The Press., 1890-10-30

his earlier years when he was much inter- ested in the subject of electricity.
 --About year ago the exhibit of some wall paper from the Lafayette room" of the old King tavern in Vernon, at the Rockville fair, revived the discussion of incidents connected with Lafayette's trip through Connecticut on his visit to this country in 1924 We published at that time many facts of interest, most of them got from an interview with Mrs. Chas. F. Harwood of this village, granddaughter of Lemuel King, for whom the King tavern was built by his father, and who was still living there in 1924, when Lafayette's visit was made, though at that time his son-in-law, Burt Mckinney, was keeping the hotel. While the matter was then un- der discussion in this and other papers, Mrs. Harwood wrote to her cousn, a daugh- ter of Burt Mckinney, who was living with her father at Elizabeth, N. J. This letter was not replied to until last August for reasons then given-that MT. Mckinney was then lying at the point of death, and that the letter written to his daughter, Julia, nearly year before, had just been found, unopened, in one of his pockets. In the reply the writer expressed regret that the letter had not been found until it appeared to be too late, as MT. Mckinney was in delirium, and seemed unlikely to have any lucid period before his death, which then seemed near. Singular to re- late, however, lucid period did follow the sleep in which he was lying when these facts were written, and his memory was very clear upon the events inquired about He said that he remembered perfectly La fayette's visit, and said that eft was the greatest time he ever knew that Lafayette came from Boston en route for New York via Hartford, and intended to pass the night at the Brick House at Vernon, but when he arrived at Stafford Springs he was too weary to proceed further. and spent the night there at the hotel, but arose early and drove to the Brick House at Vernon for breakfast, which he partook of in the parlor, upon the walls of which was the mythological paper. He said that he did have book describing the paper, but that it had been lost. Of that I do not know, as had never heard of it before.
 Lafayette was received by 8 committee consisting of grandfather [Lemuel King Captain Chapman from Holland represent ing Holland, and my father Capt. Chap man was upon Layfayettes staff during the war. Father was proprietor of the hotel at the time. After breakfast, which was sometime during the forenoon, altho late, he took seat in an open barouche and was driven to the City Hotel in Hartford for dinner. The carriage was driven by Uncle John King [son of Lemuel, who is now living in Enfield, Conn.
 "Grandfather was 8 private in compa ny lin the revolutionary war]-was It years old, father says. remember of my mothers telling me that the company was once surprised by the British, and grand father so seriously wounded that they sup posed him dead, and that he heard then say, one to another, put bayonet thro
 him, another giving him kick, saying Oh, he is dead enough, and so they wen on and left him. His stiff knee was caused
 by the wounds then received.
 "Father said that the night Lafayett,
 was expected every house was illuminated
 with candles all along the route."
 l Mir. Mckinney died very soon after thi
 letter was written. His last illness wa
 painful but borne with fortitude, the caus
 being humorous growth upon the breast
 very near the throat, and the illness iron
 this and one which had preceded it extend ing over period of three years. Mrs
 Harwood also quite recently received
 letter from her uncle, Hezekiah King, al
 importing and commission hardware deal
 CT at 1O6 Chamber-st., New York. MI
 King writes:
 "As to to the old place in Vernon, I wa
 but six years old when I left. The plac
 was quite clear to me when was ther
 two years ago. At that time the pape
 was on the parlor as it was when I was
 fad. The house was built for my fathe
 m 1920 to 1921. He was married De- ll62l. His father must have been a ma Eof good deal of force of character, alth,
 lamed by wounds received during the re,