ance for him in the
"general store" close at hand, perhaps in some nearby town he can learn
the rudiments of business--of stock, of book-keeping, of attending to
customers--for his keep. Then if he is a wide-awake boy, and determined
to try his fortunes in a big city, he will perhaps make friends, in so
far as he can properly, with the salesmen of the large city commission
and jobbing houses who sell goods to his employer. Many of these
salesmen are very influential men in the houses where they are employed;
some of them are men who find it more profitable to sell goods on
commission than to accept partnerships in the firms for which they work.
I have known of several boys who have attracted the attention of New
York salesmen by their bright and attractive manners, and by their
evident knowledge of their business, and have secured employment in New
York through their influence. This, however, is not a way that it would
be safe for a boy to count on. It is only the exceptional boy who will
get to New York in this way.

Sometimes a boy's employer may help him to get a place in New York, if
he likes the boy, and has influence with some of the big wholesale
establishments, or the boy may have personal or family friends whose
influence may secure him the coveted place. This is the age of the
summer boarder, and the country boy may be so fortunate as to be thrown
every summer into acquaintance with city people who, if they become
interested enough, may help him in his ambitions. But, after all, few
country boys can command enough influence to get places in the city. The
country boy, then, must go to New York armed with the best
recommendations that he can obtain from his former employers, and with
as much experience as possible. He must also have personal letters from
his father or other guardian, and from the pastor of the church which he
attends, and perhaps one from his last school teacher as to his mental
progress and attainments. Not every business man would ask to see all of
these, but it is best to be fully prepared.

If he have some friend to whose house he can go, he will be more
fortunate than most boys who come to New York, but he should at least
have some known objective point to which to go on his arrival. If there
is no friend to whose house he can go, at least temporarily, until he
can find a suitable boarding-house, he should endeavor to secure through
trustworthy friends the address of some such house, and,