Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-10-20
DAILY LEADER.
ALiterary Hoax.

1 A year or two ago, a story appeared in
the atlantic MonthiH under the title of "A
Man Without a Country which bore tbe
semblance of a veritable narrative of
actuel events, and excited a rood deal of
discussion and an~imadversion, 1t purnort-
ed to be the history of an officer in onr
navy, who, in punishment for a wish that
he might never hear of the United States
again" was kept sailing up and down the
high seas for many years, totally debarred
from communication with his kind. The
story, plausibly told, was attributed TO one
Captain Frederic Ingham, U. S. N. uand
several Jealous persons exhumed old re-
cords to c~ontrovert some of said ~Ingbam's
statements.
1t now appears from a foot note to the |
same story, appended by the author in the
new edition of Atlantic Tales" lust is
sued by Ticknor & Fields, that GPeter No
Ian " and the curious account of his ex-
perIences were alike Pigments of the brain.
Hear the explanation
This story was written in the summer
OF 1863, as a contribution, however hum
Bile towards the formation of inst and
true national sentiment, or sentiment of
love to the nation. 1t was at the time
when Mr.. Vallandigham had been sent
across the border. 1t was nv wish. in
deed, that the story might be printed be-
fore the autumn elections of that year-as
my testimony regarding the principles
involved in them-but circumstances de- {
layed its publication till the December I
number of the atlantic appeared. {
at IS wholly a fiction, founded on I
fact. The facts on which it is founded q
are these; that Aaron Burr sailed down t
the Mississippi river, in 1906, again in d
1906, and was tried for treason in 1907 o
rest, with one exception to be noticed. b
is all fictitious. n
1t was my intention that the story Il
should nave beeu published with no Il
authors name, other than that of CAPTAIN q
Frederic Ingham, U. S. N. Whether "
under his name or my own. |
nave taken no liberties with history other D
han such as every writer of fiction is OF
privileged to take-indeed, must take. if Y
lotion is to be written at all" G.
The writer, being at confessional, gives G,
his description of the excitement which of
ollowed the publication of his successful ia
til
1.-THE story having been once published in
t passed out of my hands. From that tn
it has gradually acquired differ to
accessories, for which / am not respon- de
lble. Thus l have heard it said that at CO.
ne bureau of the Navy Department they DO
iy that Nolan was ~pardOned in fact, and en-
home to die. At another bureau, HC
am told, the answer to questions is, that ins
Tough it is true that an officer was kept tai
all his life, his name was not No the
n. Aveneral friend of mine in Boston, dir
no discredits all tradition, still reeollects dis
lis Nolan court martial" pli
Lone of the most accurate of nv 1at
friends had noticed Nolan's -
aath in the newspaper, but recollected
hat it was in September, and not in Au- =
lst." A lady in Baltimore writes me. ID
believe in good faith, that Nolan has ID
70 widowed sisters residing in that -
sighborhood. A correspondent of the ID
Philadelphia Despatch believed the arti- i
g untrue, as the United States corvette
evant was lost at sea nearly three wears =
ace, between San Francisco and San a
ian. l may remark that this uncer- IA
as to the place of her loss rather &C
ds to the probability of her turning up -
er three years in latitude % IL south. v
1872 west. A writer in the si0n,
NV Orleans PicayuRe, in a careful his &C
'ical paper, explained at length that I n
q been mistaken all through; that IL
Hip Nolan never went to sea but TO ingsr
xas; that there he was shot in battle, 1 INN.
arch 81, 1901, and by orders from Spain Del
cry fifth man of his party was to be ~
IT, had they not died in prison. For N
lately, however, he left his papers and
.ps, which fell into the hands of a friend Del
the Picayi0ie's correspondent. The T
end proposes to publish them; and the IL
win then have, it is to be hoped,
true history Of Philip Nolan, the man
.hout a country. PEI
With all these combinations, however, 5ne
ave nothing to do. I can only repeat Us
t my Philip Nolan is pure fiction. l oct
not send his scrapbook to my friend 10,
0 asks for il, because 1 have it not to lOl
d. III
nnaa.