She had written him about the
enthusiasm displayed by every one over his achievements, and how proud
she was of what he had accomplished. "I think I am the proudest mother
in the country," she wrote one day, and this sentence made Archie very
happy, of course, and more anxious than ever to return home. He
received a letter, too, from Jack Sullivan, telling him how much the
boys all thought of his success, and how every member of the Hut Club
had longed time and again to be with him. "It all reads just like some
book," Jack wrote, "and we are dying to have you come home and tell us
all about it." Then his mother sent him clippings from the town
papers, eulogising his efforts, and calling him the "coming man of the
State." All this was very pleasant and very encouraging, and Archie
couldn't help having a kindly feeling for the townsfolk who thought so
much of him.
New York was as delightful as ever. It was now the last of April, and
the trees were all green with fresh leaves, and the numerous little
parks scattered over the city were looking their very best. The
asphalt pavements looked clean and elegant when Archie thought of some
other streets he had seen, and the tall office buildings lifted their
ornate domes and cupolas into a sky of clear blue. "Surely," he
thought to himself, "this is the most charming city in all the world."
Fifth Avenue, with its crowds of fashionable folk, and its throng of
vehicles, was a delight of which he never tired, and when he went into
the Bowery, just to see how things were looking now, he found it quite
as interesting and as dirty as in the fall.
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