The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1917-05-18

what II Is to De wirnout rnrniry, wrrn-
out a home, and without country.
And If you are ever tempted to say a
word or to do thing that shall put
a bar between you and your family.
your home, and your country, pray
God In his mercy to take you that in
slant home to his own heaven. Stick
by your family, boy; forget you have
q self, while you do everything for
them. Think of your home, boy; write
and send, and talk about 1t. Let II
be nearer and nearer to your thought,
the farther you have to travel from It;
and rush to II, when you are free, as
that poor black slave Is doing now.
And for your country, boy" and the
words entitled In his throat, "and for
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 thousand hells.
No matter what happens to you. no
matter who flatters you or who abuses
you, never look at another flag, never
let q 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, II
those devils there had got hold Of her
todayl"
was frightened to death by his
calm, hard passion; but I blundered
out that I would, by all that was holy,
and that 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 was of your age"
think it was this half-confidence of
his, which 1 never abused, for Inever
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 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 l have learned, in thirty years.
what / am telling. When we parted
from him in st. Thomas harbor, at the
end Of our cruise, I was more sorry
than / can tell. was very glad to
meet him again in 1880; and later in
life, when l thought I had some in
fiuence in Washington, I moved heav-
en- and earth to have him discharged.
But it was like getting ghost out of
prison. They pretended there was no
such man, and never was such man.
They will say so at the department
now! Perhaps they do not know. 1t
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
party Of Americans came on board
in the Mediterranean. But this be-
lieve to be lie; or rather, it is a
myth, ben trovato, involving tre-
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
filed. Poor fellow, he repented Of his
folly, and then, like man, submitted
to the fate he had asked for. He new
er Intentionally added to the difficulty
or delicacy. of the charge of those who
had him in hold. Accidents would
happen; but they never happened from
his fault. Lieutenant TruxtOn told me
that when Texas was annexed, there
was a careful discussion among the
officers, whether they should get hold
of Nolan's handsome set of maps, and
cut Texas out Of 1t, from the map
of the world and the map of Mexico.
The United States had been cut out
when the atlas was bought for him.
But it was voted rightly enough, that
to do this would be virtually to reveal
to him what had happened, or, as
Harry Cole said, to make him think
Old Burr had succeeded. So 1t was
from no fault of N'Olan's that a great
botch happened at my own table, when,
for short time, was in command of
the George Washington corvette, on
the South American station. We were
lying in the La Plata, and some Of the
officers, who had been on shore, and
had just joined again, were entertain
ing us with accounts Of their misad-
ventures in riding the half-wild horses
of Buenos Aires. Nolan was at table,
and was in an unusually bright and
L. KMHI| I.