Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1871-06-23

with fields of waving grain and charming
groves, magnificent forests of oaks of i'm
mense size, towering mountains clothed will
verdure to the very SUBMITS, with here ant
there trout stream.
Arrived at Stanton at I p. m. Coache
carried us to the Virginia Hotel, the best il
the place The Mayor and city officials re
ceived us with speeches, &C.; but jus
about that time supper was the most impor
tant call, and to which we did ample justice
In the evening, we visited three female in
stitutes !; first went to the Wesleyan lnsti
tute, where our leader, Mr.. Hotchkiss, in
troduced us to his daug hter, Miss. Ollie
Hotchkiss, a very pretty young lady; We
were entertained by vocal and instrumental.
music OF very high order; that old song
Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming,
never was executed bettcr-we all wanted
to come to our sorrow Our call was necessa-
rily short Next went to the Virginia, a
similar institution; here we found not only
The nutils .hnt-a&srge number # helaaies
OF sotaGalon tiers was music in abundance.
A recitation of Shamus O'Brien by one OF
the Professors nearly equalled Aft. Bur-
nett's; It young lady from New Orleans,
Miss Marietta Santini, gave us specimen
of her elocutionary powers on piece called
1.-The Muses." and the manner in which it
was delivered would have done credit to an
older person here again we had to leave
with regrets. Our last visit was to the Au-
gusta, the larger of the three here the en-
tertainment was quite similar to the others ;
the instrumental duets and quartetts were
very fine, and without exception, we all
wished to possess ''Nobody's child" New
er before had it been the fortune of us poor
mortals to behold so much beauty it was a
great feast Nearly, if not quite all Of our
young men lost their hearts, and I am
afraid several Of the married ones had theirs
stirred in rather lively manner Our Wis
its to the three Staunton Institutes will ever
be remembered.
Coaches having been provided for us, the
next morning we visited the State Lunatic
Asylum, founded in 1926. It is the larg-
est in the State; there are about $50 pa
TENTS in the house at present; everything is
in the most perfect order, and the most
scrupulous neatness pervades the whole
building. rejecting great credit on the man
ayers and superintendent. After going
through and on top Of the building, we were
invited to partake Of some refreshments,
which were served from beautifully deco
rated table, in the true Virginia style; we
then left the Asylum with kind invitation
to "call again, gentlemen" We were driven
to the National Cemetery, one mile east Of
Staunton; TAB U. S. soldiers are buried
here. From the Cemetery we went to the
Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute. The ex-
ercises took place in the chapel we were
greeted on our entrance by the music of a
band. The Institute was founded in
1889; there are 80 deaf and dumb and 35
blind pupils, and II teachers it is impos-
siblc to describe ell we saw here-sufice it
to say we were pleased we never thought
it possible to arrive at such state of per.
lection in teaching the mute and the blind
! some oe the singing b. the blind girls vas
truly wonderful, and blind colored boy
will soon rival Blind Tom in instrumental
music; here we were invited to partake Of
some refreshments one of our party made
short speech, thanking the officers and
teachers, which was interpreted as fast as
spoken. Just as we were leaving Stauntor
we received an invitation to visit the Yves
leyan Institute again on Monday evening,
to 'come early and stay late" which very
kind Invitation had to be declined, to the
lasting sorrow of all.
The Broczport IN. " Republic, Gre
publican) after giving general description
of our lands, section, institutions &c
says:
Staunton, like other Virginia cities, bear
marks Of dilapidation. Its dingy buildings
broken and deca3ed sidewalks and ston,
streets would not long continue if a prope
public spirit existed"
From the Repository d; Messenger (Dena
ocraD Canamdaigua, N. Y.
We crossed the Blue Ridge and reache,
Staunton about 7 p. M, having passe,
through section Of country of unsurpassed
beauty, fertility and loneliness. The Git
of Stanton is situated in the Upper Shen
andoah Valley, than which richer Or NOR
pleasant one is no" here to be found. Mead
ows, orchards, vineyards end cultivate,
fields beautify the scene, while the slopin,
hills clothed in rich verdure add their charm
to the view. It is probably the most pre-
ductive valley in the State, and from it
abundant products was called the "granar
Of the Ccnfederacy." Through this vale
the contending armies ranged until it wa
completely devastated, from which it has b
no means yet recovered.
Staunton is one of the oldest cities in the
State, numbering nearly hundred years
1t has a population Of about 5000, who ar
noted for their intelligence, refinement, hos
pitality and enterprise. Their schools
churches and public institutions are not on
ly numerous, but of the best in the country
and her people are among the most intel
ligent and refined.
On arriving at Stanton we were eseorte
to the Virginia Hotel, where ample prepa'
ations had been made for the accommod:
of the whole party. A reception, the mos
cordial and kind, greeted u.s. Mayor Tror
rendered the Inequalities Of the city, and il
troduced Hon. J. B. Baldwin, who in th
most cordial manner in behalf of the citizen
welcomed us to their city, pledging the be'
endeavors of the committee to make on
stay as agreeable and profitable as possible
He said that such visits as this were impo
tant and profitable, and could not but (
productive Of good to the people Of both Sc
TONS He was replied to by Mr.. Selkreg
! in bis usual forcihlc and happy manner
The party then partook of supper.
After supper invitations were accepted