“I suppose,” continued I, “if any of the black people come to your churches, they have to sit by themselves?”

Young Man.—­“Of course:  I have never seen it otherwise.”

Myself.—­“And I have never before seen it so.  With us, in British Guiana, blacks and whites mingle together indiscriminately in the worship of our common Father.”

Young Man. (with amazement).—­“There must be a a great change here before it comes to that.  It must appear very strange.”

Myself.—­“Very much like heaven where they shall come together from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, &c.  Why, we have black deacons, who, at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, carry the bread and wine, and give them even to white people.”

Young Man. (with more astonishment than ever, and in a tone of offended dignity).—­“I don’t think I could stand that—­I don’t!  A great change must take place in my feelings before I could.  I don’t like to mingle Ham and Japhet together for my part—­I don’t!”

Myself.—­“Why, they were mingled together in the ark.”

Young Man.—­“Yes; but old Noah quarrelled with Ham soon after he came out, and cursed him.”

Myself.—­“Granted; but you and your pastor profess to be anxious for the slaves’ conversion to God, and thereby to roll away the curse.”  Here the dialogue ended.

In the evening I was desirous of hearing Dr. Hawkes, an Episcopalian minister, of whose talents and popularity I had heard much in New Orleans; but, finding that he did not preach in the evening, I went again to hear Dr. Scott at the Presbyterian Church.  Having stood a considerable time at the door inside, and receiving no encouragement to advance, I ventured, along with my wife, to enter the pew next to the door.  This proved a most unfortunate position.  There was not light enough to take any notes; while the incessant opening and shutting of the door, with its rusty hinges, made it extremely difficult to hear.  The discourse, however, which was again addressed to young men in great cities, was characterized by all the power and piety which distinguished the one of the previous Sabbath.  I retired deeply impressed with the value of such a ministry in such a place.  Dr. Scott was one of the American delegates to the Conference for the formation of the Evangelical Alliance in 1846.  He is a Southern man, born and bred amidst the wilds of Tennessee, whose early educational advantages were very small.  He is, in a great measure, a self-made man.  Brought up in the midst of slavery, he is (I rejoice to hear) a cordial hater of the system.  As a minister, he is “thoroughly furnished—­a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.”  His knowledge of the world, as well as of the Word of God and of the human heart, is extensive, and is turned to the best account in his ministrations.  In leaving New Orleans I felt no regret, but that I had not called upon this good man.