oung relative, Mr. Allen persuaded him to remain in
Buffalo and assist him in his work; and thus it happened that Grover
Cleveland found himself planted in a city with which in time his
fortunes and his fame were to become closely associated; while, on the
other hand, the results of that connection to the city itself were to be
far-reaching and of great importance.

By the recommendation of his uncle he obtained a place as office-boy in
the office of Bowen & Rogers, one of the principal firms of lawyers in
Western New York. It was thus that he began his legal studies, reading
hard in all his odd moments; and in his spare time after office-hours
assisting his uncle, with whom at first he lived, in the compilation of
the "Herd-Book." Mr. Parker tells us that the first appearance in print
of Grover Cleveland's name is in the "Herd-Book" for 1861, in which Mr.
Allen expresses his acknowledgment of "the kindness, industry, and
ability of his young friend and kinsman, in correcting and arranging the
pedigrees for publication." Prompt to seize every opportunity for
increasing his knowledge of the world about him, and feeling, perhaps,
that his uncle's farm in the outskirts of Buffalo was too much like the
village he had left, he took rooms with an old schoolmate from
Fayetteville in the old Southern Hotel in Buffalo, at that time a resort
for drovers and farmers, where his knowledge of their business, obtained
in his uncle's employ, brought him into closer acquaintance with at
least one division of the "plain people" than could have been gained
without that experience.

[Illustration: The ceremony at Grover Cleveland's marriage.]

Grover Cleveland was admitted to the bar in 1859. He did not at first
begin the practice of the law on his own account, but remained for four
years longer with his teachers, until he had gained the position of
chief clerk. In 1858, on coming of age, he cast his first vote, giving
it to the Democratic party; but not content with the mere performance of
this part of the citizen's duty, "he took his place at the polls and
throughout the day distributed ballots by the side of the veterans of
his party." "This habit," says Mr. Parker, "he kept up until his
election as governor. He was never a partisan, but he believed in
working for his party, and he not only worked for it at the polls,
but he always marched in the procession whenever a great Democratic
demonstration was made."

On January 1, 1863, Mr