or three days. Dale, the master of the tavern,
had observed it also, and told me in a good-natured
manner, that many of these were my visitors, and that
I was likely to bring him a great deal of custom.
In a little time, however, things became serious; for
they, who came to see me, always started the abolition
of the Slave Trade as the subject for conversation.
Many entered into the justification of this trade
with great warmth, as if to ruffle my temper, or at
any rate to provoke me to talk. Others threw
out, with the same view, that men were going about
to abolish it, who would have done much better if they
had stayed at home. Others said they had heard
of a person turned mad, who had conceived the thought
of destroying Liverpool, and all its glory. Some
gave as a toast, Success to the trade, and then laughed
immoderately, and watched me when I took my glass to
see if I would drink it. I saw the way in which
things were now going, and I believed it would be
proper that I should come to some fixed resolutions;
such as, whether I should change my lodgings, and
whether I should dine in private; and if not, what
line of conduct it would become me to pursue on such
occasions. With respect to changing my lodgings
and dining in private, I conceived, if I were to do
either of these things, that I should be showing an
unmanly fear of my visiters, which they would turn
to their own advantage. I conceived too, that,
if I chose to go on as before, and to enter into conversation
with them on the subject of the abolition of the Slave
Trade, I might be able, by having such an assemblage
of persons daily, to gather all the arguments which
they could collect on the other side of our question,
an advantage which I should one day feel in the future
management of the cause. With respect to the
line, which I should pursue in the case of remaining
in the place of my abode and in my former habits,
I determined never to start the subject of the abolition
myself—never to abandon it when started—never
to defend it but in a serious and dignified manner—and
never to discover any signs of irritation, whatever
provocation might be given me. By this determination
I abided rigidly. The King’s Arms became
now daily the place for discussion on this subject.
Many tried to insult me, but to no purpose. In
all these discussions I found the great advantage
of having brought Mr. Falconbridge with me from Bristol;
for he was always at the table; and when my opponents,
with a disdainful look, tried to ridicule my knowledge,
among those present, by asking me if I had ever been
on the coast of Africa myself, he used generally to
reply, “But I have. I know all your proceedings
there, and that his statements are true.”
These and other words put in by him, who was an athletic
and resolute-looking man, were of great service to
me. All disinterested persons, of whom there
were four or five daily in the room, were uniformly
convinced by our arguments, and took our part, and
some of them very warmly. Day after day we beat
our opponents out of the field, as many of the company
acknowledged, to their no small notification, in their
presence. Thus, while we served the cause by discovering
all that could be said against it, we served it by
giving numerous individuals proper ideas concerning
it, and of interesting them in our favour.