The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-08-10

that flag" and he pointed to the ship
never dream a dream but Of serving
her as she bids you, though the serv.
ice carry you through q thousand bells
No matter what happens to you, no
matter who flatters you or who abuses
| you, never look at another flag, never
let night pass but you pray God to
bless that flag. Remember, boy, that
behind all these men you have to do
with, behind officers, and government,
and people even, there is the country
herself, your country, and that you
belong to her as you belong to your
own mother. Stand by her, boy, as
you would stand by your mother, If
| those devils there had got hold Of her
| today"
! was frightened to death by his
calm, hard passion; but 1 blundered
out that l would, by all that was holy,
and that 1 had never thought Of doing
anything else. He hardly seemed to
hear me; but he did, almost in a
whisper, say: "Oh, If anybody had
said so to me when l was OF your age!"
think it was this half-confdence Of
his, which l never abused, for 1 never
told this story till now, which after
ward made US great friends. He was
very kind to me. Often he sat up, or
even got up, at night to walk the deck
with me when it was my watch. He
explained to me q great deal of my
mathematics. He lent me books, and
helped me about my reading. He new
er alluded so directly to his story
again; bnt from one and another off,
Ger have learned in thirty years,
what I am telling. When we parted
from him in st. Thomas harbOr, at the
end OF our cruise, was more sorry;
than / can tell. was very glad to
meet him again in 1880; and later in
life, when I thought 1 had some in
fuence in Washington. l moved heav-
en- and earth to have him discharged.
But 1t was like getting ghost out Of
prison. They pretended there was no
such man, and never was such a man.
They Will say so at the department
now! Perhaps they do not know. It
will not be the first thing In the serv-
ice Of which the department appears
to know nothing!
There is a story that Nolan met
Burr once on one Of our vessels, when
q party Of Americans came on board
In the Mediterranean. But this be-
neve 70 be lie; or rather, it Is q
myth. ben trovato, involving q ire
mendous blowing-up with which he
sank Burr, asking him how he liked
to be without country" But it is
clear, from Burr's life, that nothing
Of the sort could have happened; and
| mention this only as an illustration
Of the stories which get a-going where
there is the least mystery at bottom.
So Philip Nolan had his wish full
dlled. Poor fellow, he repented Of his
Jolly, and then, like man, submitted |
10 the fate he had asked for. He new
sr Intentionally added to the difficulty
n dellcacy Of the charge of those who
had him in hold. Accidents would
happen but they never happened from
lis fault. Lieutenant Truxton told me
hat when Texas was annexed, there
vas a careful discussion among the
ulcers, whether they should get hold
f Nolan's handsome set of maps, and
nut Texas out Of it, from the map
f the world and the map Of Mexico.
The United States had been cut out
Vhen the atlas was bought for him.
'ut 1t was voted rightly enough. that
0 do this would be virtually to reveal
0 him what had happened, or, as
larry Cole said, to make him think
I'D Burr had succeeded. So it was
rom no fault of Nolan's that q great
Otch happened at my own table, when,
)r a short time, was in command Of
ne George Washington corvette, on
le South American station. We were
ing In the La Plata, and some of the
Ulcers, who had been on shore, and
ad just joined again, were entertain.
g us with accounts Of their misad-
eptures in riding the half-wild horses
Buenos Aires. Nolan was at table,
i'd was in an unusually bright and
llkative mood. Some story of tum-
e reminded him of an adventure of
Is own, when he was catching wild
,rses in Texas with his brother Steph- .
!, at time when he must have been ,
lite a boy. He told the story with ,
good deal of spirit-so much 50, that
. silence which often follows a good ,
DRY hung over the table for an in I
mt, to be broken BY Nolan himself.
" b asked, perfectly unconsciously. ,
"Prsy. what has become Of Texas7 I
ltef the 1extcans GOT their independ- Z
-, ! thought that province Of Texas {
uu1d es~ss Toward vo1 8ase Il y B
~ = = g#.e - - y Es4+. as ~rs i-.s 81