The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1883-07-12
West Poiss Hardshlps.

| CANlllun trousers. On lne nfSI uaN i
was about dead. Going through the Sc
we're physical examination is hard
enough work itself. | reported in the
old hospital building, and was ordered
into assbaek room to prepare for eXamin-
alton. There were fourteen or fifteen
pther young fellows there, all with the
same amount of clothing on that had,
! which is just about as much as you
wear in n Turkish bath, barring the
.owel. There we sat, like so many
beautiful young cupids. We talked lit
Vie, and sympathized with each other.
Each of us was given a number, and
when our number was called out we
went out into the surgeons hands. He
fired me around pretty lively, made me
run around the room three or four times
TO see whether my heart was all right,
and then made be blow in a respirator
10 test my lungs. / was so confused |
couldn't make the thing stir. He said
| was nervous, and should try it again.
and in few minutes l made the old
! thing hum. After examining every
muscle in my body, | guess, and look
! ing for more he said | was a very good
| specimen, and passed me. | felt as if
| ! might have been sewed to card like
/ u lAOAll bhiLOh anu SOiNA at SIN lOI
| ter.
"Then l was marched to the quarter
masters, or some place, and furnished
with mattress, a wash-stand, two pals,
and whole lot of bachelor housekeep-
ing truck A cadet officer took me in
charge and took me to barracks. He
| put on more airs than n hand-organ,
and / couldn't do anything to suit him
/ In faaHn ma n lttt1n ha.
| had and show him everything /
brought along. He was particularly
anxious about tobacco and cigars, /
| guess because he wanted some, for they
used to let the cadets smoke in those
days. He was hardly gone before an
other cadet officer slammed open the
door, bounced in, and made me go all
through my baggage again. The room
was fair size, with two little aleoves
and an iron bedstead inseach, for each
room is occupied by two cadets, each
with bed to himself. l had to put my
bed in shape and fix up the room.
Then they brought me some red stuff,
and had to make curtain for the
window. All this time cadet officers
were coming in, ordering me to do this
and that till was about wild and near
ly dead. l had to say Yes, SIR and
No sir, to them all, and it was impos-
sible to do anything to please them
'The second day | was here, the ex-
cadet continued, zone of the iirst-class
fellows walked into my room without
knocking and began to talk to me. |
had little onyx pin in my scarf, for |
had not yet put on the cadet clothes,
and | saw that he had wicked eve on
it. After while he said: That pin
Of yours makes me feel very bad, MIR.
Smith. | had one exactly like il when
| came here. 1t was given me by my
grandmother, and had been IN the fam
lily over hundred years. | was so un-
fortunate as to lose it, and when | get
home the first thing they will ask me
about will be that pin, | suppose you
wouldn't care to part with yours, Mr.
Smith?'
81 was not quite so fresh as some of
the boys coming from New York. and
of course / saw the dodge. So / told
him | could not part with the onyx pin,
but that had small cameo pin in my
trunk, that ] would be happy TO give
him, when it was unpacked. He said
he supposed that would do nearly as
well, and he would call in the next
morning to get it,
What is your name?' | asked him;
and his face Immediately stretched out
about yard long. OF course, he had no
notion of telling me his name, and he
was SO taken back by my cffrontery in
asking II that | had to laugh, and this
made him as mad as hornet
Don't you know, you beastly, ILL
hammered young plebe. said he, that
the greatest affront you can give ca
Diet after asking his name is 10 laugh in
his facet | told him / didn't know it,
and that was very sorry to have Of
Tended him. So he went off. and |
never saw anything more of him. l still
have the pin. A few days afterward /
was in need of postage stamp, and
cadet had got acquainted with said he
would find me one if / would go with
him to his room. / went, and when he
handed me the stamp / offered him
three cents. He looked at me as if /
had asked him to black my boots.
Young man, said he, 'as long as you're
in this academy never offer money TO a
cadet. A cadet never takes pay for
anythingn One evening during visiting
hours four or five fellows had come
into my room, and we had been
smoking pipes till the smoke was
so thick you could cut it.
We were all fresh enough about
the rules, and were singing
song. Suddenly the door flew open and
cadet officer looked in. He was fairly
paralyzed at first to see what was going
on, but as soon as he recovered his
breath he gave us good rating and
told US II we wanted to be reported we
should just open our heads again that
night. Nobody dared say word for
you don't know the dignity of cadet
officer, tell you. They are very strict
about having the rooms kept in order
and having everybody in. At taps,
which is at ten o'clock, all lights have to
be out and everybody in bed. Some
times there are three cadets in room.