South of the Cadet Mess is the Hospital for cadets, a large granite building perched on a terrace, well back from the road. It consists of a central portion of three stories and basement, with two wings of two stories each and basement. The older portions date from 1875, but the wings are of more recent construction. The wings are practically detached from the main portion of the building for the possible isolation of cases. The equipment is, of course, modern in every respect. Each wing contains two wards, making four in all, named respectively Cuyler, McElderry, McParlin, and Wheaton in honor of former distinguished military surgeons on duty at West Point. I do not suppose that there is a building on the Post which arouses in cadets so many different kinds of feeling. To some it is a place to be avoided, but to a large number, especially to those who succeed in entering for minor ailments, it is viewed as a haven of rest. It is the one place where the cadets are free from the irksome routine, where there is no reveille, and where the convalescents revel in what appears to them epicurean feasts. Vatel, the famous French chef, never enjoyed more renown than does the cook at the hospital. Almost every cadet has a secret longing to be in the hospital at least for a short period during his course, and those who “break in” for slight ailments are regarded with a special esteem by their fellows. One of the first adages that a plebe learns at West Point is “faint heart never broke into the hospital.” The surgeons, however, are pretty clever men and they size up the situation very clearly in each case. [Illustration: The North Cadet Barracks] I remember that upon one occasion when I was a cadet, a group of convalescents were, one winter day, holding a mutual congratulatory meeting in one of the wards, the burden of the conversation being their luck and also their skill in remaining so long in this abode of rest. Arthur C----, who was the most successful of the disciples of the “rest cure,” was perched upon a bed explaining to an admiring line of heads in little snow-white cots, the strategy necessary to remain in the ward, finishing his discourse oratorically; “Some may come and some may go but _I_ stay on forever!” when the door opened and in walked the surgeon. Cadet C---- was next day returned to duty. The officer in charge of the hospital is the Post Surgeon, who is assisted by three or four captains of the Medical Corps, and by several Dental Surgeons. These officers are also in charge of the Soldiers’ Hospital, a separate building for the enlisted men of the garrison, and are responsible for the general health of the command.