As has been shown, in the years which followed the general emancipation, the coloured people showed the most eager desire to obtain some kind of education. It happened that at Hampton there was a large number outside of the Institute who were of this class, and when it was resolved to found a night school for their benefit Booker Washington was requested to undertake its superintendence. These evening classes were to be a kind of preparatory school for such as might afterwards attend the day school of the Institute, and the conditions of their receiving two hours' nightly instruction were sufficiently onerous to deter any from coming forward but the most determined enthusiasts. A long, hard day's work had to be fulfilled before they could think of joining their class. It is no wonder that such scholars are now doing well in the world. The school is still continued at Hampton, but the scholars have increased from tens to hundreds. So far throughout the course of his working life Booker Washington has never lost faith in his own people, and, while using his opportunities to benefit them, no hard-working leader has ever had fewer disappointments. While American politicians, sometimes with bated breath, have been talking about the problems of the Southern Black Belt, this far-sighted negro has clearly seen that ten millions of the coloured race in the wide territory of the South is rather an advantage to be thankful for than "a problem" to create dismay. How readily the young negro men and women can adapt themselves to circumstances, and benefit others of their own race while making a position for themselves, is constantly being proved. The fact is confirmed by many independent witnesses hailing from different quarters. We close this chapter by another passage on this subject by Professor Shaler, in _Appleton's Popular Science Monthly_, and quoted, with admiration, by Booker Washington himself in _The International Monthly_:--