The following are his
own observations upon this journey. "Two things were remarkable to me in
this journey; First, in regard to my entertainment. When I ate, drank, and
lodged free-cost, with people who lived in ease on the hard labour of their
slaves, I felt uneasy; and, as my mind was inward to the Lord, I found,
from place to place, this uneasiness return upon me at times through the
whole visit. Where the masters bore a good share of the burthen, and lived
frugally, so that their servants were well provided for, and their labour
moderate, I felt more easy. But where they lived in a costly way, and laid
heavy burthens on their slaves, my exercise was often great, and I
frequently had conversations with them in private concerning it. Secondly,
This trade of importing slaves from their native country being much
encouraged among them, and the White people and their children so generally
living without much labour, was frequently the subject of my serious
thoughts: and I saw in these southern provinces so many vices and
corruptions, increased by this trade and this way of life, that it appeared
to me as a gloom over the land.
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