Ragged Dick

Frank learns that Dick became an orphan at the age of three, left in the care of the poor landlord where his family had boarded. By age seven, Dick was on his own, trying to sell newspapers. On a slow day for sales, Dick invented a sensational headline that Queen Victoria had been assassinated. The papers sold quickly, but Dick felt ashamed for lying. Frank tells Dick that it was not right what he did, even though many newsboys did it. Dick knows what it is like to feel hungry and cold, but he never stole anything, although he has been tempted. At a bakery, Dick was starving, yet resisted stealing a loaf of bread. He was glad that he did not take the bread because the baker then asked him to go on an errand for ten cents.

When Dick tried to sell matches for a living, a rich woman bargained so fiercely with him that he made no profit. Dick cannot understand why more prosperous people do not assist the poor who want to earn: “If I was rich I’d try to help ‘em along” (87). Frank relates another inspiring tale about the millionaire storeowner, A.T. Stewart, who started as a teacher but “determined in the beginning, that he would be strictly honorable in all his dealings, and never overreach anyone for the sake of making money” (88).