The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1872-08-08
We take the following from the Shreve'
port Telegram:
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH, |
SEWANEE, Tenn. July Is, 1872.

poTe 1ctey|N"'
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH,
SEwANEE, Tenn. July Is, 1872.
Editor Evening Telegram:
AS promised, drop you few lines from
this point, which has, grown to be one OF
great interest to the people Of the South
This high mountain of Middle Tennessee
has upon its summit University now in
operation with an able corps Of professors,
which, in my humble opinion, will expand,
as the necessities of our section demand, into
those grand proportions Hs earliest fathers
earnestly prayed for and ardently worked to
establish upon asure foundation. They have
gone to their graves; but the spirit which
animated them, the profound love of their
own people-thc high appreciation OF edu-
cational advantages within our own borders
their intense love of the pure and conser-
vative teachings of the Church of their duty
they felt imposed upon them, to lay the cor.
ner stone of an institution that would stand
like adamantine wall between the best ele-
meuts of Southern civilization and the tidal
waves of tho restless ocean of sckptical ma
terialism-are all here, humbly represented
by their Successors. Bishops Polk and El-
lott, before they were taken to their final
homes, had completed mission Inaugural
ting this University: which, 1 trust, ceh-
turies hence will keep there memories fresh
in the heartr of their grateful countrymen
of the South. How could their virtuous and
honorable lives be better commemorated than
by the endowment Of Professorship to be
called after their names2 Their design and
that of their associates was to found here a
University with thirty-two colleges, under
the control of the Bishops of the ten dioceeses
Of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas,
Florida and Texas, and such clerical and lay
students as might be elected from their dio:
ceses. Over nine thousand acres Of land on
the top of this moutain, covered with grand
old trees of many varieties, among whose
branches circulates an atmosphere US pure
and delightful as the mind can conceive Of,
and whose wide extended roots arc moistcn:
ed by water that bursts into bold and beau
tiful springs in every nook and valley Of the
mountain, were secured before the war.
The picturesque beauty of the site, the
lofty height of the elevated plateau, the
splendid views Of the beautiful valley below,
the distilled and purified air exhilerates one
to that point of appreciatiug how "the
dwellers upon the mountains hook down
with contempt upon ethe dSellers of the
plains" This beautiful site is now dotted
with neat cottages, handsome dwellings and
tasteful University. buildings. A small lsvil-
lage of traderssand workmen has sprung up
near the:railroad depot, and am told the
population on the domain Of the University
already humberssabout five hundred exclu-
sive ofstudents. The place is readily acces-
sible from the Nashville and Chattanoc gu
Railroad, by railroad called the Tennessee
Coal and Railroad Company, which, starting
at Cowan, in a valley Gtself one thousand
feet above the sea- climbs the mountain by
devious path of nine miles, and lands the
traveller at Sewance depot upon the grounds
Of the University, within half mile Of the
chapel and houses of entertainment.
The society here is that of the real ole
planters life OF the South. You meet none
but accomplished ladies and refined gentle
men, whose poverty has put them to worl
for living, but from whom neither time no
misfortune can take that charm Of graceful
and easy manner, which I have alway
thought ;yqs ono Of the peculiar ehsracteris
tics Of tho Southern gentry: All have .ae
cepted the situation with. calm resignation
!, l believe one might be here a long time, an'
without hearing word uttered against tn
North az sls F4deral Government, althoug
all arc Southcruors, and all hqye heag sr9a
sufferers in heart and fortune by the disaster