The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-05-24

they had the family Of the American
consul. one or two travellers who hac
venturcd so far and nice heavy o.
English girls and matrons, perhaps
Lazy Hamilton herself.
As the dancing went on, Nolan anc
our fellows all got at ease, as ! sale
so much so that il seemed quite nat
ural for him TO bow to that splendid
Mrs Graf and say;
1 hope you have not forgotten me
Miss Rutledge. Shall have the honor
OF dancing 2"
He sid it so quickly that Shubrick
who was by him, could not hinder him
| She laughed and said
Il am not Miss Rutledge any longer
Nr. Nolan, but ! will dance all the
same Just nodded 10 Shubrick as il
to say he must leave 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 Phila-
delphia, and at other places he had
met her and this was a godsend. He
said boldly--a little pale, she said, as
she told me the story years after;
"And what do you hear from home,
Msr. Graft? ?"
And that splendid creature looked
through him. Jove! how she must
have looked through him! "Home
Mr.. Nolan!!! | 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 these
| 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 our
ports square and took right down the
officer of the gun himself and almost
every man of the guns crew AS the
surgeons people were carrying off the
bodies there appeared Nolan in his
shirt sleeves, with the hammer in his
hand, and, just as if he had been the
officer, told them off with authority
who should go to the cockpit with the
wounded men, who should stay with
him, perfectly CHEEKY and with that
right and is going to be right. And he
finished loading the gun with his own
hands, aimed it and babe the men fire.
And there he stayed, captain of that
gun, keeping those fellows in spirits
till the enemy struck. The captain
walked forward by way of encourag
ing the men, and Nolan touched his
hat and said:
81 am showing them how we do this
in the artillery, sir"
And this is a part Of the story
where all the legends agree-that the
commodore said:
~ see you do, and thank you, sir,
and | shall never forget this day, sir,
and you never shall, SIR"
And after the whole thing was over
and he had the Englishman's sword in
the midst Of the state and ceremony
of the quarterback he said:
"Where is Mr. Nolan? Ask Mr..
Nolan to come here"
And when Nolan came the captain
said:
"Mr. Nolan, we are all very grateful
to you today. You are one of us to-
day. You will be named in the dis
patches"
And then the old man took off his
own sword of ceremony and gave it to
Nolan and made him put it on. The
man told me this who saw it. Nolan
,ried like baby, and we'll he might.
He had not worn a sword since that
nfernal day at Fort Adams.
The captain did mention him in the
dispatches. 1t was always said he
lsked that he might be pardoned. He
wrote special letter TO the secretary
# war. But nothing ever came Of it.
Is ! said, that was about the time
vhen they began to ignore the whole
at Washington.
Concluded next week.
PERT