eapons than
the Bible and the spelling book, was marching under the eye of God
down into this very field from which Grant and Sherman had but
recently withdrawn. Silently came they into the field. There was no
heralding of their approach, no display. Hopefully came they into the
field, notwithstanding they knew that to the majority of the people
their presence would be obnoxious. They came with faith in God and
love for man. They came impelled by Christian duty and patriotism to
wage a new war against the more deadly enemies of the
republic--ignorance and vice.

It is not necessary; nor is it desirable to dwell here on the state
of the South at that time. It could but present a picture dark and
confused at the best. It is not necessary to remind you here of the
bitter opposition which existed then to negro education, an
opposition which only too often manifested itself in acts of violence
and brutality. Nor need I remind you here of the hatred and contempt
that was heaped upon the so called "nigger teacher." This is history,
known and read of all men. Pleasanter by far will it be, and
certainly appropriate on this good Thanksgiving Day, to revert for a
few moments to the splendid achievements, under God, of these
faithful, Christian workers.

Their work, as we have said, was begun in confusion; but out of chaos
they have brought order, out of darkness light. Previous to the
emancipation not more than 30,000 colored persons in all these United
States could read and write. To-day, according to the statement of
Commissioner Orr, of this State, a statement verified by statistics,
fully 1,000,000 colored children are in the schools. I say, previous
to the emancipation, not more than 30,000 colored persons could read
and write. To-day, according to the last report of the society under
whose auspices I have been laboring for many years, that society
alone has given instruction to 80,000 persons, and these in turn to
tens of thousands more. This number could, of course, be greatly
swelled by the figures which could be shown by the
Congregationalists, Baptists and Presbyterians, who for these many
years have been laboring with equal patience, zeal and love, for the
advancement of mankind.

There are some, however, who think that there has not been enough
accomplished in these years, for the time, the money and the energy
spent. Well, perhaps there has not. But suppose these various
societies had accomplished, up to this tim