TOJOHNBARTRAM. 55 



ciples, and follow the same admirable rules. A great number of 

 men would be relieved from those cruel shackles under which they 

 now groan : and under this impression, I cannot endure to spend 

 more time in the southern provinces. The method with which they 

 are treated there, the meanness of their food the severity of 

 their tasks, are spectacles I have not patience to behold." " I 

 am glad to see that thee hast so much compassion. Are there any 

 slaves in thy country ?" " Yes, unfortunately ; but they are more 

 properly civil than domestic slaves : they are attached to the soil 

 on which they live ; it is the remains of ancient barbarous customs, 

 established in the days of the greatest ignorance and savageness 

 of manners ! and preserved, notwithstanding the repeated tears of 

 humanity the loud calls of policy and the commands of religion. 

 The pride of great men, with the avarice of landholders, makes 

 them look on this class as necessary tools of husbandry ; as if free- 

 men could not cultivate the ground !" " And is it really so, friend 

 Iwan ? To be poor, to be wretched, to be a slave, is hard indeed : 

 existence is not worth enjoying on those terms. I am afraid thy 

 country can never flourish under such impolitic government." "I 

 am very much of your opinion, Mr. Bertram, though I am in 

 hopes that the present reign, illustrious by so many acts of the 

 soundest policy, will not expire without this salutary this neces- 

 sary emancipation, which would fill the Russian Empire with tears 

 of gratitude." " How long hast thee been in this country ?" "Four 

 years, sir." "Why, thee speakest English almost like a native. 

 What a toil a traveller must undergo, to learn various languages 

 to divest himself of his native prejudices and to accommodate 

 himself to the customs of all those among whom he chooseth to 

 reside." 



Thus I spent my time with this enlightened botanist this 

 worthy citizen, who united all the simplicity of rustic manners to 

 the most useful learning. Various and extensive were the con- 

 versations that filled the measure of my visit. I accompanied him 

 to his fields to his barn to his bank to his garden to his 

 study and at last to the meeting of the Society, on the Sunday 

 following. It was at the town of Chester, whither the whole family 

 went, in two wagons ; Mr. Bertram and I on horseback. When 

 I entered the house where the Friends were assembled, who 

 might be about two hundred, men and women, the involuntary 

 impulse of ancient custom made me pull off my hat ; but soon 



