The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1914-07-21


Morgan himself took the proceedings
of the court to Washington city and
explained them to Mr.. Jefferson. Ger
tain it is that the president approved
them certain, that is, if may be-
lieve the men who say they have seen
his signature. Before the Nautilus got
round from New Orleans to the north
ern, Atlantic coast with the prisoner on
board the sentence had been approved,
and he was man without a country.
When 1 was second officer of the
Intrepid some thirty years after saw
the original paper of Instructions:
Washington with the date. which must
have been late in 1S0O.
Sir-You will receive from Lit 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 would be proper
for an officer of his late rank If he were
a passenger on your vessel on the bust
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 indignity of any kind, nor is he ever
dad hn q
prisoner
But under no circumstances is he ever
to hear of his country or to see any in
formation regarding it, and you will es-
pecially caution all the officers under your
command to take care that, in tie various
indulgences which may be granted, this
rule in which his punishment is involved.
shall not be broken.
1t 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.
Respy yours, w. SOUTHARD,
For the Secretary of the Navy.
l suppose the commander of the Lee
want has it today as his authority fol-
keeping this man in his mild custody.
The rule adopted on board the ships
On which have met 1.-The Man With
out Country was, | think, transmit
ted from the beginning. No mess liked
to have him permanently, because his
presence cut off all talk of home or of
the prospect of return, of politics OF
letters, of peace or of war-cut off
more than half the talk men like to
| have at sea. But it was always thought
l. -,
rest Of us, except to touch hats, aud
we finally sank into one system. He
was not permitted to talk with the
men unless an officer was by. With
| officers he had unrestrained inter
course. as far as they and he chose.
But he grew shy, though he had favor
| ties was one. Then the captain al
| ways asked him to dinner on Monday.
Every mess in succession took up the
I invitation in it's turn. According 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 stateroom
he always had a stateToom-which
was where a sentinel or somebody on
| the watch could see the door. And
/ whatever else he ate or drank he ate
! or drank alone. Sometimes, when the
marines or sailors had any special jol-
! lif1cation, 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 it bore either the
initials or the insignia of the country
he had disowned.
1 1 remember soon after l joined the
j navy. Some one told the system which
was adopted from the first about his
books and other reading. AS he was
almost never permitted to go 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 if they were not
published in America and made no al.
fusion to 1t. He had almost all the
foreign papers that came into the shiI
sooner or later, only somebody NUS
go over them first and cut out any ad
vertisemeilt or stray paragraph that
alluded to America. Phillips told me 8
story of something which happened al
the Cape of Good Hope on Nolan's frs
voyage, and it is the only thing i evel
knew of that voyage. Phillips haG
borrowed a lot of English books from
an officer, which in those days, as in
deed in these, was quite a 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
seen. think it could not have beer
} published long. Well, nobody though
, 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 tn,
book and read to the others, and b
read very well, as know Nobody il
the circle knew a line OF the poem
only it was all magic and border chiv
airy and was 10000 years ago. Poo
Nolan read steadily through the fiftl
canro, stopped minute and DRAM
something and then began, without
thoiight Of what was coming:
~Brsathes there the man with soul 3
dead
WHO. never TO himself hath said,
!. This is my own, my native landf' -
Then they all saw something was t