There were many battles fought, but at last the city of Mexico was taken by General Scott. In after years, this great man was heard to say that his great success in Mexico was largely due to the skill and valor of Robert E. Lee, and that he was the _best soldier_ that he ever saw in the field. In the midst of all this fighting, his boys were ever in his thoughts. This is a part of what he wrote to his son Custis on Christmas-Eve, 1846: “I hope good Santa Claus will fill my Rob’s stocking to-night; that Mildred’s, Agnes’s, and Anna’s may break down with good things. I do not know what he may have for you and Mary, but if he leaves you one-half of what I wish, you will want for nothing. I think if I had one of you on each side of me, riding on ponies, I would be quite happy.” Not long after, he wrote to his boys thus: “The ponies here cost from ten to fifty dollars. I have three horses, but _Creole_ is my pet. She is a golden dun color, and takes me over all the ditches I have yet met with.” When the war was at last ended, in 1848, Captain Lee went home for a short rest, after which he was sent to West Point, as the Superintendent of the Academy from whose walls he had gone forth twenty-three years before. His duty was to watch over the studies and training of the boys who would one day be officers in the army. Corps (kōre), a body of troops. Of′ficer, one who has charge of soldiers. Lävå, melted matter flowing from a volcano. Fēat, a great deed. Lieuten′ant (lutĕn′ant), an officer next below a captain. Tell me— When Robert became Lieutenant Lee. Whom he married. Where he was sent in 1837. What war broke out in 1846. About a great feat performed by Captain Lee. Where he was sent in 1848. CHAPTER III. A Cavalry Officer. After being three years at West Point, Captain Lee was sent to Texas as Lieutenant-Colonel (kûrnel) of the Second Regiment of Cavalry. Cavalrymen are soldiers who fight on horseback and who carry sabers, and pistols, and short guns, called carbines. Colonel Lee did not wish to leave the Engineer Corps, as he had become very fond of the work, and had won a high rank in it; but, as he had been promoted to a higher place, he thought it best to take it. When at West Point, he had been a fine horseman. He was still fond of horses and liked to see them fed and well taken care of. Though now forty-six years of age, he still had a firm seat in the saddle and rode well. His regiment was sent to the new State of Texas, where his duty was to watch the Indians and keep them from killing the whites. [Illustration: LEE CHASING THE INDIANS.]