About a week passed with much the same routine as for the first day, except that we had Saturday afternoon, after inspection, to ourselves, that is, such part of it as we were not busy entertaining old cadets, and on Sunday morning we had inspection of quarters, and after this inspection we were all marched to church. On Sunday afternoon we were permitted to make down and air, or use, our beds, and to enjoy lying on the soft side of the boards again. The candidates were all marched to the Episcopal Church, “the” church there at that day. In due time the Catholics and Methodists attended their own churches, but all cadets, except Jewish ones, had to attend some church once a week. After inspection of quarters on Sunday morning, K⸺p became room orderly for the next week. It was then his duty to sweep and dust the room and to carry the water needed for himself, H⸺rd and me. The dirt was swept into the hall to one side of the door, and left there. A policeman, that is, the janitor, swept the halls, carried out the waste water and scrubbed room and hall floors, when necessary. It is wonderful how soon we learned many things, such as to button our coats and spring to attention, palms to the front, at the sound of footsteps in our hall. At first we made mistakes, but we soon learned to distinguish the footsteps of our instructors from those of our fellow-candidates. There was a story in my day of a gentleman who went with his son when the latter reported as a candidate, and that while Cadets H⸺d and A⸺n were putting the son through his first lesson in the office, the father turned his palms to the front, put his heels together, and otherwise assumed the position of the soldier. At the first opportunity I wrote home, but I was very careful not to mention the hardships I endured, for the reason that I had gone to West Point contrary to my parents’ wishes, and consequently I was determined to get through if I could. This reminds me, there were young men in my class whose parents had sent them there against the wishes of the candidates themselves, and many of these young men did not want to stay. Competitive examinations required by some Congressmen for appointments were not as common in my day as they are now. Some of my classmates purposely failed on the preliminary examination and West Point is no place for a young man unless the young man himself wants to go there. One day Mr. B⸺dy, my predecessor, sent for me to go to his quarters. I did not know what new trials were in store for me, as I had never been in any old cadet’s quarters. Mr. B⸺dy invited me to sit down, which I did for the first time in an old cadet’s presence. We talked for a few moments about people we both knew at our native places. He then gave me his “white pants” (about twenty pairs), and said he hoped I would pass the “prelim” so as to be able to wear them, and that I would graduate higher than he would.