The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-24

a
Brother" in the October Aaantic,-- ~ VI
The most hopeful sign in the negro is his
aOXiey to have bls children educated. The two
or three hundred boys and girls whom used to /
see around the Bureau school-house-attiredl
with decency which bad straine to the utmost
the slender parental purse, III spared from the
hard labor necessary TO support their families,
glee nj aud noisy over their uncheons of col d
roasted sweet potate-were proofs that the race
has a chance In the future. Many a sorely-
pincbed woman, a widow, or deserted by her
husband would not let her boy go out to
service, "bekase l wants him to have some
schooln.' One OF the elder girls, remarkably
handsome octorOon, with Gr-cian features aud
chestnut hair, attended recitations in the morn
ing, and worked ather trade of dressmaking In
the AFTERNOON. There were some grown men
| who came 10 the ev,ning to wrestle, rather
hopelessly than other wise. with the depravities
OF our English spelling. Que OF them, q gray
headed pc son with round spectace5, bent on
| qualifying himself for the ministry, was very
amusing with his stereotyped remark, when
| corrected of a mistake, al specs likely you
may be right, num-
Ii is a mooted point whether colored children
| are as quick at learning as white children. l
| should say not; certainly those whom / saw
could not COMPARE with the Caucasian young
| ser of ten or twelve, who is 'tacking"
! Frerch, German, and Lain; they are Inferior
| to hun not only IN knowledge, but IN the
facility of acquisition. In their favor it must
| be renem bered that they lack the forcing ee-
ments OF hghly educated competition and of
a refined nome influence. white lad gets
| much b okishness and many advanced ideas
from the oaily converse of his family. More
over, III cestral intelligence, trained through
| generations of study, must tell, even though
the rival thinking machines may be naturally
! OF the same caIbre. l am convinced that the
negro as he is, no matter how educated, is not
the mental equal OF the European. Whether
he is not man, but merely, a. "Ariel" and DR..
Cartwrieht would have us believe, "a living
| creature" Is quite another question, and of so
lutte practical importance that no wonder
Governor Perry has written q political letter
about 1t. Human or not, there he is in our
| midst, four millions strong; and IL he is not
educated mentally and morally, he will make
| us trouble.
What is the negros social status aud what is
1t to be? was amused one Sunday morning by
little tableau which presented itself at the
front door OF my hotel. The Bureau Superin-
tendent OF Education having arrived on an in
spectiDg tour, my venerable friend Hopkins had
called 10 take him to church, and was waiting
| in Lis meek fashion under the portico, not
| choosing TO iDtrude upon the august interior of
the establishment. Having lately been ordained,
| and concelvlug himself entitled to the insignia
| of his profession, he had put on a white neck
| cloth, which of course contrasted brilliantly
with his black face and clothing. In the door
way stood q citizen, q respectable and kindly
man, eXcellently well reconstructed too, and
with as few Of the Southern prejudices as one
could have in GreenVille. But he was lost in
wonder at this novel spectacle; he had smile
| OF nirgled curiosity and amusement on his face
| to which ] cannot do justice; he seemed to be
| admitting that here was indeed new and most
| COlnlcal era IN human history. A nlggcr IN
regular clerical ralment was evidently phe-
nomenon which his Imagination never could
have depicted, and which fact alone-so much
stranger than iction-could have brought home
to him as possibility. Whether he believes at
this day that he actually did see Hopkins in
black coat and white crayat Is more than
doubtful.
Not for generations will the respectable whites
OF the south, any more than those OF the North.
accept the negroes as their social equals That
pride of race which has MARI ed all distinguished
peoples,,whch caused the Greeks to style even
the wealthy Persiaus and Egyptians barbi-
| r1ans-Whch made the Romans refuse for ages
the boon of citizenship to other Itallans-which
| led the Semitic Jew to scorn the Hamltic Ca
| naante, and leads the Arian to scorn the Jew
| that sentiment which, more than anything else,
has created nationality aud patriotism-has
among us Ietreated to the family, but 1t guards
| this last stronghold with jealous care. Whether
5f ShHs% 6s ~ or
long be repulsed. The acceptance of the negro
as the social equal of the white in our country
dates go far into the future that, practically
speaking, we may consider it as never to be,
and SO cease, concerning ourselves about it.
Barring the oregs of our population, as, for
| instance the poor white trash of the South, the
question interests no one now alive.
Our Young folks is up TO its usual standard of
excellence. In the present. number Or.
Hay es' 'Story of Arctic Life and Adventure
is concluded. "The White Woods of Ghent" is
an interesting account of Van Arteveldes
celebrated contest against the feudal lords of
Flanders. HarrysFenn's design OF "Harvesting,b
which is given as the frontispiece, is very good.
The RiUerSide Magazine presents an attractive
table of contents. The third chapter of the story
of "a Year Among the Indaus,' by Martha NJ
Thomas, will please the boys. The illustrations
by Mir. Berstadt, however, are not particularly
fine. 1t is announced that Hans Christian
Andersen has been engaged as a regular con-
tributor to this magazine. This will be good
news to grown people as well as the youngsters.
Arthw's Home Magazine has something to
suit every one in the home circle, old aud
Young stories, poetry, fashion articles etc.
H The Children's Hour contains pleasant
stories, news, etc., suited to the capacity of
young children. The October number of this
magazine Is a very good one.
Sloan's Architectural ReuieW for August has a
number of valuable practical articles, such as
"Stained Glass; by John Gibson; "Fresco
Painting, " by Charles Bremer; practical Car
pentry aud Joinery,n by the Editor; Ventilation
and Heating" by Lewis Leeds. The
work is handsomely printed and illustrated, and
it ought in great measure to supersede the
English publications which our architects and
builders have been obliged heretofore to rely
upon tor current information about matters
concerning their profession.