One of those
so appointed was the son of the colored Congressman who
sent him there, and from him at least good treatment
was reasonably expected. There have been only two such
appointments to my knowledge, and it is a singular fact
that they were both overbearing, conceited, and by no
means popular with their comrades. The status of one
was but little better than my own, and only in that
his comrades would speak and associate. He was not
"cut," but avoided as much as possible without making
the offence too patent.
There was a cadet in the corps with myself who
invariably dropped his head whenever our eyes met.
His complexion was any thing but white, his features
were rough and homely, and his person almost entirely
without symmetry or beauty. From this singular
circumstance and his physique, I draw the conclusion
that he was more African than Anglo-Saxon. Indeed, I
once heard as much insinuated by a fellow-cadet, to
whom his reply was: "It's an honor to be black."
Near the close of this chapter I have occason to
speak of fear. There I mean by fear a sort of
shrinking demeanor or disposition to accept insults
and other petty persecutions as just dues, or to
leave them unpunished from actual cowardice, to
which fear some have been pleased to attribute my
generally good treatment. This latter fact has been
by many, to my personal knowledge, attributed to
fear in another quarter, viz.
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