“In speaking of the historic associations of the place, he alluded to the fact that, fourteen years ago, he had been brought here immediately after the great battle of Cold Harbor, and had remained three months. At that time there were sixty officers and more than four thousand soldiers in the hospitals erected upon these same grounds. The natural surroundings were then the same as now; the river ran lazily along; the roadstead, which glitters to-day under the Virginia sun like a sea of molten silver, was filled with ships. They were not ships of a broad, peaceful, prosperous commerce, such as are now resting upon its bosom, but ships filled with supplies for the great army that was lying up the river. The army has gone; the bugles of war have sounded their last notes; the sick and wounded soldiers that were camped on these grounds have struck their tents. Three or four hundred of them remain in yonder cemetery, where stands the monument erected by Miss Dorothea Dix to commemorate their heroism. But I regard this Institution as a more fitting monument to the army that fought for law, and order, and civilization, to the patriotism of the men that rushed to the defense of a constitutionally elected President when his authority was defied and his office menaced.”
The President, also, made a telling little speech, expressing his deep interest in the education of the freedmen, and his approbation of the things which he had seen and heard.
Thus ended another memorable day for Hampton.
FISK UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT.
A. R. MERRY, STUDENT.
The commencement exercises of Fisk University began on Sunday, May 19th, at eleven o’clock A. M. Addresses were made before the Society for the Evangelization of Africa, by Professors Spence and Chase.
As the readers of the Missionary doubtless know, from this Society already have gone forth four young consecrated souls to bear the light of the Gospel and civilization to the perishing ones on the west coast of Africa; and in the future we are sure that many more will verify the prophetic saying of one of those already gone: “Her sons and her daughters are ever on the altar.”
At three P. M. the baccalaureate sermon was preached by the Rev. H. S. Bennett, from the text, Matt. xxii. 21: “Render, therefore, unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”