Selections: Another Learned Blacksmith

The New Orlenns Protestant gives the folIowing account of one of thesouthern chattels: ';In the State of Alabnma, (Green county, we think,) lives a colored man by the neme of Ellis, who has a wifiï ond several children. Ile is a blacksinilh by trnde, and has uorked at lilis business for many years in the ehop with his master. He is believed to bea man of sincere piety, nnd is a member of the Presbyterinn church, under the pastoral charge of Rev. Fielda Bradshaw. Wliat Í3 peciiliarly noticeable m his case, is the state of his education; and, fora man who has been all his life a slave, and hard ot work, and inherited only igiiorance, we consider t quite extraordinary. He is well acquainted with reading, w riting, arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, and some other branches embraced in a conirhon English education; beside which he bas made a tolerable acquaintance wit!i Latin and Grcek. He has accomplished this mostly without the aid of teachers, and he fëSfned !iïs alphabet without even a book. His plan was at first, to get his young masters, on their return from school at evening, to make for him the different letters of the alahabet, and teil him their natnes. These he copicd upon his shop door with coal, and conlinued the process until ho had woll learned the first elements of reading and writing. - They then brought him the spelling book, and other elementary books, by means of which he began o wend his way upthe hill of science. We understand that in some of the higher branches he has had the aid of others, and that npw he is pursning his studies under a competent teacher. He still works at the anvil.as he has done throtigh his whole course,during the day, and studies at night. What h'rsc prompted him to makethe effort to obtain an education, we do not kno'v. All who know iiiin testify tliat he is a nnn of uncommon naUve enerpry of mind, as his present attainments prove. His age is forty-five. A bout two years since, bis case was represented to the aynods of Alabama ond Mississippi, and they joiotly propose to purchase him and fïimily, and send him to the western coas oF África as a missionary. They hnveascer tained ihat his mast er xvill part with them fo $250. Th is sum ia equally divided betvvee the two synods, ond they are now ma kin efforts to raise it. In the mean time Ellis i pursuinga course of theologrica] study unde his pastor. We understand he has read th Standard theological works of Drs. Dwight Dick, Sic. and others pertaining to a ministeri al course." No doubt they will raise the S250 to get rid of poor Ellis. He most be got rid of, for notliing can be more dangerous to the peculiar institution, than such a tendency to get up. Every mental blossom must be nipped. These rbattplized millions are not wanted as mep, but asthings. The moment they begin to exercise the powers whose devtlopment God lias made the highest object of their be" ing, they begin to be unfit for the pnrpoées of the slavepcracy. Henee we see, tbat God's design and the slaveocracy"s are not tbe same.