the bare remembrance of a fierce and well-contested struggle in which the fish went off conqueror. As he fell flat on his side, he snapped off the main hook from the spoon, and feeling his liberty, instantly made off for the deep water. "Quick," "quick," "a rod," "a hook," "anything," "hit him," "hit him,"-were the cries on all sides; but all to no purpose. For away he glided in solemn stately triumph, no more to be seen by the spectators on the banks. Why should I tell of all the tempting baits, and lines trolled, but trolled in vain? For as host Crocker wisely observed, after listening very sympathizingly to the story, for the fish would have suited his table to a T, a taste, and a treat,—“A muskallonge is like a rat : you may take him in once, but if he ever gets clear, he will never give you the show of a bite, or the shadow of a chance, to take him in again."

"FOLLOW ME."

Subjoined to the above account of a struggle with a fish, written with the glow and enthusiasm of a sportsman, we give here, from the same writer, a little poem which shows that now, as in the days of the apostles, and of the good old Izaak Walton, whatever we as moralists may think on the subject, the occasional enjoyments of the fisherman are not inconsistent with the sweetest devotional spirit.

JESUS, thy loving voice I hear,

I bow the knee

To thy sweet spirit's power near,

And press to thee.

Thou leadest on to God in heaven:
Lead on! Thou callest me.

Earth's way is long, grief tries me sore,
I look to thee;

And though thorns gall my bleeding feet,

I'll follow thee:

Remembering that thy life was given
To set my spirit free.

Through darkest clouds and longest night
I'll trust in thee;

And when my eyes grow dim for light

I'll cry to thee,

Knowing that from thy home above
Thou wilt my comfort be.

And in life's bright and sunny day
I'll speak of thee

To sad ones trying by the way

Thy truth to see,

That all, at last, may find in heaven
Light, peace, and joy in thee.

THE HAMPTON NORMAL SCHOOL.

We look upon this school as at the present time one of the most important educational institutions in the United States. We copy, in a condensed form, an account of what might be called its commencement exercises, from "The Liberal Christian." We suppose it to be written by Dr. Bellows.

"The closing exercises of this school for colored teachers of both sexes, to meet the educational wants of the emancipated negroes of the South, were attended by a deputation of gentlemen and ladies, - thirty-five at least-from the North, and by a considerable number of citizens from Virginia interested in the elevation of the colored race. . . . The school unites the advantages of an industrial with an intellectual and moral training. It carries on agricultural, mechanical household and schoolroom work, and in this respect is a model of what all American schools should aim to become. With Gen. Armstrong at the head, a man who showed himself in the war as skilful as any officer in command of negro troops, and who has since, by his moral enthusiasm, self-sacrifice, executive ability and teaching-power, proved himself entitled to the confidence and love of all who have met and known him, besides drawing the enthusiastic admiration of his pupils, the school has a corps of teachers already experienced in their profession, but besides, all animated with the spirit of the place, an earnest sense of the sublime task imposed and the glorious opportunity offered in beginning the education of a long-neglected and unfortunate race, to whom freedom and aspiration and all the responsibilities of citizenship have lately come. A complete absence of the frivolity, conventionalism and half-seriousness which mark the commencement

exercises of most colleges and high schools indicated in the whole air of these services the dead earnest quality of the aim of both teachers and pupils in a struggle for intellectual life. The solemn reality of the work in hand showed itself in the thin and worn faces of the teachers, all marked with a self-forgetting thoughtfulness, and in the unaffected simplicity and almost unparalleled absence of self-consciousness in the scholars. Perhaps the tones of the voice are the finest test of the earnestness of the spirit, and we noted an absolute freedom from affectation and tricks of a self-conscious origin in all the pupils, both in their recitations and their reading and speaking. Their delivery, as a rule, in the play of natural tones and gestures, was superior to that of our best colleges. And then, again, in seriousness of countenance, in the ex pression of a genuine thirst for knowledge and in unpretending humility, with self-respect and a proper appreciation of their own position, nothing could be more encouraging than the aspect of the Hampton scholars.

"Thus far nothing but good has come from the co-education of young men and young women in this school. The girls seemed modest and even refined, and we saw far less evidence of any turning away from sober pursuits to the indulgence of flirtation than in some other experiments.

"The addresses of the graduating class were not marked (and we were glad to see it) by any special originality, much less by any romantic or rhetorical flights. They were all very much on one subject, the present and future of the colored race. But they were sober, earnest, hopeful, and yet candid in self-estimates. They clearly showed how deep a feeling these new Israelites, coming out of Egypt into their promised land, have of their responsibilities. There was a solemnity and piety in their thoughts and language which showed how naturally faith and prayer mingle with the feelings of oppressed races in their efforts at emancipation from the evils entailed on them by an unfavored lot. . . .

Perhaps the most interesting circumstance connected with this occasion was the meeting of a few Southern gentlemen and educators with Northern men of some repute and influence, who had gone to Hampton to satisfy themselves of the prospects of negro education and of the state of feeling among the whites and old masters towards the freedmen and their elevation to citizenship. At the close of the exercises frank speeches were made both by Northern and Southern men, which covered the ground of the

present state of feeling between those who were lately in bloody conflict with each other. In the speeches of the Southern gentlemen, one of whom had been a rebel officer of rank, another a venerable clergyman, and one the present head of educational movements in Virginia, we observed, of course, some painful recollections of the reeent conflict, some sensibility to the refer ences to it made in the exercises of the students, but not more than was natural and pardonable. In the main, their spirit was admirable, and showed with what good sense the situation had been accepted, and how willing the South was to join the North in all such efforts to educate the blacks as the Hampton school represented. The Northern speakers, while true to their antecedents, were generous and judicious in their tone, and met the Southern candor and good sense with a kind, frank spirit which was evidently warmly appreciated. No doubt the private conversation of these gentlemen was still more influential in bringing about a good understanding. It is very noticeable how little vindictiveness animates the negroes towards their old masters as a class, and how little disposition exists on the part of intelligent and leading whites to hinder the development of the blacks. Probably the greatest hindrance to reconstruction and the renovation of Southern order and prosperity, proceeds from the class known formerly as poor whites a fearfully large and degraded class still, who offer to Southern politicians of a selfish sort the same sort of leverage which our Irish population at the North have afforded our dirty politicians here. The problem of the education of this class seems to us a far harder one to solve than that of negro education. . . .

"We should fail of justice to the interest and charm of the excursion to Hampton,- by sea to Fortress Monroe, and home by the Chesapeake and rail, if we did not say a word of the delightful intercourse afforded the representatives of various religious sects, brought together by a common interest and sharing in frank and fraternal intercourse.

"The underlying common Christianity of men and women, divided on the surface by marked differences of opinion, serves as a beautiful and all-sufficient ground of social sympathy and moral government. How many prejudices were dropped, how many friendships begun, how much mutual respect and affection engendered by three days of easy intercourse between men and women usually kept apart by denominational barriers, we will not venture

to calculate! But we judge that the Hampton excursionists will date back to their short voyage as to a marked era in their mutual toleration, charity and brotherly love, and in their common desire for co-operation in all good work.

"The presence of Gen. Eaton, the head of the U. S. Bureau of Education in the Department of the Interior, was one of the chief satisfactions of this occasion. Miss Carpenter was also a centre of special interest, and was greeted by all, and especially by the colored students, with every mark of respect, gratitude, and admiration."

A GOOD EXAMPLE.

The Trustees of the Cambridge Episcopal Theological School have refused to receive a gift of a hundred thousand dollars from Mr. Nathan Mathews, which was offered to the School on condition that the Board of Trustees should always be composed of a certain number of High Churchmen, a certain number of Low Churchmen, and a certain number of Conservatives. The Trustees refuse to recognize these sectarian distinctions which they say have no place in the standards of their church. We wish that the President and Fellows of Harvard University had taught the same gentleman a similar lesson when he offered them a similar inducement to introduce sectarian distinctions for the first time in distributing the funds of the College among undergraduates. Honor and gratitude are due to rich men who have generously endowed our institutions of learning. But for men who, though eminently rich, are not eminently wise, learned, virtuous, or devout, to attempt to change, in religious matters, the fitting and established usages of a Theological School or a great University, by the sheer force of money, is a thing not favorable to the public morals. We thank the Trustees of the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge for the lesson which they have given, and trust that the example may be followed.