I believed too,
that I should be affording to the Quakers themselves, some lessons of
utility, by letting them see, as it were in a glass, the reflection of
their own images. I felt also a great desire, amidst these
considerations, to do them justice; for ignorance and prejudice had
invented many expressions concerning them, to the detriment of their
character, which their conduct never gave me reason to suppose, during
all my intercourse with them, to be true.
Nor was I without the belief, that such a history might afford
entertainment to many. The Quakers, as every body knows, differ more
than even many foreigners do, from their own countrymen. They adopt a
singular mode of language. Their domestic customs are peculiar. They
have renounced religious ceremonies, which all other christians, in some
form or other, have retained. They are distinguished from all the other
islanders by their dress. These differences are great and striking. And
I thought therefore that those, who were curious in the development of
character, might be gratified in knowing the principles, which produced
such numerous exceptions from the general practices of the world.
But though I had conceived from the operation of these sentiments upon
my mind, as long ago as I have stated, a strong desire to write the
moral history of the Quakers, yet my incessant occupations on the
subject of the slave-trade, and indisposition of body afterwards, in
consequence of the great mental exertions necessary in such a cause,
prevented me from attempting my design.
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