[ 18 ]
you amply for the time you may appropriate in the perusal of these few pages, which shall be condensed as much as possible, without destroying the information necessary to be obtained, and of monopolizing too much of your time, which, for aught I know, may be more profitably engaged in this age of reading.
About the beginning of the present century, it be- came a subject of considerable conversation among the few colored people in Philadelphia whose preferences were Presbyterian, of raising a Presbyterian Church. This idea seemed to be general among them; but how to proceed was a matter of no small difficulty, for at the time there were very few Presbyterians in Philadelphia. There was one thing, however, that was in their favor, and it was their firmness and determination not to permit their smallness of number to prevent their making the effort; they were Christians from principle, and their hearts were in the work; their zeal and energy gave springs to their determination : with them there was no such thing as fail. The only question was, Who shall lead in the movement? Here was the true difficulty. There were true and faithful men ready to give their countenance and influence to the work, but who would sacrifice his business, his temporal prospects in life, his time, his means, his all of self] Here was the difficulty to grapple with and overcome; one that not only every new enterprise of like character, but one that the Church has ever had to contend with. Of the justness of the assertion Christians can judge; of its correctness I am sure. There were men of acknowledged ability, and other prerequisites,but it required a man who would be willing to make every sacrifice of his own time and worldly interest, to lead in the movement. For such a man they must wait patiently. It is not in the course of this brief history,
