ear of thankfulness. Such, indeed,
had been the sufferings of the younger children, although the greatest
sacrifices had been made by their parents in order to provide them with
the food so necessary to their existence, that Helen had frequently
poured forth her heartfelt thanksgivings to her Heavenly Father, that
He had seen fit to remove her gentle and idolized Ludovico from a scene
of so much distress; and had called him away to a land where want, as
well as sorrow, is unknown, in a manner, and at a time, which allowed
her to ensure his ease and comfort to the last. To have seen her
darling pine for food, which she could not procure for him--to have
watched that fondly-cherished child sinking into his grave from the
actual want of proper nourishment, and to know that in the land they
had abandoned all that was needed to prolong his precious life was
teeming in profusion--would, she weakly thought, have been more than
her faith could have endured. But Helen erred in that doubting thought.
She was a _Christian:_ and had her Lord and Savior seen fit thus to try
her, He would also have given her grace to meet the trial as a
_Christian;_ for His promise to each one of His people is sure: 'As thy
day is, so shall thy strength be.'

Edith, her only remaining child, was strong and energetic in mind and
body; and she was no burden to her mother. Cheerfully she had borne her
share of privation; and, uncomplainingly, she had assisted Helen and
Janet in seeking for roots and berries hour after hour in the forest,
when no other food was to be obtained. Now, on this day of fasting and
prayer, she stood beside her mother and Rodolph, and lifted up her
young voice in prayer for heavenly succor, and in praise, when the
first signal of coming aid was seen in the crimson west.

The whole congregation had risen from their posture of supplication,
and were gazing with deep interest and emotion at the gathering clouds,
when they were startled at observing a large party of Indians emerging
from the thicket below, and advancing towards the palisade that formed
their outer fortification. At first they imagined them to be a hostile
body of Narragansetts, or Pequodees, who had discovered the manner in
which that day was being spent among the pale-faces, and had resolved
upon breaking the recently-formed treaty, and attempting their
destruction while they were thus assembled together and unarmed. But
these apprehensions were soon removed by