ill between the
lower and upper town, when we heard an unusual noise and bustle; and on
reaching the summit, we saw a crowd assembled before the door of Justice
Bonner's house. Upon going to see what was the matter, we found that the
mob consisted of the better class of people in Natchez, both women and
men, but especially the former. Every face wore an expression of
interest and anxiety; and upon making enquiry, we learned that the
child-stealer had been at length discovered--or rather, that a man had
been taken up on strong suspicion of his having stolen Mr Clarke's son,
of Hampstead county. I was heartily rejoiced at the news and endeavoured
to press forward through the throng, in hopes of hearing some
particulars; but the crowd was so dense that it was impossible to get
through. I stood there for nearly two hours, the concourse all the while
increasing, none stirring from the places they occupied, while every
adjacent window was filled with eager, anxious faces.

At last the door opened, and the prisoner, guarded by two constables,
and followed by the sheriff, came out of the house, and took the
direction of the town prison. "That is he!" whispered the women to one
another, with pale faces and trembling voices, clasping their children
tighter, as though fearful they would be snatched from them. The
countenance of the culprit was the most repulsive I had ever seen--a
mixture of brutal obstinacy and low cunning, with a sort of sneering,
grinning, expression. His small green-grey eyes were fixed upon the
ground; but as he passed through the lane opened by the crowd, he from
time to time partially raised them, and threw sidelong and malicious
glances at the bystanders. He was rather above the middle height, his
complexion of a dirty greyish colour, his cheeks hollow, his lips
remarkably thick and coarse, his whole appearance in the highest degree
wild and disgusting. His dress consisted of an old worn-out blue frock,
trousers of the same colour, a high-crowned shabby hat, and tattered
shoes. The impression which his appearance made might be read in the
pale faces of the spectators. They gazed after him with a sort of
hopeless look as he walked away. "If that is the man who stole the
child," murmured several, "there is no hope. The boy is lost!" I
extricated myself from the throng, and hastened to Justice Bonner, with
whom I was acquainted, and who gave me the following particulars.

About four weeks after our excursion