The return of the army from Mexico brought with it the young officer
whom we have before mentioned. The father of this young man had been a
companion-in-arms of Colonel Dumont, and a strong friendship had grown
up between the veterans. The tie was severed only by the death of the
former, after a life of mercantile misfortunes, and finally of utter
ruin. At the period of the father's insolvency and death, Henry Carroll,
the son, was a cadet at West Point, and was about abandoning his chosen
profession, for the want of means, when Colonel Dumont wrote him an
affectionate letter, offering all that he required to complete his
studies. This offer, coming from one who had been a heavy loser by his
father's bankruptcy, was highly appreciated, and the young student had
allowed no false delicacy to prevent his acceptance of the generous
proposal, though with a stipulation to repay all sums, with interest.
Colonel Dumont, in his regular summer tour to the North, never failed to
visit his young friend, whose noble bearing and lofty principle entirely
won his heart, and he charged himself with a father's duty towards him.
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