has
often spoken of you. Sorry to hear you've left the sea. Great mistake,
young man--great mistake. There's no school like the sea for teaching a
man his dependence on his Maker."

"The school is not very successful, if one may judge from the character
of most of its pupils," replied the youth.

"Perhaps you misjudge their character," returned the captain, with a
look of good-natured severity.

"I'm _sure_ he does," cried Miss Millet, with enthusiasm.
"Noble-hearted, simple men, who would probably never go wrong at all if
it were not for their unsuspecting trustfulness and bad companions!
Come, sit down, Dick. Tea is ready."

"Yes, young man," continued Captain Millet "you misjudge 'em. You
should not judge of a school by the shouting and mischief of the worst
boys, who always flaunt their colours, while the good ones steer quietly
on their course. You'll understand that better when your beard is grey.
Youth is fond o' lookin' at the surface, an' so is apt to misjudge the
character of men as well as the ways of Providence."

Jeff took the rebuke in good part, readily admitted that youth was prone
to err, and slily expressed a hope that in his case coming in contact
with age might do him good.

"If you mean that for a shot at me," cried the captain, with a loud
guffaw, "you've missed the mark; for I'm only forty-five, an' that isn't
age; is it, Molly?"

"Of course not. Why, you're little more than a baby yet," replied Miss
Millet who greatly enjoyed even a small joke--indeed, she enjoyed almost
everything, more or less, that was not wicked. "But now, Dick, I want
you to tell Jeff some of your adventures in foreign parts--especially
those that have a moral, you know."

"Why, Molly, that's a hard job--you don't want me to _draw_ the moral,
do you? I never was good at that, though I've known fellows with that
peculiar cast o' brain as could draw a moral out of a marline-spike if
they were hard put to it. Seems to me that it's best to let morals draw
themselves. For instance, that time when I was wrecked on the South
American coast, I came to a shallow river, an' had to wade across, but
was too lazy to pull off my boots, 'cause they were long fisherman's
boots, right up to the hip an' rather tight; so in I went boots an' all.
Just as I was gettin' to the other side, a most awful alligator seized
hold o' my right foot. It's wonderful how easy my boot came off just
then! Although I was used to tug, an'