Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1876-05-20

II the Editors of the Independent


DEAR SfRs: l propose to write
you a series Of letters that will
give you some idea of the life
midshipman leads at the Naval
Academy. IS it is an ms tuition
that comparatively little is known
about. think it will perhaps be
of interest to your readers. Let US
suppose the case ola youth that
has been brought up in the coun-
try, away from any seaport, and
who has increased his natural
longing for a change and excite
ment by reading books Of adven-
ture and travel, until to his mind,
the only thing to live for is to
travel, see the whole world, and
have lots ofadventures. Imagine
such a boys feelings on receiving
an appointment to the u s. Ma
val Academy it is the browning
of all of his hopes he is made
supremacy happy by feeling that
as a Naval officer he will be able
to travel and see all these strange
and wonderful things he has been
reading about ,and that he himself
will be the hero of some wild and
strange adventures.
He is in fever OF excitement
after receiving his appointment
getting all the necessary articles of
his outfit, except, of course, his
uniform. The exact number and
quality of each article of clothing
is regulated by a schedule, which
he has received from the Superin-
tendent of the Academy. He has
also ascertaiDed from the same
source the qualifications, mental,
and physical, that are necessary for
him to have, in order to enter, and
he feels pretty confident that he
can pass ali of the examination.
Finally with disappointment from
a Representative in Congress in
his inside coat pocket, and the re-
quisite number of half dozen of
each kind of under clothing pack
ed carefully in his trunk, he says
"Good bye" and hurries to the
train, and stepping on it, is, in a
few minutes, out of sight of his
home, and bound for Annapolis, a
place he has never seen, and per-
haps, had only recently heard of,
beyond the fact that it was the
Capitol of Maryland. After few
small adventures he arrives about
six o'clock one evening at his des-
tinatlOn, and showing his way
through the crowd of colored boys
at the depot, he resolves to walk
and carry his own valise, but it
looks very much as lift was going
to rain, and the fall of a drop or
two makes him look with much
less aversion on a diminutive bow
who is still following him, and
asking him to carry his valise, by
this guide he is conducted to
boating house, that is near at hand,
where he is rather surprised to
find several young men standing
around looking about as much
lost as he feels. After getting his
supper in his new quarters, he
feels communicative, and on in
qUiry firds that these strange look
ing youths are all waiting to be
examined, and they tell him the
first thing to be done is to report
to the Admiral and they promise
to show him the way to the Navy
Yard in the morning, and where
the Admiral is to be found. After
considerable more talk, during
which he finds out that these
young men came from all parts of
the Union,one of them being from
Maine and another from Califor-
mia, and after listening to their
talk for some time, which consists
principally of boats and ships, he
retires for the night to dream
about all kinds of adventures by
sea and land, in which delightful
occupation we will leave until next
week. G. III. L.