promise in a youth who came
with nothing more than the three R's, which then constituted
substantially the demands of the Military Academy, than in one with a
more pretentious showing. The first had not to unlearn bad habits. An
illustration that the courses were not too severe, for an average man
beginning with the very smallest equipment, is afforded by a true
story of the time. A lad from one of the Southern States,--Tennessee,
I think,--having obtained an appointment, and being too poor to travel
otherwise, walked his way to West Point, and then failed of admission.
The affecting circumstances becoming known, a number of officers
dubbed together and supported him for a year at a neighboring
excellent school. He then entered, passed his course successfully, and
proved a very respectable officer. There was, I believe, nothing
brilliant in his record, except the earnestness and resolution shown;
the absence of these, under demands which, though not excessive, were
rigid, was the principal cause of failures.

The requirements were certainly moderate, and our healths needed not
to suffer from over-application. The marking system of that time gave
the numeral 4 as a maximum, with which standard 2.5 was a "passing
average." He who reached that figure, as the combined result of his
course of recitations and stated examinations, passed the test, and
went on, or was graduated. The recitation marks being posted weekly,
we had constant knowledge of our chances; and of the necessity of
greater effort, if in danger, whether of failure or of being
outstripped by a competitor. The latter motive was rarely evidenced,
although I have seen the anxious and worried looks of one struggling
for pre-eminence over a rival who amused himself by merely prodding
where he might have surpassed. It is only fair to add, as I also
witnessed, that no congratulations were more warmly received by the
victor than those of the man who had so constantly trod on his heels.
It is needless to say, to those who know the world in any sphere of
life, that a certain proportion were satisfied with merely scraping
through. The authorities leaned to mercy's side, where there was
reasonable promise of a man's making a good sea officer. In the later
period of written examinations an instructor of much experience said
to me, "If a man's paper comes near 2.5, I always read it over again
with a leaning towards a more favorable judgment on points;" and he
accompanied t