This state of things continued till the middle of November, when, after a few frosty nights, and with bright clear weather, the entire aspect of affairs changed, and rapidly took on a most hopeful and promising appearance. Cotton, the staple and life of business, began to come in rapidly, until before the end of November the daily receipts became the largest ever known at this point, placing Memphis as a primary cotton market scarcely second to New Orleans. With this revival of activity the empty talk of a hundred or so self-constituted newspaper correspondents and pretended scientists ceased to be heard on the corners and to be seen in the papers. The city authorities and a committee of citizens began a careful and thorough canvass of the city to ascertain its condition and needs. Under the advice of a committee of experts from the meeting of the American Sanitary Association held at Nashville, a system of sewerage and general sanitary reform was promptly adopted, and it is now expected that the Governor will convene the legislature to empower the city to make the needed changes. There is little doubt but that the hard and painful lessons of the past two seasons have finally been learned, and that at least another epidemic will not be invited next year by the criminal negligence of the authorities. The school opened November 17 with about forty students. This number on December 2nd had increased to over 100. We are now receiving new students every day, of these ten are in the senior or graduating class. We note with interest a revival of the early desire for education and the culture which it brings; not _just_ the early desire of ignorant and foolish expectation, but a steadily deepening conviction of the need and advantage of patient, continued study and training for better things in the future. We hope to foster this feeling, and to do what we may to realize the expectation, by building up honest, manly and womanly characters in our students. Many of the pupils have taught during the vacation months; some have not yet completed the term for which they were engaged. So far as we know, all have labored earnestly to exert an influence for good in the communities where they have been located. A few during the sickness were employed by the Howards or other societies as nurses, one young man saving about $200 at this work, and gaining an enviable reputation as a nurse. Our public library is demonstrating its influence and usefulness in a gratifying way, in awakening in many laboring people a love of reading and of thought, aside from the great advantage it is to the school directly and indirectly. During the summer months, considerably over one hundred volumes were drawn and read. Among many others several white persons of most excellent standing availed themselves of its privileges. Of these latter, one is principal of a boys’ and girls’ school in our vicinity.