Jr. Horatio Alger

“ Jones,” said Walter, modestly. “It doesn’t soar to such lofty heights.”
“Now, Mr. Howard, I think it excellent,” said Miss Jones, who was delighted at the praise of her own production. “I cannot expect all to be so contemplative as I am. My muse loves to dwell alone in primeval solitude. Yours seeks the woodland glade.”
“You have expressed the difference admirably, Miss Jones,” said Barclay, gravely. “Mr. Jones and myself unluckily cannot soar with you and Mr. Howard. We can only look on in silent admiration.”
“Do you often indite verses, Mr. Howard?” asked Melinda. ”

“ I like him as little as any of my scholars.”
While they were thus speaking, General Wall opened the front door of his house, and they met him at a short distance from his front gate. He bowed, as Walter thought, with an air of condescension, and said to the teacher, “Good-morning, Mr. Barclay. You are taking an early walk, I see.”
“Not very early, sir. I always take a short walk before school.”
“And how is the school? Is John getting on well with his Latin?”
“Tolerably well, General Wall.”
“Push him, Mr. Barclay, push him! I want my son to have a good education.” ”

“ Now, as he trudged along the road, he was not quite sure whether he was not sorry for having attempted it.
“I thought he’d be mad,” he said at length.
“So did I,” said John.
“He’s a queer fellow; I don’t know what to make of him.”
“He didn’t seem surprised when you came forward, and said the hen was yours.”
“Do you think he thought it was me?”
“Yes, I shouldn’t wonder.”
“Perhaps,” said Peter, brightening up, “he was afraid of making a fuss about it.”
“Very likely,” said John.
“I think he is afraid of me,” said Peter, complacently. “He must know that I am stronger than he.” ”

“ Besides, as we know, he knew something of boxing; but of this Peter was absolutely ignorant. Peter’s plan in fighting was to pitch in heavily, and as he generally tackled those who knew no more than himself of the “noble art of self-defence,” and was careful to fight only with those whom he knew to be smaller and weaker than himself, he had achieved a long list of victories. The natural result was to make him confident in his prowess, and a bully. He had convinced himself that Walter was his inferior in physical strength, and was sure he could master him in a conflict. ”

“ Howard,” said Barclay, as they were walking home, “what are your first impressions of the scholars?”
“Rather confused,” said Walter, laughing. “I have got the names and faces of all mixed up together, and can hardly tell one from the other.”
“That was my first experience; but I soon learned to distinguish them.”
“There was one I particularly liked.”
“I can guess who you mean--Alfred Clinton.”
“Yes; he seemed to me very intelligent and attractive.”
“You will find him both. He has more talent than any other scholar.” ”

“ Twenty-five cents a week is very small to give a boy of Joshua’s age. All of his companions get more.”
“It was more than he deserved, the idle vagabond!”
“You are very hard upon him, Mr. Drummond,” said his wife.
“I have reason to be. I suppose,” he added, with a sneer, “you justify him in robbing his father of his hard earnings?”
“You know I do not; I only say that, if you had treated him more generously, this would never have happened. You certainly might have afforded him a dollar a week. The poor boy used to feel mortified, because he never had a cent in his pocket.” ”

“ You see Sam and Joshua were intimate friends, and intimate friends are very apt to notice each other’s faults, and to judge them most severely, are they not? What is the use of having friends if you can’t abuse them?
So the result was that Sam, toiling in an obscure Eighth avenue store for eight dollars a week, felt very much wronged to think that Joshua had at one bound stepped into a more desirable situation than himself. ”

“ Peter had always been at the bottom of all opposition to the different teachers who from time to time had been employed, and he had been instrumental in getting rid of more than one. Now he was converted into a friend and supporter of the administration, through Walter’s pluck and judicious management, and things went on smoothly. It was the general testimony that not for years had such an interest been manifested in study by the pupils, or the discipline been more gentle, yet effectual, in securing order. Our young hero won golden opinions from all. ”

“ The shopkeeper led Joshua to the counter, on which was piled a variety of goods, which had been taken out to show customers, and asked for their names, and what he supposed to be their prices. Now, Joshua had never taken any pains to become acquainted with his father’s business and knew next to nothing about it. His ignorance proved to be so complete that his questioner saw at once that he would never do for their trade.
“I am sorry to say that you won’t suit us,” he said.
“We should have to teach you everything from the beginning. What we want is a competent salesman.” ”

“ I like him a good deal better than I do you.”
“You may if you want to,” said John, mortified. “I’m a gentleman’s son, and I can get as many friends as I like.”
“You ain’t a gentleman yourself, that’s sure.”
John walked away in dudgeon. He saw that Peter had gone over to the enemy, and that Walter had conquered. There was no hope now of breaking down his authority. Whether he liked it or not, he must submit to be taught by a boy, and one that he did not like.
Meanwhile Phineas Morton had gone up to the teacher’s desk. ”

“ I would just as lief let the room to you alone at eight dollars a week. I should make just as much money, and very likely more.”
Joshua thought it over, and the more he thought of it, the more inclined he was to accept Mrs. Foster’s proposal. He would prefer, of course, to room alone, unless he could have some friend like Sam Crawford for his roommate. But he was by no means inclined to pay three dollars a week extra for the privilege. He liked money better than privacy, and besides, he had only four hundred dollars left, and he felt that he could not afford it. ”

“ Conspicuous among them were General Wall and Squire Griffiths, the latter looking exceedingly wise with his stiff, iron-gray hair rising erect over his brow like a palisade.
Walter conducted the examination, but after every recitation inquired of the trustees if they had any questions to ask. Once in a while General Wall asked one, but in general contented himself with saying, blandly, “The recitation has been quite satisfactory, Mr. Howard.”
After the recitation in geography, Squire Griffiths, who had studied up one or two questions in the atlas before coming, thought it time to take part. ”

“ SALESMAN. The next morning Joshua went round with his roommate to his new place of business. The shop was a small one, with a moderate stock of fancy goods. There was one little circumstance that attracted his attention. His employer’s name was Remington, but the name on the sign was
JOHN FORBES. “I thought this was your store,” said he, a little surprised.
“So it is.”
“But your name isn’t Forbes.”
“Oh,” said Remington, “you noticed the sign. That’s easily explained. I bought the business of Mr. Forbes, but as his name was well known in the neighborhood, I thought it best to keep the old name. ”

“ Howard?”
“No, sir; I have never before been as far west as Wisconsin. I spent the last three months in Ohio, however.”
“We hardly call Ohio a Western State. We always look upon it as in the East.”
“The West is a large country,” remarked Walter.
“It is very large, and has vast resources. Its prairies are immense in extent, its rivers are numerous and long, its mines are the richest in the world,” said General Wall, rather oratorically.
“I should like to inquire all about the Great Metropolitan Mining Company,” thought Walter. ”

“ Defeat is a test of friendship, and even John Wall, since the ignominious failure of Peter, was disposed to be less intimate with him. He had been drawn toward him by the hope that he could successfully rebel against Walter’s authority. John was no less anxious for the new teacher’s failure, but he saw that Peter was not the one to bring it about. ”

“ So he came to school, and was, of course, placed in classes with boys much younger. But he submitted to this patiently, knowing that it was necessary, and had studied so faithfully since that he was now in the highest class in all the English branches. Latin he did not study.
“I do not need your name,” said Walter, politely. “I believe you are Phineas Morton?”
“Yes, sir,” said Phineas.
“What is your age?”
“Twenty. Rather old to come to school,” he added.
“One is never too old to learn, Mr. Morton,” said Walter. “I hope to be studying when I am older than you are now.” ”

“ The suspicion that Joshua had run away from home had not entered his father’s mind. He did not think that his son, for whom he felt contempt in spite of the relationship, had spirit enough to take such a step; and, besides, he knew that he could not go far without money.
After supper Mr. Drummond went back to the store, and did not return till it had closed.
“Has Joshua got home?” he asked.
“No,” answered his wife, anxiously. “I am afraid, Jacob, you have driven him to some desperate step.”
“Nonsense! I am not in the least troubled about him. A bad penny always returns.” ”

“ Howard,” said Melinda, with a calm superiority. “You see how different Ichabod and I are.”
“Very true, Miss Jones,” said Walter; though, to tell the truth, he preferred the illiterate and prosaic Ichabod, with his absence of pretension, to his “gifted” sister.
“Have you provoked the muse lately, Mr. Howard?” she asked.
“No, Miss Jones. I find school teaching unfavorable to poetry. If I should undertake to write verses after I get home from school, my mind would certainly stray away to fractions, or the boundaries of States, or something equally prosaic.” ”

“ Peter may be a little stronger, but if worst comes to worst, I think I am a match for him.”
“I am glad to hear it, Mr. Howard, for I suspect he will give you a chance to display your science upon him.”
“I wouldn’t undertake to encounter the big fellow--what is his name?”
“Phineas Morton. He won’t require it. If he finds you are a good teacher, he will stand by you.”
“Then I am not afraid. John Wall probably isn’t very friendly, but I am not afraid of him.”
“You needn’t fear open violence from him. If he works against you, it will be in an underhand way.” ”

“ In Latin he is as far advanced as I am. He was educated at an Eastern institution of high rank.”
“I am afraid,” said General Wall, dubiously, “that his extreme youth would prevent his succeeding.”
“I was not much older when I commenced teaching, but I got along well.”
“Is the young man desirous of teaching? Is that the object of his coming here?”
“No; he was not certain that there was an opening. He is looking round for some business to occupy him. Being well educated, he thinks he might like to be a teacher.”
“I should prefer that you would remain, Mr. Barclay.” ”

“ Barclay. A milk-and-water sort of a man won’t succeed.”
At this moment John Wall entered the room.
“Don’t you see Mr. Barclay, John?” said his father.
John nodded carelessly, for he thought the teacher of a country school, earning a salary of forty dollars a month, out of which he had to pay his board, by no means his equal in the social scale; and financially speaking, certainly, Allen Barclay could make no great pretensions; but he was a gentleman, which John Wall was not, and probably never would be. ”

“ He began to think that New York was a very extensive place, where it was quite necessary to be on the look-out for swindlers. If he could only find Sam Crawford, for whose knowledge of life he had high respect, he would, undoubtedly, be all right; but there were difficulties in the way. Still, he was not without hope. If he inquired in every shoe store on the avenue, he must come across him after a while.
We are often very near the truth without suspecting it. The store of which Joshua was in search was in reality on the next block below the one which he had entered ”

“ I wish he might have a college education. It was at my suggestion that he commenced Latin, and he does better in it than any of his class. I am sure you will enjoy teaching him.”
“Do you think I shall enjoy Peter Groot?” asked Walter, with a smile.
“I don’t think you will. He is neither a model scholar nor a model boy. To tell the truth, I am more afraid he will give you trouble than any other boy.” ”

“ If you had been, I would not have offered you an engagement, as I would scorn to take a good clerk from another man. To let you into a little secret, I’ve got a nephew who is expecting the place. I suppose he will be angry when he hears I have taken a stranger. But, though I would like to oblige him, he would not suit me at all. He hasn’t got the ‘snap’ in him. He’ll never make a good business man. It takes a smart man to succeed in Chicago.”
All this was very gratifying to Joshua. Nobody had ever taken a fancy to him before; nobody had ever detected his superior business abilities ”

“ Drummond was far from being a model father, I by no means defend the disrespectful allusion to him as “the old man.” Many boys are thus disrespectful in speech who really respect and love their fathers; but, even then, the custom is offensive to good taste and good feeling, and is always to be condemned.
“You owe me some money, you know, Sam,” said Joshua. ”

“ Remington told me he had bought you out, but he kept the name, because it was known to customers.”
“Then Mr. Remington deceived you.”
“Isn’t he in the business?”
“He was only my clerk. I left him in charge while I was away.”
It dawned upon Joshua now. All his dreams were dissipated. He had been cruelly swindled out of his four hundred dollars. It was all a pretence about the nephew. Good heavens! he was ruined, and almost penniless. He turned pale and sick at heart.
“How much money did you let Remington have?” asked Mr. Forbes. ”

“ But for my improvin’ my time I shouldn’t have riz to be one of the school trustees. I hope, my young friends, you will improve the importunities the town has given you to get a good eddication. If you study hard, you will get up in the world, and your feller-citizens will respect you. I congratterlate your teacher on your purficiency, especially in joggrify. It is one of the most important studies you have. If Christopher Columbus hadn’t studied joggrify when he was a boy, how could he have discovered America, and if he hadn’t discovered it, where would we be at this moment? ”

“ I am glad to say that Joshua was improved by his trials. He acquitted himself fairly at school, and is now employed in his father’s store, Mr. Drummond, at Walter’s solicitation, paying him ten dollars a week for his services, besides, of course, board. Let us hope he will continue to do well.
A few words in conclusion. Walter is now in college, and stands very near the head of the senior class. It is his purpose to study law, and though his fortune is already made, we have reason to believe that he will work hard and acquire distinction. He knows what it is to Strive and Succeed. ”