“You surprise me,” the gentlemen replied. “I have heard the Le Moyne frequently spoken of, but had no idea it was accomplishing all it is said to have done. Why, the subjects chosen by the essayists could be handled only by those possessed of considerable knowledge.” “Yes, it is a new idea in the South,” remarked a listener, who had been present at the entertainment, “and I find it difficult to say whether I was most surprised or delighted. I heard every essay and recitation from beginning to end, and there was not a break or stumble, no stopping to recover breath, no tedious repetitions. The absence of the parrot was noticeable. The novelty of the affair held my attention at first, but I soon forgot this, and found myself drifting along with the essayists as they waded into their subjects. Another thing that struck me forcibly was the absence of rant in the young men and the failure to giggle on the part of the young women. They seemed to take it as a matter of course that they were there, and that their audience would be interested in what they might have to say. I, for one am heartily in favor of keeping up the good work. No man who thinks can say that every negro in the land would not be better off and better fitted to cope with the age in which lives, if he had enough education to enable him to throw off the dense cloud of superstition—a mixture of ignorance and faith—in which he is now enveloped. The country would be better, its tone purer and healthier, if every man in it were educated.” “The music furnished by the graduates particularly attracted me,” said a lady teacher who heard it. “I have always contended that the negro had a passion for music of a certain rich and melodious kind, but could not appreciate its delicate shading, and could have no conception of it as a science. I am ready now to say I was mistaken. Though the music the other night was nothing extraordinary, I heard enough to convince me that its interpreters had a good idea of symphony, and could with proper training, rise to a high degree of excellence. The solo ‘I’ll Follow Thee’, was one of the sweetest things I ever heard in public or private. The voice of the young woman who sang it was pure and clear, every cadence soft and melodious, every note in perfect tune. It was a genuine revelation.”