The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-06-30
COMMENCEMENT -.
WEEK UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Celebration of The Washington So.
ciety, June %, 1869.

| ciety. June Is, 1903.
Another year has rolled around, and we
are again in the midst OF commence
ment week. at the University of Virginia.
Arriving by the western train yesterday
morning, your correspondent was soon made
to feel the influences of the occasion. The
crowds of young men Mt the cars, the arl'l-
val of ladies from distance, the hurried
| steps of anxious committeeman, the new
pin " look of everything about the pre-
mises-all hetokened that another session
of cur grand old University is drawing to a
close and the festivities Of the commence
ment fairly begun. But when the train
from Richmond arrived with the Blues
Band from Baltimore, and crowds OF stu
dents gathered around to see the new arri-
walls and exchange cheers with those
| aboard, we had TO lingering doubt that
:" commencement " had fully come.
Fortunately, We had not to stand three
hours in the sun to-day to witness the eXer
cises of the q Ugly Club" Their supreme
uglinesses y have wisely concluded that
though
A little nonsense now and then
| Is relished by the best of men,
| too much of it surfeits, and that it Is best
not to exhibit their charms too often so we
have no "Ugly Club" celebration at all
this year. But tonight had been, rs usual,
! set apart Tor the
WASHINGTON SOCIETY CELEBRATION.
At an early hour the people begun to
crowd in until the hall was filed (cvcn
most of the seats reserved for the Societies
H.: /, inlnpl " brilliant
assembly; and though we have seen many
such occasions, we can truly say that we
lave never seen more beautiful women or
handsomer men. The hul was beautifully
decorated with flowers, evergreen wreaths,
ivy creeping up the pillars, &c. Over tho
stand was an arch, on which was inscribed
! in gilt letters the motto Of the Society
. Q1tGn .tlucttlS direrSi, gum nldSe con-
juncti' After several false alarms, the
Societies, and then the Faculty, Visitors,
orators, &C., marched in under the conduct
of the malshals, and were greeted with
vociicrous applause and loud cheers.
Alter prayer by Rev. Mr.. Tinsley, chap
lain OF the Uniyersity-and, by the way, the
bellies and bcaux might cease talking just
for two minutes during praycr-the prcsi-
dent of the Society, Mr.. S. T. Philips, OF
Staunton, extended to tie audience Il cor
dial greeting, and gracefully introduced as
orator of the occasion Mr.. William Mar
shall, Of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
He alluded to tie fact that this was the
twenty first anniversary of the Washington
Society, eulogized the representatives Of the
Society who had preceded him, spoke feel
ingly of the old members, and easily intro
duced as his subject 4" I0ices from tie
Empire OF Decay"
He proposed to speak first Of men as
united into nations, and then Of individuals.
lie traced the origin, riIc, and glory Of
Greece as eliminating under Periclcs, and
sketched its gradual decay until the last
CLEAN of Grecian glory was extinguished in
Byzantium's tomb" He then cited, as l.
Illustrations OF his theme, Rome, Switzerland,
Ireland Poland, and our southern land.
He then turned to gather from the moul
dering records Of the past-records which
are now nearly buried by the dust of ages
the names of few men of whom it may lie
we'll said they were not born TO die" AS
examples Of these, he cited Demosthenes,
Cicero, Plato, Thelnistocles, Alexander the
Great, Napoleon, Milton, and Homer. He
cited the case of those who have not made
their mark. and argued against the idea that
these were predeStined to their lot, and TO
prove that :: man is the architect Of his own
fortunes"
From all he had said, the lesson he would
draw should be simply this: . Your future
is in your own hands. YEA there's coming
a day when each man shall he weighed with
his deeds in the uncrring scales Of Justice.
and as his standard is correct, or as he is
found wanting, will he inherit an abode in
eternal realms OF glory, or be doomed to re-
gions Of everlasting torture. Sweet voices
from the Empire OF Decay bid me say the
result is in your own keeping. II this will
have no effect upon you'll the expert
ence and history of so many will not incitc
you to action-then look around you and
behold the ashes of your lost country's
glory. Veal by the memory OF our braves,
by the love you bear for the dear ones at
home, and by the hope you have Of flu
ture reputation, beg you, l implore
you, beseech you, strike while YOU may,
and ere it is too late. The golden moment,
like the leahet upon the river, is one mo-
ment in your reach and then forever gone.
Psuse-yea, pause tonight, and determine
that with the rising of ro-morrow's sun-
yea, ere the setting OF this nights moon
your minds viii be bent on n glorious ca
reer, and, my word for it, your names shall
be whispered amid the vaulted chambers OF
the empire of Decay, and shall be echoed
adown the pale corridors of the future until
the cedars OF Lebanon and the laurel-clad
bowers of Damascus shall breathe respon-
sive anthems of praise 10 your memory"
He here pronounced glowing eulogy on
g fair ladies'" which made the sweet erea-
lures stop talking and listen for the time,
and which tof course) was greeted with
vociferous applause BY "the boys He
1 then addressed few earnest words to the
Jefferson Society, congratulating them on
their prosperity, and assuring them that
"the Wash" had no jealousy towards them.
but would ever rejoice in their success. lie
then turned to his fellow-members of the
Washington Society, recapitulated what ne
had said, exhorted them to learn the lessons
thus taught and concluded as follows:
{" Had l the power, would erect upon the
II II i l.