181.25 Standgate creek] A landing place on the south bank of the Thames in London.
187.39 chucks] Chocks.
190.38 Union Stairs] A landing place on the north bank of the Thames in London.
193.20–22 ‘Before . . . will hear.’] Isaiah 65:24.
195.17–18 O! to . . . to be!] “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” a Methodist hymn by Robert Robinson (1735–90).
196.2–3 “The Conversion . . . Indian.”] By Lawrence Harlow (1774).
197.30–31 Mr. P——] Identified by Equiano in the eighth edition as the Calvinist Henry Peckwell (1747–87).
198.16 offends . . . of all?’] James 2:10.
199.25–26 Allen’s . . . unconverted.] An Allarme to Unconverted Sinners (1673), by Joseph Alleine (1634–68).
200.21 ‘the commandment . . . died,’] Romans 7:9.
200.31–32 The word . . . honeycomb.] Cf. Psalm 19:9–10.
202.20–21 my Ebenezer] See 1 Samuel 7:12.
202.39 Mr. Romaine] William Romaine (1714–95), a leading Calvinist Methodist preacher.
208.5–13 “Christ . . . things up?”] Adapted from the hymn “The Spiritual Victory.”
212.5 Fox’s Martyrology] Acts and Monuments of These Later and Perilous Days (1563) by John Foxe (1517–87), popularly known as The Book of Martyrs, which recorded the persecution of English Protestants under Mary I.
216.27 Mexico or Peru] Changed by Equiano in the ninth edition to “Jamaica.”
217.10 casades] Cassava.
218.33–35 ‘What does . . . soul?’] Matthew 16:26.
225.19–20 “That he . . . ride.”] Cf. Love’s Last Shift (1696), play by Colley Cibber (1671–1757).
227.25 Governor Macnamara] Matthias Macnamara was governor of Senegambia, 1775–78.
228.6 Alexander . . . St. Paul] See 2 Timothy 4:14.
228.13 late Bishop of London] Robert Lowth (1710–87) was Bishop of London, 1777–87.
231.29 “Go ye . . . likewise?”] Cf. Luke 10:37.
231.35–37 your book . . . Negroes] Originally published in Philadelphia in 1766 by the Quaker writer Anthony Benezet, the book was reprinted and circulated to members of Parliament by English Quakers in 1784 and 1785.
232.35 Lombard-Street.] In the second, third, and fourth editions, published between 1789 and 1791, this was followed by: “—My hand is ever free— if any female Debonair wishes to obtain it, this mode I recommend.” Equiano married in 1792, and from the fifth edition onward changed the sentence to simply read: “This mode I highly recommend.”
233.36 Mr. Irving] Beginning with the second edition, Equiano changed this to read “Mr. Joseph Irwin.” Irwin became the agent for the Sierra Leone settlement project in 1786, following the death of Henry Steathman, who had first proposed the plan.
235.19 gentleman in the city] Identified by Equiano in the ninth edition as Samuel Hoare. A banker and a Quaker, Hoare (1751–1825) was chairman of the Committee for the Black Poor.
236.37 See . . . July 14, 1787] The newspaper published a letter Equiano had written defending his conduct in the Sierra Leone enterprise.
238.3–4 the Queen] Queen Charlotte, the consort of George III.
240.8–12 ‘Those that honour . . . wickedness.’] Cf. Proverbs 14:31, 14:34, 10:29, 11:5.
242.5 return for manufactures.] This was followed in the fifth and subsequent editions by a paragraph in which Equiano described his travels in Great Britain and Ireland in 1791 and 1792 and mentioned his marriage on April 7, 1792, to “Miss Cullen, daughter of James and Ann Cullen, late of Ely.” Beginning with the sixth edition (1793), a footnote to the paragraph mentioned Equiano’s descents into tunnels and mines in Manchester, Derbyshire, and Newcastle.
242.22–23 ‘to do justly . . . God?’] Cf. Micah 6:8.
THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER
251.10–11 “Seek ye . . . unto you.”] Cf. Luke 12:31.
252.9–11 “For he . . . chastened you.”] Cf. Luke 12:47.
253.30–31 the first . . . be first.] Cf. Matthew 19:30, 20:16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30.
NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS
269.28 “gave . . . MAN,”] Cf. Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.iv.62.
270.5 “created . . . angels”] Cf. Psalm 8:5, Hebrews 2:7.
271.15 JOHN A. COLLINS] Collins (1810–79) had resigned as general agent of the Society in 1843 to devote himself to the propagation of Fourierism.
271.36–37 “grow . . . God,”] Cf. 2 Peter 3:18.
272.4 CHARLES LENOX REMOND] Born to free parents in Massachusetts, Remond (1810–73) became an agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in 1838 and made anti-slavery speeches in New England, Great Britain, and Ireland. During the Civil War he served as a recruiting officer for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and was later a clerk in the Boston Custom House.
272.27 Loyal National Repeal Association] Founded in 1840 by Irish Catholic political leader Daniel O’Connell (1775–1847) to agitate for the repeal of the 1800 act uniting Ireland and Great Britain. The Association sought the restoration of a separate Irish parliament under the British crown.
273.16–17 arm . . . save] Cf. Isaiah 50:2: “Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?”
273.18–19 “in slaves . . . men.”] Cf. Revelation 18:13.
274.18–19 Alexandrian library] The library in Alexandria, Egypt, said to have been founded by Ptolemy I in the early third century B.C. and destroyed in the late third century A.D.; it was reported to have contained between 400,000 and 700,000 volumes.
276.25 cloud of witnesses] Hebrews 12:1.
277.17–18 1838 . . . West India] Emancipation of all slaves in the British West Indies was peacefully completed August 1, 1838, under the conditions of the Abolition Act of August 28, 1833. The Act freed all West Indian slaves under six, bound the remainder to work as apprentices for between five and seven (later reduced to two) years before being emancipated, and granted slaveowners £20 million in compensation; it went into effect on August 1, 1834.
279.10 “hide the outcast,”] Cf. Isaiah 16:3.
290.29–30 “there . . . heart.”] Cf. William Cowper, The Task (1785), Book II—“Time Piece,” line 8.
305.17 gip] Gypsy.
307.32–33 “The Columbian Orator.”] Published in 1797 and edited by Caleb Bingham (1757–1817), the volume collects excerpts from speeches and plays, dialogues, and poems, extolling patriotism, education, temperance, freedom, and courage, and denouncing slavery and oppression. It is introduced by a 23-page essay on speaking by Bingham.
307.34–35 dialogue . . . slave.] Written by Caleb Bingham.
308.6–7 Sheridan’s . . . emancipation] The oration on Catholic Emancipation in the Columbian Orator was actually an excerpt from a speech made in the Irish House of Commons in 1795 by Arthur O’Connor (1763–1852).
314.14–25 “Gone . . . daughters!”] “The Farewell of a Virginia Slave Mother to Her Daughters Sold into Southern Bondage” (1838), lines 1–12.
318.31 George Cookman] George Grimston Cookman (1800–41) of England settled in the United States and became a Methodist minister in Philadelphia in 1825, then was transferred to Maryland in 1833. He was twice made chaplain to the House of Representatives.
319.17–18 “He . . . stripes.”] Luke 12:47.
340.16–17 “rather . . . of.”] Cf. Hamlet, III.i.80–81.
350.17 not to state all the facts] Douglass first revealed the details of his escape in a lecture given in Philadelphia in 1873. In his third autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881, revised 1892), he described obtaining seaman’s protection papers from a free black sailor and using them to travel from Baltimore to New York by train and steamboat.
351.6–7 western . . . railroad] The term apparently first came into public use in Illinois in 1842.
356.38 DAVID RUGGLES] Ruggles (1810–49), born free in Connecticut, was a grocer, author, secretary of the New York Vigilance Committee (organized 1835), and an abolitionist journalist and le
cturer.
357.7 Darg case] Ruggles was arrested in New York City on September 6, 1839, and charged with harboring Thomas Hughes, a fugitive Arkansas slave alleged to have stolen $9,000 from his owner, John P. Darg. The case was never prosecuted, but Ruggles was forced to remain on bail until the charge was finally dropped in late 1839.
357.23 the Rev. . . . Pennington] Pennington (1807–70), pastor first of Congregational then Presbyterian churches, teacher, author, and abolitionist orator, escaped from slavery in Maryland around 1831.
358.40–359.1 “Lady . . . Douglass.”] The unjustly outlawed Lord James of Douglas is a principal character in Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake (1810).
360.24–26 “I was . . . in”] Cf. Matthew 25:35.
362.1 “Liberator.”] Abolitionist weekly (1831–65) founded at Boston by William Lloyd Garrison (1805–79).
363.23–24 “stealing . . . in.”] Cf. the Rev. Robert Pollok, The Course of Time (1827), Bk. 8, lines 616–18: “He was a man / Who stole the livery of the court of Heaven / To serve the Devil in.”
364.26–365.4 “Just . . . thine?”] John Greenleaf Whittier, “Clerical Oppressors” (1836), lines 1–16.
365.7–32 “They . . . iniquity.”] Cf. Matthew 23:4–28.
366.29–31 “Shall . . . this?”] Jeremiah 5:9.
366.32 A PARODY] A parody of “Heavenly Union,” a hymn especially popular in the South.
NARRATIVE OF WILLIAM W. BROWN
369.11 COWPER] The quotation is actually from Cato: A Tragedy (1713) by Joseph Addison (1672–1719); in Addison, the fourth line reads: “Who owes his Greatness to his Country’s Ruin?”
371.3–5 I was a . . . clothed me.] Cf. Matthew 25:35–36.
372.2 EDMUND QUINCY] Quincy (1808–77) was corresponding secretary of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and an editor of the Anti-Slavery Standard and the Abolitionist.
372.20 “move . . . mutiny”] Cf. Julius Caesar, III.ii.229–30.
373.6–7 “Let me . . . laws;”] Andrew Fletcher (1655–1716), An Account of a Conversation Concerning the Right to Regulation of Governments (1703).
374.13–14 “clothed . . . heaven”] See note 363.23–24 in this volume.
375.4–7 “Have ye . . . land?”] James Russell Lowell (1819–91), “The Present Crisis.”
375.26–27 “For he . . . tyranny.”] James Russell Lowell, “L’Envoi.”
376.4–5 “The common . . . foul.”] Robert Blair (1699–1746), The Grave (1743).
376.11 J. C. HATHAWAY] Joseph Comstock Hathaway (1810–73) was president of the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society.
378.22 It was not yet daylight.] In the revised version of the Narrative published in 1848, Brown replaced this sentence with the following: “Experience has taught me that nothing can be more heart-rending than for one to see a dear and beloved mother or sister tortured, and to hear their cries, and not be able to render them assistance. But such is the position which an American slave occupies.”
383.11–12 Lovejoy . . . Times.”] Lovejoy (1802–37) edited the St. Louis Observer from 1833 until 1836, when he was forced to leave the city because of his antislavery views. Moving to Alton, Illinois, he edited an antislavery newspaper for a year before being murdered by a proslavery mob.
386.22 “sleep . . . eyelids.”] Cf. Psalm 132:4, Proverbs 6:4.
394.27–395.12 “O, master . . . go.”] Charlotte Elizabeth (1790–1846), “The Slave and Her Babe.” In the version of the Narrative published in London in 1849, Brown replaced this quotation with two paragraphs attacking the slave trade within the United States.
395.20–396.6 “See these . . . jubilee!”] This song was first printed in 1844 in The Liberator, the antislavery newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison, under the tide “The Plantation Song.”
399.10 “Slavery as it is.”] American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses (1839), by Theodore Dwight Weld (1803–95).
404.2–3 —the NORTH STAR.] At this point in the revised version of the Narrative published in 1848, Brown quoted 21 lines from “The Fugitive Slave’s Apostrophe to the North Star” by John Pierpont (1785–1866).
408.28–31 the glory . . . my side.”] Elizabeth Margaret Chandler (1807–34), “The Bereaved Father.”
409.1–2 “Gone . . . dank and lone!”] John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92), “The Farewell of a Virginia Slave Mother to Her Daughters Sold into Southern Bondage” (1838).
410.29–30 “He that . . . many stripes!”] Cf. Luke 12:47.
411.1–4 “I would . . . despair.”] From the anonymous song “I Am Monarch of Nought I Survey.”
419.23 “Thompsonian”] A follower of the American herbalist Samuel Thomson (1769–1843).
NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF HENRY BIBB
428.32 Liberty men] Supporters of the antislavery Liberty Party of the 1840s.
429.33 DAWN MILLS] An African-American settlement in southeastern Ontario, founded by the fugitive slave Josiah Henson (1789–1883).
436.13 Judge Wilkins] Ross Wilkins (1799–1872) served as a federal district judge in Michigan, 1837–70.
437–31 LUCIUS C. MATLACK] An antislavery Methodist preacher and author of The History of American Slavery and Methodism (1849).
445.27 “pat juber,”] To beat out a rhythm with the hands.
446.15–17 “Servants . . . stripes;—”] Cf. Colossians 3:22, Luke 12:47.
451.23 mestinos] Mestizos; persons of mixed European and American Indian ancestry.
464.21 “Behind . . . smiling face,”] William Cowper (1731–1800), “Light Shining Out of Darkness.”
486.9 Methodist E.] Methodist Episcopal.
562.26–27 “Inasmuch . . . unto me.”] Cf. Matthew 25:40.
NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH
569.1 PREFACE.] The unsigned preface was written by William Lloyd Garrison.
571.29–32 ‘a swift . . . right?’] Cf. Malachi 3:5.
571.34–37 ‘Judgment . . . prey.’] Isaiah 59:14–15.
572.4–5 ‘The Lord . . . oppressed.’] Psalm 103:6.
572.6–10 ‘O give . . . for ever.’] Cf. Psalm 136:1, 10, 15.
572.10–13 ‘Sing unto . . . waters.’] Cf. Exodus 15:1, 10.
572.14–16 ‘Who is . . . wonders?’] Exodus 15:11.
572.34–35 ‘have no . . . them;’] Ephesians 5:11.
581.31 Juan Fernandes] Spanish navigator who lived for several years in the 1570s on the Juan Fernandez Islands in the South Pacific off the coast of Chile.
583.34–35 ‘that bourne . . . returns’] Hamlet, III.i.78–79.
587.27–28 emancipation . . . 1828] The emancipation act of 1817 freed all slaves born before July 4, 1799, on July 4, 1827.
602.19 North River] Hudson River.
623.20 the Tombs] A New York City jail.
642.8 Lot’s wife,’] See Genesis 19:17–26.
646.29– 30 Ethiopia . . . God.] Cf. Psalm 68:31.
649.13–14 Mr. Miller’s] William Miller (1782–1849), a traveling preacher who predicted that the Second Coming of Christ would occur between March 1843 and March 1844.
650.30–31 “changed . . . an eye.”] Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:52.
650.40–655.1 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!] See Daniel 3.
653.2 Fruitlands] A utopian community founded by Bronson Alcott in Harvard, Massachusetts.
653.11 Northampton Association] The Northampton Association of Education and Industry, a utopian community founded in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1842 by Samuel L. Hill and George Benson.
654.10–11 “One . . . to flight”] Cf. Deuteronomy 32:30.
658.37 ‘perfect love . . . fear.’] 1 John 4:18.
662.2 ‘Slavery as It Is.’] See note 399.10 in this volume.
664.37 Clarkson’s] Thomas Clarkson (1760–1846), British antislavery writer.
671.37 WILLIAM MORGAN] Morgan, a resident of Batavia, New York, disappeared in September 1826. Allegations that he had been murdered by Freemasons in order to prevent him
from publishing a book revealing the secrets of the Masonic order resulted in the formation of the Anti-Masonic political party in the northeastern United States.
RUNNING A THOUSAND MILES FOR FREEDOM
677.7–9 “Slaves . . . fall.”] William Cowper (1731–1800), The Task (1785).
679.2–3 “God . . . men,”] Cf. Acts 17:24–26.
681.9 MILTON] Paradise Lost, Book 12, lines 67–71.
685.1 calybuce] Calaboose; jailhouse.
691.14–17 “O, deep . . . death.”] Jesse Hutchinson, “The Bereaved Mother” (1844).
691.25–692.12 “Why stands . . . and thee!”] “The Slave-Auction—A Fact,” published anonymously in The Garland of Freedom: A Collection of Poems, Chiefly Anti-Slavery (1853).
692.35–36 “where the . . . at rest.”] Job 3:17.
693.1–4 “Holds . . . light.”] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82), “The Spanish Student” (1842).
693.31–38 “His heart . . . land!”] Longfellow, “The Quadroon Girl” (1842).
700.24 the engraving] See page 678 in this volume.
703.10–17 United . . . Negro-scars.] “Epigram to the United States of North America.”
704.11–16 “The hill . . . woe.”] John Bunyan, “Pilgrim’s Progress.”
706.28 opodeldoc] A soap liniment.
719.10 Royal Charter] British passenger steamer that ran aground and broke up during a storm off Liverpool on October 25, 1859; 447 lives were lost.
735.21–22 “to loose . . . go free.”] Isaiah 58:6.
735.34–39 “I venerate . . . weeds.”] William Cowper, “Expostulation.”
741.7–10 “Peace . . . in smiles.”] William Cowper, The Task (1785).
742.9 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL] “Elegy on the Death of Dr. Channing.”
INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL
743.10 A WOMAN OF NORTH CAROLINA] Angelina E. Grimké (1805–79), Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836).
743.14 L. MARIA CHILD] Child (1802–80), a novelist and author of popular advice books, had edited the National Anti-Slavery Standard from 1841 to 1849; her antislavery works included An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans (1833) and Correspondence between Lydia Maria Child and Gov. Wise and Mrs. Mason of Virginia (1860).
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