The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-24

sufbeu out the prlliaHs, poHsHeu sSn
 tleman and soldier. ready to do battle for his country.
 I say licked" advisediy. for that
 seems to be an important factor at West Point in the making of the man.
 If pIebe, in his innocence. displays any "bumptiousness," there Is always q 'yearllng.Y as second year men are
 formed. who stands ready and willing
 to take 1t out of him by good drub-
 bing It was called "hazing" by the
 authorities. and vigorous campaign was waged agains. It,. but the yearl- ings merely spoke of 1t as netting out some much-needed correction to the
 plebes."
 Douglas Atwe1l is the 'plebe' whose
 history is nsrrated by the author. The
 son of a poor widow, he gained her
 consent to enlist and saw actual ser
 vice in tbe Pnilipplnes, where for con spicuous gallantry, he receives an ap- pointment to West Point He was just
 19 years old. and very handsome and promising In point of morals and de- pertinent he was tho model boy of the post. though In his first year he was subjected to many indignities on this very account by the upper elassmen His earlier education. too, had been defective, and he suffered from that
 but he finally forged ahead Being fne at football, he goes with the team te play Yale, and there is en exciting ac-
 count of his pluck. during the game and how he finally saves the day To the lover of fo ,tball this chapter will prove especially interesting
 There are all sorts and condition of men at West Point. just as elsewhere and life is as strenuous in this minia- ture world as such conditions general ly produce. There are friends and en- emies to be found among the boys and each man stands on his own merit.
 From the very foundation of the rnil- itary academy, men have been judged here solely on their deeds and not on their pull, and 1t would be misfor- tune, indeed. if political intrigue and
 social conspiracies should change this ! old order" Douglas finds Tn enemy, one who conspires against him. and en- deavors to ruin him; but his roal
 trouble is mathematics. he cannot oter- come that obstacle. He is standing one evening gazing at the flag floating above his head That bit of bunting man; It proclaimed the privilege of every son of mother earth to struggle
 for the realization of the most exalted hopes. and, to prove that merit was the only standard. And, according to that standard unused Douglas, T am deficient and not worthy of wearing shoulder-st beneath the old flag
 His chest heayed, his eyes became moist and, for moment despair held
 him in its clutch. Then he resolves that there shall be no whimpering ip- decision, no trembling hesitation. no trucking to despair He resolves to assail his mental task with frantic zeal. and rise superior to the defects Of his earlier training, and he does. That is the whole story of how this boy struggles with the storms that sur round him, and steady in his purpose
 never to be seduced into wrong, comes
 out victorious He goes through his first year, "and the time comes when he is to cast off ''plebedom," cast off the Mister" leap the almost immeas-
 urabIe chasm between him and the up- per classes, and be admitted to social
 equality with the rest of the corps.
 He passes his examinations, he wins his chevrons. and has attained the
 greatest ambition of his life. He is congratulated upon his success by
 Lieutenant LittIefield, one of the grad
 uates. who admonishes him In this
 wise: There are troublesome times coming on account of the campaign against hazing., which was started du-
 ring the last encampment. You have a remarkable career, and fin every crisis
 you have shown yourself equal to the emergency. When the crisis comes In this problem which your class must face, I hope to hear that you led the
 sober and conservative element with
 credit both to yourself and the acad- emy."
 ''The drums at the saIly-port rattle off the assembly: Douglas Atwell, the yearling corporal, stepped Into his place in ranks--and the plebe year was over, and the new upper classmen were embarked on their final three years course. the most eventful years in the history of the academy"
 The reader of this book will have gained clear Insight into the student life at our great military school, and realize by just what rules and regula-
 tions 1t Is governed. The book Is bright l and entertaining, and well repays one for the time spent in reading it. There are many suitable illustrations
 throughout the book.
 EThe old and the New Magic," by Henry Ridgely Evans.--The reader will | find the fascinating account of old
 and New Magic" as delightful as a
 novel
 pr. Paul Carns writes the introduce
 ton, wherein he shows the difference
 between the old and the new magis,
 and dwells upon the educative value
 of the art of the prestidigitator. He
 says: While the performance of
 magical tricks Is an art. the observa-
 tion of them and also their description | Is a science, presupposing quick and
 critical eye, of which very few people
 are possessed; and scientists by pro-
 fession are sometimes the least fit per sons to detect the place and mode of
 the deception. For all these reasons
 knowledge of magic and It's history,
 the false pretenses of the old magis.
 and the brilliant success of modern magic should have a place in our edu-
 catlonal program. I do not advocate | its introduction into schools. but would recommend parents to let their chill | dren become acquainted with the re-
 markabIe performances of the best and | greatest among modern magicians. We all should know something of the gen
 eral methods of magic. and some time