Slaves

SLAVES. BY FRANCIS W. COPE. Thoughts are brain pictures incited by suggestion of eye or ear, through the medium of the senses, or by the operation of reasoning When the term "slave" is brought to our attention, our mind usually forms a picture of the southern negro ''befo' de wah," the galley slave of the Roman period, or probably the captivity of the Israelites in Egypt or Babylon, all of whom represent a class of individuals whose condition was brought about more or less by circumstances beyond their control. There is, however, another class of individuals who are prop- erly placed in the same category by their own actions, whose slavery is more pronounced and whose condition is more to be re- gretted than the physical slavery of the classes mentioned. The slavery of the negro, as well as that of the Israelites, though accompanied by many heart-burnings and severities, both mental and physical, brought with it the opportunity of experience and advancement. It is contended by a great many persons that, with few exceptions, the condition of the negro was more prefer- able in times before the war than at present; but be that as it may, it is certain that he has greatly improved intellectually, through the medium of the slave trade carried on in the early period of our nation's history, by coming in contact with the white races, his masters. The captivities of Israel give us many ex- amples of the possibilities of individual advancement under slavery, in the lives of Daniel, in Babylon, and Joseph and Moses, in Egypt.

SLAVES. 791 The slaves to whom I wish to call attention, are those who are slaves to their own habits. We have the slave to liquor, the slave to tobacco, the tea and coffee slave, and slaves to the ap- petite. There is the slave to fashion, the slave to society, and the slave that attends them, the slave to debt. The particular slave to whom I wish to call attention, at this time, is the modern galley slave: the person who through lack of affirmation and energy, is fastened to his seat in the ship of retro- gression by the chains of indolence, performing his forced task with reluctance; without advancement, to vary his daily monotony; each setting sun beholding him in the same position which he oc- cupied on its rising Many young men are such slaves, who have been born and reared in comfortable circumstances, with the opportunity of gain- ing a good education and start in the world; who have average in- telligence, yet, through lack of affirmation, have not advanced on the ladder of life above the bottom round. Such a one has ambi- tion to advance, but expends no energy to realize that ambition. He has been content to exist from day to day without thought of the morrow, making no attempt to get out of the rut; and, as it is absolutely impossible to stand still, he gradually slips down and down, welding the chains of habit tightly around him. His days are spent in dreaming of what he would be, his nights in revelry, and probably carousal. Never a moment spent in the betterment of his intellect to fit him for the daily battle of life; so, when the crash comes, he finds himself battling with the waves of life, drag- ged down by shackles of his own welding. In contrast, there is the young man who has been born under conditions no more favorable, who probably lacks the educational opportunities, but who possesses a determination to make every moment of his time count one in the sum of his existence Playing. or working, he is alive to the opportunity to gain some knowledge that may fit him for the better fight in the battle of life. He is not content with merely putting in time, just enough to give his employer no cause to dispense with his services, but is ever watchful for the information that shall fit him for a step up- ward on the ladder, whenever the fellow above him steps up or drops off. His days are not spent in dreaming, nor his nights in

792 IMPROVEMENT ERA. revelry, but he is found at all times drinking in that knowledge which will help him to "make good" when opportunity knocks at his door. Then, with affirmation and energy, he arises above his surroundings, as he marches upward and onward to have his name enrolled with the Daniels and Josephs, Washingtons and Lincolns. Slavery is the condition of being circumscribed in our thought and action; of being in bondage to our appetites and habits, as well as to other men or conditions. Let us so live that every thought and action will keep us free from fetters; or, if we are already bound, help to unweld the chains which our habits and ap- petites have forged around us, that we may advance to the height which God would have us reach. Forest Dale, Utah. HEVERSHAM CHURCH, WHERE PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR WAS CHRISTENED. Elder George A. Parry, writing from Preston, England, June 13. tells of a visit made by President Charles W. Penrose and wife, and several of the elders of the Liverpool conference, to Milnthorpe, in Westmoreland, the birthplace of the late President John Taylor. They also visited the Haversham church, in which he was christened nearly one hundred years ago. They saw the record of the christening, which bore the date of December 4, 1808. The accompanying picture presents a view of the Heversham church.