New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-12-21

vsuts beneath .ne tenant house, by WHICH whenever
be wanted, he cOid penetrate into the ds'k eD.res
above and possess himself Of mach valuable iniorna-
! ton, at email expense of time In eaye.-droPping.
The innocent recreation acquainted the prudent agent
betimes with the col dition Of cesponairg debtors,
ouabg him 70 detect iucipiept bankruptcy 10 season
! for his own personal security.
TIE tensnt-bOnse Itself was an interesting field OF
expiration being one Of original construction and
economical apporoI ment, "a well az wholly gulltless
II all the modern improve ments. The pr mary p0r-
tioa Of il had been used church, in times When
churches were built Of less costly materials than at
present are used; and tie copogs and clapooirds,
widowed and wOrm-eatep, viii h formed the ancient
walls, had been at@rwaTd pierced with harrow WIN
dOws and doors, and corTidOIed an" siarcased with
uniewn pine to afford meins Of climbing from base
to roof. Within, cheap floors ard c-ngs ~ nned the
wide area once occupied by pews and gallery, AID
thin partitions of panels, sths snd psst inter
Rcted each other, cutting up every available loot OF
space into narrow rooms or cells, in which humin
beicgs expected to exist, without hgnt or air,
the niggard apology for those eementl received
through camped passages and dirt-obscured case
mepts. In this COLLECTION Of wooden dens las Mr..
Peleg Ferret knew by his tenaDtbookl there dwelt
one hundred and Thirty odd families, comprising more
than four hundred individuals Of all sexes, ages and
comple xious in q attsr Of one hundred divisions, As
they might be termed, made by the board aod lath
partitions. In those 1eDs moreover, ate and drank
when they had wherewi'bl, slept l@Den the COLI or
vermn permitted, suffered, fought, reveed, bias
phemed, tOiled, prayed hopelessly AMI died year by
year, scores upon upon scores OF human beings, IN
tla gllse Ofm.n, women, hn1 chIdrcD, OF whom the
world knew nothing, through coroIers' iDquest'
polce-reports pauper statistics, and of whom Mr..
KOcpbat and Mr.. Ferret cared nothing, save to coll
lect Of them nexOraby the monthly eXtOrton of rent
In the summ,r season, when flowers bloom and har-
vests WAX golden and oTcherds rock with luX1riaut
iruitage-when the merchant leaves his ledger, the
cbanic his tnch, the student bic books to ran ont
upon the bills de and catch short breaths of heavens
air--in such baluy fragrant summer time, Peeg
Ferret could always find his wretched tenants - at
home
Al home in the sitting, noisome dwelng-deus of
kOephat Colege-at home amid injection, fever
dan y, corruptIon at hone, with blessed breeze OF
heaven, fragrance, no bloom, but only one horrible
hie-wssting maaria
But in tie Winter mouths, Peleg Ferret did not
always find his tenants a home Sometimes when
be entered that crowded tenanthouse, unwecome even
the biting wind there came no response to his de-
mand; for the fearful inmates of desolate room
had craHled out amid frost and snow, to Deg steal
appalled, at the approach of hunger and darkness.
Then Peleg would watch crafty, set his moon
faced shOpbOy as scout to Intercept the returning
wretch and caDor for the rent AT other times, the
agent would get no answer to his demand because the
lonely tenant within dead. Then Peeg would
grunble send for policeman, and calculate his profit
and lOss. But rs general thing, the grocer, as we
have ead did not lose much; for he tracked and
red his tenants TIL they feared the sound Of his creak-
ing boot He was faithful agent t1is Peleg Ferret,
and though be saw bis tenants dragging their weak
bodies TO soup houses to struggle for scanty charity
though be encountered the stairs of Koephat Col
lege hundreds Of desperate.looking peOpleean chill
dren, and hsggared-faced mothers, and pa.ied old
men Peleg failed not to collect bis rent. lie was
Yet they were not all vile and vicious who dwet in
Koepbat College. Sometmes-far up in dens under
moderiDg roof, or in canmy vaults in the horrible
baseinont-there were dwelling pure sOus and honest
hearts; pore and honest amid crime and misery
rounding them But Peeg Ferret, as faithful agent,
knew 10 difference between the good and the bad,
save the difference in rates Of the dens, which he
rented for the of four, six, and eight dollars per
mouth, respectively.
So, therefore, it was with busioess.like air tina;
bis creaking boots sounded on the thresholds of the
various doors of the eRanthouse about hour after
sunrise, and while, even, before his moonfaced clerk
had fairly removed the grocery shutters, and placed
that Intricate estabIshment in order for custom. 1t
catches the worm and in illustration Of its WISDOM
be was always "up and :ound as he expressed i' at
the earliest hour of reItday. With leather covered
book in which the immutable accounts of landlord
and tel ant were scored in guree ominous to the lat
ter when poverty pressed hard, the grocer entered
each drgy passage, assembled each narrow staircase
Knocked at each shaking door, with consciousness OF
power and determination of executing it, that none but
a faithful agent such he, could feel Then it was
that suppressed peadings might be overheard oy
listeners in Koephat Coegc-pleadogs OF distress,
cut short by abrupt rebukos and pern thrcateDings
then it was that pershipg women became faint, and
Pcleg said they were shammiIg and CHASTITY, halt
starved men told Of sickness and work and Peleg
said they were drunk and lazy.
We must make room for specimen of the pop
ulatI0n, when IS gwen In the person VI
MALLORY TIE NIsER.
Ascending to the highest dwelling floor of Kolephat
College, through narrow pine.walled passages, the
visitor would find score of small apartments sepa.
rated from the cockl bya sort Of ceiling constructed
Of hemlock boards viii. nterstlces between each,
through which not our the wind found access bu,
rain and snow. water iron the rckety shlngle roof
above. In one Of these wretched reoms lying upon
coarse bed Of straw in the corner tho morning that
succecced the great wstorn, was stretched the
,,,fa nv
some ragged undergraduates bsr head supported by
an old shirt sleeve stuffed with the damp straw OF the
pallet This womans hair was long and quite gray, |
her feature haggard ana flushed with feyer her
aims al hands were bony, ike skeleton. She |
seemed TO suffer greatly her eyes were closed, and
low means proceeded ncessaI ty from her compressed
fell with measured plssh, upon the board near the
beds foot, around which wet space appeared, ois-
colcrng the 0ii'y flooring The ceiling ana partitions
of this upper story so rotten with decay, and
perviCus TO the eemeris; that they momentiy shook
ard rsttled, es the wind rushed gibbeIing through |
each forlorn pass,ge.
There was apoher living being in this desoate ten;
aIt-room-a shiveing, puny child with scarce shred
scrotu'ous bloches. This childs yellow hair was so
tangled and matted, that it stood out In every direc-
ton from her face, begrimed with dirt and tears.
More indie ed Ike an elfsh specter than Ike human
chile did this little creature appear ne her sharp
aturts and atepuatei figure were disclosed 10 tie
morning light that struggled dimy through side win
dow the principal glass OF which had long since gwen
place 70 boards, nailed over broken panes or crushed
hats stuffed between their fragments. CrOuchng on
her knees at the Fireplace down which water mixed
with soot constantly dripping, this squalld child
eudeavored TO ignite with her feeble breath, a few
snavngs collected upon the hearth.
As the blaze flashed up, the little started, hear
ing staggering footstep without; and the next mo-
uent, tie toor burst rudely open, and drunken
man recled the threshold and fell he syiy the
straw at the foot of the sick womens bed.
90. it's father y cried the child, allowing the
fire Just kindled TO die away, while she lifted her
al, cd