r search was in vain. They could find no trace 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.

4. 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 distress which filled the bosom of that mother, as she heard the
wind, and beheld the darkness in which her child was wandering!

5. The search was 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 ascertained, however,
that it was not fire which caused the alarm, but that the bell tolled the
more solemn tidings of a lost child.

6. Every heart sympathized in the sorrows of the distracted parents. Soon,
multitudes of the people were seen ascending the hill, upon the declivity
of which the village stood, 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 parents.

7. 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 consultation.
They made arrangements for a more minute 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.

8. As the sun arose, the clouds were scattered, 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 sympathizing countenances and anxious hearts.
There was but one thought in every mind: "What has become of the lost
child?"

9. All the affections and interest of the neighborhood were flowing in one
deep and broad channel toward the little wanderer. About nine in the
morning, the signal gun was fired, which announced that the child was
found; and, for a moment, how dreadful was the suspense! Was it found a
mangled corpse? or was it al