LETTERS FROM THE WORLD—NO. II.

LONDON, July 26, 1855.

DEAR FRIEND:—I am unwilling to allow another steamer to leave Liverpool for the States without its conveying to Rochester some account of my movements since I landed on my old island home, on the morning of the 14th.—Yet, I have been in such a constant whirl of excitement during the last ten days, that I feel half bewildered, and I find it somewhat difficult to read, to write, or even to think on any subject that needs mental effort; so I shall preface this hastily penned letter, by asking you to be sparing of your criticisms, and merciful to your friend.

The sun hid his face, the skies went into mourning, and the rain poured in torrents when I left Liverpool in March, 1849; and just such a day greeted me, on my return, in the month of July. I am not at all joking when I say that I never say, while in the States, so dreary and dismal a day as was the 14th. In singular and pleasing contrast to the cloudy, murky skies, was smiling, good-tempered, cheerful aspect of the Liverpool people. Even the much-dreaded Custom-House officers looked pleasant, and performed their official duties in a gentlemanly manner, that could not fail to be noticed by one who had newly arrived from the Western World. Let me here say, that I give our good friend, Horace Greeley, ful absolution, for all he said, in time past, and all he say, in time to come, about an English and an English sky. Mr. Greeley can scarcely exaggerate the picture—not that it's the sun's fault at all, for he, really, often seems to be doing his best to shine out, and cheer us with his refulgent rays, but an antagonistic haze of smoke and vapor, seems ever to meet him and overcome him; and he finally disappears, leaving his foggy, misty enemy in the ascendant.

Our Birkenhead friends having (with their usual thoughtful care) sent for me, to the ship, and it being Saturday, I decided to remain during Sunday quietly under their peaceful roof. Oh! what cozy, chatty, pleasant tea we had on that first afternoon. The gratification of the visit was much enhanced by my introdution to some of our old and highly valued Bridgwater friends, of whom I had often heard you speak, and who were visiting Birkenhead at the time. How beautiful, to the eye of a sea voyager, are the first fresh flowers that he sees on landing—how delicious is their scent—how soothing their very presence! Was it because the flowers of the New World lack the grateful odor and delicate fragrance of their English floral sisters, that the remembrance of those Birkenhead flowers, dwells so vividly in my mind? Before the long twilight of that peaceful Saturday evening softly stole upon us, the rain ceased, the heavy mists scattered, the heavens cleared, and the sun set in full grandeur. A rich treat had I in reserve, when I retired to my room that night, (viz:) the quiet reading of some of letters, from dear friends on sides of the Atlantic. It was delightful to find one great packet of letters awaiting me in Liverpool, and another in Birkenhead; and to receive, at the same time, a warm welcome back to England, from innumerable much loved friends, and a hearty greeting from many ones, while Christian American friends, and beloved Canadians, had rapidly wafted to me across the wide waters of the Atlantic, their farewell blessings and their God-speed.

The evening of the 24th found me, once more, in the great metropolis—wonderful, never-ending, and ever-growing London. Six hours and three quarters (to the minute) brought us from Liverpool to the Euston Square Station. I could not but observe with pleasure, the perfect order that reigned both at the Liverpool and London stations, and the exceedingly respectable appearance of the railway officials.—It is true that here, the traveller receives no check for his baggage; but, if the railway servant says to him, "Your luggage is on the top of carriage No. 14, what matters the mission?" His baggage is sure to be in the place specified, and he is certain to meet it at the end of his journey. I had a charming day for travelling up to London—no dust—and just enough sunshine to light up succession of landscapes, of which the eye never wearied. How small, yet how beautifully green were teh fields! and the hedge rows, so thin and neat—they very embankments, between which we passed, are grassed, from the top down to the road, while the highest ridge is ornamented with a quick set hedge, which runs along for miles in many cases.—London has grown immensely on the Hertfordshire shide, since I was here, so that St. Albans and Barnet are now almost joined to it; and one must travel a long way from the heart of the metropolis, before you can feel in the country. It was not until I reached London that I could the many bereavements that have taken place in my own immediate circle, since I left England. Here are vacant niches to be filled no more, and silent voices to be heard no more, but by the keen ear of memory, until the archangel's trump shall sound on the morn of the resurrection.

Yet much of my time has been taken up since I came to town in with dear old friends, that are yet spared to me. Had I been a week or two later, "" (as Londoners are somewhat ridiculously apt to say) "would have left London for the season."—Think how dreary it would be to enter an city, capable of containing two millions and a half of people! I have attempted no sight seeing at present. Have not even been to Sydenham Place. I preferred seeing to at first , and I could not do both. I spent a delightful evening with Mr. and Mrs. Howitt this week; they look as well, and are as delightful as when I parted with them more than six years since. My Swedish friends had desired much to be introduced to Miss Bremer's friend, —and one of them accompanied me to "," the name of their sweet retreat on Highgate rise. On his way home from Australia, Mr. Howitt touched at Brazil, and he gave me some very interesting accounts of the appearance and condition of the negroes there. He appears to have been most favorably impressed by their bearing and "." I just missed Horace Greeley at the Howitt's. He had been there the

day before. It would have been pleasant to see how the Editor of the looks in England. I should suppose that, during these chilly, rainy days, he feels a "necessity laid upon" him, to wear that, "white coat!" I had a very delightful visit yesterday, with Mrs. S. C. Hall, and drolly enough I there, but just missed a with our good friend, Elihu BurrittBurritt, Elihu

Elihu Burritt (1810—79), the “learned blacksmith,” taught himself several languages and various sciences while working in a smithy. Born into poverty in New Britain, Connecticut, Burritt made a career of advocating pacifism, temperance, cheap international postage, and abolitionism. A tireless champion of world peace, Burritt joined the American Peace Society in the early 18403 and in 1846 went to England, where he formed the League of Universal Brotherhood, disseminated peace propaganda through his “Olive Leaf Mission,” and helped organize two international peace congresses. Opposed to the American Civil War because of his pacifism, Burritt determined to undermine slavery by boycotting slave-grown produce, and he later urged schemes for compensated emancipation. During his career he edited several reform newspapers, the most notable being the Christian Citizen (1844—51). Elihu Burritt, The Learned Blacksmith: The Letters and Journals of Elihu Burritt, ed. Merle E. Curti (New York, 1937); Peter Tolis, Elihu Burritt, Crusader for Brotherhood (Hamden, Conn., 1968); Shepperson, “Free Church and American Slavery,” 133; DAB, 3:328. . Among the notables I have been favored by meeting since I came to town, are, the Earl of Shaftesbury, Messrs. CobdenCobden, Richard

In 1849 M.P. Richard Cobden (1804-65) introduced an unsuccessful motion in the House of Commons in support of arbitration treaties. Known primarily as a free-trade advocate and founder of the Anti-Corn Law League, Cobden joined the peace movement in 1842 after concluding that war was a natural consequence of economic competition. Christina Phelps, The Anglo-American Peace Movement in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (New York, 1930), 36-37, 61, 150-64; DNB, 4:604-10. and Right, Rev. Thomas Binney, and Rev. S. R. Ward. As thousands in the United States, look upon Hon. GERRIT SMITHSmith, Gerrit

Gerrit Smith (1797– 1874), a New York businessman and land speculator, became best known for his philanthropic work for such reform causes as temperance and abolition. Between 1828 and 1835, he donated large sums of money to the American Colonization Society, but abandoned that movement in 1835 when his sympathies shifted to the immediate abolitionists. In the 1840s, he gave approximately 140,000 acres of land in upstate New York to three thousand black settlers, thus qualifying them to vote. Smith was a founder and frequent candidate of the Liberty party, running for governor of New York on that ticket in 1840 and winning a seat in Congress in 1852. When the Free Soil merger with moderate antislavery Democrats and Whigs lured away many Liberty party supporters, Smith helped bankroll that organization until 1860. Smith befriended Douglass when the latter moved to Rochester, and Smith frequently helped finance Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Like Douglass, Smith supported John Brown, but psychological stress caused by the failure at Harpers Ferry brought on the first of a series of bipolar episodes that greatly reduced his subsequent reform activities. Ralph Volney Harlow, Gerrit Smith: Philanthropist and Reformer (1939; New York, 1972); Gerald Sorin, The New York Abolitionists: A Case Study of Political Radicalism (Westport, Conn., 1971), 269– 87; Lewis Perry, Radical Abolitionism: Anarchy and the Government of God in Antislavery Thought (Ithaca, N.Y., 1973), 170– 80; John R. McKivigan and Madeleine Leveille, “The ‘Black Dream’ of Gerrit Smith, New York Abolitionist,” Syracuse University Library Associates Courier, 20:61– 76 (Fall 1985); NCAB , 2:322– 23; DAB, 17:270– 71. of Peterboro, as a model man—one of nature's nobility—so do philanthropists in England, turn their eyes to the EARLS OF SHAFTESBURY AND CARSLILE as model noblemen; and . "When the ear heard them then it blessed them"—"the blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon them, and they caused the window's heart to sing for joy." I could not but feel grieved to see the so deepened in the Earl of Shaftsbury's noble face; he looks much older, and so care-worn—But how can he look otherwise, possessing, as he does, such intense sympathy for ALL who suffer—and , as he does, so continuously, so earnestly, so actively, and so faithfully for the poor and needy, the ignorant and degraded, the sorrowing and sinning? As soon as I have a little leisure, I shall visit the most interesting of the , and the best of the , a list of which his Lordship most kindly wrote out for me. Mr. Ward was telling me last evening, that when the Earl introduced him to his children, he said, "my dears! this is ." Had a very pleasant meeting with this old friend (Mr. Ward)
yesterday. He gave me some interesting accounts of his experiences in England—When in London he stops, you know, at Radley's Hotel, an old and very respectable establishment; and he told me an amusing circumstance in reference to three Americans, who arrived at the Hotel late one night. The morning after their arrival, as they were in the public room ,waiting for breakfast, Mr. Ward (quite unconscious of their presence) walked in. They quickly walked away, and ordered their breakfast in another room; request was, of course attended to; but, when, after breakfast, they had the impertinence to send for the proprietor of the Hotel, and to threaten him, "that if he would not send that black man away they would go," must they not have been mortified and humbled to see the gentlemanly Landlord bow his head, in reply, and wave his hand to the door, as a sign for them to depart! So off they went, and not word met Mr. Ward's ears in the Hotel on the subject, until he heard the circumstances narrated at a west end dinner; on his return to the Hotel, he, of course, made enquiries, and learned full particulars.—

With , the Landlord had prohibited the servants naming the matter to Mr. Ward, lest it should annoy him. Our friend expects to return to Canada some time next month. Important private business has delayed his departure. he has done a great work for the colored man in this country. He has been invited to preach, and he preached in nearly all the great Congregational Churches here. Next Saturday evening, he is to preach for Dr. Raffles, at Liverpool. I saw the Dr's. note to him. Here is no patronizing of dark-browed brethren; (as well remember;) and as I and another friend of Mr. Ward, took his arm yesterday, in broad daylight, and walked in the midst of the city, I did not see that anyone looked shocked, concerned, or even amused; and why should they, brother Jonathan? Can tell? I am sure I cannot. Mr. CobdenCobden, Richard

In 1849 M.P. Richard Cobden (1804-65) introduced an unsuccessful motion in the House of Commons in support of arbitration treaties. Known primarily as a free-trade advocate and founder of the Anti-Corn Law League, Cobden joined the peace movement in 1842 after concluding that war was a natural consequence of economic competition. Christina Phelps, The Anglo-American Peace Movement in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (New York, 1930), 36-37, 61, 150-64; DNB, 4:604-10. has just kindly sent me two orders for "the Ladies' Gallery of the House of Commons."—There are only twenty-one ladies' seats; so I esteem it a favor, and I hope to go on Monday evening. On Tuesday I will go to Willesdon for a few days, and thence back to London until the middle of August, when I propose going to Birmingham, &c.

Soon as Parliament closes, all that can run away form town will do so. I have just declined (from want of time) a most agreeable invitation to accompany some friends to Paris; but they start Monday next, and that would be too soon for me. Besides, with the bonnie "," in prospect, what care I for L Bell France? If I go at all, it must be later.

I must close, and yet not one word have I said of . The great masses of the people are in favor of it.—that's certain; but, Mr. Cobden remarked to me the other day, that " has been popular at its commencement." He distinctly told me what i was of before, (viz:) that the people forced the war on the government— the government on the people. I remember one having a fierce contention on this point with a certain Rochester friend of mine.

Remember me, I pray you, very kindly, to all the Rochester friends who enquire for me, especially to all the member of the P. family.—Tell them that Mr. Channing was absent from Liverpool, when I reached there, so I did not see him. I will write again soon.

Yours truly,

JULIA GRIFFITHS.