der his
Instructions, who, he tells me, discover the same serious Turn of
Mind. In short, Sir, there are Multitudes of them in different Places,
who are willing, and eagerly desirous to be instructed, and embrace
every Opportunity of acquainting themselves with the Doctrines of the
Gospel; and tho' they have generally very little Help to learn to
read, yet, to my agreeable Surprise, many of them, by the Dint of
Application in their Leisure-Hours, have made such a Progress, that
they can intelligibly read a plain Author, and especially their
Bibles; and Pity it is that many of them should be without them.
Before I had the Pleasure of being admitted a Member of your Society
[Mr. Davies here means the Society for promoting religious Knowledge
among the Poor, which was first begun in London in August, 1750] the
Negroes were wont frequently to come to me, with such moving Accounts
of their Necessities in this Respect, that I could not help supplying
them with Books to the utmost of my small Ability; and when I
distributed those among them, which my Friends with you sent over, I
had Reason to think that I never did an Action in all my Life,
that met with so much Gratitude from the Receivers. I have already
distributed all the Books I brought over, which were proper for them.
Yet still, on Saturday Evenings, the only Time they can spare [they
are allowed some short Time, viz., Saturday afternoon, and Sunday,
says Dr. Douglass in his Summary. See the _Monthly Review_ for
October, 1755, page 274] my House is crowded with Numbers of them,
whose very Countenances still carry the air of importunate Petitioners
for the same Favors with those who came before them. But, alas!
my Stock is exhausted, and I must send them away grieved and
disappointed.--Permit me, Sir, to be an Advocate with you, and, by
your Means, with your generous Friends in their Behalf. The Books I
principally want for them are, Watts' Psalms and Hymns, and Bibles.
The two first they cannot be supplied with any other Way than by a
Collection, as they are not among the Books which your Society give
away. I am the rather importunate for a good Number of these, and I
cannot but observe, that the Negroes, above all the Human Species that
I ever knew, have an Ear for Musick, and a kind of extatic Delight in
Psalmody; and there are no Books they learn so soon, or take so much
Pleasure in as those used in that heavenly Part of divine Worship.
Some Gentlemen in London were