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My work in connection with the removal of the capital had not long been over when I received an invitation from Gen. Armstrong, very much to my surprise, to return to Hampton and deliver the graduates’ address at the next commencement. I chose as the subject of this address, “The Force that Wins.” Everyone seemed greatly pleased with what I said. After the address I was still further surprised by being asked by Gen. Armstrong to return to the Hampton Institute and take a position, partly as a teacher and partly as a post-graduate student. This I gladly consented to do. Gen. Armstrong had decided to start a night class at Hampton for students who wanted to work all day and study for two hours at night. He asked me to organize and teach this class. At first there were only about a half dozen students but the number soon grew to about thirty. The night class at Hampton has since grown to the point where it now numbers six or seven hundred. It seems to me that the teaching of this class was almost the most satisfactory work I ever did. The students who composed the class worked during the day for ten hours in the saw mill, on the farm, or in the laundry. They were a most earnest set. I soon gave them the name of the “Plucky Class.” Several of the members of this “Plucky Class” now fill prominent and useful positions. While I was teaching I was given lessons in advanced subjects by Dr. H. B. Frissell, who was then chaplain, but who is now the honored and successful successor of Gen. Armstrong, as well as by others.

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