Julia Griffiths to Frederick Douglass, October 15, 1855

Our Correspondence. For Frederick Douglass' Paper. LETTERS FROM THE OLD WORLD. Number VII. LANGSIDE, near Glasgow, Oct. 15, '55. MY DEAR FRIEND :- There will not be much of interest, I fear, in my present epistle, for I have been, more or less, an invalid, since I wrote last to Rochester, and compelled to re- main, for several days, a close prisoner, and vic- tim to severe influenza. This has been a some- what trying dispensation to me; and I strug- gled hard before I yielded to my old and ugly foe. Two hours' carnest conversation with the Ladies Anti-Slavery Committee, on the 4th inst., in a very damp atmosphere, greatly acceler- erated my illness; and a party, on the following evening, at the house of a valued friend of our cause, (which I felt bound to attend, since it was kindly given for me,) completed the busi ness, and entirely robbed me of my voice- The latter departed in the midst of a conver- sation on the Fugitive Slave Bill, and Daniel Webster: if it had returned no more, I am sure that my friends present, would have done me the justice to say, that, to the last, I was true to my principles on the subject of Slavery.

My next confused remembrance of that evening, is of hot blankets, and bottles, and mustard poultices, and other etceteras connected with a sick room-of a terrible difficulty in breathing-of kind and anxious faces around me-and of soft and gentle hands, smoothing my pillow.

I am, once more, convalescent, and able to resume my peregrinations in Glasgow; the

weather is fine, and the sun is trying to shine, though the Scottish mist still hangs over the Langside woods, partially obscuring them, as with a thin veil.

Our valued friend, Rev. Dr. Willis, delivered an Anti Slavery Lecture (by invitation of the "Glasgow New Anti-Slavery Association") last Wednesday evening, at the Church of the late Dr. Wardlaw - a Church, famous in the annals of Glasgow, not only for its powerful and ear- nest Sabbath teachings, but for having been the scene of some of the most spirit-stirring Anti Slavery meetings ever held in this great city. Dr. Willis bad a large audience, including many divines; the lecture was an able one; the Doctor's main effort was directed to expose the sophism of attempting to defend Slavery from the Bible. I need scarcely say that he was entirely successful in this - since some among us had been previously privileged to hear his line of argument on this point. As I am writing for the columus of Frederick Doug- lass Paper, it will not be seemly to mention the kind things the learned Doctor said of the Editor of that journal, and of his efforts to ameliorate the condition of his suffering people. Dr. Willis is, in truth, an earnest, de voted, and untiring friend of the oppressed ne- gro race; and, amidst her ramblings abroad, Mrs. Willis never forgets the poor Fugitive Slave, and his claims upon her sympathy. These dear friends are soon to speed their way across the waters of the wide Atlantic, to their dis- tant home in Canada. May they be preserved from all the perils of the deep, and conveyed to their expectant Canadian friends in health, and peace, und safety.

Last Saturday was, to me, one of the most Interesting days I have spent in Glasgow.

The morning was passed in taking a pleasant drive into the country, and in visiting the Cathe- dral Church of Glasgow. To my thinking, a peculiar interest attaches to this. Cathedral,

(apart from its architectural beauty,) from the fact of its being one of only two ecclesiastical edifices in Scotland which have survived the Reformation uninjured.

The story good that, when the magistrates of END COL.1 3 OF 8 START COL 2 Glasgow fanatically doomed this noble Edifice to destruction, and hired "quarriers, masons, and other workmen," to do the work of demo- lition, the "craftsmen" of the city arose, and with one voice, declared that the deed should not be done; and thus one of the noblest edi- fices of Scotland was preserved from falling in- to the hands of the Philistines, by the courage of the citizens. I approached the Cathedral of Glasgow, therefore, with unusual interest; and this interest was only increased by a nearer in- spection. The site of ground on which it is built is the highest within the city and the noble edifice stands forth, prominently and dis- tinctly, with no mean buildings around it, to mar its beauty, nor to offend the eye of the visitor.

The vast Necropolis rises up on the hill side, beneath the Cathedral, thickly studded with monuments; and high above them all, towers the lofty monument to the stern and intrepid Reformer, JOHN KNOX. The scene was at once solemn and grand; the city of the silent dead was above our heads; the city of the busy and stirring living was beneath our feet. The kind friend, who acted as cicerone on this occasion, did not destroy the effect it was so well calulat- ed to produce on the mind of the stranger, by calling attention to it too fully; and it was in silence that we passed the grand entrance, and stood in the midst of the Cathedral. In the Nave and Transepts a number of workmen were employed in restoring and renovating the building-so that the clang of the heavy hammer, and the hum of voices, recalled me from the past to the present; and then did I fully appreciate the value of my guide, who conduct-

ed me to every point of peculiar, interest, and interpreted all the curious mottos and hand-writings on the walls and pillars of the building. We next descend into the Crypts. The one called Joseline's Crypt is considered one of the finest in the Kingdom; it is vast in size—rows of columns, arches, and piers, of various forms, traverse it in wanted order, having capitals of every variety, from the simple Norman, to the most intricate ornament—groinings spring from the columns, and exhibit an astonishing combination of beautiful tracery that may well attract the admiration of the first architects. A tomb, upon a raised platform, of dwhich is the recumbent effigy of a bishop in his robes, is consecrated, by tradition, as that of St. Kentigern, Over the tomb are hanging the remains of a pendant lamp, which is said to have been kept burning for centuries. The readers of Rob Roy will remember that in this Crypt, service was performed in the days when Frank Osbaldistone journeyed to Glasgow, to meet MacVittie & Co.; and just as I was peering through a portion of "the dark and extensive caverns which yawn around," and giving full reins to imagination, as I wandered down the dreary aisles, I was startled by the friend at my side, saying, "It was behind one of these pillars, that the warning figure glided, when the voice whispered, 'you are in danger in this city." In truth, I felt as if I almost expected the gallant Highlander to come forth : and it was not until I reached the open air, and the light of day, that the strange mesmeric influence passed away.

It is interesting to hear that Royalty itself is not proof against the spell woven by the Great Enchanter of the North. I am told that , when our good Queen came to Glasgow, she was particularly desirous to see the Salt Market, where BAILIE NICHOL JARVIE lived.

I made a visit to the "Boys' House of Ref-

uge," also, on Saturday, which interested me exceedingly. I had accepted an invitation to dine with the Governor (Rev. Mr. McCallum) and family, and to see the institution. Before going over to the House, or knowing the number of its inmates, my friend, Mr. McC., asked me, "if I would say a few words to the boys, on the subject of Slavery ?" At once, I said, "Yes," without asking any question-so I was kept in happy ignorance of the number of my auditors, until within about half an hour of the time I was to meet them-when a dear friend, (who knows me to be quite English in my views of women speaking in public.) laughingly ask- ed me, "if I knew how many boys there were in the institution?" At once I feared the worst, and found there were three hundred boys, of all ages, assembled in the Chapel in readiness to hear me! There was no escaping-onward was the word - so, after strictly prohibiting any of my friends to accompany me to the scene of action, I took the arm of the Governor, and nerving myself for the meeting, I was soon in the midst of my young auditors, and they were listening to the story of the little Maryland slave, who once played so happily in his dear Grandmammy's old hut, and who sobbed him- self to sleep in his own poor Mother's arms. Ify ou have read the narrative, you will remem- ber that it is a touching one. "Twas no wonder, therefore, that the attention of my juvenile hearers was soon arrested, and their young hearts quickly moved by it. I wish you could have seen their faces when I told of that slave boy's escape from bondage! and I wish you could have heard their cheers when I closed my story!

Now, for the practical part of the matter. I need scarcely say that the boys, in this "House of Refuge," are extremely poor; the very name of the institution places that beyond a doubt. When I had finished speaking, the Governor arose, and asked such of them as de-