To a fellow who died in an old coat of blue,
With its buttons all brass—who is waiting above
For the woman who loved him with old-fashioned love.
Tom Hall.
NATHAN HALE, THE MARTYR SPY.
After the disastrous defeat of the Americans on Long Island, Washington desired information respecting the British position and movements. Captain Nathan Hale, but twenty-one years old, volunteered to procure the information. He was taken and hanged as a spy the day after his capture, September 22, 1776. His patriotic devotion, and the brutal treatment he received at the hands of his captors, have suggested the following. Put your whole soul into this piece, especially Hale’s last speech. It rises to the sublime.
’Twas in the year that gave the nation birth;
A time when men esteemed the common good