Scott and the Veteran. BY BAYARD TAYLOR. An old and crippled veteran to the War Department came: "Have you forgotten, general," the batter'd soldier cried, "The days of eighteen hundred twelve, when I was at your side? Have you forgotten Johnson, that fought at Lundy's Lane? 'Tis true I'm old and pension'd; but I want to fight again." "Have I forgotten," said the chief, "my brave old soldier? No! And here's the hand I gave you then, and let it tell you so; But you have done your share, my friend; you're crippled, old, and gray, And we have need of younger arms and fresher blood to-day." "But, general," cried the veteran, a flush upon his brow, "The very men who fought with us, they say, are traitors now. They've torn the flag of Lundy's Lane, our old Red, White, and Blue; And, while a drop of blood is left, I'll show that drop is true. "I'm not so weak but I can strike, and I've a good old gun, To get the range of traitors' hearts and pick them one by one. Your minie rifles and such arms it a'n't worth while to try; I couldn't get the hang of them; but I'll keep my powder dry!" "God bless you, comrade!" said the chief; "God bless your loyal heart! But younger men are in the field, and claim to have their part: They'll plant our sacred banner in each rebellious town, And woe henceforth to any hand that dares to pull it down!" "But, general," still persisting, the weeping veteran cried, "I'm young enough to follow, so long as you're my guide; And some, you know, must bite the dust, and that at least can I: So give the young ones a place to fight, but me a place to die! "If they should fire on Pickens, let the colonel in command "I'm ready, general, so you let a post to me be given Where Washington can see me, as he looks from highest heaven, And says to Putnam at his side, or may-be General Wayne, There stands old Billy Johnson, that fought at Lundy's Lane! "And when the fight is hottest, before the traitors fly, When shell and ball are screeching and bursting in the sky, If any shot should hit me, and lay me on my face, My soul would go to Washington's and not to Arnold's place." 14* Paul Jones, and the Navy of the Revolution. (EXTRACT FROM MR. MURDOCH'S LECTURES.) IN these days of degeneracy and disloyalty, as expressed in the rebellious South and in the sympathy the rebellion has met with at home and abroad, it is a pleasing duty to bring forth and review the generous acts of those men who came from foreign countries and imperilled property and life to aid our fathers in protecting and perpetuating the rights of man. Foremost among these brave men stands Paul Jones, whose noble devotion to the cause of freedom has won for his name an imperishable record in our naval history. Commodore Paul Jones was born in Scotland. His father, a respectable man in the lower walks of life, could only afford him a moderate education for a boy twelve years old. Having fed his roving fancy with tales of adventure gleaned from the old sailors who frequented the ship-yards and lounged in the nautical haunts along the shores of Solway Frith, near his home, he resolved at that age to visit America. Circumstances favored his intentions; and here he passed several years of his life. He became engaged in commerce, and studied navigation. This he carried into practical experience during two or three voyages to the coast of Africa; and, after holding several important commands in the commercial marine, he tendered his services to the infant navy of the Colonies,-satisfied that their cause was the cause of justice and of right, and anxious to distinguish himself as a defender of that which his conscience approved and to which his generous and heroic sympathies directed him. We first find him commanding the Ariel, one of the two ships that constituted the navy In 1778, he made a descent on the English coast, sur- In company with a fleet of vessels fitted out in France, September 2, 1776, Paul Jones, in the Bonhomme fought the Serapis, while the Pallas engaged the Scarborough. The Alliance frigate, under the command of Captain Landais, a Frenchman,-who, from his record, must have been either a madman or a traitor to the cause he had espoused, kept aloof during the greater part of the fight, only coming in towards its close, to fire broadside after broadside in such a direction as to injure the Bonhomme Richard as much, if not more, than the enemy,-in fact, leaving it doubtful against which vessel he had aimed his guns. After a severe fight, the Scarborough struck her flag to the Pallas. Paul Jones, who had maintained a desperate conflict with his antagonist, despairing of conquering him at long range, on account of the disabled condition of many of his guns, and of the inferior calibre of the remainder, now determined to run the Serapis aboard. This bold manœuvre was successfully accomplished, and, lashing his ship to that of his foe, he continued the fight, as sailors say, "yard-arm to yard-arm," the gunners on the lower decks of both vessels actually fighting through the port-holes to prevent one another from ramming home the charges of their guns. Some of the lower-deck cannon on board the Richard burst in the earlier part of the action, tearing up the decks above in a frightful manner. During a momentary lull in the firing, occasioned by this accident, the British commander hailed, and demanded whether the Richard had surrendered, to which Paul Jones replied, "No: we have not yet begun to fight." Striding from point to point, the hero might then be seen, now on the deck slippery with blood, now in the shrouds, trumpet in hand, calling away his boarders to hurl them on the deck of the . enemy, stimulating his crew to renewed efforts by words of fiery courage, and leading in the van of every danger. |