{"product_id":"2940013354661","title":"BEN, THE LUGGAGE BOY","description":"CHAPTER I.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINTRODUCES BEN, THE LUGGAGE BOY.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"How much yer made this mornin', Ben?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Nary red,\" answered Ben, composedly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Had yer breakfast?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Only an apple. That's all I've eaten since yesterday. It's most time\u003cbr\u003efor the train to be in from Philadelphy. I'm layin' round for a job.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first speaker was a short, freckled-faced boy, whose box strapped to\u003cbr\u003ehis back identified him at once as a street boot-black. His hair was\u003cbr\u003ered, his fingers defaced by stains of blacking, and his clothing\u003cbr\u003econstructed on the most approved system of ventilation. He appeared to\u003cbr\u003ebe about twelve years old.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe boy whom he addressed as Ben was taller, and looked older. He was\u003cbr\u003eprobably not far from sixteen. His face and hands, though browned by\u003cbr\u003eexposure to wind and weather, were several shades cleaner than those of\u003cbr\u003ehis companion. His face, too, was of a less common type. It was easy to\u003cbr\u003esee that, if he had been well dressed, he might readily have been taken\u003cbr\u003efor a gentleman's son. But in his present attire there was little chance\u003cbr\u003eof this mistake being made. His pants, marked by a green stripe, small\u003cbr\u003earound the waist and very broad at the hips, had evidently once belonged\u003cbr\u003eto a Bowery swell; for the Bowery has its swells as well as Broadway,\u003cbr\u003eits more aristocratic neighbor. The vest had been discarded as a\u003cbr\u003eneedless luxury, its place being partially supplied by a shirt of thick\u003cbr\u003ered flannel. This was covered by a frock-coat, which might once have\u003cbr\u003ebelonged to a member of the Fat Men's Association, being aldermanic in\u003cbr\u003eits proportions. Now it was fallen from its high estate, its nap and\u003cbr\u003eoriginal gloss had long departed, and it was frayed and torn in many\u003cbr\u003eplaces. But among the street-boys dress is not much regarded, and Ben\u003cbr\u003enever thought of apologizing for the defects of his wardrobe. We shall\u003cbr\u003elearn in time what were his faults and what his virtues, for I can\u003cbr\u003eassure my readers that street boys do have virtues sometimes, and when\u003cbr\u003ethey are thoroughly convinced that a questioner feels an interest in\u003cbr\u003ethem will drop the \"chaff\" in which they commonly indulge, and talk\u003cbr\u003eseriously and feelingly of their faults and hardships. Some do this for\u003cbr\u003ea purpose, no doubt, and the verdant stranger is liable to be taken in\u003cbr\u003eby assumed virtue, and waste sympathy on those who do not deserve it.\u003cbr\u003eBut there are also many boys who have good tendencies and aspirations,\u003cbr\u003eand only need to be encouraged and placed under right influences to\u003cbr\u003edevelop into worthy and respectable men.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe conversation recorded above took place at the foot of Cortlandt\u003cbr\u003eStreet, opposite the ferry wharf. It was nearly time for the train, and\u003cbr\u003ethere was the usual scene of confusion. Express wagons, hacks, boys,\u003cbr\u003elaborers, were gathering, presenting a confusing medley to the eye of\u003cbr\u003eone unaccustomed to the spectacle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBen was a luggage boy, his occupation being to wait at the piers for the\u003cbr\u003earrival of steamboats, or at the railway stations, on the chance of\u003cbr\u003egetting a carpet-bag or valise to carry. His business was a precarious\u003cbr\u003eone. Sometimes he was lucky, sometimes unlucky. When he was flush, he\u003cbr\u003etreated himself to a \"square meal,\" and finished up the day at Tony\u003cbr\u003ePastor's, or the Old Bowery, where from his seat in the pit he indulged\u003cbr\u003ein independent criticism of the acting, as he leaned back in his seat\u003cbr\u003eand munched peanuts, throwing the shells about carelessly.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47069966860528,"sku":"2940013354661","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013354661_p0.jpg?v=1763591380","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013354661","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}