by Various
After a few successful concerts in Wales and England we again entered Scotland. Applications for concerts poured in from all parts of the kingdom and full houses greeted us. One concert in Glasgow netted $1,700. A similar work to that of the first campaign was carried on in concerts, extra Christian efforts and social functions. It was impossible to respond to all the invitations that came to us.
We went to Ireland and our work there was a repetition of that in other countries, only our Irish friends, in their enthusiasm, seemed even more demonstrative than other people in expressing their appreciation. Before meeting Hon. Horatius Gates Jones in Philadelphia, an Irish friend, and these friends in Dublin, we had always supposed that the Irish were our natural enemies, because of experiences in both the North and South. We rejoiced at the discovery of our mistake. At our first concert fifteen hundred applicants for tickets were turned away. Opportunities for Sabbath services and social functions were more than we could fill. We found that Ireland, too, had received letters from our good friend, Lord Shaftsbury.
After a flying trip to several cities in Northern and Southern Ireland we turned to Geneva, Switzerland, to rest for the summer. During the summer gave a concert in Geneva, at which Pere Hyacinth presided. Although he and the audience could not understand English they applauded, wept or smiled at the same places as an English audience. They said, “We feel it,” and were very cordial in their looks and handshakes.
In Holland
We went to Holland by invitation of a Dutch friend of Rotterman, G. P. Ittman, Esq., who had heard us in London. Our “Story With Songs,” was translated into Dutch, the programs containing both English and Dutch side by side. Local committees of leading citizens were formed in almost every place we visited. These committees met us at stations and escorted us to our hotels and assumed all the responsibilities of the campaign. Where suitable halls could not be found, their churches or [Domes] were opened to us. Great as had been the attentions show us, none had equaled the dazzling splendor of the reception given us at the palatial home of Baron Von Wassenaer de Catwick at the Hague. The Queen of the Netherlands, wearing a diamond coronet, and other members of the royal family, were present in court dress, and a hundred or more of the nobility and diplomatic corps were present in all their splendor. Our hotel was just across the street, but court etiquette required that we drive across to their door. We wore our usual simple dresses, but our reception was most cordial and enthusiastic. The scene was beyond description in brilliancy and magnificence. Even the liveried servants who ushered guests to cloak rooms or salons and files of soldiers that lined the path to the door, reminded us that we were in the midst of royalty. Even the Queen conversed freely and directly with us. Later we met the King at his palace, [the Lon], where we met other distinguished guests. He gave us a large contribution. We were grateful for the $10,000 which our two months’ work in Holland had netted us, but even more grateful for the hospitality which we had enjoyed.
Among the several friends whom we learned to love was the Van Heemstra family. Baroness Cornelia Van Heemstra became my personal friend and later, when I became ill in Germany, she sent for me to come to the Hague, and sent me, as her friend, to a hospital reserved for the nobility, where I remained for six weeks. I was treated like a sister beloved. Amusing incidents occurred in the smaller towns and cities of Holland, where no colored person had ever been before. Our arrival created a greater sensation than a circus in the United States. We could not go walking or shopping on foot because crowds of children in wooden shoes surrounded us so closely that we could not get on. In hotels and at every social event we were treated royally.
In Germany
In October, 1877, we entered Germany. Again we found that Lord Shaftsbury’s generous letters had acquainted the philanthropic, religious and musical circles with our coming and mission. At once we received invitations to dinners, receptions, etc. where we met many of the elite of Germany. Rare and special favors in beautiful homes greeted us, the most significant being an invitation from the Crown Prince to New Palace, Potsdam, to meet the royal family. The imperial carriages met us. Arriving at the palace we were soon ushered into the presence of the royal family, the crown prince Frederick and Crown Princess, daughter of Queen Victoria, and their children; also the aged Emperor or Kaiser. A delightful time was spent in familiar and cordial conversation and we sang a number of our sweetest slave songs, to the delight of all. Queen Victoria had written her daughter three years before of her enjoyment of our songs and how they comforted her, which had made the Crown Princess anxious to meet us. Lunch was served us in the palace, after which the good-bye’s were said and we entered the carriages and returned to Berlin. The Crown Prince begged a copy of our songs, that he might sing them with his family. As Mr. Marsh had well said, “It was a delightful glimpse of the home life of today in the palace of Frederick the Great.”
At one of the grand receptions I felt so keenly that a certain Countess’ eyes were constantly fixed upon me that I could not help asking her in broken German, “What is the matter?” She, in equally broken English, replied: “Oh, I so astonished you speak English—beautifully, and oh, you dress like we.” I replied, “Why what did you expect me to have on?” She replied, “Oh, Africani Africani.” I suppose she expected us to have on only five yards of calico wrapped around us, à l’Africaines.
We felt that out first concert, which was to be given in the aristocratic Sing-Akademie, would be a test of our strength. Our interpreter, Mr. Kuistermaker, had said that a number of the greatest musical critics in the country, before whom all the great singers appeared, were to be present, and if we failed we would better pack our trunks and leave. So when we stood before these gentlemen [critics] all of them on the front seat, [the worst place from which to judge us] we trembled. One of our basses was absent, which left only one bass to balance nine voices. We labored hard to even up voices. We grouped as usual, leaned heads toward each other, and paused for a oneness of effort. Then everything else forgotten, in a musical whisper. “Steal Away” floated out so perfectly that one could not tell when it began. The astonishment upon the fixed, upturned faces of our critics told us that we had won; we were again at ease and did our best to maintain the good impression. Our concert was received with great enthusiasm. The audience, representing the greatest and best of the city, was in evening dress. We had never seen such an array of sparkling jewels as were worn that night. It was beautiful. After the concert many came up and congratulated us. The dailies gave us some of the finest criticisms we had received. Each piece was analyzed. One article was filled with such expressions as these: “What wealth of shading! What accuracy of declamation! Such a pianissimo, such a crescendo and a decrescendo as those at the close of ‘Steal Away’ might raise envy in the soul of any choir master.” And further on: “Something may be learned from these Negro singers.”
Our work and mission were the same in Germany as in other countries, with the same satisfying results. All the leading cities of Germany were visited. At Wittenburg we sang “Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow” in Martin Luther’s room in the old Monastery, and heard the wonderful chimes at sunrise. At Brunswick we met Franz Abt, the author and musician, and received a warm greeting. At Barmen we sang before one of the largest Sunday schools in the world, and they sang for us, the name of Jesus being the only familiar word in the songs. At Darmstadt the court theater was placed at our disposal. We had the pleasure of meeting Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hessen, daughter of Queen Victoria, also her children. At another concert both the Duke and Duchess were present, also the Prince of Wales and his brother, the Duke of Connaught. After the concert we were summoned to the royal box and warmly greeted. At Dresden our successful concert was attended by the King and Queen of Saxony. At Leipzig our reception was delightful. The Gewandhaus, an aristocratic hall where only the best class of concerts was admitted, was placed at our disposal. The custom of cheaper admission fees and hard times made
our tour financially less successful. After taking in a few other prominent cities and sights we prepared for disbanding and left the Continent, arriving home at Fisk in July, 1878.
In Germany (continued)
An article appeared stating that the singers would not rest without a tribute to the memory of Miss Susan Gilbert, who married Mr. George L. White in England, during our last campaign. She was our mother during all the seven years through which we labored for Fisk University and the four years through which we labored principially for ourselves. Mrs. Susan G. White kept the home idea among us and was the embodiment of Christian culture and refinement, an ever-present reminder of an inspiration to high and noble attainments, so necessary to protect and hold us while in public life as we, inexperienced and unprepared, were whirled through such exceptional social recognition. Our Father only knows how much we owe to our daily association with such a quiet, loving spirit, who looked upon her sufferings and humiliations as a part of her sacrificial service unto the Lord. The family idea had never dropped, even if sometimes conditions prevented the customary kneeling. Often our petitions in public went up through song or in the blessing at table. Somewhere during the day we recognized together the source of all our strength and protection. During all those eleven years on the road, not once did we have an accident while traveling, though calamities, ahead of us and behind us, occurred.
The Final Word by President Gates
The account of the striking success in raising money by the original Jubilee Singers, which money was used in the purchase of a good part of the campus on which the university now stands and for the erection of Jubilee Hall, may suggest the impression that at this time, 1911, the University still has adequate financial support. Such an impression would be as unfortunate as it would be untrue. The University has come now upon a second crisis. Its expenses have been running ahead of its income for some years. The demands for enlargement have been so imperative as to be nothing less than a command to take some steps in the line of progress.
But the time has come now for a change in this respect. The Trustees have determined to raise at least $300,000 which they hope to make $300,000, in the immediate future, for endowment. A member of the Board of Trustees, Mr. H. L. Simmons, is devoting his whole time and strength to the work of raising this fund which we must have.
Meantime there are heavy annual expenses which must be provided for outside the few sources of modest revenue that can be depended upon. These sources are Fees from the students, an annual grant for the Slater Board and an annual appropriation from the American Missionary Association. It is a time when Fisk University needs the stalwart help of all its old friends and a large number of new ones. In this great work of putting the institution anew on its feet we must succeed.
POETRY, DRAMA, AND FICTION
26
SARAH FORTEN PURVIS (MAGAWISCA)
(1814–1884)
Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis, the third daughter of James Forten and Charlotte Vandine Forten, was yet another member of Philadelphia’s prominent abolitionist Forten family whose writing is featured in this anthology. Like her niece, Charlotte Forten Grimké, Sarah Forten Purvis considered herself an abolitionist first and foremost, but was celebrated for her literary work. Her poem “The Grave of the Slave” (1831) was set to music by bugler and bandleader Francis “Frank” Johnson. In 1839, she married Joseph Purvis, a member of another prominent Philadelphia family.
The following poems, “The Slave Girl’s Address to Her Mother” and “Lines,” along with the essay, “The Abuse of Liberty,” were all featured in the Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist newspaper; she was a frequent contributor under the pen names Ada and Magawisca. Her work offers a glimpse into the robust women’s abolitionist movement, centered around the Philadelphia-based Forten family before the Civil War. Her writings for the Liberator emerged from her devotion to organizations like the Underground Railroad and the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society. These are political works written by a staunch activist at a time when political consequences could not be more dire for the writer and for the nation.
“The Slave Girl’s Address to Her Mother” (1831)
SOURCE: Sarah Forten Purvis, “The Slave Girl’s Address to Her Mother,” Liberator, January 29, 1831.
Oh! mother, weep not, though our lot be hard,
And we are helpless—God will be our guard:
For He our heavenly guardian doth not sleep;
He watches o’er us—mother, do not weep.
And grieve not for that dear loved home no more
Our sufferings and our wrongs, ah! why deplore?
For though we feel the stern oppressor’s rod,
Yet he must yield, as well as we, to God.
Torn from our home, our kindred and our friends,
And in a stranger’s land our days to end,
No heart feels for the poor, the bleeding slave;
No arm is stretched to rescue, and to save.
Oh! ye who boast of Freedom’s sacred claims,
Do ye not blush to see our galling chains;
To hear that sounding word—“that all are free”—
When thousands groan in hopeless slavery?
Upon your land it is a cruel stain—
Freedom, what art thou?—nothing but a name.
No more, no more! Oh God, this cannot be;
Thou to thy children’s aid wilt surely flee:
In thine own time deliverance thou wilt give,
And bid us rise from slavery, and live.
Philadelphia.
ADA.
“The Abuse of Liberty” (1831)
SOURCE: Sarah Forten Purvis, “The Abuse of Liberty,” Liberator, March 26, 1831.
I know no evil under the wide-spread canopy of Heaven, so great as the abuse of man’s liberty; and no where has this vice a more extensive sway, than in this boasted land of Philanthropy, that offers to every white man the right to enjoy life, liberty, and happiness. I say every white man, because those who cannot shew a fair exterior, (no matter what be the noble qualities of their mind,) are to be robbed of the rights by which they were endowed by an all-wise and merciful Creator, who, in his great wisdom, cast a sable hue over some of the “lords of creation.” And does it follow, that those are to be loaded with ignominy, crushed by the galling chain of slavery, and degraded even to the level of the brute? Is it because their skins are black, that they are to be deprived of every tender tie that binds the heart of man to earth? Is it for this unalterable cause, that they are to bow beneath the lash, and with a broken, bleeding heart, enrich the soil of the pale faces? Yet it is no less true than infamous, that this monstrous vice has been suffered to pursue its course in the breasts of so many of our noble countrymen. It is a lamentable fact, that they can with remorseless hearts rush like fiends into the retirement of a happy, unsuspecting family, and with an unshaken hand, tear the unconscious husband from his tender wife, and the helpless babe from its mother’s breast. And is he a happy man, who can thus, without a shudder,—yes, without a sigh, plant the thorn of misery where once contentment reigned? No—there is no state of life so anxious as his; he lives contrary to the dictates of conscience; he is in constant dread lest they, whom be unjustly condemns to bondage, will burst their fellers, and become oppressors in their turn.—And is it the insatiable thirst for mammon that has blinded our countrymen? and the glitter of paltry gold that has made them so callous to their immortal safety?
Oh, that the scales of error might fall from their eyes, that they might clearly behold with what rapidity that little stream they first introduced into their country, has spread itself! It will soon expand into a mighty river, that will ere long overwhelm them in its dark abyss. Awake from your lethargy; exert every nerve; cast off the yoke from the oppressed; let the bondmen go free; and cry unto your offended God to send freedom with its strong battleme
nts to impede the progress of this raging flood;—I say, cry unto Him for aid; for can you think He, thee Great Spirit, who created all men free and equal—He, who made the sun to shine on the black man as well as on the white, will always allow you to rest tranquil on your downy couches? No,—He is just, and his anger will not always slumber. He will wipe the tear from Ethiopia’s eye; He will shake the tree of liberty, and its blossoms shall spread over the earth.
MAGAWISCA
PHILADELPHIA, MARCH 14, 1831
“Lines” (1838)
SOURCE: Sarah Forten Purvis, “Lines,” Liberator, October 5, 1838.
On the suppression, by a portion of our public journals, of the intelligence of the Abolition of Slavery in the British West Indies.
From fair Jamaica’s fertile plains,
Where joyous summer smiles,
To where eternal winter reigns,
On Greenland’s naked isles;
Or, from Barbado’s, eastward borne,
Upon the fresh’ning breeze,
To every sunny isle that decks
The Atlantic seas;
Wherever mild Religion’s light