The trustees also voted that an industrial department for boys be at once organized, which shall provide for training in carpentry and other mechanical work; and the executive committee were authorized to make the necessary arrangements.
TALLADEGA COLLEGE, TALLADEGA, ALA.
BY PROF. GEO. N. ELLIS.
The prelude of our twelfth anniversary exercises came Friday night, June 9, in the form of a school exhibition by the lower departments, consisting of declamations, recitations, concert exercises, etc. This was something new and drew a large and appreciative audience. The participants came attended by a throng of relatives and admiring friends, and the programme passed off in a manner creditable to all.
In lieu of the usual baccalaureate sermon Sunday morning, Rev. Edward W. Bacon, of New London, Conn., delivered a missionary discourse. To his mind, a missionary was not a religious drummer nor a mere itinerant preacher. He was a settler, locating in a community, growing up with it, molding its moral, social and religious life. To the young colored men of America, educated and consecrated, no field offers grander opportunities for distinguishment, in these respects, than does long-neglected Africa. Mr. Bacon said his object was to induce some one to become a missionary. His able and practical sermon will not be barren of results; and when the call for workers shall come, Talladega will respond with her quota.
At night President De Forest gave one of his practical talks to the students about to go out for the summer. It was crowded with good advice, plainly put, and will not be forgotten.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday forenoons public examinations were held in the various departments. They seem to have passed off satisfactorily to examiners, examined and visitors. One of the latter who spent his whole time in seeing and hearing as much as possible said: “I have not been into an examination which does not reflect credit on teacher and scholar alike. Everything shows that most excellent work has been done.” Theology is still the high water mark of scholarship, but the “small Latin and less Greek” of the institution are gradually rising and are not to stop short of the line of a full college course. There is a good deal of “back-water” waiting to be turned into these channels as soon as they are properly enlarged.
Wednesday afternoon occurred the prize declamations and essays.
The evening entertainments for the week were, on Monday night, a scholarly and uplifting address by Rev. Mr. Bacon upon self-education; on Tuesday night exercises by the young people’s literary societies, which showed commendable efforts in the way of self-improvement; on Wednesday night, the usual church prayer-meeting, one of the most enjoyable of all our Commencement gatherings; and on Thursday night, a concert by the Musical Union who rendered the Cantata of Esther, the Beautiful Queen, to the satisfaction of a densely packed house and with an income to the Union of nearly fifty dollars which they pledged for a new piano.