before the minions of the slave power, the Liberty party could not have been born for a century, if indeed the republic could in that case have been saved from destruction. Dr. Channing, though critical of some of their modes of action, gave them unqualified praise for their brave defence of the freedom of speech. "To them," he said, "has been committed the most important bulwark of liberty, and they have acquitted themselves of the trust like men and Christians. Of such men I do not hesitate to say, that they have rendered to freedom a more essential service than any body of men among us. The defenders of freedom are not those who claim and exercise rights which no one assails, or who win shouts of applause by wellturned compliments to liberty in the days of her triumph. They are those who stand up for rights which mobs, conspiracies, or single tyrants put in jeopardy; who contend for liberty in that particular form which is threatened at the moment by the many or the few. To the Abolitionists this honor belongs. From my heart I thank them. I am myself their debtor. I am not sure that I should this moment (Nov. 4, 1836,) write in safety, had they shrunk from the conflict, had they shut their lips, imposed silence on their presses, and hid themselves before their ferocious assailants. I thank the Abolitionists that in this evil day they were true to the rights which the multitude were ready to betray. Their purpose to suffer, to die, rather than surrender their dearest liberties, taught the lawless that they had a foe to contend with whom it was not safe to press."* This tribute, be it remembered, was written almost twenty years before the organization of the Republican party, and before the Liberty party was conceived. I would not detract in the least from the praise due to the noble men who fought the Slave

* Channing's Works in six volumes — Vol. II., pp. 159, 160.

Power by means of a political party, on the floor of Congress and elsewhere, without flinching, hampered as they were by the compromises of a blood-stained Constitution; but I would have them remember that the cause met its Thermopyla before any anti-slavery political party was born, and that whatever was done through the ballot-box was accomplished by the aid of moral forces previously accumulated, and that alone made such a political party possible.

XII.

Effects of the Boston Mob - Francis Jackson's Bravery - Harriet Martineau Mrs. Chapman and her Work — Mobs in Montpelier, Vt., and Utica, N. Y.-Gerrit Smith - Alvan Stewart - Burning of Pennsylvania Hall - Attempts to Put the Abolitionists Down by Law - Demands of the South - Gov. Everett - Prosecution of Dr. Crandall - Flogging of Amos Dresser - Requisition from the Governor of Alabama - Harsh Language.

THE "gentlemen of property and standing" in Boston were not long in discovering that the weapons which they had formed for the suppression of the anti-slavery agitation did not prosper. One of the first effects of the riot was seen in the bravery of Francis Jackson, who, while Mr. Garrison was in jail and the rioters were yet patrolling the city and exulting that they had "put the Abolitionists down," sent a letter to the President of the Female Anti-Slavery Society, offering his dwelling for its use whenever it should desire to hold another meeting. This braveact thrilled the hearts of the Abolitionists and awed their enemies. How brightly "shines a good deed in a naughty world!" The invitation was accepted, and on the 19th of November a memorable meeting was held in Mr. Jackson's house. It was a solemn occasion, for those present were not sure that the house would not be sacked or burned. Harriet Martineau was then in Boston. She had travelled extensively in the country, at the South as well as at the North. Conservative Unitarians and others had done their utmost to prejudice her against American Abolitionists; but she deemed it her duty, in view of the persecu

tions to which they were subjected, to attend this meeting, and see for herself whether the aspersions cast upon them were just. Being invited to address the meeting, she responded promptly. "I had supposed," she said, "that my presence here would be understood as showing my sympathy with you. But as I am requested to speak, I will say what I have said. through the whole South, in every family where I have been, that I consider slavery inconsistent with the law of God, and incompatible with the course of his providence. I should certainly say no less at the North than at the South concerning this utter abomination, and now I declare that in your principles I fully agree." This brave, yet modest little speech brought upon Miss Martineau a tide of denunciation only less violent than that which had beat for months on the head of her noble countryman, George Thompson. Up to that moment her society had been courted by the élite of Boston, especially by the Unitarians, with whom she was religiously associated. But now she was slighted as one who had committed an unpardonable offence. Her brave words were imbued with power, and while they greatly cheered and encouraged the Abolitionists, they filled the pro-slavery party with rage. Her experience at this time prepared her to write that admirable little work, "The Martyr Age of America," which did so much to bind the hearts of Abolitionists in England to the struggling friends of the cause in the United States. From that day to the end of our conflict her powerful pen was always at the service of the cause; and I doubt if any other person ever did so much as she to give the people of Great Britain a clear understanding of the nature of our struggle, of the mighty obstacles it encountered, and of the ways in which they could help us.

Ten righteous men, it is said, would have availed to

save the ancient city of Sodom. Boston was spared for one; but that one was in himself a host, and able to put ten thousand enemies of freedom to flight. Ever afterwards, to the day of his death, which occurred during the war of Rebellion, Mr. Jackson was foremost in the anti-slavery conflict. He served for many years as President of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, presiding at its meetings with a dignity that commanded the public respect; his house was ever open to the faithful workers in the cause, and to shelter the fugitive slave; and he gave generously of his substance for the support of lecturers and the printing and distribution of anti-slavery periodicals and tracts. Modest and unobtrusive in manner, he was firm as a rock in his adherence to the cause, quick to discern, and prompt to repel danger, and brave enough to endure without flinching and without complaint the reproaches heaped upon his head by the minions of slavery. His name in Boston, where he was conspicuous for integrity in public affairs as well as in private life, was a tower of strength.

Another name, that of a woman, was brought into wide conspicuity amidst the events above related. Maria Weston Chapman, the wife of Mr. Henry G. Chapman, a Boston merchant, and for many years the treasurer of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, was the pride and charm of the most cultured social circle in Boston. She had enjoyed some of the best opportunities of culture which Europe offered to an ambitious American girl, and encountered the temptations to a worldly and fashionable life to which so many others yielded. Possessing in an eminent degree the graces of person, the intellectual 'acquirements and the wit that are so fascinating in womanhood, she yet consecrated herself and her great gifts to the service of a righteous but most unpopular cause. She was a member of the Boston Female