,/ 

FRIENDLY COUNSELS· 


FOR FREEDMEN. 

t 

_r)\_~-·

(VI.~


BY REV. J. B. WATERBURY, D. D. 

PUBLISHED BY THE 
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 


150 NASSAU-ST,REET, NEW YORK. 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS 

FOR 

FREEDMEN. 

WE.welcome all who have come out 
of bondage to the privileges of freemen. 
Providence has u~loosed your fetters. 
The war has been made use of by the 
Almighty. to. bring, 3'.bout this great 
change in your condition.. \Ye hope you 
will remember this; and when you pray, 
you must not forget to give him thanks 
for your freedom. 

Your condition is in some respects 
much better, and in others somewhat 


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FRIENDLI COUNSELS. 

worse, than when you were slaves. Your 

, master, if he was kind, took good care 
of you. Now. that you are free, .YOU 
have got to take care of·~yourselves. At 
first this may bea hardship ; but by and 
by you will see that it is a gooc\ thing. · 
In slavery you had little or ,no care, 
except to see that your task was done. 
Now that you are your own men, you 
have got to think and work both. 
Thus freedom acts on the mind. It 
obliges you tO seek a livelihood-·k> look· 
up work such as you can do, that you 
may support yourseb'es and your families. 
It sets you to thinking; ,how you 
can· earn wages, . and how you can best 
spend them: Freedom, remember, has 
its c.ares and anxieties as well as its benefits. 



· FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 5 · 

LABOR.•· 

Do N'T fall into the mi~take of some, 
that freedom means idleness. No such 
thing. Free people have to work; and 

_some of them have to 'York very·hard 
even to get their bread; Some . of the 
f~ee colored people have by their. own 
labor gained the means of a comfortable 
livelihood, and made themselves respectable. 
You can qo the same, if yo1l will 
use the same diligenc~. By industry 
you will. soon be able to support yourselves 
and families, and. lay. up something 
perhaps for a rainy day. Thus 
you. may· ~ecure something to depend on 
when. you are sick or old a:i;id can't _work. 
There wiil no doubt_ be penny savings~ 
banks, where you can put some of your 
mone.y, and where it will not only be 


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safe, but will increase. . We hop~ if 
there are such banks, that you will take 
advantage of them. . 

At first, and before you get well a 
going, the ·government, aided by good 
people, is ready· to lend you a helping 

-·· hand. · This is done to give you a chance 
to ·get used to your new situation. But 
the sooner .yBu. stop le~ning on the goveri:
iment and on the help of the whites. 
the better for yourselves and for all concerned. 
. Don't refuse to woi:k then, even at low 
wages. · Work at 19w wages is better 
than idleness. The Bible says, he that 
will not work, neither shall he eat. It 
says also, "Be diligent in business." 
Besides, if you are idle, and look for 
support to' the· whites, the· slaveholders 
will throw it in our teeth, . and say, 
" There, you see negroes wont work, 
unless there is a master over them." 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. . .'l 

And so we shall be ashamed, not know'." 
ing what to say in reply. But if you 
areindustrious and willing to work even 

. at low wages, they can't say this. 

If the government wants able-bodied 
men among· you. for the army, to dig 
trenches, to build forts, or to enlist as 
soldiers, let it not be. said that you refused. 
ICyou are invited to go in as 
field . laborers, go in and work. You 
'york now as freemen, not as slaves; and 
the money. which is paid you, you can lay 
out for food an·d clothing, and for any 
t~ing else that is proper. In this c~:mntry 
nobody expects to live without work. 

CLEANLINESS. 

INDUSTRY is one good thing. But there 
. · ,are other habits also we would recommend. 
Cleanliness is very important. 


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,Black or white, a dirty person is a disgusting 
object. ·Even a poor p'erson can 
possess the virtue of cleanliness. Soap 
and· water· are not very dear things ; but 
if one don't .u~e them, they might ~s well 
cost guineas instead of coppers; ·What 
do you think of a mother who keeps neither 
herself nor her children clean? Who 
likes to enter a cabin or cottage where 
the dirt has to be wiped off a seat before 
a decent man or woman can sit down 
upon it? A clean person will see that 
even the patched garments he is obliged 
to wear are at. least free from dirt. No 
matter how poor the house is you. live 

-in, it should be kept clean. The Bible 
says, "Wash you, make you clean." 
Though this means soul washing, yet it 
shows God· loves cleanliness. 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

9

,. 

• 

ECONOMY. 

ECONOMY is another thing we . recommend. 
This means saving all you can 
abov~ and beyond what is needful for 
you to live· lJ.pOn. Do n't spend your 
money foolishly. Don't spend it on rum 
or tobacco. Don't gamble it away. 
Don't buy expensive clothe-s or, rich 
food. Some poor people1 when they get 
a little money, think they may spend it 
in a frolic. All this is· bad, ·and brings 
a man or a family very soon to .want. 

We do n't wish you to. be stingy, nor 
like one who hates to spend a penny even 
for what is necessary. This is· not what 
we mean. But take care ~f your wages~ 
Make them go as far .as you can in supporting 
yourself and.family; arid if there 
is any over, lay it up against a time .of , 

* 


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need. Only do n't waste it; for the Bible 
makes t~ waster and the slothful man 
brothers. "He also that is slothful in his 
work, is brother to him that is a great 
waster." 

SOBRIETY. 

SOBRIETY is another habit or virtue we 

hope you will observe. Rum is the ruin 

qf thousands. Keep clear of it, or it will 

rui:Il you. Soul and body die under its 

ravages.· .A. drunkard is worse than a 

beast. Look at the drunkard's home-or 

rather, dwelling/ home is too _sacred a 

word-and see how desolate and dreary 

and wretched it is. The Bible says, 

''Drunkards shall' not inherit the king


dom of;God;" so that they are miserable 

here, and· more mis.erable hereafter and 
· for ever. 


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11 

·'..) 

HONESTY. 

HONESTY is all-important. " Thou 
shalt :i;iot steal'' is one of God's commandments. 
Wh,en you were in slavery you 


. may have thought that you had a right 
to take from your master what you could 
get hold of, and hesitated only from the . / 
fear, of being found out. Even some 
slaves who call themselves pious, have 
thought it was not wrong to take from the 
master's crib whatever they could . lay 
their hands upon. But if they had read 
the Bible, they would have seen how 
wrong it was. The apostle Paul, writing 
to the bondmen in his day, says 
they must ''not purloin;" which means, 
they must not steal even a little thing 
from their masters, nor from anybody 
else. 


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FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

If then any of you have fallen in to 

--this wicked habit, stop it at once. Besides, 
if you st~al, the. law will seize upon 
you, and you-may have to go to prison,. 
or sllffer some worse punishment. You 
&re now under law, and must be an honest 
keeper of the law. 

LYING. 

BE truthful. Some have said that lying 
is universally practised among ·the 
slaves_;,.;.thatthey seem to think it is no 
sin, or if it be a sin, that it is a very little 
one. Ifthis be so, then we urge you 

-to get. your minds at once S(jt right in 
this matter. 'Lying is a sin, and a great 
sin~ G9d has said, "Thou shalt not bear 
false witness," and that forbids . lying of 
all kinds. ·He says too, "Lie not one to 
another." ; And still more, he says, ~'Li



il'RI]lJNDLY COUNSELS. 

ars shall have their part in the lake that 
burneth with fire and brimstone." He 
is a God of truth, and he commands us 
all to. '' speak the truth in love." 

' SWEARING. 
PERHAPS you are not a profane swearer. 
We hardly think swearing is as.common 
among the blacks as it is among the . 
whites: to the shame of the whites be 1t 
said. Yet we have -heard some shocking 
oaths ·from colored men and women. 
This wicked habit the· Bible condemns. 
''Thou shalt not take 1 the name of the 
Lord thy God in vain ; ·for the. Lord will 
not hold him guiltless that taketh his 
name in vain." "Swe·ar not .at all," said 
Jesus. If any .of you have fallen into 
this dreadful habit, break it off, stop it 
at once . .And if you have not, then guard 
against it. 


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FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

PURITY. 

BE chaste. I dare say you know what 
that means. Whatever bad examples 
you may have had, you should now and 
·henceforth keep from that . destructive 
vice which God has forbidden in the severith 
commandment. It is, " Thou shalt 
not commit adultery." This means, to 
keep to your own wife, and the wife keep 
to her own husband. If you break over 
this bound, you· break God's law. In 
~favery, this vie~ or wickedness has not 
,, been thought so very bad; and perhaps, 
in some instances, it may even have been 
encouraged. But it was wicked then, and 
it is wicked now. Whatever apologies 
you may have made for it before, you 
are now out of the house of bondage, and 
under the same laws that all are. A 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

15 

woman's character, married or unmar-. 
ried, is blasted if s]J.e is impure; and in 
the sight of God. an impure m~n is equal~ 
ly sinful. 

All young people should guard against 

. this vice. They have a character to form 
and to maintain ; \and how can that be 
done if this vile habit is indulged ? A 
virtuous character is as precious to a col;. 
o~ed woman as it is to any woman . .And 
with regard to men and women both, the 
Bible says, "Whoremongers and adul .. 
terers God will judge." 

• 

THE SABBATH. 

· KEEP the Sabbath. Make it not a day 
of work nor of pleasure, but of rest and 
of worship. The Bible says, "Remember 
the Sabbath-day to keep tt ho\y." 
Cease on th~t day from all unnecessary 


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FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

· work. Let your families have rest alSo.. 
Put on your pest clothes-parents and 
children both-and after. you have prayed 
in your closet and prayed with you! 
family, then go to church, taking· with 
you such of your family as are old enough .. 

• Don't idle about on the Lord's· day. If 
· 
there is a Sabbath.:.school, go to it yourselves, 
and take your children along with 
you. .If you follow these rules, you will 
grow wiser and better. .It is in this way 
that people ~re trained up for heaven. 


These ·habits are, you see, all based 
on the Bible. It is God's morality we ~, 
are recommending.. And yet, after you 
have done all these things, you have done 
nothing more than your duty. You must 
not make .a religion out of these good 
habits. That is, you must not think that 
these are all that religipn requires. Religfon 
demands these, :and something 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

17 

more. You must have " the broken 

heart," sorrow for sin-sorrow before 

God, because you have broken his laws. 

Religion ~ids .you .·turn from all .sin


even sins of thought. , It commands you ~ 

to go to Jesus; that you may hav.e your 

sins washed away in his precious blood. 

It tells you that you must put your whole 

trust irr 'the . Lord. Jesus .for salvation. 

Religion calls upon you to love Jes us,. 

and from love to do whatsoever he hath 

commanded. • 

·.;: This is the inward experience of religion. 
But: all the good habits we have 
been recommending are such as a religious 
person will practise. If a man pretends 
to be religious,.and is a bad man 
in his outward· conduct-if he. loves to 
speak against his neighbors, or tells lies 
about them, or steals, or swears, or is 
impure, he is not a religious man ; he is 
a hypocrite; and "that man's religion," 


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FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

the Bible says, "is vain." We .want 
you to be religious and moral both. 

LEARNING. 

.A. GREAT many good people are now 
engaged in teaching you to read and 
write. This is very important; for then 

· you can read the· Bible and other good 
books, and see your way to heaven clearer. 
Besid(lil, some learning is very necessary 
and useful in business, _in writing 
letters, and in many ways. While you 
were slaves, you were for the most part 
not .permitted to learn to read and write; 
, but\novy you hav~ the opportunity, and 
you must give your .attention to it. J 
It is a new thing to you, this learning 
to read and write, and it may come hard 
at first ; but if you keep on, it will soon 
b,ecome easier. And wheJl yon have once 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

learned these, what a pleasant thing it 
will be to you to write a letter, or to sit 
down in your own house and read all 
about Jesus and salvation! 

You must see that your children learn 
also. Perhaps they will take it quicker, 
and then they can read to you. How 
nice it will be, after your day's work or_ 
on the Sabbath, to listen to your children 
reading to you out of the precious 
Bible ! This will be one of the best 
blessings connected with your new-found 
freedom. 

.A HOME. 

ONE of the first things you should endeavor 
to secure to yourselves is, a home. 
Each family should aim at this. No.matter 
how small your house be, if it is a 
home, and your home, there will be a 

charm about it. I see not why every 


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FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

family among the freedmen may not obtain 
such a home-where he can have his 
family to himself, and train-his children 
to good morals and religion. Freedom 
makes a home worth something. 

Get a_ house, then, as soon as you can; 

.no matter how small or how poor it is. 
Perhaps by your industry you may make 
it larger and better. Move your family 
into it, and begin to live as one who is 

. responsible to God, and who is determined 
to show that slavery has not robbed 
him of all his manhood. 

In-this home have family worship. 
Pray with your family every morning, 
asking G_od's blessing in something like 
the following words : ' 


FRIENDLY OOUNSE:LS. 

MORNING PRAYER. 
OuR Father which art in heaven, we 
thank thee for keeping us safe through 
the night. We thank thee· for our sleep1 
which has done us so much good. Grant 
now, 0 Lord, that we may have thy 
blessing .through the. day. ·Help us to 
be diligent in business .. Keep us from 
all harm and from all wrong. Help us 
to do thy will fa all things.· . 0 Lord, 
· bless this family ; make. us Christians ; 
give us sorrow for allour sins, and pardon 
them for ·Jesus' sake. · May we trust 
in Jesus alone for salvation. Help :us to 
obey all thy commands. May we fove 
all men, even : ou~· enemies. May we 
serve thee faithfully until we die';', and 
then, 0 Lord, take us· to heaven,' for Jesus' 
sake. .A.men. 
. The evening prayer might be somewhat 
as follows : 


22 \ FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

EVENING PR.A.YER. 
0 LoRD, we give thee thanks that thou 
hast preserved us through the past day; 
that thou hast helpe~ us to do our work, 
and hast. not suffered us to fall into any 
hurtful evils. Yet, Lord, we know and 
feel that the day has not been without 
its temptations and sins. We have done 
many things which we ·ought not to haye 
done, and have left undone many things 
which we ought to have done; and for: 
these sins, 0 Lord, we ask thy forgiveness. 
Oh, wash them all away in the 
blood of Jesus. Give us hearts to love 
and obey _thee more perfectly hereafter. 
Keep us, 0 Lord, thr@ugh the night, 
from all harm. , Give us ·peaceful sleep. 
And when the night of death shall come, 
may· we sleep in Jesus, and awake in 
heaven. This we ask 'through Jesus 
Christ, our blessed Redeemer. Amen. 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

23 

Learn also the Lord's prayer, and 
help your children to learn it. You ... 
should often say it as a morning prayer; 
going down upon your knees" with your 
little ones, and all repeating it aloud together. 
· 

THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
_Ł, OuR Father which art. in heaven, 
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom 
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it 
is in heaven. Give us this day our daily 
bread. And forgive us our debts, as we 
forgive our debtors. And .lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil; 
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, 
and the glory, for ever. .A.men." 

As soon as you learn to read, let your. 
prayers be accompanied by the read~ng 
daily of at least a few verses oµt of the 


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FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

Bible. Take great pains also to . teach 

... / 
your. children to; pray. There are a 
great many pretty little prayers they 
can learn, ';.,nd some of them are in verse. 
I will give two· of these, though· I dare 
say. some of you know them already. 

PRAYER FOR A LITTLE CHILD ON 
GOING. TO B.ED. 

"Now I lay me down to sleep, 
I pray the Lord my soul to keep; 
.If I should die before I wake, 

. I pray the Lord my f)Oul to take; 
And this I beg for Jesus' sake. Amen." 

OHILD'S MORNING PRAYER. 

-t "Now I awake, and see the light; 
'Tis God who kept me through the.night. 
To him I lift my voice, and pray 
That he would keep me through the day. 
IfI should die before 't is done, 
0 God, accept me through thy Son. Amen." 

Teach your children to fear ·God and 
to keep his commandments. · Train them 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

up for. him. Remember they are given 
to you to be brought up for some good 
and useful end. Let them have every 
advantage. within your ·reach. for their 
improvement. And above all, set them 
a good ~xample yourselves, which will 
have more effect in making them good 
children than., any lessons which you or 
others may give them. 


A HAPPY HOME. · 
TRY to make your house a happy 
home for yourselves and for your· children. 
So far as you can, keep the children 
dean and neat.. Especially take · 
care that they do n't learn bad ways, by 
getting into the company of bad children .. 
Make things as pleasant as you can in 
.and around your ho1:J.Se. What a difference 
there is! Some cottages or cabins 
look very pretty,· and some look very 


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FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

' ·~\ 

bad.. It is easy to tell what sort-.ofpeo..; 
ple live in a house, by the very looks of 
it. Dirty within ap.d dirty without tells 
a bad story of the inmates. On the 

/ other hand, when we 'pass a log-cabin 
where things look tidy, we are apt to 
say to oUrselves, "Some nice peop~e live 
there."· 
Now, when a stranger approaches your 
. -house, let him notice a pretty gardenspot, 
with flowers and vegetables, all 
well kept. Whe~· he enters, let his eye' 
be , cheered . by seeing how nice every 
thing looks, how well swept the floor is, 
how the tin things shine. ~ Let him notice 
·a few books, with marks of study or 
reading upon them. Especially let him 
see the Bible or Testament in daily use. 
As he glances around, it would be. pleasant 
if he could see _a little_ picture here. 
and there hanging on the wall, or a flower--
pot. with a pretty pink or rose bloom



FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

ing in it, showing that yoµ have a liking 

. for such things. He would· say, "Well, 
this looks like freedom. I think you 
must be quite a happy family." 

Will any one say that s.uch a pic~ure 
of home comforts may not be seen all?-ong 
the families of the freedmen? I trust 
that many who read this little book, or 
hear it read, will say to themselves, 
''Well, I mean to try and see if I can't 
have such a home." Try, then, and we 
believe you will succeed. Ifwill. be a 
very pretty picture to show some who 
maintain· that it is useless to attempt to 
elevate or ·to improve the condition of 
the colored race. 

T.hese counsels are from· your friends. 
We. rejoice in your freedom, and we long 
to see you improve it to the utmost, thus 
showing to the world the superiority of 
a state of freedom under the worst as~/ 
pects over that of slavery under the beat. 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 

TO SUM UP. 

.A.ND now try to think over all the 
things mentioned in this little book, and 
bear them in mind, so that every day 
they will .keep you right. For instance,


' . 

say. to yourself, I will be industrious. 

I wont· lie around a mere idler. .And 

wnen I have work to do, I will be faith-, 

ful and. do it. I wont be an eye-servant, 

work~ng only when my employer is look


ing at me. 

Next, I will be clean. I will keep 


my body clean, and my house clean, and 
my children clean; and. this will remind 
me that I must b~ clean in .my thoughts. 
Then I will remember to save. my 
wages, and not spend more· than is nee. 
essary, and to lay up something for a time 

of need. 

As to rum . and ·other intoxicatip.g 


FRIENDLY COUNSELS. 29 

liquors, I wont touch them, any more tha.n 

I would handle a fiery serpent .. 

.I will not steal even a small amount. 

Ifthe devil says, Take it, I will say, No; 

it isn't mine ; God has forbidden me to 

take it. 

I will guard my lips from lying. I 
will always ~~peak the truth. Even if it 
is against myself, I will still keep to the 
truth ; for I know God abhors the deceitful 
tongue. . 

When I hear people taking God's 

' 

name in vain, I will say, That· is.~ very 
wicked. Lord, help me to keep from 
this dreadful sin. 

·.And so also, when l am tempted to 
impurity, I will say as Joseph in the 
Bible said; "How can _I do this great 
wickedness, and sin against God?" ·I 
will keep from such vice. 

I will r~emember the Sabbath too, a:qd 
try to keep it holy. l will go to church 


SO . FRIE~DLY COUNSELS.. 

and prayer-meeting. I wont do any 

unnecessary work on that holy day. 

Try to keep all these good resolutions1. 

and ask God to help you. You . need 

God's help; and he will give it to you, 
·if you pray for it. 

And now learn and· say the . following 

beautiful hymns, with which I will 

close: 


. FRIENDLY COUNSELS..· 31 

JUST AS I AM. 

Just as I am-without one plea, 
But that thy blood was shed for me, 
And that thou bidst me come to thee, 


0 Lamb of God, I come! 

Just as I run-and waiting not• 
To rid my soul of one dark blot, 
To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, 


, 0 Lamb of God, I camel 

Just as I am..:_though tossed about 
With many a. conflict, many a doubtFightings 
within, and fears without, ' 

0 Lamb of God, I come! 

Just as I am-poor, wretched? blindSight, 
riches, healing of the mind, 
Yea, all I need, in thee to find, 

0 Lamb of God, I come! 

Just as I am-thou wilt receive; 
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse,. relieve ; 
Because thy pi·omise I believe, 


0 Lamb of God, I come! 

Just as, I am-thy love, I own, 
Has broken every barrier down ; 
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone, 

0 Lamb of God, I come I 

• 


,;. 

FRIENDLY CO.UNSEL$. 

,HYMN. 

''A charge to keep I have; 
A God to glorify; 
A neiver-dying soul to save, 
And fit it-for the sky. 


To serve the present age, 
My calling to fulfil: 
~ Oh, may it all my powers engage, 
To do my l\faster's will. 

Arm me with jea~ous care, 
. As in thy sight to live ; 
And Oh, thy servant, Lord, prepare 
A strict account to give. 

Help me to watch and pray, 
And on .thyself rely; 
Assured if I my trust betray,! 
shall for ever die."