The Errand Boy; Or, How Phil Brent Won Success by Jr. Horatio Alger (bearly read books .txt) ๐
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- Author: Jr. Horatio Alger
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โAll right!โ answered Phil, relieved to find a guide in the labyrinth of the great city.
โI live on Fifth Street, near the Boweryโa very convenient location,โ said Orlando, if we may take the liberty to call him thus.
โFifth Avenue?โ asked Phil, who did not know the difference.
โOh, no; that's a peg above my style. I am not a Vanderbilt, nor yet an Astor.โ
โIs the price moderate?โ asked Phil anxiously. โI must make my money last as long as I can, for I don't know when I shall get a place.โ
โTo be sure. You might room with me, only I've got a hall bedroom. Perhaps we might manage it, though.โ
โI think I should prefer a room by myself,โ said Phil, who reflected that Signor Orlando was a stranger as yet.
โOh, well, I'll speak to the old lady, and I guess she can accommodate you with a hall bedroom like mine on the third floor.โ
โWhat should I have to pay?โ
โA dollar and a quarter a week, and you can get your meals where you please.โ
โI think that will suit me,โ said Phil thoughtfully.
After leaving the car, a minute's walk brought them to a shabby three-story house of brick. There was a stable opposite, and a group of dirty children were playing in front of it.
โThis is where I hang out,โ said Signor Orlando cheerfully. โAs the poet says, there is no place like home.โ
If this had been true it was not much to be regretted, since the home in question was far from attractive.
Signor Orlando rang the bell, and a stout woman of German aspect answered the call.
โSo you haf come back, Herr Orlando,โ said this lady. โI hope you haf brought them two weeks' rent you owe me.โ
โAll in good time, Mrs. Schlessinger,โ said Orlando. โBut you see I have brought some one with me.โ
โIs he your bruder now?โ asked the lady.
โNo, he is not, unfortunately for me. His name isโโโ
Orlando coughed.
โPhilip Brent,โ suggested our hero.
โJust soโPhilip Brent.โ
โI am glad to see Mr. Prent,โ said the landlady.
โAnd is he an actor like you, Signor Orlando?โ
โNot yet. We don't know what may happen. But he comes on business, Mrs. Schlessinger. He wants a room.โ
The landlady brightened up. She had two rooms vacant, and a new lodger was a godsend.
โI vill show Mr. Prent what rooms I haf,โ she said. โCome up-stairs, Mr. Prent.โ
The good woman toiled up the staircase panting, for she was asthmatic, and Phil followed. The interior of the house was as dingy as the exterior, and it was quite dark on the second landing.
She threw open the door of a back room, which, being lower than the hall, was reached by a step.
โThere!โ said she, pointing to the faded carpet, rumpled bed, and cheap pine bureau, with the little six-by-ten looking-glass surmounting it. โThis is a peautiful room for a single gentleman, or even for a man and his wife.โ
โMy friend, Mr. Brent, is not married,โ said Signor Orlando waggishly.
Phil laughed.
โYou will have your shoke, Signor Orlando,โ said Mrs. Schlessinger.
โWhat is the price of this room?โ asked Phil.
โThree dollars a week, Mr. Prent, I ought to have four, but since you are a steady young gentlemanโโโ
โHow does she know that?โ Phil wondered.
โSince you are a steady young gentleman, and a friend of Signor Orlando, I will not ask you full price.โ
โThat is more than I can afford to pay,โ said Phil, shaking his head.
โI think you had better show Mr. Brent the hall bedroom over mine,โ suggested the signor.
Mrs. Schlessinger toiled up another staircase, the two new acquaintances following her. She threw open the door of one of those depressing cells known in New York as a hall bedroom. It was about five feet wide and eight feet long, and was nearly filled up by a cheap bedstead, covered by a bed about two inches thick, and surmounted at the head by a consumptive-looking pillow. The paper was torn from the walls in places. There was one rickety chair, and a wash-stand which bore marks of extreme antiquity.
โThis is a very neat room for a single gentleman,โ remarked Mrs. Schlessinger.
Phil's spirits fell as he surveyed what was to be his future home. It was a sad contrast to his neat, comfortable room at home.
โIs this room like yours, Signor Orlando?โ he asked faintly.
โAs like as two peas,โ answered Orlando.
โWould you recommend me to take it?โ
โYou couldn't do better.โ
How could the signor answer otherwise in presence of a landlady to whom he owed two weeks' rent?
โThen,โ said Phil, with a secret shudder, โI'll take it if the rent is satisfactory.โ
โA dollar and a quarter a week,โ said Mrs. Schlessinger promptly.
โI'll take it for a week.โ
โYou won't mind paying in advance?โ suggested the landlady. โI pay my own rent in advance.โ
Phil's answer was to draw a dollar and a quarter from his purse and pass it to his landlady.
โI'll take possession now,โ said our hero. โCan I have some water to wash my face?โ
Mrs. Schlessinger was evidently surprised that any one should want to wash in the middle of the day, but made no objections.
When Phil had washed his face and hands, he went out with Signor Orlando to dine at a restaurant on the Bowery.
CHAPTER VII. BOWERMAN'S VARIETIES.
The restaurant to which he was taken by Signor Orlando was thronged with patrons, for it was one o'clock. On the whole, they did not appear to belong to the highest
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