WEST POINT, HUDSON RIVER, N.Y.

The beautiful "West Point Landing" has been chosen as the picture most impressively descriptive of Nature's charms in this long-celebrated region. The buildings of the United States Military Academy, established here in 1802, occupy a sightly position on the broad plateau above the spot just beyond the landing, accessible by means of a road cut alongside the rocky cliff, and which is almost as picturesque as the landing itself. Indeed, the whole surrounding country, bordered by the noble river, presents an unwearying scene of enchantment to the tourist's eye, and which, once taken in, is afterwards gladly sought for, with the recurring summer and autumnal seasons. At a height of one hundred and eighty feet above the river, here shown, the nation's famous military institution is an object of interest to every American patriot. It is located in the very bosom of the highlands, and with its revolutionary reminiscences of the patriotism of Washington and Kosciusko, the treason of Arnold, and Andre's folly and madness, rivets the eye of every American traveller, as perhaps does no other spot of that stirring historical period. From a near-by promontory jutting into the river the visitor obtains a captivating view, up and down, for many miles, including within its scope the encampment ground, with its white tents and busy groups of cadets, while bounding two sides of the grassy plain before him are seen various buildings pertaining to the institution; then, towering above the academy is Mount Independence, crowned with the ruins of Fort Putnam; while, northward, Crow-nest and Butler Hill rear aloft their magnificent heads, in seemingly conscious majesty.