The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-08-21

we'll, ltS no use my giving vou an auc-a
tioneer's catalogue Of her charms. You
Just picture your ideal, and she will
come very near it. All I knew was that
| was completely knocked over. | am
sure my neighbors must have thought
| was either surly or stupid, for Inever
addressed them, and / was scarcely
conscious what replies ! ! made &c taeir
remarks. All my attention was given
to a silent watching of my new divinity,
and | frantically envIed the captain
and a bluff old colonel who were priv
LEGGED to sit beside her.
AS o as dinner was over l got
hold of my friend Watson, and inquired
the name Of the young lady.
"tShe's q Miss tLatimer,' he said;
came out with lis this voyage, I sup
pose only for her health, since she's GO
ing right back. Understand she's an
orphan and got some money. Dresses
we'll, at least. Shall / introduce you?"
"Of course / jumped at the offer, and
very soon the magic words were spoken
which privileged me to speak to my
idol. You see even now / get enthusi-
astic and romantic in my language when
/ talk about her, SO you can imagine
the condition of hopeless 'smite' in
which I was then. Well, she proved
to be just as charming as size looked,
and before I turned in for the night /
was deeply, desperately in love.
II don't suppose there is any place in
the world so favorable for love-making
as O comfortable passenger ship. Not
one of these new ocean greyhounds'
that rush at break-neck speed through
all kinds Of weather, and land you at
your destination almost before you have
time to know any one aboard, but q fine
clipper vessel. whose only propelling
power is natures breath, and to the
passengers on which every change of
weather or shift of wind is of vast i'm.
port and interest. These afford endless
themes for talk, and mutual interest
seems to draw people closer together.
Miss Latimer had quite an affection for
the Winchester, which had brought
her safely from England, and was then
bearing her back. She and the cap
tam appeared to be on excellent terms,
and she was often invited to walk on
the captains W side Of the quarter
deck-a pathway which we were sup
posed not to tread without a special
summons.
"There was something about Miss
Latimer-Rose was her name-which
was irresistibly attractive to ne. | do
not know exactly how to describe it, ex-
cept as a curious compound of girlish
innocence and womanly frankness.
One would never dream Of flirting with
her, and 7 fancy few people would have
ventured ca any direct loye-making
without a speedy accompaniment of
humble entreaty for her hand. She
was awfully kind to me; used always to
be afraid that I'd overexert myself; and
was constantly making me tell Eer sto-
ries Of my experiences. an afraid
that sometimes I a little overdid the
| Othello business, but she never seemed
to mind.
ebay after day slipped away in an
ecstacy of happiness tempered
with occasional qualms of doubt.
/ hesitated to put my fate to test,
for il by chance she should refuse me-
and despite NV belief that my affection
was returned, such an event was barely
p~ossibie-;t would be very unpleasant
to meet her every day for at least two
months. Again. If she accepted me, i
should Zoe so anxious to be married that
/ couldn't bear to think Of waiting till
we got to England. There is no need
for me to say that / was very young I;
you can see that from my state of mind.
Well, finally / made a confidant of
Watson. He cut the Gordian knot at
once. Ask the lady, he said, and il
she consents, get the captain to marry
you as soon as she's agreeable
But is that legal? I inquired.
Perfectly. Tt viii be duly entered
in the ships log, just the same as a
birth. The captain is ex-ofiicio clergy
man magistrate, registrar and some
times doctor.
"The idea was splendid, and I gave
Watson my best thanks. Ishould have
at once proceeded to act on his advice,
but it occurred to me that it might be
as well to sound the captain, and see if
lie would be willing to perform the
| ceremony. Ycu see, I wanted to have
everything SIRE before I put mvfate to
the test, ] waited through one day for a
favorable opportunity to speak to the
captain on deck, but he never invited
me to share his walk. SO the next
morning / sent a message by his boy,
asking If he could spare me a few min
utes. The boy speedily returned with
n request that ! would follow him to
the captains cabin.
Il found the great man sitting at his
table looking over 3 chart. Somehow
or other he appeared TO me to be unus-
ually formidable. "sGood morning,
Captain Hamilton, he said, Us he
waved me to take 4 seat. sCan I do
anything for youY