The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-12-09

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oomplished his designs, who should he
meet but his aforesaid cousin Samuel
whom he attempted to shun; but Sam
knew him too we'll. Captain Hale soon
found he was advertised, and 90 partio-
ularly described, that he could not get
through Long Island. he therefore at
tempted to escape By Kings Bridge and
90 far succeeded a. to get to the outer
guard, where he was suspected, appFe',I
hended, carried back and tried, and yet
would have been acquitted, bad not his
affeotionate and grateful cousin Samuel
appeared and made oath that he was 2
captain in the Continental Army, and
that he was in there as spy.
Short shrift was granted the captive.
The British commander, Sir William
Howe, refusing even the formality Of 9
court martial, ordered him to be hanged
next morning. The fact that Hale was
.rebel'' in Sir Williams eye. debarred
him from the rights accorded to an ordi-
nary spy!
.sThe execution says Hannah Adams
History Of New England, twas carried
on in q most unfeeling manner, and by as
great a savage as ever disgraced human
ity. A clergyman, whose attendance he
desired, was refused him; 9 bible for q
moments devotion was not procured,
though he requested it. Letters. which
on the morning of his execution he wrote
to his mother, and other friends, were
destroyed, and this very extraordinary
reason given by the provost marshal,
that the rebels should not know that
they had man IN their army who could
die with 80 much frmness."
Among the spectators Of that '.rebels''
NOBLE death it is possible that thers may
have been certain gallant aide-de camp,
Major John Andre, the acknow ledged
wit of the British garrison and the ad-
mired of Tory DANES and damsels. de
beguiled the monotony of life in New
York by composing funny plays, satir'z
ing the ragged Continentals, aud pub
lished in 1880 somewhat coarse lam
pooh on the Revolutionary armies, the
CONS of distant Delaware, and still re-
moter Shannon" grouping them all as
"lung- born tribes" The last canto OF
that epic was published on Sept, ~, 1850,
an ominous date for the author, who on
that very day was captured Us a~spy
while plotting with the traitor Arnold !.
for the surrender Of West Point: The
original copy of the verses was found at
ter his death and bore this endorsement
in his own handwriting most sinister,
jesting prophecy: 'z5e
when the epic strain was sung,
The poet by the neck was hung,
Aud to his cost he finds too late,
The dung-born tribe decides his fate =
Andre was honored by his country
with tomb In Westminster Abbey and
English historians labored for genera
tions to make out that he had been un-
justly hanged as 9 spy. But Washing
ton and his generals gave him eyerytpos.
sible benefit Of doubt, and 90 far from
initiating the indecent haste Of Sir Will
liam Howe in the case Of Hale, did every
thing to ameliorate his harsh fate. Gold
win Smith is the only historian of recent
times who has tried to question the JUS
tice Of Washington's conduct; but Gold
win Smith does not rank among honest
literary men.
OF the two brave and unfortunate men
who died the ignominious death Of spy,
serving on opposite sides, Nathan Hale
was surely the grander figure. On the
scaffold he said that his only regret was
that he had not thousand lives to give
them up for his country. Andre tried to
escape his deserts BY technical pleas,
though he died with manly fortitude at
the lest. The ''duug-born tribe pro.
duoed finer type Of manhood in the su-
preme test.
A Collection of Freaks
In this country every individuality
that differs from the mass is singled out
and lapeled s.Freak." The term is ex-
tpressive and it's application understood
by ali. Hence, as the fame of the Mid
way Plaisance spreads, the denizens Of
5that nonular division of the Fair were