The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1872-06-20
sTAUNTON, VIRGINIA. THURSDAY. JUNE 20, 1872

From the Petersburg Index-B request
COMMENCEMENT GLORIES OF TOPLOFr
ICAL COLLEGE.
The commencement exercises of that mos
renowned of al! schools, Toploftical College
broke loose on Sunday, June 18th, 1871
! 'rhe first flash Of glory came in the form o
an annual sermon, delivered in front of tn
Theological Society, by the Rev P. Theodor
Swelhead, D. d., of Golden Swamp. Hi
theme was the Relations between Cosmogo
ny and Spiritualism, y and he handled twill
surperlative sublimity There was in tn
discourse wealth Of beauty, gesture, clio
| qucnce, pcrspiration, and voc nansica, tina
was absolutely overwhelming. We do no
hesitate to give it as our strong religious con
viction that it was the grandest sermon eve
preached. Apollos, in his prime, could no
have done half 50 well, and as for Paul
had he heard it, we dare say he would hav'
bIushed and quit the ministry. 1t woule
have been an unworthy compliment to pro
uounce Dr. Swellhead' 5 sermon perfect. Per
feet it was, and much more. 1t was pluper
feet
z Ga Monday we had second cargo Of glory
thrust upon US That was the, day which
brought us the privilege of slipping the hon
ey of defamation from the lips of the fresh
men. 1t was an occasion Immortality great.
Sach glorious defamation was never heard
before, and without any tsish to hurt the feel
ings of coming posterity, we candidly assert
~. o,:r;or %hof eroh dooo ~, y ..,;I ,,oror
to the end Of time, be heard again. There
were fourteen speakers-all noble-looking,
with genius stamped on their foreheads, with
eloquence and slight moustsches on their lips,
and very handsome variety of paper collars
on their necks. They all did better than
their friends desired, but the boy who bore off
the palm Of victory end was afterwards in
troduced to Judge Snibbs and warmly re.
commended by him, was Marcus p Swell.
He will rise to cminence. In fact, he is en-
inent now. We never met grandcr and
more excellent boy than he is, and reluctant
as we are to speak so favorably of an OWE
brother Of our wife, still we must say that he
is perfect glory Of boy, and on this occa-
sion be beat all.
On Tuesday we had the address before the
literary societies, by the most wonderful and
scholarly of all men of this Or any other age.
tits not necessary to say that our reference
is 70 Cacocthes Loquend;. LII. D., formerly
professor in Hifaiute University, but now the
editor Of the Only Monthly.
This was the "only really literary address
We ever heard" TWAS truly wonderful
Huge in conception, gigantic 10 tho: III adj
mirahlc in structure, faultless in dictation,
aud eternal (nearly) in duration, it was a
effort. Great as it was beautiful, it
was, we really think, about as beautiful as it
was great.
His subject was "Thc Internal Bias of Ex-
ternal Jurisprudence, and was discussed
from strictly philosophical standpoint. 1t
was the greatest address We ever heard, and
we wept four times, while he was speaking,
for those who were not present.
AT night, therc-was public debate between
Mr.. Cleopas Puff, Of the ''Hesperian Society,"
aud Mr.. Victorious Whit, of the "Columbian
Society" The question Was: "Was Romu-
lus and Remus the Mother Of the Wolf ?"
Such btrsts of eioduencc we aever heard.
Those young men are the hope Of America.
Mr.. Puff's closing allusion to the feelings Of
a mother for its offspring brought down the
tiun that Romulus and Remus was the moth
er of the wolf.
On Wednesday we had the alumni Grafton
by Furiosus Bombasticus, Esq. Mr.. B. is
one Of the rising ALUMNI of our college aud o
lawyer of great promise. His address was
triumphant success, splendid 10 thought,
brilliant in ornament, and fine in delivery
We have been hearing alumni addresses con-
stantly from the day of our birth, but this
was, by far, the most majestic and peerless
thing Of the sort we have ever crossed.
Wednesday night was the richest and
sweetest of this great feast. We consider it
was the highest point on the road Of our bles-
sed existence. It. was Commencement night.
The principal men of the State-and we may
say, Of the world. were there. Of the ladies
we know not what to say. So gorgeously
and sparingly attired, so gentle, SO much more
intelligent than other females, and so forth,
that language respectfully declines toattempt
4 description ofthem, The Cornet Band ad-
ded Inspiration by blowing for us the most
enchanting music that mortal ear ever heard.
1t almost breaks our heart to omit the pro-
grsmme of exercises, but we must. There
we're nineteen graduates thirteen of whom
made wonderfully fine speeches. The Latin
and Greek speeches were superb, and deeply
moved the audience. The German Essay
was thrillingly beautiful, and made everybody
cry.
Mr.. Browns Essay on "Hope" was orig
iual, aud very Beneficial to persons Of droop-
ing mind. Mr.. Orlando Gnash spoke on
.sEffort," aud it was great effort to hear him.
Mr.. Vivian Blow was Valedictorian. lie
said several times it was painful to say "good-
bye,'' but he showed his willingness to sacri-
ice his feelings BY bidding US goodbye"
about twenty-one or two times. He wept
slightly at the close of his remarks, and left
for Texas next morning.
The degree of A. B was. co9fcrred on six; ;
that of B. A on seven. The degree Of A. NJ.
was given to nine, and that Of NJ. A. to two
The D. D. was conferred on Rev. Junius
Buster. and Ill. D. on Judge 2. A. Push.
Buster is we'll worthy of this honor, for he
sent eight or nine students to this institution
last fall. So is Judge Push, for he is think
ing Of giving $4,000 to the endowment fund
Of thc college.
At the close of the evening the dsting-
uished president gave supper, which was
largely attended by about thirty persons.
Thus ended an occasion which, in point OF
brilliancy, enjoyment, and glory, was never