RAGGED DICK;

OR,

STREET LIFE IN NEW YORK WITH THE BOOT-BLACKS.

BY HORATIO ALGER JR.



To Joseph W. Allen,
at whose suggestion this story was undertaken,
it is inscribed with friendly regard.



PREFACE


"Ragged Dick" was contributed as a serial story to the pages of the
Schoolmate, a well-known juvenile magazine, during the year 1867.
While in course of publication, it was received with so many
evidences of favor that it has been rewritten and considerably
enlarged, and is now presented to the public as the first volume
of a series intended to illustrate the life and experiences of the
friendless and vagrant children who are now numbered by thousands
in New York and other cities.

Several characters in the story are sketched from life. The
necessary information has been gathered mainly from personal