eath the apple tree, but the grave {61} was not marked, and the
exact spot is now unknown. A British officer was sent, under a flag
of truce, to tell Washington of the fate of his gallant young
captain.

Thus died in the bloom of life, Captain Nathan Hale, the early martyr
in the cause of our freedom. Gifted, educated, ambitious, he laid
aside every thought of himself, and entered upon a service of the
greatest risk to life and to honor, because Washington deemed it
important to the sacred cause to which they had both given their best
efforts.

"What was to have been your reward in case you succeeded?" asked
Major Tallmadge, Hale's classmate, of the British spy, Major Andre,
as his prisoner was being rowed across the Hudson River to be tried
by court-martial.

"Military glory was all I sought for," replied Andre; "the thanks of
my general and the approbation of my king would have been a rich
reward."

Hale did not expect, nor did he care, to be a hero. He had no thought
of reward or of promotion. He sacrificed his life from a pure sense
of what he thought to be his duty.

{62}

CHAPTER V
OUR GREATEST PATRIOT

If American boys and girls were asked to name the one great man in
their country's history whom they would like to have seen and talked
with, nine out of every ten would probably say, "Washington." Many an
old man of our day has asked his grandfather or his great-grandfather
how Washington looked. Indeed, so much has been said and written of
the "Father of his Country" that we are apt to think of him as
something more than human.

Washington was truly a remarkable man, from whatever point of view we
choose to study his life. He left, as a priceless legacy to his
fellow citizens, an example of what a man with a pure and noble
character can do for himself and for his country. Duty performed with
faithfulness was the keynote to every word and every act of his life.

Still, we must not overlook the fact that Washington was, after all,
quite human. Like all the rest of us, he had his faults, his trials,
and his failures. Knowing this, we are only drawn nearer to him, and
find ourselves possessed of a more abiding admiration for the life he
lived.

{63} Washington was tall, and straight as an arrow. His favorite
nephew, Lawrence Lewis, once asked him about his height. He replied,
"In my best days, Lawrence, I stood six feet and two inches, in
ordinary shoes."

[Illustration: George Washington]