id he thought I would,
_and I thought so too, if he did_. I really had no objection to going to
West Point, except that I had a very exalted idea of the acquirements
necessary to get through. I did not believe I possessed them, and could
not bear the idea of failing.

GRANT'S COURTSHIP

From 'Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.' Copyright by Ulysses S. Grant,
and reprinted by permission of the family of General Grant.

At West Point I had a classmate,--in the last year of our studies he was
room-mate also,--F. T. Dent, whose family resided some five miles west
of Jefferson Barracks. Two of his unmarried brothers were living at home
at that time, and as I had taken with me from Ohio my horse, saddle, and
bridle, I soon found my way out to White Haven, the name of the Dent
estate. As I found the family congenial, my visits became frequent.
There were at home, besides the young men, two daughters, one a
school-miss of fifteen, the other a girl of eight or nine. There was
still an older daughter of seventeen, who had been spending several
years at a boarding-school in St. Louis, but who, though through school,
had not yet returned home. She was spending the winter in the city with
connections, the family of Colonel John O'Fallon, well known in St.
Louis. In February she returned to her country home. After that I do not
know but my visits became more frequent: they certainly did become more
enjoyable. We would often take walks, or go on horseback to visit the
neighbors, until I became quite well acquainted in that vicinity.
Sometimes one of the brothers would accompany us, sometimes one of the
younger sisters. If the 4th Infantry had remained at Jefferson Barracks
it is possible, even probable, that this life might have continued for
some years without my finding out that there was anything serious the
matter with me; but in the following May a circumstance occurred which
developed my sentiment so palpably that there was no mistaking it.

The annexation of Texas was at this time the subject of violent
discussion in Congress, in the press, and by individuals. The
administration of President Tyler, then in power, was making the most
strenuous efforts to effect the annexation, which was indeed the great
and absorbing question of the day. During these discussions the greater
part of the single rifle regiment in the army--the 2d Dragoons, which
had been dismounted a year or two before, and designated "Dismounted
Rifles"--w