Timothys Quest

Ƞ
Timothy's Quest

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Timothy's Quest, by Kate Douglas Wiggin This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Timothy's Quest A Story for Anybody, Young or Old, Who Cares to Read It
Author: Kate Douglas Wiggin
Release Date: June 7, 2006 [EBook #18531]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TIMOTHY'S QUEST ***

Produced by Bruce Albrecht, Janet Blenkinship and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project)

By Mrs. Wiggin.
THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL. Illustrated. Square 12mo, boards, 50 cents.
THE STORY OF PATSY, Illustrated. Square 12mo, boards, 60 cents.
A SUMMER IN A CA?ON. A California Story. Illustrated. New Edition. 16mo, $1.25.
TIMOTHY'S QUEST. A Story for Anybody, Young or Old, who cares to read it. 16mo, $1.00.
THE STORY HOUR. A Book for the Home and Kindergarten. By Mrs. Wiggin and Nora A. Smith. Illustrated. 16mo, $1.00.
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS. A Book of Nursery Logic. 16mo, $1.00.
A CATHEDRAL COURTSHIP, and PENELOPE'S ENGLISH EXPERIENCES. Illustrated. 16mo, $1.00.
POLLY OLIVER'S PROBLEM. Illustrated, 16mo, $1.00.
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

TIMOTHY'S QUEST
A STORY FOR ANYBODY, YOUNG OR OLD, WHO CARES TO READ IT
BY
KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN
AUTHOR OF "BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL," "THE STORY OF PATSY," "A SUMMER IN A CA?ON," ETC.
[Illustration: The Riverside Press logo.]
BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY The Riverside Press, Cambridge 1894

Copyright, 1890,
BY KATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN
All rights reserved.
THIRTY-SEVENTH THOUSAND
The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.

To
NORA
DEAREST SISTER, STERNEST CRITIC,
BEST FRIEND.

CONTENTS.
SCENE I. PAGE
FLOSSY MORRISON LEARNS THE SECRET OF DEATH WITHOUT EVER HAVING LEARNED THE SECRET OF LIFE 7
SCENE II.
LITTLE TIMOTHY JESSUP ASSUMES PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES 17
SCENE III.
TIMOTHY PLANS A CAMPAIGN, AND PROVIDENCE MATERIALLY ASSISTS IN CARRYING IT OUT, OR VICE VERSA 26
SCENE IV.
JABE SLOCUM ASSUMES THE R?LE OF GUARDIAN ANGEL 39
SCENE V.
TIMOTHY FINDS A HOUSE IN WHICH HE THINKS A BABY IS NEEDED, BUT THE INMATES DO NOT ENTIRELY AGREE WITH HIM 51
SCENE VI.
TIMOTHY, LADY GAY, AND RAGS PROVE FAITHFUL TO EACH OTHER 63
SCENE VII.
MISTRESS AND MAID FIND TO THEIR AMAZEMENT THAT A CHILD, MORE THAN ALL OTHER GIFTS, BRINGS HOPE WITH IT, AND FORWARD LOOKING THOUGHTS 74
SCENE VIII.
JABE AND SAMANTHA EXCHANGE HOSTILITIES, AND THE FORMER SAYS A GOOD WORD FOR THE LITTLE WANDERERS 87
SCENE IX.
"NOW THE END OF THE COMMANDMENT IS CHARITY, OUT OF A PURE HEART" 100
SCENE X.
AUNT HITTY COMES TO "MAKE OVER," AND SUPPLIES BACK NUMBERS TO ALL THE VILLAGE HISTORIES 112
SCENE XI.
MISS VILDA DECIDES THAT TWO IS ONE TOO MANY, AND TIMOTHY BREAKS A HUMMING-BIRD'S EGG 126
SCENE XII.
LYDDY PETTIGROVE'S FUNERAL 143
SCENE XIII.
PLEASANT RIVER IS BAPTIZED WITH THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION 152
SCENE XIV.
TIMOTHY JESSUP RUNS AWAY A SECOND TIME, AND, LIKE OTHER BLESSINGS, BRIGHTENS AS HE TAKES HIS FLIGHT 166
SCENE XV.
LIKE ALL DOGS IN FICTION, THE FAITHFUL RAGS GUIDES MISS VILDA TO HIS LITTLE MASTER 179
SCENE XVI.
TIMOTHY'S QUEST IS ENDED, AND SAMANTHA SAYS, "COME ALONG, DAVE" 189

TIMOTHY'S QUEST.

SCENE I.
Number Three, Minerva Court. First floor front.
FLOSSY MORRISON LEARNS THE SECRET OF DEATH WITHOUT EVER HAVING LEARNED THE SECRET OF LIFE.
Minerva Court! Veil thy face, O Goddess of Wisdom, for never, surely, was thy fair name so ill bestowed as when it was applied to this most dreary place!
It was a little less than street, a little more than alley, and its only possible claim to decency came from comparison with the busier thoroughfare out of which it opened. This was so much fouler, with its dirt and noise, its stands of refuse fruit and vegetables, its dingy shops and all the miserable traffic that the place engendered, its rickety doorways blocked with lounging men, its Blowsabellas leaning on the window-sills, that the Court seemed by contrast a most desirable and retired place of residence.
But it was a dismal spot, nevertheless, with not even an air of faded gentility to recommend it. It seemed to have no better days behind it, nor to hold within itself the possibility of any future improvement. It was narrow, and extended only the length of a city block, yet it was by no means wanting in many of those luxuries which mark this era of modern civilization. There were groceries, with commodious sample-rooms attached, at each corner, and a small saloon, called "The Dearest Spot" (which it undoubtedly was in more senses than one), in the basement of a house at the farther end. It was necessary, however, for the bibulous native who dwelt in the middle of the block to waste some valuable minutes in dragging himself to one of these fountains of bliss at either end; but at the time my story opens a wide-awake philanthropist was fitting