schooling at the old academy in
Alexandria, then taught by a Mr. Leary, who remained always his good
friend. Later he attended a better known school, conducted by a strict
Quaker, Benjamin Hallowell--Brimstone Castle, the boys called it,
solely on account of the color of the brick walls. Hallowell himself
was rarely if ever brimstone in character, though he could be stern
enough on occasion. He "thee'd" and "thou'd" in the most orthodox
style, and decried all warfare. Despite his pacifist teaching,
however, young Lee's earliest ambition was to become a soldier. It was
in his blood.

He was fond of outdoor sports, especially hunting and horseback riding.
His lifelong fondness for horses brings to mind the same trait in
Grant, his later antagonist. In his older days Lee would tell with
enthusiasm how as a boy he had followed the hunt, not infrequently on
foot, for hours over hill and valley without tiring. Again he wrote:
"I know the pleasure of training a handsome horse. I enjoy it as much
as any one." His famous steed, "Traveller," was known throughout the
Army of Virginia, during the War, and the sight of him caused many an
eye to grow moist as he followed riderless the remains of his beloved
master to their last resting place.

At the Hallowell school, Lee chiefly excelled in mathematics, a study
which was later to be of great value to him, in the engineers' corps of
the army. Hallowell paid a tribute to his pupil after the latter
became famous, saying: "He was a most exemplary student in every
respect."

One could wish, however, that instead of such idle compliments, the
schoolmaster had really searched his memory and given us some personal
anecdotes of Lee at school. There is actually very little on record
about his early life. He seems to have grown into an attractive and
likeable boy, studious, somewhat reserved, and by no means remarkable.
One kinswoman writes:

"I have often said since he entered on his brilliant career that,
although we all admired him for his remarkable beauty and attractive
manners, I did not see anything in him that prepared me for his so far
outstripping all his compeers."

Lee's older brother, Sydney, had already entered the navy, and Lee
himself decided upon the army, as his choice of profession. At the age
of eighteen he applied for a cadetship at the Military Academy at West
Point, and received it direct from President Andrew Jackson himself.
There is a tradition th