In Southwest Texas, at a Freedman’s country home, our Superintendent found a Bible which had this inscription, printed upon a fly-leaf at the front:
“One of 10,000 Bibles presented to the Freedmen of America by the Divinity Students’ Missionary Society, connected with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Printed at the University Press, Oxford, for the National Bible Society of Scotland.” So does religious beneficence percolate the most distant regions. Our colored fellow-citizens have been made the recipients of an immense amount of material and spiritual sympathy on the part of British Christians. These Divinity Students will be glad to know that this Bible, sent by their Society some ten years ago, is used for morning and evening family worship in an interesting household, which possesses its own farm, and which furnished hospitality to our representative.
A dozen years ago, one of our lady teachers at a Southern capital had a shower of stones driven through the window of her school-room. At another time, some “fellows of the baser sort” brought in some drunken Mexicans to annoy the school. A guard of soldiers was placed at the school-house, and she was escorted to and from the school by the same. Now she has so many friends among the Southern white people that she says she doesn’t like to hear them spoken against. She has not time to reciprocate their social attentions. The school has proven a great success. She has her fifty teachers out at work and she is as enthusiastic as ever.
Rev. Geo. E. Hill, of Marion, Ala., mentions a few facts in a private note which doubtless he deemed too commonplace for formal communication to the Missionary, yet significant and hopeful. Not every pastor, even in favored New England, is so fortunate in his young people.
On a recent Sabbath, one of his boys, who is to graduate this summer from Talladega, preached for him, and proved himself a good speaker, possessed of a clear, logical mind, with the promise of being a useful man. On the next day, he and another member of his church, also a Talladega student, spoke at the meeting of the Young Men’s Christian Association extemporaneously, but with great beauty and force. His missionary meetings are conducted in a way that might be profitably followed by such of our churches as have like helpers. The subject of the last one was “Africa,” illustrated by a large map. Miss M., a graduate of Fisk University, read a paper on the Mendi Mission, “which would have done honor to any of our Northern churches.” She is possessed of a true missionary spirit and Bro. Hill hopes she will find her way into the mission field, notwithstanding a misfortune which has partially disabled her.
He has also a Young People’s Club for intellectual culture. At its last meeting, the programme included: A sketch of Gen. Grant; a paper on Mormonism; a sketch of Eli Whitney; a history of Umbrellas; a reading, recitations, etc.
He seems to have a church of “Holy Endeavor,” with the athletics and pastimes left out.