the following communication
respecting him. "Samuel Parsons had been from early life, a warm friend
to the African race; his love of peace rendered him at the first
accessible to prejudice against the American Anti-Slavery Society,
through the misrepresentations respecting its violent and rash measures;
which misrepresentations it was much more easy to believe than to
investigate. Yet his interest for the negro and colored population of
the United States continued, and he extended acts of protection and
kindness towards them, whenever opportunity for it was afforded. In the
Eleventh Month, last year, I find the following paragraph in one of his
letters to us, viz. 'Though sensible that I am drawing towards the close
of time, I cannot avoid taking a deep interest in the moral reformation,
relative to slavery and intemperance, which is progressing in the earth;
my son Robert and I look at these publications as they appear, with deep
solicitude. The proceedings of the Anti-Slavery Convention of the world,
and its movements, are of great moment to the whole civilized world. The
anti-slavery cause, has not, I fear, advanced much the last year; the
separation in the National Society, and the truckling to the South of
the politicians of both sides, during the late Presidential election,
has for a time marred the work; but the anti-slavery banner of a third
party is still displayed, and it will probably continue to nominate till
it seriously influences the elections. In the mean time, the individual
States, one after another, are freeing the colored people from part of
their civil disabilities. A hard battle is to be fought, but mighty is
truth, and must prevail.'"]

"The fourth of July," the anniversary of the independence of the United
States, fell this year on the first day of the week, and was therefore
celebrated the day following. It is still marked by extravagant
demonstrations of joy, and often disgraced by scenes of intemperance and
demoralization. The better part of the community wisely counteract the
evil, to a great extent, by holding, on the same day, temperance
meetings, school examinations, opening their places of worship, et cet.
I accompanied my friend Lewis Tappan to attend an anti-slavery meeting
at Newark, in which Theodore Weld was expected to take a part for the
first time after an interval of five years' discontinuance of public
speaking. Several years before, he had been carried away by the stream
in cro