Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1917-05-10

sooner or later. only somebody mus
20 over them first and cut out any ad
vertlsement or stray paragraph tina
alluded to America. Phillips told me
story OF something which happened a
the Cape OF Good Hope on Nolan's frs
voyage. and II Is the only thing ! evel
knew OF that Toyage. Phillips haC
borrowed q lot OF English books from
nm 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 1t could not have been
published long. Well. nobody thought
there could be any risk Of anything ma
tional 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 be
read very we'll as know. Nobody In
the circle knew line OF the poem,
only 1t was all magic and border chiy-
airy and was 10000 years ago. Poor
Nolan read steadily through the fifth
canto. stopped minute and drank
something and then began, without q
tbougbtsof what was coming:
"Breathes there the man with soul 90
dead
Fho nsyer TO himself hath said.
1"ThIs 10 my own, my native lsndr"
Then they all saw something WAS to
pay, but be expected to get through
suppose, turned a little pale. but
plunged on;
''whose heart hath nser within him burned
A. home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on foreign strand7
II such there breathe. 20. mark him we'll"
BY this time the men were all beside
themselves. wishing there was any
way to make him turn over two pages.
but be had not quite presence of mind
for that He gagged little. c0lored
crimson and staggered on:
For him no minstrel raptures swell.
High though his titles, proud his name
BoundIess his wealth ~ wish can claim. {
Despite these titles. power and peif.
The wretch. concentrated all In SELF
And here the poor fellow choked. could
not 60 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 very high tone, considered his
imprisonment mere farce affected to
enjoy the voyage. and all that but
Phillips said that after be came out Of
his stateroom be never was the same
man again. He never read. aloud
again unless 1t was the Bible or Shake
speare or something else be was sure
OF. He was always shy afterward
when | knew hlm--very seldom spoke
unless he was spoken to. except to a
very few friends. He lighted up ,0cca-
sionally bat generally he had the Derv.
Gus, tired look OF heart wounded
man.
.Nolan's transfer at sea to the War
rem was the tirst of some twenty such
ira nsfers. 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
be had hoped be might never hear Of
again.
1t may have been on that second
cruise-it WIS once when he was up
the Mediterranean-tha Mrs. Graf.
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 fleet. and there had been
great festivities. and our men thought
they must give great ball on board
Ihe ship They wanted to use NOlan's
stateroom for something. and they hat
ed to do 1t without asking him to the
ball, so the captain said they might
ask him II they would be responsible
Ihnt be did not talk with the wrong
people, who would give him intelli-
yence." For ladies' they had the fam
ly of the American consul. one or two
raveers who had ventured so far and
a nice bevy OF English girls and ma
IRONS, perhaps Lady Hamilton herself
AS the dancing went on. Nolan and
BUR fellows all got at ease. as said
20 much 80 that 1t seemed quite natu
raj for him 10 bow to that splendid
Mrs. Graf and say:
ii hope you have not forgotten me.
Hiss Ruttedge. Shall | have the hon
'r Of dancingY'
He did II so quickly that Shubrick. |
who was by him. could not hinder
hun. She laughed and said:
Il am not AIiss Rutledge any longer.
Mr Nolan. but | will dance all the
same" just nodded to Shubrick as Il
10 say he must leave MIR. Nolan to her |
and led him OF to the place where the
lance was forming
Nolan thought he had got his chance.
He had known her al Philadelphia. !
and at other places Ind met her and