in the Society
of the Hall in the Grove. "The Lord bless thee and
keep thee; the Lord make his face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up his
countenance upon thee and give thee peace."

After another song, the Marshal of the procession took charge, and the
order of march was renewed, the newly graduated class in the rear,
followed by the Superintendent, Counsellors, and officers. The company
marched to the Amphitheater, on the way the procession dividing and
forming on both sides of the street, while the officers and the
graduating class passed through the open files, thus bringing the
graduating class at the head of the line into the Amphitheater. Here
more songs were sung and other responsive readings were rendered before
an audience that thronged the building. The oration on the first
graduation service was given by Dr. Henry W. Warren, who had been
elevated to the episcopate two years before. After the oration a recess
was taken, and in the afternoon the concluding service was held and the
diplomas were conferred upon the eight hundred graduates present by the
hand of Dr. Vincent.

In most college commencements that I have attended, the President takes
the diplomas at random from a table and hands them to the class as they
come, not giving to each graduate his own diploma, and afterward there
is a general looking up one another and sorting out the diplomas until
at last each one obtains his own. But Miss Kimball, the Secretary,
devised a plan by which all the diplomas were numbered and each graduate
was furnished with a card showing his number. These numbers were called
out ten at a time, and each graduate was able to receive his own (mostly
_her_ own) diploma, while the audience heard the name upon it and the
number of seals it bore for special reading and study.

It should be mentioned that some members of the class arrived on the
ground too late to pass with their classmates through the Golden Gate
and under the arches. For their benefit the Gate was opened a second
time before the afternoon meeting, and a special Recognition service was
held, so that they might enjoy all the privileges of the class. This is
another custom continued every year, for always it is needed.

After a year or two it entered the facetious minds of Mr. and Mrs. Beard
to originate a comic travesty on the Recognition service, which was
presented on the evening after the for