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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