The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1864-01-30
BIDDEFoRD ME-, SATURDAY MORNING, JAN. 80, 1864.
The rule adopted on board the ships on which

The rule adopted on board the ships on which
I have met "thc man without o country" was,
think, transmitted from tho beginning. No
mess liked to have him permanently, because
his presence cut off all talk Of homo or Of the
prospect Of return, Of politics or letters, OF
peace or Of war,-cut Oft more than half the
talk men like to have at sea. But Il was al
ways thought too hard that he should never
meet the rest Of Us, except to touch hats, and
We finally sank into one system. He was not
permitted to talk with the men, unless an off,
Ger was by. With officers he had unrestrained
intercourse, rs far rs they aud ho chose. But
he grew shy, though he had favoritcs was
one. Then the captain always asked him to
dinner on Monday. Every mess In succession
took up Its invitation in its turn. Accordingly
to the size Of the ship, you had him at your mess
more or less often at dinner. His breakfast he
ate In his own state-room.-he always had 0
state.room,-which was where q sentinel, or
somebody on the watch, could sec the door.
And whatever else he ate or drank he ate or
drank alone. Sometimes, when the mariners
or sailors had any special jollifcation. they
were permitted to invite "plain buttons" as
they called him. Then Nolan was sent with
some officer, and the men were forbidden to
speak of home while he was there. believe
the theory was, that the sight OF his punishment
did them good. They called him "Plain- But.
tons" because, while he always chose to wear Q
regulation army uniform, he was not permitted
to wear the army button, for the reason that 1t
bore either the initials or the insignia Of the
country he had disowned.
remember, soon after joined the navy. l
was on shore with some OF the older officers
from our ship and from the Brandywine, which
VIC had met at Alexandria. We had leave to
make party and 60 up to Cairo and the Pyra-
mids. As VIC logged along, (you went on dom
keys then,) some Of the gentlemen 1--WE boys
called them "Dons," but the phrase was long
since changed) fell to talking about Nolan and
some one told the system which was adopted
from the first about his books and other read
ing. As he was almost never permitted to go
months, his time, at the best, hung heavy and
everybody was permitted to lend him books, II
they were not published in America and had no
alluson to 1t. These were common enough in
the old days, when people In the other hemi-
sphere talked of the United States as little as we
do of Paraguay. He had almost all the foreign
papers that came into the ship, sooner or later;
only somebody must 60 over them first, and cut
out any advertisement or stray paragraph that
alluded to America This was little cruel
sometimes. when the back Of what was cut out
midst of one Of Napoleon's battles, or one Of
Canning's speeches, poor Nolan would find q
great hole, because on the back of the page OF
that paper there had been an advertisement Of
a packet for New York, or n scrap from the
Presidents message. | say this was tho first
time ever heard of this plan, which afterwards
had enough, and more than enough, to do
with. I remember 1t, because poor Phillips,
who was Of the party, as soon rs the allusion
to reading was made, told story of something
which happened Mt the Cape Of Coed Hope on
Nolan,,s first voyage; and It lis Is the only thing
| ever knew of that voyage. They had touched
ut the Cape, and had done the civil thing with
the English Admiral and the feet. and then,
leaving for long cruise up tho Indian Ocean,
Phillips had borrowed lot Of English books
from an officer, which, In those days, as indeed
in these, was quite windfall. Among them,
as the Devil would order, was tho "Lay Of the
Last MINSTREL" which they had oil OF them
heard of, but which most Of them bad never
seen. think 1t could not have been published
long. Well, nobody thought there could be
Phillips swore old Shaw had cut out the "Tem-
pest" from Shakespeare before he let Nolan have
II, because he said "the Bermudas ought 10 be
ours, and, by Jovc. should be one day." So
Nolan was permitted to join tho circle one At.
ternoon when q lot of them sat on deck smok-
ing and realing aloud. People do not do such
things so often now /; We got rid Of great deal
OF time so. Well. so 1t happened that in his
turn Nolan took the book and read to the 9TH
ers and he read very we'll, as know. No.
body In the circle knew q line Of tho poem, only
It was all magic and Border chivalry. and was
ten thousand years ago. Poor Nolan read
steadily through tho fifth canto, stopped min
ute and drank something, and then began !;
without thought Of what was coming
"Breathcs there man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,"-
II seems impossible to US that anybody ever
heard this for the first time but all these fel-
lows did then, aud poor Nolan himself went on
still unconsciously or Mechanically
"Ths is my own, my native land! :"
Then they all saw something was to pay but
he expected to get through, suppose, turned
little pale, but plunged on,-
.'whoso heart hath ne'er within him burned,
As homo his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on foreign strand!.-
Ifsuch there be, 80 mark him we'll"
BY this time the men were oil beside themselves,
wishing there was any way to make him turn
over two pages but he had not quite presence
of mind for that he gagged little, eolored
crimson and staggered on,-
"For him no minstrel raptures swell
High though his title, proud his name,
Boundless he wealth rs wish can claim,
Despite these titles, power and pelf
The wretch; concentred oil In self"
and here the poor fellow chokcd, could not 60
on, but started up, swung the book into the
sea, vanished into his state-ro0m, "and by
Jovc," said Phillips, I'VE did not see him for
two months again. And l hnd to mako up
somo beggarly story to that English surgeon
why did not return his Walter Scott to him."
That story shows about the time when No.
lan's braggadoci0 must have broken down. At
first, they raid, he took very high tone, con.
sidered his imprisonment q mere farce, affected
to enjoy tho voyage. and all that but Phillips
said that after he camo out OF his state-room he
never was the same man again. lie never read
aloud again, unless II was the Bible or Shaks
pearc, or something else he was sure Of. But
II was not that merely. He never entered In
with the other young men exactly as com.
panion again. He was always shy afterwards,
when knew him, livery seldom spoke, unless
he was spoken to, except to u very few friends.
lIo lighted up occasionally, remember late
in his life, hearing him fairly eloquent on some.
thing which had been suggested to him by one
of Fiechier's sermons,-but generally he had
the nervous, tired look Of heart wounded
man.
When Capt Shaw was coming home,-if a.
say, IL was Shaw.-rather to the surprised Of
everybody they made one Of the Windward Is
lands, and lay of and on for nearly week.
The boys said the officers were sick Of sail. junk,
and meant to have turtle. soup before they came
home. But after several days the Warren camc |
to the same rendezvous; they cIchangd signals;
she sent to Phillips and these homcwari hound
men letters and papers, and told them she Was |
outward bound. perhaps to the Mediterranean, |
aud took Nolan and his traps ON tho boat hail |