The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1915-04-17
By Edward Everett Hale

gan, "see that no one mentions the
United States to the prisoner. Mr..
Marshal, make my respects to Lieu.
tenant Mitchell at Orleans and request
him to order that no one shall men,
ton the United States to the prisoner
while he is on board ship. You will
receive your written orders from the
officer on duty here this evening. The
court Is adjourned without day."
l have always supposed that Colonel
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 I 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 a man without a country.
When 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 1S0D.
Sir-You will receive from 1t Neale the
person Of Philip Nolan, late q 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 IL he were
a passenger on your vessel on the busi-
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
unnecessarily to be reminded that he IL a
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.
It 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 it 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 Country" was, think, transmit
ted from the beginning. No mess liked
to have him permanently, because bis
presence cut of all talk Of home or of
the prospect Of return, of politics or
letters. of peace or of war-cut of
more than half the talk men like to
have at sea. 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 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. I was one. Then the captain al.
ways asked him 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 at dinner. His
breakfast he ate in his own stateroom
he always had a stateroom-which
was where a 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
lification, they were permitted to invite
"Plain Buttons" as they called him
They called him "Plain Buttons" be-
cause, while he always chose to wear e
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.
l remember soon after Joined the
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 It He had almost all the
foreign papers that came into the ship
sooner or later. only somebody must
60 over them 1rst and cut out any ad-
vertisement or stray paragraph that
alluded to America. Phillips told me
story Of something which happened at
the Cape Of Good Hope on Nolan's first
voyage, and 1t is the only thing l ever
knew Of that voyage. Phillips had
borrowed lot Of English books from
an omcer, which In those days. as in
deed in these, was quite windfall
Among them, a. 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. I think It could not have been
published long. Well. nobody thought
there could be any risk Of anything ma.