The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-07-05

' ' ' ~ y ' -
.ar1v subterfuge was in line with his
future attitude toward the world
Benedict Arnold was a success as
druggist, and five years after ne hao
starred business he married Margaret
Mansfield. the attractive daughter OF
Moses Mansfield, the high sheriff OF the
| county. Arnold himself was a dashing
fellow with an abundance of good splr-
its. a capital talker. fascinating COM
| panion and a leader by nature wher-
ever he found himself. There is an ola
house still standing on the historic cor
ner where New Haven was first set
! tied that boasts among its memories
nights of dancing in the days before
| the Revolutionary War, when Beneoics
Arnold was a guest, and when ne leu
+, the bIusning Miss Margaret in the min
uet If the college students were also
guests of such evenings. 1t Is more
! than probable that Nathan Hale. who
was a student at Yale in the class or
| 1873. met Arnold. That these two men,
one to become in after years the most
infamous traitor of the war. and the
other to become the most famous pa
triot should have known each other in
New Haven is entirely probable. Hale
was fourteen years the others junior,
but he was equally popular in New Ha-
ven with him.
When Arnold married he bEilt the
house in Water street that has since
become so CLOSELY identified with him n
New Haven history. The house was
built out of the dividends of Arnold's
East Indies trading ventures, which
had become considerable at this period.
The fashionable part of New Haven
was then centered In Water street, fac
ing the harbor front, and Arnold $
house stood at the west end of a long
line of fine mansions belonging to the
ship owners, who We're then the rich
est people OF the town.
Time and the encroachments of b7@i-
ness interests have brought the fine old
colonial mansion down to the level
now of it's less aristocratic nefghbors,
but traces are still TO be seen OF the
rnagnificence OF which it once was
proud. The house is new part of a iuni-
Der yard. and the parloTs and spacious
chambers where Arnold and his brlce
lived and received the elite of the town
are now occupied By lilies of scantling,
and the colonial staircases are now
changed to lumber elevators. In a
short time what is left of the old house
will be torn down and the space II oc-
cu,1ied turned into a woodward.
While no attempt has been made by
New Haven people to save the old Ar
mold house as it can be believed that
the reputation of it's first occupant is
no great source of public gratihcatlons
I many of the finest pieces of it's original
architecture have been preserved An
tiuuarians and unpoetical junk deal
ers have banded together to raze the
old place, and what remains today is
the merest Shell of the old structure.
The rnantelpieces, carved English oak
ratings and the furniture have all been
scattered among museums throughout
New England. But there still remains
the original exterior, and the window
blinds, doorways, cornices and much of
the original decoration are still left.
/ Originally the Benedict Arnold house
was a handsome structure. It was a
square, narrow clapboarded building.
with a great carved doorway and a Gu
pola surrounding the four sloped roof.
Sandstone underpinning shows to the
height of five feet or more around the
house. and over each window are carv-
ed birds and other designs An i'm
nense hall divides the interior, and on
each corner was a large, square room
Two enormous cbimneys are still stand
ing. and each room in the house had an
open fireplace. In gradually tearing
down the building curious relics have
been found in the walls. The corner
beams that supported the framework
are all OF hand hewn English oak, and
the rough slabs may still be seen. The
iaths we're hand split and shaved. aud
many OF them have sharpened points
All OF the nails are hand wrought and
wooden pegs are used in many places.
In the process of partly demoishing
the interior some of the original parti-
tons have been left, and under the
many layers of wallpaper may be seen
the original highly ornamanted Eng
lish wallpaper which Arnold and his
( bride chose in 1771. That on the parlor
4 walls was sky blue. and in the bed
/ chambers yellow, with curious old fig
/ urss on it. In one secret partition were
( recently uncovered a number of old ac-
count books dated 1774. a holster and
: sword, but II is not clear that they be-
longed to Arnold. Arnold kept his lar
der in good condition; the kitchen has
a large fireplace and an immense bake
oven, extending six feet back into the
chimney
/ In the cellar are immense bricked-in
compartments, evidently wine cellars
( or cpd storage rooms for imported per-
ishable goods, and the present owner
OF the building will show you a brick
cavity four or more feet high. that was
originally the entrance to a tunnel lead
ing from the house TO the ship dock
warehouses, and which, tradition has
1t, Arnold was not above using for the
Illegal purpose OF smuggling in taxable