CONCLUSION.
It was not long before Mark felt quite at home with his grandfather. He
no longer felt afraid of him, but began to look forward with pleasant
anticipations to his journey West, and the life that was to open before
him in Milwaukie. It was a relief to think that he would not now be
obliged to take care of himself, but would have some one both able and
willing to supply his wants, and provide him with a comfortable home.
He felt glad again that he was going to school. He remembered how
anxious his poor mother had been that he should receive a good
education, and now his grandfather had promised to send him to the best
school in Milwaukie.
The next morning after their meeting, Mr. Bates took Mark to a large
clothing establishment, and had him fitted out with new clothes in the
most liberal manner. He even bought him a silver watch, of which Mark
felt very proud.
"Now, Mark," said his grandfather, "if there is any one that was kind
to you when you were a poor match boy, I should like to do something to
show my gratitude for their kindness. Can you think of any one?"
"Yes," said Mark; "there's Ben Gibson."
"And who is Ben Gibson?"
"He blacks boots down on Nassau Street. When I ran away from Mother
Watson, who treated me so badly, he stood by me, and prevented her from
getting hold of me again."
"Is there any one besides?"
"Yes," said Mark, after a pause; "there is Mrs. Flanagan. She lives in
the same tenement-house where I used to. When I was almost starved she
used to give me something to eat, though she was poor herself."
"I think we will call and see her first," said Mr. Bates. "I am going
to let you give her a hundred dollars."
"She will be delighted," said Mark, his eyes sparkling with joy. "It
will seem a fortune to her. Let us go at once."
"Very well," said his grandfather. "Afterwards we will try to find your
friend Ben."
I forgot to mention that Mr. Bates was stopping at the Fifth Avenue
Hotel.
They took the University Place cars, which landed them at the junction
of Barclay Street and Broadway. From thence it was but a short distance
to Vandewater Street, where Mark lived when first introduced to the
reader.
They climbed the broken staircase, and paused in front of Mrs.
Flanagan's door.
Mark knocked.
Mrs. Flanagan opened the door, and stared with some surprise at her
visitors.
"Don't you know me, Mrs. Flanagan?" asked Mark.
"Why, surely it isn't Mark, the little match boy?" said Mrs. Flanagan,
amazed.
"Yes, it is. So you didn't know me?"
"And it's rale delighted I am to see you lookin' so fine. And who is
this gentleman?"
"It is my grandfather, Mrs. Flanagan. I'm going out West to live with
him."
Mrs. Flanagan dropped a courtesy to Mr. Bates, who said, "My good
woman, Mark tells me that you were kind to him when he stood in need of
kindness."
"And did he say that?" said Mrs. Flanagan, her face beaming with
pleasure. "Shure it was little I did for him, bein' poor myself; but
that little he was heartily welcome to, and I'm delighted to think he's
turned out so lucky. The ould woman trated him very bad. I used to feel
as if I'd like to break her ould bones for her."
"Mark and I both want to thank you for your kindness to him, and he has
a small gift to give you."
"Here it is," said Mark, drawing from his pocket a neat pocket-book,
containing a roll of bills. "You'll find a hundred dollars inside, Mrs.
Flanagan," he said. "I hope they will help you."
"A hundred dollars!" ejaculated Mrs. Flanagan, hardly believing her
ears. "Does this good gentleman give me a hundred dollars!"
"No it is Mark's gift to you," said Mr. Bates.
"It's rich I am with so much money," said the good woman. "May the
saints bless you both! Now I can buy some clothes for the childer, and
have plenty left beside. This is a happy day entirely. But won't you
step in, and rest yourselves a bit? It's a poor room, but--"
"Thank you, Mrs. Flanagan," said Mr. Bates, "but we are in haste this
morning. Whenever Mark comes to New York he shall come and see you."
They went downstairs, leaving Mrs. Flanagan so excited with her good
fortune, that she left her work, and made a series of calls upon her
neighbors, in which she detailed Mark's good fortune and her own.
"Now we'll go and find your friend, Ben Gibson," said Mr. Bates.
"I think we'll find him on Nassau Street," said Mark.
He was right.
In walking down Nassau Street on the east side, Mr. Bates was accosted
by Ben himself.
"Shine yer boots?"
"How are you, Ben?" said Mark.
Ben stared in surprise till he recognized his old companion.
"Blest if it aint Mark," he said. "How you're gettin on!"
"Ben, this is my grandfather," said Mark.
"Well, you're a lucky chap," said Ben, enviously. "I wish I could find
a rich grandfather. I don't believe I ever had a grandfather."
"How are you getting on, my lad?" inquired Mr. Bates.
"Middlin'," said Ben. "I haven't laid by a fortun' yet."
"No, I suppose not. How do you like blacking boots?"
"Well, there's other things I might like better," said Ben,--"such as
bein' a rich merchant; but that takes rather more capital than blackin'
boots."
"I see you are an original," said Mr. Bates, smiling.
"Am I?" said Ben. "Well, I'm glad of it, though I didn't know it
before. I hope it aint anything very bad."
"Mark says you treated him kindly when he lived about the street."
"It wasn't much," said Ben.
"I want to do something for you. What shall I do?"
"Well," said Ben, "I should like a new brush. This is most worn out."
"How would you like to go to Milwaukie with Mark, if I will get you a
place there?"
"Do you mean it?" said Ben, incredulously.
"Certainly."
"I haven't any money to pay for goin' out there."
"I will take care of that," said Mr. Bates.
"Then I'll go," said Ben, "and I'm much obliged to you. Mark, you're a
brick, and so's your grandfather. I never expected to have such good
luck."
"Then you must begin to make arrangements at once. Mark, here is some
money. You may go with Ben, see that he takes a good bath, and then buy
him some clothes. I am obliged to leave you to do it, as I must attend
to some business in Wall Street. I shall expect to see you both at the
Fifth Avenue Hotel at two o'clock."
At two o'clock, Mr. Bates found the two boys awaiting him. There was a
great change in Ben's appearance. He had faithfully submitted to the
bath, and bloomed out in a tasteful suit of clothes, selected by Mark.
Mark had taken him besides to a barber's and had his long hair cut. So
he now made quite a presentable appearance, though he felt very awkward
in his new clothes.
"It don't seem natural to be clean," he confessed to Mark.
"You'll get used to it after a while," said Mark, laughing.
"Maybe I will; but I miss my old clothes. They seemed more comfortable."
The next day they were to start. Ben remained at the hotel with his
friend Mark, feeling, it must be confessed, a curious sensation at his
unusual position.
They went to make a farewell call on Richard Hunter.
"Mr. Hunter," said Mr. Bates, "money will not pay you for the service
you have done me, but I shall be glad if you will accept this cheque."
Richard saw that it was a cheque for a thousand dollars.
"Thank you for your liberality, Mr. Bates" he said; "but I do not
deserve it."
"Let me be the judge of that."
"I will accept it on one condition."
"Name it, Mr. Hunter."
"That you will allow me to give it to the Newsboys' Lodge, where I once
found shelter, and where so many poor boys are now provided for."
"I will give an equal sum to that institution," said Mr. Bates, "and
I thank you for reminding me of it. As for this money, oblige me by
keeping it yourself."
"Then," said Richard, "I will keep it as a charity fund, and whenever I
have an opportunity of helping along a boy who is struggling upward as
I once had to struggle, I will do it."
"A noble resolution, Mr. Hunter! You have found out the best use of
money."
* * * * *
Mark is now at an excellent school in Milwaukie, pursuing his studies.
He is the joy and solace of his grandfather's life, hitherto sad
and lonely, and is winning the commendation of his teachers by his
devotion to study. A place was found for Ben Gibson, where he had some
advantages of education, and he is likely to do well. He has been
persuaded by Mark to leave off smoking,--a habit which he had formed
in the streets of New York. The shrewdness which his early experiences
taught him will be likely to benefit him in the business career which
lies before him.
Every year Mark sends a substantial present to Mrs. Flanagan, under his
grandfather's direction, and thus makes the worthy woman's life much
more comfortable and easy. From time to time Mark receives a letter
from Richard Hunter, who has not lost his interest in the little match
boy who was once his ward.
So the trials of Mark, the Match Boy, as far as they proceeded from
poverty and privation, are at an end. He has found a comfortable and
even luxurious home, and a relative whose great object in life is to
study his happiness. I hope that the record of his struggles will be
read with interest by my young readers, and shall hope to meet them all
again in the next volume of this series, which will be called:
ROUGH AND READY;
OR,
LIFE AMONG THE NEW YORK NEWSBOYS.
FAMOUS STANDARD JUVENILE LIBRARIES.
ANY VOLUME SOLD SEPARATELY AT $1.00 PER VOLUME
(Except the Sportsman's Club Series, Frank Nelson Series and Jack
Hazard Series.).
Each Volume Illustrated. l2mo. Cloth.
HORATIO ALGER, JR.
The enormous sales of the books of Horatio Alger, Jr., show the
greatness of his popularity among the boys, and prove that he is one
of their most favored writers. I am told that more than half a million
copies altogether have been sold, and that all the large circulating
libraries in the country have several complete sets, of which only two
or three volumes are ever on the shelves at one time. If this is true,
what thousands and thousands of boys have read and are reading Mr.
Alger's books! His peculiar style of stories, often imitated but never
equaled, have taken a hold upon the young people, and, despite their
similarity, are eagerly read as soon as they appear.
Mr. Alger became famous with the publication of that undying book,
"Ragged Dick, or Street Life in New York." It was his first book for
young people, and its success was so great that he immediately devoted
himself to that kind of writing. It was a new and fertile field for a
writer then, and Mr. Alger's treatment of it at once caught the fancy
of the boys. "Ragged Dick" first appeared in 1868, and ever since then
it has been selling steadily, until now it is estimated that about
200,000 copies of the series have been sold.
--_Pleasant Hours for Boys and Girls._
A writer for boys should have an abundant sympathy with them. He should
be able to enter into their plans, hopes, and aspirations. He should
learn to look upon life as they do. Boys object to be written down to.
A boy's heart opens to the man or writer who understands him.
--From _Writing Stories for Boys_, by Horatio Alger, Jr.
RAGGED DICK SERIES.
6 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $6.00
Ragged Dick.
Fame and Fortune.
Mark the Match Boy.
Rough and Ready.
Ben the Luggage Boy.
Rufus and Rose.
TATTERED TOM SERIES--First Series.
4 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $4.00
Tattered Tom.
Paul the Peddler.
Phil the Fiddler.
Slow and Sure.
TATTERED TOM SERIES--Second Series.
4 vols. $4.00
Julius.
The Young Outlaw.
Sam's Chance.
The Telegraph Boy.
CAMPAIGN SERIES.
3 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $3.00
Frank's Campaign.
Paul Prescott's Charge.
Charlie Codman's Cruise.
LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES--First Series.
4 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $4.00
Luck and Pluck.
Sink or Swim.
Strong and Steady.
Strive and Succeed.
LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES--Second Series.
4 vols. $4.00
Try and Trust.
Bound to Rise.
Risen from the Ranks.
Herbert Carter's Legacy.
BRAVE AND BOLD SERIES.
4 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $4.00
Brave and Bold.
Jack's Ward.
Shifting for Himself.
Wait and Hope.
NEW WORLD SERIES.
3 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $3.00
Digging for Gold.
Facing the World.
In a New World.
VICTORY SERIES.
3 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $3.00
Only an Irish Boy.
Victor Vane, or the Young Secretary.
Adrift in the City.
FRANK AND FEARLESS SERIES.
3 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $3.00
Frank Hunter's Peril.
The Young Salesman.
Frank and Fearless.
GOOD FORTUNE LIBRARY.
3 vols. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $3.00
Walter Sherwood's Probation.
The Young Bank Messenger.
A Boy's Fortune.
RUPERT'S AMBITION.
1 vol. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $1.00
JED, THE POOR-HOUSE BOY.
1 vol. BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. $1.00
HARRY CASTLEMON.
HOW I CAME TO WRITE MY FIRST BOOK.
When I was sixteen years old I belonged to a composition class. It was
our custom to go on the recitation seat every day with clean slates,
and we were allowed ten minutes to write seventy words on any subject
the teacher thought suited to our capacity. One day he gave out "What a
Man Would See if He Went to Greenland." My heart was in the matter, and
before the ten minutes were up I had one side of my slate filled. The
teacher listened to the reading of our compositions, and when they were
all over he simply said: "Some of you will make your living by writing
one of these days." That gave me something to ponder upon. I did not
say so out loud, but I knew that my composition was as good as the best
of them. By the way, there was another thing that came in my way just
then. I was reading at that time one of Mayne Reid's works which I had
drawn from the library, and I pondered upon it as much as I did upon
what the teacher said to me. In introducing Swartboy to his readers
he made use of this expression: "No visible change was observable in
Swartboy's countenance." Now, it occurred to me that if a man of his
education could make such a blunder as that and still write a book, I
ought to be able to do it, too. I went home that very day and began a
story, "The Old Guide's Narrative," which was sent to the _New York
Weekly_, and came back, respectfully declined. It was written on both
sides of the sheets but I didn't know that this was against the rules.
Nothing abashed, I began another, and receiving some instruction, from
a friend of mine who was a clerk in a book store, I wrote it on only
one side of the paper. But mind you, he didn't know what I was doing.
Nobody knew it; but one day, after a hard Saturday's work--the other
boys had been out skating on the brick-pond--I shyly broached the
subject to my mother. I felt the need of some sympathy. She listened
in amazement, and then said: "Why, do you think you could write a book
like that?" That settled the matter, and from that day no one knew what
I was up to until I sent the first four volumes of Gunboat Series to
my father. Was it work? Well, yes; it was hard work, but each week I
had the satisfaction of seeing the manuscript grow until the "Young
Naturalist" was all complete.
--_Harry Castlemon in the Writer._
GUNBOAT SERIES.
6 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $6.00
Frank the Young Naturalist.
Frank on a Gunboat.
Frank in the Woods.
Frank before Vicksburg.
Frank on the Lower Mississippi.
Frank on the Prairie.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
Frank Among the Rancheros.
Frank at Don Carlos' Rancho.
Frank in the Mountains.
SPORTSMAN'S CLUB SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.75
The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle.
The Sportsman's Club Afloat.
The Sportsman's Club Among the Trappers.
FRANK NELSON SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.75
Snowed up.
Frank in the Forecastle.
The Boy Traders.
BOY TRAPPER SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
The Buried Treasure.
The Boy Trapper.
The Mail Carrier.
ROUGHING IT SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
George in Camp.
George at the Fort.
George at the Wheel.
ROD AND GUN SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
Don Gordon's Shooting Box.
The Young Wild Fowlers.
Rod and Gun Club.
GO-AHEAD SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
Tom Newcombe.
Go-Ahead.
No Moss.
WAR SERIES.
6 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $6.00
True to His Colors.
Rodney the Partisan.
Rodney the Overseer.
Marcy the Blockade-Runner.
Marcy the Refugee.
Sailor Jack the Trader.
HOUSEBOAT SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
The Houseboat Boys.
The Mystery of Lost River Cañon.
The Young Game Warden.
AFLOAT AND ASHORE SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
Rebellion in Dixie.
A Sailor in Spite of Himself.
The Ten-Ton Cutter.
THE PONY EXPRESS SERIES.
3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00
The Pony Express Rider.
The White Beaver.
Carl, The Trailer.
EDWARD S. ELLIS.
Edward S. Ellis, the popular writer of boys' books, is a native of
Ohio, where he was born somewhat more than a half-century ago. His
father was a famous hunter and rifle shot, and it was doubtless his
exploits and those of his associates, with their tales of adventure
which gave the son his taste for the breezy backwoods and for depicting
the stirring life of the early settlers on the frontier.
Mr. Ellis began writing at an early age and his work was acceptable
from the first. His parents removed to New Jersey while he was a boy
and he was graduated from the State Normal School and became a member
of the faculty while still in his teens. He was afterward principal of
the Trenton High School, a trustee and then superintendent of schools.
By that time his services as a writer had become so pronounced that
he gave his entire attention to literature. He was an exceptionally
successful teacher and wrote a number of text-books for schools, all of
which met with high favor. For these and his historical productions,
Princeton College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.
The high moral character, the clean, manly tendencies and the admirable
literary style of Mr. Ellis' stories have made him as popular on the
other side of the Atlantic as in this country. A leading paper remarked
some time since, that no mother need hesitate to place in the hands of
her boy any book written by Mr. Ellis. They are found in the leading
Sunday-school libraries, where, as may well be believed, they are in
wide demand and do much good by their sound, wholesome lessons which
render them as acceptable to parents as to their children. All of his
books published by Henry T. Coates & Co. are re-issued in London, and
many have been translated into other languages. Mr. Ellis is a writer
of varied accomplishments, and, in addition to his stories, is the
author of historical works, of a number of pieces of popular music
and has made several valuable inventions. Mr. Ellis is in the prime
of his mental and physical powers, and great as have been the merits
of his past achievements, there is reason to look for more brilliant
productions from his pen in the near future.
DEERFOOT SERIES.
3 vols. BY EDWARD S. ELLIS. $3.00
Hunters of the Ozark.
Camp in the Mountains.
The Last War Trail.
LOG CABIN SERIES.
3 vols. BY EDWARD S. ELLIS. $3.00
Lost Trail.
Camp-Fire and Wigwam.
Footprints in the Forest.
BOY PIONEER SERIES.
3 vols. BY EDWARD S. ELLIS. $3.00
Ned in the Block-House.
Ned in the Woods.
Ned on the River.
THE NORTHWEST SERIES.
3 vols. BY EDWARD S. ELLIS. $3.00
Two Boys in Wyoming.
A Strange Craft and its Wonderful Voyage.
Cowmen and Rustlers.
BOONE AND KENTON SERIES.
3 vols. BY EDWARD S. ELLIS. $3.00
Shod with Silence.
Phantom of the River.
In the Days of the Pioneers.
IRON HEART, WAR CHIEF OF THE IROQUOIS.
1 vol. BY EDWARD S. ELLIS. $1.00
THE NEW DEERFOOT SERIES.
3 vols. BY EDWARD S. ELLIS. $3.00
Deerfoot in the Forest.
Deerfoot in the Mountains.
Deerfoot on the Prairie.
J. T. TROWBRIDGE.
Neither as a writer does he stand apart from the great currents of life
and select some exceptional phase or odd combination of circumstances.
He stands on the common level and appeals to the universal heart, and
all that he suggests or achieves is on the plane and in the line of
march of the great body of humanity.
The Jack Hazard series of stories, published in the late _Our Young
Folks_, and continued in the first volume of _St. Nicholas_, under the
title of "Fast Friends," is no doubt destined to hold a high place
in this class of literature. The delight of the boys in them (and of
their seniors, too) is well founded. They go to the right spot every
time. Trowbridge knows the heart of a boy like a book, and the heart
of a man, too, and he has laid them both open in these books in a most
successful manner. Apart from the qualities that render the series so
attractive to all young readers, they have great value on account of
their portraitures of American country life and character. The drawing
is wonderfully accurate, and as spirited as it is true. The constable,
Sellick, is an original character, and as minor figures where will
we find anything better than Miss Wansey, and Mr. P. Pipkin, Esq.
The picture of Mr. Dink's school, too, is capital, and where else in
fiction is there a better nick-name than that the boys gave to poor
little Stephen Treadwell, "Step Hen," as he himself pronounced his name
in an unfortunate moment when he saw it in print for the first time in
his lesson in school.
On the whole, these books are very satisfactory, and afford the
critical reader the rare pleasure of the works that are just adequate,
that easily fulfill themselves and accomplish all they set out to
do.--_Scribner's Monthly._
JACK HAZARD SERIES.
6 vols. BY J. T. TROWBRIDGE. $7.25
Jack Hazard and His Fortunes.
The Young Surveyor.
Fast Friends.
Doing His Best.
A Chance for Himself.
Lawrence's Adventures.
International Bibles
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HURLBUT'S STORY OF THE BIBLE
told for
YOUNG AND OLD
by
_Rev. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, D.D._
[Illustration]
=THE BIBLE MADE FASCINATING TO CHILDREN.=--The heroes and the noble men
and women of the Bible are made to appear as living, acting people. The
book is an original work, and in no sense an imitation. It has been in
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=THE DISTINGUISHED AUTHOR.=--Dr. Hurlbut has long been associated
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* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes.
1. Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully
as possible.
2. Obvious punctuation, simple spelling, grammar, and typographical
errors have been silently corrected.
3. Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text
by =equal signs=.