the vessel in order to get money for food. The captain, a white man,
who seemed to be kind-hearted, consented. I worked long enough to earn
money for my breakfast, and it seems to me, as I remember it now, to
have been about the best breakfast that I have ever eaten.

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. I felt that I had reached the promised land, and I resolved
to let no obstacle prevent me from putting forth the highest effort to
fit myself to accomplish the most good in the world.

As soon as possible after reaching the grounds of the Hampton Institute