John Galt - The Life, Studies, and Works of Benjamin West, Esq.

To
Alexander Gordon, Esq.
This little work
Is respectfully inscribed
By the Author.

The professional life of Mr. West constitutes an important part of anhistorical work, in which the matter of this volume could only have beenintroduced as an episode, and, perhaps, not with much propriety even inthat form. It was my intention, at one time, to have prepared the whole ofhis memoirs, separately, for publication; but a careful review of themanuscript convinced me, that the transactions in which he has beenengaged, subsequently to his arrival in England, are so much of a publicnature, and belong so immediately to the history of the Arts, that such aseparation could not be effected without essentially impairing theinterest and unity of the main design; and that the particular nature ofthis portion of his memoirs admitted of being easily detached and arrangedinto a whole, complete within itself.

I do not think that there can be two opinions with respect to the utilityof a work of this kind. Mr. West, in relating the circumstances by whichhe was led to approximate, without the aid of an instructor, to thoseprinciples and rules of art, which it is the object of schools andacademies to disseminate, has conferred a greater benefit on young Artiststhan he could possibly have done by the most ingenious and eloquentlectures on the theories of his profession; and it was necessary that thenarrative should appear in his own time, in order that the authenticity ofthe incidents might not rest on the authority of any biographer.

April 25,1816.

John Galt.

Benjamin West, the subject of the following Memoirs, was the youngest sonof John West and Sarah Pearson, and was born near Springfield, in ChesterCounty, in the State of Pennsylvania, on the 10th of October, 1738.

The branch of the West family, to which he belongs, has been traced in anunbroken series to the Lord Delawarre, who distinguished himself in thegreat wars of King Edward the Third, and particularly at the battle ofCressy, under the immediate command of the Black Prince. In the reign ofRichard the Second, the ancestors of Mr. West settled at Long Crandon inBuckinghamshire. About the year 1667 they embraced the tenets of theQuakers; and Colonel James West, the friend and companion in arms of thecelebrated Hampden, is said to have been the first proselyte of thefamily. In 1699 they emigrated to America.

Thomas Pearson, the maternal grandfather of the Artist, was theconfidential friend of William Penn, and accompanied him to America. Ontheir first landing, the venerable Founder of the State of Pennsylvaniasaid to him, "Providence has brought us safely hither; thou hast been thecompanion of my perils, what wilt thou that I should call this place?" Mr.Pearson replied, that "since he had honoured him so far as to desire himto give that part of the country a name, he would, in remembrance of hisnative City, call it Chester." The exact spot where these patriarchs ofthe new world first landed, is still pointed out with reverence by theinhabitants. Mr. Pearson built a house and formed a plantation in theneighbourhood, which he called Springfield, in consequence of discoveringa large spring of water in the first field cleared for cultivation; and itwas near this place that Benjamin West was born.

When the West family emigrated, John, the father of Benjamin, was left tocomplete his education at the great school of the Quakers at Uxbridge, anddid not join his relations in America till the year 1714. Soon after hisarrival he married the mother of the Artist; and of the worth and piety ofhis character we have a remarkable proof in the following transactions,which, perhaps, reflect more real glory on his family than theachievements of all his heroic ancestors.

As a part of the marriage portion of Mrs. West he received a negro slave,whose diligence and fidelity very soon obtained his full confidence.Being engaged in trade, he had occasion to make a voyage in the WestIndies, and left this young black to superintend the plantation in hisabsence, During his residence in Barbadoes, his feelings were greatlymolested, and his principles shocked, by the cruelties to which he saw thenegroes subjected in that island; and the debasing effects were forciblycontrasted in his mind with the morals and intelligence of his own slave.Conversing on this subject with Doctor Gammon, who was then at the head ofthe community of Friends in Barbadoes, the Doctor convinced him that itwas contrary to the laws of God and Nature that any man should retain hisfellow-creatures in slavery. This conviction could not rest long inactivein a character framed like that of Mr. West. On his return to America hegave the negro his freedom, and retained him as a hired servant.

Not content with doing good himself, he endeavoured to make others followhis example, and in a short time his arguments had such an effect on hisneighbours, that it was agreed to discuss publicly the general question ofSlavery. This was done accordingly; and, after debating it at manymeetings, it was resolved by a considerable majority THAT IT WAS THE DUTYOF CHRISTIANS TO GIVE FREEDOM TO THEIR SLAVES. The result of thisdiscussion was soon afterwards followed by a similar proposal to the headmeeting of the Quakers in the township of Goshen in Chester County; andthe cause of Humanity was again victorious. Finally, about the year 1753,the same question was agitated in the annual general assembly atPhiladelphia, when it was ultimately established as one of the tenets ofthe Quakers, that no person could remain a member of their community whoheld a human creature in slavery. This transaction is perhaps the firstexample in the history of communities, of a great public sacrifice ofindividual interest, not originating from considerations of policy or theexigences of public danger, but purely from moral and religiousprinciples.

The benevolent work of restoring their natural rights to the unfortunateNegroes, did not rest even at this great pecuniary sacrifice. The Societyof Friends went farther, and established Schools for the education oftheir children; and some of the first characters among themselvesvolunteered to superintend the course of instruction.

In the autumn of 1738, Edmund Peckover, a celebrated Orator among theQuakers, came to the neighbourhood of Springfield, and on the 28th ofSeptember preached in a meeting-house erected by the father of Mrs. Westat the distance of about a mile and a half from his residence. Mrs. Westwas then the mother of nine children, and far advanced in her pregnancywith Benjamin.Peckover possessed the most essential qualities of animpressive speaker, and on this occasion the subject of his address was ofextraordinary interest to his auditors. He reviewed the rise and progressof society in America, and with an enthusiastic eloquence which partook ofthe sublimity and vehemence of the prophetic spirit, he predicted thefuture greatness of the country. He described the condition of theEuropean nations, decrepid in their institutions, and corrupt in theirmorality, and contrasted them with the young and flourishingestablishments of the New World. He held up to their abhorrence thelicentious manners and atheistical principles of the French, among whomGod was disregarded or forgotten; and, elevated by the importance of hissubject, he described the Almighty as mustering his wrath to descend onthat nation, and disperse it as chaff in a whirlwind. He called on them tolook towards their home of England, and to see with what eager devotionthe inhabitants worshiped the golden image of Commerce, and laid thetribute of all their thoughts on its altars; believing that with the powerof the idol alone, they should be able to withstand all calamities. "Theday and the hour are, however, hastening on, when the image shall beshaken from its pedestal by the tempest of Jehovah's descending vengeance,its altars overturned, and the worshipers terribly convinced that withoutthe favour of the Almighty God there is no wisdom in man! But," continuedthis impassioned orator, "from the woes and the crimes of Europe let usturn aside our eyes; let us turn from the worshipers of Commerce, clinginground their idols of gold and silver, and, amidst the wrath, the storm,and the thunder, endeavouring to hold them up; let us not look at the landof blasphemies; for in the crashing of engines, the gushing of blood, andthe shrieking of witnesses more to be pitied than the victims, theactivity of God's purifying displeasure will be heard; while turning oureyes towards the mountains of this New World, the forests shall be seenfading away, cities rising along the shores, and the terrified nations ofEurope flying out of the smoke and the burning to find refuge here."Allhis auditors were deeply affected, particularly Mrs. West, who was takenwith the pains of labour on the spot. The meeting was broken up; the womenmade a circle round her as they carried her home, and such was theagitation into which she was thrown, that the consequences had nearlyproved fatal both to the mother and the infant, of which she wasprematurely delivered.