, 1865-10-21
THE MAN WITHOUT 4 COUNTRY.
Somc Remarks br. the Author about
skPhtIip Nolnn.ss

T.
stPhu1p Nolnn.'s
Ina very beautiful volume Of fstorics By Gail
Hamilton, Rose Terry, Bayard Taylor and
others, Just Issued By Tictmor & Fields, and
called "Atlantic Tales, y We find the following
note from the author Of "T1le Man Without d
Country" appended to that admirable MARIA
tire. AS this tale has had very wide cur
rency an over the country, VIC print this curl
ous note In full .. -. ..,7.'.~
This story was written in the summer OF
O., lEf~; as contribution, however humble, to.
ward The formation Of a Just md true nntion-
oil sentiment, or sentiment Of lore to the na-
tion.. In was at the time when Mr. Vallan.
WIS nv wish; Indeed, that the story might be
printed before the autumn elections Of that
year,-as my Testimony" regarding the prin-
cfp1es involved In then,-but circumstances
delayed ite publication till the December
number Of the Atlantic appeared ::
II is wholly q fiction. "fonnded on .fact-'
The facts on w which II Is founded nrc these,-
that Aaron Burr sailed down the Mississippi
River in 1905, again In 1906, and was tried for
treason in 1sU7. The rest, with one exception
to be noticed, Is all fictitious.
1t was my intention that the story should
have been published with no authors name,
other than that Of Captain Frederic Ingham,
U. 8: NJ Whether writing nnder his name OF
my own, I have taken no liberties With lis
tory ether than such as every writer Of fiction
is privileged to take,-lndecd must take, Il
1c1ion is to be written at all.
Tile story having been once Published, II
pnEscd out Of my hands. From that moment
It has gradually acquired different accessories,
for which ! am not responsible, Thus have
heard 1t said, that ut one bureau OF the Navy
Department they say TINT Nolan was par.
Go.ied, in f.ct, and returned home to die. At
another bureau, nm told, the answer TO
questions Is, that, though IL ii true that IN oH
Ger was kept, abroad oil lis 1no, his na1nc was
not Solau.' 4 venerable friend Of milne in
Iosto who discrcdits ali tradition. still re:
colis els This tSolan court-mattia1." One Of
The most aecusnte OF my younger friends had
noticed Nolun's death in the newspaper but
rccollacted s'that It was in September, and
not in ;Augnst.ns A lady in. Baltimore writes
nc; believe In good faith. that Nolan has
two widowed sisters residing In that neigh
bcrhodd. 4 correspondent OF the Philadel'
phia Despatch, believed 'the article untrue,
as theiCniicd States corvette Levant was lost
at sea nearly three yen1s sinae, between San
Francisco and San Junn." I may remark that
this uncertainty as to tho place Of her. loss
rather adds to the probability Of her turning
up afler Three years iu Int. deg. II min, s,
long. 13l deg. ". A writer n the New Or
leans Picaynne, in careful historical paper,
explained ut length that I bad been mistaken
oil through that Philip Nolan never Ncht to
sea, but 10 Texas thaf there hc was shot in
bati.e, March 81, 1901, and BY orders from
Spain every fifth man Of his party was to be
shot, had they not died In prison. Fortu-
uateiy, however, he left hA papers and maps,
which fell into tAe hands Of friend Of tho
Picayune's correspondent. The friend pro-
poses to publish then,1a the public VII
then hnve, It Is to be hoped, the true his
tory Of l'hilip Solan the man without a
country.
With all these combinations, however; I
have nothing to do. can only repeat that
my Philip Nolan il pure fiction. Il cauuot
send his scrap-book TO my friend who asks
for 1t, because hays It not to send.
Ircmcmbcr when Was collecting material
for my story, that In General W1lklnsonts 3 gall
mntint, which be calls bis 4safcmoirs,'' is fre-
Gucut reference to Jorkins-like partner .ot
his, Of the name Of Nolan, who, at some time
near tile beginning Of this century, was Killed
in Texas. Whenever Wilkinson found him.
used TO Justify himself by saying That he
could not explain such OF such a charge be-
cause ''thc papers referring to 1t were lost
when -Nr. Nolan WAS imprisoned In Texas, -
Finding this mythical character In tic my
thical legends Of u mythical time, took the
liberty 10 give him brother, rather moro
mythical, whose adventures should be on the
!
friend was named etephen,-nnd as such he
Is spoken Of in tlts story at page 40. As this
book goes to press, find that the New Or
leans paper is right In saying that the Texan
hero was named Philip. nm very sorry that
changed him inadvertently to Stephen. It
Is too late for me to change him back again:
remember 10 have heard d distinguished
divine preach On St. Philips day, By Incident,
discourse OH the life Of the, Evangelist Ste
phen. Hsuch mistake can happen In the
best regulated Of pu1pits, must be pdsdoned.
for mistakinss Philip for Stephen Nolan. The
reader will observe that he WIS dead some
years before the action Of this story begins,
T. Nolan, teamster In Boston, whose horse
and cart venture to recommend to IN intlul
gent public, Is no relation Of, the hero OF this
tale.
Hany reader considers the invention Of a
brother too great u liberty 10 take In fiction,
tfnce''; and that should have the highest
authority In litcEatnro even for much greater
liberties taken with annals SO fur removed
from our time.
A RoEton paper, in noticing The story Of
HMy Donble,' contained in another part of
htLis collection, said It was highly Improbable.
have always agreed with that critic. Il con-
| Tess I bnye the samc opinion Of tho story Of
| Philip Nolan. II passes on ships which had
10 existence, is vonched for by officers who
| ihver lived. Its hero Is in two or three pla-
CT at the same time, under . process wholly
IMPOSSIBLE under nny conceivable admfnfstra:
iii, Of ndalrs. In reply, therefore, to Kind
| nd|isrr IN Connecticut, who told me that
| th.ttory must bcapologised for, iccanscit vas
doing great injury 10 the national cause BY as.
se.tig such continued cruelty 81 the Federal
! Government through half.cntuTy, must
| be permitted 10 say that the public, like the
| SUPREME Court u The United States, may be
supposed "to know something"