ur very true
friend,

"FRANK WHITNEY."

Dick read this letter with much satisfaction. It is always pleasant
to be remembered, and Dick had so few friends that it was more to
him than to boys who are better provided. Again, he felt a new sense
of importance in having a letter addressed to him. It was the first
letter he had ever received. If it had been sent to him a year
before, he would not have been able to read it. But now, thanks to
Fosdick's instructions, he could not only read writing, but he could
write a very good hand himself.

There was one passage in the letter which pleased Dick. It was where
Frank said that if he had the money he would pay for his education
himself.

"He's a tip-top feller," said Dick. "I wish I could see him ag'in."

There were two reasons why Dick would like to have seen Frank. One
was, the natural pleasure he would have in meeting a friend; but he
felt also that he would like to have Frank witness the improvement
he had made in his studies and mode of life.

"He'd find me a little more 'spectable than when he first saw me,"
thought Dick.

Dick had by this time got up to Printing House Square. Standing on
Spruce Street, near the "Tribune" office, was his old enemy, Micky
Maguire.

It has already been said that Micky felt a natural enmity towards
those in his own condition in life who wore better clothes than
himself. For the last nine months, Dick's neat appearance had
excited the ire of the young Philistine. To appear in neat attire
and with a clean face Micky felt was a piece of presumption, and an
assumption of superiority on the part of our hero, and he termed it
"tryin' to be a swell."

Now his astonished eyes rested on Dick in his ancient attire, which
was very similar to his own. It was a moment of triumph to him. He
felt that "pride had had a fall," and he could not forbear reminding
Dick of it.

"Them's nice clo'es you've got on," said he, sarcastically, as Dick
came up.

"Yes," said Dick, promptly. "I've been employin' your tailor. If my
face was only dirty we'd be taken for twin brothers."

"So you've give up tryin' to be a swell?"

"Only for this partic'lar occasion," said Dick. "I wanted to make a
fashionable call, so I put on my regimentals."

"I don't b'lieve you've got any better clo'es," said Micky.

"All right," said Dick, "I won't charge you nothin' for what you
believe."

Here a customer presented himself for Micky, and Dick went back to
his