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The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839) by Thomas Clarkson
page 46 of 763 (06%)
ring. See the accused innocent in the middle! The ordeal of poisonous
water has been administered to him, as a test of his innocence or his
guilt: he begins to be sick and pale. Alas! yon mournful shriek of his
relatives confirms that the loss of his freedom is now sealed.

And whither shall we go now? the night is approaching fast. Let us find
some friendly hut, where sleep may make us forget for a while the
sorrows of the day. Behold a hospitable native ready to receive us at
his door! let us avail ourselves of his kindness. And now let its give
ourselves to repose. But why, when our eyelids are but just closed, do
we find ourselves thus suddenly awakened? What is the meaning of the
noise around us, of the trampling of people's feet, of the rustling of
the bow, the quiver, and the lance? Let us rise up and inquire. Behold!
the inhabitants are all alarmed! a wakeful woman has shown them yon
distant column of smoke and blaze. The neighbouring village is on fire:
the prince, unfaithful to the sacred duty of the protection of his
subjects, has surrounded them. He is now burning their habitations, and
seizing, as saleable booty, the fugitives from the flames.

Such then are some of the scenes that have been passing in Africa, in
consequence, of the existence of the Slave Trade; or such is the nature
of the evil, as it has shown itself in the first of the cases we have
noticed. Let us now estimate it as it has been proved to exist in the
second; or let us examine the state of the unhappy Africans reduced to
slavery in this manner, while on board the vessels, which are to convey
them across the ocean to other lands. And here I must observe at once,
that, as far as this part of the evil is concerned, I am at a loss to
describe it. Where shall I find words to express properly their sorrow,
as arising from the reflection of being parted for ever from their
friends, their relatives, and their country? Where shall I find language
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