No person was too high for Edward's boyish approach; President
Garfield, General Grant, General Sherman, President Hayes--all were
called upon, and all received the boy graciously and were interested in
the problem of his self-education. It was a veritable case of making
friends on every hand; friends who were to be of the greatest help and
value to the boy in his after-years, although he had no conception of
it at the time.
The Fifth Avenue Hotel, in those days the stopping-place of the
majority of the famous men and women visiting New York, represented to
the young boy who came to see these celebrities the very pinnacle of
opulence. Often while waiting to be received by some dignitary, he
wondered how one could acquire enough means to live at a place of such
luxury. The main dining-room, to the boy's mind, was an object of
special interest. He would purposely sneak up-stairs and sit on one of
the soft sofas in the foyer simply to see the well-dressed diners go in
and come out. Edward would speculate on whether the time would ever
come when he could dine in that wonderful room just once!
One evening he called, after the close of business, upon General and
Mrs.
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