The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-11
ROMANTIC SOUL OF A SAILOR

From the New York Sun.
 r0HE three retired seamen who sat
 outside the tobacco store at the
 x foot of Brooklyn Heights had noth- ing but words of disparagement for the wooden Indian who stood with one foot advanced in a deferential and listening attitude beside them. It was the oplnlon of all three ex-sailors that the Indian was poor creature.
 "He isn't any sort of a figurehead to have" remarked the oldest ex-mariner scornfully. "Now on ships figureheads always mean something. What does an Indian mean?'
 "Its a trade slgn." said the proprietor defensively.
 why don't you have beautiful maiden in a long flowing robe, shading her eyes as she gazes earnestly up the street?" demanded one of the customers.
 The proprietor laughed bitterly. Every one would mock such an image, he said. Besides, such maiden was not assocl- ated with the supplying of tobacco to an unesthetic neighborhood.
 q knew a man who had such figure head in front of his shop, and he died rich" said the oldest old man of the sea with conviction. "He was a mate of mine on the brig Cassowary, which piled between Philadelphia and New York This mate of mine stole the figurehead of the Cassowary on a dark night as she lay at a pier here, and all because he was so struck with the type of beauty to which the lady on the bow belonged. She was a pale, slim creature with long tresses and sort of empire gown, and many a time he used to say to me: That's the very image of the woman want to marry When I'd ask him why he didn't marry her he'd shake his head mournfully and confde to me that he hadn't seen her in the flesh yet.
 "One day he said to me, being more melancholy than usual, that he'd slmpiy have to do something determined to find a. woman like the lady of the Cassowary. That very night with my help he unfas- tened the figurehead, and buoying 1t With inflated rubber belts lowed it up the river and hid it in a little cove. In the morn ing there was great consternation about the loss of the figurehead, accompanied by the strongest language l had ever heard our skipper use. But my mate he got the figurehead out of the cove after the hue and cry had auieted a bit and had it wrapped and driven inland. Then he set up the lady in front or ms tobacco store. M 7
 "There was no statuary in that New Jersey village, and the very best people in town took to my mate at once as the only local patron of one or the me arts. He soon did rushing pusiness' He told part of the truth, too, how she was his ideal of female beauty; and the | women of that town actually encouraged their husbands to buy tobacco of him. But while his business was fine and he got into real estate and other things making a lot of money for those days the lady brought him to disaster at last One of the young women of the town looked a good deal like the statue, and l s-.s4-a a. d i as she had made up her mind sappar- ently that she just was going to be mar ried to my mate she studied the figure head, did up her hair as the lady's was done, and wore the same kind of dress Soon every one remarked on her likeness to the statue and you could see thai people were beginning to expect him tt marry her. My mate, who suspected th' young woman of designs on his peace held out as long as he dared agains her arts, maintaining that she didn't re semble the figurehead at all. But pub lie opinion was too strong against him Sine bossed him from the hour. of thu wedding and he died rich, but under stricl discipline and very unhappy"
 That was because the figurehead wa! stolen" commented another ex-mariner "No. it wasn't; it was because it wal