1826.] Letters from the United States of North America. 381 
men, while Iwas with you—one a great man among the greatest’men that 
ever yet lived; the other a scholar, a poet, and a genius—both brimful 
of philanthropy, wisdom, and liberal hope. They were complaining to 
me of the unjustifiable behaviour of the whites of America towards the 
blacks of America. I agreed with them—I considered it unjustifiable 
and impolitic. They knew that I was perfectly sincere; for they had 
the’ proofs before them. ‘The poet kindled with his theme. He had 
_ lately met with a well-educated American, who had been chattering 
with him about the blacks of the United States—“ and,” said the poet, 
‘°T never heard a man talk so unreasonably, so foolishly in my life.” I 
smiled; for I knew that, unreasonable as the Americans were, they were 
not much more unreasonable than the British—in all that related to the 
distinctions of society. ‘ Only think,” said the poet, ‘‘ a white Ame- 
rican will not be shaved by a barber who shaves black men!” (This he 
had from a British traveller in America—Fearon.) ‘ Very true,” said 
I, seeing my other antagonist lift up his eyes in amazement, “ very 
true ; nor would a white Englishman be shaved by a barber, who is in 
the habit of shaving other white Englishmen of a rank in society as 
much beneath him, as the blacks of America are beneath the whites of 
America. You do not know, perhaps, that negroes emit a very offensive 
odour in a hot climate; that in America they are, toa man, occupied.in the 
lowest drudgery of the lowest labour, and that they are much dirtier, and 
forty times more disagreeable when they are dirty, than your lowest Eng- 
lish labourers. And yet an English barber, who is in the habit of shaving the 
lowest of your English labourers, I take it, would not have much custom 
Ce patronage) among your British merchants, to say nothing of your 
ritish aristocracy.” Neither would believe this; and I proceeded: “ Your - 
white shop-keepers will not associate with your white footmen, or your 
white mechanics, I perceive,” saidI. “You dare not marryaservant,if you 
are of the gentry ; you never get rid of the reproach, if you do, whatever 
may be the merit of such servant; it will stick to you, no matter how 
wealthy, no matter how great you are, no matter how good, no matter 
how beautiful she is: you will not walk side by side with your servants, 
nor eat with them, nor suffer them to sit before you; nor would you 
appear at a public place of entertainment where you were likely to 
meet them, nor at a ball where they were admitted on equal terms with 
yourself ; nor would your people, I speak of your gentry—and I might 
speak of your tradesmen—they would not even sit in the same pew with 
a well-bred white male or female, if either were living, or ever had lived 
as a servant.” Here my adversaries interchanged a look of, I will not 
say what, for they were both well-bred men; but they pitied me, it was 
clear, and thought me altogether mistaken. J could proceed no further, 
of course ; but within a week from the day of our dispute, I saw awell+ 
behaved, sensible, modest white girl, the daughter of a respectable 
nant, whose family had been invited to walk in the grounds belonging 
to the mansion of the great and good man, the lawgiver and philan- 
_ thropist, who had been so grieved by the unnatural prejudice of the 
white men of America toward the black labourers of America. Isawa 
plan Jaid, by which this well-behaved, well-dressed, and, well-educated. 
white girl was to be Parts from walking at a particular time of the 
day; and having asked the reason, I was told by the great and good’ 
q himself, that, if she were permitted to walk there, a female friend 
f of his, a neighbour, a step or two above her in society, would no longer 
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