The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-07-01

The scene presented in the First Baptist
church on Friday evening was one of
beauty and brilliancyS rarely witnessed
even upon extraordinary occasions. The
church was crowded to its utmost, and no
available space was left without an in
terested spectator. Long before the hour
for exercises Of the eleventh annual COM
mencement to begin the body of the
church was we'll filed with beautiful Ia
dies and their gallant escorts.
The young ladies of the Institute en-
tered the church in line at about half-Dast
s o'clock, and took the seats that had
been reserved for them. In the mean
time Ambrcchts Post Band played q
spirited air.
Upon the stage were the President and
Faculty of the Institute, the trustees, and
several Of our distinguished city divines.
The exercises were opened with prayer
by Rev. Moses D. Hoge, D. D.
DR.. T. G. Jones, President of Richmond
College, was then introduced, and pro-
ceeded to deliver the address before the
Philomathean Society.
DR.. Jones's theme was f" The Human
Mind, its Po1oers and Preogotiues." He
stated that all the spcculations concerning
the mind had left the world in Ignorance
as deep, of what it most desired to know,
as before they were indulged.
g One thinks the mind is air-another fire;
Another, blood difused about the heart
Another saith the elements conspire,
And to its essence each doth give part"
The Doctor remarked that the idea that
the inspiring principle was air was natural
however false. Man ceased to live and
move as. soon as he ceased to breathe. 1t
was poetical as we'll as natural. Like a
spirit the evening wind entered softly
through the lattice into the sick mans
chamber; and like a spirit the fresh
breath of morning waited natures sweet
ness over flowers and fields, and dallied
with the tresses OF the young girls hair
as she takes her early walk along the
dewy path.
The notion that the inspiring principle
was ire arose from striking and beauti-
full analogy. 1t was regarded the source
Of brightness and beauty and the sun, an
orb of fire, was worshipped, and the hu-
man emotions and the excited action and
spirit Of men were regarded as the divine
inspiration Of the sun.
So the blood was plausibly considered
the inspiring principle, because death en-
sued when it flowed out of the body. 1t
was, therefore, the vital principle-it bore
away the spiritual principle, and was it
self the principle.
Glancing at the plausible and poetical
features Of these different theories and the
greater absurdity Of others, DR.. Jones, in
learned and eloquent manner, criticised
several of the most famous, and concluded
that however imc~~f-, ~ i.ao"lcdge vi
tic ,-:-7t. cd ;ts relations to the body, wc
know that it infinitely transccnds all other
sublunary things. As the last, it was the
greatest work Of God.
! The human u!9u w2s more th&n an cil-
tity. 1t was an intelligent agent, inde-
pendent and selI-acting. 1t could scruti-
niZe its own character, acquaint itself
through its senses of things cxtrancous,
and, under the guidance of revelation
ascend to the highest of all knowledge
the conception Of God.
The orator then analysed the functions
of the mind, and the developments of its
action in peculiar and remarkable cases,
including in bis rapid glance reference to
the wonderful inventions, especially of the
present age. Next considering it in its
highest character Of likeness to the creator,
the orator at considerable length discussed
the moral and religious obligations, as we'll
as the manifestations in past ages Of the
invisible link between man and the Deity
through miracles and faith.
The degree Of the epower and usefulness
Of the mind depended upon it's native en-
ergy and its cultivation. DR.. J. then dis
cussed the benefits Of education, and the
practice Of the virtues in the development
of the mind. 1t was only through these
means that it could attain its highest USE
fulness and greatest dignity. He drew an
interesting parallel between the mind Of
man and of woman. Mans mind was su-
perior in strength; womar's in beauty: if
mans be more weighty, woman's was moro
quick. If man execute with more vigor,
woman was richer in resources, and more
fruitful in invention; man was hardest
woman more enduring, and had more for
titude. Extending this branch of the SUBJ
ject, he presented very interesting and
eloquent view of the relations of the sexes.
He concluded that the minds of both were
equally important. "Alone each is de-
ficient; together, both are complete"
Making an eloquent ailusion to the rela-
tions of the sexes as developed in the his
tory of the creation, and glancing at the
brilliant; instances Of the mutual depen-
dence between them, DR.. J. drew his ad-
dress to close by earnestly invoking the
young ladies to cultivate the heart as we'll
as the. mind, and to rely upon divine reli-
gion as the greatest protection and the
chief ornament Of woman's character, !,
without which
4 "She'll be
A lighter thing than vanity
At the conclusion of DR.. Jones's ad-
dress the band was requested to contribute
its portion to the evenings programme,
but to the disappointment of all present,
the dispensers of the concord Of sweet
sounds had disappeared. They had
/" stepped out to see man." and could not
be found; so in the interim the audience
had to amuse itself as best it could.
After some moments, n. A. Sturdivant,
ESQ.,, was introduced, and read the essay
of Miss Mary E. Moon, the subject being
I" Night Brings Out the Stars" The sub
ect of the essay, which was Illustrative of
the uses CT adversely and misfortune il
bringing out the brightest and most beauti-
full traits in the human mind and charac-
ter, was handled most gracefully by its
fair essayist, and its application could not
have been more complete in the space she
gave to it.
'night brings out the stars" so the