The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-04-01
IEE DAILY MssouLIAN. SUNDAY MORNING, AP Ri 1877

IHE DAILY MISS
that was not. For ladies they had tho
family Of the American consul, one OF
/ two travellers who had adventured so
far, and a nice bevy of English girls
and matrons, perhaps Lady Hamilton
/ herself.
i Wen, different officers relieved each
other in standing and talking with
Nolan IN a friendly way. so as to be
sure that nobody else spoke to him.
The dancing went on with spirit; and
after a while even the fellows who
took this honorary guard Of Nolen
ceased to fear any contretemps, Only
when some English lady, Lady HAM
ilton, aseI said. perhaps. called for a
set off American Dances" an odd
thing happened. Everybody then
danced contra-dances. 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 followed by The Old Thirteen"
But Just as Dick. the leader, tapped
for his fiddles to begin. and bent for
ward, about to say in true negro state,
me Old Thirteen gentlemen and
ladies'" as he had said, .yirginny
Reel if you please!" and ".Money-
Musk. IL you pleased" the captains
boy tapped rim on the shoulder, whis-
pered 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 officers teaching the Eng
lish 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, Nolan
and our fellows all got at ease, as /
said, so much so that it seemed quite
natural for him to bow to that splen-
did Mrs. Graft, and say, Il hope you
have not forgotten me, Miss Rutledge.
Shall l have the honor of dancing"
He did it SO quickly that Fellows. who
was by him could not hinder him. She
laughed and said, Il am not Miss Rut-
ledge any longer, Mr.. Nolan; but /
will dance all the same" just nut'ded
to Fellows. as if to say he must leave
Nolan to her, and led him off to the
place where the dance was forming.
Nolan thought he had found his
chance. He had known her in Phila-
delnhia, and at other places he had
met her: and this was a godsend. You
could not talk in contra dances, 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 bushes. He began with her
travels and Europe and Nesuvius and
worked down. and had that long talk
ing time at the bottom Of the set, he
said holdly-a little pale, she said, as
she told me the story, years after,
And what do you hear from home,
Mrs. Graff?" And that splendid crea-
ture looked through him. Jove. how
she must have looked through him!
Home. Mr. Nolan! 7 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 nl-
ways was. He did not dance again.
l cannot give any history of him in
order; nobody can now, and indeed I
am not trying to. There are the ira
ditions, which l sort out, as l believe
them, from the myths which have been
told about this man for 40 years. The
lies that have been told about him are
legion. The fellows used to say lie
was the Iron 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 cele-
brated libel on Thomas jefferson. Pons
was not very strong in the historical
line. A happier story than either Of
these ! have told is of the war. That
came along soon after. I have heard
this affair told in four different ways,
and indeed it may have happened more
than once. But which ship it was on
| 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 him.
self. and almost every man Of the guns
l crew. Now you may say what you
choose about courage, but that is not
a nice thing to see. But as the men
I who were not killed picked themselves
I mp and as they and the surgeons peo-
i pie were carrying Off the bodies, there