The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-07-15
For the Crescent.

For the Crescent.
Sketches of the Sidewalks and Levee:
Wh GlimpSeS into tie Ne,U Orleans Bar (rOonlS.)
SAMUEL SENSITIVE.
Samuel Sensitive was once one of the happiest
fellows in " Orleans Never, even among the
crowd of young men who have such good opinion
OF themselves, was there any who had better no.
ton of his own cleverness than Sam He held the
highly important station of first clerk in the mer-
camille house of Messrs. Pork Produce & Co., in
one of the busiest streets of this very dusty city
He had fourished in this establishment 4" going
on three years, and each season as it passed by
found Samuel constantly upon the improving scale.
lie came, / have heard, from one of the interior
counties of Tennessee: his parents, who were
clever, poor people, started this notable son off from
home at the age Of eighteen, to seek his " etarnal
fortune" in distant parts They had given him a
mighty slim chance of an education, but fortu-
nately for Sam, they had, Sir Anthony Absolute
says of his son Jack, "begotten him before all his
brothers and sisters, and being the 6rst scion of
the stock, was consequently well-favored and re-
markably clean limbed young man.
Samuel had seen the world before he aIighted
upon the streets of this city: he was an entered
apprentice" to Squire Muggens store in the village
of -, all in the State of Tennessee, as we have
sdlu, IOf a IuL Twelve HlOlIlS before ne cut SUCK
for parts unknown. Add to he had grown
into intimacy with chap by tHe anne of Jones,
a tailor from New York, believe, who had come
like godsend to the citizens of this village to set
the fashions for them. Under the tuition of Jones,
our friend Sam learned the true Of his legs and
his neck, namely, as appendages to the outward
man for the geneel disposal of pantaloons and
/ cravats. We may say, therefore, that Samuel, the
son and earliest scion of his father David knew
something of the world before his descent upon
these regions below-these lower regions.
Another fortunate circumstance combined TO es-
tabsh the foundation of his fortunes disciple of
the far-famed Dolbear came OPPORTUNITY through
:" them parts, teaching 1" rectangular hieroglyphi-
cal penmanship,' for so said the mans advertise
ment. Sam placed himself, bone and muscle, under
the tutorship of this perambulating professor of
the photographic art. He was an apt pupil, and it
was soon found out that the village of - could
no longer contain an individual of such singular
accomplishments so, as we have before minated,
Sam left and came South. Handsome in person,
well grown for his years, skilled in the mystery of
dress, and, wthal, real dabster with steel pen,
what could hinder him from making figure in the
world provided he had a stock of modest assurance
sufficient to back him!
The city Of New Orleans is a poble place for a
young man of prepossessing appearance-that is to
say there fair opportunity here offered for deco
rating his exterior For year or two, Sans salary
being SMALL he was content to " live within his
means" He had never yet learned to sing the
song, sung and practiced by 50 many
How bapgy's the soldier who lives on his pay.
And spends half acrown off Of sxpence day."
But ah for the seductions that awaited Samuel
Sensitive. don't know but it is rather a msfor-
al, L
looking. A pair Of squirt eyes, a stumpy nose and
tallowy hair, might enable young chap TO make
money " by the operation or rather to save it,
which, political economists tell us, is the same
thing. But this wasn't Sam, for he was not to be
sneezed at in the outward man, especially after
his maiden whiskers and moustache had reach
ed their envied maturity. His previdhs tutorings
under the tailor Jones had initiated Sam pretty well
into the rudiments of dandyism, and now an increase
of salary enabled him to know little more of the
Bliss beyond all that the Minstrel has told"
that lies in the cut of vest, or the adaptation of a
pair of tights to the neither extremity of man
proud man." Nothing would now suit his imma.
culate toes but French boots at ten dollars pair,
and other items of outward gear in proportion. He
spent money in toolh-brushes, and fne-scented
soap and cigars, year in and year out, than would
have kept his good old mother in sugar and coffee
and tea and single years account with his tailor
was more than it had cost his good old Tennessee
daddy for his whole family Of fifteen children clean
IN TO the time when they showed out in the world
and began to do for themselves.
once knew plain old North Carolina farmer
who was in the habit Of saying that the difference
between heavy crap Of corn and light crap
WASN'T so much folks fancied'' His philoso-
pbv of the matter was in this wise that when
grain abundant prodigality was very apt TO
ensue, whereas in time Of scarcity they took
mighty good care of tie key p1e9 the crib" So it
was with our friend Sam heg who at first strove
hard to make ends meet by eking out a little to 90
a great way, now by the use and abuse Of fine
cloth and shoe leather, contrved to make his eight
hundred year go no further. A mans expenses in
a great city have good deal of the gumelastie
about them-you may stretch them out indefinitely
almost, and you may contract them into the small
ness of nothingness, SO to speak, if you should
chance to be Strengthened in income.
And if our lot be very small
lis prudence TO enjoy il ALL"
Yes, so it is, but that is no argument why eight
hundred dollars should be spread the same sur
face that one-fourth of that amount formerly was,
that because of the abundance of temptation, the
bounds Of our yielding thereto should be determined
only by the extent of our means But so 1t was,
and Sam spent his eight hundred per annum, and
did it jOylulIy There were ailors bills, and shoe
makers bills and hatters bills and jewellers bills;
and then there were thousand daily items IN the
way of theatre tickets and billiards, and tenpins'
Sam was horse Mt ten.pns,l as well a. feeding
ard drinking and smoking. But chnnss thns
ever the snlgis Of Sans aFsRH saa ~ ilB esifs3