Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
The Project BookishMall.com EBook of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, by Olaudah Equiano
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project BookishMall.com License included
with this eBook or online at www.BookishMall.com.net
Title: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African
Written By Himself
Author: Olaudah Equiano
Release Date: March 17, 2005 [EBook #15399]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT BookishMall.com EBOOK THE INTERESTING NARRATIVE OF ***
Produced by Suzanne Shell, Diane Monico and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
THE
INTERESTING NARRATIVE
OF
THE LIFE
OF
OLAUDAH EQUIANO,
OR
GUSTAVUS VASSA,
THE AFRICAN.
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and
not be
afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my
song; he also is become my salvation.
And in that shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his
name, declare his doings among the people. Isaiah xii. 2,
4.
LONDON:
Printed for and sold by the Author, No. 10, Union-Street,
Middlesex Hospital
Sold also by Mr. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard; Mr.
Murray, Fleet-Street; Messrs. Robson and Clark, Bond-Street; Mr.
Davis, opposite Gray's Inn, Holborn; Messrs. Shepperson and
Reynolds, and Mr. Jackson, Oxford Street; Mr. Lackington,
Chiswell-Street; Mr. Mathews, Strand; Mr. Murray, Prince's-Street,
Soho; Mess. Taylor and Co. South Arch, Royal Exchange; Mr. Button,
Newington-Causeway; Mr. Parsons, Paternoster-Row; and may be had of
all the Booksellers in Town and Country.
[Entered at Stationer's Hall.]
Olaudah_Equiano_or_GUSTAVUS_VASSA_the_African
To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal,
and
the Commons of the Parliament
of Great Britain.
My Lords and Gentlemen,
Permit me, with the greatest deference and respect, to lay at
your feet the following genuine Narrative; the chief design of
which is to excite in your august assemblies a sense of compassion
for the miseries which the Slave-Trade has entailed on my
unfortunate countrymen. By the horrors of that trade was I first
torn away from all the tender connexions that were naturally dear
to my heart; but these, through the mysterious ways of Providence,
I ought to regard as infinitely more than compensated by the
introduction I have thence obtained to the knowledge of the
Christian religion, and of a nation which, by its liberal
sentiments, its humanity, the glorious freedom of its government,
and its proficiency in arts and sciences, has exalted the dignity
of human nature.
I am sensible I ought to entreat your pardon for addressing to
you a work so wholly devoid of literary merit; but, as the
production of an unlettered African, who is actuated by the hope of
becoming an instrument towards the relief of his suffering
countrymen, I trust that such a man, pleading in such a
cause, will be acquitted of boldness and presumption.
May the God of heaven inspire your hearts with peculiar
benevolence on that important day when the question of Abolition is
to be discussed, when thousands, in consequence of your
Determination, are to look for Happiness or Misery!
I
am,
My Lords and
Gentlemen,
Your most obedient,
And devoted humble servant,
Olaudah Equiano,
or
Gustavus Vassa.
Union-Street, Mary-le-bone,
March 24, 1789.
LIST of SUBSCRIBERS.
His Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales.
His Royal Highness the Duke of York.
A
The Right Hon. the Earl of Ailesbury
Admiral Affleck
Mr. William Abington, 2 copies
Mr. John Abraham
James Adair, Esq.
Reverend Mr. Aldridge
Mr. John Almon
Mrs. Arnot
Mr. Joseph Armitage
Mr. Joseph Ashpinshaw
Mr. Samuel Atkins
Mr. John Atwood
Mr. Thomas Atwood
Mr. Ashwell
J.C.
1 comment