THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS. BY JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. 'Sometime afterward, it was reported to me by the city officers, that they had ferreted out the paper and its editor. His office was an obscure hole; his only visible auxiliary a negro boy; and his supporters a few very insignificant persons, of all colors.'- LETTER OF HON. H. G. OTIS. In a small chamber, friendless and unseen, Toiled o'er his types one poor, unlearned young man ; Help came but slowly; surely, no man yet What need of help? He knew how types were set, He had a dauntless spirit and a press. Such earnest natures are the fiery pith, The compact nucleus round which systems grow; Mass after mass becomes inspired therewith, O Truth! O Freedom! how are ye still born What! shall one monk, scarce known beyond his cell, 'Whatever can be known of earth, we know,' Sneered Europe's wise men, in their snail-shells curled; Who is it will not dare himself to trust? Who is it hath not strength to stand alone? He and his works like sand from earth are blown. Men of a thousand shifts and wiles, look here! By bravery's simple gravitation drawn! Shall we not heed the lesson taught of old, We stride the river daily at its spring, O small beginnings, ye are great and strong, Ye earn the crown, and wear it not in vain! TO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. BY JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. CHAMPION of those who groan beneath Oppression's iron hand, In view of penury, hate and death, Still bearing up thy lofty brow, In the steadfast strength of truth, In manhood sealing well the vow Go on!- for thou hast chosen well; Speak in a slumbering nation's ear, Until the dead in sin shall hear I love thee with a brother's love- To mark thy spirit soar above My heart hath leaped to answer thine, As leaps the warrior's at the shine They tell me thou art rash and vain A searcher after fame; That thou art striving but to gain A long enduring name; That thou hast nerved the Afric's hand, And steeled the Afric's heart, To shake aloft his vengeful brand, And rend his chain apart. Have I not known thee well, and read Thy mighty purpose long, And watched the trials which have made Thy human spirit strong? And shall the slanderer's demon breath Avail with one like me, To dim the sunshine of my faith, And earnest trust in thee? Go on!-the dagger's point may glare The fate which sternly threatens there, Then, onward, with a martyr's zeal Press on to thy reward The hour when man shall only kneel Before his Father GOD! TO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. BY THOMAS W. HIGGINSON. "T is not that deeds like thine need my poor praise, To swerve thee, with the crowd, from Truth's plain ways! Shall reverence struggling man's true friend in thee, Thy life of stern devotion shall atone For some few words that seemed too rough to be, And they shall grave upon thy funeral stone, 'THIS MAN SPOKE TRUTH, AND HELPED US TO GROW FREE!' Cambridge, Massachusetts. TO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. BY ALONZO LEWIS. THY God has cast thee in a noble mould, As if we saw a visioned form unrolled! And drive him from his hold in Freedom's land, SELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. Exposure of the American Colonization Society. IN attacking the system of slavery, I clearly foresaw all that has happened to me. I knew, at the commencement, that my motives would be impeached, my warnings ridiculed, my person persecuted, my sanity doubted, my life jeoparded but the clank of the prisoner's chains broke upon my ear it entered deeply into my soul-I looked up to Heaven for strength to sustain me in the perilous work of emancipation—and my resolution was taken. In opposing the American Colonization Society, I have also counted the cost, and as clearly foreseen the formidable opposition which will be arrayed against me. Many of the clergy are enlisted in its support: their influence is powerful. Men of wealth and elevated station are among its contributors: wealth and station are almost omnipotent. The press has been seduced into its support: the press is a potent engine. Moreover, the Society is artfully based upon and defended by popular prejudice; it takes advantage |