A. B.
JOHN C. GRANBERY, Va.
JOHN H. CLAIBORNE, Va.
JAMES R. BRANCH, Va.
JOHN S. MOORE, Va.
DALLAS SMITH, Ala.
TAZEWELL HARGROVE, N. C.
RICHARD G. MORRIS, Va.
GEORGE W. FRIEND, Va.
CHARLES E. WILLIAMS, Va.
JAMES D. BLACKWELL, Va.
A. M.
CHARLES B. STUART, Va.
TURNER M. JONES, N. C.
WILLIE M. PERSON, N. C.
J. W. SHELTON, N. C.
THOMAS B. RUSSELL, Ga.
JOHN G. BOYD, Va.
WILLIAMS T. DAVIS (Hon'y), Va.
BENJAMIN JENKINS (Honorary), Missionary M. E. Church, South, in China.
[Illustration: JAMES R. BRANCH, A. M., Colonel Artillery, C. S. A.]
D'Arcy Paul, Investing Agent and Chairman of the Finance Committee, reported the probable income for coming year at about $3,500, $2,000 of which amount to come from fees and the balance endowment dividends.
[Illustration: JOHN C. GRANBERY, A. M., D. D.]
We pause again in this narrative to give a reminiscence of College life as written in 1882 by a distinguished member of the class last named, John C. Granbery, who delivered the valedictory as first-honor man. The distinction then achieved was but a presage of his rank in the several positions he has been called to fill—Pastor, Chaplain to the University of Virginia, Chaplain in the Confederate army (in which service he was severely wounded and taken prisoner), Professor in the Vanderbilt University, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (elected 1882), and author of several works. At this writing he lives at Ashland, and is the President of the Board of Trustees.
"As the earliest of the American Methodist Colleges now extant, Randolph-Macon may be called venerable, if not ancient. But I use the prefix old in order to distinguish the College as it was at Boydton from the College as it is at Ashland. The features of contrast are many and important. In the old days slavery was, as we thought, a fixed and lasting institution; civil strife had not swept away lives and fortunes, and the South was proud, independent, fiery and enthusiastic, chivalrous withal, generous, genial; now we are just beginning to adjust ourselves to the new social and political conditions which have been imposed by a disastrous war. Then there was a single degree, Bachelor of Arts, for which the students strove, and the course of four years was prescribed, with its regular gradations of Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors; now the studies are eclectic, and the matriculates may select any one of several degrees, or study without reference to graduation. Then the lumbering stage brought up the tri-weekly, or perhaps daily, mail and passengers, and the word of the driver rang forth cheerily, but no shrill whistle of steam-engine or thunder of lightning trains disturbed the silence of the classic groves, and the attractions and distractions of the crowded, hurrying, clamorous city were out of reach and out of thought; now the steam-car and the steam-press are familiar objects, the capital is less than an hour's distance, and the stage-coach is a tradition.
"A change has taken place in the manner and measure of collegiate discipline. This is due not to the change of locality, but to the spirit of the age. It has come to be a maxim that the best government is that which governs least. We seek the minimum of restriction on liberty that is compatible with the ends of government, viz., order, morality and diligence. Formerly the dormitory system prevailed; students were required to be in their rooms during certain hours of the day and night; professors and tutors visited the buildings, seeking to surprise the inmates, in order to ascertain whether the rule was observed; there were many minute regulations which have since been abandoned. This continued exercise of authority and plan of watching provoked insubordination and evasion; the wits of the boys were set to work in order to deceive the teachers, and to break the rules without detection, or, at least, with impunity. The risk gave to mischief and lawlessness a relish they would not otherwise have possessed. Unwholesome suppers were stealthily brought to the rooms by negroes at late hours of the night; calathumps aroused the neighborhood with most hideous music; blackboards were greased; the bell-rope was cut, and old John had to blow his horn at daybreak in every row of the buildings, as a call to prayers and recitations. This provoked him greatly, and he used to say, 'If you won't be rung up as gentlemen, I must blow you up as hogs.' How heartily I have heard Dr. Smith laugh as he repeated the old negro's complaint at such times, 'We have the worstest young men, and the mostest on 'em, I ever seed!' Practical jokes, sometimes of a very disagreeable sort, were played on professors in their nocturnal rounds of inspecting the premises. Calves were hauled up into lecture-rooms, and other silly tricks were perpetrated. I am glad that these follies have passed away, that faculty and students treat each other as gentlemen and friends, and that the public sentiment of the College would not tolerate any rudeness, though disguised under the name of fun. It is well to appeal to the conscience, gentlemanly propriety and honor, and generous and kindly sentiments of young men, rather than resort to espionage and multiplied restraints.