The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-10-21
Grecley,s Fra. Appearance in New York.
From Recolections of Busy Life by Horace
Greeley, published In the New York Ledger.

not n mile OF iron track was then Operated ~
the State, If in facD anywhere III hnei,C',
save tho little affair cnns,r" m,,, - Me-
granite from the quarry al Y quincy, nassa-
chusrt,s 10 BOSTON Night fell when | was
| about half way over: 50 sought rest III one
OF tho many indiiI"rent taTerns that then lined
the turnpike in question: ana was u'i'clea 10
sic,p in an ante. room through which people
we're momcntarly. passing, l declined, and
Gathering up my handful OF portables. walked
On Half n mile further found another Ia
vern, not quite so inhosptable, and managed
10 stay in II till morning, when | rose and
walked on TO Albany. Having never been
IN that city before, l missed the nearest
way 10 the day boat, and when | reached the
landing IL was TWO or three lengths on its way
10 New York, having left 1T ! a. NJ. had
no choice but to wait for another, which
started at 10 A. NJ, towing a barge on either
side, and reached next day the Emporium,
where |, after good view OF the city rs we
passed il down the river. was landed near
Whitehall at a. NJ.
New York was then about one third her pre-
sent size but her business was not onc-iourth
so great rs now: and her real size, counting
her suburbs, and--consIderinS the tens OF
thousands who find employment IN ana earn
subsistence here though sleeping outside OF
her chartered limits--was not one-1ith that or
S67 No single railroad pointed toward her
wharvcS. No line Of ocean steamers brought
passengers to her hotels or goods 10 her ware
houses from any foreign port. In the mcrcan-
tile world npr felatlNe Tillk wills nlpltT, DuI
her absolute Importance was scarcely greater
than that of Rio Janciro or san Francisco is
20 day. Still, 10 my eyes, which had never
till yesterday gazcd on city OF even 2p,OOp IN
habtants, nor seen Il sea gong vessel, hcr
miles square of mainly brick or stone houses,
and her furlongS of mastS and yards, afforded
ample Indictment TO Il wonder ana admiration
not unlike to awe.
1t WIS, if | recollect Alright, the eth of An
| gust, 1881. / was twenty years ola the pre-
|
plain, with ten dollars in my pocket, summer
| clothing worth perhaps rs much more, nearly
al on nv back and Il decent knowledge OF so
much of the art of printing as 4 boy VIII
usually learn in the Office of Il country news
paper. But l knew no human being within
iwo hundred miles, and my Enthusiastically
rustic manner and address did not favor that
Immediate command OF r"mnneratlnS employ
ment which was my most urgent need.
However, the world was all before me my
personal estate, tied up III pocket-l;tndkcr-
chief, did not at all cucumber me; and l
stepped lightly oil the boat and away from the
sound of the detcSted hiss Of escaping steam,
walking into and up Broad street III quest OF
a boarding house. l found and entered one 1T
or near the corner of Wall; but the price OF
board given me was six dollars per week, SO L
did not need the giver's candidly kind SugSeS-
tiou that | would probably prefer one where
the charge was more moderate. Wandering
thence, l cannot say how, TO the North River
side, halted next 1T l6> West street, where
liked my attention. l entered, and was Of
trrct shelter and subsistence IL - )" per week,
which seemed more rational. aud closed the
bargain
My host was Mr.. Edward McGlorick: his
place quite rs much grog. shop as boarding.
house: but il WAS quietly, dccently kept
while stayed in ii, and he and his family
were kind and friendly. / regret TO add that
liquor proved his ruin not many years alter
ward My first day in New York was Il ri
day, and the family being Roman Catholic, no
meat was eaten or provided. which | under
stood: but when Sunday evening was c"le-
hr;tted by unlimited card playing III that same
house, my traditions were decidedly larrtd.
do not imply that my obServauccS Were bet
ter or worse than my hosts, but that they
We're different.
Having brpakfaStpd, began to ranSack the
city for work, and. in my total ignorance, ira
vrrSed many streets where none could posi-
blv be found. In the course of that day and
the next, however l must have visited fully
two-thrGs OF The printing Offices on MAMMAL
tan Island without Il CLEAN OF success, II
was midsummer, when business III New ork
is labitually dan: and my youth and un-
questionable air OF country srcenu"ss must
have told against me. When called nj In"
JGuraul 81 Commerce., lis editor, Mr. DAVID
Hale, bluntly told me WAS 4 RUNAWAY aprreh-
ticc from some country Office, which was 4
very natural though mistaken presumption.
| returned 10 my lodgings on Saturday eve
ming, thoroughly weary. dlshcaricncd, DIS
gusled with New York. and resolved 10
shake its dust from my feet next morning.
while l could still leave with money in Iny
pocket, and before It's aims house could fore.
close upon me.
But that was not 10 be. On Sunday after
noon and evening several Young Irishmeu
called at Mr.. McGi!oricb's in their holiday
>aumterIugS about town ANA being told that
| | was u young printer III quest Of work. m
tcrcStcd themselves in my effort with the
spontaneous kindness of their race. One
i,'.
printers Were wanted. and gave mc The r,.-
quisitc direction 80 that on visiting the de-
sigualcd spot next morning ] readily found
| employment: and thus, when barely three
days Il resident, had ionGd anchorage III
New York.
The printing establishment was John I.
Vests. over McEirath X Bangs publishing
house. No. IS Chatham street, and the work
was II my call. simply because no printer
who knew the city would accept il. 1t was
the composition Of Il very small t52mo) New
Testament, i'll double columns, Of agate type.
each column barely twelve ems wide, with
centre column i'll pearl, barely four ems wide
the text ,hicklv studded with references by
Greek and superior letters to the notes,
which of course were preceded anu CHS
eliminated by corresponding induces, WIN
PREDATORY and supplementary remarks on
each book, set in pearl, and only pald
for as agate. The type WAS conSiuera,
bly, smaller than any to which / ltu ,
been ccuStomed-the narrow measure ana
thictly- sown italics of the text, Win ane
strange characters employed rs ihultes' !rm
derpd il the SloweSt and by lar the mos UNI
cult work l had ever undertaken, "Nlie llle
making up, proving, and correcting twice ana
even thrice over, preparatory 10 steleolf plhS,
nearly doubled the time required loi oiulh'tS
rnrnnositiou | was never 4 swift type setter.
aimed IN be an asSiduouS and correct one:
but my proofs on this work NJ 1rst looked rs
though they had caught the chicken poX and
were in the worst stage OF Il proiuse eruption
Ii sltl ~ slSs hnin mn
1imes kent waiting for letter, l scarcely made
nv board, while by dilgent typc->tlckinS
through twelve to fourteen hours per day /
was able, al my best, 10 earn but dollar per
day As scarcely another compositor could be
induced to work on it more than two days, !
had this Job in good part TO myself and per
severed 10 the end OF IL.
had removed, very soon after obtaining il,
to Mrs. Mason'S shoemaker boarding house, ut
the corner Of Chatham and Duane streets,
nearly opposite my work; so that l was EN-
;tbled to keep doing nearly all the time that
did not need FOR meals aud sleep. When it
was done, | was out of work for Il fortnight,
in spite of my best efforts 10 obtain more 50
| attended, az an unknown spectator, The sit
tingS CT the Tariff Convention which was
held at the American Institute north end of
the City Hall Park and presided over by lion.
William wilkins, of PitlSburg, PA. | next
found work in Ann street, on 4 short-lired
monthly, where my pay was not forthcoming
and the next month saw me back 1T Vests,
where 4 new work-a commentary ON the
Book OF Genesis by Rev. George BuSh-had
come in ; and l worked on ii throughout. The
chirugraphy was blind; the author made
many reNatous alterations in proof; the page
was small and Il The type close, but though
the reverse Of tat, In printers JaCgon, il WAS
not nearly so abominably lean as the Tesla
ment; and regretted 10 reach the end OF it. |
When did, | was again out OF work.
Concerning Cheek.