The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-06-19
MARTIN COLLEGE.
Graduating Exercises and Closing
Incidents.


I he last evening Thursday of
the weeks Commencement at Mar
tin College brought larger audi
ence than ever, literally jamming
the spacious hail. The first eve
nings were so excessively warm that
the audiences suffered much, but on
Thursday evening breeze was stir
ring and made the atmosphere more
endurable but still unpleasantly
warm. The scene upon the stage
was brilliant and the vast audience
of richly attired ladies and gents
demonstrated the important interest
felt. The exercises were opened
with an impressive prayer by Rev.
n. NJ. Long, after which the Gradu-
atiDg class sang a rich chorus. The.
audience was furnished with ele-
gantly printed programs gotten up
by the CITIZENS artistic printer,
when the regular graduating exer
cises began with the
Salutatory-Miss FLORENCE IRVINE,
of Maury county.
Essay-Memory's Halls-Miss ELLA
WILLIAMSON, of Pulaski.
Essay-Lights and Shadows-Miss
LULU SMITH, OF Giles county.
Essay-A Parody Miss MINNIE WEST
MoRELAND, of Florence, Ala.
Essay-Knowledge Our Richest Her
itage-Miss ANNA HARRISON, Pulaski.
Essay-What Shall be Our Destiny?
Miss MAY BUFORD, of Buford's Sta.
Essay-Night Brings Out the stars
Miss MARY MCCOY, of Bunker Hill.
Essay-A Seniors Soliloquy-Miss
IDA q. PITTS, of Nashville.
Valedictory-MissE ELLA ABERNATHY,
of Pulaski.
We shall not attempt to intimate
what either of the young ladies
said, nor shall we particularize. We
never saw a finer looking gradua-
ting class, nor did we ever hear bet
ter graduating essays, taken as a
whole. All of them had exquisite
passages and all were well written
and splendidly read. Two of them
provoked considerable mirth, and
all received all attention possible to
an audience so situated. After Miss
Williamson's essay, Miss Minnie
Brown rendered the piano solo,
"Harp at Midnight" to tie great
delight of music lovers. She per-
forms with most extraordinary skill
for one of such tender years.
After Miss Buford's essay, a
grand quartette was sung by Misses
Dickerson and Buford, Messrs. Ezell
and Carter, followed by the Address
to the Graduating Class by Hon. Z.
I. Taliaferro. This was a very fine
paper and delivered with that COM
handing oratorical impressiveness
peculiar to this cultivated and gift
ed gentleman. His reference to
Southern society before and since
the war, and the effect of the
change upon women of the South,
was profound and philosophical,
and all his ideas and conclusions
were couched in beautiful language
and drawn to convincing points.
Alter Miss McCOy's essay, Miss
Minnie Brown and Mrs. Griffith ex-
ecuted a brilliant instrumental duet,
Mermaid Song" and following the
ValedIctory, "Come where the Lilies
Bloom" vocal quartette, by Misses
Buford and Dickerson and Messrs.
Ezell and Regenold.
Here Miss Jeffie Dickerson rem
dered a grand piano solo which
great applause and proved
her remarkable efficiency.
Lieut.. G. G. Rogers on behalf of
Miss Lizzie d. Alternately presented
to the Trustees for use of the Col
lege sized crayon portrait of
ex-Gov. Jno. G. Brown-a perfect
likeness drawn and shaded with di
vinest skill. Lieut.. Rogers re
marks were concinnous and beauti
full, praising the skill of the fair ar
fist and the appropriateness of the
portrait of the President of the
Board of Trustees to adorn the
walls of the College.
A pyramid of flowers was visible
all evening upon the stage, and at
this juncture Mr.. Scion f. Rose,
Jr., appeared before the young lady
graduates and in a handsome speech
and beautiful manner separated the
pyramid into elegant bouquets and
presented them to each of the
young ladies. Mr.. Harry L. Nc
Cord accepted them on behalf of
the ladies in a neatly conceived
speech of thanks.
Hon. Il. w. Ewing presented with
remarks a silver medal
to each of the following young la
dies, the first two awarded by Prof
j ones and the last by Miss Burgess:
To Miss Florence H. Irvine and
to Miss Hortense Steele for supe
riority in penmanship.
To Miss Ida G. Pitts for deport-
ment, attendance and general schol
arship-quite distinction.
During the week examination
prizes had been offered by different
persons in several classes and com
mittees decided the matters as they
occurred. Upon this evening the
awards were made known IN the fol
lowing presentations publicly made
by Col. S. E. Rose in his peculiar
elegance of style and dIction:
To Miss Beulah Sumpter-Botany-
Goldsmith's Works.
To Miss Martha Adams-Latln-Sa
cred Gleanings, offered by Rev. I. j.
Duncan.
To Miss Ella bernathy-Physiolog
Milton, by DIR. Sumpter.
To the same lady-Shaksperian Read
ng-Shakspeare's Complete Works, by
Mr.. Taliaferro.
To Miss Mary McCoy-Astronom
Wordsworth, by Prof. Jones.
To Miss Lulu Smith-Algebra--b
Mr.. Childers.
Misses Lizzie Bunch, Laura
Smithson and Lizzie Wilkes each
received a prize for excellence in
English grammar, but for reasons
they were presented privately.
This part of the proceedings was
impromptu and suggested only By
the extraordinary manner in which
the examinations we're conducted.
Prof Jones here proceeded to
present to the Young lady gradu