village to village, and from one end of the kingdom to the other; but he relied too much upon simple lying and gross fiction,* and was comparatively ignorant of

The following anecdote, related to me by a friend in London, who was an eye-witness of the scene, is given as a specimen of BORTHWICK'S effrontery. One evening, he was holding forth upon colonial slavery to a large audience in Edinburgh or Glasgow, wholly unaware of the presence of MR. THOMPSON, who sat taking notes in a remote corner of the hall. In the course of his lecture, he boldly asserted, that, by a law of Jamaica, if a slave should testify that his master had maltreated him, his naked declaration would suffice to cause the master to be heavily fined, although the accusation should be groundless! To confirm his statement, he said he held the law in his hand, which he would read to the assembly, if any one present should call for it. He then paused, as if to afford an opportunity for the request to be made, and was about to proceed, when MR. THOMPSON audibly said, 'Read the law!' Though taken by surprise, BORTHWICK immediately recognized his opponent, and coolly replied: "The honorable gentleman cries-Read the law! Does he doubt my readiness to read it? I will read it, if he should again urge his request: if not, I will proceed with my lecture.' Again MR. THOMPSON responded more emphatically, READ THE LAW!' The audience now became considerably agitated. BORTHWICK himself was dashed, (for he had no law to read,) and turning to MR. THOMPSON imploringly said, 'I appeal to the honorable gentleman, whether it is fair to interrupt the lecture, and to agitate this meeting, by pertinaciously insisting upon the reading of the law. Have I not declared that I hold the law in my hand? Have I not referred distinctly to its provisions? I pledge my word that it shall be given to the public. Ought not this to satisfy the gentleman? I throw myself upon his courtesy and kindness: will he allow me to proceed without further interruption?' Once more, in a clear tone, MR. THOMPSON responded, 'READ THE LAW!' The pro-slavery portion of the audience, seeing the terrible dilemma into which their champion was brought, and true to their character all over the world, now raved and stormed at Mr. T., and vehemently cried out, Down, sir! down, sir! Out with him! out with him!' The chairman, too, was rampant with vexation, and ordered Mr. T. to be silent, or he would call for the police officers to take him out of the house-BORTHWICK, all the while, looking unutterable things. During this extraordinary hubbub, MR. THOMPSON stood with much calmness and dignity, and turning to those around him, said determinately, Turn him out! Who will turn me out? Will you,

the intellectual and moral strength of his formidable. opponent. On his part, the aspect of the conflict was soon changed from offensive to defensive. The last attempt on the part of MR. THOMPSON, to confront MR. BORTHWICK before a public audience, was made while I was in England. The cities of Bath and Bristol were the strong holds of the pro-slavery party, and they contributed liberally to the support of MR. BORTHWICK. A splendid service of plate had just been presented to him

sir? or you, sir? or you, sir?' Then as they recoiled, addressing himself to the chairman, he continued—' It looks well in you, sir, to talk of forcing me from this hall! Have you so soon forgotten that to me you are indebted for having been saved from a violent expulsion, a few evenings since, in this city, for your turbulent conduct, at one of my lectures? When some of my auditors exclaimed, Turn him out!' I said, 'No-let him remain ; nay, I , let him be heard. If he is thrust out, I shall also leave.' And now, sir, regardless of this timely interference in your behalf, you threaten to expel me from this assembly! And why? Have I behaved disorderly? No. Have I taken a liberty that was not proffered? No. MR. BORTHWICK said that his statement concerning certain features of West India slavery was derived from a law that he held in his hand, which, if any were skeptical, he would read. Confident there was no such law in existence, I repeatedly requested him to read the law. This is the head and front of my offending. If he had fulfilled his promise, there would have been no disturbance. If he has the law, why does he not read it? The audience must now be satisfied that MR. BORTHWICK has promised more than he is able to perform; and, consequently, that his glowing description of the happy condition of the enslaved negro is drawn from his imagination, rather than from the statute-book. If he shall finish his lecture without reading the law, he will have succeeded by his labors this evening in bringing condemuation upon himself and his cause. To give him a chance, therefore, to rescue both, if possible, for the last time I call upon him to READ THE LAW.'

The whole of this scene cannot be adequately described. Order was at length restored-poor BORTHWICK was confounded, and wound up his lecture as speedily as possible, still persisting that there was such a law, but he had unfortunately mislaid it. It should certainly be forthcoming at another time.' That time never came!

in the former city, for his advocacy of colonial slavery, and Bath was now his chosen place of residence, in which he was ignobly figuring as the lion of the day.' MR. THOMPSON had long been anxious to deliver a lecture in that city, although he was aware of the disadvantages under which he must labor as the advocate of emancipation. Having made his arrangements accordingly, we left London together, in the stage-coach early in the evening, and rode all night, and just as morning dawned entered Bath, experiencing the bodily depression usually arising from a sleepless night and a long journey. As we rode through various streets, large placards upon the walls met our eyes, informing the public that MR. GEORGE THOMPSON would reply to MR. BORTHWICK's lecture at 12 o'clock of that day. MR. THOMPSON had not seen the lecture alluded to, and it was with difficulty he obtained a copy of it in season for perusal, before he went to the place of meeting to reply to it! Thus fatigued, and thus unprepared, he was called to stand up, for the first time, before a severely critical and highly intellectual assembly in the Athens of England! He had scarcely finished his brief exordium, before his physical depression was changed to vigorous action; and for more than three hours, an affluent stream of eloquence, widening and deepening in its course, was poured from the exhaustless fountain of his mind. His auditors were evidently taken by surprise. They went (very many of them at least) to cavil, not to applaud to depress the orator by their coolness, not to animate him by their enthusiasm. But their half equivocal ejaculations of 'hear! hear!' at the commencement, were soon succeeded by loud cheers. As

he rose to the climax of his powers, the house rang with thunders of applause. In the course of his lecture, he paused repeatedly, and thanking them for their very flattering reception, which he ascribed to their interest in the great cause of human rights, intimated that he would bring his remarks to a close, lest he should trespass upon their time and patience. But the cries of No! no! Go on! go on!' were unanimous, and encouraged him to proceed. At length, nature demanded relief: the powerful and long-continued action of his mind shattered its fleshly tabernacle, and he could speak no longer. It was, in truth, a masterly effort. I cannot conceive how he could have improved it by long deliberation, either in the delicacy of its satire, the force of its reasoning, or the splendor of its declamation. MR. BORTHWICK was challenged to discuss the subject of slavery in Bath, but wisely declined.

The qualifications of MR. THOMPSON, as a lecturer, filled my mind with admiration. His person was tall and graceful; his social manners captivating; his voice of great compass, and very pleasant in its lower tones; his action natural-at times vehement-yet generally governed by oratorical rules; his elocution beautiful, spontaneous, irresistible. Especially did he excel in debate he could do more for himself and his cause with MR. BORTHWICK, than without him and he always preferred to have an antagonist, if one could be found. He had the faculty of thinking on his legs' faster than any other speaker I had ever heard. But it was not his quickness of perception, nor his fluency of speech, nor his brilliancy of retort, upon which he placed reliance. He felt that the cause which he es

poused was invincible, inasmuch as it was based upon the rock of TRUTH, supported by the pillars of JUSTICE and MERCY, and patronized by GOD. He was strong in faith-that faith which is as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast-that faith which has so often overcome the world. His appeals were made to the CHRISTIANITY of Great Britain. He depicted slavery as a comprehensive system of soul-murder. If he alluded to the physical sufferings of the slaves, he did so rather in confirmation of his charges of animal cruelty against the planters, than to excite the highest indignation of his audience. He knew that he was addressing a professedly moral and religious people; and he rightly judged, that they would regard an outrage done to the intellect and soul of a human being, as transcending every other in enormity. It was his great aim, therefore, to establish the equality, exalt the value, and vindicate the immortality of the slave. For that despised and fettered victim, the heavens and the earth were created, as much as for patriarchs, prophets and apostles. For him, equally with the rest of mankind, God said, 'LET THERE BE LIGHT.' For him, the sun and the moon and stars were ordained to shine in the firmament. For him, God commanded the earth to bring forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit after his kind; the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth, after his kind. For him, God said, 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth.' To his dominion were subjected the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and every living thing that moveth