STANLEY'S DISCOVERIES AND TEE FUTURE OF AFRICA. 419 



the hope of happiness in a future life. lie re- 

 marks : 



" Wherever the negro is found in Christian 

 lands, his leading trait is not docility, as has been 

 often alleged, but servility. He is slow and un- 

 progressive. Individuals here and there may be 

 found of extraordinary intelligence, enterprise, and 

 energy, but there is no Christian community of 

 negroes anywhere which is self-reliant and inde- 

 pendent. Hayti and Liberia, so-called negro re- 

 publics, are merely struggling for existence, and 

 hold their own by the tolerance of the civilized 

 powers." 



As regards the aesthetic side of the influence 

 of the white races, Mr. Blyden lays much stress 

 on the incongruity of the recognized forms of 

 Caucasian beauty with those of the negro feat- 

 ures. He speaks of the masterpieces of Italian 

 art, and says that — 



" To the negro all these exquisite representa- 

 tions exhibited only the physical characteristics of 

 a foreign race ; and while they tended to quicken 

 the tastes and refine the sensibilities of that race, 

 they had only a depressing influence upon the 

 negro, who felt that he had neither part nor lot, so 

 far as his physical character was concerned, in 

 those splendid representations. ... To him the 

 painting and sculpture of Europe, as instruments 

 of education, have been worse than failures. They 

 have really raised barriers in the way of his nor- 

 mal development. They have set before him 

 models for imitation ; and his very effort to con- 

 form to the canons of taste thus practically sug- 

 gested has impaired, if not destroyed, his self-re- 

 spect." 



He quotes the prayer of a negro preacher to 

 God to extend " his lily-white hands " over the 

 congregation, and the sermon of another, who, 

 speaking of heaven, said, "Brethren, imagine a 

 beautiful white man, with blue eyes, rosy cheeks, 

 and flaxen hair — and ive shall be like him." The 

 negro, when Christianized by white men, is edu- 

 cated falsely to his nature, and any such educa- 

 tion must prove an ultimate failure. 



On the other hand, the Arab influence in the 

 northern parts of Equatorial Africa, whatever 

 evil it may have wrought there, and still more in 

 the south, has had remarkable influence in ele- 

 vating the negro. Mr. Blyden says : 



" Mohammedanism in Africa counts in its ranks 

 the most energetic and enterprising tribes. It 

 claims as adherents the only people who have any 

 form of civil polity or bond of social organization. 

 It has built and occupies the largest cities in the 

 heart of the continent. Its laws regulate the most 

 powerful kingdoms — Futah, Masina, Hausa, Bor- 



nou, Waday, Darfur, Kordofan, Sennaar, etc. It 

 produces and controls the most valuable com- 

 merce between Africa and foreign countries ; it is 

 daily gathering converts from the ranks of pagan- 

 ism ; and it commands respect among all Africans 

 wherever it is known, even where the people have 

 not submitted to the sway of the Koran. 



" No one can travel any distance in the interior 

 of West Africa without being struck by the differ- 

 ent aspects of society in different localities, accord- 

 ing as the population is pagan or Mohammedan. 

 Not only is there a difference in the methods of 

 government, but in the general regulations of so- 

 ciety, and even in the amusements of the people." 



He adds :• 



"In traversing the region of country between 

 Sierra Leone and Futah Jallo in 1873, we passed 

 through populous pagan towns, but the transition 

 from these to Mohammedan districts was striking. 

 When we left a pagan and entered a Mohammedan 

 community, we at once noticed that we had en- 

 tered a moral atmosphere widely separated from, 

 and loftier far than, the one we had left. We dis- 

 covered that the character, feelings, and condi- 

 tions of the people were profoundly altered and 

 improved." 



The Arabs coalesce with the natives, they in- 

 termarry and trade in large numbers, and they 

 do not look upon a converted negro as an inferi- 

 or. They are zealous propagators of their faith, 

 and, as Mr. Pope Hennessy pointed out in a re- 

 markable report, they promote with much suc- 

 cess numerous schools for elementary education. 

 Mr. Blyden says : 



" In Sierra Leone, the Mohammedans, without 

 any aid from Government — imperial or local — or 

 any contributions from Mecca or Constantinople, 

 erect their mosques, keep up their religious ser- 

 vices, conduct their schools, and contribute to the 

 support of missionaries from Arabia, Morocco, or 

 Futah, when they visit them. The same compli- 

 ment cannot be paid to the negro Christians of 

 that settlement." 



Of Mohammedanism and Christianity — we do 

 not speak here or elsewhere as to their essential 

 doctrines, but as they are practically conveyed 

 by example and precept to the negro — the former 

 has the advantage in simplicity. It exacts a de- 

 corous and cleanly ritual that pervades the daily 

 life, frequent prayers, ablutions and abstinence, 

 reverence toward an awful name, and pilgrimage 

 to a holy shrine, while the combative instincts of 

 the negro's nature are allowed free play in war- 

 ring against the paganism and idolatry he has 

 learned to loathe and hate. The whole of this 

 code is easily intelligible, and is obviously self- 



