Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1910-02-13
RETURNED THE PRIZE
4 Trophy That Did Not Remain
 Long In Captivity.
THE MISSING COAT OF ARMS.

titution and Apclogy
 Speaking of old times on the coast, Rld an OregGuIan, reminds me Of Nue of the steriiag characters We lad therr One vas GoV Vern0c Ne Bride of Oregon His drst official du- ies were at Honolulu, where he wat Cnited States minister King Kane aanehl waS tst. .'l}er at the time. Ina minister WIS .troic type of man the father or s5-t- teen children, and number of El- ,Ons became dIstIn- y1ished men in various professions. He vas tr1Ie American, east la an 1Itra patriotic mold, and many stories are told among the oidrmers Of his patriotism and bravery.
 When McBride reached Honolulu he found there were no outward in. signia designa ting the American con- sulate or minister's office, so he had large American coat Of arms cut out of wood gilded and decorated appr0- oriateIy, and this was hung over the office door that all the world might see t. It was naturally q conspicuous ob- ject and of much interest to the pub ie
 One day an English nlan-of-war came into port. The sailors and mid shipnlen were given liberty and, as often happens. some Of them had ti- arious times. Among the then mid shipmen were Lord Gordon and Lord Beresford, who. like all nidshipmen in from a long cruise were out for jolly time Walking down the street they did not fail to notice that Yankee coat of arms, and IS Beresf0rd was collecting bric-a-brac and curiosities it occurred to him and Gordon that this would be a fine addition to their col ection. a trophy worth having. Sc they selectp,; I time when the minis Ter was away and the office closed, presumably at night. and took down the coat of arms, hired native vnhi- cle to carry it down to the dock and actually succeeded in getting it aboard without any of the ranking officers knowing anything about it.
 The next morning when the minis ter came down to the office his assist ant said:
 ".Mr Minister your birds taken night'
 "'What do you meany asked his excellency.
 Your coat of arms is gone re piled the aid.
 ".Gone where? Flown off|
 Not exactly said the other. It's just disappeared
 "The minister walked out into the l street and looked up. The coat of arms, which was five or six feet across, was 'noticea ble by it's absence It had taken wings and flown away. Exactly what the minister said has not been chronicled.
 "It so happened that Beresford had given the carriage driver an extra fare for his trouble. Some one discovered this and quickly reported it to the min" ister, who at once made a demand upon the captain of the frigate for it's return The captain, who was inno cent, denied that the thing was aboard ship. The minister sent his evidence to the captain, reiteratinG his demand and demanding an apology for the in- suit
 "The ca ptain now began an fn7esti- gati0n. and the culprits owned up and took the coat of arms on deck, when 1t was promptly sent ashore and re- turned 10 the office of the minister i Mcbride. who was there, refused to receive it.
 "'TpIl the captain of your frigate that desire that the men who took it down bring it back, place it where they found it and apologize
 Back to the ship went the men with the coat Of arms and reported The captain ordered the young men to go ashore, take the coat of arms to the consulate, replace it as they found it 1 and apologize to the minister.
 Tt was doubtless a bitter pill. and tie young midshipmen had to stand i the badinage of their comrades. The i two went ashore, ready to comply, l and took the coat of arms to the con- suiate The American minister had Dol put himself out to keep the mat ter quiet, and as fact the public was well posted, and the consulate was surrounded by a crowd Of Americans natives and others all laughing at the predicament of the young midship- i men.
 The minister had a strong sense of humor and determined to get all there was in if. He preserved his dignity as best he could as he received the young men and listened to their apologies The midshipmen then took the coat of arms from the hack and amid the cheers of the crowd climoed TO the front of the building and placed it in position. then hurried down, followed by laughter and cheers "-C. r. Holder in New York Evening Post.