Solomon Bayley

“ I also saw that heaven and earth would pass away, before one jot or tittle of his law should fail, or fall to the ground. Man must be converted, or never enter into the kingdom of heaven. A thought came into my heart, to go out to some secret place to pray; and as I walked, I trembled, [Pg 24] and when I got to the place, I could only pray, “Lord have mercy upon me.” I cried as if falling into black despair, and having consented to forsake every wrong way, God, for Christ’s sake, had mercy on me, and pardoned my sins: Glory be to God, for ever and ever, Amen. ”

“ And when I considered the power of God, and for that power to be poured out upon me to all eternity, I began then to examine into my state and condition, and I found I had a falling spirit, prone to evil as the sparks fly upward ”

“ Now there was an impression on my mind, that the Father of Mercy would do greater things for me, for his own honour and praise, and my everlasting advantage, if my behaviour was right before him: it was impressed on my mind, that he was unchangeable in his purposes and designs, which are to set the captive souls at liberty, if they will follow him in the path of obedience; and no degrees of grace will destroy man’s capability of choosing, whether he will do right or wrong; doing right gives a secret satisfaction to the mind ”

“ A period of nearly twenty years has elapsed, during which the friends of gradual manumission have been lulled by hope, and cheated by disappointed expectation; and when it is considered, that at this moment England retains nearly eight hundred thousand human beings, and America more than fifteen hundred thousand, in this cruel state of bondage, it remains even now a doubt, whether the present generation will witness the end of this aggravated evil, unless prompt and more vigorous measures be taken for its immediate extinction. ”

“ Oh! then, and not till then, did I ever desire saving faith; but I could not attain to it by all the exertion I could make: but Oh! reader, I found here in my distress, that faith is the gift of God, and that grace is not sown in the heart, till the heart is broken and contrite; that is, in earnest to study and enter [Pg 23] into the saving plan of life and salvation, which is: “Let the wicked, forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let them turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and abundantly pardon all that is passed.” ”

“ Solomon Bayley, unto all people, and nations, and languages, grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Having lived some months in continual expectation of death, I have felt uneasy in mind about leaving the world, without leaving behind me some account of the kindness and mercy of God towards me. ”

“ She also testified, that the view of eternity and of eternal consequences, so distressed her mind, that it swallowed up her present distress, and so she was induced to give up the lesser, and attend to the greater; namely, to find peace and rest in the life to come: she was enabled to go on in search after truth, until she experienced peace of mind, and evidence of pardon for all her sins, which was her greatest concern till death. ”

“ I know not; for in moving out of that circle so quickly, I became so bewildered as to be quite lost, and did not know what course to take, or what to do; and I thought it was because my faith failed me so quickly. Oh! what pains God doth take to help his otherwise helpless creatures. O that his kindness and care were more considered and laid to heart, and then there would not be that cause to complain that “the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib, but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” ”

“ It abode on my mind that I should meet with some difficulty before I got to Dover: however I tried to study on the promises of the Almighty, and so travelled on until I came to a place called Anderson’s Cross-Roads; and there I met with the greatest trial I ever met with in all my distress. But the greater the trial, the greater the benefit, if the mind be but staid on that everlasting arm of power, whom the winds and the waves obey. It was so, that I called at them cross-roads, to enquire the way to Camden, and I thought I would go to the kitchen, where the black people were ”

“ And I said in my heart, bless the Lord, O my soul; I will try the Lord this time. Here they come; and still that word sounded in my heart; “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” They came not quite so near me as the circle the birds had made, when the old man sheered off, and went by me ”

“ She, from a child, was more weak and sickly than her sister Margaret, and the thought of leaving her here in this ill-natured world caused me many serious moments; but the great Parent of all good, in the greatness of his care, took her away, and relieved me of the care of her for ever.
[Pg 45]
Weakness of body and mind appeared in her as she grew up; and an inclination to vanity and idleness; but being bound out under an industrious mistress, to learn to work and to have schooling, her mind soon became much inclined to her book and then to business. ”

“ And now, reader, I will here record that God is rich in mercy, towards sinners of the deepest die; for when every other method failed, to shew his steadfast mind to save me, he sent a little boy to me with his finger at a text in a sermon book, “The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death;” ”

“ Now the reader may take notice, that as I was going on thus, my son’s master died; and his property had to be sold, and my son had to be sold, as the other property, at public sale: the back-woods-men being come over, and giving such large prices for slaves, it occasioned a great concern to come over my mind; and I began to tell my concern to some friends, white and coloured, rich and poor; and they all with one accord persuaded me to buy him, that is, my son: I answered I could have no heart, because he was appraised at the death of his master at four hundred dollars ”

“ I will yet go on to shew the reader my uneasiness of mind after I got to Camden. I then thought I wanted a preparation to adore the goodness of God, that had begun with me in the back countries, and had brought me through so many difficulties; but with shame I must confess, I sang his praise, but soon forgot his works: yet the great God pitied me, and exercised a careful constant mind towards me, for my good: Oh! how deceitful is the heart of man.
But not long after I got to Camden, my master came from the state of Virginia, to Camden, Kent County, state of Delaware, where he found me ”

“ Having given the reader a short account of the abundant mercy bestowed on me by a bountiful God, who is engaged to raise poor sinners from a depth of sin and shame, to the height of happiness and glory ”

“ Oh! that all men would study the end of their creation, and act accordingly; then they would walk in the light of his countenance indeed, and “in his name they would rejoice all the day, and in his righteousness for ever be exalted;” ”

“ I confess the eyes of my mind appeared to be dazzled, as I was let into a sight of the great goodness of the Highest [Pg 35] in undertaking for me: but Oh! reader, I felt a fear, lest my behaviour should not be suitable to the kindness and favour shewed towards me. ”

“ It pleased almighty goodness, to give my wife’s mistress that power which cut Rahab and wounded the Dragon; and she spoke with such concern of mind and said, “Oh do let Solomon have her; I have been afraid to speak, but I want him to have her, he appears to want to have her;” and these words, with a few more I omit, were attended with such force to her master’s mind, that he gave up with a whining tone, and said “He may have her;” ”

“ The reader will observe, that Solomon frequently makes use of the pronoun “thee,” when addressing an individual; this occurs simply from the circumstance, that it is a mode of speech not unusual in some parts of America, with people of different denominations; and does not arise from any connexion that he has ever had with the societyof friends.
R. H.
[2] This concern was doubtless of a religious character: the death of the pious and enterprising Paul Cuffee, was the probable cause of the visit being relinquished. ”

“ This mode of farming, which requires [Pg v] great confidence on one side, and skill and industry on the other, is not uncommon in America; the landlord usually finding all the necessary implements and stocking the farm, and the tenant, the requisite labour to manage the concern. ”

“ The distance from where I then was to Dover, was about one hundred and twenty miles: so I started and travelled at nights, and lay by in the day time. I went on northwards, with great fear and anxiety of mind. ”