in general literature, they were undoubtedly the proper things to have; and we considered the professor lucky in having them. Brother A was, of course, dissatisfied with the whole proceeding. He thought that the money should have been placed at the disposal of our professor, who knew best how to expend it; and he also grumbled because our committee had not bought something called a spectroscope. Such an instrument was never heard of in my days, so I suspected it of some occult connection with spiritualism, and expressed myself accordingly. What has science to do with spectres? The instrument was never bought.
Before the university opened, all the moneys collected during my Eastern trip, together with minor sums contributed at home, were expended. All sorts of unforeseen expenses kept rising before us. There was furniture to buy, of course, and maps, and stationery, and books. Indeed, a library was indispensable, so we voted to invest a thousand dollars in books, and placed this sum in the hands of a committee, of which I was chairman. I think few committees could have done better than we did. Many valuable works we obtained very cheaply from a second-hand dealer in New York; scarcely a new book was purchased. We were especially careful not to get any thing which might prove injurious to our young men; not a volume of Darwin, Tyndall, or Spencer (except the "Faery Queene"), has to this day found its way upon our shelves. No, indeed! we bought good editions of the old pagan authors, and the works of the early fathers, and full sets of the sermons published by the leading lights in our own denomination. We had also a few histories, some of the poets, and two or three worn-out schoolbooks upon chemistry and natural philosophy. I doubt whether any college in the world could show a more respectable and less dangerous library than the one which we collected.
At length all was ready for opening. Our professors were on hand, our building furnished, our money spent. Now for the rush of students eager to partake of the intellectual feast so cheaply offered to them. We had all been very busy drumming up recruits, and confidently expected a large class; but only thirty appeared. Out of these, twelve were studying for the ministry, and expected tuition free. Only eighteen paying students, yielding us an income of $900 a year; and this when we had calculated upon $25,000! Why, it would pay little more than the interest on our debt, to say nothing of professors' salaries. In this terrible emergency, the Hon. Magnus Virtue again became our benefactor. I myself went boldly to him, and told how we were situated. Said I: "The university bears your name; if it fails, your reputation will suffer; 'he that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord.'" He grumbled a good deal at what he called our "wretched mismanagement," and especially at our extravagance in the matter of teachers' wages. "Why should we pay a
