In 1834 the children of the Jamaica slaves were freed, but
at midnight of July 31, 1838, a general proclamation of
emancipation went into effect and every adult slave in Jamaica
became a free man. In anticipation of this event, William Knibb,
the evangelist, gathered together the ten thousand slaves on
that island for a prayer and praise meeting, and when the
first stroke of the midnight bell pealed out, William Knibb
shouted, “The monster is dying!” When the second stroke came,
he said “dying”--after the third stroke he again said “dying,”
and when the twelfth stroke struck he said “The monster is
dead--let us bury him.” They had ready an immense coffin, into
which they cast the whips, the branding-irons, the handcuffs
and fetters, the slave garments and all the memorials of their
slavery--and screwed down the lid. They let the coffin down into
a twelve-foot deep grave, and, covering it over, they buried out
of sight all the memorials of their past life of bondage.
(2975)