Produced by David Edwards, Paul Clark and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Transcriber's Note: Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation. Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. Bold text has been marked with =equals signs=. [Illustration: cover] Number One. MY MOTHER'S GOLD RING. FOUNDED ON FACT. Eighth Edition. Boston: PUBLISHED BY FORD AND DAMRELL. 1833. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1833, by FORD AND DAMRELL, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. TO THE READER. This is the first of a series of stories, of which it possibly may be the beginning and the end. The incident, which is the foundation of the following tale, was communicated to the writer, by a valued friend, as a fact, with the name of the principal character. Another friend, to whom the manuscript was given, perceiving some advantage in its publication, has thought proper to give it to the world, as Number One; from which I infer, that I am expected to write a Number Two. The hint may be worth taking, at some leisure moment. In the mean time, pray read Number One: it can do you no harm: there is nothing "_sectarian_" about it. When you have read it, if, among all your connexions and friends, you can think of none, whom its perusal may possibly benefit--and it will be strange if you cannot--do me the favor to present it to the first little boy that you meet. He will, no doubt, take it home to his mother or his father. If you will not do this, throw it in the street, as near to some dram-seller's door, as you ever venture to go: let it take the course of the flying seed, which God is pleased to entrust to the keeping of the winds: it may yet spring up and bear fruit, if such be the will of Him, who giveth the increase. THE GOLD RING.