Here balls, or as
they call them "hops," take place three or four times a week. The scene
is thoroughly foreign, more German than French. The ladies' hoops are
extravagant in circumference; the colouring of their dresses is violent
and heavy; and there is scarcely a man to be seen without moustachios, a
beard, a straw hat, and a cigar. West Point is the Sandhurst of the
United States, and is also the nearest summer rendezvous of the
fashionables of New York. It is beautifully situated on the heights
above the river, and the Military Academy, about ten minutes' drive from
the hotel, commands a most splendid view of the Hudson, and the hills on
either side.
We went to the chapel on Sunday the 5th, where we joined, for the first
time, in the service in America. It differs but little from our own, and
was followed by a not very striking sermon. The Holy Communion was
afterwards administered, and it was a comfort to us to join in it on
this our first Sunday in America. The cadets filled the centre of the
chapel, and are a very good-looking set of youths, wearing a pretty
uniform, the jacket being pale grey with large silver buttons. We dined
at four o'clock at the _table d'hote_, in a room capable of holding
about four hundred. We sat next to the landlord, who carved at one of
the long tables.
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