United States Military Academy West Point - Howitzer Yearbook (West Point, NY)

Page 30 text:

a H CUVfK BVT 15 IT ART? Department of Drawing PROFESSOR Colonel Charles W. Larnkd, Cadet, l S. M. A., 181)6-1870; appointed from New York; graduu-ted 58; Second Lieutenant :kl Cavalry, June to October, 1870; transferred to 7th Cavalry; Second Lieutenant 7th Cavalry, 1870-1876; First Lieutenant, 1876; Professor of Drawing, U.S. M.A., 1876. IN’ST It I’CTO RS Caitain Piehiick W. Lewis, 59 th Infantry; class ’96; graduated 18. First Liectexaxt Pelham I). GuiotMiD, 5d Field Artillery; class ’01; graduated 18. First Lieutenant Henry M. Nelly, 50th Infantry; class ’05; graduated ti. Second Lieutenant Richard J. Herman, 93d Infantry; class Ot; graduated 41. Second Lieutenant Frederick W. Manley, 13th Infantry; class 05; graduated 65. — 28 —

Page 29 text:

N the beginning the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is -and then gathered together all that remained and fashioned the Department of Chemistry. No other theory ill satisfactorily account for the presence of the glorious assortment of subjects in which instruction is here given. The finished product of the Department is possessor of a knowledge that ranges from an acquaintance with the appearance, character, and ancestry of every denizen of the Primordial Beach to an ability to describe in detail the process of making beer. He can converse fluently of the merits of the central siphuncle as contrasted with the ventral and can give the particulars of the bloody prehistoric battle which ultimately resulted in the victorious conquest of the Lamellibranchs by the (vasteropods. Nor is all his instruction gleaned from books. In the Lab.” he acquires the logical method of reasoning which leads to a true understanding of the relation of cause and effect. For the laboratory note book is replete with syllogisms like this: F.x cerement- Heated a test tube in Bunsen burner flame until it was red hot. Accidently touched it. !!— » Ohsekvation “Ducrot Profanity in Chemical laboratory about 10:30 A. M.” Inference Speech i silver: silence is golden. Equipped with a collection of similar nuggets of wisdom he can sally forth to face life’s problems with a serene and untroubled confidence. Even when the memory of Nelson and the wary cryophorus sinks to oblivion his faith in these truisms will not waver. And now for a serious word in closing. The class of 1009 entered upon its studies in the Department of Chemistry with pleasant anticipations based upon the unqualified endorsement given it by the preceding class. Nor were we disappointed. During the entire period of our association with the Department its conduct towards us was marked bv an unfailing patience and courteous treatment that won our hearty admiration. — 27 —

Page 31 text:

 Linked .sweetness, 1-o-n-g d-r-a-w-n o-u-t.” ME artistic temperament is u necessary attribute of one who would describe the Drawing Academy as “a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” To the uninspired who plod their weary way along, it spells work with a capital “W.” At first the perversity of all created things seems to he concentrated into one set of drawing instruments and every finger turns into a thumb. But, • as nothing is eternal in this mortal life of ours, finally the last plate is approved and slop work (well named, indeed) occupies the attention. This proves but the “stepping stone to higher things” and the yearling year terminates with a map of West Point, drawn, usually, in the friendly shelter of some rock on “Fort Put.” Furlough over, the “student officer” completes his artistic development. Deprived of the helping 'I' square and triangle he relies on the modicum of genius that God gave him to produce something remotely resembling a straight line. At this time the perennially youthful grinds concerning “the HI pencil” and “the clean, sweet line” make their appearance. From the first attempt to portray the infinite variety of a cube to the final despairing effort to draw a monkey wrench which shall not be mistaken for a pair of manicure scissors the progress is rapid. The appearance of the warm spring days brings a series of lectures on the great and near great in Art. intended to prepare the auditors ( ?) for the annual trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 'This is the season of the “post prandial nap.” Those who cannot resist, lapse to unconsciousness during a discussion of tin architecture of ancient Egypt and awake centuries later among the splendors of Rome,—latter-day Kip Van Winkles. And last of all comes landscape sketching, which serves only to produce a conviction of the error of not making the adjacent landscape a thing of straight lines and angles. This completed, the great day arrives when the implements of the craft are collected and farewell—a long farewell—is bade to “the counterfeit and counterpart of nature reproduced in Art.” — 2'J —