My work pleased the captain so well that he told me if I desired I
could continue working for a small amount per day. This I was very
glad to do. I continued working on this vessel for a number of days.
After buying food with the small wages I received there was not much
left to add to the amount I must get to pay my way to Hampton. In
order to economize in every way possible, so as to be sure to reach
Hampton in a reasonable time, I continued to sleep under the same
sidewalk that gave me shelter the first night I was in Richmond. . . .
When I had saved what I considered enough money with which to reach
Hampton, I thanked the captain of the vessel for his kindness, and
started again. Without any unusual occurrence I reached Hampton, with
a surplus of exactly fifty cents with which to begin my education, To
me it had been a long, eventful journey; but the first sight of the
large, three-story brick school building seemed to have rewarded me for
all that I had undergone in order to reach the place. . . .
It seemed to me to be the largest and most beautiful building I had
ever seen. The sight of it seemed to give me new life. I felt that a
new kind of existence had now begun--that life would now have a new
meaning.
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