I Will Not Even Say That There Should Not Be
Some Line Of Moderation With Reference To Feminine Allurements.
But, As A Rule, The Restraint Should Come From The Sense, Good
Feeling, And Education Of Him Who Is Restrained.
There is no
embargo on the beer-shops either at Harrow or at Oxford - and
certainly none upon the young ladies.
Occasional damage may accrue
from habits early depraved, or a heart too early and too easily
susceptible; but the injury so done is not, I think, equal to that
inflicted by a Draconian code of morals, which will probably be
evaded, and will certainly create a desire for its evasion.
Nevertheless, I feel assured that West Point, taken as a whole, is
an excellent military academy, and that young men have gone forth
from it, and will go forth from it, fit for officers as far as
training can make men fit. The fault, if fault there be, is that
which is to be found in so many of the institutions of the United
States, and is one so allied to a virtue, that no foreigner has a
right to wonder that it is regarded in the light of a virtue by all
Americans. There has been an attempt to make the place too
perfect. In the desire to have the establishment self-sufficient
at all points, more has been attempted than human nature can
achieve. The lad is taken to West Point, and it is presumed that
from the moment of his reception he shall expend every energy of
his mind and body in making himself a soldier.
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