At last I went into the service of Mr. and Mrs. Pringle, where I have been ever since, and am as comfortable as I can be while separated from my dear husband, and away from my own country and all old friends and connections.  My dear mistress teaches me daily to read the word of God, and takes great pains to make me understand it.  I enjoy the great privilege of being enabled to attend church three times on the Sunday; and I have met with many kind friends since I have been here, both clergymen and others.  The Rev. Mr. Young, who lives in the next house, has shown me much kindness, and taken much pains to instruct me, particularly while my master and mistress were absent in Scotland.  Nor must I forget, among my friends, the Rev. Mr. Mortimer, the good clergyman of the parish, under whose ministry I have now sat for upwards of twelve months.  I trust in God I have profited by what I have heard from him.  He never keeps back the truth, and I think he has been the means of opening my eyes and ears much better to understand the word of God.  Mr. Mortimer tells me that he cannot open the eyes of my heart, but that I must pray to God to change my heart, and make me to know the truth, and the truth will make me free.

I still live in the hope that God will find a way to give me my liberty, and give me back to my husband.  I endeavour to keep down my fretting, and to leave all to Him, for he knows what is good for me better than I know myself.  Yet, I must confess, I find it a hard and heavy task to do so.

I am often much vexed, and I feel great sorrow when I hear some people in this country say, that the slaves do not need better usage, and do not want to be free.[16] They believe the foreign people,[17] who deceive them, and say slaves are happy.  I say, Not so.  How can slaves be happy when they have the halter round their neck and the whip upon their back? and are disgraced and thought no more of than beasts?—­and are separated from their mothers, and husbands, and children, and sisters, just as cattle are sold and separated?  Is it happiness for a driver in the field to take down his wife or sister or child, and strip them, and whip them in such a disgraceful manner?—­women that have had children exposed in the open field to shame!  There is no modesty or decency shown by the owner to his slaves; men, women, and children are exposed alike.  Since I have been here I have often wondered how English people can go out into the West Indies and act in such a beastly manner.  But when they go to the West Indies, they forget God and all feeling of shame, I think, since they can see and do such things.  They tie up slaves like hogs—­moor[18] them up like cattle, and they lick them, so as hogs, or cattle, or horses never were flogged;—­and yet they come home and say, and make some good people believe, that slaves don’t want to get out of slavery.  But they put a cloak about the truth.  It is not so.  All slaves want to be free—­to