The sun., 1893-07-16
MISTER--THE ENSIGN.
He Has Youth and Euthusinsm. but His
Road to Promotion Is n Long One.

tAe AOuth nuu huthusihsus Dut AhhS
Road TO Promotion Is Long One.
When yonng man first gets his commission
as line officer in active service he becomes an
Ensign. Landsmen call it Ensign with long
Il" in the second syllable but everybody afioat
pronounces the word 'ensin." with short Il"
There is seldom any occasion for pronouncing
It at ALL as the Ensign is addressed as plain
Mister" FalstafTs Ancient Pistol was
military Ensign. and the business OF that
officer in those days was to display the colors.
The name now Is merely n designation for the
lowest rank of commissioned officers. the
relative rank held by engineers surgeons.
and paymasters on entering the service.
An Ensign Of the line is a graduate OF the
Naval Academy. and he ordinarily obtains his
commissions after four years study ashore
and two years OF cruising. There are now lit
Ensgns some with very new commissions, q
few who have been as much as ten years OF
that rank. They thus range In. age from
twenty one years to about one and two and
thirty. Old paval officers who recall the days
OF the midshipmite are sometimes disposed
to treat tho Ensigns as boys. and IL is not
many years since Ensigns twenty-eight or
thirty years OF age found themselves under u
sort OF discipline which required them to be
aboard ship by y O'Clock Mt night and In other
ways watched over their moral welfare
The Ensign is ordinarily a watch officer. He
less everybody above him is dead or disabled,
| O. rare contingency In time OF peace. Some,
some times he nesses in the steerage along
with the naval cadets. the paymaster's clerk.
nn much @ for the Ties sake Of rhasizing distinctions
Is ta only r. from m si.2oo to si.465 according 70
length OF service, to live moro cheaDly tnun it
! is possible to live in the wardroom. Big ships
bave four or fiye Ensigns and little ships usu;
Other 9TH r. Watch officers. and when an Ensign is
temporarily officer OF the deck he Is treated
tE ton. The younger Rear Admirals usually
have Ensigns for seeretaries. but a Junior
The Ensign Of 20 or % is more like a. lar ndsman
landsman OF his own years. Six years Of naval
training usually does not TRANSFORM the inland
dces dfe and cauired instincts Of his caste. The
Ensign OF 30 has pretty nearly hardened into.
Lieutenant 1t isinterestinG and instructive to
these u.s I two extremes Of the Ensign list. Every
Ensign is man Of good physique, fairtcchnlcaI
some social acco plshments. The Younger
mon retain peculiarlties OF speech and man
men gathered from all parts OF a vast con:
tinent. ir9m homes rich and S poor rural and
undisciplned nature. ,snobbishly mindful! OF
the social privileges belonging to his profss. m
distinction. One more often finds the Ensign
q graceful. modest, we'll hammered young man.
periodically proud q his profession and con;
maniness rests upon one who carries beneath
his simple Jacket the glittering bullion OF the
set down upon paper has a charaeteristieally
American look. It includes, many English
names, some, Scotch. Irish. German. French.
and a few Hebrew names. You detect here
and there name already diMsting1ished M In the
follow in their fathers footsteps. and the
President sometimes appoints at large the son
of a Captain or an Admiral.
Enthusiasm is, characteristie commonly
triumphs at the Naval Academy. and no has
seen the advantage Of precedence gained by
more than ten years ahead OF him. and there is
slways possibility that the long.
him that deadening twenty years 1f stagns-
dom hardened into cynicism; and 4 he be
not, necessarilya subject to be contemplated
ladies' for he has the nextinguishable charm
Of youth. the grace Of straight limbs In the
promise OF future rank.