a visit in the course of the afternoon to the
fencing-room; but being the hour of recreation, I found about thirty
lusty cadets, votaries to Terpsichore, all waltzing and polking merrily
to a fiddle, ably wielded by their instructor: as their capabilities
were various, the confusion was great, and the master bewildered; but
they all seemed heartily enjoying themselves.

The professors and military instructors, &c., have each a small
comfortable house with garden attached, and in the immediate vicinity of
the Academy. There is a comfortable hotel, which in the summer months is
constantly filled with the friends and relatives of the cadets; and
occasionally they get permission to give a little _soiree dansante_ in
the fencing-room. The hotel is prohibited from selling any spirituous
liquors, wines, &c.

The Government property at West Point consists of about three thousand
acres: the Academy, professors' houses, hotel, &c., are built upon a
large plateau, commanding a magnificent view of the Hudson both ways.
The day I was there, the scene was quite lovely; the noble stream was as
smooth as a mirror; a fleet of rakish schooners lay helpless, their
snow-white sails hanging listlessly in the calm; and, as the clear
waters reflected everything with unerring truthfulness, another fleet
appeared beneath, lying keel to keel with those that floated on the
surface. With such beautiful scenery, and so far removed from the bustle
and strife of cities, I cannot conceive any situation better adapted
for health and study, pleasure and exercise.

The great day of the year is that of the annual review of the cadets by
a board of gentlemen belonging to the different States of the Union, and
appointed by the Secretary of War; it takes place early in June, I
believe, and consequently before the cadets take the tented field. The
examination goes on in the library hall, which is a very fine room, and
hung with portraits of some of their leading men; the library is a very
fair one, and the cadets have always easy access to it, to assist them
in their studies. I could have spent many more hours here with much
pleasure, but the setting sun warned us no time was to be lost if we
wished to save the train; so, bidding adieu, to the friends who had so
kindly afforded me every assistance in accomplishing the object of my
visit, I returned to the great Babylon, after one of the most
interesting and gratifying days I had spent in America.[AW]

F