more anon.



CHAPTER IV.

CANT TERMS, ETC.

AS a narrative of this description is very apt to
be dry and uninteresting, I have thought it possible
to remove in a measure this objection by using as
often as convenient the cant lingo of the corps. A
vocabulary which shall contain it all, or nearly
all, becomes necessary. I have taken great care to
make it as full as possible, and at the same time
as intelligible as possible.

There are a few cant words and expressions which are
directly personal, and in many cases self-explanatory.
They are for such reasons omitted.

"Animal," "animile," "beast," "reptile."-- Synonymous
terms applied to candidates for admission into the
Academy.

"Plebe."--A candidate after admission, a new cadet.
After the candidates are examined and the proficient
ones admitted, these latter are known officially as
"new cadets," but in the cant vernacular of the corps
they are dubbed "plebes," and they retain this