While walking down the streets of Florence, Ala., a few weeks ago, a little white boy came trotting along at my side. We easily fell into conversation. “How old are you?” I said. “Nine years old,” he replied. “What Reader do you read in?” “I never read in no Reader.” “Do you go to school?” “No, sir.” “Can’t you read?” “I can pick out some words right smart.” This is the exact testimony of a Southern white boy of the middle class of society to-day! A few rods farther down the street of the same village, a little colored boy overtook me. I invited conversation with him, with the following result: “How old are you?” “Nine years old, Boss.” “Go to school?” “Oh, yes, sir; been going to school for a long time.” “What Reader are you in?” “The Second, sir.” “Can you read right along in the Bible without any trouble?” “Yes, sir; I don’t have any trouble in reading ’most anything.” This incident is true to the letter. It is not very exceptional. The colored children are improving faster than the white children in the South. If this state of things continues very long, the Southern people will be obliged to hire colored young men and women to teach their white schools. Think of it! “In New York State 55 white men in a thousand, and in Massachusetts 62 in each thousand, make their mark when they sign a document,” says the New York _Post_, “while in Kansas only 31 in a thousand, and in Nebraska only 30 in a thousand are so illiterate. But in Kentucky 173 white men in a thousand cannot write their own names!” The A. M. A. schools in the South are seeking to correct this appalling state of things. They not only educate, but they inspire also a desire for education in those reached by their influences. It is unfortunate that these influences are mostly confined to the colored people, but that is not because the whites are excluded from our school privileges. “None are so blind as those who will not see.” None are so hopelessly ignorant as those who do not desire to learn. * * * * * ATLANTA UNIVERSITY. The eighteenth anniversary of this institution has just passed. No year in the history of the school, perhaps, has witnessed a broader and better work than that of the year now closed. The exercises incident to Commencement week were inaugurated with the baccalaureate sermon, preached by Sec. Woodworth, of Boston, Sabbath morning, May 22d, in the chapel of the University, packed to the full with the students and their friends.