thless anxiety; he was about to rush to the crib, at the
risk of his life, to carry off the child, when the tiger sprung forward.
Alas! It is too late, and the savage beast will destroy it; but no,
the tiger expects to join combat with its rival, and with a loud crash
the mirror is dashed into a thousand fragments. The animal, frightened
by the unexpected event and the wounds it received, without an attempt
to commit further injury, turned round and leaped out of the open window
by which it had entered. A few springs carried it to the outer wall,
which, though of great height, it surmounted, and before pursuit could
be made it escaped. The noise aroused the whole household, who came
rushing into the apartment from all sides, while Mrs Clayton clasped
the still sleeping child in her arms, to assure herself that it was
unharmed. Surely this was one of those evident inter-positions of
Providence which occur to most of us, but are seldom acknowledged in a
proper spirit of gratitude. It is another of the many signal proofs I
have had to convince me that God is everywhere. This escape of their
darling endeared little Eva still more, if possible, to her kind
guardians. I ought to have said that both they and Sir Charles had
taken every measure in their power to discover our relations and
friends, but that hitherto they had totally failed in the search. Most
certainly they would have made the discovery with deep regret had it
tended to deprive them of us; but still this sense of right prompted
them to spare no expense or trouble for that object. Sir Charles drew
up a circular, addressed to the consuls, Lloyd's agents, and others, at
all the ports from which the ship could have sailed, to have carried us
to the neighbourhood of where we were found; but though several were
missing, and were supposed to have been lost about that time, there were
no proofs forthcoming that we had been on board one of them. Now and
then our friends fancied that they had found the clue to our identity;
but either the children inquired after were subsequently discovered, or
it was proved that we could not possibly be them. Thus year after year
passed away, and I was entirely dependent on Sir Charles, while my
sister was in every respect the adopted child of Major and Mrs Clayton.
Little Eva, from a sickly infant, had become a very beautiful child;
but at the time of which I am speaking she was remarkably small for her
age, so that she looked