of the people present, and scarcely had we uttered a sentence when the whole congregation were filled with emotion.  Soon they burst into tears—­some sobbed, others cried aloud; insomuch that for a time we were unable to proceed.  We were, indeed, not a little astonished at so unusual a scene; it was a thing which we were by no means expecting to see.  Being at a loss to account for it, we inquired of Mr. K. afterwards, who told us that it was occasioned by our expressions of sympathy and regard.  They were so unaccustomed to hear such language from the lips of white people, that it fell upon them like rain upon the parched earth.  The idea that one who was a stranger and a foreigner should feel an interest in their welfare, was to them, in such circumstances, peculiarly affecting, and stirred the deep fountains of their hearts.

After the services, the missionary, anxious to further our objects, proposed that we should hold an interview with a number of the apprentices; and he accordingly invited fifteen of them into his study, and introduced them to us by name, stating also the estates to which they severally belonged.  We had thus an opportunity of seeing the representatives of twelve different estates, men of trust on their respective estates, mostly constables and head boilers.  For nearly two hours we conversed with these men, making inquiries on all points connected with slavery, the apprenticeship, and the expected emancipation.

From no interview, during our stay in the colonies, did we derive so much information respecting the real workings of the apprenticeship; from none did we gain such an insight into the character and disposition of the negroes.  The company was composed of intelligent and pious men;—­so manly and dignified were they in appearance, and so elevated in their sentiments, that we could with difficulty realize that they were slaves.  They were wholly unreserved in their communications, though they deeply implicated their masters, the special magistrates, and others in authority.  It is not improbable that they would have shrunk from some of the disclosures which they made, had they known that they would be published.  Nevertheless we feel assured that in making them public, we shall not betray the informants, concealing as we do their names and the estates to which they belong.

With regard to the wrongs and hardships of the apprenticeship much as said; we can only give a small part.

Their masters were often very harsh with them, more so than when they were slaves.  They could not flog them, but they would scold them, and swear at them, and call them hard names, which hurt their feelings almost as much as it would if they were to flog them.  They would not allow them as many privileges as they did formerly.  Sometimes they would take their provision grounds away, and sometimes they would go on their grounds and carry away provisions for their own use without paying for them, or as much as asking