which their wealth and position entitled them, in order to labour unceasingly for the welfare of their fellow-creatures, to whose necessities they devoted all the money they could spare from the duties of hospitality. Instead of the coarse language and boorish ignorance to which the experience of the last few years had accustomed him, Macaulay found himself in a decent, well-ordered circle of society where courtesy and good-breeding reigned supreme, where a high value was set upon the results of education and self-control, and where literature and politics were the subjects which formed the favourite relaxation of his new associates.

Then for the first time since childhood his own nature was able to assert itself. Those qualities which had hitherto exposed him to the censure and ridicule of his companions and employers, and which in consequence he had laboured to suppress and conceal, were the very qualities which he found, in this new sphere, alone entitled him to respect and affection. He learned for the first time that those feelings of humanity, which he had in vain struggled to repress and to conquer on the slave plantations of Jamaica, which he had believed himself called upon by duty and honour to eradicate as noxious weeds from his heart, were the natural instincts of a noble and generous mind, and were shared by all those among whom his

lot was now cast.

Under these circumstances it is scarcely to be wondered at that Macaulay's character appeared to change and develop with a rapidity which would have been otherwise miraculous; and that his kind brother-in-law, who watched with deep interest the effect upon his young kinsman of the novel surroundings in which he was placed, should soon perceive that there was an unusual force of character and depth of earnestness about the lad.

Mr. Babington, and the select company of friends in whose society he lived, were accustomed to observe and criticise the conduct of those around them in a manner which often makes their letters very amusing reading. The minutest faults of temper, manner, and social habits did not escape the notice of

1 As an illustration of the light in which these men looked upon themselves as simply trustees of their own property, it may be mentioned that Mr. Henry Thornton was in the regular habit of devoting two-thirds of his income to charitable purposes, while others of the band of friends even exceeded this proportion in their gifts.

men like himself, Henry Thornton, Wilberforce, and others of his circle. It could not have been expected that these busy and important men of the world would have been able to acquire such an extensive knowledge of the shortcomings of every one about them. But it certainly was the case, and in their correspondence not only are graver errors touched upon, but many were the serious discussions as to whether it would be advisable to warn a young relation or friend against some foolish custom, and whether some particular person should be invited to visit at their houses for the sake of the example which their households presented, and for instruction in the right path. But of all the band of friends Mr. Babington bore the palm for skill and tenderness in training and guiding the youthful mind, and he was acknowledged to be unrivalled in the art of reproof and exhortation.

He now earnestly applied himself to the task of improving Macaulay. Never were pains bestowed on a kindlier soil, and never was a richer harvest reaped by the cultivator. Not only did Zachary Macaulay render priceless services to that great cause which Babington and his friends had adopted as their own, but he devoted himself from that time to his excellent brother-in-law with the ardour of an enthusiastic mind; and during the course of their long lives he did all that affection and attention could do to prove the gratitude he felt for the spiritual benefits which Mr. Babington had been the means of conferring upon him. Some years later, in writing to a relation, Macaulay says: 'If you were aware of the extent of my obligations to Babington you would not be surprised that in speaking of him I should express such deep affection. I never think of him but my thoughts are drawn to that Saviour with whom he first brought me acquainted; and, if there be any consideration which more than another endears Babington to me, it is that of the relation in which he stands to me in Christ. Will you wonder now that my heart should be melted when I consider it?'

The subject which engrossed the attention of Thomas Babington and his friends at the time when Macaulay returned from the West Indies was one upon which he was only too well instructed.

For several years past a small number of humane men had

B

been endeavouring to awake public attention to the evils of the Slave Trade. Their cause received a great increase of strength by the accession of Wilberforce to their ranks in 1787. His close friendship with Pitt, and the respect and esteem entertained for him by many of the leading politicians of the day, gave him considerable influence; and while he advocated upon the benches of the House of Commons the suppression of the Slave Trade, his associates laboured indefatigably, in every part of England, to inform and arouse the opinion of the country.

For the first time the details of the manner in which the Slave Trade was conducted were seriously presented to the knowledge of the nation. Wilberforce and his little group of allies adopted every means within their power to bring before the eyes of persons of political and social eminence some of the horrors which were taking place daily in the routine of the Slave Trade. On one occasion they contrived to induce some members of the House of Commons to make an expedition to visit, as a matter of curiosity, a slave-ship that was fitting out in the Thames. The experiment succeeded beyond the most sanguine hopes of its originators. The members of Parliament returned shocked and indignant at the sight of the space into which the wretched slaves were to be crowded as a mere matter of course. One of the party, Sir William Dolben, was so deeply impressed by what he had seen that he lost no time in introducing a Bill limiting the number of slaves allowed to be carried at one time in one vessel, and providing some further precautions to diminish their sufferings. The Bill passed both Houses of Parliament, and received the Royal assent on the 11th of July 1788.

But the alarm had now been taken by the enormous mass of persons who were interested in the maintenance of the Slave Trade; and when in the following Session Wilberforce gave notice of his first motion for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, his opponents used every effort to prevent his obtaining any further success. In the face of an able and eloquent speech from Wilberforce which extorted the admiration of every side, and notwithstanding the warm support of Pitt, Fox, and Burke, it was agreed that the subject should be postponed until counsel should have been heard and evidence tendered at the bar of the House. The Sessions of 1790 and 1791 were

occupied in harassing and protracted examinations before the Special Committee to which the question had been referred. But in the meantime a design had been formed by the friends of Abolition, of which the result was to undermine the Slave Trade in its central stronghold.

The Settlement of Sierra Leone had been originally planned under the auspices of Granville Sharp, the well-known philanthropist, with the object of providing for three or four hundred enfranchised negroes who were wandering in great destitution about the streets of London. A fine tract of land of about twenty square miles, situated between the rivers of Sierra Leone and the Sherbro, was purchased from the native king of the district; and the soil being excellent, and wood and water plentiful, it was hoped with reason that the little Colony would thrive. But towards the end of 1789 some quarrel, arising out of the depredations upon the coast of the captain of an American slave-ship, irritated the surrounding natives, and in retaliation an attack was made by them on the Settlement, the Settlers were dispersed, and their town burned.

Granville Sharp, however, did not abandon his project. By his exertions a Company was formed in England for the assistance of the Colony of Sierra Leone, and among the number of its Directors may be noted the auspicious names of Wilberforce, Henry Thornton, and Babington. Through the friendly offices of Wilberforce with Mr. Pitt, the Company were enabled to purchase from the Government dockyards, for the trifling sum of one hundred and eighty pounds, a small vessel, the Lapwing, which had been condemned to be broken up. It is difficult to understand the cause of this condemnation, as Wilberforce, in writing to recommend the vessel to the notice of Granville Sharp, particularly mentions that it is in a condition of high order and equipment.

The Lapwing was despatched as quickly as was possible to Sierra Leone, and conveyed Mr. Falconbridge, an agent commissioned by the Directors of the Company to report to them upon the state of the Settlement, and to take immediate measures for the temporary relief of the Settlers. It was soon followed by another vessel, which carried out to Sierra Leone the Reverend Nathaniel Gilbert, a clergyman of the Church of England, who had been appointed by the Directors to take the

spiritual charge of the Colony, and Zachary Macaulay, whose mission on this voyage appears to have been one simply of interest and observation, prompted by Thomas Babington, who thought that his young brother-in-law would in all probability find at Sierra Leone some opening for the useful employment of his peculiar talents, and who also hoped that the companionship of Gilbert would prove beneficial to the religious training of his mind. In Macaulay's first letter to Mr. Babington from the West coast of Africa, dated River Gambia, January 1, 1791, the following sentence occurs:

'We arrived here on the 25th after a passage of four weeks, which passed very pleasantly in the society of Mr. Gilbert. I know not indeed that any period of my life ought to affect me as more peculiarly attended by a blessing from God, than that which I have spent in his company. My obligations to him are of a kind not easy to particularise. He is a man of real piety, of a meek and gentle spirit, and whose thoughts are as much raised above the things of this world, as his passionate attachment to an only child, and his fervent love to his brethren of men, will admit of.'

Falconbridge was not able to collect together more than sixty-four of the original Settlers; but the report which he gave of the resources of the country was so favourable that the Directors resolved upon prosecuting their scheme. A Charter was granted in 1791, and the Company was incorporated under the title of the Sierra Leone Company, a large capital being at the same time raised among the friends of Abolition. The board of Directors was reconstituted. Mr. Henry Thornton, a member of Parliament and an eminent London banker, who had very early in life determined to devote his wealth and talents to the service of religion, agreed to accept the post of Chairman of the Court of Directors. His superior understanding and knowledge of business were invaluable for the guidance of the infant Colony, and for the creation of its trade. But the duties he had undertaken proved so arduous that they entailed too heavy a strain upon his strength and powers, and deprived him for many years of all opportunity for the rest and relaxation which his delicate frame needed.

A proposal was soon laid before the Directors to receive at Sierra Leone a large number of negroes who had enlisted in