The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1917-05-31

TertlSeme nT 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 q lot of English books from
I'm 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
seen. / think it could not have been
published long. Well, nobody thought
there could be any risk of anything ma
tionai in that, so Nolan was permit
ted TO join the circle one afternoon
when lot of them sat on deck smok-
ing and reading aloud. Nolan took the
book and read to the others. and ne
read very well as / know. Nobody In
the circle knew a line of the poem.
only ii was all magic and border chiv-
airy and was 10000 years ago. Poor
Nolan read steadily through the fifth
can;e. stopped q minute and drank
something and then began. without a
thought of what was coming:
"Breathes there the man with soul so
dead
Who never to himself hath said.
az 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 neer within him burned
AS home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on foreign strand?
If 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 he had not quite presence of mind
for that. He gagged a 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 cboked. could
not go on. but started up, swung the
book into the sea, vanished into his
stateroom. and, 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 10 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
spenre 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 a
very few friends. He lighted up occa-
sionally. but generally he had the nerv-
Gus, tired look of heart wounded
man.
Noian's transfer at sea TO the War
ren 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 from the country
he had hoped he might never hear of
again.
Ii may have been on that second
cruise-it was once when he was up
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 We're 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 ii 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 intelli-
fcnce." For ladies they had the fam
lily of the American consul. one or two
travellers who had yentured 80 far and
q nice besF of English girls and ma
irons. perhaps Lady Hamilton herself
AS tire dancing went on. Nolan and
our fellows all got at ease. as ! said
so much - that II seemed quite natu-
raj for him to bow TO that splendid
Airs. Graf aud say:
II hope you have not forgotten me,
Miss Rutledse. Shall have the hon
OF Of dancingT"
He did IL so quickly that Shubrick,
who was by Tim. could not hinder
him. She laughed and said:
Il am not Miss RutIedge any longer.
Mr.. Nolan, but | will dance all the
same" Just nodded 10 Shubrick as II
To say he must leave Mr.. Nolan TO her
and led him of 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 ana
this was godsend. He said boldly
a little pale, she said. as she told me
the story yeurs after:
And what do you hear from home.
Mrs. GrafT'
And that splendid creature looked
through him. Jove! how she must