remained a boy in heart and association till death, was born at
Revere, Mass., January 13, 1834.  He was the son of a clergyman; was
graduated at Harvard College in 1852, and at its Divinity School in
1860; and was pastor of the Unitarian Church at Brewster, Mass., in
1862-66. 

In the latter year he settled in New York and began drawing public
attention to the condition and needs of street boys.  He mingled with
them, gained their confidence, showed a personal concern in their
affairs, and stimulated them to honest and useful living.  With his
first story he won the hearts of all red-blooded boys everywhere, and
of the seventy or more that followed over a million copies were sold
during the author's lifetime. 

In his later life he was in appearance a short, stout, bald-headed
man, with cordial manners and whimsical views of things that amused
all who met him.  He died at Natick, Mass., July 18, 1899. 

Mr.  Alger's stories are as popular now as when first published,
because they treat of real live boys who were always up and about--