FOR THE MILITARY AND NAVAL MAGAZINE.

FORT PUTNAM-WEST POINT-A NIGHT SCENE.

Hark! the signal notes from the tented plain,
Its echoes 'midst the mountains spread,
And wakes from the moss-grown rocks again,
Voices as if from the slumbering dead;
Till far in the night they chase away
O'er the trackless path of the parted day.

1st Spirit.

And the gathering mists of midnight fall
Upon the watchmen of the night,
And the gray and ruined crumbling wall,
Which shows its form in the starry night,
Now glancing upon the hill's broad crest,
Where the embattled fortress seems to rest.

There it proudly stands on its rocky scite,
In the lonely, still, deserted shade,
Like a spirit which loves the gloom of night,
To tell of the past, and things decay'd;
While glen, and cave, and torrent keep
The pathway-guard of the rugged steep.

2d. Spirit.

And see, just beyond the projecting shade,
That the wall throws o'er the dizzy height,
Where shadows dark by the moonlight made,
Now fall upon the waters bright;

Two forms come forth with measured pace,
And they seem to be of unearthly race.

Now they wend with care to the brooklet's bed,
And one dips out of the limpid stream,

And scattering it around his head,

It falls like gems in the silv'ry beam;

And they seem to watch the waning moon,

As if for their spell it would pass too soon.

Yet with onward step do they keep their way
To seek a deeper shadow still,

And now by yonder wood they stay

Their steps, to commune with their will,

Hist! Hist! for I hear their voices clear,

Borne on the wings of the dewy air.

Here begirt by hill and flood,

By cavern'd dell and gloomy wood,
Watchers of the silent hour,
Subjects of a mystic power,
Come to meet with friendly hail,
Forms which mingle in the vale.

We have done the hidden part,
To perfect our master's art,
Trac'd unknown to mortal eye
Fiery comets in the sky,
Painted as the vapour past

On the rapid whirlwind-blast,
Forms and features soon to come
By these tokens from the tomb.

1st. Spirit. Did'st thou, as we pass'd along,
Where is heard the streamlet's song,
Of its shining liquid there

Cast about thee in the air?

2d. Spirit. Yes, and as around it fell,
Slowly rose a funeral knell,
Quickly falling through the light
Of yonder planet of the night;
Pictures on each drop were shown,
Of things long since reputed gone;
By which sign I know we're cast,
To mix with beings of the past.

Both.

1st. Spirit.

2d. Spirit.

Things of air which live beneath
The vaulted sky, or desert heath,
On barren hill, or fruitful plain,
Yield your tribute to the slain;
To the patriot soldier brave,
Who met the battle on the wave;
Or on the rugged mountain side
Offer'd the living purple tide;
Or on the smiling plains below
For freedom boldly met the foe;
Now while every peaceful gale
Sighs o'er their resting place its wail,
Chaplets twine and flow'rets wreathe,
And incense to their mem'ries breathe,

Mark, yon shadowy forms arise,

They're clouds which fleet before thine eyes,

1st. Spirit. What! seest thou not?

2d. Spirit.

By yonder lake,
Where birds of night their homestead make,
Dim forms beside the water pass,
Which mirrors clearly as the glass,
And seek the forest; now they stand
And seem to smile upon the land.

1st. Spirit. Yes, yes, I see and still more come,
Like spectral shadows of the tomb,
With anxious gaze and hurried tread
They strive to win the mountain's head.
By Putnam's ivy'd turrets crowd
The vine, its beauty and its shroud.

2d. Spirit. What gladness is in every eye,

As round their rapid glances fly
O'er mountain, river, hill and dale,
The flow'ry mead, or fertile vale;
And far beyond the living sight

From unseen things they catch delight,
As from their prison now set free
They make their speechless revelry.

1st. Spirit. Many amidst that phantom train,
As men have trod yon level plain,
Or o'er these shady vallies kept

The careful watch while comrades slept.
Frequenting thus some hallow'd spot,
To them endeared and ne'er forgot;
Like guardians round the land they keep
Their joyous rites while mortals sleep;
For many a battle's bloody toil

Hath consecrated all the soil.

A peal is heard from shore to shore,
It seems to leap from rock to glen
And multiply each sound again.
The group recedes, in silent haste,
And every form hath flitted past!

2d. Spirit. The mist ascends from yonder wave,
Flee, spirits flee, to the forest cave.

1st. Spirit. For the purple hues of the coming day
Are coming fast, away! away!

See the rosy light on the mountain's brow,
The herald of the promis'd dawn,

The shadows around are fading now,
And dew-drops melt away from the lawn;
And birds commence in the forest tree
The wild native notes of their minstrelsy.
"Like a thing of life" disporting in mirth,
High to the breeze our banner's giv'n,
And proudly turns from the smiling earth,
To court the space of the azure heav'n;
There be its home, and its stars ne'er yield,
On the dark blue wave, or the battle field.

4000

TO A SPARROW,

That came on board our ship in a squall, 60 miles from the Balize.

Ah hapless wanderer! hath the howling storm
Surpris'd thee near the ocean's azure wave,
And hurl'd thee from thy gentle nestlings warm,
To plunge thee in a lone and wat❜ry grave?

Come, rest thy weary wing and trust our ship
For shelter, food, and pity's kindly tear,
We'll safe convey thee o'er the frightful deep,
And give to milder climes thy lay so clear.

So may we hope, (when reckless winds prevail
To shiver every mast and rend each sail,)
Escape from Fate! may some kind bark be near,
To waft us home, to friends and kindred dear.
U. S. Ship Erie, at Sea, bound to Mexico,
April 25th, 1831.

FOR THE MILITARY AND NAVAL MAGAZINE.

SUNDAY PARADES AND INSPECTION.

MR. EDITOR:-Your Magazine has interested me, and I believe it may be a highly useful work, if conducted in the manner, and on the principles you have expressed. Among other improvements suggested for the Army, I beg leave to refer to one, which I have for some time hoped to see effected, and that is the Sunday parades and inspections. Any one familiar with the Army must have observed how much time and attention is engrossed in preparing for, and going through those parades and inspections; both officers and soldiers are sometimes detained two or three hours on Sundays, and often fatigued and harrassed with marches and drills, where there is no necessity for it. Most of our officers in the Army are men of intelligence, learning and morality; yet they seem to think, or act, as if there was some obligation to observe Sundays by extra labor and fatigue. I have no doubt that it would generally be more agreeable to the officers and their families, and to the soldiers, to consider the day as a relief from their ordinary duties and occupations, and to be at liberty to attend church, where every christian wishes to be when the opportunity offers. When the whole civilized world regard Sundays as seasons of rest, or relief from toil, why should the Army be compelled to observe them as days of special business and employment? Who, that has ever witnessed the confusion, hurry and noise of barrack rooms, when preparing for an inspection on Sunday morning, can fail to believe that its effects are injurious to the morals and character of the soldiers? And why should Sunday be selected for this duty, when ordinarily the officers and soldiers have much leisure through the week; I can see no reason why any other day in the week would not be better for this purpose. I am not in favour of abolishing the weekly inspections and parades, I think them important, but there is no reason, and can be none I believe, why they should be held on Sundays. Respect for the feelings and practices of society, (to say nothing of the obligations of christians to regard the day as sacred) ought to have some influence towards correcting this evil. The Sunday parades and inspections at West Point were abolished, I believe, a few years ago by authority of the War Department. Much has been done towards improving the Army by substituting Coffee and Sugar for the rations of Whiskey and prohibiting the sale of ardent spirits by sutlers; and we hope for many more important reforms under the administration of our present able and efficient head of the War Department. In the British Army, there are no parades or in

spections on Sundays except for church. Why then should we be behind any nation, in reason, justice or morality? So long as the present practice continues, men of intelligence, of sound morals and correct principles, will be subjected to employments on Sundays, which they feel to be, not only unnecessary, but injurious to the best interests of the Army.

LAURENS.

REMARKS. The practice of Sunday parades and inspections in our Army has been continued for many years; how it originated is now a question, as that particular day is not specified either by law or regulation.— Long usage has rendered these Sunday parades and inspections a custom, almost as binding as if required by law or regulation. Some of the reasons which have been mentioned for its continuance are, that Sunday is the only day on which all the soldiers can be collected together, as during the whole week some of them are absent on fatigue duty, foraging &c.: that by collecting all the soldiers together, they are prevented from borrowing each other's clothes and they must consequently keep their own in good order; that while together, the Inspector has a better opportunity of examining their barracks;-that if the soldiers were not on parade they might be worse employed, and the more they are under the eyes of their officers the better for them;-and, finally, that the parades and inspections are finished early enough to allow those who are so disposed to attend divine worship. No doubt this practice is objectionable to many officers, and it may be questioned whether, in time of peace, there is a necessity for such continual occupation of the soldiers, as to allow no time but Sundays for the weekly parades and inspections.-Editor.

FOR THE MILITARY AND NAVAL MAGAZINE.

From the Journal of a Reefer.

"No more his sorrows I bewail,

"Yet this will be a mournful tale;

"And they who listen may believe,

"Who heard it first had cause to grieve."

Mr. EDITOR-I have lived long enough to have seen many and most convincing proofs, that neither health, great strength, nor even the buoyant and vigorous condition of youth itself, afford the least security against the stroke of death! This should be a mournful tale, which has so gloomy a commencement and the reality, from which this sketch is taken, was deemed sufficiently so by those who, on the occasion to which