Place - on board the Levant, Bay of Naples. (In various groups on deck are seen the Ladies and Officers.) Enter Julius Pons, now an officer JULIUS. Shall I have the musicians come up now, Captain? CAPTAIN. I am waiting for the Mission's officers. You sent them an invitation, did you not? JULIUS. As soon as she had anchored. Enter an Officer OFFICER. Captain, the officers of the Mission have just arrived, and with them is Philip Nolan. CAPTAIN. Nolan! OFFICER. Nolan. The Mission is homeward-bound, so Nolan is transferred to us. CAPTAIN. I'll be glad to see him, but it's going to be awkward to have him here to-night. I am afraid our guests may give him intelligence of home. OFFICER. Is he to be kept apart from them, Captain? CAPTAIN. I dislike doing that; it would pain him. And yet, he must not mingle with them. Our orders are very strict on that point. JULIUS. We officers can talk with him in a friendly way, taking it turn about till the guests have gone. CAPTAIN. It might be managed in that way without hurting him. Enter Nolan with several Officers Welcome! Welcome! I'm glad to see you, Philip. It seems just yesterday you left us. NOLAN. Ten years ago this Christmas, Captain! CAPTAIN. Well, gentlemen, I call this downright luck that we should all meet for Christmas again. There is an English ship in port; her officers are our guests to-night. The ladies are Americans who happen to be visiting now in Naples. (The Officers join the group.)` JULIUS. Have you forgotten me, Mr. Nolan? NOLAN. What! Julius? Little Julius an officer? CAPTAIN. An officer and a fine one. And I have some one else aboard you will be pleased to meet - Commodore Porter. You were on his ship during that naval battle. NOLAN Yes, Captain. CAPTAIN. We heard of your bravery, Nolan, and we were proud of you. Here comes the Commodore now to speak with you. Enter Commodore Porter COMMODORE. Nolan! This is an unexpected pleasure! (They shake hands. The Captain goes.) NOLAN. Any ship may be my home, Commodore. COMMODORE. Well, it shall not be so always, Philip. I have myself written to the Secretary of War, asking for your pardon. NOLAN. Commodore! COMMODORE. We could never have won that battle without you. The odds were all against us. It was your courage that inspired the men. I said so, too, in my dispatches. And I told them that I gave you my own sword as an honor that was due you. Where is that sword, Nolan? Why are you not wearing it? NOLAN. I feel I have no right to a sword now, Commodore. COMMODORE. Wear that sword, Nolan. No officer has a better right. NOLAN. Do you expect to hear from Washington soon? COMMODORE. By any mail, and I fully expect your pardon. NOLAN. I hope for it! Ah, how I hope for it! (Ladies and Officers approach. Nolan faces Mrs. Graff. Julius tries to step between them, but is too late.) Miss Morgan! I hope you have not forgotten me! MRS. GRAFF. I am now Mrs. Graff, Mr. Nolan. NOLAN. Pardon me, what do you hear from - from home? (Pause.) MRS. GRAFF. Home! I thought you were the man who never wanted to hear of home again! (She turns away. There is an awkward pause.) Enter the Captain CAPTAIN. You speak Portuguese, don't you, Nolan? CAPTAIN. The officer below would like you to interpret for him, if you will. NOLAN. I'll do my best. (He goes.) CAPTAIN (to all). We have several slaves below; rescued them from a rascally schooner yesterday. And now they are making a great fuss, no one knows what about. We can't understand them, and they can't understand us. I think Nolan can quiet them. Enter the Musicians; they prepare to play. Enter Nolan. Well, Philip? What do they say? NOLAN. They say they can never get home from Cape Palmas, where you are taking them; it is too far away-as far as Rio Janeiro. They say, "Take us home, take us to our own country, take us to our own houses, to our pickaninnies and wives!" One says he has an old father and mother who will die if they do not see him. Another says he has not heard a word of his wife and children for six months. And all of them are begging on their knees to be taken to their homes. (Nolan breaks down and covers his face with his hands. All are deeply affected.) CAPTAIN. Tell them yes, yes, yes! Tell them they shall go to the moon if they will! Tell them they shall go homeevery one of them! (Nolan goes. The women are weeping. The men wipe the tears from their eyes.) Nolan reënters MRS. GRAFF. Philip, I want to answer you now. MRS. Graff. Ah, but I will! Philip, your mother is dead. (Nolan bows his head. Pause.) NOLAN. And and my sister? MRS. GRAFF. Praying hourly for your return. Enter an Officer with a letter OFFICER. Dispatches from Washington, Commodore! (Commodore reads letter.) COMMODORE (with hesitation). This concerns you, Nolan It's an answer to my request for your freedom. (He pauses.) NOLAN. What is it? Speak, I pray you! COMMODORE. The Department refuses to pardon you, Philip. NOLAN (faintly). Refuses CAPTAIN. It is cruel! NOLAN. Nay, it is justice. (He kisses the flag.) Edward Everett Hale Dramatized by Augusta Stevenson COLUMBIA, THE GEM OF THE OCEAN THERE has been much dispute about the authorship of the song, "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean." Some musical critics have even claimed that it is of English origin. As the song is one of our great national songs, its history should be correctly written. In 1876 one of the Admirals of the United States Navy received a letter from Mr. Thomas à Becket, which showed that the words and music were composed by himself, although the idea originated with David T. Shaw. The letter is as follows: "In the fall of 1843, being then engaged at the Chestnut Street Theatre in this city, I was waited upon by Mr. D. T. Shaw with the request that I would write him a song for his benefit night. He produced some patriotic lines, but I found them ungrammatical, and so deficient in measure as to be totally unfit to be adapted to music. We adjourned to the house of a friend and there I wrote the first verse in pencil and composed the melody on the piano. On reaching home I added the third verse, wrote the symphonies and arrangements, made a fair copy, and gave it to Mr. Shaw, requesting him not to sell or give a copy. A few weeks later I left for New Orleans, and was much surprised to see a published copy, entitled 'Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,' written, composed, and sung by David T. Shaw, and arranged by T. à Becket, Esq. On my return to Philadelphia, I waited upon Mr. Willig, the publisher, who told me that he had purchased the song from Mr. Shaw. I produced the original copy in pencil, and claimed the copyright, which Mr. Willig admitted. I then made arrangements with Mr. T. Osborn to publish the song in partnership, and within a week it appeared under its proper title 'Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean,' written and composed by T. à Becket, and sung by D. T. Shaw." The home of the brave and the free, |