The sun., 1918-07-25
THE BIRTHPLACE OF A GREAT AMER.
ICAN PA TRIOT.
and His Adventure Connecticut
Home OF Hale.

Ask him inside" the younger q,
the women said.
1t was an extraordinary rcq!cs. -,
tramp, and have since wondvr,l %,
my holiness and marvelled more a.
the prompt accession to my wish. f.r
was admitted and invited to "a son,
at table with the family. There wrro
Just three, the parsnts and daughter
a bright girl and an accomplishod
musician with a keen satirical sens.
and she rlddled me with her c'ry,r
tongue. She told me that hoIlu,s,
alone did not win admission to tho
mouse; that stranger in that ONT ~
the way place was a breath from the
outside world and a tonic to her. Nv
conceit shrank to the vanishing non,
when she turned her merry eyes and
Keen wit on me, exclaiming:
"A tramp Is really n shocking cype.
rlencel And 20 be willing to prerare
a bed for his entertainment, Maybs
you are not fully conscious of the
distinction"
/ assured her that a man could do no
less than acknowledge It, and she len
me to prepare for my nights comfor.
When she had finished, her self-!.n-
posed task she made the prelude IN
my nights rest pleasant by playing
noctures from Chopin and Mozart, and
went to bed to dream of hills mixed
with harmony to which ancient
shrines were background only.
In the morning she showed me
around the house, explaining the ira
1itiny1 90 20 Tod
the rooms Nathan Hale had made in
stinct with his presence.
But you didn't sleep in his bed
room, so his ghost, l hope, didn't dis.
turb you" she laughed.
mo. for Chopin and Mozart oxor
cised it," ! answered with an afreA.o-
tion OF gallantry that was awkward
for tramp.
Unless you are familiar with tho
country you will find II difficult to find
the Hale house by the verbal dlrec.
ton vouchsafed you by the residents Of
the countryside. I made persistent IN
quiry and was most generally met
with the blank stare Of people to whom
Hale, to he Of any importance must
rub up against them in the ordinary
occupations of their daily life They
knew things only by the physical
touch or the sense Of nearness. "a.
than Hale hadn't ploughed the fields
with them, and he hadn't traficEcd
with them, and by these tokens Of tho
senses Nathan Hale had not existed,
The greeting of one farmer Of whom
l solicited direction had the essence
of humor in 1t and something of prac-
tical sense. He pondered a moment,
for these country people are nothing
If not deliberate:
Hale? Don't know the name. Is
he Swede?" he asked finally as I,
by inspiration.
mo: he was a Yankee, but he has
been dead more than hundred years"
1 answered.
The man laughed bit dryly. Then
he said in tone of voice that was
akin to jeer:
We'll. No wonder l don't know
him. for I'm only fifty You'll likely
ind him in n graveyard
And he went toward his COW shed
wondering, I have no doubt, why
fellow with any sense was tramp'ug
80 N''S N''''N'N i'Oh4ilS III Ntdu IIlt
Some doubt has been cast on tie
ancientness Of the present Hale fpvsc
A Connecticut lawyer named Seymour
who lived at one time in New Haven.
and who has made n close study W
Hale and his life. wrote me some years
ago that there are intrinsic evidences
that the building known to-day &c 'No
Hale house is not the original one IN
which the patriot sChoolmas,cr was
born. II IS, however, ancient enough
in appearance 20 satisfy the unCr.'I.ll
seeker after shrlnes who has no
knowledge Of the periods 10 which osr-
tain types Of New England arcl'ec
ture are attributable. Some II Is
shingles | know are new, for r..c
hunters have carried away maur -
the old ones. as was told; aul rlo
old house would have long since N,oH
despoiled of its ancient protectors from
wind and weather If some reo'ra.n'
had not been put upon the acQu~J''ye
tendencies of visitors to this slri""
of patriotism.
Hale's tombstone is in tho lIn'e
graveyard at South Coventry Nr
Seymour doubts that lie is buried tier"
But It IS an ideal spot for the patriot
martyrs grave. II is on the al 20,
Of Lake WumgumbauE, near wN.cr
crows cav in thievish flight. over c.rr-
fields. and in whose blue waters 'Ha
drifting clouds Of summer are reflected
Around II are the Hills that Hale lowed
so we'll that he gave one life aul Joe
GREETED that he had but one tu l..o
for them FINDLAY SAckr~
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