The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-09-07

You look like beast Ca name ap- piled to candidates).
 Whats your name, sir?"
 MT. Hammond, sir" I replied. | Look at my companion, MT. Ham mond, and tell me the color of his hair, A glance was sufficient to see that It Twas flaring red, but did not tell him so. q would call it auburn, sir" said l, Auburn be -!" yelled the owner of the fiarins locks. My hair is red, sir!"
 During the progress of our examina- tions the commanding general of the army made an official visit to West Point and reviewed the battalion of ca dets. The candidates were excused from examinations during the after noon of the review. After witnessing the exercises several of us adjourned to Humphreys room. Humphrey was lCandidate from Alabama This was his second trial for admission to the acad- emy, he having failed to meet the re- quirements the year previous and re- ceiVed a reappointment. Any informa- tion that Humphrey couldn't give rela- tive to cadet life wasn't worth knowing On the above afternoon he was telling us what happened the year before to a candidate from Texas who had refused to allow cadet much smaller than himself to "devir him. Words passed and he slapped the cadet in the face. Having successfully passed his exami- Ination, the matter was taken up by the classmates of the cadet, and they se- llected one of their number, who was about the same size as the ''plebe," or new cadet, from Texas, to sustain the dignity of their class A challenge was Issued for pugilistic encounter, the re- sult-a knock on the door interrupted the story and we all arose and stood at attention as Lieutenant Gerald entered the room.
 What is the meaning of all this hi larity?" asked the lieutenant. Cant you gentlemen have few hours recre- lation without making such a distur- bance? How do you think I can sleep down stairs while this racket is going on up here? Fall in"
 It didn't take us very long to get into line. After executing several con- mands we found ourselves squatted on the floor in tailor fashion, our backs to the wall, and facing the lieutenant We were each In turn requested to sing a song of our own selection. While visiting a schoolmate at Fort Warren tWhose father was an officer of the Third Artillery, I learned several West Point productions, and when my turn came I sang the following:
 And so upon the first of June I reported wild with joy
 To think that life would surely be Henceforth without alloy;
 For sumner in my native town,
 I vowed I'd easily
 Upon my muscle go right through
 This Big Menagerie
 But, ah, my bold, defiant pluck, Which plainly all the way
 Before I had cadet been
 For more than one long day;
 They put me through course of sprouts,
 1 From which I could not flee, And then I learned another dodge l In this Big Menagere
 The first time that went on guard : The night was dark as pitch.
 They took my gun and then threw me
 Right in Fort Clinton ditch.
 For the commandant then did call, , But not a step came he, And they threw me up in a blanket :, In this Big Menagerie. $ They call us beasts and vile reptiles, 7 And goodness only knows - I'd rather be kangaroo : In one of the circus shows; r For even little monkey, = Far happier life than we, ! For they don't knew what studying i g In this Big Menagerie.
 During the singing one of the candi r dates had permitted the shadow of , smile to pass over his countenance l He was directed to step to the iron | and taken to task for not having bette
 control over the muscles of his face.
 What do you see funny to laugh at . sir?' asked the lieutenant. "We vii :, now have the pleasure of hearing yo1
 recite Mary Had Little sLamb,' wit . variations. Say MT. before every wcr q commencing with a vowel and Miss be e fore every word commencing with !! consonant"
 Miss Mary, Miss-had, Mr.-a, Mss-little
 Miss-lamb,
 Mr.-its, Miss-feece, Miss-was, Miss :, Ehite, Mr.-as, Miss-snow, Mr.-and Mr-everywhere, Mss-tha' Miss-Mary, Miss went, the, Miss-lamb, Miss-was, Miss :, sure, Miss-to, Miss-go.
 You little man with the red leckie = How dare you smile on an occasion 0
 this kind?" Thus the kid" was ad v dressed. He was nicknamed the "kio 1 on account of being the smallest an 4 youngest of all the candidates.
 Put the washbowl on the floor in II inverted position. Sit down on it an
 let me see you whirl around" a The "kid" sat on the inverted wash 6 bowl took his feet off the floor an
 spun to perfection, saying: I'm top r see me spin, see me spin"
 Lieutenant Gerald left the room. W V listened until his departing footstep n could no longer be heard, when ou :: pent-up feelings gushed forth In unre u strained laughter. We really enjoye t the afternoons entertainment as muc
 as he.
 n One evening found an envelope O V my table addressed to Candidate Ham I nond. The inclosed letter read as fol ? lows:
 United States Military Academy,
 West Point June 25, 1897.
 To Candidate Hammond, West Point.
 Sir: At your earliest convenience yo