1^ 
 
 V 
 
 ERNS1 
 VONWILDENBRl 
 
 of the German A 
 and 
 
 CAPTAIN 
 CHARLES KING 
 
 nf th'P I! C Ai-m\ 
 
NOBLE BLOOD 
 
 A PRUSSIAN CADET STORY 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 
 
 ERNST VON WILDENBRUCH 
 
 OF THE GERMAN ARMY 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES KING, U, S, Army, and ANNE WLISTON WARD 
 
 A WEST POINT PARALLEL 
 
 AN AMERICAN CADET STORY 
 
 BY 
 
 CAPTAIN CHARLES KING 
 
 U. S. ARMY 
 
 F. TENNYSON NEELY 
 
 114 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
 
 1896 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1896 
 BY F. TENNYSON NEELY 
 
NOBLE BLOOD 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF 
 
 ERNST VON WILDENBRUCH 
 
 OF THE GERMAN ARMY 
 BY 
 
 CAPTAIN CHARLES KING, u. s. A. 
 
 AND 
 
 ANNE WILLISTON WARD 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 FEW stories of cadet or student 
 life have impressed me as did "Das 
 Edle Blut." Told so simply so 
 naturally as to read like a steno- 
 graphic report of the old colonel's 
 own language, it is so strong a word- 
 picture of German cadet life, so true 
 to human nature and so touching in 
 its pathetic close, that I could not 
 resist the desire to place it before 
 American readers of soldier tales. 
 The permission of the author hav- 
 ing been graciously given, the trans- 
 lation has therefore been made, and, 
 
 JVS24970 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 while all stories must lose in trans- 
 lation, it is hoped that among our 
 youth its manly lesson may not be 
 lost. 
 
 That I should venture to add to 
 it a cadet story of our own is indeed 
 hazardous, but I tell it because cer- 
 tain of its incidents were instantly 
 recalled by the glowing pages of 
 Ernst von "Wildenbriich, the gifted 
 author of "Das Edle Blut." 
 
 CHAELES KING, 
 Captain U. S. Army. 
 
 Steamer Kaiser Wilhelm 11., 
 
 North German Lloyds, 
 Nearing Naples, December 18, 1895. 
 
NOBLE BLOOD. 
 
 I WONDER if there really can be 
 in this world people who are utterly 
 devoid of curiosity; people who 
 are capable of passing by a person 
 whom they see gazing intently at 
 some unknown object, without ex- 
 periencing the least desire to pause, 
 follow the direction of the other's 
 eyes, and find out what so myste- 
 riously attracts his attention. 
 
 I, for my part, should any one ask 
 me whether I belonged to that 
 strong-minded class of human beings 
 could scarcely answer " Yes" with a 
 
8 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 clear conscience ; for there was once, 
 longisiace, an Qoe&gian on which I 
 not, only .experienced that itch of 
 curiosity, but ignoininiously suc- 
 cumbed to it, and did as every 
 other inquisitive person would have 
 done under the circumstances. 
 
 The event to which I refer took 
 place one summer afternoon in an 
 inn of the old town in which I 
 followed the profession of the law. 
 
 The room in which we sat was 
 on a level with the great square 
 outside, of which its windows com- 
 manded a full view. 
 
 At this hour of the day it was 
 usually almost deserted, a state of 
 things very agreeable to me, as I 
 have always been a friend of 
 solitude. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 9 
 
 On this particular occasion, the 
 room was only occupied by three 
 persons : the portly cooper who had 
 just poured me out a glass of 
 golden-yellow muscatel from the 
 dust-begrimed bottle he had in his 
 hand ; secondly, myself sitting in an 
 angle of the cosy many-cornered 
 room, slowly sipping the aromatic 
 wine ; and lastly, a man who had 
 seated himself by one of the open 
 windows with a goblet of red wine 
 beside him, and was surrounding 
 himself with fragrant clouds issu- 
 ing from the long, smoke-stained 
 meerschaum pipe between his lips. 
 
 This personage, whose red-tanned 
 face with its large, gray beard, was 
 familiar to the whole town, was an 
 old colonel on the retired list. He 
 
10 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 belonged to a small colony of men 
 who like himself had ceased to 
 play an active part in life, and had 
 settled down in this peaceful little 
 town, there awaiting in enforced 
 idleness the end of their days. 
 
 Every day, at the same hour, they 
 would saunter in groups of twos 
 or threes toward the inn, into 
 which they would all disappear 
 between twelve and one o'clock. 
 There, in the comfortable room 
 above mentioned, they would 
 gather round the table and some 
 bottles of Moselle wine, soon to 
 vanish from human sight in a thick 
 cloud of cigar-smoke, from which 
 issued the rusty, garrulous voices, 
 commenting on the latest military 
 news. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 11 
 
 The old colonel was also an her- 
 editary guest of the inn, but he 
 never appeared at the general 
 assembly hour, evidently preferring 
 the quiet of the later afternoon. 
 
 His seemed to be a lonely, soli- 
 tary nature ; he was seldom seen in 
 the company of others, and he lived 
 in the outskirts of the town, beyond 
 the river, where from his windows 
 one could look out over the far- 
 stretching meadows, which, in early 
 spring, were sometimes completely 
 flooded by the river. Often as I 
 passed his house had I seen him 
 standing alone by the window, his 
 eyes, with their red, swollen lids, 
 wandering thoughtfully over the 
 vast gray water desert beyond the 
 dam. 
 
12 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 And now lie was sitting there at 
 the open casement, looking atten- 
 tentively out on the square, over 
 which the wind was blowing light 
 clouds of dust. 
 
 What could he be studying so 
 intently ? 
 
 The portly cooper, who no doubt 
 found the company of two such 
 silent customers most uninteresting, 
 had already noticed the- old gentle- 
 man's abstraction, and was standing 
 in the middle of the room, his 
 hands behind his back, gazing stead- 
 fastly through the other window. 
 
 Something of importance, there- 
 fore, must surely be taking place 
 outside there. 
 
 As softly as possible, so as not 
 to disturb my companions, I rose 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 13 
 
 from my seat, and followed the 
 direction of their eyes. My curios- 
 ity was disappointed; there was 
 nothing going on that was really 
 worthy of remark. The square 
 was to all appearance deserted ex- 
 cept by two schoolboys who were 
 standing under the large gas-lamp 
 in the center of the square, con- 
 fronting each other with threaten- 
 ing gestures. 
 
 Could it be this which sufficed 
 so thoroughly to engross the atten- 
 tion of the old gentleman ? 
 
 However, such is human nature, 
 that, notwithstanding my disap- 
 pointment, I could not resume my 
 seat until I had ascertained whether 
 or not the ominous looks and ges- 
 tures were to end in a fight. The 
 
14 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 boys had evidently just been re- 
 leased from afternoon school, and 
 their satchels were still tucked 
 under their arms. They seemed to 
 be of the same age, though one was 
 a head taller than the other. The 
 big boy, a long, lanky fellow with 
 a disagreeable expression in his 
 freckled face, was standing directly 
 in the way of the other who was 
 short and fat, with plump, rosy 
 cheeks and appeared besides to be 
 irritating him with taunting words. 
 But after this had lasted a short 
 time, the matter suddenly came to 
 a climax. Both with one accord 
 dropped their school-bags, and the 
 smaller boy, lowering his head with 
 the evident intention of butting his 
 antagonist in the stomach, made a 
 valiant charge. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 15 
 
 The colonel, who had eagerly 
 followed the movements of the com- 
 batants, now exclaimed in a tone of 
 annoyance : " Longshanks will have 
 him in chancery in no time now !" 
 He seemed to disapprove altogether 
 of the tactics adopted by the small- 
 er lad. 
 
 As the colonel did not look at 
 either of us while speaking, it is 
 doubtful to whom his words were 
 addressed, but our attention was 
 now again riveted by the flustered 
 urchins, who had speedily verified 
 the old gentleman's prediction. 
 
 The tall boy had skillfully evaded 
 his enemy's charge, and in the next 
 moment had gripped the latter's 
 head and tucked it safely under 
 his arm. Then possessing himself 
 
16 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 of the small one's right fist, which 
 was vigorously belaboring his back, 
 he dragged his now helpless oppo- 
 nent round and round and round 
 again the high lantern in malignant 
 triumph. 
 
 "That little chap is no good/ 7 
 disgustedly murmured the colonel, 
 continuing his monologue; " he lets 
 himself be caught in the same way 
 time after time." He was clearly 
 out of patience with the vanquished 
 pugilist, and just as evidently bore 
 no good will to the long, lanky 
 victor of the fray. 
 
 " You see, they do the same thing 
 every day," he went on, now ad- 
 dressing himself to the cooper, to 
 whom he apparently desired to ex- 
 plain his interest in the proceedings. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 17 
 
 Then, turning his face once more 
 toward the open window, lie mut- 
 tered : " I wonder whether the 
 little one will come to the rescue 
 to-day ?" 
 
 Hardly were the words out of his 
 mouth, when, from the public gar- 
 dens bordering on the square, shot 
 out a small, slender lad, who, from 
 the likeness between them, was 
 evidently the brother of the plump 
 party in distress, though of much 
 slighter build than the latter. 
 
 " There he is/' contentedly ex- 
 claimed the colonel, taking a sip of 
 wine and stroking his gray beard. 
 
 The new arrival, without a 
 moment's hesitation, rushed up to 
 the combatants, and lifting his 
 satchel with both hands, delivered 
 
IS NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 with it such a blow on the victor's 
 back, that the latter was projected 
 like a bomb to the very windows of 
 the inn. 
 
 " Bravo !" shouted the colonel. 
 
 The tall fellow, thus surprised, 
 tried to defend himself by a vigor- 
 ous kick, but the other was too 
 quick for him, and jumping aside 
 treated his antagonist to another 
 blow, this time on the head, and so 
 well administered that the victor's 
 cap was knocked off to the ground. 
 
 All this time, however, he had 
 kept a firm grip on his prisoner, and 
 still held him in the same helpless 
 position. 
 
 But now the plucky little cham- 
 pion, inspired with a new plan of 
 action, tore open his bag, dragged 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 19 
 
 from it the pen-box, snatched up a 
 penholder, and suddenly began to 
 give the hand which held his broth- 
 er's captive vicious digs with the 
 steel nib. 
 
 The colonel grunted out enthu- 
 siastic expressions of approval, and 
 his eyes twinkled with delight, 
 
 Longshanks, however, found this 
 novel mode of attack altogether too 
 severe to be borne without retalia- 
 tion. Enraged by the pain, he let 
 go of his less dangerous aggressor, 
 and dashed at the brother with up- 
 lifted fists. 
 
 But number three seemed now 
 to be transformed into some wild 
 animal. With his head bare, and 
 the damp curls clinging to his pale, 
 delicate face, he jumped over the 
 
20 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 bag and its scattered contents and 
 flew at his opponent, raining down 
 on the latter's chest and stomach 
 such furious blows, that step by 
 step he forced him to retreat. 
 
 Meanwhile, number two, the un- 
 lucky cause of the fight, had 
 regained breath and strength and 
 now rushed to his brother's assist- 
 ance, belaboring the enemy's back 
 and flanks with the much -abused 
 satchel. 
 
 At last the big fellow shook 
 himself free, and stepping back ? 
 picked up his cap from the ground. 
 The fight seemed to be approaching 
 its end. 
 
 Panting and exhausted stood the 
 three; Longshanks vainly striving 
 to hide his discomfiture by a \ 7 enge- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 21 
 
 ful grin, while the little champion, 
 with fists still doubled, stood nar- 
 rowly watching the other's every 
 movement in case he should show 
 any disposition to renew the tussle. 
 
 But Longshanks seemed to have 
 had enough of it for the present. 
 Derisively raising his eyebrows he 
 stepped further and further away, 
 till, arrived at a safe distance, he 
 stood still and began energetically 
 to vituperate his recent aggressors. 
 
 The two lads, after having gath- 
 ered up the scattered contents of 
 their satchels, brushed the dust 
 from their caps, and set forth on 
 their way home. 
 
 As they passed our windows, I 
 had a good opportunity to study 
 the appearance of the little cham- 
 
22 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 pion, who was a wonderfully refined 
 and high-bred looking child. Their 
 giant enemy, regaining courage at 
 the sight of their backs, now again 
 came after them, following them 
 with shrill cries and jeers. The 
 small victor scornfully shrugged his 
 shoulders. " Such a cowardly, long 
 good-for-nothing," he said, and with 
 that suddenly turning once more 
 confronted his foe. Longshanks in- 
 stantly checked both his tongue 
 and his advance, which discreet 
 action was greeted by the brothers 
 with shouts of mocking laughter. 
 
 They were at present standing 
 just under the window, and the 
 colonel leaned out, patting his small 
 favorite on the head. 
 
 " Well done, my boy," he said. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 23 
 
 " You're a plucky youngster ; there, 
 have a taste of this as a reward ;" 
 handing out to the child his goblet 
 of wine. The boy at first looked up 
 astonished, then, whispering some- 
 thing to his elder brother, gave him 
 his bag to hold and took the prof- 
 fered goblet in his two slender 
 hands. After he had taken a swal- 
 low, he, in his turn, took charge of 
 the school-bags, and without so 
 much as asking permission, handed 
 over the glass to his elder, that he 
 might also have a share in the 
 treat. 
 
 " The little rascal !" muttered the 
 colonel, laughing silently. " I allow 
 him a sip of my wine, and he un- 
 ceremoniously extends the permis- 
 sion to his precious brother," 
 
24 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 The child, however, unconcern- 
 edly returned the glass, looking as 
 though what he had done were 
 quite a matter of course. 
 
 " Well, was it good ?" asked the 
 colonel. 
 
 "Yes, thanks; very good," an- 
 swered the boy, and lifting his cap, 
 he and his brother once more set 
 forth on their homeward way. 
 
 The colonel looked after the re- 
 treating figures till they turned the 
 corner and vanished from his sight, 
 then returning to his favorite form 
 of monologue he muttered : " It's 
 often a strange thing with such 
 boys." 
 
 " It seems to me very irregular 
 that they should fight each other 
 like that in the open street," re- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 25 
 
 marked the cooper severely ; " it is 
 astonishing that the masters allow 
 it ; now those children evidently 
 belong to respectable people." 
 
 " There is no harm in it at all," 
 retorted the colonel; "boys must 
 have some freedom ; it is ridiculous 
 to expect the teachers always to be 
 at their heels ; it is both right and 
 healthy for boys to pommel each 
 other occasionally." 
 
 He rose from his seat, laid down 
 his pipe, and walked stiffly toward 
 the peg on which he had hung his 
 hat, continuing his train of thought 
 in broken, half-audible sentences. 
 
 *' It is in boys of that kind the 
 real nature is apparent later 
 when they grow up they all seem 
 alike it is strange what interesting 
 
26 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 studies one can make on boys like 
 those." 
 
 The cooper having handed him 
 his hat, the old gentleman again 
 took up his glass, in which a few 
 drops still remained. 
 
 " The little rascals have drunk it 
 all up for me !" he exclaimed, and 
 looked almost mournfully at the 
 scanty dregs, setting the glass down 
 again without emptying it. 
 
 The cooper suddenly appeared to 
 wake up : 
 
 " Won't the colonel have another 
 glassful ?" 
 
 The old man had opened the 
 wine list and was absently solilo- 
 quizing : " Hm some other kind 
 perhaps one can't get it by the 
 glass though a bottle by myself 
 rather too much," 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 27 
 
 His gaze wandered slowly over 
 to me, and I read in his eyes the 
 mute question as to whether we 
 should empty a bottle together. 
 
 " If the colonel will allow me/' I 
 said, " I am most willing to share a 
 bottle with him." 
 
 He assented, apparently not un- 
 willingly, and pointed out a certain 
 kind to the cooper, saying, with the 
 tones and bearing of a commander- 
 in-chief : " Fetch me a bottle of 
 that." 
 
 " That is a brand well known to 
 me," he said, sitting down again 
 and throwing his hat on a chair ; 
 " it is Noble Blood." 
 
 I had chosen my seat so that I 
 could command a good side view of 
 his face. 
 
28 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 His eyes were gazing out of the 
 window deep into the sky, and the 
 red light of the sunset was mirrored 
 in their depths. It was the first 
 time I had seen him in such close 
 proximity. He was evidently lost 
 in dreamy thought, and as he 
 mechanically stroked his gray beard 
 it seemed as though, from the long 
 vista of years stretching behind 
 him, rose in his inind the forms of 
 those who had been young with 
 him in the sweet, dim past, and 
 who were now but who could tell 
 where ? 
 
 The bottle which the cooper now 
 set before us contained a delicious 
 Bordeaux, oily and brown with age. 
 I tasted it, and then remarked in 
 the same words the colonel had 
 used: 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 29 
 
 " I fully agree with you, colonel; 
 it is indeed noble blood/' 
 
 Slowly his gaze returned from 
 the distance, and resting a moment 
 on my face seemed to say : " What 
 do you know?" He took a deep 
 draught, and then looking at me 
 over the edge of his glass said : 
 
 " It is strange how, as one grows 
 older, one thinks so much more of 
 the earlier years of one's life, than 
 of those more recent." 
 
 I held my peace, feeling instinct- 
 ively that I was not expected just 
 then to speak or ask questions. 
 When men are remembering and 
 calling up the past, they uncon- 
 sciously become poets for the time 
 being, and poets should not be inter- 
 rupted or questioned in their work. 
 
30 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 A long pause followed. 
 
 "How many different kinds of 
 people one learns to know," lie then 
 continued, " when one comes to 
 think of it many that live on and 
 on 'twould be much better if they 
 had never lived at all and others 
 have to leave us so much too 
 soon." He drew his palm over the 
 boards of the table, and added : 
 "There lies a great deal under 
 that." It looked almost as though 
 the table represented to him the 
 surface of the earth, and as though 
 he were referring to the many who 
 lay under its mold. 
 
 "It was all brought so visibly 
 before me," his voice sounded muf- 
 fled and dull, " when I saw that 
 child. With such boys nature 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 31 
 
 asserts herself and will out, so that 
 one can see clearly deep into the 
 very blood. The pity is that the 
 noble blood so easily comes to grief 
 or is lost to us much more fre- 
 quently than the other kind. I 
 once knew such a boy." 
 
 There it was at last ! The cooper 
 had withdrawn to a corner at the 
 back of the room, and I maintained 
 the same expectant silence ; the only 
 sound in the spacious apartment 
 was the heavy voice of the old 
 colonel, with its frequent pauses, 
 more like the fitful gusts of wind 
 which precede a storm or any other 
 great disturbance of nature. 
 
 His eyes again wandered search- 
 ingly over my face as though to 
 discover whether or not I were 
 
32 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 worthy of listening to his story. 
 He asked nothing, I said nothing, 
 but sat looking at him, and possibly 
 he read in my face the silent wish : 
 Tell me about it ; but he did not 
 begin at once. First he drew from 
 his breast-pocket a large cigar-case 
 of brown leather, took out a cigar 
 and slowly lighted ifc. 
 
 " Suppose you know Berlin ?" he 
 began, throwing away the match 
 and puffing the first cloud of smoke 
 over the table ; u have probably also 
 often been on the tramways there ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, frequently." 
 
 " Hm well you may have 
 noticed in riding from the Alex 
 anderplatz toward the Jarowitz 
 bridge behind the new Friedrich- 
 strasse, at your right hand side, on 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 33 
 
 the Friedrichstrasse, there stands a 
 huge old building; that is the old 
 Cadet school." I nodded assent. 
 " The new one, out in Lichterfelde, 
 I don't know anything about, but 
 the old one, that I knew well ; yes 
 hm was once a cadet there my- 
 self yes that one I know well." 
 
 The repetition of his words gave 
 me the idea that he was not only 
 well acquainted with the building, 
 but also with a great deal that had 
 taken place within its walls. 
 
 " Coining from the Alexander- 
 platz," he continued, " you first pass 
 a large court surrounded by trees. 
 At the present day that court is 
 overgrown with weeds, but it was 
 not so in my time, for all the exer- 
 cising and drilling was done there, 
 
34 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 and the cadets also used it as a 
 playground during the recreation 
 hours. Then conies the principal 
 building, which surrounds another 
 court, known by the cadets as the 
 Square Court, that was also used as 
 a recreation ground. You cannot 
 see into it from the outside." 
 
 I once more nodded assentingly. 
 
 "And then, there still comes a 
 third and smaller court on which 
 stands another building. Don't 
 know what it's used for now, but in 
 those days it was the hospital. 
 You can also perceive the roof of 
 the gymnasium from the street, for 
 that and the yard belonging to it 
 lay close to the hospital ; but now r 
 all that is gone. From the infirm- 
 ary there was a small door leading 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 35 
 
 into the gymnasium yard, but that 
 was seldom used and always kept 
 shut, except on certain occasions, 
 and those occasions were always to 
 us terribly sad ones, for behind that 
 door was the mortuary room. When 
 a cadet died, he was laid in there 
 and the door was left open till all 
 his companions had been marshaled 
 past to take a last look at him, and 
 till he was carried away yes 
 hm." 
 
 Another long pause. 
 
 " As I observed before," pro- 
 ceeded the colonel after a while in 
 a rather depreciatory tone, " I don't 
 know much about that new acad- 
 emy out in Lichterf elde, but I have 
 heard that it has risen to great im- 
 portance and boasts a great number 
 
36 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 of cadets. There, in the new 
 Friedrichstrasse, we were not very 
 numerous, only four companies 
 which were divided into two classes: 
 the " Prirnaner " and the " Sekun- 
 daner ;" there were also the " Selek- 
 taner," who afterward entered the 
 army as officers, and who were nick- 
 named the " Bollen," because they 
 had a certain authority over the rest 
 which rendered them rather unpop- 
 ular. 
 
 " Well, in the same class, Sekun- 
 da, and company, the fourth, to 
 which I belonged, were two broth- 
 ers. Their name has nothing to do 
 with it but well their name was 
 von L. With the principals the 
 elder was known as L. I, and the 
 other, who was a year and a half 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 37 
 
 younger, as L. II, but we cadets 
 dubbed them Big L. and Little L. 
 Now Little L. yes lim hm." 
 
 The colonel moved restlessly 
 about on his chair ; it seemed as 
 though he had at last come to the 
 principal subject of his recollec- 
 tions. 
 
 " Such a contrast as those two 
 brothers presented to each other I 
 have never again encountered," he 
 continued, blowing a thick cloud 
 from his pipe. " Big L. was a thick- 
 set fellow, with a large head and 
 clumsy limbs ; Little L. was like a 
 willow- wand, so slender and supple. 
 He had a small, refined head, cov- 
 ered with fair, wavy hair which 
 curled all round his forehead, and 
 a nose like a young eagle's; alto- 
 gether lie was a boy that " 
 
38 NOBLE SLOOD AND 
 
 The old colonel breathed a sten- 
 torian sigh. 
 
 " Now you must not think that 
 such things were of no consequence 
 with us cadets. On the contrary, 
 hardly had the two brothers moved 
 over from the preparatory school I 
 think they came from Wahlstatt 
 into the academy, than their fate 
 was promptly settled. Big L. was 
 completely left out in the cold, 
 while Little L. became the univer- 
 sal faVorite. 
 
 " When the cadets emerged into 
 the open air during recess, each one 
 would seek out his particular cronies 
 and with them saunter up and down 
 the courts till the drum once more 
 called to work. 
 
 Big L. at such times bestowed 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 39 
 
 himself where best he might and 
 paced discontentedly to and fro, but 
 with Little L. it was very different ; 
 hardly had he appeared in the court 
 before he would be seized by three 
 or four of the elder ones and tri- 
 umphantly borne off by them. And 
 strange to relate, those who were 
 so desirous of his company were 
 very often Primaner. As a rule the 
 Primaner would not think of re- 
 questing the companionship of a 
 " Schnappsack " from Sekunda ; it 
 was entirely beneath their dignity. 
 But it was quite another thing in 
 the case of Little L.; an exception 
 to the rule was made for him. Not- 
 withstanding this, he was just as 
 much liked by the Sekundaner as 
 by the superior Primaner ; that was 
 
40 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 very apparent in the class where we 
 of Sekunda studied together. Dur- 
 ing class hours, we sat in alphabet- 
 ical order and the two Ls. sat $ide 
 by side, pretty nearly in the center 
 of the room. 
 
 " They stood about alike in their 
 studies. The elder brother had a 
 very good head for mathematics, 
 while in the other branches he dis- 
 tinguished himself neither one way 
 nor the other ; but in mathematics 
 he was a " Hecht," as we used to 
 express it, and the younger lad, 
 who was not at all strong in math- 
 ematics, would copy from his elder's 
 work. In every other branch of 
 study, however, Little L. was the 
 brighter of the two, and in fact was 
 one of the first in his class. One 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 41 
 
 great difference between these two 
 boys was : that the elder kept his 
 information to himself and never 
 helped out his classmates by prompt- 
 ing them, while Little L. was con- 
 tinually prompting, and did not 
 hesitate to do so at the top of his 
 voice when the occasion required 
 it yes, yes, yes " 
 
 An affectionate smile played over 
 the old man's face. 
 
 " If one of his classmates in the 
 front row were being questioned 
 and seemed in perplexity, Little L. 
 would send the answer hissing over 
 all the benches, and when came the 
 turn of some one at the back, Little 
 L. muttered the answer half aud- 
 ibly to himself. 
 
 " There was an old professor with 
 
42 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 whom we had Latin. At almost 
 every lesson he would come to a 
 stand in the midst of the room and 
 exclaim : * L. II, you are again 
 prompting in the most barefaced 
 manner. Look out for yourself, or 
 I shall soon be compelled to make 
 an example of you ; I give you fair 
 warning to-day for the last time. 7 
 
 "But each time remained the 
 last but one," reflected the colonel, 
 laughing to himself, " and the ex- 
 ample was never made. For even 
 though Little L. was not a model 
 boy, but rather decidedly the re- 
 verse, he was also a favorite with 
 the officers and professors ; indeed, 
 how could it have been otherwise ? 
 He was always good-tempered and 
 in high spirits, as though every day 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL, 43 
 
 had brought him some new gift, 
 though that was far from being the 
 case, for the boys' father was an 
 impecunious major in some infantry 
 regiment, and they received next to 
 no pocket money. Yet Little L. 
 was always spick and span in his 
 appearance, fresh and clean out- 
 wardly as well as inwardly. Alto- 
 gether " 
 
 The old gentleman paused, as 
 though searching for some word 
 that would adequately express all 
 the loving admiration he felt for 
 the little comrade of former days. 
 
 " As though nature had one day 
 been in a supremely good temper," 
 he continued, "and setting down 
 the lad had proudly exclaimed : 
 ' There he is, behold my work !' " 
 
44 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 " It was strange how attached the 
 brothers were to each other, con- 
 sidering the wide difference in their 
 characters. With the elder it was 
 not so noticeable; he was morose and 
 taciturn and seldom showed what 
 was passing in his mind ; but the 
 younger's thoughts and feelings 
 were always plainly written on his 
 honest face. 
 
 And because Little L. was con- 
 scious of the fact that he was in far 
 greater favor with every one than 
 was his brother, his loyal heart was 
 much grieved for the latter's sake. 
 When the cadets were walking to 
 and fro in the courts, he would 
 often look anxiously round to as- 
 sure himself that his brother was 
 also provided with companions. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 45 
 
 And not only did lie in study-hour 
 allow L. I to copy from his own 
 work and constantly prompt him, 
 but he also kept continual watch 
 to make sure that no one molested or 
 vexed him in any way ; and often, 
 when he covertly glanced at his 
 brother without the4atter s noticing 
 it, the fair young face would assume 
 an expression of such deep gravity, 
 that it almost seemed as though the 
 sight filled him with some secret 
 anxiety or care." 
 
 The colonel smoked with renewed 
 vigor. 
 
 " Afterward, when all those 
 events had taken place which were 
 then still hidden in the uncertain 
 future, it occurred to me that he 
 probably knew much more about his 
 
46 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 brother than we did, and suspected 
 in him the existence of certain 
 qualities of which we were then 
 totally ignorant." 
 
 "All this affectionate concern 
 was of course noticed by the cadets, 
 and though it did not in the least 
 conduce to alter their opinion of 
 Big L., who remained as unpopular 
 as ever, it still further increased the 
 general liking for Little L., who now 
 had added to his other appellations 
 that of ' Brother Lover.' 
 
 " The two shared the same room, 
 and Little L., as I before observed, 
 was always neat and tidy, while 
 L. I was mostly the reverse. So 
 Little L. constituted himself serv- 
 ant to his brother, polished up the 
 buttons of his uniform, and before 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 47 
 
 every call for inspection, arming 
 himself with the clothes brush, 
 scrubbed and brushed at Big L.'s 
 clothes till he was satisfied with 
 the result ; and special pains did he 
 take on the days when ' the spite- 
 ful lieutenant ' was in charge of the 
 inspection. 
 
 " This ceremony took place every 
 morning ; the cadets stood aligned 
 in long rows in one of the courts, 
 w^hile the officer on duty went in 
 and out between the ranks examin- 
 ing their uniforms to see if they 
 were in perfect order. 
 
 "When it w r as the turn of the 
 ' spiteful lieutenant ' to fulfill this 
 duty, the whole company was al- 
 ways thrown into a terrible state 
 of anxiety, for he invariably found 
 
48 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 something amiss. He made it a 
 rule to fillip with his fingers every 
 blessed coat, and if the least speck 
 of dust appeared, woe betide us. 
 
 " Now, however carefully and per- 
 severingly one might have brushed 
 one's clothes, a few atoms of dust 
 always did seem to remain in them, 
 and this proceeding of the lieuten- 
 ant's naturally coaxed them out ; 
 as soon as he perceived this he 
 would say, in a voice like an old 
 bleating goat's : * Take down this 
 name for Rapport on Sunday.' 
 That meant, of course, that the 
 Sunday holiday must go to the dogs, 
 and that was to us the greatest of 
 hardships." 
 
 The old colonel took an energetic 
 pull and then carefully stroked his 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 49 
 
 mustache into Ms mouth to recover 
 the precious drops that had been 
 appropriated by it ; he was evi- 
 dently made quite furious by the 
 recollection of the " spiteful lieu- 
 tenant." 
 
 " When one comes to think of it," 
 he continued, "it needs an awful 
 amount of meanness to deprive a 
 poor fellow of his Sunday outing, 
 which he has been looking forward 
 to through all the hard work of 
 the week, just for a trifle of that 
 kind. At all events, later on in my 
 own regiment, no such nagging was 
 permitted; they knew that I, for 
 one, would not stand it. To rate the 
 men soundly and throw them into 
 arrest, even to use very strong lan- 
 guage on certain occasions that 
 
50 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 does them no harm ; but to be con- 
 tinually nagging at the poor fellows 
 for little trifles is, to my mind, a 
 despicable trick. 
 
 " Very true," exclaimed the 
 cooper from the background, thus 
 informing us that he too had been 
 following the colonel's tale with 
 attention. 
 
 The old gentleman gradually 
 calmed down and resumed his 
 story. 
 
 " Everything ran on in the same 
 monotonous groove for the space of 
 a year, and then came round the 
 much-dreaded season of examina- 
 tions, the most important event of 
 the year. 
 
 " At this time the Primaner 
 passed the ' FahnrichV ' exam,' 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 51 
 
 and the Selektaner who, as I men- 
 tioned before, were surnamed the 
 ' Bollen ' parsed the ' Offiziersexam- 
 en ;' when these two divisions had 
 done with their ' exams ' they were 
 sent home, and therefore, for a cer- 
 tain length of time, the Sekundaner 
 were in sole possession of the build- 
 ing, waiting till they should be 
 transformed into the future Prima. 
 This state of affairs lasted till the 
 new members of Sekunda moved in, 
 and till the arrival of the newly 
 named ' Bollen;' after that, the old 
 order of things again set in. 
 
 In the meanwhile, however, a 
 certain confusion reigned in the 
 academy, especially while the last 
 Primaner were making their prep- 
 arations for departure] for they 
 
52 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 were examined and dismissed by 
 installments, and for a while every- 
 thing was turned pretty much up- 
 side down. 
 
 " In the same room occupied by 
 the two brothers was a ' Primaner 
 who was considered by everybody 
 a first-rate fellow. This young 
 gentleman had resolved that as 
 soon as he had overcome the trials 
 of the examinations and received 
 his freedom, he was going to turn 
 out in style. To this end he had 
 procured himself, instead of the 
 ordinary sword-belt given by the 
 academy, a new belt of fine polish- 
 ed leather which was much better- 
 looking than the regulation belt. 
 You see, he often received money 
 from home, so he could afford to 
 procure himself this satisfaction. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL, 53 
 
 "He had exhibited his new sword- 
 belt to everybody, for he was aggra- 
 vatingly proud of it, and it had 
 been duly admired. 
 
 "When the longed-for day at 
 last arrived, and the Primaner was 
 packing his belongings preparatory 
 to going home, he went to fetch 
 and don his new belt, but it was 
 gone ! 
 
 " A grand excitement ensued, and 
 a general hunt was set on foot for 
 the missing treasure, but without 
 result. The Primaner had not shut 
 up his acquisition in his own cup- 
 board, but left it in his bedroom, 
 where the helmets of the occupants 
 w r ere hung up side by side under a 
 curtain, and placed it by the side 
 of .his own helmet. Thence it had 
 totally disappeared. 
 
54 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 "The only possible conclusion 
 was that some one must have taken 
 it. 
 
 " But who ? 
 
 " At first, general suspicion fell 
 on the old servant who blacked 
 our boots and made up the rooms 
 but he was an old non-commission- 
 ed officer of former days, who had 
 never been found guilty of the least 
 inaccuracy during all his long life. 
 Could it possibly be one of the 
 cadets ? Why, no one would dream 
 of entertaining such a thought for 
 one moment. So the matter re- 
 mained a mystery and an unpleas- 
 ant one." 
 
 "The Primaner growled and 
 swore, for he would have to go off 
 with the ugly regulation belt after 
 all. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 55 
 
 " The other occupants of the room 
 were silent and uncomfortable; they 
 had all with one accord thrown 
 open their wardrobes and challeng- 
 ed the Primaner to make an investi- 
 gation of their belongings, but the 
 latter had indignantly replied : 
 < Why, it's utter nonsense ! who 
 would think of such a thing ?' 
 
 " And now something took place 
 which excited more remark than all 
 that had gone before, for suddenly 
 the Primaner was once more in pos- 
 session of his lost belt. 
 
 " He had already left his room, 
 bag in hand, and was descending 
 the stairs, when he heard himself 
 called from behind, and turning 
 round, saw Little L. tearing after 
 him with the missing sword-belt 
 in his hand. 
 
56 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 " Those who happened to be pres- 
 ent when this occurred afterward 
 said that Little L. was pale as a 
 ghost and trembling violently. He 
 muttered something in the Pri- 
 maner's ear and they had exchanged 
 a few whispered sentences; then 
 the Primaner had gently patted 
 Little L. on the head, taken off the 
 regulation belt, replacing it by his 
 own, and departed, first giving the 
 rejected belt to Little L, to be put 
 back in its place. 
 
 "Naturally the secret could no 
 longer remain hidden, and, sure 
 enough, it was soon public property. 
 
 " A new arrangement of the 
 rooms had been ordered ; Big L. 
 had been exchanged into other 
 quarters and was in the act of 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 57 
 
 moving when all this excitement 
 arose. 
 
 "It afterward occurred to the 
 cadets that he had been remarkably 
 quiet while accomplishing his move; 
 but of course that is always the 
 way : when the grass has sprung up, 
 everybody claims to have heard it 
 grow. So much, however, was 
 true : he would not let any one help 
 him, and when Little L. had ten- 
 dered his services, Big L. had re- 
 pul sed his offer quite gruffly. Little 
 L. notwithstanding, anxious as ever 
 to be helpful, had not let himself be 
 discouraged, and as he took out 
 from the wardrobe his brother's 
 ticking gymnastic-jacket, which was 
 carefully folded, he felt something 
 hard inside of it and there was 
 the lost sword-belt ! 
 
58 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 " What the brothers said to each 
 other in that moment, or whether 
 they exchanged words at all, no- 
 body ever knew, for Little L. 
 had the presence of mind to slip 
 noiselessly out of the room, and not 
 till he was safely out of the door 
 did he throw away the jacket and, 
 unmindful of consequences, rush 
 away in search of the ' Primaner ' 
 to restore to him his lost property. 
 
 u But now there was no help for 
 it, and in five minutes the news 
 had spread like wildfire through the 
 entire company ; L. I had yielded 
 to temptation and had appropri- 
 ated one of his roommates' belong- 
 ings. Half an hour later a message 
 was carried from room to room : 
 ' This evening, after taps, every one 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 59 
 
 to meet for consultation in the com- 
 pany hall.' 
 
 " I should tell you that each com- 
 pany had in its ward a large room 
 or hall where censures were given 
 and other transactions of impor- 
 tance conducted. This place was 
 called the company hall. 
 
 " Late in the evening, therefore, 
 when the lights were out and every- 
 thing lay in darkness, muffled forms 
 softly emerged from the different 
 rooms; no door was allowed to 
 creak and every one was in stocking 
 feet ; for the superiors as yet knew 
 nothing of the afternoon's occur- 
 rence, and if they were to surprise 
 our midnight meeting, we would 
 draw down a terrific storm upon 
 our heads. 
 
60 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 " When we arrived at the door 
 of our company hall, we found 
 Little L. standing beside it, leaning 
 dejectedly against the wall, with 
 his face the color of chalk. Two 
 of the cadets took him by the hand 
 and said : ' Little L. can come in 
 too ; it was none of his fault.' There 
 was only one who objected to this 
 proposition, and that was a big, tall 
 fellow whose name was though 
 names have nothing to do with it, 
 you know well, his name was K. 
 But his objection was immediately 
 overruled ; Little L. was allowed to 
 enter the hall with the rest, two 
 candles were then lighted and placed 
 on the table, and the consultation 
 began." 
 
 The colonel's glass was almost 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 61 
 
 empty ; I filled it for him, and after 
 taking a long draught lie continued : 
 
 " All this may appear laughable, 
 even ridiculous, to outsiders now, 
 but I can assure you that we felt 
 very far from laughing at the time ; 
 on the contrary, the scene presented 
 to us a very uncanny and lugubri- 
 ous appearance, 
 
 " That one of our number, a 
 cadet, should prove to be a thief, 
 seemed to us something incredible 
 and terribly disgraceful. Every one 
 looked awed and only spoke in 
 whispers. As a rule, denouncing a 
 comrade to the officers was con- 
 sidered a most contemptible pro- 
 ceeding, but when an act like this 
 one had been committed, the per- 
 petrator was no more a cadet in our 
 
62 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 eyes, and therefore we were now to 
 decide whether or not the captain 
 should be informed of what had 
 taken place. 
 
 "K. was the first to speak. He 
 declared that it was certainly our 
 duty to tell everything to the cap- 
 tain, for L. I had, by his low action, 
 forfeited all consideration on our 
 part. 
 
 " K. was the largest and strongest 
 fellow in the company. His words 
 were therefore listened to with at- 
 tention, and the cadets were all, in 
 their hearts, of the same opinion, 
 so, as nobody could think of any 
 alternative, silence prevailed. 
 
 " At this moment the group round 
 the table was broken through by 
 Little L., who had till now been 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. v 63 
 
 standing in the background. His 
 arms hung limp and nerveless by 
 his side, and his eyes were bent on 
 the floor; he evidently wanted to 
 say something, but had not the 
 courage to do so. 
 
 " K. again took the lead and said 
 authoritatively : ' L. II has nothing 
 whatever to say in the matter.' 
 
 " But this time his opinion was 
 little heeded. He had always been 
 hostile to the two brothers, no one 
 could tell why, especially toward 
 the younger one. He was also far 
 from being a favorite, for his com- 
 panions instinctively felt that there 
 was something mean and repulsive 
 about him. He was one of those 
 who only attack beings smaller and 
 weaker than themselves, while 
 
64 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 keeping on the good side of those 
 who are stronger than they. 
 
 " Therefore an indignant whisper 
 broke out from every direction : 
 4 Little L. shall certainly speak if 
 he wishes to he has more right to 
 do so than any one else here.' 
 
 "When the lad heard how his 
 comrades were taking his part, his 
 self-command gave way and he 
 broke down entirely. 
 
 " One of his friends went up to 
 him and affectionately laying his 
 hand on his shoulder said : ' Try 
 and calm yourself, and tell us what 
 you want to say.' 
 
 " Little L. raised his white face 
 and sobbed despairingly : ' If you 
 denounce him, he will be thrown 
 out of the corps, and then what is 
 to become of him ?' 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 65 
 
 " We were all silent, knowing 
 that the boy was right, and that 
 such would inevitably be the con- 
 sequence if we notified the captain 
 of what had taken place. We also 
 knew that L.'s father was very 
 poor, and involuntarily we all won- 
 dered what the father would say if 
 he came to hear of his son's con- 
 duct. 
 
 " * But you must see for your- 
 self.' continued the cadet who had 
 before addressed Little L., ' that 
 your brother has been guilty of a 
 disgraceful act and deserves to be 
 punished for it.' 
 
 "Little L. nodded silently, he 
 knew that it was only fair and 
 just. 
 
 " The cadet stood wrapped in 
 
66 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 thought for a few moments and 
 then turned to the others : ' I will 
 make a proposition,' he said; ' if you 
 are all willing, we will not ruin L. 
 I's whole prospect in life, but we 
 will give him another chance and 
 see if there is not some good in 
 him. L. I shall choose for himself 
 whether he would rather we should 
 denounce him, or that we keep the 
 matter to ourselves; give him a good 
 thrashing and then let the whole 
 thing be buried and forgotten.' 
 
 u That seemed to be a famous 
 way out of the difficulty, and all 
 agreed unanimously. The cadet 
 turned to Little L. and said to him : 
 ' Then go and find your brother and 
 bring him here.' 
 
 " Little L. dashed the tears from 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 6? 
 
 his eyes and nodded hastily. He ran 
 out of the room and very soon re- 
 appeared with his brother. 
 
 " L. I did not dare to look any 
 one in the face, but stood in our 
 midst like a condemned criminal. 
 Little L. placed himself behind his 
 brother and kept his eyes anxious- 
 ly fixed on him. 
 
 " The cadet who had made the 
 proposal now began the examina- 
 tion, and turning to L. I asked : 
 
 "Did he acknowledge that he 
 had stolen the sword-belt ? 
 
 He did acknowledge it. 
 
 "Did he realize that his deed 
 had really rendered him henceforth 
 unworthy of his cadetship ? 
 
 " He did realize it. 
 
 " Did he prefer that we should 
 
68 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 denounce him to the captain, or 
 that we should give him a thrash- 
 ing and then let the whole affair be 
 buried in oblivion ? 
 
 "He preferred the latter alter- 
 native. 
 
 " A sigh of relief went round the 
 hall, and it was decided to settle 
 the matter there and then. 
 
 " Some one was despatched for 
 one of the bamboo canes that we 
 used for beating out our clothes. 
 
 "During his absence, we tried 
 to persuade Little L. to leave 
 the room, so as not to be pres- 
 ent at the execution, but he silently 
 shook his head, and signified that 
 he preferred to stay. 
 
 " As soon as the messenger had 
 returned, L. I was stretched out, 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 69 
 
 face downward on the table, w r hile 
 two held his hands and two his 
 feet. The candles were taken from 
 the table and held high in the air, 
 and the whole scene now presented 
 a truly awful appearance. 
 
 " K. was to be the executioner, as 
 he was the strongest of the assem- 
 bled company. He stood aside and, 
 reaching out, let the stick whiz 
 down on L, I with all his strength. 
 
 " The boy roared under the fear- 
 ful blow and was on the point of 
 giving a yell when Little L. rushed 
 up to him, and burying his brother's 
 face on his shoulder, whispered : 
 
 " 'Don't howl, don't howl, or 
 everything will be discovered.' 
 
 "Big L. gulped down his ex- 
 clamation and moaned half audibly 
 to himself. 
 
70 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 " K. again lifted his arm and a 
 second vigorous blow rang through 
 the hall. 
 
 " This time, the victim tossed and 
 struggled to such an extent that 
 those at his hands and feet could 
 scarcely hold him. Little L. had 
 flung both arms round his brother's 
 neck and was almost stifling him in 
 his anxiety. His face was white as 
 chalk and his eyes almost starting 
 from his head, while he trembled 
 from head to foot ; as we all gazed 
 afc him in silence, we felt that we 
 could not endure the sight much 
 longer. 
 
 " When, therefore, another ener- 
 getic blow had been delivered with 
 the same result as before, an ex- 
 cited whisper arose from all direc- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 71 
 
 tions : ( That's enough now ; stop 
 
 it; 
 
 " K., though crimson and breath- 
 less from his exertions, was of the 
 opinion that it was not yet suffi- 
 cient, and again raised his arm, but 
 three or four of us threw ourselves 
 upon him, snatched away the stick 
 and pushed him aside. 
 
 " L. I was released and stood 
 with bent head by the table, Little 
 L. beside him. 
 
 " The execution was over. 
 
 " The cadet, who had by his prop- 
 osition taken the lead of the pro- 
 ceedings, stepped forward and, rais- 
 ing his voice slightly, said : ' Now 
 the whole matter is over and done 
 with, let everybody shake hands 
 with L. I, and whoever, from this 
 
72 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 moment on, makes any reference to 
 what lias taken place to-day is a 
 rascal. 
 
 " A unanimous ' Yes, yes,' showed 
 that he expressed the general opin- 
 ion. 
 
 " Every one stepped up to Big L. 
 and shook hands with him, but 
 after that, all with one accord 
 rushed up to Little L. and he was 
 soon surrounded by a throng of 
 friends, all eager to press his hand. 
 Those who could not get near 
 enough stretched out their hands 
 over the shoulders of those in front, 
 others climbed on the table to get 
 at him ; they stroked his head, and 
 patted him enthusiastically on back 
 and shoulders, whispering the 
 while words of affection and sym- 
 pathy, 1 ' 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 73 
 
 The old colonel lifted his glass 
 to his mouth it seemed as though 
 something were choking him, and 
 he were trying to gulp it down. 
 When he again lowered the glass 
 he drew a long breath. 
 
 " Such boys," he said, " have in- 
 stinct instinct and feeling. 
 
 " The lights were blown out, and 
 all flitted noiselessly back to their 
 respective rooms ; five minutes later 
 every one lay in bed and the affair 
 was a thing of the past. 
 
 "The captain and the other 
 officers had not heard a sound, 
 and remained in total ignorance of 
 what had occurred. 
 
 "All was over," the colonel's 
 voice was heavy and slow ; he had 
 sunk both hands in his pockets and 
 
74 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 was staring absently before him 
 through the dense mist of cigar- 
 smoke. 
 
 " So we all of us thought, as we 
 lay down to rest that evening. 
 Whether Little L. slept much dur- 
 ing the night is doubtful ; he looked 
 little like it the next day. 
 
 " Until now it had always seemed 
 as though some mischievous sprite 
 occupied the place where he sat. 
 Now that place seemed a blank, so 
 pale and quiet had he become. 
 
 11 As when you take up a butter- 
 fly in your hands, carelessly crush- 
 ing out the vivid colors and beau- 
 tiful brilliance from its wings, so 
 was the change in him; I don't know 
 how else to describe it. 
 
 "In the afternoons henceforth, 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 75 
 
 he was always with his brother. 
 He probably realized that L. I 
 would be less sought for than ever 
 now ; therefore he himself would 
 keep him company. And so the 
 brothers walked to and fro, arm in 
 arm, from one court to the other, 
 both with bent heads and appar- 
 ently exchanging but few words 
 with each other." 
 
 Again there ensued a pause in 
 the story, and once more I filled the 
 colonel's glass while he puffed away 
 at his cigar. 
 
 " All this," he resumed, " might 
 have worn itself out in time, and 
 things have returned to their for- 
 mer condition, but for " 
 
 He laid his clenched hand on the 
 table. 
 
76 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 " There are people," he said an- 
 grily, " who are like a poisonous 
 weed in the ground, which destroys 
 whatever comes in contact with it ; 
 people who likewise poison and 
 pollute all the rest of mankind, 
 
 " One day we were having a class 
 of natural philosophy. The pro- 
 fessor was showing us different ex- 
 periments with his electric battery, 
 and wished, amongst other things, 
 to have an electric shock communi- 
 cated throughout the class. To 
 this end we had all to join hands 
 so as to establish the communica- 
 tion between us. 
 
 " When, therefore, L. I stretched 
 out his hand to K., who sat beside 
 him, the latter hastily pulled back 
 his own with a great show of aver- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 7? 
 
 sion, as though he had been about 
 to touch a toad. 
 
 "L. I shrank back into himself 
 without a word, and a burning flush 
 spread over his face. 
 
 " But in the same moment Little 
 L. rose from his place, came round 
 and seated himself between his 
 brother and K., gripped the latter's 
 hand and banged it down on the 
 bench with such force that the 
 fellow gave a loud exclamation of 
 pain. 
 
 " Then he seized Little L. by the 
 throat and a regular fight began be- 
 tween the two in the middle of the 
 lesson. 
 
 "The professor, who had been 
 busying himself with his machine, 
 now approached hastily, with flying 
 coat-tails. 
 
78 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 "'Tut, tut, tut/ he cried. 
 
 " He was an elderly man and one 
 of whom we stood little in awe. 
 
 " The two had tackled each other 
 so energetically that they did not 
 even stop when the professor was 
 in front of them. 
 
 " ' What disgraceful conduct !' 
 exclaimed the professor, ' what im- 
 propriety ! Will you please to stop 
 fighting immediately.' 
 
 " K. looked up and said : ' L. II 
 began it, though I did nothing 
 whatever to him.' 
 
 " Little L. stood upright for we 
 had to stand when the masters ad- 
 dressed us with the perspiration 
 running down his temples, and his 
 teeth clenched so fiercely that one 
 could see the muscles working 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 79 
 
 through his thin cheeks. As he 
 heard K.'s assertion, a smile spread 
 over his face. I never saw anything 
 like it. 
 
 " The old professor continued for 
 five minutes to deliver high-sound- 
 ing and finely modeled sentences 
 in condemnation of such preposter- 
 ous conduct, discoursed at length 
 on the dangerous abyss of ingrained 
 brutality, of which such outrageous 
 behavior was a sure proof. We let 
 him talk on ; our thoughts were with 
 the two bitter enemies. 
 
 " And hardly was the lesson over 
 and the professor out of the door, 
 when a book was sent spinning 
 over the class, well aimed at K.'s 
 head. As he turned round furiously 
 to discover the assailant, another 
 
80 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 volume came whizzing at him from 
 the opposite direction, and now a 
 general cry broke out : ' Down with 
 him, down with him F The whole 
 class sprang to their feet, dashing 
 over benches and tables toward 
 their prey ; and, I can assure you, 
 that fellow received such a drub- 
 bing as he did not get over in a long 
 time." 
 
 The old colonel smiled to himself 
 with grim satisfaction, and looked 
 at his hand which still lay tightly 
 clenched on the table. 
 
 " I can tell you that I helped too, 
 and with right good will ; of that I 
 can flatter myself." 
 
 It seemed as though his hand had 
 forgotten the fifty years that had 
 gone by since then ; one could see 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 81 
 
 by the firmly clenched fingers that 
 they were once more, in spirit, 
 thumping cheerfully on the pros- 
 trate K. 
 
 " Now, as is always the case with 
 creatures of like stamp, this K. had 
 a vengeful and malignant as well as 
 a treacherous nature, and it would 
 have given him immense satisfac- 
 tion to go and straightway divulge 
 the whole story to the captain ; his 
 fear of us, however, prevented him 
 from venturing on that proceeding. 
 
 u But he never forgot for one in- 
 stant the treatment to which we 
 had subjected him, and that on be- 
 half of Little L. 
 
 " One afternoon, the cadets were 
 as usual enjoying the fresh air in 
 the court during recess, the two 
 
82 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 brothers together, and K. arm-in-arm 
 with a couple of his cronies. 
 
 " To go from the square court to 
 the other one, we had to pass under 
 an archway which was cut through 
 one wing of the main building, and 
 there was a rule that the cadets 
 should not pass through this passage 
 arm-in-arm, so as not to block the 
 narrow space. 
 
 "On this particular afternoon, 
 fate ordained that K., as he was 
 passing under the archway with his 
 companions, should meet there the 
 two brothers, who, lost in thought, 
 had forgotten to leave go of each 
 other at the entrance. 
 
 " K., perceiving this, though the 
 matter did not concern him in the 
 least, stops abruptly in front of the 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 83 
 
 two, opens his eyes wide in feigned 
 astonishment, and remarks loudly : 
 
 " * What business have you to be 
 walking through here arm-in-arm ? 
 Do you wish to block the way for de- 
 cent folks, you thieving beggars V " 
 
 The colonel interrupted himself 
 for a moment and observed : 
 
 " It is now fifty years and more 
 since that happened, but I remem- 
 ber it all as clearly as though it had 
 been yesterday. 
 
 " I was at that moment walking 
 round the square court with two 
 friends, when suddenly, from the 
 direction of the archway, came a 
 scream I don't know how to de- 
 scribe to you what it sounded like 
 but I think that if a tiger or some 
 other savage brute broke loose from 
 
84 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 its cage, and pounced on a human 
 being, then one would probably hear 
 something like what we heard that 
 afternoon. 
 
 " It was so horrible that we three 
 dropped each other's arms and stood 
 completely petrified. And not only 
 we, but all who were in the court, 
 stood stock still, and everything 
 became for a moment still as death. 
 Then there was a simultaneous and 
 precipitate rush toward the passage ; 
 from the second court also they were 
 approaching in hot haste, so that 
 both entrances to the archway were 
 soon crammed, I naturally among 
 the crowd, and what was the sight 
 that met my eyes ! 
 
 " Little L. had thrown himself on 
 K. and was clinging to him like a 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 85 
 
 wild- cat. With his left hand he 
 was hanging on to the latter's collar, 
 so that the great hulking fellow 
 was almost strangled, and with the 
 right he was pounding, crash, crash 
 and crash into K.'s face, so that the 
 blood was already running down in 
 streams. 
 
 "At this moment the officer on 
 duty appeared from the second court 
 and forced his way through the 
 crowd. 
 
 " ' L. II, leave go directly,' he 
 thundered out. He was a hugely 
 tall man, with a voice which reached 
 from one end of the academy to the 
 other, and we stood in proper awe 
 of him. 
 
 " Little L.. however, neither saw 
 nor heard, but pounded away at his 
 
86 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 enemy's face, and with every blow 
 came the fearful blood-curdling yell 
 which seemed to pierce through us 
 like a knife. 
 
 " When the officer saw that words 
 were of no avail, he grabbed hold 
 of Little L., and putting forth all 
 his strength, tore him away from 
 his victim. 
 
 " But as soon as Little L. was on 
 his feet, his eyes turned upward and 
 he fell to the ground writhing in 
 fearful convulsions. 
 
 " We had never before seen any- 
 thing of the kind, and looked on in 
 silent astonishment and horror. 
 
 " The officer, however, who had 
 bent down to examine him, now 
 raised himself quickly and said : 
 ' The boy is in a terrible fit. For- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 87 
 
 ward, two of you take him by the 
 feet/ himself grasping Little L. 
 under the arms, ' and over to the 
 hospital.' 
 
 " And so they carried Little L. 
 into the hospital. 
 
 " As they bore him away, we got 
 hold of L. I, and from him, and from 
 the two who had been Math K., we 
 heard how this dreadful scene had 
 been caused. 
 
 " K. stood there like a whipped 
 dog, wiping the blood from his face. 
 If it had not been for that nothing 
 would have saved him from another 
 such drubbing as he had received 
 shortly before from his class. But 
 as it was we all turned silently away 
 from him and never spoke to him 
 again ; from that moment he was to 
 
88 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 us as a scoundrel and one unfit to 
 deal with." 
 
 The table resounded as the colonel 
 brought his hand down on it with 
 a heavy blow. 
 
 " How long the cadets kept him 
 under this ban, I don't know. But 
 I passed another year in the same 
 class without ever saying one word 
 to him; we entered the army as 
 ' Fahnriche ' together ; I never gave 
 him my hand to bid him good-by, 
 and I don't know whether or no he 
 became an officer. I never looked 
 for his name in the casualty list ; 
 don't know whether he still lives or 
 whether he fell in one of the wars 
 to me he was and is no more in 
 existence the only thing that 
 grieves me is that he ever came 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 89 
 
 into my life and that I cannot root 
 him out from my memory as one 
 pulls up a pernicious weed and 
 throws it into the fire. 
 
 " The next morning brought bad 
 tidings from the hospital ; Little L. 
 lay unconscious, in a heavy nervous 
 fever. In the afternoon L. I was 
 sent for, but his little brother no 
 longer recognized him. 
 
 "And toward evening, as we all 
 sat in the big mess-hall at supper, 
 came the rumor like a large black 
 bird with silent wings it floated 
 through the room Little L. was 
 dead. 
 
 " As we came out from supper, we 
 found our captain standing at the 
 door of the company hall ; we were 
 ordered to enter, and there the cap- 
 
90 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 tain anounced to us that our little 
 comrade, L. II, had fallen asleep 
 never to wake again. 
 
 " Our captain was a good and 
 tender-hearted man, he loved his 
 cadets dearly, and as he told us the 
 sad news, he furtively wiped away 
 the tears which had fallen on his 
 beard. 
 
 " Then he told us all to fold our 
 hands, and one of us had to step 
 forward and repeat aloud the Lord's 
 Prayer." 
 
 The old colonel bent his head. 
 
 " Then, for the first time, I real- 
 ized how beautiful is the Lord's 
 Prayer. 
 
 " On the next afternoon the door 
 which led from the hospital to the 
 gymnasium-yard was opened that 
 cruel, fateful door. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 91 
 
 u We were all assembled in the 
 hospital-yard to take one last loot 
 at our dead comrade. 
 
 " No word was spoken, and noth- 
 ing was heard but the shuffling foot- 
 steps as we marched by, and the 
 heavy breathing which escaped from 
 every breast. 
 
 " And there lay Little L., our 
 poor Little L. 
 
 " All in pure white he lay there, 
 with his hands folded on his breast, 
 the fair hair curling round his wax- 
 like forehead ; his cheeks were so 
 fallen in that the delicate, high-bred 
 nose seemed to stand far out, and on 
 his face an expression " 
 
 The colonel paused a moment; 
 his breath came hard and pain- 
 fully. 
 
92 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 "I am an old man now," he con- 
 tinued in a broken voice. " I have 
 seen the dead and dying on the 
 field of battle, men whose faces ex- 
 pressed the sorest need or despair, 
 but such bitter anguish and heart's 
 sorrow as was written on the face of 
 that child I have never again seen 
 never never." 
 
 Deep silence reigned in the room. 
 As the old colonel's voice died 
 away, the cooper softly rose to his 
 feet and turned on the gas over our 
 heads; it had grown quite dark. 
 
 I once more took up the bottle, 
 but it was almost empty ; only one 
 tear flowed slowly out, one last drop 
 of Noble Blood. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL 
 
 AN 
 
 AMERICAN CADET STORY 
 
 BY 
 
 CAPTAIN CHARLES KING 
 
 U. S. ARMY 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 95 
 
 A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 
 
 THERE was a time when West 
 Point discipline was far from being 
 what it is to-day. There were days 
 when even that personage so con- 
 stantly in evidence now, the officer 
 in charge, w^as only seen at parade, 
 and not always there, for it some- 
 times happened that, having given 
 the command " guides posts," the 
 cadet adjutant looked in vain for 
 the blue-coated, red-sashed official 
 whose turn it was to receive the 
 parade, and seeing none, had quietly 
 directed the senior cadet captain to 
 
96 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 fall out and take command, 'and 
 quitting his position on the right of 
 his company, that young magnate 
 returned sword, strode forth to the 
 designated spot, and there received 
 the salute of the long, statuesque 
 gray and white line. There were 
 weeks and months when cadets of 
 the upper classes were excused from 
 all military duty except Sunday 
 morning inspection, and detailed as 
 instructors in mathematics, French 
 or English. There were months 
 when many of the officers on the 
 academic staff limped painfully, 
 used canes or crutches or both, and 
 when cadets of the upper classes 
 did fully half of the section work 
 in the academic building. There 
 even came a time when parade and 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 97 
 
 drills were suspended and full a 
 third of the corps was excused from 
 marching to meals because so many 
 were in rags as to clothing and 
 shoes, and all this was during the 
 great civil war of the early 60's, 
 perhaps the most exciting, if not 
 indeed the most demoralizing period 
 the Military Academy ever knew. 
 
 But there were compensations. 
 
 To begin with, the position of 
 cadet officer carried with it respon- 
 sibilities and rewards far exceeding 
 those of the present time. Every 
 uncrippled graduate worth his salt 
 was at the front or longing to be 
 there. Only the disabled, as a rule, 
 were sent to the academy as in- 
 structors. Even the heroic captain 
 at the head for the time of the de- 
 
98 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 partment of cavalry tactics and 
 horsemanship, rode riddled with 
 wounds received in the mad charge 
 of his regiment at Gaines's Mill. A 
 few officers there were who seemed 
 in full possession of their physical 
 powers, but with that lively lot of 
 youngsters to manage, their instruc- 
 tors, especially in the department 
 of tactics, could not be all invalids ; 
 so, much to their disgust no doubt, 
 perhaps half a dozen young officers 
 were kept on duty at the Point, and 
 an unhappy lot was theirs. 
 
 In one way the corps of cadets 
 was in clover. Discipline and sur- 
 veillance were necessarily relaxed. 
 Inspections of quarters by night 
 and day were infrequent, and, on 
 the part of one or two of the tactical 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 99 
 
 officers, indeed, they became almost 
 perfunctory. Then as war prices 
 soared higher and higher and the 
 pay remained at thirty dollars a 
 month, the corps was plunged in 
 debt. Orders for new uniforms and 
 shoes had to be refused, and by the 
 time the war was well along in its 
 third year and the winter of '63-4 
 came on, three-fourths of our num- 
 ber were a lot of scarecrows. Con- 
 gress had to come to our relief, 
 increase the pay, and date it back, 
 so as to set the battalion on its feet 
 again, but meantime there was a 
 period of that demoralization which 
 invariably runs with rags, and some 
 queer sights were seen and deeds 
 were done that could hardly seem 
 possible now. The war days were 
 
100 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 famous at the Point, long years after 
 the war had closed, for traditions 
 of the tower kitchen, the billiard- 
 room under "C" Company barracks, 
 the Christmas ghost parade, the 
 midnight reveille, and the wheel- 
 barrow battery drill, were handed 
 down from class to class as among 
 the rollicking reminiscences the 
 farce comedies of the corps. 
 
 But there were tragedies too. 
 
 And there was a bright, brave 
 time, never to be forgotten of those 
 who then wore the academic gray, 
 when, such was the shortage of in- 
 structing officers from the army, 
 that the discipline, the control, the 
 whole management of the battalion 
 seemed vested in the cadet officers ; 
 when the first captain and adjutant 
 
A WEST POINf'PA&ALEEL. f6i 
 
 were magnates entrusted' witli duties 
 and responsibilities that nowadays 
 fall on shoulders ten years worn 
 with shoulder straps. 
 
 " The War Department cannot 
 spare more officers," said our chiv- 
 alric commandant, himself sorely 
 wounded and scarred ; " I must rely 
 on you young gentlemen to maintain 
 the discipline of the battalion." 
 
 And so, relying on their honor, 
 certificates that had long been in 
 vogue to the effect that this in- 
 spector of sub-division had per- 
 formed his duty in accordance with 
 academic regulations and reported 
 all violations thereof, or that such 
 a corporal of the guard had done 
 likewise these and all but the 
 certificate attached to the report of 
 
8LOOD AND 
 
 the cadet officer of tlie day had been 
 abolished. The results in point of 
 drill, precision and steadiness in 
 ranks, and in regularity and order 
 in barracks, were not all they should 
 have been, and not to be compared 
 with what obtains to-day ; but two 
 things were developed to a pitch 
 that has never since been excelled, 
 the individual capacity of cadet 
 officers who possessed any capacity 
 at all, and the standard of personal 
 honor maintained in and by the 
 corps of cadets. The man caught 
 saying or doing a mean thing was 
 summarily cut, and he who deviated 
 from the truth to get rid of a report 
 or demerit was as summarily 
 " bounced " by his own fellows. 
 Too often of late years has the en- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 103 
 
 tire battalion been at odds with 
 the officers appointed over them 
 the tactical officers but, in the 
 times whereof I tell, despite the 
 fact that there was one officer whose 
 judgment was often at fault and 
 who had aroused undergraduate 
 antagonism, the cadet officers as a 
 rule worked shoulder to shoulder 
 with the commandant and had the 
 substantial backing of every right 
 minded fellow in the corps. 
 
 But we had thoughtless young- 
 sters, reckless, good-hearted, but 
 foolish boys, and even our allotted 
 proportion of black sheep. Even 
 among names long known and hon- 
 ored in the army there sometimes 
 cropped out a youngster incapable 
 of appreciating the responsibilities 
 
104 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 attaching to those who bore it, and 
 of these was a laughing, happy-go- 
 lucky, handsome, popular, dare- 
 devil of a fellow whom I shall call 
 Boone for the reason that there 
 wasn't a man of that name in the 
 corps. 
 
 Hailing from the proudest of our 
 border States, a commonwealth that 
 never turned out a coward, grand- 
 son of a famous statesman and 
 bearer of a famous name, he came 
 to the Point in the heat of the war 
 days, escaping the discipline, drill 
 and drudgery of the most beneficial 
 part of West Point education, pie be 
 camp, by being shoved in with 
 several promising young fellows 
 selected in several cases from the 
 volunteers who had already won 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 105 
 
 distinction at the front, "Buck" 
 Boone, as he was called, Shelby 
 Buckner Boone, as he was borne on 
 the academic roll, was received into 
 the close fellowship maintained, in 
 defiance of all cadet traditions, by 
 the appointees from just one State 
 In that day to be a Kentuckian 
 was better than four kings, para- 
 phrased an envious Tennesseean 
 who longed to live in the seventh 
 division but couldn't, for the simple 
 reason that that particular hallway 
 of cadet barracks had temporarily 
 been christened "Kentucky," and 
 it was run, ruled, and governed by 
 the sons of "the Dark and Bloody 
 Ground," as genial, jovial, gallant 
 and high-spirited a lot of young 
 soldiers, despite the gruesome name 
 
106 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 attaching to their native soil, as 
 ever smoked smuggled tobacco. 
 Cadets from the other States were 
 sprinkled throughout the entire 
 battalion, distributed impartially 
 throughout the four companies, but, 
 through some odd oversight of the 
 authorities, or possibly with their 
 knowledge and consent, almost every 
 Kentuckian in the corps, except 
 the tall first captain, had managed 
 to get into Company " D," and to 
 find his room and roommate in that 
 blessed seventh division. The com- 
 mandant of cadets in 1862, himself 
 a Kentuckian, was a gifted and 
 gallant cavalryman who had been 
 captured and paroled in Texas at 
 the outbreak of the war, who was 
 pining to get to the front at the 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 107 
 
 head of a regiment, and only served 
 at the Point until lie could secure 
 his exchange ; and. boylike, the less 
 favored fellows from other States 
 would have it that there was a 
 Free Masonry among Kentuckians 
 that extended beyond the limits of 
 the battalion and away up to the 
 office of the commandant. But 
 that was absurd. The colonel 
 served only a few months in the 
 capacity of commandant, but during 
 those few months he brought about 
 many changes. He vastly improv- 
 ed the cut and style of the cadet 
 uniform, which had become dread- 
 fully old-fashioned with its tight 
 sleeves, wide cuffs, and high stock 
 and collar. He abolished the sizing 
 of the battalion a mistake, by the 
 
108 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 way, for it looked far more sym- 
 metrical in the old unbroken line, 
 with the shortest in the center and 
 the tallest on the flanks. He per- 
 mitted men to exchange from com- 
 pany to company, thereby rendering 
 it easy for all Kentuckians to con- 
 solidate in the extreme left wing. 
 He thought the cadet adjutant, as 
 his representative, should outrank 
 all cadet officers, and therefore abol- 
 ished the four captaincies, and this 
 last-named innovation it was that 
 made Kentucky even more Ken- 
 tucky, for during the dark, gloomy 
 winter of '62-3 one of our tragedies 
 occurred, and one of the results was 
 a change in the cadet adjutancy, 
 the lieutenant commanding Com- 
 pany " D " being promoted to that 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 109 
 
 office, and as a result one of the 
 most popular, honored and beloved 
 men in the whole battalion, a Ken- 
 tuckian, as luck would have it, be- 
 came cadet commandant of that 
 thrice lucky company. From that 
 time on the seventh division of 
 barracks became a sort of mundane 
 heaven, a cadets' seventh heaven in 
 fact. 
 
 Every evening, on the return of 
 the battalion from supper, the Ken- 
 tucky colony would gather to a 
 man in the room of their new cap- 
 tain, and spend the half hour of 
 recreation in smoking his tobacco 
 and paying homage to the chief of 
 their clan. Well did he deserve it, 
 for a more thorough gentleman, a 
 more courteous, sensitive, genuine, 
 
110 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 highly bred, highly cultivated 
 fellow never lived. Son of one of 
 the noblest houses of a State re- 
 nowned for noble deeds and names, 
 his sire had met his soldier fate 
 leading the headlong charge of his 
 regiment at Buena Vista, and no 
 one of our number doubted for 
 an instant that the son would ask 
 no death more glorious. Indeed, 
 though he passed unscathed through 
 the fields that followed, was it not 
 a younger brother who died as the 
 father had died, leading on his dar- 
 ing blue- jackets and falling first 
 man at the top when they swarmed 
 over the Corean forts ! 
 
 No class distinction, no humilia- 
 ting attitude of older cadet to hum- 
 ble plebe was ever seen within his 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. m 
 
 gates. To each man entering (and 
 mind you, no matter how he looked 
 it, "boy" was a term applied to 
 none of our gray-clad number) was 
 accorded the same smiling, cordial 
 greeting. Even when, as sometimes 
 happened, an alien entered an out- 
 sider to whom the soft shibboleth 
 of the blue grass was impossible 
 the same kindly hospitality was ex- 
 tended. He was a Kentucky gen- 
 tleman, and all should eat his salt, 
 sample his best "sun-dried," and, 
 had we not all been on pledge 
 our class, to save a fellow who after 
 all couldn't save himself no doubt, 
 as was the fashion of the time, the 
 famous juice of Bourbon would 
 have been as hospitably tendered. 
 We did not marvel at the worship 
 
112 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 with which his " statesmen" re- 
 garded him. The only enemies he 
 ever knew were the hapless few 
 whose envy turned their soured 
 souls to hate. A " scene utterly 
 unprovided for by the regulations," 
 indeed, was which that ensued one 
 dark winter morning when the com- 
 panies closed on the center to march 
 to breakfast, and, as one man, the 
 Kentuckians dashed from the ranks, 
 an secours, at sight of their hero 
 suddenly taken at disadvantage and 
 attacked by a man notoriously a 
 powerful pugilist. There would 
 have been tragedy indeed that day 
 but for the prompt, cool-headed 
 work of the adjutant and a brace of 
 seniors, while the rest of us were 
 marched away to a repast for which 
 we had lost all appetite. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 113 
 
 As a general rule that Kentucky 
 colony in Company " D " absorbed 
 more demerit than four times its 
 force in the other three, and the 
 weekly punishment rolls were orna- 
 mented by names hitherto and else- 
 where only heard in connection 
 with lofty statesmanship, eminent 
 service on the bench, at the bar, or 
 in the field of arms. Under ordi- 
 nary circumstances, in those days 
 Company " D " could manage to 
 slouch through the manual at pa- 
 rade, or shamble through the evo- 
 lutions at drill in a way to set the 
 teeth of the officer in charge on 
 edge. But from the time their 
 champion and statesman stepped 
 up to the command of it, there was 
 something marvelous in the way it 
 
114 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 could " brace up " and take the 
 shine out of the others whenever 
 any especial function was on. His 
 lieutenants were men who fell 
 rapidly into his ways. His grena- 
 dier first sergeant, one of the giants 
 of the battalion (To what rank at 
 the academy has that stalwart sol- 
 dier and gentleman not attained !), 
 was his stanch admirer and backer 
 and, with one exception, the only 
 disciplinarian in the company; that 
 one exception bore something even 
 closer than a Kentucky kinship to 
 the handsome, laughing, reckless 
 plebe of whom I have spoken. They 
 were first cousins, blood relations, 
 alike in form and feature, except 
 that Shelby was much the taller 
 alike also in age and name, yet ut- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. H5 
 
 terly unlike in temperament. Mar- 
 shall Boone had been more than 
 two years at the Point when his 
 cousin entered. He stood well in 
 his class, wore the chevrons of a 
 cadet sergeant, and had won the 
 respect of the entire corps, yet it 
 could not be said that he was pop- 
 ular. He was the quiet man of the 
 Kentucky crowd. He would sit in 
 silence listening to the fun and chaff 
 and anecdote going on around him, 
 a smile of amusement occasionally 
 flitting across his thoughtful face, 
 but speedily it would resume its 
 mask of calm, almost melancholy 
 indifference, and, unless directly 
 appealed to, Marshall Boone had 
 nothing whatever to say., Some of 
 his " statesmen " held him some- 
 
116 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 what in ill favor. " He's too damned 
 military" was their explanation, 
 and by that was meant that in his 
 capacity as cadet sergeant and file 
 closer he exercised his authority 
 and held every man in front of him 
 strictly to his duty, and if anything 
 went amiss, were it the fault of 
 friend or foe, Kentuckian or Ver- 
 monter, the culprit's name went on 
 the delinquency book forth with, and, 
 to the scandal of the Kentucky set, 
 more than one of their number had 
 been reported by another of their 
 number for talking in ranks, inat- 
 tention at parade, or some kindred 
 military misdemeanor. Harrod, of 
 the class of '65, was bristling with 
 wrath one evening when he heard 
 himself read out as losing step and 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 117 
 
 dress marching out to parade. He 
 wanted to fight Boone forth- 
 with, and actually got so far as 
 to ask Ridgeley to be his second 
 and take his message, and then 
 down came the captain : " Look 
 hyuh, Ridgeley, what's this I 
 hear about Harrod's challenging 
 Boone ? I won't have it. This 
 colony's got too much to do fighting 
 the rest of the corps to admit of any 
 squabbles among ourselves. Boone 
 did right, suh, and if your man has 
 said an obnoxious word to him on 
 the subject he must apologize, and 
 be quick about it." 
 
 But Harrod had fortunately said 
 nothing to the cadet sergeant. He 
 had taken it out in a general out- 
 break of profanity. 
 
118 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 Shelby Boone was only a plebe 
 when this happened, but a Ken- 
 tucky plebe in a Kentucky colony 
 had all the social rights of his states- 
 men, and Shelby considered it his 
 right and privilege to go to his kins- 
 man and upbraid him. " You're 
 making yourself unpopular with the 
 whole company, Marshall," he said, 
 " and I think it my duty as a near 
 relative to tell you so, and to ask 
 you to think twice before you skin 
 a Kentuckian again." 
 
 Marshall was smoking an old 
 briar-root pipe at the time, a pipe 
 whose cane-root stem bore testimo- 
 ny to having long been in service 
 in the corps. He knocked the ashes 
 out on the edge of the iron table 
 and looked up at his flustered kins- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. H9 
 
 man with a quiet smile. " You see 
 nothing improper in my reporting 
 other members of the company when 
 they make some egregious blunder, 
 do you, Shelby ?" 
 
 "No, that's different." 
 
 "No, it isn't different, and I'm 
 surprised to hear that there's a 
 Kentuckian in the corps who would 
 claim exemption from demerit be- 
 cause he was a Kentuckian," 
 
 "Well, he wouldn't," burst in 
 Shelby, "from the adjutant or first 
 sergeant, or somebody not from the 
 State, but what sticks in our crop is 
 this idea of Kentucky spotting 
 Kentucky. Why, Marshall, you'll 
 be skinning me next," 
 
 Marshall looked grave. " Your 
 post is so far on the right and mine 
 
120 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 so far on the left I have few op- 
 portunities, but " gravely now 
 " Shelby, if I saw you mixing things 
 up in ranks, or being slouchy or in- 
 attentive on drill, I could not over- 
 look it, You wouldn't ask for 
 clemency that I couldn't grant your 
 classmates ?" 
 
 The junior Kentuckian stood 
 there a moment, his face working 
 oddly, his eyes averted. Finally 
 he spoke. " I'll bet you the chief 
 wouldn't countenance anything of 
 the kind, and that he'd scratch off 
 any skin you gave a statesman." 
 
 " You're mistaken there, Shelby," 
 said the senior, mildly c " The chief 
 may not skin a Kentuckian himself, 
 because he rarely if ever reports 
 anybody except when he is officer- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 121 
 
 of -the-day and has to, but lie would 
 hardly go so far as to say to his 
 sergeants that they must not do 
 their bounden duty." 
 
 And now it must be explained 
 for the benefit of those unacquaint- 
 ed with the system of discipline at 
 the Point, that a rigid system of re- 
 sponsibility has existed there for 
 years. It is to-day what it was in 
 the days of the grandfathers of the 
 boys now wearing the gray. For 
 every error, big or little, in ranks 
 or out, there exists a standard of 
 demerit, and for the graver errors 
 some slight punishment, such as a 
 day's confinement to quarters, or 
 walking post equipped as a sentry, 
 accompanies the demerit. The 
 cadet officer - of the day signs on 
 
122 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 honor a certificate that he has re- 
 ported every violation of academic 
 regulations that has come under his 
 notice, and in the event of careless- 
 ness or the faintest disorder in some 
 of the sections marching to or from 
 recitations in the academic building 
 he would report not only the cadet 
 or cadets at fault, but the section 
 marcher himself, because he did not 
 at once put a stop to the mischief. 
 So, too, in the companies, each first 
 sergeant has his delinquency book, 
 locally known as the " skin book," 
 and in this the officer or non-com- 
 missioned officer records the mili- 
 tary misdoings of the members of 
 that company, from a simple late at 
 a roll call or appearing in ranks 
 with a coat unbuttoned (if it be 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 123 
 
 only a single button), up to such 
 serious, not to say heinous crimes as 
 " replying in insubordinate and dis- 
 respectful manner when spoken to 
 by file closer marching in from pa- 
 rade." The captain is held rigidly 
 to account for the bearing and con- 
 dition of his company, and therefore 
 in turn he has to be exacting with 
 his subordinates. Sometimes these 
 latter are lax and indifferent, seek- 
 ing popularity among their fellow 
 cadets; sometimes they are strict 
 and reliable, winning the respect 
 therefor of their fellows, if not 
 their love, and of this latter class 
 was Marshall Boone. He had 
 never shirked a duty in his life. 
 
 The very evening of this cousinly 
 conversation the clan was gathered 
 
124 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 as usual in the chieftain's room. 
 There he sat, with his long-stemmed 
 pipe in his mouth, his handsome, 
 swarthy face wreathed in smiles and 
 tobacco smoke. Each man as he en- 
 tered received the same cordial greet- 
 ing : " Hello, Goodloe, old boy ! 
 Come right in and sit down. Hello, 
 Warren ! that you ? How are you, 
 and what do you hear from home ?" 
 The chief was interested in every- 
 one and hospitable to what the corps 
 thought an inexcusable extent. 
 Everywhere else throughout the 
 barracks the plebes were kept at 
 an immense distance. An awful 
 chasm yawned between the fourth 
 classman and his next neighbor the 
 third. For one whole year he must 
 be taught meekness and his im- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 125 
 
 measurable inferiority taught that 
 lie could not consider himself one 
 of the corps proper until the year 
 of probation was completed. To 
 this end it was the fashion to keep 
 him at more than arm's length, and 
 to address him on all occasions 
 (after carnp) with cold formality. 
 In civil life we show respect by pre- 
 fixing the " Mr." to the surname. In 
 West Point circles, and in the army 
 generally, it is the dropping of the 
 " Mr." that indicates a man is taken 
 into good fellowship. Therefore is 
 it that for one awf ul year the fourth 
 classman must be content to hear 
 himself hailed by all his seniors as 
 "Mr." So-and-so. Not until the 
 probationary twelvemonth is over 
 and done with can he hope to be- 
 
126 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 come Brown, Jones or Robinson, 
 Tom, Dick or Harry. 
 
 But even this unwritten law 
 held not in the Kentucky colony. 
 There sat the chief, tilted back in 
 his chair, and to every Kentuckian 
 who entered, were it first classman 
 or fourth, the same salutation was 
 accorded : " How are you, Brecken- 
 ridge ! How are you, Preston ? 
 How are you, Underwood ? Corne 
 in, fellows ; come in and fill up." 
 The chief was a law unto himself 
 and had the solid backing of his 
 statesmen. 
 
 And what Shelby said was true, 
 that while the cadet commanders 
 of the other companies, in the in- 
 terest of discipline, were compelled 
 day after day to resort to the skin 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 
 
 book, the captain of " D " rarely, if 
 ever, entered a report. His inspec- 
 tion of his command previous to 
 marching out to parade was one of 
 the most absurdly perfunctory 
 things ever seen. It was questioned 
 whether he really ever saw whether 
 a man's shoes were blacked, his 
 brasses polished, his belts properly 
 adjusted. It was the company that 
 seemed to take these matters up for 
 him. " You ought to be ashamed 
 of yourself, Jimmy," said Brecken- 
 ridge, one evening, the moment the 
 command " rest " had been given, 
 as he turned to his left-hand neigh- 
 bor. u You're simply running it on 
 the chief. Here you are with your 
 waist-belts twisted again, and you 
 look like a rag shop broke loose. 
 
128 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 Tell you what it is, old man, if I 
 were the chief I'd skin you." 
 Whereat Jimmy, blown and dis- 
 heveled (for he had run between 
 the first and second drums all the 
 way from Battery Knox, where he'd 
 been spooning with a pretty girl 
 and had just got in ranks in time), 
 blushed redder yet and looked half 
 vexed, half penitent. 
 
 Meantime silent Sergeant Boone 
 was helping straighten out his kit, 
 and though saying nothing, heartily 
 endorsing Breck.'s views. There 
 was no time for further upbraidings, 
 however, for adjutant's call struck 
 up at the moment, the color company 
 swept out on the plain, and the 
 chiefs voice was heard calling all 
 " D " to attention. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 129 
 
 It was a raw, cold evening, as I 
 remember, and even over in Puri- 
 tanical " A " Company, on the right 
 flank, my roommate and I, plebes in 
 the rear rank, felt shivery and cold, 
 and we blessed the officer in charge 
 when he acknowledged the salute of 
 the line and bade the adjutant re- 
 ceive the reports instead of the 
 customary " take your post, sir," 
 and the grind of the manual of 
 arms. The adjutant rushed through 
 his orders two hundred words to 
 the minute he could talk about as 
 fast as he could think the line of 
 plumed officers marched to the front, 
 saluted the officer in charge and 
 scattered, the band struck up " Pop 
 Goes the Weasel," and away we 
 went dancing homeward in double 
 
130 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 time. It was not the custom then 
 as now to advance in echelon of 
 companies from the right and then 
 make a simultaneous move to the 
 left flank. On the contrary D " 
 started first and the others followed 
 any way. Four tiptop first sergeants 
 we had that year, and all are alive 
 and eminent in their several corps 
 or professions to-day. Ordinarily 
 we trotted back to barracks with 
 some attempt at style, but this even- 
 ing not a soul was looking on, the 
 officer in charge was streaking it 
 for the angle of barracks and a com- 
 forting drink, the plumed cadet 
 officers were blowing their fingers 
 or threshing their arms as they 
 scurried in along the pathway, and 
 the " Deacon," as the first sergeant 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 131 
 
 of " D " was called, sung out to his 
 leading guide to step out, and tlie 
 long legs of the left flank company 
 began getting over ground as 
 though they were cased in seven- 
 league boots. Our "by the left 
 flank, march" came even sooner 
 than theirs, and there resulted a 
 little confusion in doubling up be- 
 tween "B" and "C" Companies 
 when they reached the slanting 
 path, but " D " had clear going, and 
 there was absolutely nothing to 
 justify what took place. The second 
 set of fours from the left ran up on 
 the heels of the leading set, trip- 
 ping two men, who, though saving 
 themselves from falling, neverthe- 
 less pitched forward so far as to 
 drop their rifles and had to fall out 
 
132 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 and get them. The "Deacon" was 
 wroth, and well he might be. " Re- 
 port those files," he sang out, and 
 we away back in " A " Company 
 heard his voice come echoing from 
 the beautiful facade of the barracks, 
 and the next minute " D " Company 
 was doubling, through the resound- 
 ing sallyport while D and 
 
 L , having picked up their rifles, 
 
 scuttled after their company, more 
 or less perturbed in spirit. Now 
 of the four that overran the set 
 ahead of them, three were of the 
 elect three were Kentuckians, and 
 of the three, one was ShelbyBoone, 
 already " loaded to the guards " 
 with demerit. 
 
 " Delinquencies will be published 
 at the mess hall. Dismiss your 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 133 
 
 companies," called out the adjutant, 
 as he hurried through the sallyport 
 in the wake of Company " A ;" but 
 we barely listened to them that 
 night for thinking of the list that 
 would appear with the morrow and 
 the array that would be reeled off 
 as the result of this evening's ice 
 parade. " I wouldn't like to be in 
 Boone M.'s place," a second class- 
 man was heard to say. " He was 
 nearest file closer to that gang in 
 "D" Company coming in from par- 
 ade to night, and at least a dozen of 
 them deserve skinning." 
 
 " If that's the case," said the cadet 
 lieutenant at the head of the table, 
 " you can bet your bottom dollar 
 Boone won't shirk his duty, and 
 every man will catch it" 
 
134 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 "Oh, no question about that," 
 was the answer. " But he's not too 
 popular in Kentucky now, and they 
 won't forgive a wholesale < skin.' " 
 
 " Surely enough, the very next 
 evening we stood in long line in the 
 area of barracks in our heavy gray 
 overcoats, listening to the shrill 
 tones of the adjutant as he rapidly 
 read the delinquencies for Decem- 
 ber th, and among the very first 
 were Boone, S. B., " Disorderly con- 
 duct in ranks marching in from 
 parade; Buckner, same at same," 
 and we plebes turned to one another 
 in no little excitement as we broke 
 ranks. Shelby Boone had only six 
 demerit to run on to the end of the 
 year, and that report would come 
 within an ace of " finding him/' 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 135 
 
 which was the vernacular of the 
 Point for declaring him deficient in 
 discipline, " found on demerit." 
 
 The moment after we broke ranks, 
 orders having been published, we 
 plebes started to condole with 
 Shelby and to see how he took it, 
 but we could not get very far. A 
 dense crowd of gray overcoats had 
 gathered about some nucleus just 
 in front of the entrance to the 
 seventh division. The area of bar- 
 racks w r as athrill with excitement. 
 With clattering sword, the officer- 
 of-the-day bore down on the group. 
 There was instant scattering. Two 
 or three gray-clad forms darted into 
 the hallway ; others followed more 
 leisurely. "What is it? What's 
 happened ?" we breathlessly asked, 
 
136 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 and a "D" Company man, with 
 white face and compressed lips, an- 
 swered : 
 
 " Hush-sh ! Shelby Boone has 
 slapped his cousin's face and called 
 him a cur." 
 
 The idea of a cadet private as- 
 saulting a cadet sergeant because 
 of the latter's official act was in it- 
 self enough to make our blood run 
 cold. The affront was one of the 
 utmost gravity, tantamount to mu- 
 tiny, and if reported and the offen- 
 der brought before a court-mar- 
 tial nothing short of dismissal 
 could result. But the idea of a 
 fourth classman, a plebe, daring to 
 strike a sergeant of the second class 
 and apply to him such an epithet 
 was something utterly unheard of. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 137 
 
 Boone never in the wide world 
 would have thought of assaulting 
 any other sergeant in the battalion. 
 It was the fact of his kinship, his 
 close connection as cousin and 
 " statesman " with Marshall Boone 
 that had maddened him and led to 
 his hapless deed. It all took place 
 so quickly that very few men real- 
 ized what had occurred. Brecken- 
 ridge, with very white face and 
 tremulous lips, was trying to tell a 
 lot of yearlings what he knew 
 about it, and we plebes swarmed 
 upon the outskirts of the circle 
 with eager ears. The only man 
 who was eye-witness to the affair 
 and seemed cool and nonchalant as 
 ever was Duncan, senior cadet cor- 
 pora} of the company. He had 
 
138 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 heard Shelby muttering to himself 
 as the reports were read out and, 
 suspecting mischief, had followed 
 at his heels the moment the bat- 
 talion broke ranks and prevented 
 further trouble by collaring the 
 plebe and hauling him back the in- 
 stant after the blow was delivered. 
 The chief had led Marshall away 
 to his own room; the big first ser- 
 geant had gruffly marched Shelby to 
 his quarters on the ground floor 
 back room of the seventh division, 
 and ordered him to stay there until 
 cooled off, and now the question 
 was what would Marshall do? He 
 was too short to be a match for 
 Shelby. They were very nearly 
 the same age, to be sure, but all the 
 advantage in strength aiid size lay 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 139 
 
 with the plebe, for we had not then 
 the splendid instruction in physical 
 exercise given to-day, and many an 
 old cadet was the bodily inferior of 
 many a plebe. Even if Marshall 
 felt outraged enough to insist on 
 fighting his cousin, it was doubtful 
 whether the chief would let the 
 affair come to a head in that way. 
 As for making an official matter of 
 it and reporting Shelby's action, 
 every one knew he would never do 
 that. The corps was in a quandary. 
 An apology could be tendered for 
 almost any other form of affront, 
 but not for a blow that calls for 
 a meeting, and a meeting between 
 two Kentuckians, first cousins at 
 that, was something we could hard- 
 ly conceive possible. Several of 
 
140 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 our number thought it the proper 
 thing to go into the seventh division 
 and call upon Shelby and express 
 their sympathy, but they speedily 
 came out again. Hardin, his room- 
 mate, opened the door an inch or 
 two and said the chief had given 
 him orders to let no one in or out. 
 Shelby must cool off before any one 
 could see him. He was still tramp- 
 ing up and down his little room 
 like a lion in a cage. They caught 
 a brief glimpse of him and heard 
 him petulantly, wrathfully bid 
 Hardin to shut that door arid come 
 in or else go out and stay out. So 
 they tiptoed away, rather chilled 
 toward their friend and yet doing 
 all the valiant talk for him possible, 
 because of his being a classmate. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 141 
 
 Neither of the Boones appeared 
 at supper that evening. Both fell 
 out, as was then permitted, im- 
 mediately after roll call, and so did 
 Buckner and Hardin and Duncan, 
 and the plebes to a man believed 
 that the fight was on, and that, de- 
 spite disparity in size and reach, 
 the cousins were having it out in 
 some room in the old seventh divi- 
 sion. Many an old cadet, too, was 
 of the same opinion. The chief 
 never came to mess hall. He was 
 one of the twelve cadets permitted 
 at that time to board with the 
 Thompson sisters three venerable 
 maidens whose father had died in 
 service and who had been granted, 
 for something like half a century, 
 the privilege of boarding a dozen 
 
142 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 cadets and thereby mating a living. 
 Naturally, therefore, the moment 
 the battalion broke ranks after 
 marching from supper, we made a 
 break for the seventh to learn the 
 result. Neither Boone was in his 
 room. Shelby's was dark and de- 
 serted. It couldn't be that he had 
 gone to the summer battleground, 
 Fort Clinton ; it was too dark. So 
 we scouted around barracks in 
 search of the principals or news of 
 them, but without result. Not un- 
 til old Bentz was blowing call to 
 quarters did either appear, and then, 
 his handsome face still sullen and 
 scowling, Shelby came lunging 
 through the sallyport, faithful 
 Hardin at his side, and, without a 
 look or word for any of his class- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 143 
 
 mates, bolted straight to his room 
 and slammed the door. Then the 
 sentries chased us to our rooms and 
 not another thing did we hear un- 
 til breakfast next morning, when 
 word came over from the left wing 
 that not only had there been no 
 fight, but there wouldn't be one. 
 Marshall Boone would neither re- 
 port his kinsman for his mutinous 
 act nor demand satisfaction in ac- 
 cordance with the cadet code of 
 honor. They were both at break- 
 fast, Shelby loud talking, excited 
 and defiant in manner until the big 
 first sergeant arose from his seat 
 and walked over to his table and 
 said one or two words in his ear. 
 Marshall, very quiet, very pale, 
 very sad looking, and well he might 
 
144 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 be, for nine-tenths of the corps held 
 that in failing to challenge Shelby 
 for that blow he stood attainted 
 with cowardice. Many of his class- 
 mates were furious ; some were for 
 ordering out the first sergeant of 
 Company " B," a New Englander, 
 about Shelby Boone's size and 
 weight, and a very pretty boxer 
 withal, and have him call the Ken- 
 tuckian to account, but they were 
 spared the trouble. The chief had 
 intended to gather his clan about 
 him that evening and read the riot 
 act, as he said, but before he could 
 sound the rally Buckner had put 
 his foot in it, and all doubts as to 
 Marshall Boone's pluck were at an 
 end. At the dinner-table Buckner 
 said, loud enough for every one 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 145 
 
 within a dozen yards to hear : " I 
 endorse Shelby Boone's every word 
 and act in this matter, sir, and I'd 
 do the same thing myself if I 
 weren't sure the mean-spirited cur 
 would have me court-martialed and 
 dismissed." 
 
 Every one turned to see how 
 Marshall Boone, who sat at a neigh- 
 boring table, would take that insult. 
 He never hesitated a second. His 
 blue eyes blazed with wrath as, in 
 defiance of the rules of the mess 
 hall, he rose from his seat, stepped 
 quickly round the rack on which 
 were hung the overcoats and caps, 
 and, quivering with indignation and 
 excitement, came striding to where 
 Buckner sat, and Buckner rose to 
 meet him. Instantly the cadet lieu- 
 
146 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 tenant commandant of table sprang 
 up and interposed : " Not here, 
 Boone. Go back to your own seat," 
 was his order, but not until the ser- 
 geant had faced Buckner with 
 " You will be ready to answer for 
 that right after parade, I presume/' 
 and Buckner had sneeringly replied: 
 "Any time and any place" not 
 until then did the young officer 
 succeed in restoring order. The 
 whole battalion stood around the 
 area of barracks between undress 
 parade and supper roll call that 
 night awaiting the result of that 
 one of the most famous fights in the 
 annals of the war days, and at the 
 end of twenty minutes Duncan 
 came out and called for four year- 
 lings to carry their man to hospital. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. U? 
 
 Buckner had fought like a Ken- 
 tuckian and Boone like a fury. 
 Both were battered, but the former 
 was completely used up and lay for 
 nearly a week under the surgeon's 
 care, while Boone, with puffed and 
 blackened visage, went about his 
 duties the following day, grim and 
 silent as ever, listened to the first 
 captain's report against him of 
 " quitting seat in mess hall without 
 permission" with apparent indiffer- 
 ence, and only faintly smiled when 
 the chief held out his hand and 
 said : " Marshall, old boy, you serv- 
 ed Buckner just right, but this 
 thing's got to stop. The next man 
 that says a word against you I'll 
 attend to." 
 
 But the next man never came. 
 
148 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 Boone's vindication on that head 
 was complete. No one could un- 
 derstand, however, why he had so 
 tamely submitted to Shelby's cub- 
 bish taunt and blow. Sentimental- 
 ists in the corps had it that he was 
 in love with Shelby's sister, a very 
 pretty girl who had spent a week 
 at the Point in September, and, if 
 that was not the reason, Brecken- 
 ridge and Prescott declared that it 
 was because Shelby's mother had 
 been like a mother to Marshall 
 ever since his own mother died six 
 years before. Either was sufficient, 
 and after all the corps was groing 
 to believe that Marshall had be- 
 haved most magnanimously to his 
 kinsman and had shown all proper 
 grit and spirit in dealing with 
 
A WEST POINT PABALLEL. U9 
 
 Buckner, and even Shelby's own 
 classmates were beginning to urge 
 him to go to his cousin and man- 
 fully apologize for the brutal wrong 
 Shelby had done him when there 
 came a cataclysm. 
 
 Not a word had been exchanged 
 between the cousins since the even- 
 ing of the assault. Shelby had 
 sought in vain to have the report re- 
 moved, but the superintendent was 
 merciful and took off two of older 
 date, so that he had six or seven 
 "demerit" as a margin on which 
 to live till the first of January, and 
 proceeded to celebrate accordingly 
 by doing the most reckless and 
 inexcusable things. There was 
 quite a fad just then in the corps 
 for cooking potato stews over the 
 
150 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 gas jets in quarters after " taps," the 
 signal for lights out; another and far 
 more dangerous freak was for " run- 
 ning it" at night down to the village 
 of Highland Falls. Old Benny 
 Havens' place was long since closed 
 and the favorite resort was a tavern 
 on the back road where buckwheat 
 cakes, maple syrup and cider were 
 the attractions. And one Friday 
 evening a party of plebes, most of 
 whom knew that the January ex- 
 amination would terminate their 
 academic existence anyhow, arrang- 
 ed to have a " hash" in Underwood's 
 room, which was across the hall 
 from that occupied by Shelby and 
 Hardin. The chief inspected his 
 eight rooms at the drum beat when 
 the tower clock struck ten, and 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 151 
 
 with fifteen other inspectors of sub- 
 division, stalked over to the guard- 
 house and reported "all present, 
 sir," to the officer in charge. That 
 official presently hastened back to 
 the officers' mess, where exciting 
 news from the Army of the Poto- 
 mac had been received early in the 
 evening, and then dark figures be- 
 gan scooting out of the several 
 halls at barracks and concentrating 
 on the seventh division. The chief's 
 room looked out on the area of 
 barracks, but that of Cadet Sergeant 
 Boone, which was directly over 
 Underwood's, overlooked the fir- 
 dotted hillside that led up to old 
 Fort Putnam. Boone and his room- 
 mate had turned in at taps, as they 
 were entitled to no light after ten 
 
152 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 o'clock, but the chief was smoking 
 his pipe and chatting with a brace 
 of chums, when up came a plebe, as 
 in duty bound, to invite the head 
 of the clan and his friends to come 
 down and sample Underwood's 
 hash ; and the magnates went. So 
 it happened that their provender 
 ran short. They had healthy, boy- 
 ish appetites, and, when the first 
 classmen had gone, somebody sug- 
 gested that they skip up the back 
 road and down to the Falls and 
 wind up on buckwheats and cider. 
 It was Friday night and inspections 
 after taps rarely occurred on that 
 night. Warren said, too, that there 
 could be no danger anyhow, for 
 Black Jim, the servant of the 
 officers living in the angle of bar- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 153 
 
 racks, had told him that Lieuten- 
 ant Blank, who was in charge of 
 Company "D," had gone to New 
 York that afternoon and wouldn't 
 be back until Saturday evening. 
 So the proposition was carried nem. 
 con., and, despite Hardin's expos- 
 tulation, nothing would do but that 
 Shelby Boone must go to. One 
 reason that they didn't want him 
 to go was that, while the main body 
 of the class was on pledge, as has 
 been said, the September cadets 
 those who entered late in the fall, 
 among whom was Shelby were 
 not enrolled with the class at the 
 time they " went on " to save their 
 comrade, and Shelby had bibulous 
 inclinations. However, just after 
 eleven o'clock, the little squad of 
 
154 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 gray coats stole softly out of bar- 
 racks, across the moonlit area, and 
 away they went up the winding 
 road to the rear of the post, and 
 were speedily lost to view among 
 the trees. 
 
 At 11:30, as luck would have it, 
 came a messenger from the hospital. 
 Cadet T., of the first (senior) class, 
 who had been ill with fever a week, 
 was worse, and longed to have his 
 friend, the chief, come and sit with 
 him. The surgeon sent his compli- 
 ments and begged that the chief 
 would do as asked, and he would 
 make it all right with the command- 
 ant in the morning. At 11:30 
 Cadet Sergeant Boone awoke to 
 find his company commander by his 
 bedside. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 155 
 
 " Marshall, old boy, T. is worse, 
 and the doctor has sent for me to 
 come and sit with him to-night. I'll 
 notify the officer-of-the<day that 
 you will be inspector of ' subdiv.' 
 until I return to duty." 
 
 This was nothing new. When- 
 ever it was the chiefs turn to act 
 as officer-of-the-day the duties of 
 inspector of subdivision devolved 
 on the cadet sergeant. Marshall 
 rolled over and was soon fast asleep 
 again, but not for long. The tower 
 clock was striking twelve when he 
 and his roommate were aroused by 
 the hurried entrance of a dimly 
 outlined form and by a voice low, 
 urgent and tremulous with excite- 
 ment, calling, "Mr. Boone, Mr. 
 Boone." It was Shelby's roommate, 
 
156 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 Hardin. Breathlessly lie told his 
 tidings. Some one must have seen 
 or heard the party that had gone 
 to the Falls, for two officers had 
 come up from the mess and, getting 
 their bull's-eye lanterns, had begun 
 an inspection of the barracks. One 
 of them was now in the first the 
 other in the fifth division. The in- 
 tention was doubtless to go through 
 the entire barracks. It meant dis- 
 aster to every one of the crowd 
 thus found absent from quarters 
 after taps, as the regulations de- 
 manded that every cadet so report- 
 ed must be dismissed unless he 
 could say that he was on cadet 
 limits at the time. Marshall was 
 out of bed and on his feet, wide 
 awake in an instant. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 157 
 
 "Run down to the hall door, 
 Plebe," he said. " Watch when he 
 enters the sixth division and see 
 who it is, if possible, and let me 
 know. There'll be plenty of time 
 then to get back to your room. I'll 
 be down in a minute." 
 
 And, stealthy as a cat, Hardin 
 scurried down the iron stairway and 
 took post at the door. Two or 
 three cadets were already there 
 whispering excitedly, and eagerly 
 watching for the reappearance of 
 the inspecting officer. They saw 
 the bull's-eye lantern, like a will-o'- 
 the-wisp, come dancing along the 
 porch from the first division and 
 disappear in the second. " That's 
 Polly," whispered one of the num- 
 ber. "I'd know his walk any- 
 
158 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 where. But who's this in "C" 
 Company ?" 
 
 " None of the regular tacks," was 
 the answer. " He's too long about 
 it. It must be that new fellow 
 who reported last week." 
 
 And just then, out from the fifth 
 division came a muffled form. They 
 saw the officer halt, turn his bull's- 
 eye on a paper he held in his hand, 
 and study it a minute. " It is the 
 new fellow, by gad, and he's hived 
 Lee and Kittson sure," whispered 
 an excited plebe. " Now he's into 
 the sixth. Brooks and Walker are 
 gone from there." 
 
 " Then he'll come here and hive 
 Boone, Warren and Underwood," 
 muttered Hardin, with a choke in 
 his voice. " It don't much matter 
 with Underwood he'll have to go 
 
A WE81 POINT PARALLEL. 159 
 
 next month anyhow, but it will 
 break Shelby's mother's heart." 
 
 "Don't worry about Shelby," 
 said a quiet voice at his elbow. 
 "Time to get to your room, Mr. 
 Hardin. Can you put up a good 
 snore ?" And turning, they saw by 
 the dim light of the hall lamp Cadet 
 Sergeant Boone. " Skip to your 
 beds now and keep perfectly quiet. 
 I can euchre this game." 
 
 An instant later, as the excited 
 plebes hastened to their rooms, Mar- 
 shall sped noiselessly along the 
 porch, darted into the eighth divi- 
 sion and the first room to the right. 
 Here dwelt two fourth classmen, 
 not of the Kentucky colony. 
 
 "Wake up here, you two men, 
 lively now," was his order. " Jump 
 
160 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 into your reveilles* quick, and 
 I'll tell you what to do." And ac- 
 customed for months to turn out at 
 an instant's notice, and recognizing 
 the authoritative tones of the ser- 
 geant file closer they all honored 
 and respected, the youngsters were 
 out of bed and into their socks in a 
 second. 
 
 " Lieutenant R -, a new man 
 
 who knows none of the class by 
 sight is inspecting Company " C." 
 He'll be in the seventh division in less 
 than three minutes. Boone, Warren 
 and Underwood are away at the 
 Falls. Jump, you two, into Warren 
 
 *By "reveilles" is meant the loose, easy 
 shoes that the cadets used to wear for that 
 purpose alone, something they could jump into 
 quickly and so get out in time for roll call. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 161 
 
 and Underwood's beds, cover up 
 well and be sound asleep when lie 
 inspects. Then as soon as he gets 
 up on the third floor sneak for 
 home. I'll get Sep Brown to play 
 Shelby Boone." 
 
 Away stole the two, unquesfcion- 
 ingly obedient, and a moment later 
 two more shadowy forms scurried 
 along the porch into the seventh 
 division Boone and Plebe Brown 
 just as the bull's-eye came flitting 
 down from the fourth floor of 
 the sixth division. At the foot of 
 the iron stairway they separated, 
 Boone going coolly up to his own 
 quarters, the plebe, with beating 
 heart, to Shelby's bed. Two min- 
 utes more, with quick, martial 
 tread, the officer entered the hall, 
 
162 NOBLE SLOOD AND 
 
 opened the first door to the right, 
 and threw the light of his bull's- 
 eye first on one alcove, then on the 
 other. In each, on his iron bed- 
 stead, was a cadet sound asleep. 
 Softly he closed the door, crossed 
 the hall, entered the opposite room 
 and found exactly the same condi- 
 tion of things. Then to the rear 
 rooms he tripped, opened the door 
 to the right. The bull's-eye flashed 
 on each alcove; each had its ap- 
 parently sleeping tenant, and the 
 black-lettered names on the cross- 
 bar at the front of each alcove were 
 Hardin and Boone, S. B. Across 
 the hall Messrs. Warren and Under- 
 wood were similarly represented, 
 and then up the iron stairs went 
 the midnight inspector, finding an 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 163 
 
 occupant in every bed until he 
 came to the chiefs. "Where's 
 your roommate ?" he asked of the 
 first classman, who awoke with a 
 sleepy yawn. 
 
 " At the hospital, sir, by order of 
 the post surgeon, sitting up with 
 Mr. T. " was the prompt an- 
 swer, and with a courteous half- 
 apology on his J : _ps, the lieutenant 
 backed out and went on up to the 
 third floor. Then, noiseless as kit- 
 tens, three plebes slipped out of 
 their nests on the ground floor and 
 sped away to their own rooms in the 
 eight division, and when Lieuten- 
 ant R , ten minutes after, join- 
 ed his comrade officer at the guard- 
 house he said : " What's come over 
 " D " Company ? In my time when 
 
164 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 there was any deviltry going on 
 they were sure to be in it, but every 
 man's in his bed in the seventh and 
 eighth divisions, while there are 
 four absentees from "C" Company. 
 Let's see, Messrs. Lee, Kittson, 
 Brooks and Walker." 
 
 " Odd," was the reply of Lieuten- 
 ant Polly. " Mullen declares there 
 were at least eight in the party. 
 Very probably they saw him and 
 half of them managed to sprint it 
 home. Well, Mr. Officer-of-the-day, 
 inspect for those young gentlemen 
 every half hour," said he to the 
 silent cadet officer whom they had 
 summoned from his room, and, with 
 the consciousness of duty well per- 
 formed, the veteran " tack " and 
 " the new feller " walked off to 
 their rooms in the angle. 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 165 
 
 At 1:30 the renegades came strag- 
 gling back, Lee, Kittson, Brooks 
 and Walker, to the miserable con- 
 sciousness that their absence had 
 been discovered, Warren and Un- 
 derwood to the delirious joy of 
 learning that, thanks to Boone, M., 
 they were safe ; and Shelby Boone 
 to be put to bed, struggling, swear- 
 ing and fighting, so drunk that he 
 did not know or care what had 
 happened. 
 
 For hours the three had to stand 
 guard over him, and it was four 
 o'clock before he dropped off to 
 sleep. At six the reveille sounded, 
 and with difficulty they got him up 
 and braced him in ranks. The big 
 first sergeant eyed him sternly as 
 Jie answered in loud, defiant tones 
 
166 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 to his name, and then, back to his 
 quarters he went and, deaf to all 
 remonstrances, tumbled into bed. 
 Now reaction had set in and he was 
 irresistibly drowsy. 
 
 By this time the story of Ser- 
 geant Boone's stratagem had gone 
 through barracks and he was the 
 idol of the Kentucky colony. Har- 
 din and Underwood were swabbing 
 Shelby's head with wet towels and 
 imploring him to get up and put 
 his alcove in order, but to no pur- 
 pose. Sharp at 6:30 the drum beat 
 for police inspection, and down 
 came the cadet sergeant. " I 
 couldn't got him up, sir," said Har- 
 din, in answer to the cool inquiry 
 of the young inspector's eyes. 
 Marshall shut the door, finished the 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 167 
 
 inspection of the other rooms, then 
 marched over to the first sergeant. 
 
 "Where's your skin book, Dea- 
 con ?" he quietly asked, and entered 
 therein the following report: 
 " Boone, S. B. Bedding down and 
 alcove in disorder at police inspec- 
 tion." Then as coolly returned to 
 his own room and the study of the 
 day's lesson in mechanics until 
 breakfast roll call. That was a 
 wretched day for Shelby Boone. 
 He was too drunk to be taken to 
 hospital when sick call sounded 
 immediately after police call at 6:30, 
 and even had they taken him the 
 surgeon would have recognized the 
 cause of his malady at once and 
 he would have been held to account 
 accordingly. He was still drunk 
 
168 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 and beginning to be ill when the 
 first drum sounded for breakfast 
 roll call at 6:55. Our hours for 
 morning duties were very different 
 then. Hardin, Warren and Un- 
 derwood had been doing their best 
 with wet towels, but they had no 
 medicines. The moment the drum 
 sounded, however, down came Mar- 
 shall Boone. " Get him on his feet 
 and bring him to the washstand," 
 he said, and, willy nilly, struggling 
 and swearing, Shelby was dragged 
 out of bed and his head was held 
 over the basin while dipper after 
 dipper of cold water was soused 
 over him. Then they straightened 
 him up. " Shelby," said his cousin, 
 calmly, " you've got to go out and 
 answer roll call, then you can have 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 169 
 
 an hour's sleep. Everything de- 
 pends now on your grit and nerve. 
 Brace up and stand steady, answer 
 in a quiet tone when your name is 
 called, and I'll be with you at the 
 order to fall out. Do you under- 
 stand ?" 
 
 Swaying unsteadily, red and 
 misty eyed, flushed and thick- 
 tongued as he was, Shelby recog- 
 nized the authoritative words. 
 " I'm all right," he said. Hardin at 
 once protested against Marshall's 
 " cutting breakfast " to look after 
 Shelby. "I'm his roommate, sir. 
 I ought to do it." But again the 
 calm decision of the upper class- 
 man's voice prevailed. " No. ^ You 
 men have been up all night and need 
 your breakfast. Bring me a roll 
 
170 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 in the sleeve of your overcoat. I'll 
 take care of Mm." And just at that 
 moment the tower clock banged the 
 first stroke of seven, the drums and 
 fifes struck up " Peas Upon a Tren- 
 cher," and clapping on Shelby's 
 forage cap, with a plebe at each 
 arm, they rushed him out into the 
 area of barracks, and into his place 
 in the quickly forming ranks. 
 Rapidly the Deacon ran over his 
 roll " Heow," thickly answered 
 Shelby when Boone, S., was called. 
 This time the stern first sergeant 
 looked another way. He knew the 
 whole story and did not wish to see 
 the culprit. "Fall out close in 
 to the right," were his orders the 
 instant he had finished. " All are 
 present, sir," he reported to the 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. m 
 
 chief, who stood at the kerb, a 
 cloud on his dark, handsome face, 
 his cap pulled down even more 
 than usual over his flashing eyes. 
 Meantime Boone took Shelby firm- 
 ly by the arm and led him into the 
 seventh division, the eyes of half of 
 " D ^ Company following them un- 
 til the Deacon's stern order " Keep 
 your eyes to the front," brought 
 them to their senses, and so the 
 cousins disappeared from view, and 
 then the battalion marched to 
 breakfast, where at the " D " Com- 
 pany table nothing was talked of 
 but Shelby Boone's utter reckless- 
 ness and Marshall Boone's brainy 
 stratagem by which the Kentuck- 
 ians were saved. Among the 
 plebes of "C" there was silence 
 
172 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 and gloom. Why hadn't they 
 some guardian angel such as the 
 Kentucky colony rejoiced in ? 
 " How was Shelby going to man- 
 age about recitations?" was the 
 query on every lip, and it was in- 
 deed a serious question. 
 
 "When the battalion returned 
 from mess the chief and some of 
 the seniors of the clan repaired to 
 Shelby's room. He was sleeping, 
 breathing stertorously, and Mar- 
 shall was plying the wet towels 
 assiduously. "I have to go to 
 recitation at eight," said he to Har- 
 din, as he hungrily bit into the 
 roll they had brought him. " Get 
 him up in time to go with his sec- 
 tion at 9:30." The two plebes were 
 in the lower half of their class in 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 173 
 
 mathematics and recited between 
 9:30 and ll ; and, that Shelby should 
 be roused before that time was the 
 understanding with which Marshall 
 left them when the bugle sounded 
 
 at 8 o'clock. 
 
 
 
 As luck would have it, Lieuten- 
 ant R did not inspect quarters 
 
 the first hour that Saturday morn- 
 ing, and from a little after seven 
 until after nine o'clock Shelby slept 
 soundly, the only man in the colony 
 untroubled by his plight. Then he 
 awoke, thirsty and savage. Hardin 
 explained to him that in fifteen 
 minutes he must go to recitation, 
 but he doused his face in the cold 
 water and sputtered that he would 
 attend no recitation that day. He 
 was going to hospital to get excused, 
 
174 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 An easy-going officer whose cadet 
 sobriquet, oddly enough, was 
 " Whiskey," was officer in charge. 
 " He'll sign anything I ask him to," 
 said Shelby, and at 9:20, sobered, 
 but with red eyes and unsteady 
 step, he marched over to the guard- 
 house carrying a slip of paper on 
 which Hardin had written for him 
 " Cadet Boone, S., has permission to 
 visit the hospital." This he con- 
 fidently presented to the officer in 
 charge, who was standing in front 
 of the guardhouse at the moment. 
 A few words were exchanged, as 
 the onlookers could see, and then, 
 armed with the company sick book, 
 away he went. What passed be- 
 tween him and the lieutenant, and 
 then between him and the steward 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 175 
 
 at the hospital, was not known 
 until later. Shelby was absent 
 from parade of his section for reci- 
 tation at 9:30, absent from fencing 
 at 12, absent from dinner roll call 
 at 1, and when he returned to 
 barracks about 4 P.M. he was grin- 
 ning triumphantly and reported to 
 the cadet first sergeant that he was 
 excused from all military duty the 
 rest of the day. Questioned by 
 grave-faced classmates as to what 
 story he had told the officer in 
 charge and the hospital steward, 
 Shelby tossed his head and laughed. 
 " Never you mind," was the answer. 
 " I fixed them all right ;" and then 
 rummaging among the piles of un- 
 derwear in the bottom shelf of his 
 clothes press, he produced a flask 
 
176 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 of whiskey and proceeded to drink 
 their health and condole with them 
 because they were on pledge. 
 
 But the colony did mind and 
 mind very much. With all its fun 
 and deviltry, " D " Company was 
 " square." Every man knew that 
 had the truth as to the cause of his 
 indisposition been told Shelby 
 Boone would have been in close 
 arrest instead of enjoying a holiday. 
 The clan met that night in dimin- 
 ished numbers. All the plebes 
 were in Shelby's room, sorely 
 troubled, yet knowing not what 
 to do. " If you got one-tenth the 
 demerit you deserve for this spree, 
 Boone, you'd be dismissed cold as 
 a wedge," said the Nestor of the 
 class. "What in heaven's name 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 177 
 
 possessed you to take such chances 
 when you hadn't more than half a 
 dozen to run on." 
 
 " Til bet you I don't get a single 
 mark," said Shelby, with defiant 
 laugh. "I pulled the wool over 
 old ' Whiskey's ' eyes, too." 
 
 " But you couldn't fool your kins- 
 man, Boone. He was inspector of 
 subdivision this morning, and he 
 doubtless skinned you for being in 
 bed at inspection. He couldn't 
 help himself." 
 
 Shelby started up, ablaze in an 
 instant. "My God! You don't 
 suppose he'd be as dog gone mean 
 as that, do you ?" he asked, his 
 angry eyes flitting from one to an- 
 other in the group. 
 
 "How could he help himself, 
 
178 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 man? There you lay like a log 
 and we couldn't get you up. You're 
 in the biggest kind of luck if that's 
 the only skin you get for last 
 night's work," said Hardin. 
 
 There was a moment's silence. 
 Then, with bitter wrath in eveiy 
 word, Shelby spoke: "If he has 
 skinned me, as you say, it's the 
 meanest, dirtiest revenge for the 
 slap I gave him that a cur could 
 devise, and he'll regret it to his 
 dying day." 
 
 The very next night, sure enough, 
 just as predicted, the report was 
 read out. This time Shelby said 
 not a word to his cousin. Refusing 
 company, he strode away toward 
 Kosciusko's Garden all by himself, 
 and that night he was unusually 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 179 
 
 silent. "He wrote a long letter," 
 said Hardin, " and wrote and tore 
 up several explanations before he 
 got one to suit him." 
 
 " He can't give any explanation 
 that will take off that report," said 
 Underwood, with rising suspicion 
 and indignation. " He has no right 
 to attempt to get it removed. You 
 know and I know and he knows it's 
 the very least he deserves." 
 
 And yet two days afterward 
 Shelby triumphantly announced 
 that the commandant had scratched 
 off the report, and the Kentucky 
 colony looked blankly at one an- 
 other and broke up in very grave 
 humor. "Kentucky" was begin- 
 ning to believe that they would 
 have to discipline Shelby Boone, 
 
180 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 and that in the near future. A day 
 or two later, after long and excited 
 discussion, it was agreed among the 
 plebes, after consultation with the 
 cadet adjutant and other magnates, 
 that Shelby must be called upon to 
 state what explanation he had 
 given that could induce the com- 
 mandant to remove so richly de- 
 served a report, and when the com- 
 mittee waited upon him, Boone S., 
 told them flatly it was none of their 
 business. 
 
 " Very good/' said the chairman 
 thereof. "The commandant will 
 doubtless remember it and we mean 
 to lay the matter before him," 
 whereat Boone, S., turned yellow 
 white, but defiantly told them to 
 go ask, and play the spy, if they 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 181 
 
 wished. Meantime not to bother 
 him any more about it. 
 
 The next evening when Boone, 
 M., came home from recitation, on 
 his table was a letter in a familiar 
 hand. Eagerly he opened it. Five 
 minutes later his roommate was 
 amazed to see him sitting with his 
 head bowed on his arms, sobbing 
 silently in uncontrollable grief. 
 That evening he was led down to 
 hospital, a burning fever having 
 set in. The steward looked gravely 
 disturbed the moment he saw the 
 new patient, sent at once for the 
 doctor and got Marshall Boone to 
 bed in a quiet ward. It was the 
 last we saw of our hero sergeant for 
 nearly a month, but meantime the 
 story got out, somehow, in the Ken- 
 
182 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 tucky colony, and there was a thrill 
 of excitement a few days later, just 
 before Christinas, when the cadet 
 adjutant came stalking out in full 
 dress uniform plumes, sash, sword 
 and all, and walking up to Shelby 
 Boone, now standing moodily by 
 himself, shunned and well - nigh 
 ostracized by his classmates, sternly 
 said : " Mr. Boone, you are hereby 
 placed in close arrest and confined 
 to your quarters. Charge : Con- 
 duct unbecoming a cadet and a 
 gentleman. By order of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Blank." 
 
 It was the chief to whom Boone's 
 roommate took the letter that had 
 done so much mischief. It was the 
 chief who, the day after the arrival 
 of a gray-haired, soft- voiced woman 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 183 
 
 and a beautiful girl, called upon 
 and had a painful interview with 
 the former. They were Shelby 
 Boone's mother and sister. The 
 chief took with him the letter 
 which had dropped from Marshall's 
 nerveless hand, and this is what 
 that mother had written to her 
 nephew. What infinite power for 
 inflicting pain God has given to 
 even the gentlest woman ! 
 
 " MARSHALL : If any one had told 
 me two years ago when you left 
 our roof to enter upon your career 
 at West Point that it would be 
 your hand that would stab me to 
 the heart, your hand that would be 
 relentlessly set against my own 
 dear boy, your hand that would 
 
184 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 pen the series of reports that are 
 destined to cut short his career and 
 deal the death-blow to his most 
 cherished hopes and ambitions, I 
 should have laughed the slanderer 
 to scorn. 
 
 "Yet it has come to pass, and 
 more too. For weeks I have read 
 between the lines of Shelby's 
 letters that all was not harmony 
 between you, but in his loyalty to 
 you he would make no complaint. 
 The last pound broke the camel's 
 back, and he, with breaking heart, 
 has told me all. Is the position of 
 cadet captain of such worth that 
 to win it you must tread your own 
 kith and kin under foot ? that 
 you must climb to your prize over 
 the prostrate form of him wfco is 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 135 
 
 the apple of my eye ? Ever since 
 your sainted mother's death your 
 welfare and your happiness have 
 been my tenderest care. I loved 
 and reared and guarded you as I 
 would my own, and for my reward 
 you ruin and blast the hopes and 
 prospects of the son you knew to 
 be the object of my fondest hopes, 
 my pri < 1 e, my life. Marshall Boone, 
 may God forgive you you have 
 crushed my heart. 
 
 " ESTHER SHELBY BOONE." 
 
 The chief before going up to the 
 hotel and sending in his card had a 
 brief conference with the command- 
 ant. Battles of our class was in 
 the south parlor with his mother 
 when, pale and haggard, Mrs, 
 
186 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 Boone came down to see her visitor, 
 and he heard and told us the first 
 words that passed between them. 
 
 "What does this mean? Why 
 is not my boy here ?" she asked. 
 
 " Mrs. Boone, I grieve to have to 
 tell you that Shelby is in arrest 
 and cannot leave his room. It is of 
 his " 
 
 " Then we owe it to the malig- 
 nity and inordinate ambition of our 
 own kindred to Marshall Boone 
 that this disgrace has come upon 
 him." 
 
 " Pardon me, Mrs. Boone, but for 
 Marshall Boone your son would 
 have been dismissed before this, 
 and if any one has told you that 
 Marshall has been anything but a 
 devoted, self-sacrificing, loyal kins- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 187 
 
 man and Kentuckian, that some one 
 lies, even though it be Shelby him- 
 self." 
 
 " Are you in your right senses ?" 
 she demanded, aghast. 
 
 " I am, though I sometimes doubt 
 Shelby's being sane." And then 
 he led her into the north parlor and 
 that was all Buttles heard until 
 twenty minutes later, when she 
 came out and rushed upstairs, cry- 
 ing as if her heart would break, 
 while the chief, with wet eyes, his 
 cap pulled down to his nose, and 
 his head held very high, strode back 
 to barracks. 
 
 Not until long after did we get 
 the particulars of that trying inter- 
 view, and when we heard it we did 
 not wonder that for weeks the chief 
 
188 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 looked grave and sad and stern. 
 First, it seems, lie asked the sorrow- 
 ing mother on what authority she 
 had made such damaging charges 
 against one of the most honorable 
 and dutiful " statesmen " he had in 
 his company, and she replied " the 
 best," and produced her son's 
 letter. It is impossible to quote it 
 verbatim, but this was the sub- 
 stance : That Shelby was over the 
 limit in demerit and would prob- 
 ably be discharged as deficient in 
 discipline, the superintendent hav- 
 ing refused to remove any more re- 
 ports ; that he had concealed from 
 her the real cause of his misfor- 
 tunes, but could no longer keep 
 silence in justice to himself and in 
 justice to her. Marshall Boone's 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 189 
 
 overweening ambition was to be 
 made captain of that company when 
 the present officers were graduated 
 next June. Cadet officers were 
 generally appointed according to 
 their efficiency and impartiality, 
 from the point of view of the com- 
 mandant and his tactical officers, 
 and this, said Shelby, meant ac- 
 cording to the number of reports 
 against their fellow cadets they 
 handed in. Now Marshall had a 
 splendid chance of making a reputa- 
 tion for absolute impartiality and 
 devotion to duty at Shelby's ex- 
 pense, and notwithstanding the 
 fact that Shelby had a dangerous 
 array of demerit piled up against 
 him, Marshall lost no opportunity 
 even invented some and report- 
 
190 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 ed him on every possible occasion. 
 So palpable was it to all the other 
 Kentuckians that Marshall was 
 " boning military " at his cousin's 
 expense that he was virtually ostra- 
 cised by them, and at last, exasper- 
 ated beyond control by this tyran- 
 nical exercise of a sergeant's powers, 
 wrote Shelby, before the whole 
 company he had slapped his cous- 
 in's face and called him a cowardly 
 cur, and to the amaze of the whole 
 corps, Marshall would not prob- 
 ably dare not fight, All the same 
 he had taken cruel revenge when 
 Shelby had only three demerit to 
 live on, when Marshall knew such 
 a report would find him deficient. 
 Marshall had inspected his room 
 one morning when Shelby, who had 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 191 
 
 been studying very late the night 
 before, was lying on his bed with a 
 sick headache. The chief never in 
 the world would have reported 
 him, but Marshall seized his oppor- 
 tunity and gave him two "skins," 
 one for being in bed, the other for 
 alcove and room in disorder at 
 police inspection. Even the com- 
 mandant, said Shelby, was dis- 
 gusted when the situation was ex- 
 plained to him, and at once remov- 
 ed the report. But Marshall per- 
 sisted and had reported him for be- 
 ing late at roll calls, for muttering 
 and talking in ranks when he 
 merely whispered a word to his 
 neighbor, and for light in quarters 
 after taps, which was none of 
 Marshall's business, and that was 
 
192 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 enough to do the mischief. He, 
 Shelby, had been ruined by his 
 own kith and kin, the man to whom 
 his mother had been loving kind- 
 ness itself. 
 
 "I told her," said the chief, 
 " that I had a most painful duty to 
 perform, but that she must know 
 the truth at once. That from the 
 day of his admission Shelby had 
 shown absolute indifference to the 
 regulations, rather gloried in break- 
 ing them, and seemed to think it 
 made him a hero in the eyes of the 
 corps. That Breckenridge, Duncan, 
 Harrod and others had plead and 
 remonstrated, but, most of all, that 
 Marshall had done his utmost to 
 bring him to a realizing sense of 
 his misdoing. That Marshall had 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 193 
 
 never reported him until the night 
 an entire set of fours had jumped on 
 the heels of the set in front. The 
 cadet first sergeant had ordered the 
 four reported ; that Shelby was one 
 of them and that Marshall could 
 not help himself; that Shelby's 
 slapping his face as a result was 
 the most mutinous thing that had 
 occurred in the battalion in all the 
 days that the chief had been a 
 cadet ; that the boy richly deserved 
 dismissal for it, but that Marshall 
 had plead with the cadet officers 
 who were for making an official 
 matter of the offense ; plead for the 
 boy's mother's sake and for his, 
 Marshall's sake, who loved her, not 
 to let it be known." ("You should 
 have seen her eyes dilate when I 
 
194 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 came to that," said the chief.) " Mar- 
 shall said he would not fight his 
 kinsman because he was that moth- 
 er's son, but he did fight and 
 soundly thrash a cadet who made 
 sneering comments about the 
 matter." 
 
 "And then," said the chief, " I had 
 to tell her of Shelby's 'running it' 
 to the Falls, of the inspection, and 
 how Marshall saved his statesmen, 
 of Shelby's coming back drunk, how 
 that drunk was what led to his 
 lying on the bed next morning, how 
 Marshall was on honor to report 
 such offenses, 'how I would have 
 done it myself had I made the in- 
 spection,' how Marshall 'cut 
 breakfast' to nurse and care for 
 the boy who had so brutally wrong- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 195 
 
 ed and insulted him. Then how 
 Shelby boasted that he had ' fixed' 
 the officer in charge and steward 
 and pulled the wool over the eyes 
 of the commandant and got that 
 report removed." The hardest part 
 of all to tell her was the action 
 taken by the Kentucky colony. 
 For three or four days they had 
 talked the matter over, they had 
 demanded of Shelby that he tell 
 them what story he had told to in- 
 duce Lieutenant " Whiskey " to let 
 him go to the hospital, what story 
 he had told there and what explana- 
 tion he had written to the com- 
 mandant, and as he refused and 
 was defiant, how a meeting had 
 been held and after much discus- 
 sion a committee had been appoint- 
 
196 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 ed to wait on the commandant and 
 lay the case before him, for every 
 man felt that the honor of the corps 
 had been tarnished and by one of 
 their own State Kentucky. "Just 
 as we feared, I told her, Shelby 
 had not hesitated to lie. He told 
 the officer in charge that he had 
 been seized during the night with 
 severe cramps in the stomach 
 with dreadful pain and vomiting, 
 that he had been too ill to go to 
 hospital earlier, and the kind- 
 hearted lieutenant had signed his 
 permit. He told the same story to 
 the steward, who was keener and 
 said, 'But you've been drinking.' 
 Yes, Shelby promptly admitted 
 his classmates were frightened at 
 his suffering and not knowing what 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 197 
 
 else to do had drenched him with 
 liquor. He wrote his explanation 
 to the commandant for being in 
 bed, etc., something to the same 
 effect and pointed out that he had 
 subsequently been excused from all 
 duty that day by the authority of 
 the post surgeon. A cadet's word 
 is generally as good as a sworn 
 statement, and of course the report 
 was removed." 
 
 "Then very gravely the com- 
 mittee had to tell the commandant 
 that their statesman had lied and 
 that excessive indulgence in liquor 
 which he himself procured and took 
 in defiance of their advice and re- 
 monstrance, was the sole cause of 
 his violation of the regulations. 
 They made no mention of his 4 run- 
 
198 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 ning it ' to the Falls. What they 
 said was enough. Shelby was sent 
 to his quarters in arrest by the 
 adjutant and to Coventry by his 
 classmates and the corps." 
 
 As to the other reports alleged 
 by him to have been given by Mar- 
 shall, the chief speedily disposed 
 of the story. It was the big first 
 sergeant who reported him for mut- 
 tering and talking in ranks. It 
 was the second sergeant who re- 
 ported him late at roll call. It was 
 
 Lieutenant R who, from the 
 
 west front of barracks, saw the 
 light in Shelby's room, and meet- 
 ing Marshall next morning when 
 he was serving as sergeant of the 
 guard, ordered him to ascertain who 
 was orderly of tha,t room, and re- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 199 
 
 port him for light in quarters after 
 taps. Marshall had no volition in 
 the matter. Shelby, however, had 
 made no mention of other reports 
 he had received. More lates, more 
 recklessness, more deliberate viola- 
 tion of law and orders. His whole 
 endeavor had been to embitter his 
 mother against his honored and 
 dutiful kinsman, whose standing, 
 success and prospects had aroused 
 Shelby's keen envy and jealousy, 
 sentiments that speedily swelled 
 into hate. 
 
 There was a scene at the old 
 hospital the evening of the chief's 
 visit to Mrs. Boone that was wit- 
 nessed by only one or two, but 
 those who saw can never forget it. 
 Still burning with fever, delirious 
 
200 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 and tossing restlessly, Marshall 
 Boone was lying in his narrow bed, 
 the chief and his big first sergeant 
 bending .anxiously over him, fanning 
 the hot forehead and occasionally 
 moistening the lips of the patient. 
 The door opened and the doctor 
 appeared, ushering in a tall, gray- 
 haired, noble looking woman whose 
 soft eyes bagan to stream with 
 tears the moment she entered. At 
 sight of her the two cadet officers 
 respectfully arose, and the chief 
 drew a chair for her up to the bed- 
 side, but she turned away, removed 
 her bonnet, cloak and gloves, then 
 knelt beside the couch, her eyes 
 swimming, her lips quivering in an 
 agony of speechless grief. She 
 gazed into Marshall's face one mo- 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 201 
 
 ment, then taking his hand in both 
 of hers, bowed her proud head un- 
 til her lips rested upon it, and 
 there, clinging to it. kissing it, 
 bathing it in her tears she knelt, 
 sobbing, praying, suffering, God 
 alone knows how much, suffering 
 as only mothers can through the 
 shame and sorrow brought to them 
 by a beloved yet unworthy son, 
 suffering as only an honorable and 
 pure-hearted woman can who learns 
 that she has utterly wronged a 
 loyal, loving and devoted friend. 
 Full half an hour she knelt there, 
 sometimes looking pleadingly into 
 his unconscious eyes, murmuring 
 his name and striving piteously to 
 win one sign or word of recognition, 
 but all to no purpose. Marshall's 
 
202 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 fever was at its climax. The 
 doctor, though hopeful that with 
 his splendid constitution the patient 
 would pull through could not say 
 what the result might be. At last, 
 bending over the prostrate head 
 again, and fondly stroking back 
 the wet and matted hair, she pressed 
 her lips long upon the burning 
 forehead. They could see that she 
 was praying with her whole heart 
 and soul in her words, and then 
 the doctor led her into the ante- 
 room, and then an officer, a Ken- 
 tuckian too, silently offered his 
 arm and conducted her to the bar- 
 racks, ushered her into Shelby's 
 room where he was sitting moodily 
 by the window. Hardin took his 
 cap and overcoat and tiptoed out, 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 203 
 
 and the mother and son were left 
 together. What passed in that in- 
 terview, what further suffering was 
 in store for that sorrowing, broken- 
 spirited woman, God and the angels 
 only know. She never spoke of it. 
 He had no one at the Point to speak 
 to. 
 
 Four days followed in which, 
 each day, she spent as much time 
 by Marshall's bedside as the sur- 
 geon would allow. Then the fever 
 broke and he slept slept slept, 
 hour after hour, and then a telegram 
 from one of the senators of her be- 
 loved State summoned her at once 
 to Washington. Telegrams and 
 letters had been passing to and fro. 
 For the sake of old Kentucky, for 
 the honor of the old name all the 
 
204 tfOBLti BLOOD AND 
 
 influence of- that great common- 
 wealth was being brought to bear 
 on the Iron Secretary to induce 
 him to countermand the order for 
 Shelby's trial by court-martial be- 
 cause of the public disgrace that 
 must follow, and to allow him to 
 resign. It was the mother's plea 
 that finally prevailed on the great 
 heart of the greatest man that ever 
 occupied the presidential chair 
 since the days of Washington. The 
 Secretary, who would not yield to any 
 pleadings of senators, statesmen, 
 soldiers, or even that mother, bowed 
 to the mandate of the all-merciful 
 Lincoln. Just at the close of that 
 sad and trying year, the order was 
 signed accepting the resignation of 
 Cadet Shelby Buckner Boone and 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 
 
 directing his discharge from the 
 military service of the United 
 States. A day later and Mrs. Boone 
 reappeared at the post and the 
 doctor met her at the ferry. " Very 
 weak but convalescent/' he said. 
 " Come with me at once," and he 
 assisted her into the waiting car- 
 riage. 
 
 Ten minutes more and she had 
 thrown off her wraps in the ante- 
 room and was again kneeling by 
 the bedside of her sister's son. All 
 the flush and heat were gone. He 
 lay there white, almost, as his pil- 
 low, wan and feeble, " humble as a 
 little child," but at her entry a faint 
 light gleamed in his weary eyes, he 
 tried to hold out his arms to her, 
 his lips murmured the old fond pet 
 
206 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 name " Aunt Essie," and the big first 
 sergeant turned away to the window 
 with a lump in his throat, raging 
 at the sudden blindness that over- 
 came him, as, with one great sob, 
 one cry of " Marshall, my blessed 
 boy, can you forgive ?" she threw 
 herself on her knees beside him and 
 twining her arms about his neck, 
 gave way to an irrepressible flood 
 of tears. The reconciliation was 
 complete. 
 
 The January examinations were 
 over when Boone, M., reappeared 
 in our midst, walking with a cane, 
 very feeble, very white, but grave- 
 ly, serenely happy. We used to 
 sit on heavy iron stools in the mess 
 hall in those days, but they had 
 other uses. When any particularly 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 207 
 
 valued graduate came back from 
 the wars on brief leave and dropped 
 in to look at the corps, we would 
 ialf rise and taking these tremen- 
 dous implements in both hands 
 pound the floor with them, raising 
 thunders of applause. This day 
 the four companies had all obeyed 
 the order "Take Seats" before 
 Boone, aided by the sergeant and 
 the corporal of the guard, appeared 
 clambering slowly up the steps. 
 He entered the arched doorway. 
 The heavy portals swung to behind 
 him. Some sudden inspiration 
 seized the men at the nearer tables 
 and they seized the stools and be- 
 gan. In another moment the thun- 
 der rolled from one end of the re- 
 sounding mess hall to the other. 
 
208 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 The first captain sprang up as 
 though to order silence, but, catch- 
 ing sight of Boone, the words stuck 
 in his throat. He came forward, 
 caught Boone by the hand and led 
 him, blushing, to his seat at the 
 " I) " Company table, while we 
 plebes, and everybody else for that 
 matter, hammered away with the 
 stools for all we were worth. Then 
 as the thunder gradually died away 
 somebody shouted " Speech," and 
 that, too, was taken up ; but noth- 
 ing could tempt Boone to open his 
 lips. The stern, ringing tones of 
 the first captain commanding atten- 
 tion suddenly silenced the unusual 
 uproar. "This demonstration has 
 been permitted because I hadn't 
 the heart to stop it," said he, " but 
 now order will be resumed." 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 209 
 
 One scene more. Concentrating 
 on the extended lines of Rose- 
 crans along Chickamauga Creek, 
 Bragg's gray-clad hosts from the 
 southward, Longstreet's veteran 
 fighters from Virginia have dashed 
 upon brigade after brigade and 
 pierced the fateful gap where, 
 earlier in the morning, Wood's divi- 
 sion held the foe at bay. The corps 
 of Crittenden and McCook, crumb- 
 ling away, are in flight toward 
 Rossville Gap in the range at the 
 rear of the line. Over to the north 
 Thomas still fights indomitably and 
 here and there some isolated 
 brigade or regiment is making 
 desperate stand. Among these, 
 battling savagely over its prostrate 
 dead and dying, a Kentucky battal- 
 
210 NOBLE BLOOD AND 
 
 ion still clings to its ground, rally- 
 ing about a tall, beardless, daring 
 lieutenant who, with the riddled 
 colors in his left hand, his flashing 
 sword in the right, with ringing 
 voice and magnificent gesture calls 
 to his comrades to stand their 
 ground. Gallantly, manfully they 
 obey. A bullet has torn its way 
 along his cheek, deluging his 
 shoulder strap and the silken folds 
 with his blood, but he never heeds 
 it. High aloft he waves the flag. 
 " Stand your ground, boys. Stick 
 to it ! For the honor of old 
 Kentucky, never yield an inch. 
 
 Stand " 
 
 There is sudden break in the 
 thrilling words a shiver, a stag- 
 ger, and then color and color bearer 
 
A WEST POINT PARALLEL. 211 
 
 plunge headlong to earth. Quickly 
 the flag is seized and again waved 
 on high, but no hand can raise the 
 form of him who so bravely upheld 
 it but a moment agone. Staggered 
 by the fierce fire of the Kentuck- 
 ians the Confederates have for the 
 moment recoiled. A captain hastily 
 kneels, turns the young officer's face 
 upward and takes one look into 
 the fixed and sightless eyes. " Shot 
 through the heart !" he says. "Poor 
 Shelby, at least he fought and died 
 like a man." 
 
 THE E1STD. 
 
MEELY'S PRISMATIC LIBRARY. 
 
 GILT TOP. 75 CENTS. 
 
 * ~ know of nothing in the book line that equals Neely's 
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 SOAP BUBBLES. MAXNORDAU. Brilliant, 
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 BIJOU'S COURTSHIPS. "Gyp." From the 
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 NOBLE BLOOD and A WEST POINT PAR- 
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 ERNST VON WILDENBRUCH, of the German 
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 TRUMPETER FRED. CAPT. CHARLES KING, 
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 THE KING IN YELLOW. By the Author of 
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 IN TH E QUARTER. By the Author of "'the 
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 FATHER STAFFORD. ANTHONY HOPS. 
 
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 AN ART FAILURE, JOHN W. HARDING. A 
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 For sale everywhere or sent postpaid on reetipt 
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 F. TENNYSON NEELf, 
 
 ft4- FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK. 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 BIJOU'S COURTSHIPS. 
 
 From the French of "Gyp." 
 
 Translated by Katherine Berry di Zerega % with 
 full-page drawings by S. B. AspeU. 
 
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 Mile. Bijou really took me in at the be- 
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 EDMUND C. STEDMAN. 
 
 For sale everywhere or sen*, postpaid^ on receipt 
 of price by the publisher \ 
 
 F. TENNYSON HEELY, 114 5th Av e,, New York. ' 
 
The King in Yellow 
 
 Jctwai 
 
 _.'/ ROBERT W. CHAMBERS, 
 
 The author is a genius without a y ving actral, 
 so far as I am aware, in his peculiar field* It 
 is a masterpiece. ... I have read many portions sev- 
 eral times, captivated by the unapproachable tints of the 
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 Philadelpnia "Charming, delicate, skillful, vivid." 
 Times 
 
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 Item full of color and delicately tinted." 
 
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 Gazette weird, uncanny, picturesque, and yet a gem 
 
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 Journal 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY