Moses Roper escaped enslavement in the American South, and successfully made passage to England, he brought with him letters of introduction to three nonconformist ministers: Alexander Fletcher, John Morison, and a minister in Liverpool. Morison, Price, Cox and Fletcher became his patrons in Hackney and the London area. In his autobiography, Roper described these friends who assisted him whilst in England. Roper's anti-slavery speech of 26 May 1836, delivered at Fletcher's Finsbury Chapel, was one of his two most influential in the capital. In May 1846 Finsbury Chapel was the venue for a huge gathering to hear a speech by Frederick Douglass, who had escaped from slavery in the US and become a major speaker for abolition. This was advertised as a publicity meeting at Finsbury Chapel to receive from Frederick Douglass an account of the dreadful conditions, both in law and practice, of 3,000,000 of slaves in the United States. The meeting was introduced by Joseph Sturge. A contemporary report noted that every part of the large edifice was crowded to suffocation; the firebrand Congregational, John Campbell gave a rousing response of support for abolition. Published books After the late 1830s, Alexander Fletcher became a successful author, writing a range of devotional works for publication in London and the United States. These included A Guide to Family Devotion, which quickly sold 60,000 copies. Due to such success, he continued writing up until his death. His last work was intended to be a book for the young, from ten years old and upwards, though it was unfinished at his death. 'The Children's Friend' Recovering from the court cases and associated controversy, Alexander Fletcher, became especially revered for his work with children. The titles Prince of Preachers to Children and The Children's Friend were frequently used to describe him, since he stood almost alone as a popular figure amongst children, able to attract vast audiences, quite unlike anyone else during his lifetime or since. Not surprisingly, having built Finsbury Chapel, it became a well-known venue for Alexander Fletcher's children's events. On Christmas mornings, it would be full of children from all the Sunday schools he could attract across the capital, and it drew similar gatherings of children for Whit Monday when all the schools in Hackney would be invited. As a result, the chapel's Sunday School for children was said to have been the most popular in London. Alexander Fletcher's success