Page:The Under-Ground Railroad.djvu/11

 saying unto him, "Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant (bondman) which is escaped from his master unto thee. He shall dwell with thee; even among you, in that place which he shall choose, in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best; thou shalt not oppress him." (Deut. 23: 15, 16.) Resident in the State of Ohio, he was for many years an active member of a Vigilance Committee, whose business is to aid fugitives from Slavery in escaping to Canada. This is explained in the following pages, and is done in violation of iniquitous law, and at the risk of both money and liberty. But it is in obedience to the will of God, enjoined by the prophet Isaiah (chap. 16, v. 3, 4):—"Bring counsel," i. e. be deliberately united, "interpose with equity; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of noon-day; hide the outcasts; discover not the fugitive. Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn with thee (Oh! Sion); be thou to them a covert from the destroyer." (Lowth's Translation.) Acting thus as a director of the so-called "Underground Railroad," he has been a blessing to numbers of poor creatures, whose blessing in return has rested upon him and his fellow-directors. By a wise man, "the blessing of him that is ready to perish" is never despised; and certainly not the loving gratitude of those who by his aid attained unto freedom, comfort, and respectability. Amongst those whose escape