Horace Greeley had always wanted to be a printer. He liked books and papers. He thought it would be a fine thing to learn to make them.
One day he heard that the news-paper at East Poult-ney wanted a boy to learn the printer’s trade. He walked many long miles to see about it. He went to see Mr. Bliss. Mr. Bliss was one of the owners of the paper. Horace found him working in his garden. Mr. Bliss looked up. He saw a big boy coming toward him. The boy had on a white felt hat with a narrow brim. It looked like a half-peck measure. His hair was white. His trousers were too short for him. All his clothes were coarse and poor. He was such a strange-looking boy, that Mr. Bliss wanted to laugh.
“I heard that you wanted a boy,” Horace said.
“Do you want to learn to print?” Mr. Bliss said.
“Yes,” said Horace.
“But a printer ought to know a good many things,” said Mr. Bliss. “Have you been to school much?”
“No,” said Horace. “I have not had much chance at school. But I have read some.”
“What have you read?” asked Mr. Bliss.
“Well, I have read some his-to-ry, and some travels, and a little of everything.”
Mr. Bliss had ex-am-ined a great many schoolteachers. He liked to puzzle teachers with hard questions. He thought he would try Horace with these. But the gawky boy answered them all. This tow-headed boy seemed to know everything.