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

W. L. Garrison to his Wife.

Philadelphia, Aug. 3, 1847.

² A year ago, this day, I arrived in London, and was,³ therefore, at a distance of three thousand miles from you. Now I am in Philadelphia, some three hundred miles away. So far as separation is concerned, it is the same whether we are hundreds or thousands of miles apart; but then, as a matter of speedy return, it is a matter of very great consequence as to what the relative distance may be. I could be with you in less than twenty-four hours, if necessary—that is comforting. . . .

Our trip from Norwich to New York was as serene and quiet⁴ as possible, where we arrived at 5 o'clock. At 9 o'clock, I⁵ crossed the ferry and took the cars for Philadelphia—arriving at 2 o'clock, J. M. McKim being at the wharf to escort me to the dear home of our beloved friends, James and Lucretia Mott, who gave me a warm reception, of course.

August 7.

⁶ Our three-days' meeting at Norristown closed last evening, and a famous time we have had of it. Every day, two or three⁷ hundred of our friends from Philadelphia came up in the cars, and the meetings were uniformly crowded by an array of men and women who, for thorough-going anti-slavery spirit and solidity of character, are not surpassed by any in the world. Douglass arrived on the second day, and was justly the ‘lion’⁸ of the occasion, though a considerable number participated in⁹ the discussions; our friend Lucretia Mott speaking with excellent propriety and effect. Thomas Earle was present to annoy us, as usual. Our meetings were not molested in any manner, excepting one evening when Douglass and I held a meeting after dark, when a few panes of glass were broken by some rowdy boys while D. was speaking. It was a grand meeting, nevertheless, and the house crowded with a noble auditory to the end. The meetings will have a powerful effect in the prosecution