Page:The rising son, or, The antecedents and advancement of the colored race (IA risingsonthe00browrich).pdf/420

 *sion. Outside of these were many others who were equally sincere, and were laboring with all their powers to bring about emancipation, and to some of them I shall now call attention.

Some thirty years ago we met for the first time a gentleman of noble personal appearance, being about six feet in height, well-proportioned; forehead high and broad; large dark eyes, full of expression; hair brown, and a little tinged with gray. The fascination of his smiling gaze, and the hearty shake of his large, soft hand, made us feel at home when we were introduced to Gerrit Smith. His comprehensive and well*-cultivated mind, his dignified and deliberate manner and musical voice fit him for what he is,—one of Nature's noblest orators. Speaking is not the finest trait in the character of Mr. Smith, but his great, large heart, every pulsation of which beats for humanity. He brought to the negro's cause wealth and position, and laid it all upon the altar of his redemption. In the year 1846 he gave three thousand farms to the same number of colored men; and three years later he gave a farm each to one thousand white men, with ten thousand dollars to be divided amongst them.

Mr. Smith has spent in various ways many hundred thousand dollars for the liberation and elevation of the blacks of this country. Next to Mr. Smith, in the State of New York, is Beriah Greene, whose long devotion to the cause of freedom is known throughout our land. Many of the colored men whose career have done honor to the race, owe their education to Mr. Greene. He is the most radical churchman we know of, always right on the question of slavery. He did