Ethiop (William J. Wilson) to Frederick Douglass, March 19, 1852
From Our Brooklyn Correspondent.
Dear Douglass:—Communipaw has got safely through, and is out again. I hope the wardens are duly notified. Dr. Cox has gone to CUBA. I doubt not but three things will be gained by it; First, a resuscitation of the outer man, so necessary for the coming campaign. Secondly, an insight of Cuban slavery, which will enable him to show the beautiful contrast between it and that of the United States; bringing out more clearly the necessities, benefits, and blessings of negro oppression in the latter, thereby ensuring his full redemption before the Union Safety Committee, the Colonization Society, and their coadjutor—the church. Thirdly, one of the fullest and fairest exhibits of vacilation, hypocrisy, and todyism, that has been given to the public within the last twenty years. I hope we shall be spared to give him all proper attention when he returns to this place.
Dr. Beecher gave the good people of Brooklyn, last week, one of his inimitable Lectures, subject, "The Imagination." By the way, this great man is doing good service here. He is completely revolutionizing, as it were, the church, much to the annoyance of the Old Time-Servers, who have spent their lives in cutting and fitting their religion to suit the people and the country, and not as they ought, in bringing the true spirit of the Gospel (because they have it not) to bear upon the people, and in fashioning the country and its institutions to the true religion; and hence, while they have lost the confidence of the people, there is also to be found no dividing line between the professedly religious and the irreligious. The former, so completely conforms to the spirit of the latter, that one of their ablest Divine teachers was compelled to say that "Christianity has proved a failure;" and as promulgated by them in this country, so it has. They succeed in really converting no one. There is no vein of piety running through the church here, as such. Their religion, what there is of it, is but a sort of refined morals: in fact, the only refinement among them here, is in the church; all outside of it, is but the excrescence of American society, and yet as necessary to it as is nitrogen to water. Ethiop can drive out of the windows all the piety, either [illegibel]med or imaginary, in any church of
whites, hereabouts, in three-fourths of a minute, on any Sunday morning, by simply taking, in the quietest manner, a seat therein. Aye, the very minister shall forget his sermon, and the whole congregation of christians shall be put to flight, leaving sinners to take care of themselves, Ethiop and the house. But such a state of things must be remedied. The constant tendency of the colored people to infidelity, in consequence of such a deplorable state among the whites, and our own low religious condition, may not only be looked upon with alarm, but demands a set of speedy remedies, the chief of which is to be found in aide and efficient colored ministry, men of deep piety and extensive learning. This will be but too apparent, when it is considered that that branch of each denomination, denominated the "BLACK BRANCH," is, after all, the real exponent of the church, here, requiring but force and strength to make itself felt, and work the desired reform. Its ministry must preach the Gospel in its purity; it must carry on the work of conversion and regeneration, first among the white clergy, and then among their flocks.—This, of itself, is to day of greater importance than that of sending the Gospel to all the heathen to be found under the canopy of Heaven. Think of the number of semi-heathen and hypocritical preachers in these United States, and then think of the tremendous influence they are exerting, and tell me if this is not too true. Even to the very heathen, they accompany the sacred word of God, with all the crushing and blighting influences of their false systems of religious teachings.
In short, take the church here, as an unit, and it contains more vice, abomination and ignorance, and needs more purging, purifying and enlightening at this time, than since the day old Martin Luther broke loose from the established church, jumped over the battlements, and set up on his own account.—Who will be the next reformer? Who will be the Luther of this age and country? Under all the circumstances, he evidently must come from the Africo-American side, this time.
Just here, let me mention, that the Rev. Amos Freeman, of Portland, Me., has been called to this quarter, to labor. He has, I am informed, been called to, and accepted the pastoral care of the Siloam Church, Brooklyn. Of Mr. Freeman's abilities, as a preacher, I know but little: I understand, however, that he is efficient, clever and pious. Be this as it may, one thing is certain: such a man is at this time greatly needed here, and will find work enough for his talents, his opportunities, and his piety; whether in his attempts to keep pace, or out step such men as Dr. Pennington, Dr. Beecher, and others of a like stamp; or in the conviction and conversion of such as Dr. Cox, Spencer, Spring, and others of their ilk, or in the raising the low religious state among ourselves. In any case, he will find a most ample field, and a profitable harvest. * * * * *
My Black Aristocracy Pill has proved more efficacious than my most sanguine expectations were prepared for. During its purgative operation, I verily believe, if the PATIENTS could have found poor ETHIOP in his retreat, not a hair, at this time, would have been left in his head.
E'en flourishing high in air, was seen
Huge canes of wood, with golden heads,
And gnashing teeth, and lengthened strides
Hard by where Ethiop sourly dwells.
All crying vengeance on the head of ETHIOP!!!
I remained a RECLUSE, howver, till the storm was past, and now that the poticate begin to feel the better, because of the dose, I, like a good physician, shall shortly come forward and explain its properties, uses, effects, &c., &c., &c.
* * * * A marriage extraordinary took place in Gotham, this week, which beat anything of the kind preceding it, since Ethiop last came up to TOWN; and if none of the Chroniclers in Gotham make for you a note of it, Ethiop will surely be compelled to do so. It is sufficient, however, at this time, to announce, that it was none other than "Hall himself." Hall of the Eldorado, who thus led his beautiful bride to the altar, creating thereby such [illegible] in the fashionable black circles. All the carriages, all the cabs, all the gigs, red black, brown and grey, in town, were pressed into the service for the time; and so completely blocked up was every avenue, square, and lane, for rods and rods, adjacent to the reception MANSION, with the aforesaid vehicles, interspersed with men, women, boy-loafers, lacqueys and dogs, whites, blacks and all, that you might as well have attempted to pass a phalanx of Napoleon's
army, in its palmies days, as to have made your way through Shaded Broadway, between the hours of ten and three o'clock.—Silks might be heard to rattle two blocks off; heavy, California gold-cased eye glasses, and white kids, could be seen glittering in the sun an eighth of a mile, as carriage after carriage rolled to and fro.
* * * * * * The Rev. Theodore Parker's anti-wealth motion, brought fresh from the seat of Yankeedom, Boston, among other good things distributed to the Broadway Tabernacle, last week, will be nuts for Communipaw to crack. All Ethiop hopes, is, that he may be permitted to sit at his board, and assist in eating them.
Yours truly,
Ethiop.
Brooklyn Heights, March 19th, 1852.