Said Dr. Nugent—­“Emancipation has not produced insolence among the negroes.”

During our stay in Antigua, we saw no indications whatsoever of insolence.  We spoke in a former part of this work of the uncommon civility manifested in a variety of ways on the road-sides.

A trifling incident occurred one day in St. John’s, which at first seemed to be no small rudeness.  As one of us was standing in the verandah of our lodging house, in the dusk of the evening, a brawny negro man who was walking down the middle of the street, stopped opposite us, and squaring himself, called out.  “Heigh!  What for you stand dare wid your arms so?” placing his arms akimbo, in imitation of ours.  Seeing we made no answer, he repeated the question, still standing in the same posture.  We took no notice of him, seeing that his supposed insolence was at most good-humored and innocent.  Our hostess, a colored lady, happened to step out at the moment, and told us that the man had mistaken us for her son, with whom he was well acquainted, at the same time calling to the man, and telling him of his mistake.  The negro instantly dropped his arms, took off his hat, begged pardon, and walked away apparently quite ashamed.

FOURTEENTH PROPOSITION.—­Emancipation in Antigua has demonstrated that GRATITUDE is a prominent trait of the negro character.  The conduct of the negroes on the first of August, 1834, is ample proof of this; and their uniform conduct since that event manifests an habitual feeling of gratitude.  Said one, “The liberty we received from the king, we can never sufficiently thank God for; whenever we think of it, our hearts go out in gratitude to God.”  Similar expressions we heard repeatedly from the negroes.—­We observed that the slightest allusion to the first of August in a company of freed persons, would awaken powerful emotions, accompanied with exclamations of “tank de good Lord,” “bless de Savior,” “praise de blessed Savior,” and such like.

It was the remark of Mr. James Howell, manager of Thibou Jarvis’s—­“That the negroes evinced very little gratitude to their masters for freedom.  Their gratitude all flowed toward God and the king, whom they regarded as the sole authors of their liberty.”

Mr. Watkins observed that “the negroes’ motto was God and the king.  This feeling existed particularly at the time of emancipation, and shortly after it.  They have since become more attached to their former masters.”

It is by no means strange that the negroes should feel little gratitude toward their late masters, since they knew their opposition to the benevolent intentions of the English government.  We were informed by Dr. Daniell and many others, that for several months before emancipation took place, the negroes had an idea that the king had sent them ’their free papers,’ and that their masters were keeping them back. Besides, it was but two years before that period, that they had come into fierce and open hostility with the planters for abolishing the Sunday market, and giving them no market-day instead thereof.  In this thing their masters had shown themselves to be their enemies.