messroom, crowning the crest above the landing.

* * *

Then, as you nearer draw, each wooded height
Puts off the azure hues by distance given!
And slowly breaks upon the enamored sight,
Ravine, crag, field and wood in colors true and bright.

_Theodore S. Fay._

* * *

=West Point=, taken all in all, is the most beautiful tourist spot on
the Hudson. Excursionists by the Day Boats from New York, returning
by afternoon steamer, have three hours to visit the various places
of history and beauty. To make an easy mathematical formula or
picturesque "rule of three" statement, what Quebec is to the St.
Lawrence, West Point is to the Hudson. If the citadel of Quebec is
more imposing, the view of the Hudson at this place is grander than
that of the St. Lawrence, and the ruins of Fort Putnam are almost as
venerable as the Heights of Abraham. The sensation of the visitor is,
moreover, somewhat the same in both places as to the environment of
law and authority. To get the daily character and quality of West
Point one should spend at least twenty-four hours within its borders,
and a good hotel, the only one on the Government grounds, will be
found central and convenient to everything of interest. The parade and
drills at sunset hour can best be seen in this way.

=The United States Military Academy.=--Soon after the close of the War