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Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson image
Parent Issue
Day
31
Month
October
Year
1846
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

It s a delicrüo matter for a traveller to speak of individuals by name, whether ríe praisès or blames. But Thomas Clarks'on is so mucli the property of the world he was sent io b!ess, that I may perhaps be excused forviolating, in sorae measure, my usual rule in regard to speaking of individuals. I may at least describe the place where he lives, if he yet lives. Four or five miles from Ipswich is Playford JEÏnlï, a very ancient house, with n farm of 300 acres. Ey what tenure Mr. Clarkson holds it I do not remember, but it is not in fee himple. The house vtanils in a bcautifbl and fertile valley - it is in the shape of the letter L. and surrounded by a decp moat filled with water, inhabi;cd with plenty of fish and duck?. You cross the moat by a handsome arched stone bridge, and find yourself in a beautiful courU in the interior anglc of the L. The moat washes the walls which form the exterior angle of the house, and you may look down froivi one of the chamber Windows and ice the fih swiniming in the clear water bcneath - or the ducks - or a man in a boat, hnrvcsting the aquatic plynls which constantly spring up from the bottom. Inside the moat is a fine shrubbery and garden. The house itself, which is in good repair, isfour centuries old, at least, and contains ampie room, I was going to say, for a regiment. It has some tall chimney., which are fine specimens of ancient masonry. The architecture is that of plain brick and stone walls, of ampie thiokness.The once tall form of the man whose indoniitablc cncrgy aroused the British nation to the iniquity of the slave trade. and reduced the richest prey f rom the grasp of .Mammon, is now bowed with age and racked with pain. Mis head is silvered and bis eyc dim. Hut the force of his soul is scircely abated. He talked on the great theme of his life with all the enrnestness, hope, and vivacity of thirty fivc. He osked a hundred queestions in regard to the progress of antislavcry sentiments in the United Statos - had road every publication, and knew 'veryman vho, or. eithert?), bad taka prominent part in the controversy. - He would not bo sntisfied uniil I had told him of John Q. Adam , J. R. Giddings, Cossiu3 M. Clay, James G. Birncy, Gov. Seward, Theodore Weid, and all the men who had taken pai-t for the slave - whnt was their position, and what the were doing. lio also kept a sharp cye on the movements ofC.-ilhoun, McDulFe, Gen. Hammond, and Judge O'iNeale, who had justthen immortalizcd hirnself by bis seatence of Brown. W hen the venerablo man's strength was exíiausted, he would pause, request me to amuse mysclf in his library, or garden, or to ramble over the farui - and then, when reeruted, he would pursue his inquines with fresh zcal. He was constantly employed, wa'ching the progress of the great question, and writingon jt for the press, his daughter acting as his amanuensis. It is needlcss to say, that he takes the most decided ground in favor of immediate emancipation, and has done so almost ever since the passage of the act for the nbolition of the slave trade ; and I understood him to regret that the counsels of Granville Sharp had not been followed by the original Society for the abolition of the slave trnde. The farm of Mr. Clarkson gave me a good oppertunity to observe the detail of good English farming. It s not of the most femle class, but is exccedbgly well managed, under the care of a young man who took great pride insho%ving me over j it. Tha wheat in good seasons yields six quarters, or forty-cight bushels to the acre, and seldom lessthan four quarters. It is sown with a patent horse dri!l,having twelve little hoppers for dropping the kerneis. Ofcourso the ground must be well pulverized to have sucha machine work well. Theevcnness with which it stood upon the ground I thought was wonderful - but the young man informed me that many farms in SufTolk beat him I in thiá respect, for on them every kernel of wheat was struck down. kerncl after kernel, by the hands of women and children, who thus earn from 3d to 6d per day. Tliere wcre also beautiful crops ofbarley, in which I could lake no particular delight, hiving seen the brewrie? and the beer. Mr. Clarkson had supolied his farm with all the labor-saving implements to bo had in the country, and all were kept in admirable order. Tho' unable longor to superintend his farming operations in person, he still took alively interest in them, and gave directions. - Jndeed,h:s mnnagemen.' of h:s farm strongly reminded me of General Washington's passson for agriculture - a passion which almost ahvaya characlemes great and good min ds.