Paul the Peddler | Page 3

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PAUL THE PEDDLER OR THE FORTUNES OF A YOUNG
STREET MERCHANT
BY HORATIO ALGER, JR.
BIOGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Horatio Alger, Jr., an author who lived among and for boys and himself
remained a boy in heart and association till death, was born at Revere,
Mass., January 13, 1834. He was the son of a clergyman, was graduated
at Harvard College in 1852, and at its Divinity School in 1860 and was
pastor of the Unitarian Church at Brewster, Mass., in 1862-66.
In the latter year he settled in New York and began drawing public
attention to the condition and needs of street boys. He mingled with
them, gained their confidence showed a personal concern in their
affairs, and stimulated them to honest and useful living. With his first
story he won the hearts of all red-blooded boys everywhere, and of the
seventy or more that followed over a million copies were sold during
the author's lifetime.
In his later life he was in appearance a short, stout, bald-headed man,
with cordial manners and whimsical views of things that amused all
who met him. He died at Natick, Mass., July 18, 1899.

Mr. Alger's stories are as popular now as when first published, because
they treat of real live boys who were always up and about-just like the
boys found everywhere to-day. They are pure in tone and inspiring in
influence, and many reforms in the juvenile life of New York may be
traced to them. Among the best known are:
Strong and Steady; Strive and Succeed; Try and Trust; Bound to Rise;
Risen from the Ranks; Herbert Carter's Legacy; Brave and Bold; Jack's
Ward; Shifting for Himself; Wait and Hope; Paul the Peddler; Phil the
Fiddler; Slow and Sure; Julius the Street Boy; Tom the Bootblack;
Struggling Upward, Facing the World; The Cash Boy; Making His
Way; Tony the Tramp; Joe's Luck; Do and Dare; Only an Irish Boy;
Sink or Swim; A Cousin's Conspiracy; Andy Gordon; Bob Burton;
Harry Vane; Hector's Inheritance; Mark Mason's Triumph; Sam's
Chance; The Telegraph Boy; The Young Adventurer; The Young
Outlaw; The Young Salesman, and Luke Walton.
PAUL THE PEDDLER

CHAPTER I
PAUL THE PEDDLER
"Here's your prize packages! Only five cents! Money prize in every
package! Walk up, gentlemen, and try your luck!"
The speaker, a boy of fourteen, stood in front of the shabby brick
building, on Nassau street, which has served for many years as the New
York post office. In front of him, as he stood with his back to the
building, was a small basket, filled with ordinary letter envelopes, each
labeled "Prize Package."
His attractive announcement, which, at that time, had also the merit of
novelty--for Paul had himself hit upon the idea, and manufactured the
packages, as we shall hereafter explain--drew around him a
miscellaneous crowd, composed chiefly of boys.

"What's in the packages, Johnny?" asked a bootblack, with his box
strapped to his back.
"Candy," answered Paul. "Buy one. Only five cents."
"There ain't much candy," answered the bootblack, with a disparaging
glance.
"What if there isn't? There's a prize."
"How big a prize?"
"There's a ten-cent stamp in some of 'em. All have got something in
'em."
Influenced by this representation, the bootblack drew out a five-cent
piece, and said:
"Pitch one over then. I guess I can stand it." An envelope was at once
handed him.
"Open it, Johnny," said a newsboy at his side. Twenty curious eyes
were fixed upon him as he opened the package. He drew out rather a
scanty supply of candy, and then turning to Paul, with a look of
indignation, said:
"Where's the prize? I don't see no prize. Give me back my five cents."
"Give it to me. I'll show you," said the young merchant.
He thrust in his finger, and drew out a square bit of paper, on which
was written- One Cent.
"There's your prize," he added, drawing a penny from his pocket.
"It ain't much of