The echoes that so boldly rung When cannon flashed from steep to steep, And Freedom's airy challenge flung, In each romantic valley sleep. His counsels here our chieftain breathed, Here roved his mild, undaunted eye, When yon lone fort with thickets wreathed, Held captive Britain's gallant spy. Fit home to rear a nation's youth How grateful is the sudden change Beneath the cliffs the river steals But midway every sail reveals In tranquil mood the cattle walk Low murmurs in the foliage bred, WEST POINT. White fleecy clouds move slowly by, And then like spirits glide away. Amid the herbage, yesternight His web the cunning spider threw, And now, as sparkling diamonds bright, It glistens with the pendent dew. Gay butterflies dart on and sink O'er the sweet blossoms of the pea, And from the clover's globe of pink Contented hums the downy bee. In all his varied beauty glows Deep meaning for the thoughtful heart, How vivid to my fancy now, Uprise the forms that life redeem! The ardent eye-the open brow, And tender smile beside me seem. For Nature's presence gathers back The deeds that grace, the loves that cheer, And as her holy steps we track, Hope's rainbow breaks through sorrow's tear. THE LAST LEAF. They say that in his prime, Not a better man was found By the Crier on his round But now he walks the streets, And he shakes his feeble head, The mossy marbles rest On the lips that he has prest In their bloom, And the names he loved to hear Have been carved for many a year On the tomb. My grandmamma has said,- Long ago, That he had a Roman nose, And his cheek was like a rose In the snow. But now his nose is thin, And it rests upon his chin Like a staff, And a crook is in his back, In his laugh. I know it is a sin For me to sit and grin At him here; |