the sin would be less injurious to society, and less sinful in the sight
of God."

M.--"Perhaps you would like to buy the slave and give him his liberty?"

G.--"Sir, I am a poor man; and were I ever so opulent, it would be
necessary, on your part, to make out a clear title to the services of
the slave before I could conscientiously make a bargain."

M--"Well, sir, I can prove from the Bible that slavery is right."

G.--"Ah! that is a precious book--the rule of conduct. I have always
supposed that its spirit was directly opposed to everything in the shape
of fraud and oppression. However, sir, I should be glad to hear your
text."

M. (hesitatingly)--"Ham--Noah's curse, you know."

G. (hastily)--"Oh, sir, you build on a very slender foundation. Granting
even--what remains to be proved--that the Africans are the descendants
of Ham, Noah's curse was a _prediction_ of future servitude, and not an
injunction to oppress. Pray, sir, is it a careful desire to fulfill the
Scriptures, or to make money, that induces you to hold your fellow-men
in bondage?"

M. (excitedly)--"Why, sir, do you really think that the slaves are
beings like ourselves?--that is, I mean do you believe that they possess
the same faculties and capacities as the whites?"

G. (energetically)--"Certainly, sir, I do not know that there is any