t two hundred thousand inhabitants, one
sixth of its present population. He had managed his affairs with such
strict economy that his journey of six hundred miles had cost him little
more than five dollars, and he had ten left with which to begin life in
the metropolis. This sum of money and the knowledge of the printer's
trade made up his capital. There was not a person in all New York, so
far as he knew, who had ever seen him before.

His appearance, too, was much against him, for although he had a really
fine face, a noble forehead, and the most benign expression I ever saw
upon a human countenance, yet his clothes and bearing quite spoiled him.
His round jacket made him look like a tall boy who had grown too fast
for his strength; he stooped a little and walked in a loose-jointed
manner. He was very bashful, and totally destitute of the power of
pushing his way, or arguing with a man who said "No" to him. He had
brought no letters of recommendation, and had no kind of evidence to
show that he had even learned his trade.

The first business was, of course, to find an extremely cheap
boarding-house, as he had made up his mind only to try New York as an
experiment, and, if he did not succeed in finding work, to start
homeward while he still had a portion of his money. After walking awhile
he went into what looked to him like a low-priced tavern, at the corner
of Wall and Broad Streets.

"How much do you charge for board?" he asked the bar-keeper, who was
wiping his decanters and putting his bar in trim for the business of the
day.

The bar-keeper gave the stranger a look-over and said to him:--

"I guess we're too high for you."

"Well how much do you charge?"

"Six dollars."

"Yes, that's more than I can afford."

He walked on until he descried on the North River, near Washington
Market, a boarding-house so very mean and squalid that he was tempted to
go in and inquire the price of board there. The price was two dollars
and a half a week.

"Ah!" said Horace, "that sounds more like it."

In ten minutes more he was taking his breakfast at the landlord's table.
Mr. Greeley gratefully remembered this landlord, who was a friendly
Irishman by the name of McGorlick. Breakfast done, the new-comer
sallied forth in quest of work, and began by expending nearly half of
his capital in improving his wardrobe. It was a wise action. He that
goes courting should dress in his best, particularly if he courts so
capricious