attached to his clothes--young, green, and, in
fact, a raw recruit to the ranks of civilization. Seven years after
that he bid adieu to his friends in that same office, to return to his
people in Africa as a teacher, preacher, and physician. He was then
one of the finest scholars of his age in this country. When he arrived
at Dayton he of course had to have a private tutor. He was sixteen
years old and had to start with the rudiments, but he was, at the
beginning of the next school year, able to join classes on which he
doubled right along. It requires a course of eight years to reach the
High School, but in less than four years after his arrival in Dayton
he passed the examination for admission to the High School of Dayton,
Ohio, and was the first Colored pupil ever admitted to that school.
Since then, other Colored pupils have annually been following his
example. The course in the High School was four years, and the Board
and teachers were very particularly averse to gaining time. Owing to
Wilberforce's great aptness, that allowed him to go ahead of his
class, he gained one year then and there, and took the honors of the
class that started one year ahead of him. There were twenty-three
members of that class. The Commencement was in the Opera-house at
Dayton in 1878, and on that occasion the President of the Board said,
without discredit to any others, he felt called upon to make special
mention of young Wilberforce, which he did in a handsome manner. This
was not all; the Missionary Society wanted to send Wilberforce to
Africa in September of that year, and as he went along they had him at
other studies. He had become an excellent musician, both vocal and
instrumental. He had been studying theology and read Hebrew well. He
had also taken a course of reading in medicine, so that he might be of
service to the bodies as well as the souls of his brethren.
Marvellous as it may seem, all of this was done in so short a time,
and from a state of savage life up to civilized life; still it is
true. And, besides, Wilberforce had been a reader of history and
general literature, and was a writer of unusual merit. His progress
has always and always will seem incredible, even to those who had
personal knowledge of him during the time that he had this experience
of seven years. He had a remarkable mind, was born a heathen, had no
youthful advantages, and is to-day one of the best-informed and most
thoroughly cultivated thinkers of hi