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his arrival, sitting at breakfast; Lay entered the room, and was invited to partake with them, but seeing a black servant in attendance, he inquired of his master "Is this man a slave?" being answered affirmatively, he said, "then I will not share with thee the fruits of thy unrighteousness," and immediately departed from the house. He never owned a slave himself, neither would he sit with, nor partake of the food of any one who kept them. Notwithstanding the popular antipathy against Lay, he enjoyed the friendship and society of some of the most pious and learned men, who at that time adorned the province of Pennsylvania. The most cordial attachment subsisted between him and the truly honourable Anthony Benezet. He maintained through life, an uninterrupted intercourse with Dr. Franklin, Dr. Be Beaneville, and many other distinguished characters. He was also intimately acquainted with Ralph Sandiford, who, like himself, was an ardent opposer of slavery, and wrote upon the subject.
