Williams news., 1917-06-07

uOC Idke up 50 InucQ room as they do now. They wanted to use Nolan's stateroom for something, and they hated to do it without asking him to the ball; so the captain said they might ask him, if they would be re- sponsible that he did not talk with the wrong people, "who would give him intelligence" So the dance went on, the finest party that had ever been known, dare say; for I never heard of a man-of-war ball that was not. For ladies they had the family of the American consul, one or two travellers who had adventured so far, and nice bevy of English girls and matrons, per haps Lady Hamilton herself.
 Well, different officers relieved each other in standing and talking with Mo- Ian in a friendly way, so as to be sure that nobody else spoke to him. The dancing went on with spirit, and after while even the fellows who took this honorary guard of Nolan ceased to fear any contretemps. Only when some English lady-Lady Hamilton, as I said, perhaps, called for a set of American dancers," an odd thing hap pened. Everybody then danced con- tredances. The black band, nothing loath, conferred as to what American dances'' were, and started off with Virginia Reel" which they followed with 'Money-Musk," which, in its turn in those days, should have been fol- lowed by "The Old Thirteen" But just as Dick, the leader, tapped for his f1ddlers to begin, and bent forward, about to say, in true negro state, "'The Old Thirteen,' gentlemen and ladies !'' as he had said, "'Virginny Reel,' if you please!" 'Money-Musk,' if you pleaseI" the captains boy tapped him on the shoulder, whispered to him, and he did not announce the name of the dance; he merely bowed, began on the air, and they all fell to, the off, cers teaching the English girls the figure, but not telling them why it had no name.
 But that is not the story I started to tell. As the dancing went on, Mo- Ian and our fellows all got at ease, as said, so much so that it seemed quite natural for him to bow to that splendid Mrs. Graf, and say:
 'I hope you have not forgotten me, Miss Rutledge. Shall have the hon. or of dancingF"
 He did it so quickly that Shubrick, who was by him, could not hinder him. She laughed and said:
 q am not Miss Rutledge any longer, MT. Nolan; but I will dance all the same," just nodded to Shubrick, as if to say he must leave MT. 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 Philadelphia, | and at other places had met her, and this was godsend. You could not talk in contredances, as you do in cotillions, or even in the pauses of waltzing; but there were chances for tongues and sounds, as well as for eyes and blushes. He began with her travels, and Europe, and Vesuvius, and the French; and then, when they had worked down, and had that long talk ing time at the bottom of the set, he said boldly, little pale, she said, as she told me the story, years after: And what do you hear from home, n4IS. GTdu
 And that splendid creature looked through him. love! how she must have looked through him! "Home! 1 MT. Nolan!!! I thought you were the man who never wanted to hear of home again !" and she walked directly up the deck to her husband, and left poor Nolan alone, as he always was. He did not dance again.
 cannot give any history of him in order; nobody can now; and, indeed, am not trying to. These are the tra- ditions, which sort out, as believe them, from the myths which have been told about this man for forty years. The fellows used to say he was the "1ron Mask" and poor George Pons went to his grave in the belief that this was the author of "Junius," who was being punished for his celebrated libel on Thomas Jefferson. Pons was not very strong in the historical line. A happier story than either of these l have told is of the war. That came along soon after. I have heard this affair told in three or four ways, and, indeed, it may have happened more than once. But which ship it was on l cannot tell. However, in one, at least of the great frigate duels with the English, in which the navy was really baptized, it happened that a 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. Now you may say what you choose about courage, but that is not a nice thing to see. But as the men who were not killed picked themselves up, and the surgeons people were car tying off the bodies, there appeared Nolan, in his shirt sleeves, with the rammer in his hand, and, just as if he