After a student had been in the night-school long
enough to prove what was in him, I gave him a printed certificate
which read something like this:--
"This is to certify that James Smith is a member of The Plucky
Class of the Hampton Institute, and is in good and regular
standing."
The students prized these certificates highly, and they added
greatly to the popularity of the night-school. Within a few weeks
this department had grown to such an extent that there were about
twenty-five students in attendance. I have followed the course of
many of these twenty-five men and women ever since then, and they
are now holding important and useful positions in nearly every
part of the South. The night-school at Hampton, which started
with only twelve students, now numbers between three and four
hundred, and is one of the permanent and most important features
of the institution.
Chapter VII. Early Days At Tuskegee
During the time that I had charge of the Indians and the
night-school at Hampton, I pursued some studies myself, under the
direction of the instructors there. One of these instructors was
the Rev. Dr. H.B. Frissell, the present Principal of the Hampton
Institute, General Armstrong's successor.
In May, 1881, near the close of my first year in teaching the
night-school, in a way that I had not dared expect, the
opportunity opened for me to begin my life-work.
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