VIII. The Inauguration
The formal inauguration did not occur until April 13,
1905. The day was marked by beautiful weather, which
brought out in perfection all the vernal charm of the
Piedmont region. The cloudless sky seemed to have
stolen its tint from the hue of the noble chain of
mountains that leaned against the western horizon.
The grass that carpeted the Lawn was as green as the
turf of some English dell or Kentuckian pasture; the
trees springing up before the two long lines of dormitories,
on either side, were just putting forth their first
red buds; the white surfaces of the pillars and arches
of the arcades reflected the slightly misty sunlight that
fell over the scene; while the fronts of the pavilions, with
their white columns and entablatures, shone through the
network of branches which shaded their porches. At
the head of the vista rose the imposing Rotunda, commanding
the entire academic village, like some splendid
temple of the classical age, and at the foot towered, in
the distance, the range of the Southwest Mountains,
clothed to the top with forest, and standing boldly
against the broad background of sky.
If perfect harmony, down to the minutest detail, had
been sought for the academic procession, which, on that
day, formed in front of the south steps of the Rotunda,
the figures of the numerous professors, college presidents,
and public men, taking part in it, should have
been wrapped in the togas of the ancient Romans, for
were they not to start from the Pantheon? and in their
stately progress to Cabell Hall, were they not to pass
the Diocletian Baths, the Temple of Fortuna Virilis,
and the Theatre of Marcellus? But the spirit of
modernity was too strong for mere consistency, and in
the place of the loose robes of the Romans, all of one
color and of one piece, the figures of those participants
who could boast the possession of a degree were covered
with their scholastic gowns adorned with hoods dyed
scarlet, blue, yellow, gold, maroon or purple.
In the advance down the terraced Lawn, first came
the State officials, among whom was to be observed the
attorney-general, Major William A. Anderson, who had
been a student at the University during the war and
had been crippled for life on one of the great battlefields.
In this group also were to be seen the lieutenant-governor,
and the presiding justice of the Court of
Appeals, the librarian of Congress, and the head of the
Federal Bureau of Agriculture. Next came the members
of the State Legislature and of Congress; after them,
the superintendents of city and county schools, followed
by the teachers in the public and private schools. Then
came the representatives of educational and scientific
societies. In this group was noticed Moncure D. Conway,
who, before the War of Secession, had left Virginia
to support the cause of Abolition, while not far from
him walked Randolph H. McKim, a gallant soldier in
the Confederate armies. Near at hand was Samuel
Spencer, who had demonstrated that the South could
beget great men of affairs as well as great orators and
great statesmen; and not far off was Archibald C. Coolidge,
of Boston, who was sprung from the blood of the
Founder. Next followed the representatives of all the
Universities of the North and South and West, robed in
the doctor's gown and hood, and presenting, in their
figures, all the colors of the rainbow. The representatives
of Harvard and the College of William and
Mary, the two oldest institutions of higher learning in
the United States, marched at their head. The seventh
division was formed by the members of the Faculty of
the University of Virginia, and the eighth, of the Board
of Visitors, the officers of the University, and the trustees
of the Miller School. The last division numbered
in its ranks the speaker of the day, the Governor of the
State, the Rector of the University, and the new President.
The galleries of Cabell Hall were packed with students;
and as the long procession slowly entered the
great apartment, the young men burst out with their
college song sung to the moving tune of Auld Lang Syne.
The only touch of color employed was in the use of the
United States and Virginian flags. The picture that
adorned the wall back of the platform, the School of
Athens, was set off with an American flag on either
side; the portrait of Jefferson was similarly decorated,
and so was the bust of Lafayette; while the flag of Virginia,
—with its picture of Liberty trampling the tyrant
under foot,—was suspended above the speakers.
The Board of Visitors, the Faculty, the State, the
alumni, the institutions of learning,—North, and West,
and South,—were all represented in the speeches that
followed. The ceremony ended with the inaugural address
of President Alderman.
