The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1864-02-06
Sflisteua11eoas,
Prom the Atlantic Monthly for Decembcr)
THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY,
[coNcLuDED.l

named In the dispatches"
And then the old man took of his own sword
Of ceremony, and gave II to Nolan, and made
him put Il on. The man told me this who saw
it. Nolan cried like baby, and well he might;
He had not worn a sword since that internal
day at Fort Adams. But always afterwards.
on occasions Of ceremony, he wore that quaint
old French sword Of the Commodore's.
The captain did mention him In the dispatch
es. 1t was always said he asked that he might
be pardoned. He wrote special letter to the
Secretary of War. But nothing ever came OF
It. As said, that was about the time when
they began to ignore the whole transaction at
began to carry itself on because there was no.
body to stop 1t without any new orders from
home.
Ihave heard it said that he was with Porter
when he took possession OF the Nukahiwa ISL
auds. Not this Porter, you know, but old Por-
ter, his father, Essex Porter,-that is, the old
Essex Porter, not this Essex. AS an artillery
officer, who had seen service in the West, Nolan
knew more about fortifcations. embrasures,
ravelins. stockades, and oil that, than any OF
them did and he worked with right good
will in fixing that battery all right have al
ways thought It was pity Porter did not leave
him in command there with Gamble. That
would have settled all the question about his
punishment We should have kept the Islands,
and at this moment we should have one station
in the Pacific Ocean. Our French friends, too,
when they wanted this little watering place.
would have found 1t was preoccupied. But
Madison and the Virginians, of course, flung
all that away.
All that was near fifty years ago. II Nolan
was thirty then, he must have been near eighty
when he died. He looked sixty when he was
forty. But he never seemed to me to change a
hair afterwards. As imagine his life, from
what have seen and heard of it, he must have
been in every sea, and yet almost never on
lard. He must have known, in a formal way ,
more officers in our service than any man liv-
Ing knows. He told inc once, with grave
smile, that no man in the world lived so meth.
odical a life as he. "iou know the boys say
am the Iron Mask, and you know how busy he
was" He said it did not do for any one to try
to read all the time, more than to do anything
else all the time but that ho read just five
hours day. "Then," he said, II keep up
my note. books, writing in them at such and
such hours from what | have been reading (;
and include in these my scrap-books." These
were very curious indeed. He had six or eight,
of different subjects. There was one of History.
one of Natural Science, one which Inc called
"Odds and Ends" But they were not merely
books of extracts from newspapers. They had
bits OF plants and ribbons, shells tied on, and
carved scraps of bone and wood, which he had
taught the men to cut for him, and they were
beautifully illustrated. lie drew admirably
He had some of the funniest drawings there,
and some of the most pathetic, that have ever
seen in my life. wonder who will have No.
lan's scrap-books.
Well, he said his reading and his notes were
his profession, and that they took five hours
and two hours respectively OF each day
"Then," said he, 'every man should have q
l;ra,,;nv ,va'l ne m nrnfessinn ~ NV Nafu.
raj History is my diversion" That took two
hours day more. The men used to bring him
birds and fish, but on u long cruise he had to
satisfy himself with centipedes and cockroaches
and such small game. He was the only natu-
ralist ever met who knew anything about the
habits Of the house fly and the nosqueto. All
those people can tell you whether they are Lep-
idoptera or Steptopoiera but as for telling
how you can get rid Of them, or how they get
away from you when you strike them,-why,
Linnaus knew as little Of that as John Foy the
idiot did. These nine hours made Nolan's reg.
ular daily Occupation" The rest of the time
he talked or walked. Till he grew very old, he
went aloft great deal. He always kept up
his exercise; and never heard that he was Ill.
If any other man was i'll, he was the kindest
nurse In the world; and he knew more than
half the surgeons do. Then II anybody was
sick or died, or II the captain wanted him to
on any other occasion, he was always ready to
read prayers. have remarked that he read
beautifully!
My own acquaintance with Philip Nolan be.
gan six or eight years after the War, on my
first voyage after l was appointed milship.
man. 1t was in the first days after our Slave.
Trade treaty, while the Reigning House, which
was still the House Of Virginia, had still sort
horrors of the Middle Passage, and something
was sometimes done that way. Wo were In the
South Atlantic on that business From the
time Joined, believe thought Nolan was
sort Of lay chaplain,-a chaplain with blue
coat. never asked about him. Everything
in the ship was changed to me. knew 1t was
green to ask questions, and suppose thought
there was u "Plain. Buttons" on every ship -
We had him to dine In our mess once week,
and the caution was given that on that day
nothing was to be said about home. But IL
they had told us not to say anything about the
planet Mars or the Book of Deuteronomy,
should not have asked why; there were great
many things which seemed to me to have rs
little reason. | first came TO understand any
thing about "the man without q country" one
day when we oyerhauled dirty little schooner
which had slaves on board. An officer was sent
TO take charge Of her, and after few minutes,
he sent back his boat to ask that some one
might be sent him who could speak Portuguese.
We were all looking over the rail when the
message came, and we oil wished we could in.
terpret; when the captain asked who spoke
Portuguese. But none OF the officers did; and
Just as the captain was sending forward to ask
II any of thelpeople could, Nolan stepped out
and said he should be glad to interpret, IL the
captain wished, as he understood the language.
The captain thanked him, fitted out another
boat with him, and in this boat II was my luck
to 90.
wh., xvo ,,ok tharo Z, xv., .,,L +, ..ooo
as you seldom sec, and never want to. Mas
tiness beyond account, and chaos run loose
In the midst of the nastiness. There were not
n great many OF the negroes; but by way Of
making what there we're understand that they
were free, Vaughan had their handouts and
ankle-cutfs knocked of, and for convenience
sake, was putting them upon the rascals Of the
schooner's crew. The negroes were, most OF
them, out Of the hold, and swarming all round
tho dirty deck, With central throng surround
ing Vaughan and addressing him in every dia-
lect and pafois Of dialect. from the Zulu click
up to the Partisan Of Beledelecred.
As we came on deck, Vaughan looked down
from hogshead, on which he had mounted In
desperation, and said,--
"For Gods love, Is there anybody who can
make these wretches understand something p
The men gave them rum. and that did not quiet
TEN. l Knocked that big fellow down twice,
and that did not sooth him. And then talked
Choctaw to all Of them together; and I'll be
hanged IL they understood that as well as they
Understood the English" f'
one or two 6ne looking kroomen were dragged
out, who. rs It had been found already, had
worked for the Portuguese on'thc coast at Fer
..Tell them they arc frce, said Vaughan
"and tell them that these rascals arc 10 BE-