The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-10-13

lowed the spot IN the heart ol "hoio Peo-
pie. In the same precincts lie the remains
of Gen. Paxton, who fell at Charlottesville,
in command of the "Stonewall Brigade" of
young Pendleton, who was on Jackson's staff
till the death of the latter, as well as those
of other young heroes of the late struggle
But, to me, there were other and more tender
attractions in the old cemetery. AS to Its
population, the greater part of the Lexlng-
ton that ] once knew lies there. How great
ly extended and how populous that Getty OF
the deadr And how the names on some
tomb-stones there meet counterpart inscrip-
tions on the tablets of my inmost heart !
Beside those heroes of war and battle, of
whom 1 have spoken, that spot holds the
mortal part of some of Gods choicest SER
wants, such as John F. Caruthers, John b.
Lyle, John W. Paine, and others, whose
names will be illustrious in the annals OF
heaven.
~ 7It-isuto-~he--much-r regretted, whether the
fault of the public institutions in question,
or of the individuals who hold the property,
that private dwellings are springing up on
the hill between the College and the Insti-
tute Either of the institutions has little
enough room, and the day may come when
either of them will need a good deal more.
Indeed I cannot but think that different
locality and more room ought to have been
secured for the Institute when it was rebuilt,
after Hunters vandal torches had left it in
ruins. But this is a matter of judgment in
the non-essentials.. The revival of religion
which went on, in that institution, for some
time before the close of the last session, has
been an interesting feature in its recent his
tory, and so developed itself, in connection
with continued prayer meetings and an in
creased attention to ordinary religious SER
vices, as to give the hope of the most per-
manent good results. And here let me ask
whether Christian people through the land
think of and pray for, in any degree as they
ought, the thousands of our choicest youth
gathered, away from their homes and the
home sanctuaries, in our literary institutions
The annual meeting of the Education As
sociation of Virginia, held at Lexington
during the summer, brought together, as
usual, number of the most eminent teach
ers and literary men of the State, e,-among
whom the eye of spectator would notice
such men as Commodore Maury, Prof Minor,
DR.. B. M. Smith, Prof. Holmes, Gen. Smith,
and the man, Conserved of all observers, +"
who is now as its President, spending the
evening of his days of renown amid the quiet
shades of Washington College. These gath
erings of our learned men may have various
incidental results of good beside any which
may be more direct and obvious; and Vir-
ginia may feel that her educational interests
are in good hands when she has such men to
preside over them as these and many that
might be named
The drought, which will ever make the
summer of 1869 so memorable, reigned with
its fiery skies, over the Valley region, all
the time was there. But it wore withal
an aspect Of fertility and pleasantness, as
compared with some parts Of Eastern Vir.
ginia from which had gone. Rockbridge
cannot boast soil equal tc that of some of
the lower Valley; but having a surface more
varied, she can show country beautifed
by picturesque and beautiful scenery such as
one seldom sees in any part of the world.
Some excursions in the country there gave
me the opportunity of enjoying the charms
of nature in her Chill and dale" beauty, and
of visiting some spots consecrated in the
memories of my early days. One of these
was "Old OXFORD" church, to which | used
sometimes to go, on sacramental occasions,
in the days Of my boyhood, when the tall
HSuio anu oohoiouo Foioo VI pdiooH DdFiu'
son" sounded Gods messages, in his pecu.
liar, solemn tones, within its walls. The old
stone church of that day, with its high pulpit
Of the old style, is now substituted by a
handsome rich building, recently erected, on
the same knoll, with its grove of oaks
Wandering in the old grave yard, such as are
generally attached to the churches in that
region, and looking at tomb stones with some
we'll known names of former years, found
a remarkable monument. 1t is an obelisk
erected by the people of that vicinity, and
bearing the names of mother and five
children who, on stormy night in Decem
Der, 1916, had perished in the snow. The
house was found burnt down, and the grour
stiff short distance from it,-one of the
girls, with one knee bent upon the ground
it is said, and her face turned toward the
dwelling from which they had fed The
panic of the fearful scene probably robbed
them Of the selfpossession which might have
saved their lives; and the returning father
as the inscription on the tombstone states
was the first to find them, the congealed vic
tins of the two elements which had so
strangely combined for their destruction.