hering a few of his neighbors, hastened in
search of the lost child. The mother remained at home, almost
distracted with suspense. As the clouds gathered and the darkness
increased, the father and the neighbors, with highly-excited fears,
traversed the woods in all directions, and raised loud shouts to
attract the attention of the child. But their search was in vain.
They could find no traces of the wanderer; and as they stood under
the boughs of the lofty trees, and listened, that if possible they
might hear his feeble voice, no sound was borne to their ears but the
melancholy moaning of the wind as it swept through the thick branches
of the forest. The gathering clouds threatened an approaching storm,
and the deep darkness of the night had already enveloped them. It is
difficult to conceive what were the feelings of that father. And who
could imagine how deep the agony which filled the bosom of that
mother as she heard the wind, and beheld the darkness in which her
child was wandering! The search continued in vain till nine o'clock
in the evening. Then one of the party was sent back to the village to
collect the inhabitants for a more extensive search. The bell rung
the alarm, and the cry of fire resounded through the streets. It was,
however, ascertained that it was not fire which caused the alarm, but
that the bell tolled the more solemn tidings of a lost child. Every
heart sympathized in the sorrows of the distracted parents. Soon the
multitudes of the people were seen ascending the hill upon the
declivity of which the village was situated, to aid in the search.
Ere long the rain began to fall, but no tidings came back to the
village of the lost child. Hardly an eye was that night closed in
sleep, and there was not a mother who did not feel for the agonized
parents. The night passed away, and the morning dawned, and yet no
tidings came. At last those engaged in the search met together and
held a cousultation. They made arrangements for a more minute and
extended search, and agreed that in case the child was found, a gun
should be fired to give a signal to the rest of the party. As the sun
arose, the clouds were dispelled, and the whole landscape glittered
in the rays of the bright morning. But that village was deserted and
still. The stores were closed, and business was hushed. Mothers were
walking the streets with sympathising countenances and anxious
hearts. There was but one thought there--What has become of the