Three Years in Europe by William Wells Brown

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"_Resolved_,--That we bid our brother, William Wells Brown, God speed in
his mission to Europe, and commend him to the hospitality and
encouragement of all true friends of humanity.

"_Resolved_,--That we forward by him our renewed protest against the
American Colonization Society; and invoke for him a candid hearing
before the British public, in reply to the efforts put forth there
by the Rev. Mr. Miller, or any other agent of said Society."

Two days afterwards he sailed for Europe, encountering on his voyage his
last experience of American prejudice against colour.

On the 28th of August he landed at Liverpool, a time and place memorable
in his life as the first upon which he could truly call himself a free
man upon God's earth. In the history of nations, as of individuals,
there is often singular retributive mercy as well as retributive
justice. In the seventeenth century the victims of monarchical tyranny
in Great Britain found social and political freedom when they set foot
upon Plymouth Rock in New England: in the nineteenth century the victims
of the oppressions of the American Republic find freedom and social
equality upon the shores of monarchical England. Liverpool, which
seventy years back was so steeped in the guilt of negro slavery that
Paine expressed his surprise that God did not sweep it from the face of
the earth, is now to the hunted negro the Plymouth Rock of Old England.
From Liverpool he proceeded to Dublin where he was warmly received by
Mr. Haughton, Mr. Webb, and other friends of the slave, and publicly
welcomed at a large meeting presided over by the first named gentleman.

The reception of Mr. Brown at the Peace Congress in Paris was most
flattering. In a company, comprising a large portion of the _elite_ of
Europe, he admirably maintained his reputation as a public speaker. His
brief address, upon that "war spirit of America which holds in bondage
three million of his brethren," produced a profound sensation. At its
conclusion the speaker was warmly greeted by Victor Hugo, the Abbe
Duguerry, Emile de Girardin, the Pastor Coquerel, Richard Cobden, and
every man of note in the Assembly. At the soiree given by M. De
Tocqueville, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the other fetes given
to the Members of the Congress, Mr. Brown was received with marked
attention.

Having finished his Peace mission in France, he commenced an
Anti-slavery tour in England and Scotland. With that independence of
feeling which those who are acquainted with him know to be his chief
characteristic, he rejected the idea of anything like eleemosynary
support. He determined to maintain himself and family by his own
exertions--by his literary labours, and the honourable profession of a
public lecturer. His first metropolitan reception in England was at a
large, influential, and enthusiastic meeting in the Music Hall, Stone
Street. The members of the Whittington Club--an institution numbering
nearly 2000 members, among whom are Lords Brougham, Dudley Coutts
Stuart, and Beaumont; Charles Dickens, Douglass Jerrold, Martin
Thackeray, Charles Lushington, M.P., Monckton Milnes, M.P., and several
other of the most distinguished legislators and literary men and women
in this country--elected Mr. Brown an honorary member of the Club, as a
mark of respect to his character; and, as the following extract from the
Secretary, Mr. Stundwicke, will show, as a protest against the
distinctions made between man and man on account of colour in
America:--"I have much pleasure in conveying to you the best thanks of
the managing committee of this institution for the excellent lecture you
gave here last evening on the subject of 'Slavery in America,' and also
in presenting you in their names with an honorary membership of the
Club. It is hoped that you will often avail yourself of its privileges
by coming amongst us. You will then see, by the cordial welcome of the
members, that they protest against the odious distinctions made between
man and man, and the abominable traffic of which you have been the
victim."

For the last three years Mr. Brown has been engaged in visiting and
holding meetings in nearly all the large towns in the kingdom upon the
question of American Slavery, Temperance, and other subjects. Perhaps no
coloured individual, not excepting that extraordinary man, Frederick
Douglass, has done more good in disseminating anti-slavery principles in
England, Scotland, and Ireland.

In the spring of 1851, two most interesting fugitives, William and Ellen
Craft, arrived in England. They had made their escape from the South,
the wife disguised in male attire, and the husband in the capacity of
her slave. William Craft was doing a thriving business in Boston, but in
1851 was driven with his wife from that city by the operation of the
Fugitive Slave Law. For several months they travelled in company with
Mr. Brown in this country, deepening the disgust created by Mr. Brown's
eloquent denunciation of slavery by their simple but touching narrative.
At length they were enabled to gratify their thirst for education by
gaining admission to Lady Byron's school at Oakham, Surrey. In the month
of May, Mr. Brown and Mr. and Mrs. Craft were taken by a party of
anti-slavery friends to the Great Exhibition. The honourable manner in
which they were received by distinguished persons to whom their history
was known, and the freedom with which they perambulated the American
department, was a salutary rebuke to the numerous Americans present, in
regard to the great sin of their country--slavery; and its great
folly--prejudice of colour. A curious circumstance occurred during the
Exhibition. Among the hosts of American visitors to this country was Mr.
Brown's late master, Enoch Price, who made diligent inquiry after his
lost piece of property--not, of course, with any view to its
reclamation--but, to the mutual regret of both parties, without success.
It is gratifying to state that the master spoke highly of, and expressed
a wish for the future prosperity of, his fugitive slave; a fact which
tends to prove that prejudice of colour is to a very great extent a
thing of locality and association. Had Mr. Price, however, left behind
him letters of manumission for Mr. Brown, enabling him, if he chose, to
return to his native land, he would have given a more practical proof of
respect, and of the sincerity of his desire for the welfare of Mr.
Brown.

It would extend these pages far beyond their proposed length were
anything like a detailed account of Mr. Brown's anti-slavery labours in
this country to be attempted. Suffice it to say that they have
everywhere been attended with benefit and approbation. At Bolton an
admirable address from the ladies was presented to him, and at other
places he has received most honourable testimonials.

Since Mr. Brown left America, the condition of the fugitive slaves in
his own country has, through the operation of the Fugitive Slave Law,
been rendered so perilous as to preclude the possibility of return
without the almost certain loss of liberty. His expatriation has,
however, been a gain to the cause of humanity in this country, where an
intelligent representative of the oppressed coloured Americans is
constantly needed, not only to describe, in language of fervid
eloquence, the wrongs inflicted upon his race in the United States, but
to prevent their bonds being strengthened in this country by holding
fellowship with slave-holding and slave-abetting ministers from America.
In his lectures he has clearly demonstrated the fact, that the sole
support of the slavery of the United States is its churches. This
knowledge of the standing of American ministers in reference to slavery
has, in the case of Dr. Dyer, and in many other instances, been most
serviceable, preventing their reception into communion with British
churches. Last year Mr. Brown succeeded in getting over to this country
his daughters, two interesting girls twelve and sixteen years of age
respectively, who are now receiving an education which will qualify them
hereafter to become teachers in their turn--a description of education
which would have been denied them in their native land. In 1834 Mr.
Brown married a free coloured woman, who died in January of the present
year.

The condition of escaped slaves has engaged much of his attention while
in this country. He found that in England no anti-slavery organization
existed whose object was to aid fugitive slaves in obtaining an
honourable subsistence in the land of their exile. In most cases they
are thrown upon the support of a few warm-hearted anti-slavery advocates
in this country, pre-eminent among whom stands Mr. Brown's earliest
friend, Mr. George Thompson, M.P., whose house is rarely free from one
or more of those who have acquired the designation of his "American
constituents." This want has recently been attempted to be supplied,
partly through Mr. Brown's exertions, and partly by the establishment of
the Anglo-American Anti-Slavery Association.

On the 1st of August, 1851, a meeting of the most novel character was
held at the Hall of Commerce, London, being a soiree given by fugitive
slaves in this country to Mr. George Thompson, on his return from his
American mission on behalf of their race. That meeting was most ably
presided over by Mr. Brown, and the speeches made upon the occasion by
fugitive slaves were of the most interesting and creditable description.
Although a residence in Canada is infinitely preferable to slavery in
America, yet the climate of that country is uncongenial to the
constitutions of the fugitive slaves, and their lack of education is an
almost insuperable barrier to their social progress. The latter evil Mr.
Brown attempted to remedy by the establishment of a Manual Labour School
in Canada.

A public meeting, attended by between 3000 and 4000 persons, was
convened by Mr. Brown, on the 6th of January, 1851, in the City Hall,
Glasgow, presided over by Mr. Hastie, one of the representatives of that
city, at which meeting a resolution was unanimously passed approving of
Mr. Brown's scheme, which scheme, however, never received that amount of
support which would have enabled him to bring it into practice; and the
plan at present only remains as an evidence of its author's ingenuity
and desire for the elevation of his depressed race. Mr. Brown
subsequently made, through the columns of the _Times_ newspaper, a
proposition for the emigration of American fugitive slaves, under fair
and honourable terms, to the West Indies, where there is a great lack of
that tillage labour which they are so capable of undertaking. This
proposition has hitherto met with no better fate than its predecessor.

Mr. Brown's literary abilities may be partly judged of from the
following pages. The amount of knowledge and education he has acquired
under circumstances of no ordinary difficulty, is a striking proof of
what can be done by combined genius and industry. His proficiency as a
linguist, without the aid of a master, is considerable. His present work
is a valuable addition to the stock of English literature. The honour
which has hitherto been paid, and which, so long as he resides upon
British soil, will no doubt continue to be paid to his character and
talents, must have its influence in abating the senseless prejudice of
colour in America, and hastening the time when the object of his
mission, the abolition of the slavery of his native country, shall be
accomplished, and that young Republic renouncing with penitence its
national sin, shall take its proper place amongst the most free,
civilized, and Christian nations of the earth.

W.F.

PREFACE.

While I feel conscious that most of the contents of these Letters will
be interesting chiefly to American readers, yet I may indulge the hope,
that the fact of their being the first production of a Fugitive Slave,
as a history of travels, may carry with them novelty enough to secure
for them, to some extent, the attention of the reading public of Great
Britain. Most of the letters were written for the private perusal of a
few personal friends in America; some were contributed to "Frederick
Douglass's paper," a journal published in the United States. In a
printed circular sent some weeks since to some of my friends, asking
subscriptions to this volume, I stated the reasons for its publication:
these need not be repeated here. To those who so promptly and kindly
responded to that appeal, I tender my most sincere thanks. It is with no
little diffidence that I lay these letters before the public; for I am
not blind to the fact, that they must contain many errors; and to those
who shall find fault with them on that account, it may not be too much
for me to ask them kindly to remember, that the author was a slave in
one of the Southern States of America, until he had attained the age of
twenty years; and that the education he has acquired, was by his own
exertions, he never having had a day's schooling in his life.

W. WELLS BROWN.

22, CECIL STREET, STRAND,
LONDON.

LETTER I.

_Departure from Boston--the Passengers--Halifax--the Passage--First
Sight of Land--Liverpool._

LIVERPOOL, _July 28_.

On the 18th July, 1849, I took passage in the steam-ship _Canada_,
Captain Judkins, bound for Liverpool. The day was a warm one; so much
so, that many persons on board, as well as several on shore, stood with
their umbrellas up, so intense was the heat of the sun. The ringing of
the ship's bell was a signal for us to shake hands with our friends,
which we did, and then stepped on the deck of the noble craft. The
_Canada_ quitted her moorings at half-past twelve, and we were soon in
motion. As we were passing out of Boston Bay, I took my stand on the
quarter-deck, to take a last farewell (at least for a time), of my
native land. A visit to the old world, up to that time had seemed but a
dream. As I looked back upon the receding land, recollections of the
past rushed through my mind in quick succession. From the treatment that
I had received from the Americans as a victim of slavery, and the
knowledge that I was at that time liable to be seized and again reduced
to whips and chains, I had supposed that I would leave the country
without any regret; but in this I was mistaken, for when I saw the last
thread of communication cut off between me and the land, and the dim
shores dying away in the distance, I almost regretted that I was not on
shore.

An anticipated trip to a foreign country appears pleasant when talking
about it, especially when surrounded by friends whom we love; but when
we have left them all behind, it does not seem so pleasant. Whatever may
be the fault of the government under which we live, and no matter how
oppressive her laws may appear, yet we leave our native land (if such
it be) with feelings akin to sorrow. With the steamer's powerful engine
at work, and with a fair wind, we were speedily on the bosom of the
Atlantic, which was as calm and as smooth as our own Hudson in its
calmest aspect. We had on board above one hundred passengers, forty of
whom were the "Viennese children"--a troop of dancers. The passengers
represented several different nations, English, French, Spaniards,
Africans, and Americans. One man who had the longest pair of mustaches
that mortal man was ever doomed to wear, especially attracted my
attention. He appeared to belong to no country in particular, but was
yet the busiest man on board. After viewing for some time the many
strange faces around me, I descended to the cabin to look after my
luggage, which had been put hurriedly on board. I hope that all who take
a trip of so great a distance may be as fortunate as I was, in being
supplied with books to read on the voyage. My friends had furnished me
with literature, from "Macaulay's History of England" to "Jane Eyre," so
that I did not want for books to occupy my time.

A pleasant passage of about thirty hours, brought us to Halifax, at six
o'clock in the evening. In company with my friend the President of the
Oberlin Institute, I took a stroll through the town; and from what
little I saw of the people in the streets, I am sure that the taking of
the Temperance pledge would do them no injury. Our stay at Halifax was
short. Having taken in a few sacks of coals, the mails, and a limited
number of passengers, we were again out, and soon at sea. After a
pleasant run of seven days more, and as I was lying in my bed, I heard
the cry of "Land a-head." Although our passage had been unprecedentedly
short, yet I need not inform you that this news was hailed with joy by
all on board. For my own part, I was soon on deck. Away in the distance,
and on our larboard quarter, were the grey hills of Ireland. Yes! we
were in sight of the land of Emmett and O'Connell. While I rejoiced with
the other passengers at the sight of land, and the near approach to the
end of the voyage, I felt low spirited, because it reminded me of the
great distance I was from home. But the experience of above twenty
years' travelling, had prepared me to undergo what most persons must lay
their account with, in visiting a strange country. This was the last day
but one that we were to be on board; and as if moved by the sight of
land, all seemed to be gathering their different things
together--brushing up their old clothes and putting on their new ones,
as if this would bring them any sooner to the end of their journey.

The last night on board was the most pleasant, apparently, that we had
experienced; probably, because it was the last. The moon was in her
meridian splendour, pouring her broad light over the calm sea; while
near to us, on our starboard side, was a ship with her snow-white sails
spread aloft, and stealing through the water like a thing of life. What
can present a more picturesque view, than two vessels at sea on a
moonlight night, and within a few rods of each other? With a gentle
breeze, and the powerful engine at work, we seemed to be flying to the
embrace of our British neighbours.

The next morning I was up before the sun, and found that we were within
a few miles of Liverpool. The taking of a pilot on board at eleven
o'clock, warned us to prepare to quit our ocean palace and seek other
quarters. At a little past three o'clock, the ship cast anchor, and we
were all tumbled, bag and baggage, into a small steamer, and in a few
moments were at the door of the Custom-House. The passage had only been
nine days and twenty-two hours, the quickest on record at that time, yet
it was long enough. I waited nearly three hours before my name was
called, and when it was, I unlocked my trunks and handed them over to
one of the officers, whose dirty hands made no improvement on the work
of the laundress. First one article was taken out, and then another,
till an _Iron Collar_ that had been worn by a female slave on the banks
of the Mississippi, was hauled out, and this democratic instrument of
torture became the centre of attraction; so much so, that instead of
going on with the examination, all hands stopped to look at the "Negro
Collar."

Several of my countrymen who were standing by, were not a little
displeased at answers which I gave to questions on the subject of
Slavery; but they held their peace. The interest created by the
appearance of the Iron Collar, closed the examination of my luggage. As
if afraid that they would find something more hideous, they put the
Custom-House mark on each piece, and passed them out, and I was soon
comfortably installed at Brown's Temperance Hotel, Clayton Square.

No person of my complexion can visit this country without being struck
with the marked difference between the English and the Americans. The
prejudice which I have experienced on all and every occasion in the
United States, and to some extent on board the _Canada_, vanished as
soon as I set foot on the soil of Britain. In America I had been bought
and sold as a slave, in the Southern States. In the so-called free
States, I had been treated as one born to occupy an inferior
position,--in steamers, compelled to take my fare on the deck; in
hotels, to take my meals in the kitchen; in coaches, to ride on the
outside; in railways, to ride in the "negro car;" and in churches, to
sit in the "negro pew." But no sooner was I on British soil, than I was
recognised as a man, and an equal. The very dogs in the streets
appeared conscious of my manhood. Such is the difference, and such is
the change that is brought about by a trip of nine days in an Atlantic
steamer.

I was not more struck with the treatment of the people, than with the
appearance of the great seaport of the world. The grey appearance of the
stone piers and docks, the dark look of the magnificent warehouses, the
substantial appearance of every thing around, causes one to think
himself in a new world instead of the old. Every thing in Liverpool
looks old, yet nothing is worn out. The beautiful villas on the opposite
side of the river, in the vicinity of Birkenhead, together with the
countless number of vessels in the river, and the great ships to be seen
in the stream, give life and animation to the whole scene.

Every thing in and about Liverpool seems to be built for the future as
well as the present. We had time to examine but few of the public
buildings, the first of which was the Custom-House, an edifice that
would be an ornament to any city in the world.

For the first time in my life, I can say "I am truly free." My old
master may make his appearance here, with the Constitution of the United
States in his pocket, the Fugitive Slave Law in one hand and the chains
in the other, and claim me as his property, but all will avail him
nothing. I can here stand and look the tyrant in the face, and tell him
that I am his equal! England is, indeed, the "land of the free, and the
home of the brave."

LETTER II.

_Trip to Ireland--Dublin--Her Majesty's Visit--Illumination of the
City--the Birth-Place of Thomas Moore--a Reception._

DUBLIN, _August 6_.

After remaining in Liverpool two days, I took passage in the little
steamer _Adelaide_ for this city. The wind being high on the night of
our voyage, the vessel had scarcely got to sea ere we were driven to
our berths; and though the distance from Liverpool to Dublin is short,
yet, strange to say, I witnessed more effects of the sea and rolling of
the steamer upon the passengers, than was to be seen during the whole of
our voyage from America. We reached Kingstown, five miles below Dublin,
after a passage of nearly fifteen hours, and were soon seated on a car,
and on our way to the city. While coming into the bay, one gets a fine
view of Dublin and the surrounding country. Few sheets of water make a
more beautiful appearance than Dublin Bay. We found it as still and
smooth as a mirror, with a soft mist on its surface--a strange contrast
to the boisterous sea that we had left a moment before.

The curious phrases of the Irish sounded harshly upon my ear, probably,
because they were strange to me. I lost no time on reaching the city in
seeking out some to whom I had letters of introduction, one of whom gave
me an invitation to make his house my home during my stay, an invitation
which I did not think fit to decline.

Dublin, the Metropolis of Ireland, is a city of above two hundred
thousand inhabitants, and is considered by the people of Ireland to be
the second city in the British Empire. The Liffey, which falls into
Dublin Bay a little below the Custom-House, divides the town into two
nearly equal parts. The streets are--some of them--very fine, especially
upper Sackville Street, in the centre of which stands a pillar erected
to Nelson, England's most distinguished Naval Commander. The Bank of
Ireland, to which I paid a visit, is a splendid building, and was
formerly the Parliament House. This magnificent edifice fronts College
Green, and near at hand stands a bronze statue of William III. The Bank
and the Custom-House are two of the finest monuments of architecture in
the city; the latter of which stands near the river Liffey, and its
front makes an imposing appearance, extending to three hundred and
seventy-five feet. It is built of Portland stone, and is adorned with a
beautiful portico in the centre, consisting of four Doric columns
supporting an enriched entablature, decorated with a group of figures in
alto-relievo, representing Hibernia and Britannia presenting emblems of
peace and liberty. A magnificent dome, supporting a cupola, on whose
apex stands a colossal figure of Hope, rises nobly from the centre of
the building to a height of one hundred and twenty-five feet. It is,
withal, a fine specimen of what man can do.

From this noble edifice, we bent our steps to another part of the city,
and soon found ourselves in the vicinity of St. Patrick's, where we had
a heart-sickening view of the poorest of the poor. All the recollections
of poverty which I had ever beheld, seemed to disappear in comparison
with what was then before me. We passed a filthy and noisy market, where
fruit and vegetable women were screaming and begging those passing by to
purchase their commodities; while in and about the market-place were
throngs of beggars fighting for rotten fruit, cabbage stocks, and even
the very trimmings of vegetables. On the side walks, were great numbers
hovering about the doors of the more wealthy, and following strangers,
importuning them for "pence to buy bread." Sickly and emaciated-looking
creatures, half naked, were at our heels at every turn. After passing
through a half dozen, or more, of narrow and dirty streets, we returned
to our lodgings, impressed with the idea that we had seen enough of the
poor for one day.

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