Francis Jackson Garrison, William Lloyd Garrison, 1805-1879; the story of his life told by his children: volume 3

[200] at Madison, where we arrived between 10 and 11 o'clock at night. The deacon had invited us at New Lyme to spend the night at his house, but had retired with his family to rest, supposing we had concluded to stop in Austinburg. He, and his son and daughter, soon made their appearance, and about midnight all was quiet again. The deacon is a Liberty Party man, but very kind and hearty in his feelings towards us, and his house is always open to anti-slavery lecturers and runaway slaves.

After breakfast, the next morning, we rode to Painesville,¹ Lake County (within three miles of Lake Erie), arriving at 10 o'clock. It is a very pleasant and well-built village, the prettiest and most populous of any that we have yet seen– containing about 1500 inhabitants. The Telegraph, a Whig paper, is the only paper printed in it. The politics of the place are strongly Whig. The same remark applies to nearly every town and village on the Western Reserve.² Not having been invited to stop with any one at P., we went to Higley's tavern to brush off the dust, wash ourselves, and prepare for the meeting. The landlord came out and took off our luggage, supposing that Dr. Peck was Mr. Douglass. I requested him to show us a chamber, and he did so, without saying a word. As soon as he left us, I said to my friend Peck, ‘Dr., I am inclined to think, from the looks of the landlord, that our company is not desirable here.’ In a few minutes a person came into our room, saying that his name was Briggs—that he was the brother of the present Governor of Massachusetts—that he had taken³ the liberty of introducing himself to us in consequence of a conversation he had just had with the landlord, who declared to him that no nigger could be allowed to sit at his table, and that if any such attempt were made, there would be a muss— not that he had any objection himself, but his boarders would not allow it. A genuine specimen of American democratic, Christian colorphobia. Mr. Briggs invited us to his house, and we accordingly left the tavern. Our meeting was convened in a grove in the immediate vicinity, and several hundred persons were present. Gen. Paine, a lawyer (Liberty Party), presided. The day was fine, and the attention given was all that we could desire. Most of the day's talking devolved on me. Frederick's⁴ voice was much impaired, and he had to have a bad tooth