College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

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Everett MacDonald, J. Augustus Carson, Joseph Nehemiah Ilillman. Alfred Lorenzo Terrell and our member from Alabama, Carlos Lucius Turnipseed. T firsl two had become celebrated students of velocity, and had spent the las) few years of their lives in trying to increase the speed of a machine to the point when it would leave the earth and henceforth pass through the air. As thej approached the remains of their gasping machine, there was a heated discussion going on. Mac swore repeatedly thai they bad finally discovered the objecl of their study, and that it would be a matter of only a few months before he would be doing just as the birds in the spring time, minus the singing. Yes, sir, he said, I ' ll leave this earthly home and lake m flight afar. Man. he said, real angrj like, didn ' t you notice how we gol from that fence to the place where we stopped there on the ground? I itll you, ii was wonderful; why. we flew ju t as sure as you are a c velocitarian, J Carson looked up at him with a pitying smile and said, 0 thou of little knowlei - sawest thou not how it was done, or hast thou forgotten so soon? Seeing that tl - were just warming up to the subject, I transferred ray attention to the other occu- pants of tin- aforementioned machine. I ' ll. -i ' members of the party — Terrell, Turnipseed and Eillman — hail become renowned evangelists, ami were doing a great work in the world. They were on of their journeys when they had been overtaken by the scientists, ami had b persuaded to join them in their experiment. A- soon as they had gotten together again, there burst from them spontaneously ' , a- it were, the good old hymn, Praise God, from whom all blessings How. As the la-t words of the doxology died away, Brother Alfred earnestly suggested that they should immediately begin work on their former class-mates. For, says he, their work is far too dangerous for them to go thus unprepared. Knowing what was likely to follow, I left for other scenes, hut could not help heaving a heavy sigh that such as these should he allowed to about unwatched. Brooding over these sights, 1 passed on. oblivious of the many interesting things which 1 fain would have seen and enjoyed. I was awakened out of this seeming trance by again hearing the din. the clash, and the sound of hurrying feet, all of which sound.- betokened the presence of another metropolis. Glancing over the hurrying crowd. 1 noticed one who. from the manner in which he met the surging crowd and from the progress he made through it. I knew must have been a man of determination. Attracted by something which seemed familiar about him, I fol- lowed, and soon entered after him into one of the great publishing houses of the country. As he entered the inner sanctum. or office, the editor, a man of weight in the world, and whose ability and influence had commanded respect, arose, and. with a hearty grip and a ring of real pleasure in his voice, greeted the new-comer. A- soon as the friendly greetings were over, th litor continued in a voice in which hope ami Fear seemed blended. And have you brought the manuscript at last? The country is waiting impatiently for the next issue. In answer to this the young man placed a roll of manscript on the desk, and with the remark that he hoped the public would he satisfied, he left the building. The next week this book came out, and the effect was wonderful. It seemed as if it were cast upon a vast ocean, and it wonderful effects seemed to be borne away upon a tide both wild and wide. Its fame spread afar with the most wonderful rapidity. It was talked of amid the I 8 ]

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the other to give and receive the binding vows. .hist at the appointed time the grea.t orchestra began a beautiful wedding march, which seemed to roll in volumes, and tn echo and re-echo among the arches of ih ' building. A door in the rear opened, and a small man robed in his clerical attire entered, just as the wedding procession entered at the front. As they met at the altar I saw all. 1 recognized in tin- minister prepared tn do the work our class President, J. Hubby Lloyd, and in the person before him. who seemed tn he writhing in fear and uncertainty, I recognized our patriarch, Moses Sydnor. ■ Alas! 1 thought, that shi — whoever -In ' ua Imiihl have come tn this ! Next I was wafted along through space, and soon found myself passing along another great thoroughfare of a great metropolis. As 1 passed one of the large law buildings I heard a voice, which rose ami fell with such a peculiar cadence, as it rolled off period after period of oratory, that I was forced tn pause. Where had 1 heard that voice before? It was familiar, yet I was unable tn recall it: so, moved h some hidden impulse, 1 entered the building. 1 beheld a large court-room filled tn overflowing with an intensively attentive audience, and looking in the direction in which every eye was strained, I saw a slight, nervous man expounding the law in such a convincing manner that every eye was fastened upon him. ami every sound was stilled, dust behind this speaker, and in front of the judge ' s desk, was another intellectual looking man. somewhat smaller than the lirst, and on whose face, in spite of tin 1 exertion from which he seemed tn he just recovering, there was a satisfied expression, which seemed tn say as plain as words, I have done a good work ; let me rest. .hist behind the desk, in the judge ' s chair, was a portly looking gentleman, with thinly scattered sandy-white hair. With one final, prolonged plea, which would have excited the emotions of a stone, the speaker ended, and as he and hi.- colleague turned in acknowledge the rounds of applause with which they were greeted, a light Hashed across my memory, ami I recognized my old class-mates. In a few minute- the jury passed in their unanimous verdict, and then the air was filled with shouts of how the great h.w firm of Shawen Counts, in the court of .hi dec Slater ' . Blackiston, had won one of the greatesl victories in the legal Geld of the day. They had convinced a refractory jury that a man is justified in doing the other fellow, and doing him lirst. provided the other fellow will allow it. It was noised abroad as a great precedent in the legal world. Soon the scene was changed; I found myself in the broad, open country, free from the din and the noise of the city. Being weary, 1 lay down upon the grass, ami felt a- though I could lie down like a wearj child and sleep away this life of care, which I had borne and yet must hear. ' That was not to be, however, for soon I heard ;i sound as of a rushing, mighty wind, and looking up, I beheld in the distance a diabolical looking machine, which approached so rapidly that 1 though! it musl be racing with eternity. Just as it go! opposite me, one of the infernal arrangements in front balked, and the thine, suddenly changing its course, flattened out against the fence beside me, while it- six occupant- continued then- journey for some appre- ciable distance beyond the fence. Amazed at the remarkable agility with which they recovered themselves, I looked more closely at these unfortunate wayfarers, and recognized in them, by some peculiar marks and signs, the persons of Washington

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mountains of the North; it was read beneath the groves of the tropical climates ; ii was talked of and enjoyed from the slopes of the Atlantic to the Golden Gate, and still its fame increased. And what was this book, do you ask? Listen to the title, Let Us be United ' by Thomas Peachej Spencer and James William Gossman, published and edited l the Eonorable II. Blankinship. This was a sight that made me thankful that I was permitted to glance into the future. I saw. as the effects of this book, the North and the Smith i t together on a (-(11111111111 field, and eagerly assist each other in removing from the Face of the earth that great, invisible wall, which had tended to keep them apart, and had bred envy and hatred in the hearts of brothers. 1 saw those who had been Northerners and Southerners meeting together in love and friendship, and it made me glad that I was permitted tn see such things, and to know how they were done. As I thought (if the remaining members of this distinguished body of men. ami felt my utter inability ti understand even their present acts. I felt especially ai a loss how to speak of their future doings. Confronted by such a problem as this. I felt a strong need for courage ami inspiration, and in casting about me for something by which I may he helped, my eyes fell upon the sparkling liquid which had thus far done so much for inc. Addressing ' it by endearing terms, I again sought its most comforting influence. No sooner had it passed my lips than my eyes were again opened to the future, and I saw even plainer than before. 1 looked, ami behold, far oil ' in that Southern country which connects the continents of the new world. I saw an immense multi- tude of people of every nationality. It was evident that something was about to take place, such as had never before been seen in tin- world. As I looked 1 beheld a line of richly decorated battleships approach the shore and pass into what appeared a large river. Standing on the bridge of the foremost ship there were four distin- guished looking men on whom the eyes of the multitude seemed fastened. ' The one was the Hon. Jabez Belial ' Terrell, President of these United States of America: the other was Thomas Nero Lawrence, the power behind the throne, the great in- ternational diplomat, and successor to the Hon. John Hay. who led the march id ' the nations. The other two were Julius Nabisco Hubbard and Jabez Tyler, the M ' ieiitist . civil engineers and geniuses of their day. This was the great quartette on which the eyes of the world were fastened, and they were leading the way through, and opening up one of the greatest pieces of engineering work in the world ' s his- tory — the Panama Canal. These were the men who had taken up a work that had baffled men for generations, ami had taken it up with the determination that wins; and now, after the failures of the past, they had finally dug the ditch from ocean to ocean, and had watched the crystal waters blend, and were now initiating a work of which it may well he -aid that it was well done. And who were these great forces who were guiding the progress of the world. and were setting standards by which nations should direct their courses? Who were these men. do you ask, who were carrying on a work which, although difficult and great, was the work for which they had been prepared:- They were the men of the Senior Uass and of the Class of Naughty Five. too. I knew the} could do it, I knew, I knew! Although I fell glad and happy that I had been thus far successful in my