The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-05-08

my reading. He never alluded so direct
ly to his story again; but from one and
another officer have learned, in 80 years,
what | am telling. When we parted
from him in st. Thomas harbor, at the
end of our cruise, | was more sorry than
| can tell. ! was very glad to meet him
again in 1880; and later in life, when
| thought | had some influence in Wash
| ington | moved heaven and earth to have
him discharged But it was like getting
a ghost out of prison They pretended
there was no such man, and never was
| such a man. They will say so at the de-
partment now Perhaps they do not
know. 1t will not be the first thing in
the service of which the department APP
pears 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 Medi-
terranean. But this | believe to be
lie; or rather, it is myth, ben trovato,
involving tremendous blowing-up with
which he sank Burr, asking him how
he liked to be without a 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 Mt bottom.
So Philip Nolan had his wish fulfilled,
Poor fellow, he repented of his folly, and
then, like man, submitted to the fate
he had asked for. He never intention
ally 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 it, from the
map of the world and the map of Mex
leo. 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 it was from no fault
of Nolan's that great boteh happened
at my own table, when, for a short time,
was in command of the George Wash
ington 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
entertaining us with accounts of their
misadvantures in riding the halfwild
horses of Buenos Aires. Nolan was at
table, and was in an unusually bright |
and laxative mood. Some story of a
tumble reminded him of an adventure of
his own, when he was catching wild |
horses in Texas with his brother Stephen, |
at time when he must have been quite
a boy. He told the story with a good |
deal of spirit--so much So that the ST
lence which often follows good story |
hung over the table for an instant, 10 |
be asked, perfectly unconsciously,
pray, what has become of Texas |
After the Mexicans got their independ |
ence, ! thought that province of Texas |
would come forward very fast. 1t is
really one of the finest regions on earth; |
it is the Italy of this continent, But | |
have not seen nor heard word Of Texas
for near 20 years"
There were two Texan officers at the
table. The reason he had never heard
Of Texas was that Texas and her affairs
had been painfully out of his newspapers
since Austin began his settlements; so
that, while he read of Honduras and
and, till quite lately, of
California, this virgin province, in which
his brother had Travelled so far, and be
ieve, had died, had ceased to be with
him Walters and Williams, the two
Texas men, looked grimly at each other
and tried not to laugh. Edward Morris
mad his attention attracted by the third
ink in the chain of the captains chan
ielier Watrous was seized with con-
rulsion of sneezing. Nolan himself saw
hat something was to pay, he did not
know what. And /, as master of the
east, had to say;
''Texas is out of the map, Mr. Nolan.
Have you seen Captain Backs curious
account of Sir Thomas Roe's welcomes"
After that cruise ! never saw Nolan
gain. | wrote TO him at least twice a
rear. for in that voyage we became even
intimate; but he never
wrote to me. The other men tell me
hat in those Is years he aged very fast,
Is well he might indeed, but that he was
till the same gentle, accomplishing, ST.
ent sufferer that he ever was, bearing as
,est he could his self-appointed punish
nent, rather less social, perhaps, with
lew men whom he did not know, but
more anxious. apparently, than ever to /
erve and befriend and teach the boys, !
ONE of whom fairly seemed TO worship I
i'm And now IL seems the dear old fell .