The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-02-03
a Returned strect.Roy.s speech.

The newsboys at the VIII know
lodge" in New Chambers Street
New York, were much impressed by
the appearance there on the usua
Sunday evening meeting Of well
dressed young gentleman, who wa.
introduced as "a former street-boy
from the Fourth Ward, sent to th,
West by the Children's Aid Society.
After some preliminary remarks by
the young gentleman, Of genera
moral nature, which were not appre
ciated, be said; BOYS, | was JUS
like you once. My father was a long
shoreman, aud he lived down in a
cellar in Roosevelt Street, and | have
been there, but | cannot ind nv
people or the house. | used to loa
about the street, and stole lead from
the roofs and took it to the pawnbro-
ker's, and with the money | got a
ten cent ticket for the old Bowerv.
1t isn't where the BOwery Tbeater is
now, 70, that was about eighteen
years ago. made my meals of
from the ears of corn which the peo.
pie threw away, when they bought
them from an old colored woman who
kept stand in front Of the theater.
Sometimes | stole things from the
stands. When il came night | would
turn in III a box, and one winter mig BIT
| was snuggled up in box and pear
ly froze. Here much hilarity among
the boys, as if it - as familiar expert
ence. The fact was. | was growing
up thief and a vagabond, and my
parer 5 weren't of much good to me.
When my father came home at mid
night, drunk, be used 10 beat me
black and tlue with the end Of his
strap, Che was 'longshoreman,) and
strike my mother till she foamed at
the mouth. At this narrative of do
mestlc experiences there was a kind
of sinking of eyes and heads am0ng
the boys, as though they knew only
too nuch of sCch scenes. So took
TO the streets, and never went home.
| should socn have been on Black
wells Island or at Sing-Sing, if the
Children's Aid people hadn't found
me and sent me west. remember
L went out in party of about thirty,
and | was the worst of the whole,
so that | was the last one taken by
the farmers when they chose US. My
employer-this was in Indiana-was
a large farmer and a good man. He
put me right at school IN the winter,
and he gave me calf and pig;
and | tell you, boys, it's fun to sit be-
fore a big wood fire at night and roast
your apples and hear the people talk,
and know your calf is growing in the
barn and will soon be a COW, which
you can sell and make some money.
| kept my stock and sold them, and
turned over money iu one way or an
other; and | studied hard at school,
md by and by | taught school my
self in winter, and az last had three
hundred dollars saved. So told my
| wanted to go to Yale Col
lege and study for the ministry. He
advised me against it, and said be
would give me farm Of forty acres
if | would stay. But | said no, and
| went on, and | have worked my
way through in one way and another
Sometimes | rang the bell, and some
times | did jobs; this summer | saw
ed wood for eleven hours day, and
earned something. Now ! am study
ing for the ministry in this city. Now,
boys, my advice to you is not to be
content with being ca the street al
ways. Try for someting else than
being b9ot-blacks and newsboys, and
see if you can't make men Of your
selves" A storm of applause fol-
lowed, and various sharp little ro-
Vers appeared at the Office in Fourth
Street next day to "go West"