Horatio Alger 
Tom, The Bootblack or, The Road to Success 

INTRODUCING TOM, THE BOOTBLACK. How do you feel this morning, Jacob? asked a boy of fifteen, bending over an old man crouched in the corner of an upper room, in a poor tenement-house, distant less than a quarter of a mile from the New York City Hall. Weak, Tom, whined the old man, in reply. I – I ain’t got much strength. Would you like some breakfast? I – I don’t know. Breakfast costs money. Never you mind about that, Jacob. I can earn money enough for both of us. Come, now, you’d like some coffee and eggs, wouldn’t you?