Song of the Abolitionist.

I.

I AM an Abolitionist !

I glory in the name;

Though now by SLAVERY's minions hissed,
And covered o'er with shame:
It is a spell of light and power
The watchword of the free:
Who spurns it in the trial-hour,
A craven soul is he!

THEY tell me, LIBERTY! that, in thy name,

I may not plead for all the human race;

That some are born to bondage and disgrace,
Some to a heritage of wo and shame,
And some to power supreme, and glorious fame.
With my whole soul, I spurn the doctrine base,
And, as an equal brotherhood, embrace

All people, and for all fair freedom claim!
Know this, O man! whate'er thy earthly fate-
GOD NEVER MADE A TYRANT, NOR A SLAVE:

Wo, then, to those who dare to desecrate

His glorious image ! · for to all He gave

Eternal rights, which none may violate;

And by a mighty hand, th' oppressed He yet shall save.

Lo Compromise with Slavery.

COST what it may, every slave on the American soil must be liberated from his chains. Nothing is to be put in competition, on the score of value, with the price of his liberty; for whatever conflicts with the rights of man must be evil, and therefore intrinsically worthless. Are we to be intimidated from defending his cause by the fear of consequences? Is it, then, safe to do wrong? Has a just God so ordered it, that the strong may oppress the weak, the rich defraud the poor, the merciless torture the innocent, not only without guilt, but with benefit to mankind? Is there no similitude between the seed that is sown, and the harvest which it brings forth? Have cause and effect ceased to retain an indissoluble connection with each other? On such a plea, what crime may not be committed with impunity? what deed of villany may not demand exemption from rebuke? what system of depravity may not claim protection against the assaults of virtue?

Let not those who say, that the path of obedience is a dangerous one, claim to believe in the living and true God. They deny his omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence. It is his will, that the bands of wickedness should be loosed, the heavy burdens of tyranny undone, the oppressed set free. They reject it as absurd, impracticable, dangerous. It is his promise, that the results of emancipation shall be noon-day light for darkness, health for disease, fertility for barrenness, prosperity like a spring of water whose waters fail not, the building up of old waste places, the restoring of paths to dwell in, the glory of the Lord for a rereward, and his guidance continually! They affirm, that the promise is worthless, and to disregard it is a duty. They exalt the Spirit of Evil above all that is called God, and raise an Ephesian clamor against

those who will not fall down and worship it. Yet they put on the garb of religion; they extol faith, hope, charity; they build and dedicate temples of worship, in the name of Christ; they profess to be the disciples of Him who came to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. Unblushing hypocrites! think not, by your pious dissembling, to hide your iniquity from the pure in heart, or to circumvent God'! Impious contemners of Divine wisdom and goodness! from your companionship, the spirits of the free shrink with horror!

For more than two centuries, slavery has polluted the American soil. It has grown with the growth, and strengthened with the strength of the republic. Its victims have multiplied, from a single cargo of stolen Africans, to three millions of native-born inhabitants. In our colonial state, it was deemed compatible with loyalty to the mother country. In our revolutionary struggle for independence, it exchanged the sceptre of monarchy for the star-spangled banner of republicanism, under the folds of which it has found ample encouragement and protection. From the days of the Puritans down to the present time, it has been sanctified by the religion, and upheld by the patriotism of the nation. From the adoption of the American Constitution, it has declared war and made peace, instituted and destroyed national banks and tariffs, controlled the army and navy, prescribed the policy of the government, ruled in both houses of Congress, occupied the Presidential chair, governed the political parties, distributed offices of trust and emolument among its worshippers, fettered Northern industry and enterprise, and trampled liberty of speech and of conscience in the dust.

It has exercised absolute mastery over the American Church. In her skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents.' With the Bible in their hands, her priesthood have attempted to prove that slavery came down

from God out of heaven. They have become slave-owners and dealers in human flesh. They have justified robbery, adultery, barbarity, man-stealing and murder, on a frightful scale. They have been among the foremost to crush the sacred cause of emancipation, to cover its advocates with infamy, to oppose the purification of the Church. They have become possessors of the flock, whom they slay, 'and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.'

If slavery be thus entwined around the civil, social, and pecuniary interests of the republic-if the religious sects and political parties are banded together for its safety from internal revolt and external opposition-if the people, awed by its power and corrupted by its influence, are basely bending their knees at its footstool-is it wonderful that Church and State are shaken to their foundations by the rallying cry of Liberty,To the rescue!' in behalf of imbruted humanity? Or should it be accounted marvellous, that they who have sternly resolved to effect the utter overthrow of this frightful usurpation are subjected to persecution, reproach, loss of character, and the hazard of life? Constituting the 'forlorn hope' in the struggling cause of freedom, they must be prepared to meet all the vicissitudes of the conflict, and to make whatever sacrifices may be needed to achieve the victory. Hereafter, when the song of jubilee shall be sung by those for whose deliverance they toiled so devotedly, their deeds and their memories shall be covered with a halo of glory, and held in grateful remembrance by enfranchised millions.

Slavery must be overthrown. No matter how numerous the difficulties, how formidable the obstacles, how strong the foes to be vanquished-slavery must cease to pollute the land. No matter, whether the event be near or remote,