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THE PAST AND THE PRESENT CONDITION, AND THE DESTINY, OF THE COLORED RACE: A DISCOURSE
DELIVERED AT THE FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FEMALE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF TROY, N. Y., FEB. 14, 1848,
TROY, N. Y.: STEAM PRESS OF J. C. KNEELAND AND CO. 1848.
DEAR SIR:--The members of F. B. S., having listened to your discourse with great pleasure, and being desirous to present it to the Public, have requested us to solicit a copy for publication, and we trust, sir, that nothing will prevent you from granting our request,
HANNAH B. RICH, _President_; CHARLOTTE PUTMAN, _Rec. Sec._; LOUISA A. GIDEONS, _Cor. Sec._
LADIES:--I have received your polite note of the 22d inst., and, while I consider myself fortunate in serving you acceptably, I deem it my duty to comply with your request.
I am, Ladies, and ever hope to be, your friend and servant,
Mrs. H. B. RICH, Miss CHARLOTTE PUTMAN, Miss L. A. GIDEONS.
My theme is the Past and the Present condition, and the Destiny of the Colored race. The path of thought which you are invited to travel, has not as I am aware, been pursued heretofore to any considerable extent. The Present, is the midway between the Past and the Future. Let us ascend that sublime eminence, that we may view the vast empire of ruin that is scarcely discernable through the mists of former ages; and if, while we are dwelling upon the desolations that meet our eyes, we shall mourn over them, I entreat you to look upward and behold the bright, scenery of the future. There we have a clear sky, and from thence are refreshing breezes. The airy plains are radiant with prophetic brightness, and truth, love, and liberty are descending the heavens, bearing the charter of man’s destiny to a waiting world.
All the various forms of truth that are presented to the minds of men, are in perfect harmony with the government of God. Many things that appear to be discordant are not really so; for when they are understood, and the mind becomes illuminated and informed, the imagined deformities disappear as spectres depart from the vision of one who had been a maniac, when his reason returns. “God is the rock, his work is perfect--a God of truth, and without iniquity. Justice and judgment are the habitations of his throne, and mercy and truth go before his face. His righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and his law is the truth.”