say _of_ course," said Fosdick, who, in virtue of his
position as Dick's tutor, ventured to correct his language from time
to time.

"How dare you correct your gov'nor?" said Dick, with comic
indignation. "'I'll cut you off with a shillin', you young dog,' as
the Markis says to his nephew in the play at the Old Bowery."

CHAPTER XIX

FOSDICK CHANGES HIS BUSINESS

Fosdick did not venture to wear his new clothes while engaged in his
business. This he felt would have been wasteful extravagance. About
ten o'clock in the morning, when business slackened, he went home,
and dressing himself went to a hotel where he could see copies of
the "Morning Herald" and "Sun," and, noting down the places where a
boy was wanted, went on a round of applications. But he found it no
easy thing to obtain a place. Swarms of boys seemed to be out of
employment, and it was not unusual to find from fifty to a hundred
applicants for a single place.

There was another difficulty. It was generally desired that the
boy wanted should reside with his parents. When Fosdick, on being
questioned, revealed the fact of his having no parents, and being
a boy of the street, this was generally sufficient of itself to
insure a refusal. Merchants were afraid to trust one who had led
such a vagabond life. Dick, who was always ready for an emergency,
suggested borrowing a white wig, and passing himself off for
Fosdick's father or grandfather. But Henry thought this might be
rather a difficult character for our hero to sustain. After fifty
applications and as many failures, Fosdick began to get discouraged.
There seemed to be no way out of his present business, for which he
felt unfitted.

"I don't know but I shall have to black boots all my life," he said,
one day, despondently, to Dick.

"Keep a stiff upper lip," said Dick. "By the time you get to be a
gray-headed veteran, you may get a chance to run errands for some
big firm on the Bowery, which is a very cheerin' reflection."

So Dick by his drollery and perpetual good spirits kept up
Fosdick's courage.

"As for me," said Dick, "I expect by that time to lay up a colossal
fortun' out of shines, and live in princely style on the Avenoo."

But one morning, Fosdick, straying into French's Hotel, discovered
the following advertisement in the columns of "The Herald,"--

"WANTED--A smart, capable boy to run errands, and make himself
generally useful in a hat and cap store. Salary three dollars a