Page:To the Public. There Has Been a Design Formed … to Send the Gospel to Guinea.djvu/5

   of this proposed mion, from an African, Phillis Wheatley, dated Boton, February 9, 1774.  ʻ I have received a paper, by which I undertand there are two Negro men, who are deirous of returning to their native country, to preach the gopel. What I can do in influencing my chritian friends and acquaintance to promote this laudable deign, hall not be wanting. My heart expanded with ympathetic joy to ee, at a ditant time, the thick cloud of ignorance dipering from the face of my benighted country. Europe and America have long been fed with the heavenly proviion : And I fear they loath it ; while Africa is perihing with a piritual famine. O that they could partake of the crumbs, which fall from the table of thee ditinguihed children of the kingdom !  ʻ I hope that which the divine, royal Palmit ays by inpiration, is now on the point of being accomplihed, viz. ʻEthiopia hall oon tretch forth her hands unto God .’    The two men abovementioned have been at chool, and under intruction mot of the time ince the date of the above propoal. They have pent one winter at, under the care of , preident of the college there. And they have made uch proficiency, and are in uch a meaure qualified for the miion propoed, that they would enter upon it directly, were there opportunity to end them to Africa, (which there is not at preent, by reason of the tate of our public affairs) and had we money ufficient to furnih them for this purpoe.    Since this deign has been on foot, means have been ued to get intelligence of John Quamine's family, by writing to , a black, and native of Guinea, who is miionary from the ociety in London for propagating the gopel in foreign parts, and reides at ; relating to him the manner of his being brought from Guinea ; and ending his decription of his father's family, and informing that he was now free, and had thoughts of returning to his native country, &c. In anwer to which he writes as follows. ʻ It