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


AS home his Footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?
II such there breathe, go, mark him well.
BY this time the men were ali beside
themselves, wishing there was any
way to make him turn over two pages,
but he had not quite presence of mind
for that. He gagged little, colored
crimson and 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 go ON, but started up, swung the
book into the sea, vanished into his
stateroom. land. by Jove,'' said Phil
lips, I'VE did not see him for two
months again. And had to make up
some beggarly story to that English
surgeon why did not return his Wal
ter Scott to him."
That story shows about the time
when Nolan's braggadocio must have
broken down. At first they said he
took a very high tone, considered his
Imprisonment mere farce. affected to
enjoy the voyage, and all that, but
Phillips said that after he came out of
his stateroom he never was the same
man again. He never read aloud
again unless it was the Bible or Shake
speare or something else he was sure
of. He was always shy afterward
when knew him-very seldom spoke
unless he was spoken to, except to
very few friends He lighted up Occa-
sionally, but generally he had the nery-
Gus, tired look of a heart wounded
man.
Nolan'S transfer at sea to the War
rem was the first of some twenty such
transfers, which brought him sooner
or later into half our best vessels, but
which kept him all his life at least
some hundred miles fran the country
he had hoped he might never hear of
again.
1t may have been on that second
the Mediterranean-that Mrs. Graft,
the celebrated southern beauty of those
days. danced with him. They had
been long time in the bay of Naples.
and the officers were very intimate
in the English feet. and there had been
great festivities, and our men thought
they must give a great ball on board
the ship. They wanted to use Nolan's
stateroom for something, and they hat
ed to do it without asking him to the
ball, so the captain said they might
ask him if they would be responsible
that he did not talk with the wrong
people, who would give him fnteli-
gence." For ladies they had the fam
lily of the American consul, one or two
travellers who had ventured so far and
nice bevy OF English girls and ma
irons, perhaps Lady Hamilton herself
AS the dancing went on, Nolan and
our fellows all got at ease, as i said
SO much so that it seemed quite natu-
raj for him to bow to that splendid
Mrs. Graft and say:
81 hope you have not forgotten me.
Miss Rutledge. Shall have the hon.
or of dancing?'
He did it so quickly that Shubrick,
who was by him, could not hinder
him. She laughed and said:
Il am not Miss Rutledge any longer
Mr., Nolan, but l will dance all the
same" just nodded to Shubrick as if
to say he mpst leave Mr.. Nolan to her
and led him Off to the place where the
dance was forming.
Nolan thought he had got his chance.
He had known her at Philadelphia,
and at other places had met her and
this was a godsend. He said boldly
little pale, she said, as she told me
the story years after:
And what do you hear from home,
Mrs. Graff?"
And that splendid creature looked
| through him. Jove! how She must
have looked through him! "Home!
Mr.. Nolan!!! l thought you were the
man who never wanted to hear OF
home again. And she walked direct
| ly up the deck to her husband and left
poor Nolan alone, as he always was.
He did not dance again.
A happier story than either of thess
have told is of the war In one OF
the great frigate duels with the Eng
fish. in which the navy was really bap
tized, it happened that round shot
from the enemy entered one of oul
| ports square and took right down the
| officer of the gun himself and almost
! every man of the guns crew. As ths
surgeons people were carrying off tht
bodies there appeared Nolan in hi
shirt sleeves, with the hammer in BIZ
hand, and, just as if he had been the
officer, told them off with authorit.
who should go to the cockpit with tn,
wounded men, who should stay will
him, perfectly CHEEKY and with tina
;. way which makes men feel sure all i:
right and is going to be right. And h,
finished loading the gun with his owl
hands, aimed it and babe the men fire
And there he stayed, captain of tina
gun, keeping those fellows in spirit
| till the enemy struck. The captain
walked forward by way of encourae
ing the men, and Nolan touched hi
hat and said:
81 am showing them how we do thi
in the artillery, SIR
And this is part of the story wher
all the legends agree-that the commo
dore said:
II see you DO. and l thank you, sil
and shall never forget this day, sil
and you never shall, sir
And after the whole thing was owe
and he had the Englishman's sword i
the midst Of the state and ceremony Q
the quarterback he said:
4 Where is Mr.. Nolan? Ask Mr. NJ
Ian to come here
And when Nolan came the capital
said:
"Mr. Nolan, we are all very gratefr
TO vOFI tbday Yo1 are ono of MS fnda,