A Moonlight Boy (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1886. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XIX. THE POETRY COMPLETED. I Never knew where Mr. Couldock, the proprietor, lived, although I understood that his home was in one of the suburban towns, and that he came to the city every morning on a boat. Of course Barton knew all about him, but the rest of us were always in great wonder concerning the little proprietor, who was so mild and inoffensive that we all liked him, although we did not respect him a great deal. I used to think that Barton bullied him, for I never knew Mr. Couldock to do a thing which was satisfactory to the business manager. Occasionally a man who evidently did not live in New York called at the office, and inquired for Mr. Couldock, whereupon Barton said that he was not in, though as a matter of fact he was in the next room, and probably heard the inquiry for him. I asked Barton about it once, and he said that the men were patrons of the paper from the country, and that, as they probably imagined that Mr. Couldock was a big man, of fine address, it would not do to dispel the illusion. Mr. Couldock had no acquaintances in the city who ever called at the office, to my knowledge, and the most that I knew about him was that he lived over in the Long Island way, for he talked a good deal about a ferry which he patronized in the upper part of the city, where he occasionally met men who borrowed his money and never paid it back. Every one who came into the office was met by Barton, who disposed of them promptly and satisfactorily, and although Mr. Couldock was always expecting men of different descriptions to come in, and pay him borrowed money, no one ever came on such an errand, and the ferry had a bad reputation in the office. After the first few years of my arrival in New York, I spent all of the afternoons in the office, ..