Notwithstanding his affliction, he worked almost
constantly night and day for the cause to which he had given his
life. I never saw a man who so completely lost sight of himself.
I do not believe he ever had a selfish thought. He was just as
happy in trying to assist some other institution in the South as
he was when working for Hampton. Although he fought the Southern
white man in the Civil War, I never heard him utter a bitter word
against him afterward. On the other hand, he was constantly
seeking to find ways by which he could be of service to the
Southern whites.
It would be difficult to describe the hold that he had upon the
students at Hampton, or the faith they had in him. In fact, he
was worshipped by his students. It never occurred to me that
General Armstrong could fail in anything that he undertook. There
is almost no request that he could have made that would not have
been complied with. When he was a guest at my home in Alabama,
and was so badly paralyzed that he had to be wheeled about in an
invalid's chair, I recall that one of the General's former
students had occasion to push his chair up a long, steep hill
that taxed his strength to the utmost. When the top of the hill
was reached, the former pupil, with a glow of happiness on his
face, exclaimed, "I am so glad that I have been permitted to do
something that was real hard for the General before he dies!"
While I was a student at Hampton, the dormitories became so
crowded that it was impossible to find room for all who wanted to
be admitted.
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