not all paupers, living upon the charity of the bene Volent white citizens; because their real personal property was then valued at about 1,500,000 dollars. One can well imagine the feelings of this young man, who had never seen such a large number of his race congregated into one town or city as freed men. However, the old preacher Proctor, in whose house he found a refuge, and who introduced him to his elder brother, kept him for a few weeks, feeding both his mind and body. Such was the old man's intense love to Christ and devotion to charitable works that, whoever came in his company, was made to feel a like affection for One whom the ages have been slow to comprehend. Before the end of the second week Hawkins felt that old Proctor's influence was irresistible; at last, while listening to one of his sermons, the young man became penitent, and threw in his lot with the Christians, and resolved that "this people shall be my people, and their God shall be my God As a slave, his religion was mere emotionalism, which served to break the monotony of the cruel scourge of slavery. But as a freed man he had an opportunity of reflecting upon the character of Christ, which had been...