They have held certain opinions more or less
prejudicial to me and my interests, but so long as
they have not exercised their theories to my
displeasure or discomfort, or so long as they have
"let me severely alone," I had no just reason for
complaint. Again, others, who have no theory of their
own, and almost no manliness, have been accustomed "to
pick quarrels," or to endeavor to do so, to satisfy I
don't know what; and while they have had no real
opinions of their own, they have not respected those
of others. Their feeling toward me has been any thing
but one of justice, and yet at times even they have
shown a remarkable tendency to recognize me as having
certain rights entitled to their respect, if not their
appreciation.
As I have been practically isolated from the cadets,
I have had little or no intercourse with them. I have
therefore had but little chance to know what was
really the feeling of the corps as a unit toward
myself. Judging, however, from such evidences as I
have, I am forced to conclude that it is as given
above, viz., a feeling of kindness, restrained
kindness if you please.
Here are some of the evidences which have come under
my notice.
I once heard a cadet make the following unchristian
remark about myself when a classmate had been
accidentally hurt at light-battery drill: "I wish it
had been the nigger, and it had killed him.
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