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