Ragged Dick

Although Dick’s new tutor, Henry Fosdick is only twelve years old, he is well-qualified to instruct Dick. Naturally studious, Henry had read many books brought home from the printing office by his father or from the Mechanics’ Apprentices’ Library. Dick had only attended school for two days because the teacher beat him when Dick stuck a pin in a sleeping student to awaken him. In his brief newsboy career, Dick occasionally had announced the wrong headline as a result of his weak reading skills. Henry discovers that Dick has difficulty reading words of two syllables or more. Both boys laugh at Dick’s ignorant mistakes, but Dick learns quickly due to his perseverance and intelligence. When Fosdick kneels to say a prayer before sleep, Dick curiously asks why. No one ever taught Dick about religion. He is willing to follow an example if something tells him it is right.

Dick undertakes to earn the extra twenty-five cents required by his landlady to board Henry.

Dick has a greater talent for business and when two customers arrive for bootblacking, he directs one to Henry. At week’s end, both boys have surplus earnings. Dick adds two and a half dollars to his savings account and Henry opens a bank account with his 75 cents. On Sunday morning, Dick wavers about attending Mr. Greyson’s Sunday school class, but he and Henry both attend. A little embarrassed, the boys stand outside watching the fashionably dressed people entering the church. Dick feels someone touch his shoulder. A smiling Mr. Greyson welcomes the boys and asks them to follow him to get seats inside.

When Dick and Henry join Mr. Greyson in his pew for the morning service, they meet Mrs. Greyson and her pretty, nine-year-old daughter, Ida. Ida kindly offers the good-looking Dick a hymn-book; he keeps his eyes fixed on it even though he cannot read all the words. After the service, Mr. Greyson invites the boys to lunch at his home since Dick and Henry live too far away to easily return for Sunday school in the afternoon. Already unaccustomed to the Greysons’ respectable companionship in this elegant part of the city, Dick is as “astonished at this invitation as if he had really been invited by the Mayor to dine with him and the Board of Aldermen” (144). Dick refuses, but Mr. Greyson understands the reason for Dick’s hesitation and insists that the boys join them.

Ida walks with Dick, having taken a fancy to him because his “frank, honest expression  […] generally won its way to the favor of those whom he came in contact” (148). At the Greysons’ mansion, Ida tries to put the boys at ease by showing them a book of engravings, which includes an illustration of the Pyramids. Dick’s humorous language keeps Ida amused and the nine-year-old girl’s own imperfect knowledge lessens the impact of Dick’s ignorance of Egypt. At the dinner table, the embarrassed Dick is “very much afraid of doing or saying something which would be considered an impropriety” (147). When Ida discovers that Dick resides on a street where poor people live, she asks if he is poor. Mrs. Greyson tells her daughter that Dick cannot be considered poor because “he earns his living by his own exertions” (147). After the meal, Ida invites Dick to visit again. Dick thinks Ida is the sweetest girl he has ever seen. The boys attend Mr. Greyson’s Sunday school class and promise to come the following Sunday. On the way home, a stone whizzes by Dick’s head and he sees Micky Maguire running around the corner.

Dick chases Micky. Micky trips and falls on the hard road, hurting his arm. Dick warns Micky to not throw any more stones at him. Micky hates Dick more than ever but avoids another open attack because of Dick’s courage.

Embarked on a new way of life, Dick studies for two hours every night with Henry. The quick-witted Dick has made rapid progress. Now he can read over a paragraph without making a mistake. Henry suggests that Dick start working on his writing skills the next evening. Dick is in awe of how much Henry knows about various subjects, but Henry tells him that he will think differently in a few months: “The more you know, the more you’ll want to know” (153).

Henry is not as successful as Dick at bootblacking because, according to Dick, “Bashfulness aint as natural to me as it is to you” (154). Dick advises his friend to get a job at an office, but Henry lacks decent-looking clothes. Dick wants Henry to use the boys’ combined savings to buy a new suit, a few shirts, a hat, and a pair of shoes. Eventually, Henry accepts a loan from Dick and they purchase Henry’s clothing at a store. Dick assures Henry that he can repay Dick when he becomes a rich merchant. Dick jokingly says that a fortuneteller once told him that he was “born under a lucky star” and that he would have a rich friend who would make his fortune (155).

In the late mornings, when the bootblack business slows, Henry changes into his new clothes, finds newspaper advertisements for jobs, and goes to the different locations to apply. However, there are often a hundred boys competing for a single position and merchants prefer applicants who reside with their parents over a boy who has lived on the street. Henry fears that he will have to remain a bootblack all his life, but Dick’s “drollery and perpetual good spirits kept up Fosdick’s courage” (158).

One day, Dick accompanies Henry when he applies for an errand boy position. Among the rival applicants is Roswell Crawford, “a rather supercilious-looking young gentleman, genteelly dressed, and evidently having a very high opinion of his dress and himself” (158). The young “aristocrat” recognizes Dick as a bootblack and sneeringly says, “I’ve seen you somewhere” (159). Dick replies, “Mostly likely you have […] That’s where I generally keep myself” (159), and makes several jokes that evoke laughter from the other boys. Roswell says that only gentlemen’s sons should apply. When the shopkeeper selects 14-year-old Roswell from the crowd, he discovers that Roswell only stayed a week at his previous job because he did not want to do the dirty work of making a fire in the office.

Although Henry has low expectations, “his modest bearing, and quiet, gentlemanly manner, entirely free from pretension” favorably impress the shopkeeper (161). Henry also demonstrates his excellent handwriting. When the shopkeeper asks Henry to provide a recommendation from someone, Mr. Greyson opportunely enters the shop to buy a hat. Henry refers the prospective employer to him. Mr. Greyson tells the shopkeeper that Henry is a member of his Sunday school class and that he can testify to Henry’s good character. The shopkeeper finds his customer’s testimonial sufficient and hires Henry at three dollars a week, with a possible eventual increase to five dollars. Roswell is furious that a bootblack is hired instead of a gentleman’s son. Dick plans to follow Henry’s example as soon as he acquires enough education. Henry tells Dick that he could not room with a better friend.

The next morning, Henry starts his new job at the hat store and Dick attends to his bootblacking business to build up his savings after giving Henry money. Nine months later, Henry’s wages have been raised to five dollars per week and Dick has saved one hundred and seventeen dollars. Dick’s unusual success in business is partly due to “several regular patrons, who had been drawn to him by his ready wit, and quick humor, and from two of them he had received presents of clothing, which had saved him expense on that score” (166).

Henry tells Dick that he is now equal to his tutor, having “gained something more valuable than money” in knowing how to read, write, and calculate interest in arithmetic (167). Dick’s early education on the streets had sharpened his wit and taught him self-reliance, inspiring him to make the most of himself, “a resolution which is the secret of success in nine cases out of ten” (167). The boys plan to join a night school during the winter and continue their education. They also intend to move to better lodgings after Dick obtains a position.

Dick sees Tom Wilkins, a bootblack who is a year younger than him, crying. He learns that Tom’s mother is unable to work because she broke her arm. The landlord will evict Tom’s family the next day because Tom alone cannot raise enough money for the rent. Tom always gives the money he earns to his mother and refuses to squander it on extravagances. Having experienced hardship, Dick sympathetically offers to pay the four dollars due for rent. Tom hopes to repay him some time. Dick sadly wishes he had a mother, but “Dick’s temperament was sanguine, and he never gave way to unavailing sadness” (171). Dick whistles to stay cheerful. He promises to give Tom more money the next day to add to the three dollars from his pocket-book. Dick plans to dip into his savings account, but there will be a disagreeable surprise when he returns home.