the night of heathenism is dark, and the darkness is palpable, it
is in the negro's native home. Yet here are millions of the same race
maintaining their peculiar characteristics with great distinctness,
yet in all essential points a Christian people, infinitely above
their brethren in their original seat. The contrast in this regard
between the race here and there is simply immeasurable. They have
been taken out of the blackness of idolatry, and nurtured for two
centuries in the light of an advance Christianity, so that heathenism
has passed almost out of their traditions.

All this great result has been occasioned by slavery, sprung from
cupidity and the origin of unnumbered crimes! Perhaps human history
presents nowhere a more striking example of God's power to make
the wickedness of man bring honor to his name.

Here, then, are a Christian people, with very much of superstition,
with very much of ignorance, with, you may say, a low type of piety,
but yet, after all, a Christian people. They are more, a Protestant
people. Romanism has never obtained any extensive hold on them here.
* May we not say that in this, that these four millions of blacks
are a Protestant Christian people, there is an element of unbounded
promise?

*It is very striking in this connection that Romanism has never
made any progress or met with any permanent success in Africa. In
the North where Mohammedanism prevails, (see Barth,) it is repudiated
on account of its supposed proclivity to polytheism, and in other
parts of the continent different causes have prevented its taking
root. Indeed, West Africa presents the most striking instance on
record of the utter failure of the Romish religion to benefit a