Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-06-23

Intrepid some thirty years after ! saw
the original paper Of Instructions:
Washington with the date which must
have been late in ls0O.
sir-You will receive from 1t. Neale the
person Of Philip Nolan. late lieutenant
in the United States army.
This person on his trial by court mar
tial expressed with an oath the wish that
he might never hear Of the United States
again.
The court sentenced him to have his
wish fulfilled.
For the present the execution Of the or
der Is intrusted by the president to this
department.
You will take the prisoner on board your
ship and keep him there with such pre-
cautions as shall prevent his escape
You will provide him with such quarters.
rations and clothing as would be proper
for an officer Of his late rank II he were
a passenger on your vessel on the ousi-
ness of his government.
The gentlemen on board will make any
arrangements agreeable to themselves re-
garding his society He Is to be exposed
TO no indgnity Of any kind. nor Is he ever
unnecessarily to be reminded that he Is
prisoner
But under no circumstances is he ever
to hear Of his country or to see any In
formation regarding 1t, and you will es-
pecially caution all the officers under your
command to take care that, In the various
indulgences which may be granted. this
rule. In which his punishment is Involved
shall not be broken.
II Is the intention Of the government
that he shall never again see the country
which he has disowned. Before the end
of your cruise you will receive orders
which will give effect to this intention
Resp'y yours, w. SOUTHARD.
For the Secretary Of the Navy.
I suppose the commander Of the Le-
want has IL today as his authority for
keeping this man in his mild custody.
The rule adopted on board the ships
on which l have met THE Man With
out a Country" was, | think, transmit
ted from the beginning. No mess liked
to have him permanently, because his
presence cut of all talk Of home or OF
the prospect Of return. Of politics OF
letters. of peace or Of war-cut on
more than half the talk men like to
have ut seI. But 1t was always 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 IN officer was by. With
officers he had unrestrained Inter
course. as far us they and he chose
But he grew shy. though he had favor
ties | was one Then the captain al
WAYS asked bin to dinner on Monday.
Every mess In succession took up the
invitation in Its turn. According to the
size Of the ship you had him at your
mess more or less often ut dinner. His
breakfast he ate In his own sthteroom
he always had staterOOm- which
was where n sentinel or somebody on
the watch could see the door. And
whatever else he ate or drank be ate
or drank alone. Sometimes. when the
marines or sailors had any special jol'
ll6cation. they were permitted to invite
"Plain Buttons" as they called him.
They called him "Plain Buttons" be-
cause, while he always chose to wear a
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.
l remember soon after l Joined the
navy. Some one told the system which
was adopted from the first about bis
books and other reading. AS he was
almost never permitted to 60 on shore,
even though the vessel lay in port for
months, his time at the best hung
heavy. and everybody was permitted
to lend him books II they were not
published In America and made no al
lusion to It. He had almost all the
foreign papers that came into the ship
sooner or later. only somebody must
70 over them first and cut out any ad-
vertisement or stray paragraph that
alluded to America. Phillips told me a
story Of something which happened at
the Cape Of Good Hope on Nolan's first
voyage. and 1t Is the only thing ! ever
knew Of that voyage. Phillips had
borrowed lot Of English books from
IN officer, which In those days. as In
deed In these. was quite windfall.
Among them, as the devil would order.
was the Lay Of the Last Minstrel,
which they had all Of them heard OF.
but which most of them had never
Eeen. | think II could not have been
published long. Well, nobody thought
there could be any risk Of anything ma.
tional In that, so Nolan was permit
ted to Join the circle one afternoon
when a lot of them sat on deck smok-
ing and reading aloud. Nolan took the
book and read to the others. and he
read very well. as know. Nobody In
the circle knew a line Of the poem.
only 1t was all magic and border chiv-
airy and was 10000 years ago. Poor
Nolan read steadily through the fifth
canto. stopped minute and drank
something and then began. without
thought Of what was coming:
"Breathes there the man with soul %
dead
Who never to himself hath said.
".This is my own. my native landf"
Then they all saw something was to
pay. but he expected to get through,
suppose. turned little pale. but
plunged on:
Whose heart hath me- 'er within him burned
As homo his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on foreign strand?
II such there breathe. go. mark him well,
By this time the men were all beside
themselves. wishing there was any
way to make him turn over two pages.
but be had not quite presence Of mind
for that He gagged little. colored
crimson und staggered on:
For him no minstrel raptures swell
High though his titles. proud his name.
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim.
Despite these titles. power and pelf.
The wretch. concentrated all In self
And here the poor fellow choked. could
not 90 on. but started up, swung the
book into the sea. vanished into bis
stateroom, ''and, BY Jove," said Phil