f any one of his color cheats, defrauds, or steals from
his comrades, he is sure to be punished for it. Negroes are generally
reputed to be thieves. Their faculties are commonly found to be
inadequate to the comprehension of the moral system; and as to the
Christian system, their notions of it, generally speaking, are a
burlesque on every thing serious. The punishment which these blacks
are disposed to inflict on one another for stealing, partakes of
barbarity; and ought never to be allowed, where the whites have the
control of them.--By a punishment called "_cobbing_," they have
occasioned the glutaeus muscles to mortify.

Beside his majesty _King Dick_, these black prisoners have among them
a Priest, who preaches every Sunday. He can read, and he gives good
advice to his brethren; and his prayers are very much in the strain of
what we have been used to hear at home. In the course of his
education, he has learnt, it is said, to know the nature of crimes and
punishments; for, it is said, that while on board the Crown Prince
prison-ship at Chatham, he received a dozen lashes for stealing some
clothing; but we must make allowance for stories; for preachers have
always complained of the calumnies of their enemies. If his whole
history was known and correctly narrated, he might be found a duly
qualified preacher, to such a congregation as that of prison No. 4.

This black man has a good deal of art and cunning, and has drawn
several whites into his church; and his performances have an imposing
cast; and are often listened to with seriousness. He appears to have
learnt his sermons and prayers from a diligent reading of good books;
but as to the Christian system, the man has no more idea of it than he
has of the New Jerusalem; but then his good sentences, delivered,
frequently, with great warmth, and his string of good advice, given in
the negro dialect, make altogether, a novelty, that attracts many to
hear him; and he certainly is of service to the blacks; and it is a
fact, that the officers have heard him hold forth, without any
expressions of ridicule; while the majority of these miserable black
people are too much depraved to pay any serious attention to his
advice.

It is curious to observe the natural alliance between _king_ Dick and
this _priest_. Dick honors and protects him, while the priest
inculcates respect and obedience to this _Richard the 4th_. Here we
see the _union of church and state_ in miniature. Who t