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Laying the Corner Stone of the University of the South.
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The Nashville Republican Banner, of the 13th inst., brings us a full and interesting account of the solemn ceremony of the laying the corner stone of the University of the South, on the 10th, which account we condense.
The day was very fine. University Place, the site of the institution, on Cumberland Mountain, was the centre to which a great concourse of people converged. The Sewanee Railway Company had made every preparation for the transportation of passengers, and delegated their agent to take charge of the passengers from Cowan to University Place. The accommodations for the entertainment of visitors was all that, and even more than could have been anticipated. A large number of ladies were among those present.
At 11 o'clock A. M. the procession, consisting of the Board of Trustees of the University, persons specially invited to take part in the ceremonies, clergymen and citizens, was formed, and moved off through the forest four abreast, and on arriving at the site, the visitors and citizens opened ranks, and the bishops and clergymen, clad in white surplices, the architects, choir and band, passed through into the palisaded enclosure, where the corner stone was to be laid, and formed a circle round it. The ladies were then all invited within the enclosure, and the band struck up "Hail Columbia;" after which the Rt. Rev. the Bishop (Otey) of Tennessee, began the services by giving out the Psalm: "With one consent," &c., which was sung by the choir, to the tune of "Old Hundred." Rt. Rev. the Bishop (Rutledge) of Florida then read appropriate selections from the Holy Scriptures; after which Rt. Rev. the Bishop (Atkinson) of North Carolina delivered the following exhortation:
Christian Brethren, Friends and FellowCitizens--It is decent, and agreeable to the precepts of Holy Scripture, that in all our undertakings, we should beseech Almighty God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, to direct us with His most gracious favor, and further us with His continual help. Especially, therefore, when we are gathered together to lay the foundation of a house which is to be erected to His honor, and consecrated to the promotion of true religion, virtue and learning among men, let us humbly ask the forgiveness of our sins, and implore his merciful protection and blessings.
Rt. Rev. the Bishop (Cobbs) of Alabama then offered several of the beautiful and comprehensive collects of the Episcopal Church; the 190th Psalm of David was sung; and the Rt. Rev. the Bishop (Elliott) of Georgia, announced the following as being the deposits in the corner stone:
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world may be so peacefully ordered by thy governance that thy church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
These interesting services over, cam {blank} ner Seven rows of tables were spread the entire length of the building, and another one on a raised platform across the hall, at one end, for the bishops, the speakers and the ladies. The dinner was excellent, and there seemed a profusion of everything. Provision was made to seat 500 persons at one time, but only 300 were present, many being entertained at the neighboring cottages. The band was playing during the dinner, and in the intervals between the speeches which followed in the afternoon. When the dinner was finished, the guests still retaining their seats, Bishop Otey arose and said:
I feel peculiar pleasure in introducing to you a distinguished fellow citizen, whose labors in the cause of science have crowned his name with honor throughout the world, and made him, in a measure, the property of nations. The winds of Heaven and the waves of the sea have, by his researches, been made tributary to increase the facilities of trade to every land and on every sea where commerce spreads her sails. I announce to you the name of Commander Mathew Fontaine Maury.
Lieut. Maury addressed the audience briefly, but eloquently, and was greeted with applause as he continued. Speeches were also made by Rev. F. A. P. Barnard, President of the University of Mississippi, who has consecrated his talents and devoted the earnest labors of his whole life to the development of the true principles of education, and by Bishop Smith, of Kentucky, and the Hon. John M. Bright, of Fayetteville.
The visitors and guests were all taken care of for the night by the attentive Committee of Arrangements, and rooms and comfortable couches were assigned to all. And thus (says the Banner) passed off the day, harmoniously and delightfully, and to the entire satisfaction of all interested. The arrangements altogether were admirable, and lasting credit is due to the efficient management for the agreeable manner with which they prepared for, and received the visitors. The Executive Committee spared neither pains nor expense in furnishing supplies for the occasion, and we are happy to be enabled to state that their efforts were crowned with success. Most of the visitors returned to their homes the next morning, delighted with their excursion, and with the beginning of an undertaking, the most important ever inaugurated in the South, and from which incalculable advantages may be derived by the Southern people.
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