"This country, i found, was inhabited only by negroes. They appeared cheerful and happy. Upon my approaching a beautiful grove, where a number of them were assembled for religious purposes, i perceived at once a pause in their exercises, and an appearance of general perturbation. They fixed their eyes upon me--while one of them, a vulnerable looking man, came forward, and in the name of the whole assembly, addressed me in the following language:
"Excuse the panic which you have spread through this peaceful and happy company: we perceive that you are a white man.-That colour which is the emblem of innocence in every other creature of God, is to us a sign of guilt in man. The persons whom you see here, were once dragged by the men of your colour from their native country, and consigned by them to labour-punishment-and death. -We are here collected together, and enjoy an ample compensation in our present employments for all the miseries we have endured on Earth. We now that we are secured by the being whom we worship, from jury and oppression. Our apperance of terror, terefore, was entirely the sudden affect of habits which have not yet been eradicated from our minds."
"Your apprehensions of danger from the sight of a white man," said i," are natural. But in me-you behold a friend. I have been your advocate- and-"Here, he interrupted me, and said,"Is not your name ?" I answered the affirmative. Upon this he ran up and embraced me in his arms, and afterward conducted me into the midst of the assembly, where, after being introduced to the principle characters, i was seated upon a bank of moss;"
In this excerpt, Rush explains how he had this dream where he was in this beautiful place but all he saw were African Americans. He says how when they saw him, they were in terror, and a man told him the reasons why. Rush, then tells them how he is not like the rest of the many racist white men, and that he is basically in their favor. I have to say though, i think it made Rush feel bad hearing what he did from the gentlemen. But then again, what can he really expect if the African Americans were treated so horribly?! In conclusion, they felt relieved when Rush spoke and said who he was.
