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

''You know the boys say i am the Iron
Mask, and you know how busy he
was He said it did not do for any
one to try to read all the time more
than to do anything else all the time.
but that he read just i've hours day.
Then, he said, Il keep up my note
books, writing in them at such and
such hours from what l have been
reading, and | include in them my
scrapbooks These were very curious
indeed. He had six OF eight. of differ
ent subjects. There was one of his
tory, one of natural science. one which
he called odds and ends But they
were not merely books of extracts
from newspapers. They had bits of
plants and ribbons. shells tied on and
carved scraps of bone and wood. which
he had taught the men to cut for him,
and they were beautifully illustrated.
Till he grew very old, he always went
aloft great deal. He always kept up
his exercise, and never heard that he
was ill. If any other man was i'll he
was the kindest nurse in the world.
and he knew more than half the sur
geons do. Then if anybody was sick or
died, or if the captain wanted him to
on any other occasion. he was always
ready to read prayers. l have remark
ed that he read beautifully.
My own acquaintance with Philip
Nolan began six or eight years after
the war, on my first voyage after
was appointed midshipman. 1t was
| in the first days after our slave trade
treaty, while the reigning house, which
was still the house of Virginia, had
still a sort of sentimentalism about the
suppression of the horrors of the Mid
die Passage, and something was some
times done that way. first came to
understand anything about "the man
without country one day when we
overhauled dirty little schooner
which had slaves on board. An officer
was sent to take charge of her, and
after a few minutes he sent back his
| boat to ask that some one might be
/ sent him who could speak Portuguese.
We were all looking over the rail when
the message came, and we all wished
we could interpret when the captain
asked who spoke Portuguese. But none
of the officers did, and just as the cap
tain was sending forward to ask if any
| of the people could. Nolan stepped out
and said he should be glad to interpret
/ if the captain wished, as he understood
the language. The captain thanked
! him. fitted out another boat with him.
and in this boat it was my luck to go
When we got there it was such
ccnno Won coI6oO, coo a,ld
want to. Nastiness beyond account.
and chaos run loose in the midst of the
nastiness. The negroes were. most of
them, out of the hold and swarming all
round the dirty deck. with a central
! throng surrounding Vaughan and adj
dressing him in every dialect and pa
! tots of a dialect. from the Zulu click up
to the Partisan of Beledeljereed
AS we came on deck Vaughan looked
had mounted in desperation and said:
"For Gods love. is there anybody
who can make these wretcbes under
stand something's"
Nolan said he could speak Portu-
guese and one or two fine looking
Kroomen were dragged out. who, as
it had been found already, had worked
for the Portuguese at Fernando Pc.
TELL them they are Free" said
Vaughan. "and tell them that these
rascals are to be hanged as soon as we
/ can get rope eIfough."
Nolan explained it in such Portu-
guese as the Kroomen could under
stand and they in turn to such of the
/ negroes as could understand them
Then there was such yell of delight
cIinching of fists. leaping and dancing
kissing Of Nolan's feet and a general
rush made b the hogshead by way of
spontaneous worship Of Vaughan as
the deus ex machina Of the occasion.
''Tell them" said Vaughan, well
pleased, that 1 will take them all to
Cape Palmas."
This did not answer so well. Cape
Palmas was practically as far from
the homes of most of them as New Or
leans or Rio Janeiro was-that is, they
would be eternally separated from
home there. And their interpreters, as
we could understand. instantly said,
"Ah, non Palmas," ana began to pro-
pose infinite other expedients in most
voluble language. Vaughan was
rather disappointed at this result of
his liberality and asked Nolan eagerly
what they said. The drops stood on
poor Nolan's white forehead as he
hushed the men down, and said:
"He says Not Palmas.' He says,
Take us home, take US to our own
country, take us to our own house,
take US to our own pickaninnies and
our own women And this one says"
chOked out Nolan, chat he has not
heard a word from his home in six
months, while he has been locked up in
an internal barracoon.
. Vaughan always said he grew gray
himself while Nolan struggled through
this interpretation. 1, who did not I'M
derstand anything of the passion in
: volyed in it, saw that the very ele-
ments were melting with fervent heat
and that something was to pay some
5 where Even the negroes themselves
stopped bowling as they saw Nolan's
! agony of sympathy. AS quick as he
could get words. he said:
!, Tell them yes, yes Tell them they
:. shall go to the Mountains of the Moon
if they will. If sail the schooner
r through the Great White desert they
a shall go homer'
And after some fashion Nolan said
so. And they all fell to kissing him and
: wanted to rub his nose with theirs.
But he could not stand it long, and
getting Vaughan to say he might &c
back, he beckoned me down into oul