Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1917-05-25
sEconp lNsrALLMENr.

n / had only preserved the whole
OF this paper. there would be no break
ia the beginning OF my sketch OF this
story. For Captain Shaw. II It was he,
handed It to his successor in the
charge, and he to his.
The rule adopted on board the ships
on which l have met "The Man without
a Country" was, I think. transmitted
from the beginning. No mes liked to
have him permanently, because his
presence cut on all talk Of home or OF
the prospect OF return. OF politics or
letters, OF peace or Of war-cut OF
more than half the talk men like to
have at sea. But II was always
thought too hard that he should never
meet the rest Of US, except to touch
hats, and we finally sank into n sys-
TEN. He was not permitted to talk
with the men unless an officer was by.
With officers he had unrestralned In
tercourse, as far as they and he chose.
But he grew shy, though he had favor
ties: 1 was one. Then the captain
always asked him to dinner on Mon
day. Every mess In succession took
up the invitation I'm It's turn. Accord
ing t. the size Of the ship, you had him
at your mess more or less often at
dinner. His breakfast he ate I'm his
own stateroom, he always had a state
room, which was where a sentinel, or
somebody on the watch, could see the
door. And whatever else he ate or
drank he ate or drank alone. Some
times, when the marines or sailors had
amy special jollihcation. they were per
mitted to invite "Plain-ButtOns, as
they called him. Then Nolan was sent
with some officer, and the men were
forbidden to speak Of home while he
was there. They called him "Plain-
Buttons" because, while he always
chose to wear n regulation army uni
form, he was not permitted to wear
the army button, for the reason that
Il bore either the initials or the in
sigma Of the country he had disowned.
I remember, soon after 1 joined the
navy, l was on shore with some of the
older officers from our ship and from
the Brandywine, which we had mel at
Alexandria. We had leave to make u
party and go up to Cairo and the Pyra-
mids. AS we logged along some of
the gentlemen fell TO talking about No
Ian, and someone told the system
which was adopted from the first about
his books and other reading. As he
was almost never permitted to go on
shore, even though the vessel lay In port
for months. his time, at the best
hung heavy; and everybody was per
mitted to lend him books, If they were
not published In America and made no
allusion to 1t. These were common
enough in the old days, when people
In the other hemisphere talked Of the
United States as little as we do OF
Paraguay. He had almost all the for
cigu papers that came into the ship
sooner or later; only somebody mus
go Over them first. and cut out any
advertisement or stray paragraph tina
alluded to America. Right In the
midst Of one of Napoleon's battles, OF
one OF Cannlng's speeches. poor NolaI
would find a great hole, because on the
back of the page of that paper there
had been an advertisement Of a packe
for New York, or a scrap from thu
presidents message. l say this wal
the first time l ever heard Of this plan
which afterwards l had enough, an
more than enough, to do with. l re
member It, because poor Phillips, witt
was Of the party, as soon as the allu
sion to reading was made. told a stor,
OF something which happened at tn
Cape Of Good Hope on Nolan's frs
voyage; and II is the only thing eve
knew OF that voyage. They hat
touched at the Cape, and had done IN.
civil thing with the English npmlra
aud the fleet, and then, leaving for
long cruise up the Indian ocean, Phil
lips had borrowed a lot Of EnglisI
books from an officer which, In thos
days, as indeed In these, VAS quite
wlndfall. Among them, as the Dew
would order, was the Lay Of the Las
Minstrel" which they had all Of ther
heard OF, but which most OF them ha
never seen. l think It could not hav
been published long. Well, nobod
AAUNkAA AAANAE NNAAA NN IAH AN"t |Ig
thing national In that, though Phillip
swOre old Shaw had cut out tn
Tempest from Shakespeare befor
he let Nolan have It, because he sale
'sThe Bermudas ought to be ours anG
by Jove. should be one day" So NJ
Ian was permitted to join the clrcl
one afternoon when a lot Of them ga
on deck smoking and reading alout
People do not do such things so ofte
now. but when / vas young we 90
rid Of a great deal OF time so. Wei
so II happened that in his turn Nola
took the book and read to the others
and he read very well, as know. NJ
body In the circle knew a line Of IN
poem, only II was all magic and boI
der chivnlry, and was ten thousan
years ago. Poor Nolan read steadil
through the fifth canto, stopped a mil
ute and drank something. and then b.
gar, without u thought Of what wa