CHAPTER XVI 

 THE GRAFTON OAK 



— not a prince 

 In all that proud old world beyond the deep 

 E'er wore his crown as loftily as he 

 Wears the green coronal of leaves with which 

 Thy hand has graced him. 



Bryant 



WHILE the Patriots in Boston were 

 rallying beneath the branches of 

 Liberty Tree and the Great Elm, 

 events of a similar nature were taking place 

 in one of the small towns in the center of 

 the state. 



Not far from the town square in Grafton, 

 on a street leading down the hill on the 

 northerly side, stands a very fine red oak, 

 bearing an inscription on a copper tablet: 



UNDER THIS TREE 



BEFORE THE OLD TAVERN 



PATRIOTS OF THE COMMUNITY 



GATHERED TO PLEDGE THEIR 



SERVICES IN THE CAUSE OF 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 



THIS TABLET PLACED BY 



OLD OAK CHAPTER 



DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



JUNE 14, I9I4 



1:833 



