CC 



Inebriety excusable only in the Slave. 265 



poverty, but not our will, consents/' be re- 

 ceived as a national excuse from the govern- 

 ment, for the degradation of the subject ? 

 surely this would be as ill founded as the usual 

 pretence for intoxication, " to drive away 

 care." Admitting its noxious influence to be 

 capable of drowning for a moment the sorrows 

 of the afflicted, the suspension of misery is pur- 

 chased by subsequent increased torture to the 

 sufferers, as well as to their families and friends. 

 The flash of lightning in a night of darkness 

 affords a momentary illumination, to render the 

 obscurity more frightful. If any human being 

 can be deemed excusable in seeking con- 

 solation from inebriety, it is the slave, who has 

 no hope of release, or even of any mitigation of 

 his sufferings the consequence of sordid ava- 

 rice and inhumanity on the part of others, 

 unconnected with crime, or deserved punish- 

 ment, on his own. As neither courage nor 

 contrivance can relieve so unfortunate a being, 

 to forget his privations for a time is a blessing 

 yet this alleviation may be obtained at too great a 

 price, when purchased at the expense of mental 

 and bodily force, which lessens the power of 

 contending afterwards against the evil it was 

 intended to remove. 



On our arrival at the uninhabited region, to 



