West Point: An Intimate Picture of the National Military Academy and of the Life of the CadetRichardson, Robert C. (Robert Charlwood)
History
West Point: An Intimate Picture of the National Military Academy and of the Life of the Cadet
Richardson, Robert C. (Robert Charlwood)
United States Military Academy
The interior of the Chapel is worthy of its beautiful service. “Storied
windows richly dight” rise majestically to the high Gothic roof and
throw upon the gray walls a myriad of delicate lights, pale blues and
pinks, saffrons, and deep purples. Two parallel rows of silk flags, the
scarlet of the artillery, the somber blue of the infantry, and the gold
of the cavalry, hang from the long covered galleries on either side
of the nave. The deep rich shades of the magnificent memorial window
shroud the chancel in a “dim religious light.” Nor is the service
lacking in military pomp. Company after company of gray-clad cadets,
their brass buttons shining, file briskly into the Chapel. The tramping
of hundreds of pairs of feet up the aisle and the rattling of their
buttons against the pews as they take their seats reverberate through
the vast hall. The officers, in their uniforms, and their families
assemble in the seats along the sides.
The first note from the organ announces the commencement of the
service. The choir of over a hundred voices, singing the processional
hymn, walk two by two in slow and solemn order up the aisle to their
places in the stalls. A wave of music sweeps through the church as the
procession moves forward. Last of all comes the Chaplain, immaculate in
fresh linen surplice, and conspicuous by his distinguished bearing.
The service proceeds. The Chaplain advances to the reading desk and
reads the lessons for the day. Inspiring hymns are then sung, followed
by an eloquent sermon upon subjects that touch the daily lives of the
cadets. Once again the celebrated organ peals forth, and during the
offertory casts with its music a spell over the devout congregation.
Two stalwart cadet officers then march quickly up the aisle to the
chancel where awaits the Chaplain to receive the offerings. The organ’s
music fills the church anew and the hall resounds to hundreds of
strong voices singing “Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” followed
immediately by the patriotic hymn,
My Country ’tis of thee,
Sweet Land of Liberty,
Of thee I sing--
Land where our Fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring!
The Chaplain standing upon the steps of the altar pronounces the solemn
benediction, which is scarcely concluded when the choir begins to sing
the “Amen” to the accompaniment of Holy Grail motif from _Parsifal_.
Faintly at first the singing arises from the stalls, then stronger and
stronger, then diminishing in volume until it dies away with a final
“Amen.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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