Page images
PDF
EPUB

MY AMERICAN TOUR:

BEING

NOTES TAKEN DURING A TOUR THROUGH THE UNITED STATES

SHORTLY AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE

LATE AMERICAN WAR.

BY DAVID THOMAS.

HAY MARKET STREET, BURY.

1868.

[blocks in formation]

DEDICATION.

TO JOHN BRIGHT, Esq., M.P. FOR THE BOROUGH OF BIRMINGHAM.

HONOURED SIR,

When you kindly consented to allow me to dedicate "My American Tour" to you, a debt of obligation was conferred which will not be easily discharged. The motive which prompted the request was not a mercenary one, for I knew that nearly every copy of this work was ordered before it was printed; nor was it because amongst British statesmen you occupy such a distinguished position, that in almost every part of the globe your name has become a household word; nor was it the consideration that the influence of an unblemished life, sustained by the exercise of rare talents devoted to noble objects, had given lustre to your reputation; but it was simply because in the hour of a nation's deepest suffering, when it was popular in England to express sympathy for a rebel cause, you had the manly courage to lift up your voice in favour of universal freedom, and especially on behalf of the millions held in bondage in the Southern portion of the United States of America. Never shall I forgot the impulse given to the cause of freedom by your generous advocacy, and I was glad to find that its effect was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Repeatedly it occurred to me, while in America, that an affirmative reply to the question, "Do you know John Bright ?" has proved the open sesame which gave me a welcome access to kindred spirits.

Hoping that you may be long spared to exercise your distinguished abilities for the lessening of human suffering,

I remain, yours most respectfully,

BURY, LANCASHIRE,

July 21, 1868.

DAVID THOMAS.

« EelmineJätka »