TIMOTHY CRUMP'S WARD

CONTENTS.


I. INTRODUCES THE CRUMPS
II. THE EVENTS OF AN EVENING
III. THE LANDLORD'S VISIT
IV. THE NEW YEAR'S PRESENT
V. A LUCKY RESCUE
VI. WHAT THE ENVELOPE CONTAINED
VII. EIGHT YEARS. IDA'S PROGRESS
VIII. A STRANGE VISITOR
IX. A JOURNEY
X. UNEXPECTED QUARTERS
XI. SUSPENSE
XII. HOW IDA FARED
XIII. BAD COIN
XIV. DOUBTS AND FEARS
XV. AUNT RACHEL'S MISHAPS
XVI. THE FLOWER-GIRL
XVII. JACK OBTAINS INFORMATION
XVIII. FINESSE
XIX. CAUGHT IN A TRAP
XX. JACK IN CONFINEMENT
XXI. THE PRISONER ESCAPES
XXII. MR. JOHN SOMERVILLE
XXIII. THE LAW STEPS IN
XXIV. "THE FLOWER-GIRL"
XXV. IDA IS FOUND
XXVI. "NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND"
XXVII. CONCLUSION





TIMOTHY CRUMP'S WARD.



CHAPTER I. INTRODUCES THE CRUMPS.



IT was drawing towards the close of the last day of the year. A few
hours more, and 1836 would be no more.

It was a cold day. There was no snow on the ground, but it was frozen
into stiff ridges, making it uncomfortable to walk upon. The sun had
been out all day, but there was little heat or comfort in its bright,
but frosty beams.

The winter is a hard season for the poor. It multiplies their
necessities, while, in general, it limits their means and opportunities
of earning. The winter of 1836-37 was far from being an exception to
this rule. It was worse than usual, on account of the general stagnation
of business.

In an humble tenement, located on what was then the outskirts of New
York, though to-day a granite warehouse stands on the spot, lived
Timothy Crump, an industrious cooper. His family consisted of a wife
and one child, a boy of twelve, whose baptismal name was John, though
invariably addressed, by his companions, as Jack.

There was another member of the household who would be highly offended
if she were not introduced, in due form, to the reader. This was Miss
Rachel Crump, maiden sister of Uncle Tim, as he was usually designated.

Miss Rachel was not much like her brother, for while the latter was a
good-hearted, cheerful easy man, who was inclined to view the world in
its sunniest aspect, Rachel was cynical, and given to misanthropy. Poor
Rachel, let us not be too hard upon thy infirmities. Could we lift
the veil that hides the secrets of that virgin heart, it might be,
perchance, that we should find a hidden cause, far back in the days when
thy cheeks were rounder and thine eyes brighter, and thine aspect not
quite so frosty. Ah, faithless Harry Fletcher! thou hadst some hand in
that peevishness and repining which make Rachel Crump, and all about
her, uncomfortable. Lured away by a prettier face, you left her to pass
through life, unblessed by that love which every female heart craves,
and for which no kindred love will compensate. It was your faithlessness
that left her to walk, with repining spirit, the flinty path of the old
maid.