“Doctor, you’re too fast.  You are not a practical man, Doctor.  You are good in your pulpit;—­nobody better.  Your theology is clear;—­nobody can argue better.  But come to practical matters, why, business has its laws, Doctor.  Ministers are the most unfit men in the world to talk on such subjects; it’s departing from their sphere; they talk about what they don’t understand.  Besides, you take too much for granted.  I’m not sure that this trade is an evil.  I want to be convinced of it.  I’m sure it’s a favor to these poor creatures to bring them to a Christian land.  They are a thousand times better off.  Here they can hear the gospel and have some chance of salvation.”

“If we want to get the gospel to the Africans,” said the Doctor, “why not send whole ship-loads of missionaries to them, and carry civilization and the arts and Christianity to Africa, instead of stirring up wars, tempting them to ravage each other’s territories, that we may get the booty?  Think of the numbers killed in the wars,—­of all that die on the passage!  Is there any need of killing ninety-nine men to give the hundredth one the gospel, when we could give the gospel to them all?  Ah, Mr. Brown, what if all the money spent in fitting out ships to bring the poor negroes here, so prejudiced against Christianity that they regard it with fear and aversion, had been spent in sending it to them, Africa would have been covered with towns and villages, rejoicing in civilization and Christianity!”

“Doctor, you are a dreamer,” replied Simeon, “an unpractical man.  Your situation prevents your knowing anything of real life.”

“Amen! the Lord be praised therefor!” said the Doctor, with a slowly increasing flush mounting to his cheek, showing the burning brand of a smouldering fire of indignation.

“Now let me just talk common-sense, Doctor,—­which has its time and place, just as much as theology;—­and if you have the most theology, I flatter myself I have the most common-sense; a business-man must have it.  Now just look at your situation,—­how you stand.  You’ve got a most important work to do.  In order to do it, you must keep your pulpit, you must keep our church together.  We are few and weak.  We are a minority.  Now there’s not an influential man in your society that don’t either hold slaves or engage in the trade; and if you open upon this subject as you are going to do, you’ll just divide and destroy the church.  All men are not like you;—­men are men, and will be, till they are thoroughly sanctified, which never happens in this life,—­and there will be an instant and most unfavorable agitation.  Minds will be turned off from the discussion of the great saving doctrines of the gospel to a side issue.  You will be turned out,—­and you know, Doctor, you are not appreciated as you ought to be, and it won’t be easy for you to get a new settlement; and then subscriptions will all drop off from your book, and you won’t be able to get that out; and all this good will be lost to the world, just for want of common-sense.”