Our Guests:

        I am happy, on this pleasant occasion, to be the bearer of the greetings and congratulations of the Faculty of Harvard College to the University of North Carolina. We are bound to you by the ties of a common interest and a common hope and effort. The spirit of sympathy and co-operation which exists among the colleges of our country is one of the most encouraging signs for our future. United in the one great aim of fostering mental culture, of laying the foundations of a stronger and purer national and individual life, we gain, from our association with one another, freshening and broadening of ideas and stimulation to work. May the time soon come when there shall be a closer brotherhood of American colleges, a freer and more frequent interchange of thought and a larger and more effective co-operation.

        With a record like that of the University of North Carolina, the present occasion cannot fail to be one of deep significance and happy omen. The life of the University began with that of the State whose fortunes it has faithfully shared, and we may confidently

hope that the increasing prosperity of the State will bring fresh vigor and more commanding influence to its highest school. The main direction of the educated thought of the State has been in the hands of its University. I shall not attempt to call the roll of its eminent presidents, instructors and trustees, and of its distinguished graduates who have occupied positions of honor and trust at home and abroad. It is rather the steady pressure which the University has exerted on the educated masses, the bone and sinew of the State, that I think of. Seventy years ago it was said of North Carolina that, in zeal for education, it was not outdone by any State in the Union. This is the sentiment that has leavened the population of the State, and has found its highest expression in the University. The fathers of the Revolution, says President Battle, knew that their children would not be capable of freedom without education. It is the indispensable duty of every Legislature -- so runs the preamble to the act for the establishment of the University a hundred years ago -- to consult the happiness of a rising generation, and endeavor to fit them for an honorable discharge of the social duties of life, by paying the strictest attention to their education.

        No broader scheme for a university could be stated. The ultimate aim of education on the social side

is to teach men to live aright; on the reflective side it is the discovery of truth. To these ends all the energy of the University must be bent, and to these other considerations must be held subordinate. Libertas docendi, libertas discendi -- perfect freedom of thought, unfettered, unbiased by whatsoever surroundings, is the one absolutely essential condition of progress. Happily, it is one which is universally recognized in our country, one to which the people of North Carolina, by their experiences of a century ago, in their State Constitution, in the organic law of all their schools and colleges, have given no doubtful assent.

        The question whether a university education is needed has been practically answered by our people in the affirmative. Whatever may be the ebbs and flows of sentiment, there is always a return to the position that nothing can atone for the absence of the material for broad culture which a university alone can supply. The existence of such an institution is assured by the deepest conviction of the people. It remains for the friends of university education to apply themselves to the task of giving it the best form. Nor need we fear the results of such an attempt. If it be true that our methods are now somewhat chaotic, this is an incident of our national youthfulness; we can learn only by experience.

But we have no small advantage in the existence of a number of universities in the different States, each of which is endeavoring to adapt itself to its public. From these varied experiences will arise permanent principles and methods; each university will learn from the others. We cannot merely copy the organizations of the European schools, though we may hold ourselves ready to adopt from them whatever shall appear to be useful for our purposes.

        A university must be the creator of its own resources. It must shape a public opinion which shall supply the means of endowing instruction, and shall offer those rewards of honors and emoluments which shall induce young men to devote themselves to thorough literary, scientific and philosophical studies. The outlook in this regard is hopeful. Every graduating class is a new leavening power. With the increasing facilities and achievements of the University comes a new pride among her Alumni and among the citizens of the State, an increasing desire to link their names with hers by gifts which shall confer the highest benefits on the youth of the State for untold generations.

        May the hope which the University of North Carolina reposes in her sons be amply and speedily fulfilled!

        In conclusion, may I be permitted to read the following telegram, which I have just received from the President of Harvard University:

"Cambridge, Mass., June 5, 1889
.

        "Harvard University congratulates the University of North Carolina on a centenary of usefulness and honor, and wishes it ever-increasing prosperity.

(Signed)

"CHARLES W. ELIOT."

EXERCISES OF THE CLASS OF 1879

AT ITS DECENNIAL REUNION.

        The class of 1879 began its career with the revival of the University in 1875, and was, therefore, the first to graduate under the new regime, after a four years' course of study. It was a part of the plan of the Centennial Alumni Reunion to grant special places on the programme for special exercises to such classes as might make application therefor; and notice of this was given to each class. Application was made by the classes of 1879 and 1868, who, accordingly, held special exercises in Memorial Hall, as a part of the Centennial Reunion. It seems proper to give these special exercises the same prominence in print that they obtained on the occasion of the celebration.

        The members of the class of 1879, having assembled on the rostrum, were called to order by the President, W. J. Peele, Esq. The Secretary called the roll, and the following answered to their names:*

        * Besides these, there were present, but not on the stage, the following members of the class who were not graduates: Messrs. John C. Angier, Frank R. Borden and D. C. Stanback.

Dr. K. P. Battle, Jr., Dr. R. B. Henderson, Dr. J. M. Manning, Mr. J. S. Manning, Mr. W. J. Peele, Rev. Robert Strange, Messrs. Francis D. Winston and Robert W. Winston and Dr. Isaac M. Taylor.

        Mr. Francis D. Winston, the class historian, then presented to President Battle, in behalf of the class, a handsome pamphlet containing the class history.

        Mr. Winston said:

        This book contains a history of the class of 1879. It is the wish of the class that this copy be placed in the library of the institution. That wish, I am sure, is not prompted by the fact that it contains a picture of each member of the class, nor by the belief that the achievements of the class, as a whole, merit such distinction; but it proceeds from the desire to have others follow our example, so that the history of this institution, and of its sons, may be thus preserved and transmitted to posterity.

        This occasion, sir, renews right spirits within us. We will carry home a warmer zeal for the University and a brighter hope for its future. It is a satisfaction to feel that the years since our graduation have been spent by the class of 1879 in such a manner as to reflect some credit on their Alma Mater.

        Our paths in life are wide apart, but they all lead from this hallowed place, where memory and affection

cling with a fervor and a joy that will endure as long as life itself.

        President Battle responded briefly, accepting the pamphlet.

        Mr. W. J. Peele, the class president, now arose and said:

        Ten years and about ten days ago, the class of '79 held a meeting and adopted a resolution to have a reunion at this Commencement, and award a cup to the first-born son in the class. At a meeting, held in Raleigh last December, it was ascertained and determined that James Horner Winston, son of Robert W. Winston, of Oxford, N. C., had the requisite priority of birth, and was entitled to the cup under the resolution.

        It becomes my duty, therefore, as president of the class of '79, and in the name of the class, to present him this cup. I always knew, in a certain sort of a way, that he was going to get it. Taking prizes runs very much in families. His father before him took a prize over the other members, and it is not surprising that this boy takes one over the sons of the other members. It is very much a matter of habit and heredity, anyhow. I had a friend once who got into the habit of marrying rich, and

it wasn't much trouble to him. After he had married one or two rich girls, he never seemed to have any difficulty.

        It has always been my fortune to give prizes -- I never got one; but I remember to have read somewhere that "it is more blessed to give than to receive," and I live in the hope that this applies to prizes as well as to advice.

        A lady friend of the class has rather insinuatingly raised the question, why the prize was not offered for the first-born girl. I told her that, in looking over the census just prior to the meeting in '79, the class saw that there were more girls than boys in North Carolina, and that we wished to restore the equilibrium. This did not seem to suit her exactly, so I changed front a little and told her I had always regarded it as a condescension for a girl to come into this wicked old world, anyhow. And I will say now, that two additional reasons the class had for not giving the cup to the oldest girl, were that we didn't want to encourage our girls to be forward, and priority of age does not give any precedence to girls; they don't feel much complimented at being born first. I wish the same theories obtained among men. I would run against some gray-headed old sinner for office.

        Bill Arp says that there is advice enough lying

around loose in this world to run about three the same size of it, and have some left over for a future life.

        But, in the name of the class of '79, I want to say this much to the boy's father: Teach this boy to hate shams; they are walking the highways of this life in ghastly affectation of greatness. Teach him to be content with nothing less than genuine success. As I go further along the pathway of life, I find it strewn thicker and thicker with the wrecks of men who are almost successful -- just a little more faith, a little more courage, and a little more character, and all would have been well. Teach him to be in love with some great truth, tenderly to woo it, bravely to marry it, for better or for worse, and then faithfully to guard it as long life shall last. Teach him that, though we are poor here in North Carolina, we need men a thousand times more than we need money, and that we have the material here to make them out of. Teach him to be nothing in this life but true, to fear nothing but God, and to love nothing but virtue, truth and God.

        Mr. Robert W. Winston said, in reply:

        When the class of 1879 offered a prize cup to the first boy born to any of her members, it was doubtless thought that I was not likely to be of the number

from whom the choice would be made. For I was young of age, the youngest of the class, offish with the fair sex and not plethoric of purse -- the lack of the two first qualifications, at least, if not the last, being considered fatal to any man seeking a prize through the lottery of matrimony.

        But the race, Mr. President, is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong; and so, when we come to-day to reckon up and to canvass the returns, with a view to seeking who is in the lead, no contest is reported from a single precinct. Your speaker has had a walk over the track; no Paris is called into requisition to dispose of the Golden Apple, aye, not even an electoral commission, with its fine eye for business, could find aught of flaw in the decision to-day, scan it never so critically.

        But I opine, Mr. President, that you and Drs. Manning, Henderson and Battle, W. L. Hill and Springs, the recreant Benedicts of the class, will not envy me my honors, but will permit me, blushing, to bear them as they fall thick upon me, hugging to yourself, not a wife, but the delusive words of Lord Bacon: "He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune."

        But, lest envy, that green-eyed monster "which doth mock the meat it feeds on," possess the soul of the married men of the class, exclaiming, "I would

have won the cup, had we started even in the race," I here now offer the following resolution: Resolved, that whichever member of the class of 1879 shall have his quiver fullest, shall not only be exempt from taxation forever, but have a golden cup.

        Mr. President, in re-kindling the fires of that friendship, which all agree is purest and most lasting, laid in college association; in stopping the wheels of business and re-visiting this hallowed spot, where impetuous and generous youth for four years champed the bit, eager for the fray, we not only perform an important duty, but we cultivate that part of our nature -- often sadly neglected amidst the bustling practicality, not to say selfishness, of the day -- love of home, love of the law, love of truth. These things may not swell our bank account, but they will give us, individually, spotless reputation, the purest treasure mortal times afford, and collectively will make us men worthy to constitute even such a state as Sir William Jones graphically describes.

        In thanking my class-mates for this beautiful cup. I do not deem it amiss to give expression to my idea of the controlling and underlying characteristic of our class. It is this: self-reliance within the law.

        Doctor Oliver Wendell Holmes says that, if you will give him a man's controlling thought, he will guide him as he would a ship.

        The mainspring of our class will be found to be respect for constituted authority and reliance on self. And I trust that it will be attributable to pardonable pride that I refer to the fact that this august Faculty, on more than one occasion, yielded a point and acceded to what our class considered its constitutional right. And yet, I would not have it understood that we were rigidly righteous, for we fully appreciated the fact that --

                         "The cleanest corn that ere was dight
                         May have some pyles of caffin,
                         So ne'er a fellow-creature slight,
                         For random fits o' daffin."

        All honor to the self-reliant man, for, says Emerson, all history resolves itself very easily into the biographies of a few stout and earnest persons.

        My class-mates, we have passed one decade in the pursuits of life. May the future have in store for each of us the fullest fruition of our hopes; but let us ever bear with us the consciousness that

                         "All Nature is but Art unknown to thee;
                         All chance, direction which thou canst not see;
                         All discord, harmony not understood;
                         All partial evil, universal good;
                         And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite,
                         One truth is clear--Whatever is, is Right."

        But, Mr. President, the thought occurs to me that, perhaps, the acceptance of this cup should be by the recipient of it, so I now ask permission to file him as an exhibit in this cause, being the best evidence the nature of the case will admit of, and in the reply of Priscilla, the Puritan maiden, to John Alden, "Why don't you speak for yourself, John?"

        Here, amid a storm of applause, Mr. Winston led his little four-year-old boy to the front, who said:

                         "If ever I have an eldest son,
                         And he's a little boy like me,
                         And doesn't know a single thing--
                         Not even A, B, C--
                         I hope he'll not get a silver cup,
                         For then, perhaps, I'd pull him up
                         Before this crowd to blush and bow,
                         And make a speech, when he doesn't know how."

        After passing a resolution to meet again at the Commencement in June, 1899, the class adjourned, with a benediction by the Rev. Robert Strange.

EXERCISES OF THE CLASS OF 1868

AT THE TWENTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF ITS GRADUATION.

        The class of 1868 was the last to graduate under the presidency of David L. Swain. The birth of the class dates from the death of the "Old University." A special place on the programme of the Centennial Reunion was awarded the class at its request.

        The following members were present, seated upon the rostrum: Colonel William H. S. Burgywn, A. W. Graham Esq., Hon I. R. Strayhorn, Charles E. Watson, Esq., and Dr. George Gillett Thomas.

        In behalf of the class, Colonel William H. S. Burgwyn spoke as follows:

        As I rise on behalf of the class of 1868, and think of the kind partiality of my class-mates, who have selected me to speak for them on this memorable occasion, passing by others more worthy of this honor -- those who have done their State distinguished service, and won for themselves enviable reputations, I ask leave to return them my grateful thanks.

        What significance is there in an anniversary? Is one hundred years a long time in a nation's history? A few weeks since, an old man, full of years and of honor, died in the city of Boston. Just before his death he wrote to a friend this memorable statement: "Deacon Spooner died in 1818, aged 94. I saw him and talked with him. He talked with Elder Faunce, who was one of the Pilgrims, and, it is said, the one who pointed out the rock." The lives of these three men span the whole American history from the Pilgrim Fathers to the present. Brief as is the time, in the wonderful achievements of science, the development of material resources, the victories of the church, the enrichment, the uplifting, the ennobling of humanity, that these three lives saw, comprehend the best of the world's history since the time of Christ.

        Will the story of the next one hundred years be as marvelous? Who of us here will deserve to be spoken of one hundred years hence?

        It is not for me to invade the province of the historian, and dwell upon the greatness of the act of those men who, in the very throes of a revolution, incorporated in the fundamental law of their government this command: "All useful learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or more universities." -- Clause XLI, Constitution of 1776.

        It was a masterly stroke of statesmanship, the inspiration of a patriot, and evinced a sublime confidence in the future of their country.

        As we are told by science that an impulse communicated by a sound to the air around us is felt through that medium to the utmost limit of our atmosphere; as a pebble dropped in the ocean sets up a movement among the particles of water, that, ever widening, continues until the opposite shores are reached; so, we may believe, a great thought, signaling itself by a memorable deed, is imperishable in its influence, and when, with a forecast truly prophetic, the Congress that convened at Halifax in 1776, builded as for a great future for their descendants in laying the injunction upon their successors to provide institutions for the higher education in the State, they established their claim to the lasting gratitude of posterity. All honor to these men!

        But I am to speak of times more modern -- of a date so recent that most of us here can recall the period. It is of July, 1865, when the Sophomore class assembles to renew their studies at the University after the six weeks' vacation. An unwonted sight greets our eyes. The uniform of the commissioned officer of the victorious Federal army is met in these sequestered walks, where had only been seen the subdued mien and simple habit of the professor and student.

        The rattle of the drum striking the reveille, the note of the bugle sounding the tattoo is heard instead of the old college bell, which, it was President Swain's boast, had never ceased, all during the four years of the civil war, to toll the hours for prayer and recitation. The old college bell! Will not some one rise up and in immortal verse embalm the memories of the old Chapel Hill college bell? Imagine it to speak. What scenes of mirth and sadness; of success and failure; of brilliant pageantry and mournful procession it could tell. What rude awakenings from delightful dreams; what hurryings to early chapel and recitation before breakfast. How anxiously its tones were awaited, as the trembling student stands before the remorseless professor, or momentarily expects to be called up to recite a lesson he has not prepared. We can imagine how joyously it pealed forth when the first exercises at the institution were inaugurated nearly a century ago. It has presided year after year since over the destinies of the college. What manly forms and beautiful women it has seen go in and out these well-worn halls -- some never to return. How sad it must have felt when its last note sounded the dispersion of the old Faculty the year we graduated. How rusty it grew in its years of silence, and how again, in 1875, it pealed rapturously forth for the re-opening, and to-day, the

one-hundredth anniversary of the granting of the charter of the University, how every fibre vibrates with emotion as it heralds forth the dawn of this memorable day. Yes, old bell,

                         "Ring out the old, ring in the new;
                         Ring out the false, ring in the true."

        The Sophomore class of '65-'66 assembles. Some of them had passed their Freshman year at the University, and with a deserved confidence in their success, the offspring of their high record of the session passed, are eager for the next year's work. Others, tho' but boys in years are veterans in the art of all arts, having met the gleaming bayonets of their country's foes on many a crimson-stained field; but now, with firm resolve, but at great disadvantage in the race, nerve themselves to make up for lost time and opportunities denied.

        What of our Faculty?

        To the old student these buildings, these trees, these walks are eloquent with the memories of that Faculty. There were Swain, the elder and younger Phillips, Kerr, Hubbard, Fetter, Hepburn, Martin, Smith. Where are they now? Most of them dead. The first to go died in our very presence with his harness on. In the act of commending those under his care to the gracious favor of a merciful Saviour, Dr.

James Phillips fell on that rostrum, at the foot of that stand, from which for so many years his prayers had ascended to heaven, and then and there his spirit left its aged tenement of clay and winged its flight to heaven.

        Not long remained behind his coadjutor in their life's work, and, as if to spare him from the pain and mortification reserved for the others, the venerable President of the University meets with an untimely accident, and, in a few weeks after we graduate, David L. Swain peacefully expires one lovely August morning, when all around him thought he was fast on the road to recovery. Who knows that it was not the melancholy outlook for the future of his beloved University that caused his great heart to faint? and, like the prophet of old, he turned his face to the wall to die, unwilling to live.

        Long, weary years of separation, yes, dispersion, and, may I say, neglect, elapse; and, one day, on his knees in the attitude of prayer, after a brief illness, another aged member of the Faculty of our day is found dead in his room. With no one present to minister to his last needs, or to close his dying eye, he found, from other sources than human, the strength to bear the dread ordeal, and he passed through the valley of the shadow of death, doubtless to reach the heavenly habitations beyond.

        Professor Fetter is soon called to follow Dr. Hubbard, and the love of his children prompts them to bring his remains from another State, where he died, back to the loved abode of his manhood's prime, so that, like the aged patriarch of old, his bones may rest by the side of his wife; and they now repose in yonder University grave-yard.

        Scarcely have we heard the clods fall on his grave before another near it has to be dug, and we mournfully consign to his last resting-place the mortal remains of Charles Phillips.

        Could we penetrate the veil that conceals the blessed abodes of the departed good, and catch a glimpse of that life beyond the grave, can we doubt in that existence there is some recognition between those who labored and loved while in their earthly state? And may we not believe that the pleasant intercourse, which death for a time interrupted, will be renewed in heaven; and when the disembodied spirits of Swain, the elder and younger Phillips, Kerr, Hooper, Fetter, Hubbard, left their earthly habitations and winged their flight to join their predecessors in the delights of Paradise, they found in that blessed abode the friends who had gone before?

        And with what cordial greetings they welcome the long list of students whom they will remember as young men acquiring their education under their

tutelage! Yes, after the weary years have been endured and they sink to rest, they go not to a strange country, but to a home peopled with loving hearts and cherished friends.

                         "There is no death! what seems so is transition;
                         This life of mortal breath
                         Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
                         Whose portal we call death."

        For them,

                         "The day is done, and the darkness
                         Falls from the wings of Night,
                         As a feather is wafted downward
                         From an eagle in his flight.

                         "And the night shall be filled with music,
                         And the cares that infest the day
                         Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
                         And as silently steal away."

        Here I beg leave to put on record, on behalf of my class, our deep sense of the inestimable value of the services rendered us by these able, conscientious and self-denying men.

        They were not only our guides, our philosophers, but they were our friends as well; who, in season and out of season, in the class-room and out of it, when we were near and when we were away, labored and prayed for our well-being. Alexander the Great

felicitated himself more on having Aristotle as his preceptor, than that he was born heir to a throne. Was there ever a kindlier company of men? Did we ever go to them in our perplexities that they did not cheerfully point out the way? Did they not incite in their students a spirit of enquiry, of investigation and enthusiasm for their work that could not be surpassed? The influence for good that the old Faculty of the University exercised upon the youth of North Carolina and of the South generally can only be surmised, it cannot be calculated. That influence has been felt in the forum, on the hustings, in the pulpit, on the bench, in the professions, in the arts and sciences, in the halls of Congress, in the presidential chair of the United States.

        What of the class of 1868?

        From July, 1865, to June, 1868, we sat side by side in daily recitation; we grew to know and respect each other as few classes had been privileged. We were not many in numbers. We started in the race with thirty-three, but only nineteen graduated. This class, beginning its Freshman year in the closing scenes of the greatest war of modern times, was now ending its college course, and the class last to be graduated under the old regime. The old order of things was to give way to the new. We came upon the stage in critical times indeed. Our social system was

revolutionized. Our laws had to be remodeled to suit this changed condition of things. Negro suffrage was upon us with all its threatening consequences. Our courts were at sea how to interpret the new system of practice and procedure, and we were denied representation in the Congress of the United States.

        Permit me to recall the scene of that Thursday night just twenty-one years ago -- the night of the day we graduated. We had spoken our graduating addresses. Our valedictorian, in words of touching pathos that will linger with us as long as memory itself, had bid us good-bye. The Governor of our State had delivered to us our diplomas. A distinguished son of Connecticut had come from his distant home to address us. The youth and beauty of the State were here to grace the occasion, and from all parts of North Carolina prominent representatives of all the professions and business interests had met once again, before it all should be changed, to revive the hallowed associations of their early days. The class of 1868 is no longer matriculate; we are Alumni. The last scene is the final grand ball. Can any of us ever forget that night? Dear to the memory of the old student is Smith Hall. There he went to be initiated in the graces of posture and step that prepared him for the Commencement gaieties. There he joined in the dignified cotillion and graceful

mazurka with his fair visitor, and there he exchanged with his lovely partner the honied accents of requited love.

                         "There was a sound of revelry that night;
                         And Carolina had gathered there
                         Her beauty and her chivalry; and bright
                         The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men;
                         A thousand hearts beat happily: and when
                         Music arose with its voluptuous swell,
                         Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,
                         And all went merry as a marriage bell."

        On went the dance; joy was unconfined, and not till the beams of the morning sun, glancing through the windows, dimmed the light of the lamps, did that festive scene come to an end, and for twenty-one years we do not, as a class, meet again.

        It will not be expected of me to intrench on the province of our historian; it will suffice to say that I do not know of one of our class who has been a failure. Thirteen became lawyers, five doctors, two teachers, two manufacturers, one an editor, one a banker, one a poet and one a merchant. Five have represented their counties in the State Legislature, and have shaped legislation for the well-being of their people. The legal department of the general government now receives the distinguished services of one of our class; the responsible position of State

Solicitor is filled by another; the diplomatic service has also been enriched by the labors of another; another holds a responsible office in the revenue department; others are distinguished members of the legal and medical professions; another bears to a large corporation the position of legal adviser and others are doing their duty in their respective vocations of life.

        But all who were with us twenty years ago are not here to-day. But one cause could keep them away. Death has invaded our circle, and five of our comrades sleep their last sleep--Barlow, Fuller, Harper, Mallett and Morehead. To us all there come times when the realization of the loss we have sustained in the separation from loved ones seems inexpressibly great, and we feel as never before --

                         "Oh, for the touch of a vanished hand
                         And the sound of a voice that is still."

        I cannot refrain from alluding here more than by mere name to one of this number. So recent has been his death; the sorrow for his loss is so fresh, and the State he loved so well and served so nobly is such a loser in his untimely taking-off, more than a passing word should be spoken of him.

                         "He, the young and strong, who cherished
                         Noble longings for the strife,
                         By the road-side fell and perished.
                         Weary with the march of life."

        Just a year ago Eugene Morehead was here in attendance on Commencement. He was convalescent from what we all had feared was a mortal illness, and he was buoyed up with the hope of ultimate recovery. Though weak, he could not resist coming to a Chapel Hill Commencement, for this place was always in truth to him his Alma Mater.

        You all know what a faithful student he was, sharing the highest honors of his class. Though of ample means, he was ambitious to do his State some service, and after a brief vacation spent in travel he actively engaged in business. That he made a success of it, was not surprising. Another (J. S. Carr, memorial address) has, in a manner which I cannot presume to equal, told us of his many virtues and of his extraordinary qualities of heart and mind; I will not attempt a repetition.

        As I think over our three years of intimacy as class-mates, of the twenty years of friendship afterwards, and now realize that it is all buried in the grave, what would we not give for another sound of that voice and another grasp of that hand. That a man, so well equipped by gifts of mind, high character and trained intellect to serve his State and country, should be taken in his prime, and others left who can claim no such excellence, is indeed mysterious. Death ever loves a shining mark.

        How cordially Eugene Morehead would have welcomed us here, and united with us in all the memories of this day.

        The manifestation of universal sorrow at his death, so marked in the home of his adoption and pride, is a higher tribute to his worth than any eulogy from me. We can truthfully say of him: "Hic jacet, quem religio et scientia condecorare avebant."

        And now, fellow class-mates, this day should not be wholly given up to retrospect, but there are duties ahead of us which this anniversary should incite us to perform. When the 200th anniversary shall be celebrated, most of us here will not be among the mentioned few. We will have been forgotten. But may we not do a simple thing, which will ever be associated with this anniversary?

        A few weeks since I was walking through the beautiful city of the dead in the capital of our State. There my eye was attracted by a monument which, for beauty of design, richness of ornament and purity of material, was marked conspicuously over all the others. When I came to see in whose memory a tomb so costly had been reared, I thought of a monument which the dead man himself had erected; much nobler, more enduring and far grander than any structure of mere human ingenuity. In bequeathing five thousand dollars to the Trustees of

the University to be applied to paying the tuition of students, the Hon. Bartholomew F. Moore erected his own monument, and one which will last when marble and granite and brass and bronze shall have been resolved into the elements that gave them birth.

        And when I think of that aged maiden woman who, in her solitary life and secluded home, cherished such noble longings for her country, and in bequeathing her property to be divided between her church and the State University, set us all such an example of patriotic love of country that we must blush if we fail to emulate it, I bow my head in profound homage to the name of Mary R. Smith.

        Let us this centennial year derive inspiration from the thoughts this celebration gives rise to, and dedicate ourselves anew to the good of our State and country. If, twenty centuries ago, a Roman audience could receive with a burst of applause the noble sentiment of the heathen poet --

        "Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto."

        how much more should we, in this nineteenth century of Christian civilization cherish, revere and strive to perpetuate the noble institutions of our country?

THE CENTENNIAL ALUMNI REUNION

BY CLASSES, IN MEMORIAL HALL.

        On Wednesday of Commencement week, June 5th, 1889, the Alumni of the University, together with many visitors from other States and universities and a large concourse of citizens of North Carolina, assembled in Memorial Hall, to celebrate the Centennial Anniversary of the incorporation of the institution.

        The day was clear and pleasant, and by eleven o'clock the hall was filled to its full capacity. Seated on the stage were Governor D. G. Fowle, Chief Justice W. N. H. Smith, Justices Joseph J. Davis and A. C. Avery, Hon. Paul C. Cameron, Gen. Thomas L. Clingman, Gen. Rufus Barringer, Dr. A. J. DeRossett, Hon. Robert P. Dick, Hon. W. L. Steele, Hon. W. L. Saunders, Hon. S. M. Finger, Hon. Donald Bain, Rt. Rev. Theo. B. Lyman, Hon. Joseph B. Batchelor, Hon. G. W. Sanderlin, Hon. Thomas S. Kenan, Hon. John A. Gilmer, Hon. John W. Graham, Dr. Eugene Grissom, Hon. W. M. Shipp, Col. William Johnston, Col. H. R. Shorter, W. N.

Mebane, Esq., James H. Horner, Esq., Maj. Robert Bingham, Thomas W. Harriss, Esq., Hon. Thomas J. Jarvis, Hon. R. H. Battle, Col. A. B. Andrews, Dr. W. L. Stamps, Maj. J. Turner Morehead, Julian S. Carr, Esq., Charles A. Cook, Esq., R. H. Smith, Esq., Dr. L. C. Taylor, W. E. Hill, Esq., Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Skinner, Hon. Thomas W. Mason, A. H. Merritt, Esq., Col. F. A. Olds, H. A. London, Esq., Josephus Daniels, Esq., Dr. J. L. M. Curry, Dr. W. G. Brown, of Washington and Lee University; Dr. Crawford H. Toy, of Harvard University; Col. Charles S. Venable, of the University of Virginia; Dr. Henry E. Shepherd, of the College of Charleston; Dr. W. B. Burney and Dr. F. C. Woodward, of South Carolina University; President C. E. Taylor, of Wake Forest College; Prof. A. W. Long, of Wofford College, and the President and Faculty of the University of North Carolina. Hundreds of Alumni and other distinguished visitors were seated on the floor of the hall.

        The President of the Alumni Association, Hon. Walter L. Steele, called the Association to order, and appointed Messrs. Henry A. London and Josephus Daniels to act as secretaries. In behalf of the Committee of Arrangements and of the University, the Hon. John Manning spoke as follows:

        Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Alumni Association: It is due to the Alumni Committee and to General Ransom, that I should state that we had requested him, and he had consented, to deliver the address to the Association at this hour; but that, greatly to his regret and our disappointment, a painful accident -- an arm broken on last Saturday -- prevents this distinguished alumnus from being with us and compels a change of programme on our part.

        I desire further to state on behalf of the Alumni Committee that, owing to unavoidable delays, the members of this Committee were not appointed until just before Christmas, 1888, and that the Committee could not enter upon the discharge of its duties until the month of January, 1889. Since that date we have been actively employed, and in response to our call the living sons of our venerable Alma Mater, with loving, loyal hearts, have gathered here from all over this great country, from Colorado in the North-west to Florida in the South-east, and from New York to Texas, to commemorate this centennial anniversary of the birth of the University of North Carolina. We are here to shake each other by the hand, to brush away the lichens and the moss from memory's tablet, to draw inspiration from the past and to gather hope and courage for the future.

        Her dead sons, whose names are inscribed in marble on these memorial walls, in their lives filled

every office, from President of the United States to Consul, and illustrated in civil life the history of the State and of the nation, and these four tablets, containing the roll of our Confederate dead, from the Lieutenant General of the class of 1821 to the boy-lieutenant of 1865 (two hundred and sixty-four in all) demonstrate that, in peace and in war, the sons of our venerable mother are prompt to respond to the call of duty, and their eminent public services and private worth have immortalized the training received here in these halls of our fathers. May we not hope that the spirits of the dead are hovering over us, and as memory recalls their loved faces can we not feel the stir of their angel wings on our cheeks?

        The delegates from our sister colleges of the State, and from Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Washington and Lee, the University of Virginia, Richmond College, the University of South Carolina, the College of Charleston and from Wofford College, are here to congratulate us on our past history and to bid us God speed for the future.

        The distinguished gentleman who dispenses the great charity that has made the name of George Peabody the synonym of love and brotherhood throughout our South-land, is here to show his appreciation of university education, as the head of the public school system of the State.

        The Governor, the Judges of the Supreme and of the Superior Courts and other State officers are here to do homage to the University as one of the most important factors in promoting the prosperity and happiness of the State. This immense concourse of the men and women of the State is here to show how deeply rooted in the hearts of the people is this nursing mother of our youth, without distinction as to class, rank or sect.

        To one and all we extend a hearty welcome, and our united prayer is that this the oldest University of the South may be the greatest in energy and usefulness.

        President Steele now stated that the roll of classes would be called by the years of graduation, and requested that the members of each class would come forward as called and assemble on the platform: as each class assembled, its representative would have an opportunity to address the class and the Association.*

        * The speeches made on this occasion were, as a rule, impromptu and not intended for publication Both the speakers and the committee of publication are aware that the interest which attached to many of them was mainly local and temporary; but the Alumni Association having ordered their publication, they are all herein inserted, essentially unaltered, as a part of the res gestoe of the occasion.

Class of 1824.

        The sole surviving graduate of this class was Dr. A. J. DeRossett, who was, therefore, the oldest alumnus present. On motion, it was unanimously resolved that Dr. DeRossett accept the chair as honorary President of the Association. Dr. DeRossett responded as follows:

        Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Alumni Association: I shrink from the attempt to give expression to the feelings which crowd upon me on account of your kindness in tendering me the great honor of acting as honorary President of this meeting.

        Knowing, however, that I have been selected for the position as the oldest graduate present of this honored institution -- and perhaps the oldest one living -- I ask you to allow me to take it with the frank avowal that I am unconscious of possessing any personal fitness or qualification for it, profoundly regretting that, in the order of Providence, the life of a Graham, a Manly, a Norwood, or some other distinguished member of my class (of 1824) has not been preserved to take part in this centennial anniversary. I therefore accept this chair with earnest wishes for the happiness and prosperity of each and every one of the members of this Association, and with intense interest in the future of this great University.

The
Class of 1827

        Was represented by Hon. Paul C. Cameron.

The
Class of 1831

        Was represented by Giles Mebane, Esq., who said:

        A graduate under Dr. Joseph Caldwell, appearing before this large and intelligent audience, on this Centennial occasion, may be excused for submitting a few remarks as an humble tribute to the memory of that venerable and venerated man.

        Called to preside over the College in its infancy, his administration proved the wisdom of the Trustees in the choice they had made, and in placing the right man in the right place. The success of a college with Southern boys in North Carolina was a doubtful experiment at that period of our history. Scholars came from slave-holding plantations and the aristocracy of towns and villages. To them submission to authority and discipline was uncongenial and irksome. Their loyalty to collegiate authority was not enhanced by the change of the luxuries of the domestic side-board and pantry for the dubious fare of a steward's hall. The gift of

needful strength for self-defence and the physical power of successful assault and battery were more esteemed by them than mental endowments. The temperance society being then unknown, the sale, manufacture and consumption of intoxicants went the even tenor of their way without let or hindrance. Young Americans of that day regarded themselves lords of creation, "born to command." I will illustrate by an example: An athlete came down from the mountains to join college and was matriculated. During the assembly of students and Faculty in the old Chapel for evening prayer, he inspected the Faculty with a critic's eye and said to his next neighbor: "Are these the Faculty? I can whip the whole of them myself."

        Dr. Caldwell was of imposing presence, and always of scrupulously neat apparel; his moral courage was indomitable, his activity and bodily strength equal to any encounter, whether in the class-room or on the campus; no one ever touched his person in a rude and angry manner. His bearing towards the students was marked by that gentle politeness which springs from learning and from contact with the best society. The students, on their part, respected and revered him, and also feared him with that sort of fear which a dutiful son has for a respected father. The college increased in patronage and popularity,

and became a favorite institution with the South. Soon more buildings were required, and the South Building was erected, mainly through the personal efforts and influence of Dr. Caldwell.

        We all well know that under the administration of the present executive and of his meritorious predecessor, Governor Swain, the institution has far surpassed the college left by Dr. Caldwell in educational equipment. So our great country has gone far beyond the prosperity and grandeur dreamed of in General Washington's philosophy. Yet we justly call him the "Father of his Country." Why should we not call Dr. Caldwell the "Father of the University," and place his tablet in the most conspicuous place in Memorial Hall?

        The Doctor was not only first and foremost in establishing this institution of learning, but first and foremost to advocate internal improvements in North Carolina by the construction of a railroad from Beaufort to the mountains. He advocated the project in a series of articles published in the papers, under the signature of "Carlton," and by popular addresses. The first railroad meeting ever held in North Carolina was called by him in 1828, at Sandy Grove, in Chatham county, on the supposed line of his projected road; but, alas! North Carolina was then nick-named "Rip Van Winkle," a reproachful

term no longer deserved, and the Doctor was denounced in the Senate Chamber of the State as a clerical aristocrat by a gentleman who afterwards became Senator in Congress from Mississippi.

        Dr. Caldwell, for his great knowledge of geometry and astronomy, was selected to establish the Western boundary of our State -- a work satisfactorily completed.

        The Doctor's influence in the church to which he belonged was acknowledged in all courts of the church which he attended.

        In conjunction with Dr. John Rice, he was actively instrumental in founding Union Seminary, in Prince Edward county, Virginia. He controlled the Synod of North Carolina, while Dr. Rice controlled that of Virginia.

        Dr. Caldwell was the first President of the Board of Trustees of that institution, and that seminary has done more to promote the Southern branch of the Presbyterian Church than any other theological school, and is now well endowed and prosperous.

        The Doctor, while deeply interested in high education and the general welfare of the State and the growth and prosperity of the Church, was not unmindful of the poor around him. He had his protégés, to whom he dispensed alms, and one (Jones by name) enjoyed so much of the Doctor's bounty

that his neighbors nick-named him Fillwell Jones, and another protégé of the Doctor complained to him that his bounties to Jones were excessive.

        The Doctor spoke of this complaint to his stepson, Dr. William Hooper, who replied: "Why did you not say to Potts, 'Son, thou art ever with me, and all I have is thine?'"

        Our University is the child of the State Constitution and had many god-fathers, chief of whom was General Davie, assisted by his compeers, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. Each legislator takes an oath to support the Constitution, and, consequently, to support every institution constitutionally established. I have said enough for an octogenarian. I take final leave of this splendid audience, in this magnificent hall, on this memorable occasion, the centennial of North Carolina's University. Long may she prosper and her shadow never grow less.

        Hon. James Grant, of Davenport, Iowa, also a member of the class, was on his way to the celebration, but the unusual floods prevented his coming farther than Washington, D. C.

        The following letter, received from him in response to an invitation to attend the celebration, deserves a place in the record of the proceedings:

Grant's Springs, Cal., March 12, 1889
.

John Manning, Esq., et al., Chapel Hill, N. C.:

        DEAR SIRS: Your invitation to the centennial of the University has been forwarded to me from Davenport, my place of residence, to Grant's Springs, in California, where I stay most of my time, to prolong a life no longer useful but to me.

        I belong to the class of 1827, which I joined in the Sophomore year in 1828, and which graduated in 1831. I expect that Giles Mebane, who was my room-mate at Dr. Caldwell's, is alive, and I have not heard of the Rev. W. W. Spear since 1878. Then nine of the graduating class of 1831 were alive. If Mebane and Spear are alive, we are the survivors. I am the youngest of that class, and I am in my 77th year.

        In 1826 my father took me to Chapel Hill to join the Freshman class, but Dr. Caldwell looked down on me from under his shaggy eyebrows and said: "That boy is too young for college life, bring him two years hence and let him join the Sophomore."

        I cannot, to-day, give you a promise to be at Chapel Hill, but if I can arrange my now small business so as to leave here, I shall be there, of which I will give you due notice.

        Thompson was the only man of my class who attained political distinction and national reputation.

Calvin Jones was a Judge of the Superior Court in Tennessee; Mebane and Williamson went to the Legislature; Hooper was professor at Chapel Hill; Spear was a clergyman. I came to the Northwest, grew up with it, held office a little in early life, made a large fortune as a lawyer; have given away most of it, and own as large a library of law books as any man in England or America. It has cost me over forty thousand dollars.

        At the advanced age of seventy-six I am cultivating an orchard and vineyard in an unknown place, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and keeping a tavern for parties who visit the wonder of the whole earth--the Yosemite Valley. My life has been a useful, though obscure one, and when I leave this world I shall not be in debt to it. All this of self might savor of egotism, if I were not writing as a child of the University of North Carolina, whose little units, scattered over this wide world, make it a great whole.

Your obedient servant,

JAMES GRANT.

The
Class of 1832

        Was represented by Gen. Thos. L. Clingman, R. H. Smith, Esq., and Thos. W. Harriss, Esq., who all made speeches.

        Mr. Clingman said:

        Mr. President, Gentlemen and Ladies: Ladies, if I refer to you last, it is on the principle on which I acted as a boy when I always saved my biggest and sweetest apple for the last. An incident occurred at the Commencement of 1832, which will give you an idea of the influence you ladies have on young gentlemen. Chapel Hill then had only about five single ladies in its population, and the boy who got a chance to walk with one of them to the chapel was said to have gallanted her. After I had been there a long while I got an opportunity to gallant one of the young ladies, and I felt as proud, perhaps, as one of our presidents does on the day of his inauguration.

        Judge Gaston was the deliverer of the annual address on that occasion, and I, as the representative of the Dialectic Society, and Thomas S. Ashe, as the representative of the Philanthropic, were to march with him at the head of the column of students. The man who marched on the left of Gaston would be next to the chapel, and would be seen by the ladies who were looking out of the windows. Ashe said to me, "Clingman, as I am the handsomest man in college, you must let me march on the left of Gaston so that the ladies can see me." I disputed the point, and claimed my right as the receiver of

the first distinction, and marched next the ladies. After we ascended the stand we sat on either side of Gaston. I looked down proudly on many ladies. Immediately in my front, quite near, sat one whom I thought the most beautiful lady I had ever seen. I kept my eyes so much on her that she noticed me, and our interchange of glances attracted the attention of several persons. In the evening at the ball I was introduced to her, but I never afterwards met her. Such was the impression she made on me that I wrote some verses, which I showed to my classmate, John L. Hargrave, who thought so favorably of them that I consented to allow him to have them printed in a newspaper. I was afterwards told that the lady admired them very much. I will repeat a few lines to let you see what impression you ladies can make on young gentlemen:

                         "Thou dost not need a line from me
                         To blaze abroad thy beauty's fame;
                         The verse must catch its hue from thee,
                         That bears the signet of thy name.

                         On others I can coldly gaze,
                         And scan each feature fair or dark;
                         But thine seem one unclouded blaze
                         That mock my skill and power to mark.

                         Thy tresses, midnight, well I ween,
                         To others faintly may be taught:
                         By rainbow's tint and ivory's sheen,
                         Thy color changeful as the thought.

                         Thine eye had been as 'black as death,'
                         But that it casts a stream of light
                         To speed the gazer's failing breath,
                         And brighten up his changeless sight."

        I will now refer to another case, which will tend to show what you can do on older persons, and which I regard as the most important of the two.

        I did not become a member of a Christian church till I was considerably advanced in life. This, however, was not due to my being destitute of religious feeling. In fact, I remember that when the great phrenologist, Fowler, once examined my head, he expressed surprise at the size of my organ of spirituality and said, "You see ghosts." I answered, that though I had never seen one, I fully believed in the existence of spiritual beings. In fact, when I was a very small boy, and was throwing stones at the birds, I would kneel by a tree and pray that I might kill one. In fact, all through my life I was strongly under the influence of religious feelings, and constantly was hoping to feel able to become a member of one of the Christian churches. More than twenty years ago, not long after the close of the war, I was

at an evening party in the city of New York, and was introduced to a handsomely dressed young lady. After a little conversation I remarked that I did not feel much happiness in life. She instantly replied, "I can tell you the reason." I supposed she would say, as hundreds of people had done, "It is because you have never married." To my surprise, however, she said, "It is because you are not a member of any church." I admitted that I was not. She immediately began to talk to me in the most earnest manner, and her conversation made on me a far greater impression than any sermon that I had ever listened to. The earnest manner of that fashionably dressed young lady, in such an assembly, made so deep an impression on me that on the next morning I purchased a copy of the New Testament and determined to read at least one of the gospels every Sunday, and to attend church regularly. Not long afterwards I connected myself with the Episcopal Church.

        The first of these cases shows the influence of you ladies over men in matters of this world of the flesh; the second shows what you may be able to do to influence their condition in the spiritual world of Heaven.

        A good wife has more influence over her husband than anyone else can have. Husbands generally regard their wives as the best persons in the world.

I remember that an illiterate farmer once said to me, "Clingman, every man thinks that his wife is the best woman in the world, but I know mine is." If you ladies will try your best on your husbands, it will be that hereafter when I go up to the sacrament table, instead of my seeing six ladies and one gentleman, I may see them go up in equal numbers.

        But, gentlemen, we will consider briefly the subject of the world's progress in certain matters during the last sixty years.

        I well remember President Caldwell's discussion of the then new subject of railroads. If I had said to him, "In the new State of Ohio, I will travel with more than one thousand persons on a railroad train at a rate of more than a mile a minute, and more than sixty miles an hour," he would have expressed surprise; but if I had said to him, I expect to see the day when a man here in Chapel Hill can talk to another in New York as fast as he can write with a pen and ink, the Doctor would, perhaps, have said to me, "Young man, you have been reading the Arabian Nights lately." I might have gone on and said, "Doctor, I believe even the sound of a man's voice could be heard that far," and he would, perhaps, have said, "Sir, if you go on talking in this way, people will call you a crank." I could have replied, "Doctor, your use of the word crank brings another

thing to my mind. I believe a man will have a machine which he can turn with a crank, and if you were present and delivering one of your sermons, when you closed he would stop the machine with his crank, and then, after twenty years had been passed, he would turn his machine backward, and your sermon, with the sound of your voice, would all come out." The Doctor would, perhaps, have said, "Young man, no one will ever beat you in the expression of absurd ideas." And yet all these things can be done with the telegraph, telephone and phonograph. Even if a dozen years ago we had been told in Asheville that our streets were so steep that street cars would not be run on them except by electricity, we might, perhaps, have said, "Then our town must do without street cars"; and yet the system of street cars which we have running there by electricity is far superior to any cars which I have ever seen in New York or any other city.

        But now let us consider North Carolina for a few moments.

        Our State has fifty-two thousand square miles of territory, superior as a whole to any equal amount of contiguous territory in any part of the globe. Everything in the class of food for man or animal that could be produced in any one of the old thirteen States, can be profitably produced in some part of

North Carolina. Our South-eastern section furnishes abundantly the products of the warmer States, while our central and mountain regions give, in the greatest abundance, all the valuable productions of the Central and Northern States of our Union. I have said that if our people would, for a few years, labor as industriously and live as economically as they did during the war, they would make our State the richest and most prosperous in the world.

        We have, too, an immense variety of minerals. Prof. Charles Upham Shepard, to whom long ago I used to send thousands of specimens, said there was a greater variety of minerals in a circle of fifty miles around Asheville than in any area of the same size on the globe that he knew of. I will refer to some of them, that you may see what individual exertion can do. I will give some cases. More than forty years ago I found corundum in large lumps, in what is now the Madison portion of old Buncombe. The pieces were so large and so handsome that even Prof. Shepard, to whom I sent some, could not at first believe they were corundum, but I had no difficulty in convincing him of the truth of the matter. I sent a fine specimen to London, and upon it can be seen, in the great British Museum, my name and Buncombe marked on it. Yet it did not, for a long time, come into use. After, the war, in 1867, I went

up to the Emery mine, at Chester, Mass., and spent a few days with Dr. Lucas, the manager, and he afterwards came to the Western part of our State, and began operations on the first corundum mine that, I think, has been operated on in the world, and large profits are being realized from that branch of business now. Long ago other interesting minerals were found in our region, and Prof. Shepard spoke of me as the discoverer of the diamond and platinum in North America.

        When in New York, some twenty years ago, Mr. Trippell told me that he had paid eight dollars per pound for rather inferior mica. I thereupon made an arrangement with two New York gentlemen, Sloan & Mendon, who agreed to work every mica mine that I might find. I began my observations in Cleveland, and made observations from there through Rutherford, Burke, McDowell, Yancey and Mitchell. I believed that those last named counties would furnish the most and best. In fact, I had several hundred pounds taken out at the Silvers mine, in Mitchell. It is a singular fact, which may be attributed either to knowledge or good luck, that I, after an examination of less than one month, selected what have since been proven as the best three mines ever worked, being the Ray mine in Yancey county, and the Silvers and Buchanan mines, in Mitchell

county. Sloan & Mendon, however, declined to go into the business, but others took it up, and, at one time, it was reliably stated that these two counties furnished the greater part of the mica used in the world, and millions have been realized from the operations in this business.

        We have in Western North Carolina another mineral which is likely to be of much value -- the zircon. This mineral was formerly one of the rarest known. As an evidence of this I may mention a fact. Fifty years ago, in the spring of 1839, the distinguished botanist, Prof. Nuttall, came to Asheville and told us, Dr. Hardy and myself, that he had traveled all the way from Philadelphia, half the way in a stage, to see the place in the southern part of Buncombe, now Henderson, where the zircons were found. In fact, they were regarded as such rare and curious minerals that large prices were paid for the crystals. Afterwards, I had them taken out on the Freeman place, and would send as many as fifty pounds to Prof. Shepard at Charleston. When, more than twenty years ago, electric lights began to be talked of, believing they could be advantageously used for that purpose, I had one thousand pounds taken out on the Freeman place, and had them sent to New York and different parts of Europe. After about twenty years' effort in this matter, at last there

began to be a demand for them, and more than fifty thousand pounds have been taken out of the Freeman mine, and some elsewhere. It now looks as though the debt Buncombe owes to the world can be paid. The great orators of the world have been for fifty years speaking to Buncombe to enlighten it, and now we can pay them back by furnishing the best light to the world.

        Another subject may be properly referred to. No country excels North Carolina for good timber, but in the upper part of the State especially fine walnut and other good timber was allowed to rot in the fields or was rolled into heaps and burnt. Believing it could be put to valuable use with profit to us, I wrote and had published in the New York Sun, more than a dozen years ago, an article of several columns, in which I described the quantity and qualities of these timbers. The publication immediately caused a rush of speculators to this region, who began to purchase the right to the growing timber on the lands. As an amusing illustration of the extent to which the operation was carried, I will mention this incident. After the rush of speculators had been going on several months, I was sitting in the evening with three strangers from New York. One of them said: "We have come here for nothing." Another replied, "Yes, we have been deceived, and

may as well start back." I said to them: "Gentlemen, will you tell me what you came for?" "Why," they answered, "we came here to buy walnut timber." "Well," said I, "and do you not find plenty of timber here?" "Yes," they answered, "but it is all bought up." "Then," I replied, "your case is like mine. At the end of the war, being in want of money, I read there was a great deal of money on Wall Street, in the city of New York. Thereupon, I went there to get some. On arriving, I found it was true that there was a great deal of money there, but that a set of greedy fellows had gotten it, and I could not obtain it from them. So I was as unlucky as you have been." They being Wall Streeters, did not enjoy my joke. But millions of dollars have been brought into our State for the timber sold.

        I am a believer in special Providence. If Columbus had landed in North America, our country might have been a Mexico, but the Anglo-Saxons have made the United States the first country on the globe. He gave America the Indian corn and the potato (miscalled Irish) to feed mankind, and the Tobacco Remedy to cure the world. When men learn how to use the last, at least nine-tenths of the bodily sufferings of humanity will disappear, and human life be greatly prolonged. Let us, then, fellow-countrymen of North Carolina, press forward

vigorously, and we can make our State the greatest in the world, and assist in giving our great and glorious Union of States the foremost position that humanity can have on the earth.

        Mr. T. W. Harriss said:

        The sons of North Carolina may proudly boast of the wisdom and patriotism of the fathers. The first to assert their independence -- to pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in defence of civil and religious liberty; the first to lead in the work of education -- to establish for their sons a State University. And it is matter of rejoicing, and we do rejoice to-day, in the privileges of this hour, a privilege that comes to the most fortunate but once in a life-time--but once in a hundred years.

        And in coming up to this grand centennial jubilee of our beloved Alma Mater -- to this reunion of friends long separated--I am instinctively carried back to the days of my boyhood, and to the place where linger many of the pleasantest recollections of a life-time, "and to which is often cast one longing, lingering look behind." But in calling to mind the roll of that class to which I had the honor to belong; of that band of brothers, cemented by an attachment not unlike that felt by a Jonathan for a David -- for I

never chance to meet with any one of that number that I do not always feel that I am taking the warm hand of a brother -- in calling that roll to-day, I cannot repress a feeling of sadness to find so many absentees at this our last reunion here. Here are three, but where are the twenty missing ones? With, perhaps, one or two exceptions, all have passed beyond the river.

        Brother Clingman and brother Smith, have you outlived the impressions made upon your boyhood minds, when, fifty-seven years ago, you and I, with brothers Clingman and Parker in the lead, and with the lamented missing ones, stood together here at the threshold of life? Have you outlived the impressions made by the warning voice (I had almost said prophetic words), as they fell burning from the lips of that Gamaliel of North Carolina, the venerated Gaston, when giving us in charge the duties and responsibilities soon to devolve upon us in reference to the future of our country? I am persuaded you have not forgotten them, but that the admonitions of that hour are as fresh and unfading upon the tablet of memory as the doings of yesterday -- for I very well remember that while I went away sorrowful, on account of the fears then expressed for the safety of my country, yet I went out into the world indulging the hope, in my youthful ardor, that too

serious a picture had been presented of the prospects then before us. But you and I, sirs, have lived to see the gloomiest forebodings of that "old man eloquent" more than realized in the history of our beloved country.

        Our troubles came upon us, but not without premonition, for the voice of warning had been heard as far back as the days of the Father of his Country, when he bade his people beware of sectional jealousies and divisions based on geographical discriminations. But our troubles came, despite the teachings of the Father. And while I remember that, by their sudden and disruptive changes, you and I, in common with thousands, have been deprived of much of the little for which our fathers toiled, and that bankruptcy and ruin have been rife in the land, yet, it is not my purpose, on this occasion, to disinter the remains of dead issues, and to discuss, offensively or otherwise, questions settled by the arbitrament of the sword; nor do I come bringing up these, and recollections such as these, as reasons for listening to the suggestions of despondency, and for dreaming away life in useless complainings, but I come bringing up these, and remembrances such as these, as incentives to renewed effort and increased diligence, commanding us, in the strength of our manhood, by all the recollections of the past, as well as the hopes

of the future--by the obligations imposed by love, interest, philanthropy and religion--to go forward in the discharge of those duties that we owe to ourselves, to our children, to God and the country. To this end let us throw wide open all the channels of immigration, and extend a cordial welcome to all right-minded people from every country, and from every section of every country, with their capital, their energy, and their brain, to help us mend up our shattered fortunes, and to build up these waste places, and to this end "let by-gones be by-gones;" "let the dead bury their dead."

        Carried back to the days before the introduction of railroads, when the sound of the whistle was not heard in all the land--when stage-coach travel was the style of locomotion, and among the places prominent en route from Raleigh to Chapel Hill, the little breakfast-house at Moring's station stood master of the situation, where now the hand of progress, I trow, has built the flourishing city of Durham--carried back to the days when the construction of a railroad, by many, was looked upon as a hazardous enterprise, costing more than it would profit; when the masterly and persistent efforts in this direction of a great and good man, by pen and tongue, in favor of the introduction of railroads as a necessity to the development of our State, and especially so to Western

North Carolina, on the part of that prince of educators, the then venerable President of the University of North Carolina, struck the uninitiated mind offensively, awakened ridicule, and were spoken of as nothing better than the impracticable hobby of a foolish old school-master. And I have thought that if our venerable preceptor could wake up from the tomb and see the extensive line of railroads, now reaching from the mountains to the seaboard (the very line mapped out by himself more than three-fourths of a century ago), that no living person would enjoy a higher sense of delight at the changes wrought in his adopted State than would the Rev. Dr. Joseph Caldwell.

        Western North Carolina should build for him to-day a monument as high as her once inaccessible mountains -- yes, as high as that peak where sleeps his bosom friend and indefatigable co-laborer, and our grand old instructor, the adventurous and heroic Dr. Mitchell, who fell in his ramblings a martyr to the investigation of that branch of science in which he so much delighted, leaving to us, who knew him best and loved him most, the sad privilege to lament his fate and cherish his memory. Peace to his ashes.

        Dick Smith, (I mean no disrespect to the brother, and am persuaded that this audience will allow the

familiarity, and self-indulgence on my part), when I tell you that we were born and raised in the same county, and, by the by, that the historic old county of Halifax, and, that for the last eight and a half years of our educational life, we were sent by our fathers, who were bosom friends before us, to the same schools, and were kept in the same classes; and more than that, if there were ever any feelings of unkindness between us, expressed in word or deed, it has no lodgment upon the tablet of this memory; and more than that, we gave our hearts to God at the same altar, right here at Chapel Hill, in a little prayer-meeting in the house of Dr. Caldwell; and, if allowed, more than that, (while unlike brother Smith and brother Clingman, I have lived but a laggard in usefulness to my country and my kind), I do indulge the hope that through the merits of the Crucified One, we may again stand together in the same class without an absentee, in a grand reunion above, reckoned among the number of glorified immortals. As an earnest of this prayer, allow me in this presence, to extend to you both the hand of a brother.

        Mr. R. H. Smith said:

        I do not rise to detain you long, but simply to acknowledge the greeting you have extended to me.

Fifty-seven years ago there was graduated from this University a class of twenty-three students. Of these, so far as I am informed, four are alive -- Thomas Clingman, Thomas Harriss and myself are here. Col. Cad. Jones is absent. Nineteen have passed through the valley of the shadow of death to that bourne from whence no traveler has returned. Many of them have been distinguished in the various vocations of life. Not one has disgraced his State or Alma Mater. All honor to their memory. Again returning thanks for the cordial reception you have given me, I give way to the class that follows.

The
Class of 1836

        Was represented by Dr. W. L. Stamps, who said:

        Fifty-three years ago, to-day, the class of 1836 graduated -- the first to receive their diplomas in Gerrard Hall. It was a small class in numbers. Some have distinguished themselves in the legal profession, attaining the highest post in that line in the State. Others have sat and watched by the bed-side of the sick and suffering, while others have sought the more quiet lives of farmers. All, as far as I know, have lived honorable lives, and have been good and patriotic citizens.

        Although we all must be more than seventy, yet, as far as is known by me, nearly half are alive to-day, and, like Caleb, may say that we are almost as strong to-day as then. As our strength then was, so it is almost to-day. But when I look around me, like Elisha, I feel days should speak and multitude of years should teach wisdom.

The
Class of 1840

        Was represented by Hon. W. M. Shipp and Col. William Johnston.

        Colonel Johnston said:

        Would that the duty assigned to me belonged to another. The class of 1840 numbered, in its first year, forty students, of whom thirty-two graduated. There were six or eight of its members well matured, ranging from twenty-five to forty years of age. Its increased number was owing to the great popularity of Governor Swain, who was elected President of the University the year before its matriculation. It was distinguished for its morality, industry and high scholarship. In these virtues, I do not think it was surpassed by any class that has preceded or followed it. Its good deportment and great attainments

induced an able and just Faculty to assign honorary distinction to more than one-third of its graduates. Of its prominent members, time will permit me to refer only to a few. There was Isham W. Garrott, a profound scholar; studied law, settled in Selma, Alabama; soon became eminent in his profession; raised a regiment in the inter-state war, and fell at Vicksburg gallantly leading the fight. Then there were the two Shipps, afterwards Rev. Dr. A. M. and William M. -- the former a great educator at Greensboro, Wofford, and Vanderbilt University -- the latter one of the ablest Judges in our State now on the bench. They were worthy representatives of old Lincoln county, which sent to the same class Charles C. Graham and your speaker. There was also the profound scholar and accomplished gentleman, Thomas H. Spruill. His career in after-life was brilliant but brief. Then came John A. Lillington, with a quick and penetrating intellect, a ripe scholar, of fine literary taste and culture, full of attic wit and social life; studied law, was eminent as a jurist, but in early life passed from earth.

        The profound scholar and conversationalist, William Henderson, of Tennessee; Tod R. Caldwell, Governor of the State; Calvin H. Wiley, the able School Commissioner of the State; Francis H. Hawks, John W. Cameron, Judge David A. Barnes, Rev. Walter

W. Pharr, William Thompson, now of Mississippi; Jonn W. Cunningham, and many others whom I cannot now mention, filled with distinction the varied learned professions, public offices and private stations to which their taste or popularity invited them.

        All but five or six of the class are gone forever. But their bright and genial spirits come back to us often, as if to invite the remaining few to join them on the other side of the river.

        This University did a noble work when it equipped the class of 1840 and sent it forth to the country. Its members became identified with nearly all of the great interests of the South, and, almost without exception, they individually acted their part nobly and did their duty to their country and their God.

The
Class of 1841

        Was represented by Stephen Graham, Esq.

The
Class of 1842

        Was represented by Gen. R. Barringer and Dr. W. W. Harriss.

        General Barringer said:

        I thank Mr. Graham, of Duplin, of the class of '37-'41, for a short addition to my limited time. But I am surprised to see only one of that large and famous class here to-day. It was the "big-wild-class" of our day, led by Frank Blair and John Eastin. My class, that of '38-'42, was a small and unpretentious class, matriculating only thirty-four and graduating only thirty. But we matched the "Wild Sophs." with "Trip" Garland and John Manly. My friend, Dr. Harriss, of Wilmington, and myself are the only two present. He was the smallest of the class, and I unquestionably the ugliest.

        So, between the regular "hazing" of the day, and the special tricks of the "Wild Sophs.," we had a tough time. He was nick-named "Nig" and I "Motz," after old John Motz, of Lincoln. Bill Shipp here (now a Judge) said I walked like old Motz. I was all Dutch--lame in one of my short legs, poorly prepared and very small every way. But "Nig" and "Motz" are here to-day--stand up "Nig" and show yourself (Dr. Harriss promptly rising). We'll do; won't we, Mr. President? Speak out, "Gum."

        The Doctor and I have both had some success in life--all, too, the result of honest, hard work, pluck and persistence, showing the advantage of willpower

over mere intellect or culture. Neither of us was a regular "Mite" man. Oddly enough, my main success was in marrying three handsome women.

        I am glad the day of "hazing" is past. It was the source of some cruel wrongs. But the great feature of our college life was the organization of the "secret fraternities." By a little incident (the placarding of some doggerel verses), I became, to some extent, the head of the opposition to this new movement, especially in my own society (the Di).*

        * The verses referred to, and which so stirred up some of the Fresh. of '38, ran thus:

                         "The Fresh. who took down the former card,
                         For good manners had better have regard;
                         The chap that would do so mean a trick,
                         From her roost would pull a hen as quick.
                         Hark! ye fellows, mind what you're about,
                         And to another market haul your crout."

        November 5, 1838. D. D. V.

too, that there was far less harm than I supposed in the "fraternities." To my relief and surprise, I found in them several of my warmest friends. But the struggle fixed the faith and practice of my life: ever open to the new, but clinging unswervingly to the old -- the church, the State, and the home -- as the only divine institutions for reforming and saving the world.

        Pardon, Mr. President, another personal allusion--small in itself, but interesting to the young. Both my home and scholastic training, especially my society duties here, made me somewhat methodical in my habits. I grew fond of recalling and reviewing the past. I kept no regular diary, usually so dull, but at occasional periods, and in important events, I would note down facts and feelings. I hold here (showing an old outside leaf of a copy-book) the last page of a college journal taken down at the time, the day of my class graduation, June 2d, 1842, forty-seven years ago!

        I detain you with no details; in fact, possibly some things had better have been unsaid. But, to me, it is now a treasure no money could buy. It is, withal, both a picture and a prophecy of the class of '42. From it, I can faithfully recall the thoughts and feelings, the hopes and fears, of that eventful day. And with it, I will gladly make out a memorial

record of my beloved class-mates, and of the Chapel Hill of 1842.

        Of course, too, I found myself a "Senior in love," and the ardor of youth is to-day again upon me. I feel ten years younger because of the memories of this dear old journal, and the delightful reminiscences of this joyous occasion. And with my whole heart I thank you, Mr. President, and the several authorities of the college, to whom the credit is due, for the great enjoyment we are having.

The
Class of 1843

        Was represented by Hon. R. P. Dick, R. H. Jones, Esq., and Dr. John L. Williamson.

        Judge Dick spoke as follows:

        I appear in obedience to your call, not as a speechmaker, but as a witness.

        If I fail to observe my first announcement, you may well doubt my testimony. I am confident that my statements will be sustained by my friend and class-mate, Dr. John L. Williamson, who is now by my side, after a separation of many years.

        The class of 1843 was an average one for good conduct, scholarship and ability. There was not a

single member who could be properly styled a genius. There were many men of intellect, who, by patient labor and persistent efforts, became fair scholars, and attained a reasonable measure of success and reputation in after-life.

        There was not a mean-spirited boy among my class-mates. They were genial, kind-hearted and true gentlemen; and all of them had the qualities and capabilities which, with proper culture and exertion, would have enabled them to become good and valuable citizens. I regret to say that some failed to avail themselves of their opportunities and advantages, and a few were misled by temptation into irregular habits that diminished or destroyed their usefulness.

        They were widely scattered throughout the country, and a large majority are dead. I cherish their memories, and I deeply sympathized in their disappointments, sorrows and misfortunes. I am sure that the living have a warm attachment and veneration for their Alma Mater; they earnestly desire her continued prosperity, and they will always readily rally to her support and defence--if assailed by prejudice, injustice or misfortune.

The
Class of 1844

        Was represented by Hon. W. L. Steele, James H. Horner, Esq., and A. G. Jones, Esq.

        Colonel Steele said:

        On the 6th of June, 1844, forty-three young men, "with hope elate," pushed their barks from the shore and began the voyage of life. Of these, but ten are upon the water -- "rari nantes in gurgite vasto" -- the others having gone down in the storms which beset them. Although but few ever reached much earthly distinction, I trust that all have "scattered some bread upon the waters," which has been "gathered," or will be "gathered" in due season, for the benefit of the human race. They who remain, and they who have gone, ever had in high esteem the institution of learning at which they were fitted for the duties which they were called upon to perform.

        Upon this class has fallen an honor never before held, and which cannot be held again until a century has passed. One of its humblest members is the President of the Alumni Association, under whose auspices this celebration is held, and is the master of ceremonies at this interesting and unusual occasion. In the name of the class, I greet this large

assemblage, and invoke not only those who are present, but all the people of the State, to maintain and support the University, as one of the great factors in the moral and intellectual development of this age and the ages yet to come.

The
Class of 1845

        Was represented by Hon. Joseph B. Batchelor and Dr. L. C. Taylor.

The
Class of 1846

        Was represented by Col. William A. Faison and Dr. William B. Meares.

        The regular call of the roll of classes was here suspended in order to give place for the special exercises of the class of 1879, the first to graduate after a four years' course under the new regime, and of the class of 1868, the last to graduate under Governor Swain's administration. For the exercises of these classes see the preceding pages. At the conclusion of these special class exercises, the Association adjourned to celebrate the centennial banquet in Gerrard Hall. An account of the banquet has already been given.

        At about 8 o'clock, p. m. the Association re-assembled in Memorial Hall, with President Steele in the chair, and the roll-call of classes was continued.

The
Class of 1847

        Was represented by Rev. Thomas E. Skinner, D. D., Dr. R. H. Winborne, and Thomas Webb, Esq.

        Dr. Skinner spoke as follows:

        You have noticed that the class of '47 was called out of the regular order. After the class of '46, then that of '79 and '68 were called, and then came '47. The reason for this, it is supposed, is the contrast which necessarily would have followed, in as much as the class of '47 is the most distinguished that ever graduated at the University.

        There are only three members of '47 present, out of the thirty-seven graduates -- Webb, Winborne and Skinner. The first, on account of severe affliction, is unable to speak. The second has spent his valuable life as a physician, and declines to talk, and the third, as has been his custom for nearly forty years, is compelled once more to follow the doctors.

        We have looked anxiously for a Ransom, but none can be found. How glad we are that it was his arm, and not his neck, that is broken.

        It is mainly to Ransom and the lamented Pettigrew that the class of '47 is indebted for the great distinction to which it attained. Alston, Haywood (Dr. E. B.), Hines, Kindred, Levy, Manly, Mebane, Pool, Sharp and Shober, with others, shared the under degrees. The names of some of these, with Pettigrew, Benbury and Sharp, are enrolled on yonder tablets of the Confederate heroes who gave their lives for the "lost cause."

        Pettigrew's surpassing excellence in scholarship and universal lore, together with Ransom's pluck and victory in peace and in war, is the true secret of our unparalleled celebrity as a class.

        Ransom is in his fourth term in the United States Senate, and to this nothing needs to be added. He fought bravely his way up to the high distinction of Major-General in the Confederate army.

        North Carolina has honored him as she has no other citizen, and may Ransom live long to serve the noble old Commonwealth, and to be honored by her.

        What shall we say of the lamented Pettigrew -- that amazing genius and expert in everything he undertook?

        I was with him at the elder Bingham's in Hillsboro for three years, and at college we were intimate friends. At Bingham's I never knew him to be away

from the head of the class, save from sickness, and then, taking the foot, he would soon recover his accustomed and merited place--the head of the class.

        So, you see, we had trip, head and foot in those days. And, more, we had ferule and hickory, well-seasoned and tough, but never did these fall upon the person of this unequaled child of genius and wonder.

        The rest of us had to stand up and take it.

        Pettigrew's distinction among his fellow-students arose, perhaps, more from his superiority in mathematics; though he was, in fact, fully as proficient in every department. Our class was the first to use Peirce's Course of Mathematics--the most intricate and abridged of all others. Some of us never saw day-light after the proposition to "construct the line A B," which we could only do as our friend Tom Polk, now Dr. Polk, of Mississippi, who, when required to find the center of a circle, drew an imaginary one, and stepping back advanced, with the chalk in front, and striking the bull's eye, exclaimed, "About there, sir; I should say."

        While our class were struggling through Peirce's Differential Calculus, Mr. Pettigrew wrote out, in extenso, an integral calculus, after Mr. Peirce's plan

of his Differential, the author having not yet published his Integral Calculus.

        The renowned and venerable Professor, Dr. James Phillips, hearing of this wonderful feat of his youthful pupil, James Johnston Pettigrew, called at my room on an evening after tea and inquired if it was true. I told him it was, and that I had seen the manuscript. He begged that I would go immediately to Mr. Pettigrew's room (N. W. corner, second story, old South), and, if possible, secure the loan of the manuscript for him.

        Leaving the Professor in charge of my room-mate (the handsome Joseph Benjamin, brother of the distinguished late Judah P. Benjamin), he entertained him with a pipe well charged with oak leaves, dried and prepared very like tobacco, which was said to have been procured from a celebrated Petersburg firm. So delightful was the aroma which the smoke of this dried garment of the forest absorbed in passing through the mahogany-colored stem, that the Professor declared that he never before had smoked so mild and pleasant a weed. Before retiring with Pettigrew's manuscript, I completed the Professor's ecstatic joy by wrapping up a small parcel of the celebrated Petersburg tobacco, placing at the bottom a few of the large oak leaves, in an unmanufactured state.

        I heard that on the Professor's reaching home, he told his son Charles (the late and distinguished emeritus Professor of Mathematics), that there was a fine sample of Petersburg tobacco, handed him by Mr. Skinner. Upon examination, it was revealed that it was nothing but "oak leaves." This rumor was doubtless correct, as my room-mate and I were surprised by being called out of time next morning, at the recitation before breakfast (think of that, young gentlemen), and he "rushed" us for sixty minutes with seemingly exquisite satisfaction.

        How dear to us is the memory of this venerated man and his no less distinguished son, and his daughter, Mrs. Cornelia P. Spencer, the brightest illustration in the galaxy of North Carolina's distinguished women--a woman who could teach a nation.

        I said that Pettigrew was an expert in all that he attempted. This is true, even in athletic sports. He entered college at the age of thirteen, and, consequently, was only seventeen when he received his diploma. He was prepared for the Freshman class at eleven years of age, but was kept back by Mr. Bingham; and at the age of thirty he finished his work, by yielding his sublime career as a sacrifice on the altar of his country's honor and glory.

        I was seven years at school with him, knew him well, and loved his shadow even. He was as simple

as a child, as pure as a girl and as sublime as a hero, and a statesman. Mr. Bingham told me that he reproved him once and that he could not sleep that night. What an illustration of the loss of the South in the dreadful fratricidal conflict which must have occurred! How could a class with two such men as Ransom and Pettigrew fail to be distinguished above all others?

        But please be tolerant with the other thirty-five of us. We were no small men.

        Here is my friend Tom Webb, whom we knew only as Trust Webb, because he was so trustworthy. In this day of Trusts, is not that a distinction? He was once the President of the Western North Carolina Railroad; and if the hand of Providence did not lie heavily upon him, he would be the man talking to you now, and not I.

        And here is my friend Bob Winborne, a distinguished physician of North Carolina, who ought to have been the preacher of the class. But God's ways are not our ways, that the glory may not be to man, but to God, to whom all glory belongs.

        How can I better end this tirade than by telling you some funny things on my speechless brother, Tom Webb?

        Bingham was not only an able, but also a sympathetic and genial teacher. Indeed, the father stood out

clearly, and in bold relief, in all the manipulations of his classes. And this, and more, may be said of his distinguished sons; of the two, only Major Robert now remaining with us.

        I must be pardoned for speaking so plainly and personally as I have done, because I know that but for the elder William J. Bingham I would have been nothing, and less than nothing, notwithstanding my youthful resolve that if ever I became a man I would thrash him or die, not knowing what I said. He certainly taught the "idea how to shoot," and that is true teaching in this and all ages to come.

        Well, I will conclude with two little reminiscences, which my friend Trust Webb will corroborate and enjoy. It was the custom of the elder Bingham, when any difficult passage occurred in the next lesson, to explain it to the class, with the distinct understanding that a miss on that point was grave, and involved a few in the hand with the leather ferule -- so like the latter end of a horse-trace. In Cæsar's Commentaries the phrase "factus certior" occurs frequently. "Now," said Mr. Bingham, "boys, remember to translate 'factus certior,' -- 'was informed,' and not 'made more certain.' Do you hear?" "All right." Next day dear old "Trust" came up to the front, and in the lines occurred the words "factus certior." Trust read: "Then Cæsar being made more certain

--" "What?" cried Bingham, "come up here, sir." Up came Trust. "Put out your hand, sir." Slam! went the leather; up went Trust's foot. Bang! goes the ferule; up again goes Trust's foot. He returns to his seat, not with his hands in his pocket, because they feel larger than a hundred pockets.

        On another occasion, Trust was translating in Latin very nicely, and coming to the proper noun, Andromache, he made a slip, thoughtlessly, and called it Andrew Mickle, which was the name of a distinguished citizen, then of Hillsboro, and afterwards of Chapel Hill, and the Bursar of the college, I think. I never saw "Old Bill" (as the boys called our now venerated teacher) so full of laugh as he was then. It was so funny that Mr. Bingham, roaring with laughter, said: "You rascal; I can't whip you for that mistake." But, I have talked too long.

        Grateful, indeed, do I feel that I have been permitted to be present at this Centennial Commencement of the University of North Carolina. Long may she live and be blessed, and a blessing more and more, is the prayer of the class of 1847.

The
Class of 1848

        Was represented by Captain N. A. Ramsey, who said:

        I had hoped that this duty would have fallen upon another, but as I am the only representative of my class present on this most interesting occasion, I cheerfully accept the situation, and speak a few words for them as best I can.

        The class of '48 was a fair average one, composed of twenty-nine members. As far as I have been able to ascertain, there are only ten living -- nineteen having passed over the river and "are now resting under the shade of the trees."

        They were, as a rule, both living and dead, as noble a set of fellows as ever breathed the breath of life.

        I have not time nor inclination, here, to speak of the dead, save one -- Willie Person Mangum, Jr., who died in the North of China in February, 1881, and his remains now rest in the Congressional Cemetery at Washington. A most interesting sketch of his life has been prepared at my request by his widow, now a resident at Washington City, which will be published in the University Magazine.

        Of ten living, I will here mention only two, distinguished for the high and honorable positions they hold.

        Oliver Pendleton Meares now presides, with credit to himself and honor to the State, as Judge of the Criminal Court of New Hanover and Mecklenburg

counties, and Victor Clay Barringer, with equal honor and dignity, presides as Judge of Appeals at the Consular Court of Alexandria, Egypt, having filled this position continuously since 1874, and I am glad to state that he is receiving a salary of $10,000 per annum.

        I have been endeavoring to prepare a brief history of my class, both living and dead, and hoped to have it ready for this occasion, but I could not do so. I have the data of twenty-four, and hope soon to have some of the remaining five. When completed, it will afford me very great pleasure to furnish a copy to be filed in the archives of the University. God bless you all, and good-bye.

The
Class of 1849

        Was represented by Hon. Kemp P. Battle, Dr. P. E. Hines, W. E. Hill, Esq., and Dr. Bryan Whitfield.

        Mr. Hill said:

        Some persons contend that we are saved by faith, others by works; but I like to show my faith by my works, so I have manifested my love and loyalty to the University by sending four sons to be educated within its classic walls. If a majority of the Alumni

would send as many students to Chapel Hill as I have sent, the University would flourish and rank among the first institutions of the world.

        The class of 1849 was quite a large class, and contained some good students. Many of them attained considerable eminence in after-life. Peter Hale, who sat near me during recitation hours, was an editor of marked ability. He published some political and literary works which exhibited very great research. T. J. Robinson, who stood well in the class, was a civil engineer of ability after he left college.

        Dr. Haigh, of Fayetteville, and Dr. Peter Hines, of Raleigh, who also sat near me in the class, have been eminent in the medical profession.

        There were three Whitfields in our class, who were good students. Two of them were killed fighting for the liberties of their country, and the other, Dr. Bryan Whitfield, of Alabama, has been a successful doctor and planter.

        Among the different classes represented at this Centennial Commencement, our class, I believe, is the only one which has produced a President. Other classes have sent out Senators, Governors and statesmen, but the class of 1849 has the distinguished honor of a President. I allude to our friend and class-mate, President K. P. Battle, whose great usefulness

to the State of North Carolina is generally conceded.

        I cannot close my remarks without reference to the very able Faculty at the University in 1849, particularly Dr. Elisha Mitchell, my especial friend. Dr. Mitchell sacrificed his useful life upon the altar of science. Truly can it be said that he died a martyr to the cause of the University. His remains were buried upon the summit of a lofty mountain, to which he has given a name which will continue to the end of time.

        President Kemp P. Battle added a few words to the remarks of Mr. William E. Hill, who represented the class of 1849. He claimed for his class the honor of numbering among its members a benefactor of the University. It was Rev. John Calvin McNair, of Robeson county, who died while pursuing his theological studies in Edinburgh, bequeathing a valuable estate, after his mother's death, for the establishment of a lectureship on the harmony of Science and Religion. Although the bequest was mainly swallowed up in the great war-gulf, he set a noble example which others should follow.

        Another of the class of 1849 deserves especial mention, Col. Edward Mallett, who passed unscathed through many battles and was killed at Bentonville,

leaving four small children, with their mother dying of consumption. His sword is on the walls of our Library, so deeply indented by two minie balls that it cannot be drawn from its scabbard. He was buried in his uniform in the Chapel Hill cemetery, and sleeps without a stone to mark his resting-place.

        President Battle expressed his gratification in meeting his old class-mates, Hill, Hines and Bryan Whitfield, with whom he had entered the University forty-four years ago. He and Hill had a curious parallelism in regard to their children, each sending four sons simultaneously to the University since its reopening in 1875.

        The following are the statistics of the class of 1849: fifty-four members were connected with it during its four years' course. Of these thirty-six graduated; thirty-four are dead; leaving twenty now living.

The
Class of 1850

        Was represented by Dr. J. F. Cain, Hon. J. J. Davis, J. W. Lewis, Esq., and Hon. John Manning.

        Mr. Manning said:

        The class at its graduation numbered twenty-four. Nine of these are alive, viz: Dr. James F. Cain, of Durham; E. C. Chambers, of Texas; Dr. Julius A.

Caldwell, of Salisbury; Madison Hawkins, of Henderson; W. H. Johnston, of Tarboro; Robert W. Lewis, of Raleigh; J. W. Lewis, of Milton; R. H. Whitfield, of Mississippi, and the speaker.

        The first mite men in the class were John Hill, William H. Johnston and Washington C. Kerr. The class always regarded Johnston as the best scholar, and thought that he should have had the valedictory; it was, however, given to Hill. Johnston declined to speak the salutatory, and gave it to a second mite man, R. H. Hines.

        The most distinguished members of the class were: Thomas Settle, Benjamin R. Huske, William H. Johnston and Washington C. Kerr.

        Thomas Settle was Solicitor of the Hillsborough District, twice Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, Minister of the United States to Peru, President of the National Republican Convention of 1872, and United States District Judge for the State of Florida.

        In 1875 he was the nominee of the Republican party of this State for Governor, and bore himself so well in the campaign with Governor Vance as to command the respect of the people, and prove himself the equal on the stump of his great opponent.

        He was a man of commanding figure and exceedingly handsome--graceful in all his movements,

and eloquent and earnest as a speaker. Above all, he was a gallant and chivalrous gentleman, gentle as a woman, and yet as brave as any knight who fought at Crécy.

        Washington C. Kerr became eminent as a geologist, and for many years had charge of the geological survey of the State. No man was better acquainted with North Carolina, her soils, minerals, stones, flora and waters, and no one of her citizens devoted his life more unselfishly or intelligently to the development of her material interests. He was a live man, up with the science of the day. The Museum at Raleigh is his work and his monument.

        Benjamin R. Huske, of Fayetteville, came to the bar and rose rapidly in the profession. In fact, no young lawyer in the Cumberland circuit commanded a larger patronage or won more verdicts. He went to the war with the old Fayetteville company as one of its captains; was in the battle of Bethel, in the engagements on the Peninsula and around Richmond, and in the battle of Seven Pines was wounded, and died of his wounds in the hospital at Richmond. Had he lived he would have attained the highest rank in his profession.

        William H. Johnston still lives, a prosperous gentleman, commanding the respect and love of his neighbors.

        Joseph J. Davis was a law student, matriculating in 1847. The State of North Carolina knows and has honored honest Joe Davis -- captain in the war, member of Congress, and now a Justice of the Supreme Court.

        Old friends, we have had our ups and downs, our joys and sorrows. We have lost most of our worldly goods, but, thank God, we have the old land yet, and our hearts are loyal and true to our Alma Mater and to our State.

The
Class of 1851

        Was represented by Peter E. Smith, Esq., who said:

        I am the only member of the class of 1851 present, and I am thankful to be at this grand reunion of the Alumni. There were forty-one matriculates and thirty-four graduates in the class. Ten of these are now living. The class was an average in numbers and intellect, having furnished four members of the State Legislature, to-wit: David M. Carter, Giles Leitch, Claudius B. Sanders and Francis E. Shober -- the last also a member of Congress -- all of whom are dead except Francis E. Shober. One was a professor in the University, Benjamin S. Hedrick, who

also filled a prominent position in the Patent Office at Washington City up to the time of his death. One is now a Judge in California, Samuel A. Holmes. There were two distinguished lawyers, D. M. Carter and Bartholomew F. Fuller, both dead. Two colonels in the army, D. M. Carter and Thomas W. Garret, who was killed, at Spottsylvania (I think). The day he was killed, he told his friends he would come out of that fight a "Brigadier" or a dead Colonel. I am told that he won his laurels but died without knowing it. Another brave soldier and genial friend succumbed to the decrees of war, viz: John Thomas Wheat.

        The large number of names on the tablets in this hall show that this class was not behind her sisters in the proportionate numbers slain in battle.

        It is a sad retrospect to see that all of the old Faculty are dead, save one, the Rev. Dr. Charles F. Deems, now of New York, who will be remembered for all time to come as a benefactor to the youth of the State in procuring the "Deems" fund for educating deserving poor young men at the University.

The
Class of 1852

        Was represented by Dr. R. L. Beall, George A. Brett, Esq., Captain John R. Hutchins and Dr. R. H. Lewis.

        Dr. Beall said:

        Since this morning, when my class selected me to represent them, I have had no time, except amid the exciting and thrilling scenes of this and the banquet hall, in which to collect from the members present the statistics of my class. Of course this mere sketch is, in a measure, impromptu, and, therefore, imperfect.

        The class of 1852 numbered, at graduation, forty-two. I find that twenty-one have "passed over to the great majority." Ours has always been a modest class and hardly passed for its worth, but, as honors go in this world, we have a fair share. I find on the roll five M. D.'s and several lawyers, but as lawyers and doctors are no exception in all the classes I need not mention them by name. We have one Doctor of Divinity, Rev. S. Milton Frost, of Davie County, now of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; one Judge, the late Hon. W. A. Moore; two distinguished civil engineers, Warner Lewis, of Virginia, and Maj. J. W.

Wilson, of Morganton, who was the projector of the great feat of engineering, the Western North Carolina Railroad across the Blue Ridge, and who received the high distinction of being selected by the Canadian government to judge the correctness of the engineering on her great Pacific railway. I find three distinguished educators of youth, Jere Slade, of Georgia, Rev. Dr. Frost, of Pennsylvania, and Dr. R. H. Lewis, of Kinston, North Carolina; and one distinguished Attorney General, Hon. William D. Barnes, of Florida. We can say what, perhaps, no other class of the University can say: one of our number has been a member of the Legislature of North Carolina, a member of the United States Congress before the war, a distinguished officer in the Confederate Army, three times Governor of North Carolina, and now a United States Senator. I mean Zebulon B. Vance, our "Zeb."

        And now I have come to a class which I have left for the last--on the principle which governed General Clingman when to-day he addressed the ladies last -- last because best of all -- at least not inferior in dignity or importance. I mean our agricultural class.

        Among our distinguished tillers of the soil I find John R. Hutchins, of Orange, and George A. Brett, of Hertford. In my travels over this broad land, from New York to New Orleans and from Morehead

City to St. Louis, I have not seen a more beautiful, well-arranged and scientifically cultivated farm than that of our class-mate, Hon. Thomas M. Holt.

        At the banquet and reunion in Gerrard Hall this afternoon, my heart swelled with patriotic pride as I listened to the eloquent speeches detailing the triumphs of our Alumni on the battle-field, in public life, at the bar, on the bench, in the ministry and as physicians--their great services to the State as leaders in public and private education, in manufactures, internal improvements and trade. But a shade of disappointment came over the bright picture when the toast on Agriculture was called and not a single voice responded.*

        Mr. President, I know that our farmers are a modest class, shrinking from public notice and preferring to let their deeds speak for them. This omission ought not to have been. I know it was not the fault of the Committee of Arrangements. I know among our Alumni, farmers abundantly qualified to have set forth with ability and eloquence our achievements in this great field.

        I listened with rapt attention to the speech of Dr. Curry, and my heart was filled with gratitude as he

enumerated the great philanthropists of the North who had so generously showered their treasures upon the educational institutions of the South. But, sir, you may have millions bestowed on your institutions invested in magnificent buildings and the very best of scientific apparatus; you may have a hundred professorships and every professorship endowed with thousands of dollars, and yet there might be one thing lacking, without which your institutions would be as "sounding brass," as nothing. I mean men to fill your chairs, and boys to fill your halls!

        Where will you get them? I answer, mainly from the tillers of the soil, directly or indirectly. I venture the assertion, sir, that the majority of the distinguished men among you, in the liberal professions even, either tilled the soil themselves in their youth, or that their fathers or grandfathers did before them. Why, sir, in view of the enervating tendency of our modern civilization as manifested in our town, city and public life, I am tempted to think that the salt which is to save us from national degeneration must come from the farmers of the land.

        Let a boy have his bones hardened and his muscles toughened by toil, his lungs expanded and his blood purified by the fresh air of the fields; let his powers of observation and reasoning be quickened by looking into the forests and fields and brooks and

at the varied forms of animal life he sees around him, and let the finer feelings of his nature be developed and his passions subdued by this intercourse with Nature, and I say, sir, you have the raw material out of which to manufacture a perfect model of an intellectual man. Mens sana in corpore sano was the classic model.

        More than seven-tenths of our people are interested in agriculture, and, I repeat, it is mainly from this class that you must look for your patronage.

        I live under the shadow of a great mountain, founded on everlasting granite, and lifting its peaks nearly six thousand feet above the waves of the sea, and to it are flowing people from every quarter of our country for health and pleasure and beauties of Nature. And now, sir, let us take this great mountain -- or, perhaps better still, the far grander mountain seen in prophetic vision, and to which flowed all nations of the earth -- let us take it as the symbol of this great University, founded on the strong affection and prayers of our people of all classes, and from this solid foundation let its domes tower heavenward, and there will flow to it "every people and kindred and tongue," from the wave-washed shores of Currituck to the thunder-riven peaks of Cherokee, and from this and future generations will go up, with a great shout and a mighty voice, "The

Old North State and her University; one and inseparable, now and forever!"

The
Class of 1853

        Was represented by Baldy A. Capehart, Esq., Prof. A. McIver, Col. John L. Morehead, Hon. Henry R. Shorter, Col. John D. Taylor and David G. Worth, Esq.

        Colonel Shorter said:

        In September, 1850, a light-haired, gray-eyed youth came here alone from Alabama, and after undergoing rigid examinations that nearly scared the life out of him he was permitted to enter the Sophomore class. During the next three years, short and eventful years, he knew the sunlight and the shadows of these classic groves. He loved the friends and companions of his youth, and parted with them in sorrow, when, at the end of his college course, he hied away to the gay savannas of his distant Alabama home.

        And now, after thirty-six years of contact with life -- real hard, practical life, and all of its friction -- your humble speaker comes again to worship once more at the shrine of his beloved Alma Mater.

Although my lot in life has been cast in a different and distant section of our common country, yet, during these long years of absence I have never ceased to love this grand Old North State, and for my Alma Mater I have ever cherished an absolute affection. I have watched and admired all these years, with an intense pleasure, the splendid talent and manhood of your State, and God, who knows the secrets of our hearts, knows I have loved your women. I find in my heart an inexpressible happiness in being here to-day to unite with you in this centennial celebration. Over mountains and rivers, over hills and valleys, and over fields and forests I have come to be with you here, and now I salute you, my class-mates, companions and friends of my youth. Let us rejoice that we have met again; let us clap our hands together in joyful song over the memories of Auld Lang Syne.

        My class-mates, those were the halcyon days of life. Friendships formed when the heart is fresh and pure, free from the canker of the world and the foul slime of worldly considerations, are the sweetest and most durable. We could not forget them if we would. Every gale of pleasure will waft the sweet memory to our souls. Every storm of sorrow will bring back the contrast of past pleasures. If we are filled with the world's joys, they will grow brightest and greenest

amid the loves of our hearts; if we are cast down by misfortune and disaster, they will rear themselves, in the desert of our affections, a fitting monument over the grave of dead and buried hopes. And now, after long years of our parting, how happy is the hour of our meeting.

                         "Oh, time is sweet, when roses meet
                         With Spring's soft breath around them,
                         And sweet the cost when hearts are lost,
                         If those we love have found them;
                         And sweet the mind that still can find
                         A star in darkest weather,
                         Yet, nought can be so sweet to see,
                         As old friends met together.

                         "Those days of old, when youth was bold,
                         And time stole wings to speed it,
                         And youth ne'er knew how fast time flew --
                         Or knowing, did not heed it;
                         Though cold each brow that meets us now,
                         For age brings wintry weather,
                         Yet, nought can be more sweet to see,
                         Than old friends met together."

        And it is a happy hour with us that we have here met together; but vibrations of sorrow and sadness break across our hearts, as we learn from one another the names of the dead of the class of 1853.

        Here we have wandered together through the campus and the grove as when we were boys. We

have looked in upon the same old college rooms in which we lived when we were students here. And those still, solemn, gray old walls have given back to us the whisperings of years long gone by. And when the college bell this morning awoke me from my slumbers, I felt that I should quickly spring from my couch and hasten to yonder old chapel to see again the strong and manly form of the venerable Dr. Charles Phillips standing on the rostrum, with pencil and book in hand, calling --

        (The speaker here called the roll of his class from memory.)

        Of the fifty-seven graduates of 1853, only six of us are here to-day. God be merciful and good to all the others wherever they may be! I well remember them all -- their happy faces and their manly forms. To you I tender a brother's greeting and a brother's love. May you in every thought bring back the past without a regret, gild the future with the brightest hope, and fill to overflowing your cups of happiness without a single drop of pain; and when in future memory reverts to your college days, may I be with you again and have a great big place in your hearts.

        Mr. President, that wonderful State in which I live demands a constant work from me. The book of the future is closed against us. The future conditions of life may prevent, or forbid, my attending your commencements;

but if I am not here in person, I will be in spirit, and abide with you all in the sweetest meditations. Farewell--farewell, and may God be with you always.

The
Class of 1854

        Was represented by Richard H. Battle, Esq., David S. Cowan, Esq., Capt. E. Hayne Davis, Col. John M. Galloway, Capt. Richard B. Henderson, Capt. Robert B. Johnston, Capt. Oscar R. Rand, Col. William L. Saunders, John D. Shaw, Esq., Capt. William H. Thompson, and Rev. William R. Wetmore.

        Mr. Richard H. Battle said:

        The class of 1854 numbered eighty-eight members in all during the college course, and of them over sixty graduated; of these sixty, but twenty-six are now living. It was the largest class ever graduated up to that time and for two or three years thereafter. It was probably the youngest in the average of its members ever graduated from the institution, some eight or ten being only eighteen years old, only two as much as twenty-five, and the average not over twenty. It was also one of the most patriotic of classes. Nearly all of us volunteered at the call of

our State to arms in the late war. We furnished half a dozen or more field-officers and surgeons, about twenty captains and nearly as many lieutenants, while several others were content to serve as non-commissioned officers and privates. About fifteen per cent. fill heroes' graves, at least four of the bravest and best having been killed in the battles before Richmond in the summer of 1862. Two of our gallant captains (Davis and Johnston) stand before you with empty sleeves. That some of us have been mindful of our duty to the State since the war, appears from the fact that one of us now present has twelve living children, and another, who would have come but for sickness, has eleven.

        The speaker for the class of 1847 has told you something of the introduction of Peirce's very difficult mathematics into the institution. Our class, with that ahead of us, while Sophomores and Juniors, respectively, aided in the exit of his higher mathematical books from the course of study here. Finding out that "Peirce's Analytics and Calculus," which were bound in one volume, were out of print, an informal meeting of some of both classes, who had become hopelessly lost in those studies, was held, and it was resolved that a holocaust of these books should be had. A committee was appointed to collect the condemned books, in any way that might be found effectual, and

the committee being successful in getting into their possession all but two or three, a great bonfire of these books was kindled one dark night in the rear of the campus, and in a few minutes only their ashes remained to tell the tale of their destruction. The next day, when their former owners were called up by the professors of mathematics to recite, they fessed, as the phrase then was, but with the excellent excuse that they had no books. The Faculty soon learned the true state of the facts, and, in view of the great temptation upon the boys to relieve themselves of a burden that seemed to them so grievous, they concluded to pass by the offence, and make the best of what they couldn't help, I do not mention this as to the credit of the classes of 1853 and 1854, but only as a contribution to history. On the whole, we were not bad boys, but were generally on the side of law and order.

        I can hardly say more without trenching upon the time for hearing from other classes, and I will end my remarks upon the class of 1854 with a suggestion of a practical character, which was made to me to-day by a member of the class, and I now repeat it, in the hope that something may be made of it in the future. It is that, somehow, a voice should be given to the Alumni of this University, who, above all others, love it and desire its welfare, in the selection of at

least a part of the Board of Trustees. It is hoped that, before the next session of the General Assembly, a committee from the Alumni will consider and present some plan looking to this end, to the Legislature. What has worked so well in some of the great colleges at the North, ought to succeed as well here. We now give place to our friends of the class of 1855.

The
Class of 1855

        Was represented by N. A. Boyden, Esq., M. S. Davis, Esq., Dr. William J. Love and Rev. S. P. Watters.

        Mr. Watters said:

        The class of '55 greet their brethren of the Alumni on this auspicious occasion, the commemoration of the centennial of the founding of our honored Alma Mater.

        Our class-history, in brief, is that fifty-five members were graduated as Bachelors of Arts. Of this number, perhaps one-half are living. During the war the class furnished a noble complement of patriots to the Southern cause, one of its members attaining the rank of Brigadier General.

        To the learned professions the class has contributed its fair proportion. One of its members, a

former member of Congress in Louisiana; one, latterly, an honored Judge on the Superior Court bench of the State; one a distinguished physician in the city of New York; while the class has the exceptional distinction of contributing six of its members to the ministry of the Gospel. Wheresoever found, in their various vocations and pursuits, we believe they are sustaining the fair fame of our University.

        We are happy to greet our brethren of the Alumni, reviving (as this reunion should) our loyalty to and our pride in our Alma Mater. We pledge our cooperation in any mode devised, in any work inaugurated, whose tendency shall be the building up of our honored University, fervently trusting that the traditional glories of her past may be enhanced by her grander history in the near and coming future.

The
Class of 1856

        Was represented by W. F. Alderman, Esq., William Burwell, Esq., Hon. Clement Dowd, A. H. Merritt, Esq., and Col. B. R. Moore.

        Mr. Merritt said:

        The class which I have the honor to represent before this audience consisted of fifty-six members,

and graduated thirty-three years ago. It contained no geniuses, but stood high in scholarship, and much above the average class in moral tone and correct deportment. Its history, since graduation, has been alike useful to society and creditable to the University. Various positions of trust and honor have been filled by its members, but no act that was not justified by honor has ever attached to any single member. At the bar, in the pulpit, at the teacher's desk, in the halls of legislation, in the editorial chair, upon the tented field, always and everywhere, the class of 1856 has borne itself bravely. But a sad mortality has followed it. More than seventy per cent. have passed over to the great majority. The death-roll contains many names of men of high intellect and noble promise, who, dying, have left records of lives of true manhood. Turn to these mural tablets, and read the names of such chivalrous men as Morrow and Owens, and you may know well some of the sacrifices made by this class on the altar of country and freedom. Go into the school-rooms, from Maine to California, and you will find what a rich and lasting legacy to the literature of the country William Bingham has made in his classical series.

        Of the living members of this class--"rari nantesin gurgite vasto"--Dr. J. B. Killebrew stands prominent. No man, living or dead, has done so much as he to

elevate the agricultural interests and develop the resources of the great State of Tennessee. Others occupy prominent places at the bar, at the sacred desk, and in the various walks of high and honorable life.

        Of these gentlemen who stand before you to-day, one has devoted a useful life to teaching, and is now a professor in one of our best colleges for young ladies; another has been worn bald by the honors heaped upon him in the National Congress; another has been touched lightly by time, and stands here in the pride of vigorous manhood, a representative of the legal profession; another is prominent as a farmer and as the father of thirteen children, and as such he deserves to be honored "maxima cum laude." Of the other member of the class present, perhaps the least said the better; but the temptation of a compliment to him is not to be resisted. He has shown, in one respect at least, more wisdom than Solomon, in that he has never married but one wife; and taking advantage of the privilege granted to all Benedicts when out of ear-shot of their drill-masters, it is declared that the world would be all the better if the woman whose husband he is were spared to celebrate the next centennial.

        The class of 1856 bids the University and each brother alumnus hail! -- it bids them farewell!

The
Class of 1857

        Was represented by Hon. A. C. Avery, Maj. Robert Bingham, Dr. Daniel McL. Graham, Maj. John W. Graham, Col. Thomas S. Kenan, Dr. John M. Lawing, and William H. Williams, Esq.

        Colonel Kenan presented the class in a few remarks.

The
Class of 1858

        Was represented by William Bonner, Esq., Hon. Lewis Hilliard, Col. John A. Gilmer, F. M. Johnson, Esq., Rev. R. H. Marsh, Thomas W. Mason, Esq., Col. A. C. McAlister, Dr. J. F. Miller, Col. James T. Morehead, James A. Walker, Esq.

        Mr. Thomas W. Mason said:

        Those of us present earnestly desired that our worthy class-mate, Judge Gilmer, should speak to you in our behalf, and represent the class of 1858. With his accustomed generosity he has insisted that I should be clothed with this honor, which, I am sure, I do not merit, but which I should greatly enjoy, if I felt that I could, without further time for thought, be just to the merits of the living and the memory of the dead.

        On the third day of June, 1858, we went forth from Gerrard Hall, ninety-two in number, to our different homes: one to Arkansas, six to Alabama, two to Florida, two to Georgia, two to Louisiana, six to Mississippi, one to South Carolina, seven to Tennessee, three to Virginia and sixty-two to North Carolina. We have never met since. To-day, those of us present sat down on the steps of the old West Building and tried to recall our absent class-mates. The hand of time had scattered them far apart, and some of them we failed to trace.

        We sadly believe that half our number have died. Many of these fell while in the military service for the South. Their names appear in quick succession upon these walls: William Adams, of Guilford; Robert Walker Anderson, of New Hanover; Jesse Sharpe Barnes, of Wilson; Edward Starkie Bell, of Alabama; Hugh Thomas Brown, of Wilkes; Thomas Cowan, of New Hanover; Robert Theodore Harris, of Alabama; Addison Harvey, of Mississippi; William Campbell Lord, of Rowan, one of our "first-honor" men; John Merritt Perry, another "first-honor" man, of Beaufort; David Jones Young, of Granville, afterwards, and at the time of his death, of Petersburg, Virginia. Their names are here; their lives have passed into glorious history. I would willingly speak to you of each one of these whom we so much cherish, but I

am reminded that the hours are passing by, and that many others than those of the class of 1858 are worthy to be remembered on this day, which we have dedicated to the memory of the past. I must ask you, and I am sure my class-mates will approve it, to let me pause and say one word of Robert Walker Anderson, who was one of our "first-honor" men with greatest distinction. I have never known a clearer, stronger intellect, exalted and ennobled by a simpler, purer, kinder, braver heart than his. Peace and honor to him!

        We gave to the Southern army one General, Robert Daniel Johnston, of Lincoln, afterwards a lawyer of large practice in Mecklenburg, and now a citizen of Birmingham, Alabama. He was an efficient, dashing commander. It was my fortune to meet him once in the midst of a fierce conflict of arms, when he seized me by the hand, exclaiming, "Old friend, how glorious it is!" May success attend him in his new home.

        Six of our number commanded regiments in the same service. I am happy to say three of these are with us to-day, and I now have the pleasure to introduce to you Col. John Alexander Gilmer, of Guilford; Col. James Turner Morehead, also of Guilford, who was another of our "first-honor" men, and who has always remained first with us; and Col. Alexander

Carey McAlister, of Randolph, with whom time seems to have dealt so gently that the bloom of youth has not faded from his brow, nor his eye lost its old-time merry light. You will observe that my friend Colonel Gilmer limps as he walks; but, thanks to a kind Providence, the bullet did not stop the beating of his noble heart, or take from us any of the sunshine of his kindly face. Two of this number, I regret to say, are not with us: Col. Hamilton Chamberlain Jones, of Rowan formerly, but now of Mecklenburg, and whom, if you please, we know best as our Ham Jones; and Richard W. Singleton, now living in Florida. The one remaining sleeps in an honored grave, Col. Leroy Mangum McAfee, of Cleveland, another "first-honor" man.

        Of less rank than these in the military service were forty or more of our number as we were able to follow them. I have given you the names of some of these among our honored dead, and some are present with us, whom I shall presently have the honor to introduce to you. Of those who are absent, and whom I have not already named, let me recall the following: James Smith Baker, now living in Florida; Lemuel Creecy Benbury, of Chowan, who has died since the war; Wilkins Bruce, of Virginia; William Macon Coleman, of Cabarrus, gifted as a writer, formerly practising law in this State, but now residing

in Washington City; David Short Goodloe, of Mississippi, who lost an arm during the war, was afterwards a minister of the Gospel of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and is now dead; his brother, Winter Hooe Goodloe, of Mississippi; John Charles Goodman, of Gates, prosecuting his profession as a physician; William May Hammond, of Anson, another of our "first-honor" men, who served with distinction on the staff of the lamented General Junius Daniel, who has attained to success in his profession as a lawyer, and is now residing in the State of Georgia; James Stadler Hill, of Stokes, who is principal of a large school at Dalton, Ga.; William Washington Humphries, of Mississippi, a prominent and successful lawyer at Columbus; Stephen William Isler, of Wayne, a lawyer of large practice at Goldsboro; William Little, of Wake, prominent as a physician at Raleigh until his death; Thomas Noles Macartney, of Alabama, a well-known lawyer of Mobile; Rufus Brooks Mann, of Granville; James Alexander Marsh, of Randolph, who died while residing at Raleigh about ten years ago; Joseph Lucian McConnaughey, of Rowan, practising his profession as a physician; Frederick Philips, now the resident Judge of the Superior Court of the second judicial district; John McCrarey Richmond, of South Carolina, a physician in Missouri; James Turner Scales, of

Virginia; Benjamin Gordon Smith, of Halifax; William Thomas Sutton, of Bertie, now a physician of large practice in the city of Norfolk, Virginia; Caldwell Calhoun Swayze, of Louisiana, residing in Opelousas of that State; Edward Turner Sykes, of Mississippi, a successful lawyer of Columbus, recently a prominent member of the Legislature of Mississippi; Henry Humphreys Tate, of Mecklenburg, now engaged in farming; William Lewis Twitty, of Rutherford; Samuel Edward Westray, of Nash, now engaged in banking and a large planter; Joseph Mastris White, of Florida, now dead; Thomas Smith Whitted, of Bladen; Joseph Williams, of Yadkin, of whose death within a recent period I have learned; Julius Walker Wright, of New Hanover, who died in 1878; William Hamilton Young, of Granville, who was Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, a prominent lawyer, and who died at his home in the town of Henderson a few years ago.

        I grieve to say, for lack of information, I can make no statement as to the remaining members of our class.

        Sad to relate, not a few of our number died soon after graduation. Our valedictorian, William Carey Dowd, of Wake, with the shadow of death upon his pale brow when he bade us good-bye, lingered but a

few months thereafter. The gentle Nathaniel Pearson Lusher, of Tennessee, died at his home in Memphis in 1859. Handsome, genial Ambrose Davie, "Little Dutch," as we used to call him, perished, with his beautiful bride, in February, 1861, by the burning of the steamer "Charmer" on the Mississippi, above New Orleans. And so passed away early, my friends Samuel Mitchell Brinson, of Craven, and William John Foreman, of Pitt, with the latter of whom I had been associated for six years of my school life. And later than these, S. Dupuy Goza, of Louisiana; Samuel Turner Sykes, of Mississippi; Macon Tucker Dugger, of Warren; William Whitaker, of Halifax; William Murphy, of Rowan; John Webster Tate, of Gaston, and of still more recent date, Richard Caswell Swain, of Chapel Hill.

        We gave to the bench of North Carolina three of our number. One of these, who has retired from official life, and is now engaged in the business of a cotton factor, is here with us from his home in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, and I now have the pleasure to introduce to you Judge Louis Hilliard. I am pleased to inform you that our late Colonel Gilmer is now before you as Judge Gilmer, wearing the ermine of the Judge as courageously as he did the stars of the Colonel. The other of these is now

absent in the active discharge of the duties of his commission, Judge Frederick Philips, of Edgecombe.

        Ten of our class are present. One of these has come from his distant home in Tennessee to take another look at the old campus and drink again from the old college well, and I now present to you my class-mate, William Bonner, of Fayetteville, Tennessee. When he was here before, he was William Bonner, Jr., now he is William Bonner, Sr.; but, I am happy to note how gently the passing years have dealt with him.

        And now let me enjoy the pleasure of presenting to you my other class-mates as they stand before you. Francis Marion Johnson, of Davie; Rev. Robert Henry Marsh, of Chatham; Dr. John Fullenwilder Miller, of Goldsboro, and James Alves Walker, of Wilmington. I am delighted to observe how very well my class-mates are looking. I believe we have all gained flesh since we reached old Chapel Hill. I know we have gained unspeakable happiness.

        I wish to make a startling announcement before I close. Two of our number are still unmarried. I will not give you their names; I will only say that they are the very finest fellows in the world, and I now propose to my class-mates that we offer a cup of gold to the one of these that shall exhibit at our

next reunion the larger matrimonial progress. I have attempted this sketch of the class of 1858, unworthy of them, I know. We claim no merit or distinction over any of those who have gone before us, or who have come after us. We only desire this: that we yield to no other class in our devotion to the past history of our Alma Mater, in our deep and abiding interest in her present development, and our concern and our hopes for the future that lies before her.

The
Class of 1859

        Was represented by Hon. Mills L. Eure, John M. Fleming, Esq., Rev. S. H. Isler, Daniel P. McEachern, Esq., Marshall H. Pinnix, Esq., James P. Taylor, Esq., and Colonel E. B. Withers.

        Judge Eure said:

        In behalf of the class of 1859 we will speak briefly. It was one of the largest classes graduated at the University up to that date. The period at which we were graduated put us at the threshold of active life at the time when the people of the South believed that their equal rights under the Constitution of our country were in jeopardy. These rights they determined

to defend with their fortunes and their lives, and the appeal to arms was sounded throughout the land. Actuated by patriotism, and with a courage undaunted, our class, in solid phalanx, almost without exception, entered the contest; and in some capacity nearly every member of the class did service in the Confederate army. Our ranks were thinned by the casualties of war, and we stand before you here but few in number. From the best information I can obtain, more than twenty per cent of the class were killed in battle, died of wounds received in battle, or by disease during the war. The names of many of them are upon the memorial tablets on these walls. And while there is sadness and sorrow in our hearts at their loss so early in manhood, still we have the proud satisfaction of knowing that their memory is safe. Their gallant deeds in battle, and noble sacrifice of life, have enshrined their memories in the hearts of a grateful people, and these memories will ever remain fresh, so long as the people of this South-land shall remember to love virtue, practise justice, and have the courage to defend civil and religious liberty. Many of our class have attained high distinction in the learned professions, and we regret to say that the brightest of these have gone to premature graves. We call to mind an incident in our college life which deserves mention. During

our Senior year, we think, some students, possibly of the bad kind, like my friend Colonel Kenan's class, excited by some imaginary wrong done them by the Faculty, avenged themselves by burning the benches taken from the recitation rooms, and, I think, by burning the belfry. These outrages were condemned by the more orderly class of students, and through the efforts of our class in the literary societies measures were adopted to discourage the destruction of college property, and the disgraceful act was never repeated.

        As to the future of our Alma Mater our classmates feel the most profound interest. There may be some objections to the University in some sections, arising from rivalry or slight prejudices, as there always have been. These must be met by her friends, and especially by the Alumni, with moderation and sound reason. The record of her Alumni for the past century; their great deeds in shaping the destiny of a great State; their efforts in promoting our entire educational system; the renown they have attained in every vocation in almost every State; the paramount necessity for sustaining, without stint, the broadest facilities for the highest possible educational attainments, must be presented to our people. When this is done, we have the abiding faith that the intelligence and patriotism of our citizens will

lead them to realize the necessity for a great University in North Carolina, and secure for it that support which will enable it to achieve even greater triumphs in the coming century than it has in the past. For the accomplishment of this our classmates pledge their most earnest efforts.

The
Class of 1860

        Was represented by Capt. W. T. Allen, A. S. Barbee, Esq., Capt. W. H. Borden, Col. E. J. Hardin and Capt. R. P. Howell.

        Captain Allen said:

        After an absence of twenty-nine most eventful years, we re-assemble to join with you on this centennial anniversary. Our class numbered one hundred and thirty-one matriculates, and represented every Southern and some of the Western States -- ninety-five of whom graduated.

        Is it not surprising, out of so large a class, that there are only six of us present to enjoy this reunion and participate in these pleasant exercises? But look at these tablets, and you learn a sad story. Ours was the last to graduate before the war, and, before we could settle down to any special vocation, our

noble boys, true to the principles which they had, in a great measure, imbibed here, wanting to discharge the full duty of American citizens, regardless of any other consideration but that of duty, went forward as brave soldiers to sacrifice their young and promising lives upon the altar of their country. Our class furnished more soldiers and lost more lives, probably, than any other. While we do not boast, like some preceding classes, of furnishing the greatest number of men who have risen high in legal, scientific and political eminence, we can refer with pride to such men as E. J. Hale (who sends greeting to this body to-day by telegram from Manchester), and others, occupying high social and responsible positions, who are honored members of this class.

        But on the list of the Confederate dead are the names of those who could have adorned any position to which they might have been called. First, you notice the name of Junius C. Battle, a brother of the honored President of this University, graduating with the first distinction, and possessing all the elements of success, and surrounded by every advantage and encouragement for promotion -- scarcely twenty years old. It looks too sad that a life of such promised usefulness should be lost on the threshold of its manhood. There are others, whom we can not enumerate, who would have honored society and

made the world better by their lives. But, old comrades, all of you, wherever you are, be you living or dead, we will always love every member of the class of 1860.

The
Class of 1861

        Was represented by Capt. Calvin Barnes, E. G. Brodie, Esq., Capt. George B. Bullock, Capt. John D. Currie, Hon. Thomas D. Johnston, Col. James G. Kenan, Col. J. Turner Morehead, James Parker, Esq., and Joshua G. Wright, Esq.

        Hon. Thomas D. Johnston said:

        The history of the class of 1861--which, by the partiality of its members now present, I am designated to represent on this occasion--up to the date of its graduation, is but a counterpart of the history of those preceding it.

        We were actuated during our course at the University by the same ambitions; inspired by the same hopes; engaged in the same generous rivalry for the honors; had our proportion of disappointments, and enjoyed a due share of the pleasures incident to college life common to all the other classes; and the friendships then formed constitute the basis of the

great pleasure which this happy reunion has afforded to the few survivors who attend this centennial anniversary.

        But from the date of its graduation in June, 1861, during the dark days of the history of the State and of the University, the history of the class is literally written in the blood of its members. It is essentially the war-class of the University. It forms, indeed, the key-stone of that glorious arch which spans the most trying epoch of our State, reaching from the time when our University was at the zenith of its prosperity to the date which marks its most gloomy period, and to-day stands as a monument to the undaunted valor of her devoted and patriotic sons. The echoes of the speeches of its eighty-seven graduates had not died away in yonder hallowed chapel, ere the thunderings from the belching cannon and rattling musketry from the battle-field of Bethel were wafted across the borders of our beloved State, and announced that the first victory of the late unfortunate war had been won by the bravery and steadfastness of North Carolina's devoted sons. In response to the call of their country, these eighty-seven young men, almost before the ink was dry upon the parchments which enrolled them as alumni of this University, were enrolled as volunteer soldiers of the Confederate army. Many of them did not reach their homes after graduating before they enlisted, and all, without a single exception,

so far as we can ascertain, promptly entered the ranks of the country's defenders, and from that date to the close of the war the history of their lives is indeed a bright and shining record of valor and heroism. It is so closely interwoven with the history of the State, the gallant deeds of whose brave sons illustrated on so many bloody fields, not alone Spartan valor, but indeed what is more, NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE, that the historian who truthfully portrays North Carolina's part in that dreadful struggle of four years, will, of necessity, write also the history of this class. On almost every battle-field, from the rolling plains of the first Manassas through the various bloody conflicts of Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and the hundred other scenes of carnage which mark almost every spot of Virginia soil in the Eastern campaign, as well as the many equally fierce and glorious fields of the West, from disastrous Fishing Creek to Atlanta, the class of 1861 was represented by some of its members. But should I be asked for the evidence of the patriotism and courage of my class, I point with peculiar but mournful pride to the roll of honor of the two hundred and sixty alumni who gave their lives to their country, which adorns the walls of this Memorial Hall, where are enrolled the names of more than one-third of the

eighty-seven who left this rostrum in 1861 to do battle for their section. Upon that sacred roll is written the names of thirty of our class-mates, whose memories will ever be cherished by us, their survivors, and throughout the borders of our State will their examples of heroism be pointed to with pride by all coming generations. "Si quæris monumentum, circumspice." I will be pardoned if I specially mention the name of that brave and gallant soldier, Col. John Jones, of Caldwell county, who fell at the head of his regiment leading his equally brave comrades to the fierce struggle. Of him it was said by his commanding general, that he was "worth his weight in gold." His various deeds of daring and courage which made him conspicuous as a soldier and leader, will be recorded in his country's history. His career is but the counterpart of the career of all the other noble dead of our class.

        But it is not alone, sir, to this roll of our dead class-mates--glorious and sacred as it is--that we point for evidence of our devotion to our State. It is with equal and just pride that I mention here the astounding fact that the ELEVEN men who stand before you the representatives of our class, bear upon their bodies the marks of TWENTY-FIVE honorable wounds, received in the battles of the late war. This is a living speaking evidence that the class of 1861 was,

indeed, the war-class of this institution. But, Mr. Chairman, it is not alone in war that this class has become memorable for its patriotic services. The remnant who survived the struggle returned to their devastated homes, and faithfully acted their part in building up the waste places of the State. Debarred for a number of years by the political situation which immediately succeeded the termination of hostilities, and which was forced upon them by a course of events over which they could exercise no control, they quietly, but manfully, performed their parts as citizens, sharing in the deep humiliation visited upon a prostrate and helpless section. As soon, however, as time brought about a better condition of affairs, and they were permitted to assist in shaping the policy of the State, they again came to her rescue, and in the civil positions of State and National legislators, judges, executive officers, &c., a due proportion of its members have received high honors at the hands of their fellow-citizens; and in these various positions they have all been found in the front rank, doing their full measure of duty.

        In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, it is with becoming pride that we challenge comparison with any other class which has graduated from this University.

The
Class of 1862

        Was represented by Marsden Bellamy, Esq., Col. Joseph A. Haywood, Hon. Thomas G. Skinner and H. C. Wall, Esq.

        Hon. Thomas G. Skinner presented the class in a few words.

The
Class of 1863

        Was represented by Rev. Dr. John L. Carroll, W. N. Mebane, Esq., and W. M. Watkins, Esq.

        Dr. Carroll said:

        The class of Alumni born to Alma Mater in 1863 was small in numbers. There were only eight of us. But let not the larger classes of preceding years look down with contempt upon us, for they must remember that '63 was not a good year for University boys. "Never in the tide of time," said Governor Swain in that year, "has there been such a cloud overhanging the University."

        The class which had started in '59 with one hundred and thirty Freshmen, had dwindled down to

eight during the Senior year, and as I stood in the old chapel to-day, it did not require a stretch of my imagination to hear dear old Mr. Fetter calling the roll--"Argo, Broyles, Carr, Carroll, Hines, Marshall, Quarles, Watkins." Of this class there are six surviving. Hines sickened and died not long after the close of the war; Quarles, impersonation of modesty, gentleness and inoffensiveness, was stricken down in wanton violence, by a bully, upon the streets of Waco, Texas. Of the survivors, Argo is a popular lawyer in Raleigh; Broyles is said to be somewhere in Tennessee; Carr is a successful farmer and merchant in his native county of Pitt; Marshall is the popular pastor of Christ Church in Raleigh; and Watkins, who stands by my side, is a prosperous and happy tobacconist in his native town of Milton. He and I, as the representatives of the graduates of '63, and Mr. Mebane, who left the class at an earlier period for the war, tender to our Alma Mater our congratulations on this delightful reunion of her sons. We are in fullest sympathy with this centennial occasion; and join heartily in the rejoicings that are enkindled by the touching reminiscences of the past, and the inspiring hopes of the future. But recognizing the fact that the lateness of the hour forbids extended remarks, we restrain the disposition to indulge in them. We content ourselves with a

single word to those who came before us, and to those who come after us. We address ourselves to our seniors with assurances of our fraternal regards. We mark with tender solicitude their rapidly thinning ranks, their gradually whitening locks and stooping forms, and devoutly pray for them a green and happy old age, and an abundant entrance into the better land when the summons shall come for them to go hence.

        To our juniors we turn with all the authority which seniority confers, and admonish them to double their diligence in the service of Alma Mater. Into their hands, in great part, her interests must be committed, and if she shall ever attain the distinction so earnestly coveted for her, it must be largely through their instrumentality. A sacred trust is passing into their keeping--one fraught with great honor to themselves and with incalculable good to North Carolina, and to the world at large. Let them guard it with undying devotion. And when, down the stream of time, disgorging its waters into the vast ocean of eternity, we all shall have floated and been forgotten, may larger and better classes of Alumni be born to Alma Mater year after year in the coming centuries--Alumni who shall promptly and gladly rise up and call her blessed, and by their devoted services gather around her head a halo of

glory which shall pale only in the reflected light of eternity.

The
Class of 1864

        Was represented by A. M. Boozer, Esq., Hon. Walter Clark, William A. Guthrie, Esq., W. R. Kenan, Esq., and Capt. Octavius A. Wiggins.

        Mr. Guthrie presented the class briefly.

The
Class of 1865

        Was represented by Henry A. London, Esq., who said:

        I much regret that I am the only representative present of the class of 1865, which may aptly be called the "war class," having been the first to matriculate after the beginning of the war, and the first to graduate after its close.

        Just after the Confederate victory at Manassas, when the star of the young Confederacy had emerged with such brilliancy in the firmament of nations, about fifty youths of our State, buoyant with bright

hopes, and yet, fearful lest the war should close before they could take part therein, matriculated at the University and entered the Freshman class. The history of that class is similar to the history of the Confederate States, and is marked by the varying fortunes of war. As the war progressed, and the contending armies drew nearer, the members of that class, one after another, enlisted in the depleted ranks of their struggling countrymen, and, leaving the quiet shades of their Alma Mater, went forth like men (though only boys) to do and to die for "God and their native land" -- until finally, when the star of the Confederacy had forever sunk in the darkness of disaster and defeat, there remained only one member of that once buoyant band who had gone through the entire college curriculum.

        The lateness of the hour and your exhausted patience will not permit my giving a detailed history of the class of 1865, or a mention of many of the exciting incidents of college life during the troublous and dark days of horrid war, a diary of which I kept at the time, and still have. The catalogue of 1863 and '64 shows that the number of students then enrolled was only seventy-nine. By the earnest appeals and persistent efforts of Governor Swain, the Confederate authorities exempted from conscription

until 1864 the few members of the two higher classes who were liable to military duty. He urged upon President Davis that "the seed-corn must not be ground up," and through the self-sacrificing efforts of himself and all the members of the Faculty, the University was kept open during the entire war, and even when Sherman's soldiers entered Chapel Hill in April, 1865, there were still some ten or twelve boys pursuing their studies. During all those days of bloodshed and carnage -- when in the distance might be heard the boom of cannon and the bursting of shells -- yonder old bell daily sounded its summons to recitations and prayers!

        In the latter part of 1864 duty called me away from the quiet life of a college student to share the hardships and dangers of the "tented field"; and on my return home from Appomattox Court House, I and other members of the Senior class were notified by Governor Swain that he would grant us diplomas as regular graduates if we would return to the University and deliver orations at the approaching Commencement. Only four of the class appeared in response to this notification, and some of them under much difficulty--it falling to my lot to travel on foot the greater part of my journey to Chapel Hill. The audience to which our graduating addresses were

delivered, consisted chiefly of visitors from the North--soldiers of the Federal army.

        Those four graduates are now scattered on two continents--one residing in the city of Paris, one in Montana Territory, one in the State of New York, and I here. Of that number two are ministers of the Gospel, so that the class of 1865 can boast that one-half of its graduates entered the sacred ministry!

        In glancing over my college diary a few days ago, I found on the last page the following entry: "Thus ends, in all probability, my last day at the University of North Carolina, as I leave to-morrow, and in a few days 'off to the wars we'll go'"! and the very last words there recorded express a sentiment that has always animated the students of this university--one to which every heart here beats a warm and responsive throb--and one to which with sincere pleasure I now again, after the lapse of twenty-five years, give utterance--"Hurrah for Chapel Hill"!

        It was now long after midnight, and the roll-call of classes ceased at this point.

        On motion of W. J. Peele, Esq., it was

        Resolved by the Alumni Association that a committee of twelve, with Col. W. L. Saunders as chairman, be appointed by the President to report to the next meeting of the Alumni a plan for establishing a Chair of History at this University.

        On motion of Hon. John A. Gilmer, it was

        Resolved that the President appoint a committee to arrange for annual alumni reunions on Wednesday of Commencement week.

        On motion, the thanks of the Alumni Association were voted the Committee of Arrangements.

        The Association then adjourned. Thus closed the Centennial Reunion, one of the most brilliant and delightful occasions in the history of the University.

LIST OF ALUMNI PRESENT AT THE REUNION.

        The following list of Alumni present at the Reunion is published here, though not complete:

1824.

• Armand J. DeRosset, Wilmington.

1827.

• Paul C. Cameron, Raleigh.

1831.

• Giles Mebane, Milton.

1832.

• Thomas L. Clingman, Asheville.
• Thomas W. Harriss, Panacea Springs.
• Richard H. Smith, Scotland Neck.

1836.

• William L. Stamps, Milton.

1840.

• William Johnston, Charlotte.
• William M. Shipp, Charlotte.

1841.

• Stephen Graham, Kenansville.

1842.

• Rufus Barringer, Charlotte.
• William W. Harriss, Wilmington.

1843.

• Robert P. Dick, Greensboro.
• Rufus H. Jones, Cary.
• John L. Williamson, Caswell County.

1844.

• James H. Horner, Oxford.
• Walter L. Steele, Rockingham.
• Adolphus G. Jones, Cary.

1845.

• Joseph B. Batchelor, Raleigh.
• Leonidas Taylor, Oxford.

1846.

• William A. Faison, Warsaw.
• William B. Meares, Wilmington.

1847.

• Thomas E. Skinner, Raleigh.
• Thomas Webb, Hillsboro.
• R. H. Winborne, Barnitz.

1848.

• Nathan A. Ramsey, Durham.

1849.

• Kemp P. Battle, Chapel Hill.
• William E. Hill, Faison.
• Peter E. Hines, Raleigh.
• B. W. Whitfield, Demopolis, Ala.

1850.

• James F. Cain, Durham.
• Joseph J. Davis, Louisburg.
• John W. Lewis, Milton.
• John Manning, Chapel Hill.

1851.

• Peter E. Smith, Scotland Neck.

1852.

• Robert L. Beall, Lenoir.
• George A. Brett, Lotta.
• John R. Hutchins, Chapel Hill.
• Richard H. Lewis, Kinston.

1853.

• Baldy A. Capehart, Kittrell.
• Alexander McIver, Pittsboro.
• John L. Morehead, Charlotte.
• Henry R. Shorter, Montgomery, Ala.

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  Page 242

• John D. Taylor, Wilmington.
• David G. Worth, Wilmington.

1854.

• Richard H. Battle, Raleigh.
• D. S. Cowan, Wilmington.
• E. Hayne Davis, Statesville.
• John M. Galloway, Madison.
• R. B. Henderson, Henderson.
• Robert B. Johnston, Asheville.
• Oscar R. Rand, Smithfield.
• William L. Saunders, Raleigh.
• John D. Shaw, Rockingham.
• William H. Thompson, Clinton.
• William R. Wetmore, Lincolnton.

1855.

• Nathaniel A. Boyden, Forsyth County,
• Matthew S. Davis, Louisburg.
• William J. Love, Wilmington.
• Samuel Paxson Watters, Morganton.

1856.

• W. F. Alderman, Greensboro.
• William H. Burwell, Manson.
• Clement Dowd, Charlotte.
• Abram H. Merritt, Pittsboro.
• Benjamin R. Moore, Wilmington.

1857.

• Alphonso C. Avery, Morganton.
• Robert Bingham, Bingham School.
• Daniel M. Graham, Fayetteville.
• John W. Graham, Hillsboro.
• Thomas S. Kenan, Raleigh.
• John M. Lawing, Lincolnton.
• William H. Williams, Warsaw.

1858.

• William Bonner, Fayetteville, Tenn.
• Louis Hilliard, Norfolk, Va.
• John A. Gilmer, Greensboro.
• Francis M. Johnson, Farmington.
• R. H. Marsh, Pittsboro.
• Thomas W. Mason, Garysburg.
• A. C. McAlister, Ashboro.
• J. F. Miller, Goldsboro.
• James T. Morehead, Greensboro.
• James A. Walker, Wilmington.

1859.

• Mills L. Eure, Norfolk, Va.
• John M. Fleming, Raleigh.
• Simmons H. Isler, Goldsboro.
• Daniel P. McEachern, Mill Prong.
• Marshall H. Pinnix, Lexington.

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  Page 244

• James P. Taylor, Columbia, Texas.
• Elijah B. Withers, Danville, Va.

1860.

• W. T. Allen, Oxford.
• Algernon S. Barbee, Chapel Hill.
• William H. Borden, Goldsboro.
• Edward J. Hardin, Raleigh.
• Robert P. Howell, Goldsboro.

1861.

• Calvin Barnes, Wilson.
• Edmund G. Brodie, Henderson.
• George B. Bullock, Warren County.
• John D. Currie, Clarkton.
• Thomas D. Johnston, Asheville.
• James G. Kenan, Kenansville.
• James T. Morehead, Leaksville.
• James Parker, Gatesville.
• Joshua G. Wright, Wilmington.

1862.

• Marsden Bellamy, Wilmington.
• Joseph A. Haywood, Raleigh.
• Thomas G. Skinner, Hertford.
• Henry C. Wall, Rockingham.

1863.

• John L. Carroll, Asheville.

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  Page 245

• William N. Mebane, Wentworth.
• Warner M. Watkins, Milton.

1864.

• Albert M. Boozer, Columbia, S. C.
• Walter Clark, Raleigh.
• William A. Guthrie, Durham.
• William R. Kenan, Wilmington.
• Octavius A. Wiggins, Wilmington.

1865.

• Henry A. London, Pittsboro.

1866.

• Julian S. Carr, Durham.

1868.

• William H. S. Burgwyn, Henderson.
• A. W. Graham, Oxford.
• Isaac R. Strayhorn, Hillsboro.
• George G. Thomas, Wilmington.
• Charles E. Watson, Durham.

1869.

• Alexander Graham, Charlotte.
• William E. Murchison, Jonesboro.
• Platt D. Walker, Charlotte.
• Joseph C. Webb, Hillsboro.

1870.

• Charles A. Cook, Warrenton.
• Richard H. Lewis, Raleigh.
• George T. Winston, Chapel Hill.

1871.

• James T. Crocker, Asheboro.
• Fred. A. Olds, Raleigh.

1878.

• Charles C. Covington, Wilmington.
• H. T. Watkins, Henderson.

1879.

• John C. Angier, Durham.
• Kemp P. Battle, Jr., Raleigh.
• Frank K. Borden, Goldsboro.
• Richard B. Henderson, Wilton.
• James S. Manning, Durham.
• John M. Manning, Durham.
• W. J. Peele, Raleigh.
• David C. Stanback, Richmond County.
• Robert Strange, Wilmington.
• Isaac M. Taylor, Morganton.
• Robert W. Winston, Oxford.
• Francis D. Winston, Windsor.

1880.

• Thomas H. Battle, Rocky Mount.

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• Thomas C. Brooks, Daysville.
• Locke Craig, Asheville.

1881.

• William J. Adams, Carthage.
• Herbert B. Battle, Raleigh.
• Frank B. Dancy, Raleigh.
• Alfred D. Jones, Raleigh.
• James M. Leach, Lexington.
• Charles D. McIver, Raleigh.
• John A. McIver, Jonesboro.
• James D. Murphy, Greenville.
• Walter E. Philips, Battleboro.
• James H. Southgate, Durham.
• Leroy Springs, Lancaster, S. C.
• John M. Walker, Charlotte.
• R. W. Winborne, Murfreesboro.

1882.

• E. A. Alderman, Goldsboro.
• Thomas J. Gill, Laurinburg.
• Albert S. Grandy, Oxford.
• James G. Hunt, Oxford.
• Alex. W. McAlister, Ashboro.
• Duncan E. McIver, Sanford.

1883.

• David S. Cowan, Henderson.
• John McC. Dick, Greensboro.

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• Robert P. Gray, Greensboro.
• Edward C. Smith, Raleigh.

1884.

• S. M. Gattis, Hillsboro.
• James Lee Love, Chapel Hill.
• H. J. Overman, Salisbury.
• William G. Randall, McKinney, Texas.
• Frank S. Spruill, Louisburg.

1885.

• Josephus Daniels, Raleigh.
• Adolphus H. Eller, Winston.
• Oscar B. Eaton, Mocksville.
• Alexander J. Feild, Oxford.
• Augustus W. Long, Spartanburg, S. C.
• Berrie C. McIver, Goldsboro.
• R. S. Neal, Scotland Neck.
• John U. Newman, Graham.
• Alfred D. Ward, Kenansville.
• Sol. C. Weill, Wilmington.

1886.

• William H. Carroll, Burlington.
• Charles T. Grandy, Raleigh.
• Luther B. Grandy, Oxford.
• Samuel S. Jackson, Pittsboro.
• Herbert W. Jackson, Raleigh.

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  Page 249

• Frank M. Little, Washington, D. C.
• William P. McGehee, Raleigh.
• Pierre B. Manning, Wilmington.
• John M. Morehead, Charlotte.
• H. W. Rice, Richmond, Va.
• Robert L. Stroud, Chapel Hill.
• John F. Schenck, Durham.
• James Thomas, New Berne.
• Robert L. Uzzell, Roanoke, Va.
• Stephen B. Weeks, Chapel Hill.
• Paul Wilkes, Charlotte.

1887.

• Robert T. Burwell, Raleigh.
• Robert G. Grissom, Raleigh.
• Richard N. Hackett, Wilkesboro.
• Jacob C. Johnson, Johnson's Mills.
• Vernon W. Long, Winston.
• William H. McDonald, Charlotte.
• John F. McIver, Winder.
• Joseph A. Morris, Wilton.
• Albert M. Simmons, Fairfield.
• William S. Wilkinson, Enfield.

1888.

• Oliver D. Batchelor, Nashville.
• William James Battle, Chapel Hill.
• Hayne Davis, Statesville.

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• L. B. Edwards, Winston.
• James L. Foster, Raleigh.
• Frank L. Harper, Raleigh.
• William E. Headen, Pittsboro.
• St. Clair Hester, Raleigh.
• R. L. Holt, Burlington.
• William M. Little, Statesville.
• Julius C. Martin, Creswell.
• Malvern H. Palmer, Warren County.
• Benoni Thorp, Raleigh.
• Eugene P. Withers, Danville, Va.

1889.

• Caleb G. Cates, Rock Spring.
• Herbert Clement, Mocksville.
• Daniel J. Currie, Stewart's.
• Walter M. Curtis, Franklinsville.
• James E. B. Davis, Pikeville.
• Mills R. Eure, Norfolk, Va.
• Walter M. Hammond, Archdale.
• Hunter L. Harris, Raleigh.
• John S. Hill, Faison.
• Logan D. Howell, Goldsboro.
• Lacy L. Little, Little's Mills.
• Thomas L. Moore, Greenville, S. C.
• William S. Roberson, Chapel Hill.
• A. A. F. Seawell, Jonesboro.

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• Alexander Stronach, Raleigh.
• Clinton L. Toms, Hertford.
• Charles A. Webb, Warren Plains.
• George S. Wills, Greensboro.
• William A. Wilson, Sutherland.
• Henry G. Wood, Edenton.

        It is earnestly requested that the Alumni of each class will interest themselves in collecting material for a permanent and complete history of that class.

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