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Show SELECTED. A Sailor's Love. One Utile at of politeness will sometimes some-times pave the war to fortune and preferment. pre-ferment. The following sketch illustrates illus-trates this fact : A sailor, roughly parbed, was strolling strol-ling through the streets of New Orleans, Or-leans, then in a rather daup condition from recent rain and rise of the ti de. Turning the corner of a much i're-o.ueuted i're-o.ueuted and narrow alley, he ob?errod a young lady standing in perplexity, apparently measuring the depth of the muddy water between her and the opposite side-walk, with no very sati-fied countenance. The saihor paused, for he was a ereat admirer of beauty, and certainly The fair face that peeped out from under un-der the little chip hat, and the auburn curls hanging glossy and uncondned over her muiin dress, might tempt a curious or aD admiring glance. Perplexed, Per-plexed, the lady put forth one little foot, when the gallant sailor with im-pulaivi-ness. exclaimed, "That pretty foot, lady, should not be soiled with the filth of this lane; wait for a moment mo-ment only, and I will make 3"ou a path." So springing past her into a carpenter's carpen-ter's shop opposite, he bargained lor a plank board that stood in the doorway, and coming back to the smiling girl, who was just coquettish enough to accept ac-cept the services of the hand.-ynie young sailor, he bridged the black stream, and she tripped across with a merry "Thank you," and a roguish smile, making her eyes as dazziinj as they could be. Alas ! our young sailor was perfectly charmed. What else would make him catch up and shoulder the plank, and ( follow the little witch through the streets to her home, she twice performing perform-ing the ceremony of "'walking the plank," and each time thanking him with one of her eloquent smiles ! Presently Pres-ently our hero saw the young lady trip up the marble steps of a palace of a house, and disappear within its rosewood rose-wood entrance. For a full minute he stood looking at the door, and then with a wonderful big sigh turned away, disposed of his drawbridge, and wended his path back to the ship. The next day he was astonished with an order of promotion from the captain. cap-tain. Poor Jack was speechless in amazement, he had not dreamed of being exalted to the dignity of a second sec-ond mate's office on board one of the most splendid ships that sailed out of the port of New Orleans. He knew he was competent, for instead of spending spend-ing his money for amusements, visiting theatres and bowling alleys on his return re-turn from sea, he purchased books, and had become quite a student, but he expected ex-pected years to intervene before his ambitious hopes would be realized. His superior officers seemed to look upon him with considerable leniency, and gave him many a lair opportunity to gather maratime knowledge, and in a year the handsome gentlemanly young mate had acquired unusual favor in the eyes of the portly commander. Captain Hume, who had first taken the smart little black-eyed fellow, with his neat tarpaulin and tidy bundle, as his cabin boy. One night the young man with all the other officers was invited to an entertainment en-tertainment at the captain's house. He went and to his astonishment mounted the identical steps that, two years before, the brightest vision he had ever seen passed over a vi.-ion he had never forgotten. Thump, thump, went his brave heart as he was ushered ush-ered into the parlor, and like a sledgehammer sledge-hammer it beat again when Captain Hume brought forward hU blue-eyod daughter, and with a pleasant smile said, "The young lady was once indebted in-debted to your kindness for a sale and dry walk home." His eyes were all ablaze and his brown cheeks flushed hotly as the noble captain sauntered away, leaving tirace Hume at his side. And in all that assembly was not so hand.-ome a couple as the gallant sailor and the "pretty ladie." It was only a year from that time that the second mate trod the quarterdeck, quarter-deck, second only in command, and part owner with the captain, not only 111 his vessel, but in the allections of his daughter, gentle Grace Hume, who had always cherished respect, to say nothing of love, for the bright-eyed sailor. His homely but earnest act of politeness po-liteness toward his child had plea.-cd the raptain, and though the youth knew it not, was the cause of his first promotion. So that now the old man has retired from business. Henry Wells is captain, and Crace Hume is, according to polite parlance, "Mrs. Captain Weils." In fact, the hon-t sailor Is one of the rivdie men in the Cr i-ci'iu City, and he owes perhaps the givai'T part of his prosperity to his tact and politeness in assisting a lady in eroM!ii; the stivet. |