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TRI-WEEKLY MERCURY.
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1860.
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UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH.
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The Corner Stone Laid--The Work of Building Commenced--The Crowd-The Ceremonies--The Entertainment-The Site: Its Peculiarities and Advantages.
[Coreespondence of the Nashville Union and American.]
UNIVERSITY PLACE, October 10, 1860.
Arrived upon the top of the mountain, a drive of a mile brought us to University Place, where a number of summer residences have already been erected; among which I recollect those of Bishops Otey and Polk. Here we found a very large number of people collected from the surrounding country, together with quite a number from the other Southern States. Every visitor was surprised and delighted to find the extensive and complete preparations that had been made for the occasion. Everything that foresight could suggest seemed to have been done to render all who were here to-day comfortable. A large shed one hundred and fifty feet long and one hundred feet wide, had been erected, with seats prepared capable of accommodating three thousand persons, and a platform from which the orator of the day was to address the people. Another shed was erected, under which was placed tables sufficient to accommodate two thousand persons.
The number in attendance was variously estimated at from 2500 to 5000, among whom were many distinguished gentlemen connected with the Protestant Episcopal Church. There were nine Bishops and a large number of the clergy and laity. At about 11 o'clock a procession was formed near the office, under the direction of Maj. A. M. Rutledge, as Chief Marshal, in which a large portion of those present participated, in the following order:
Horn's Silver Band. Citizens of Franklin and Counties adjacent. Invited Guests. Architects. Ministers of the Gospel. Presidents of Colleges and Professors. The Ladies. The Board of Trustees. The Orator of the Day and other Speakers. The Bishops, in the order of seniority.
The procession then moved on throogh 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. James H. Otey, Bishop of Tennessee, began the services by giving out the Psalm: "With one consent," etc., which was sung by the choir, with instrumental accompaniment by the band. The following sentences from the Scriptures were then recited by Bishop Rutledge, of Florida.
"It is but lost labor that ye haste to rise up early, and so late take rest, and eat the bread of carefulness."--Ps. cxxvil., 3.
"Except the Lord build the house, their labor is but lost that build it."--verse 1.
"Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."--verse 2.
"Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth."--Deut. viil. 18.
"Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee."--vl. 17.
"Thou shalt diligently teach them unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest in the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."--vl. 7.
"This commandment have we from God, that he who loveth God, loveth his brother also."--1 John, iv. 21.
"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments."--1 John. v. 2.
"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.--1 John, v. 3.
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"A corner-stone is that which unites the walls and buildings, and may symbolize strength and stability--the union of the intellectual and spiritual nature of man--the emblem of Christ--the sure and tried corner-stone--the wisdom of God and the power of God!"
Then striking the stone three times with a gavel, he said:
"In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity! Father! Son! and Holy Ghost! Three Persons-one God, Blessed forever more, Amen.
"I, Leonidas Polk, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Louisiana, on the 10th day of October, and in the year of Grace, 1860, do lay this corner stone of an edifice to be here erected, as the principal building of the University of the South, and institution established by the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Dioceses of Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, for the cultivation of true religion, learning and virtue, that thereby God may be glorified, and the happiness of man be advanced.
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is laid, which is Jesus Christ; the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, God over all, blessed forever, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins; for there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."
The choir then chanted the "Benidicite," with instrumental accompaniment, after which the procession was re-formed and marched to the place prepared for the delivery of the address of the Hon. John S. Preston, the orator of the day. Upon the platform were seated the Bishops and Trustees of the University, the Hon. John S. Preston, of South Carolina, and Lieut. M. F. Maury, of Washington. The seats immediately in front of the platform were occupied by a brilliant array of ladies, who graced the occasion with their presence. Most of the remaining seats were occupied by gentlemen. The audience having been seated, and quiet restored, Bishop Otey, of Tennessee, advanced and said:
Brethren and Fellow-Citizens: I have the honor of announcing to you as the Orator of the day, a name--clarum et venerabile--a name illustrious in the annals of our country, and in this instance designated a gentleman who has always shown himself zealous and liberal in promoting the interest of all institutions designed for the honor of our country and the welfare of mankind. I introduce to you the Hon. John S. Preston, of South Carolina.
Col. Preston then arose, and for about one hour and a half addressed the audience in a strain of eloquence which often rose to sublimity. His effort was directed to the elucidation of the history of Protestantism in its connection with the rise and progress of social and religious principles, and it is needless to add that he handled the subject with an ability worthy the name he bears. It was, indeed, a masterly effort. When it is published, as it will be, every man who admires the beautiful in language and the chaste in thought, ought to read it.
An impressive prayer was then offered up by Bishop Smith, of Kentucky, after which the benediction was pronounced by Bishop Otey, when the audience dispersed.
Shortly afterwards the invited guests sat down to a sumptuous collation prepared by Dr. D. T. and Hu. T. Scott. Everything was gotten up in their usually excellent style. After all had partaken, brief speeches were made by Lieut. Maury, Rev. Dr. F. A. P. Barnard, President of the University of Mississippi, and Bishop Smith, of Kentucky.
Thus the 10th of October marks an important epoch in the educational interests of the South. The laying of the corner-stone of the building for the proposed University of the South was an event that has been looked forward to for months with no ordinary interest. The work has been commenced, and the friends of this great institution have an earnest in the proceedings of this day, that it will be prosecuted with all the energy which those having it in charge can command to its final completion.
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I was agreeably surprised in the appearance of the summit of the mountain. I had anticipated something of the rugged appearance that our ideas naturally associate with mountains, instead of which I found "a wide table land," as an address issued by the Trustees some two years ago said, "having upon its summit a level area of from two to twenty miles in width, upon which a railroad is now running for fifteen miles, and might be extended for a hundred; upon which stage roads are made as smooth and easy of grade as any in the middle counties of South Carolina or Georgia; upon which farms, county towns and watering places are located, and which is as well timbered as any part of the country, except the heavy river swamps." Upon this summit "there spreads out before the eye an area with just enough undulating to make it picturesque, covered with large timber, with a rich underbrush of grass, and with springs of freestone water, yielding four hundred, five hundred, and in one case one thousand gallons of water per hour. From this summit the visitor is delighted with scenes of unsurpassed beauty; with points of the mountain running in fantastic shapes into the valley, like promontories into the ocean; with wooded slopes stretching down into the cultivated lands, and mingling the wildness of nature with the improvements of man; with fat valleys rich in the bounties of Providence; with an almost boundless horizon spreading away towards the Far West. And these views vary at a hundred points of the University lands, for it is the pecularity of this sandstone formation to break into gorges and to open up new scenery at every turn."
The elevation of this mountain is about one thousand nine hundred feet above the level of the ocean, and it possesses a mild and genial climate in summer, which is but little colder in the winter than that of the surrounding lowlands, and certainly not so cold as that of the more Northern and Eastern States. As the Trustees say, the salubrity of the climate is beyond all question. With its pure water and bracing atmosphere, "this Cumberland plateau," as the Trustees remark in the address already alluded to, "seems to have been formed by God for the benefit and blessing of the Valley of the Mississippi and the cotton growing regions of the Southern States. Forming the eastern limit of that immense valley, stretching, with its peculiar formation of sandstone tableland, for one hundred miles across the State of Tennessee, easy of access at many points, it must be the summer resort of those wealthy planters who desire to recruit their families during the summer months, and are yet unwilling to be far separated from their planting interests."
While the mountain is thickly covered with the best varieties of timber, either for building purposes or fuel, it also abounds in a most excellent variety of stone coal, which can be delivered at the University at reasonable rates. There is also any quantity of building stone easy of access, a variety of sandstone which is susceptible of a very fine polish, the surface of which becomes very hard after being dressed. Specimens of this stone, which is to be used in the construction of the University building, may be seen in the office of the Trustees. It is much cheaper and more durable than brick, the cost, when put in its place in the building, being equal to brick at nine dollars per thousand.
These facts, collated mainly from the address of the Trustees, will show that that site possesses many and peculiar advantages. The selection was not made without the maturest deliberation. Every locality suggested as the site of the proposed University was personally examined by a committee appointed for the purpose, accompanied by a corps of engineers under the superintendence of Col. Walter Gwynn, and the advantages of each, as to healthfulness, accessibility, climate, water, building materials and centrality fully and fairly set forth. The result was the selection of Sewanee, as combining more advantages than any locality which had been examined.
As to its centrality and accessibility to the ten Dioceses interested in its establishment, the University of the South is within sixty hours of almost every portion of the Southern States, except Texas, while it is within eighty hours of the remotest portions of the Union penetrated by railroads.