After supper was over, I took my bundle in my hand, and strolled leisurely into a pleasant and spacious room, where a number of gentlemen--English and American--were sitting around in groups, some chatting together, and others reading the London and New York and Boston papers. Among them I recognized the face of a merchant whom I had seen several times in State Street; and slinging the strap over my shoulder in a careless, every-day sort of tone, just as any newsboy would have done at home, I went up to him and said, "Have the morning papers, Mister?--'morning papers?'--'Advertiser,' 'Journal,' 'Post,' 'Herald,' last edition,--published this morning, _only five dollars_!" Everybody in the room looked up, for I managed, as newsboys generally do, to speak loud enough to drown every other sound; but no one uttered a word. It was evident that they thought I was crazy, or something worse; and so I just cried out again, "Have the morning paper, sir?" at the same time thrusting a copy of "The Advertiser" into his hand. He looked like an "Advertiser" kind of man,--well dressed and highly respectable. Involuntarily his eye glanced at the date,--"Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1867"; and then, in an excited, quivering tone, he said, "Let me look at your other papers." There was a long table in the centre of the room, which I approached; and, slowly unfolding my bundle, I laid a few of the papers wide open in front of the gentlemen, who crowded around in the highest state of excitement. Still there was dead silence; when one of them suddenly burst out with the exclamation, "Good heavens! Here is a notice of the arrival of 'The Golconda' at New York, with a full account of the cargo, and every thing else correct. Why, this must be genuine!" One after another followed with a cry of surprise at some news which they had found; until, in a few minutes, every gentleman in the room was absorbed in reading the papers, appearing to have entirely forgotten all about me, and not caring to ask how it was that I had brought them to China in less than twenty-four hours. After I had stood there whistling carelessly as long as I thought worth while, I spoke up in a loud voice, and said, "Well, gentlemen, you seem to be enjoying the news pretty well. I hope you don't mean to forget to pay for the papers,--_only five dollars a copy_!" At this speech every one of them looked at me with a strange expression, as if they hardly knew whether I was a real human boy or something else; when the Boston gentleman said, "How on earth did you get these papers here?" To which I answered very carelessly, "I didn't get them here _on_ earth." "What do you mean?" "I will tell you what I mean, and answer your questions, after you have paid me _five dollars each; and cheap at that, considering_."