The Ordway new era., 1917-06-01

hated to do 1t without asking him to
the ball; 80 the captain said they
might ask him, II 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 never heard
Of q 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 No.
Ian in 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 Nolan ceased to fear
any contretemps. Only when some
English lady-Lady Hamilton, as I
said. perhaps called for 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 "MoneyMusk," 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
fiddIers to begin, and bent forward,
about to say, in true negro state, 1.-The
Old Thirteen gentlemen and ladies!"
as he had said, "'Virginny Reel if you
pleasew .Money-Musk,' if you
please" 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.
GERS teaching the English girls the
figure. but not telling them why it
had no name.
But that is not the story started
to tell. AS the dancing went on, No
Ian and our fellows all got at ease, as
I said, so much so that it seemed quite
natural for him to bow to that splendid
Mrs. Graft, and say:
II hope you have not forgotten me,
Miss Rutledge. Shall 1 have the hon
or Of dancing?"
He did it so quickly that Shubrick,
who was by him, could not hinder
him. She laughed and said:
II am not Miss Rutledge any longer,
Mr.. Nolan; but I will dance all the
same," just nodded to Shubrick, as If
to say he must leave Mr.. 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 a 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 bushes. 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, 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 creature looked
through him. Jove! how she must
have looked through him! "Home ! I
Mr.. Nolan!!l thought you were the
man who never wanted to hear Of
home again l" and she walked directly
up the deck to her husband, and left
poor Nolan alone, as he always was.
He did not dance again.
I cannot give any history Of him in
order; nobody can now; and, indeed,
I am not trying to. These are the ira
ditiOns, which I sort out, as I believe
them, from the myths which have been
told about this man for forty years.
The fellows used to say he 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 celebrated
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 three or four ways, and,
indeed, 1t may have happened more
than once. But which ship it was on
I 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 q
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
rying of the bodies, there appeared
Nolan, in his shirt sleeves, with the
rammer in his hand, and, lust as IL he