The Underground Railroad
Let us not desert our suffering friend and his noble-hearted
family.
LETTERS TO THE WRITER.
WESTMORELAND TERRACE, December 28, 1860.
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND:--I received thy touching letter of the 10th
inst. a few days since, and hasten to assure thee of our
heart-felt sympathy, and most lively interest in the present
tremendous state of things around you. At the same time, I
cannot tell thee how glad and thankful we feel, that with God's
help thou art determined to persevere and not in any way flinch
in this day of sore trial. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I
will give thee a crown of life." "Be strong, fear not." "In the
fear of the Lord is strong confidence; and his children shall
have a place of refuge." One thing, too, is sure, "that all
things will work together for the good" of those who love their
Lord, that He will never, never forsake them whatever their
outward trials may be.
I think, dear friend, thou shouldst be careful not to be about
alone, particularly in the evening. We heard from W.S. Bailey
the other day, and he spoke of the advantage of several kind
friends sticking close to him under recent circumstances at
Alexandria, when he was exposed to the spite and rage of
slave-holding bullies. Would it not be well to make a habit, in
the evening in particular, of you, who are marked men, going
about in little companies? Wicked men are generally cowards; and
I think would hesitate more to do a bad act in the presence of
observers. I think thou wouldst receive a little letter from me
a day or two after thine was written, through our friend Saml.
Rhoads, enclosing £7 for the fugitives, £5 for thy own use, and
£2 for the Vigilance Committee. This letter of mine was sent off
about the 24th ult., but I conclude was not delivered till just
after thine was written. It is well to keep us fully informed of
your circumstances, whether favorable or more appalling. I do
not intend to put anything of a private character into print;
but private confidence is the creed in England, and thou needst
not fear my abusing it. I enclose the only paper that we have
printed that thou mayest see there was nothing to fear. Thou
wilt observe there is no reference either to thy own name or to
Philadelphia, and people here are not very familiar with
American topography. I am sending W.S. Bailey one of the same
papers by to-day's mail. We have merely a limited number of them
printed. I cannot very well obtain money from my friends, (with
numerous home claims constantly pressing on them), without
having something to show. Some fugitives are now beginning to
reach England. A gentleman in London wrote to me, a day or two
ago, to know if we could find a berth for a fine fellow, who had
just applied to him. He had arrived by steamer from New York,
after residing there for three years. A policeman, in the
street, good-naturedly whispered to him his own name, and then
that of his masters. He was sure that peril was at hand, and
that, having been branded for escaping before, he should be
whipped to death if taken again, so he packed up his little
wardrobe and embarked for England immediately.
Another poor fellow is in this town, recently from Charleston,
whence he escaped, among some cotton bales to Greenock. He is
getting fair wages in a saw-yard, and likes England very well,
if it were not for the thought of his poor wife and children
still in Slavery. We invited him, the other day to a
working-men's tea party, where I had been asked to make tea for
them; and he gave us quite an able account of his travels. The
men kindly invited him to join their "Benefit Club," and told
him they would like to have "a colored brother" amongst them.
Art thou not thinking, dear friend, of asking your people to
emigrate to the African Coast, or the West India Islands? Two
gentlemen in London are writing most warmly about this. I wrote
Mr. Fitzgerald's address on the enclosed paper. Instead of being
colonizationists, in the objectionable sense, he and Mrs. Bowen
are burning with love to your people, and are fervently desirous
of doing them all the good they can. I cannot see why little
united parties should not promptly emigrate under the wing of
these gentlemen. Assure those who think and feel with thee, dear
friend, and are nobly determined to suffer rather than to sin,
that according to our very small ability we will not desert them
in their hour of trial and danger. We commend them to Him who
can do for them a thousand times more, and better than we can
either ask or think. With our united kindest remembrance,
sincerely,
Anna H. Richardson.
Westmoreland Terrace, Newcastle-On-Tyne, March 16,1860.
We have lately read the life of thy brother and sister (Peter
and Vina Still), dear friend, with the deepest interest. It is a
most touching and beautiful book, and we think should be either
reprinted in England or sent over here very largely. My husband
and I are hardly acquainted with a volume more calculated to
stir up the British mind on the subject of Slavery. Great
Britain is just now getting really warm on the Anti-slavery
subject, and is longing to shake herself from being so dependent
as hitherto, on slave produce. Why, Oh! why should not the
expatriated blacks go to free countries and grow produce for
themselves and for everybody who requires it? Why not, in time,
become "merchants and princes," in those countries? I am told
(as a secret) that this subject is likely, ere long, to be taken
up in high quarters in England. We are feeling hopeful, dear
friends, about thy crushed and persecuted people, for surely God
is working for them by ways and means that we know not. I have
been careful to keep it to private circles, but thy valuable
letter of last July, has been read by many with the deepest
interest. A dear young lady from Dublin is by my side, and has
but this minute returned it to me. It is but a little, but I
have gathered £4 by its perusal here and there. I am not able to
forward so small a sum in this letter, but some way wish to send
£2 of this amount for thy own use, and the other £2 to your
Vigilance Committee. It so happens that we have not anything for
the better from our own Anti-slavery Association this year. Very
sincerely thy friend, my dear husband uniting in kind regards,
Anna H. Richardson.
WOOD HOUSE, near NEWCASTLE, May 3, 1860. [An occasional rural
residence of ours, five miles from home.]
To William Still:--I have again to thank thee, dear friend, for
a kind letter and for the perusal of three letters from thy
fugitive friends. It must be truly cheering to receive such, and
their warm and affectionate gratitude must be as rich reward for
many anxieties. I conclude that it is not necessary for those
letters to be returned, but should it be so, let me know, and I
will be on the lookout for some private opportunity of returning
them to Philadelphia. Such occur now and then. We like to see
such letters. They assist us to realize the condition of these
poor wanderers. I am sorry for not having explained myself
distinctly in my last. The promised £4 were _for the fugitives_,
being gathered from various Christian friends, who gave it me
for their particular use. But we wished half of that sum to be
laid out (as on a previous occasion), at thy own discretion,
irrespective of the Vigilance Committee. I have now another £1
to add to the latter half, and would gladly have enclosed a £5
note in this envelope, but we are rather afraid of sending the
actual money in letters, and our London bankers do not like to
remit small sums. I shall continue to watch for the first
opportunity of forwarding the above.
Our valued friend, Samuel Rhoads, has been lately in heavy
sorrow. I send this through his medium, but fear to add more
lest I should make his letter too heavy. With our united kind
regards, very truly, thy friend,
Anna H. Richardson.
54, Westmoreland Terrace, June 8, 1860.
Dear Friend:--William Still:--It is a good plan to send me these
interesting communications. The letter to your coadjutor at
Elmira, reached us a few days since. That depot must not be
allowed to go down if it be possible for this to be prevented.
Perhaps J.W. Jones might be encouraged by a gift from England,
that is, by a little aid from this country, expressly for the
fugitives, being put into his hands. If you think so, I am sure
my friends would approve of this, and you can use your own
discretion in giving him our gifts in one sum or by detached
remittances. The greatest part of the money on hand, has come in
from the private perusal of thy interesting letters, and my
friends simply gave my husband and me their money for the
fugitives, leaving the exact disposal of it to our own
discretion. It has struck me of late, that if I may be allowed
to print occasional extracts from thy letters (with other
Anti-slavery information), it would greatly facilitate the
obtaining of pecuniary aid. As it is, I can lend a private
letter to a trustworthy friend, but if by any chance, this
letter got lost, it would be awkward, and it is also impossible,
of course, to lend the original in two quarters at once. Then,
again, the mechanical trouble of making copies of letters, is
not convenient; much sedentary employment does not suit my
health, and I cannot manage it. I have been thinking of late,
that if my friends in various parts of the country, could be
supplied with a small quarto, an occasional printed paper, for
private circulation, it would save a great deal of trouble, and
probably bring in considerable aid. My husband and I have long
been accustomed to preparing tracts and small periodicals for
the press, so that I think we know exactly what ought to be made
public and what not. If thou likest to give me this
discretionary power, do so, and I will endeavor to exercise it
wisely, and in a way that I feel almost certain would be in
accordance with thy wishes.
The sum now remitted through our friend, Samuel Rhoads, is £8
(eight pounds). Of this, we should like £3 to be placed at thy
own discretion, for the benefit of the fugitives, £3 (if you
approve it) in a similar way, to be handed to J.W. Jones, and £2
as formerly, to be handed to the Philadelphia Vigilance
Committee. The latter is not, however, as in past times, from
the Newcastle Anti-slavery Society, for, I am sorry to say, it
is not a sufficiently pains-taking and executive little body,
but more apt to work by fits and starts, but from our private
friends, who kindly place their money in our hands as their
Anti-slavery stewards. My friend S.R. will therefore kindly hand
for us: £3 for William Still, for fugitives; £3 for J.W. Jones,
for fugitives; £2 for Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, for
fugitives. Total £8.
We are very sorry for thee to have to incur so much persecution.
Be of good cheer, the right will eventually triumph, if not in
this world, in that day, when all shall be eventually righted on
our Lord's right hand. Oh, for ability in the meantime, to love