Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1845-11-21
THE LOST CHILDREN.


Wllts SCdICGll lCSO tnlC'biNo hNN
was able to bestow. A child, in its third
summer, had been recently laid to its last
rest, beneath a turf mould under their win
dow. Its image was in the heart OF the mo-
Their, as she tenderly ministered to her hus-
band.
'sWife, / am afraid I think too mich about
poor little Thomas. y. vas so well and ro-
sy, when we left our old home, scarcely a
year since. Sometimes | feel if we had con-
tinued thefe, our darling would not have
died."
The tear which had long trembled, and
been repressed, burst forth at these Words
1t freely overlooked the trimming eyes, and
relieved the suffocating emotions which had
striven for the mastery.
"Do not reproach yourself, dear husband.
His tire had come. He is happier there than
here. Let us be thankful for those that are
spared"
alt seems to me that the little girls are
growing pale. / am afraid you conline them
too closely to this narrow house, and to the
sight of sickness. The weather is growing
settled. You had better send them out to
change the air, and run about at their will
Mary, lay the baby on the bed for me-, and
ask mother to let sister and you go out for a
ramble."
The mother assented, and the children,
who were four and six years old, departed
full of delight. A clearing had been made
in front of their habitation, and by ascending
a knoll in its vicinity, another dwelling might
be seen, environed with the dark spruce and
hemlock. In the rear of these houses was a
wide expanse of ground, interspersed with
thickets, rocky activities, and patches of for
est trees, while far away, one or two lakelets
peered up, with their blue eyes deeply firing
| oil Tho enirito nf tba nbildrap 10 thpu on
tered this unenclosed region, were like those
of the birds that surrounded them. They
playfully pursued each other with merry
laughter, and such a joyous sense of liberty
as makes the blood course lightsomely thro'
the veins.
'L.ittle Jane, let us go further than ever we
have before. We will see what lies beyond
those high hills, for it is but just past noon,
and we can get back long before supper-time.
so, yes, let us follow that bright blue bird,
and see what he is flying after. But don't
go in among those briars that tear the clothes
so, for mother has no time to mend them"
''Sister, sweet sister, here are some snow
drops in this green hollow, exactly like those
in my old, dear garden, so far away. How
pure they are, and cool, Just like the baby's
face when the wind blows on it! Father and
mother will like us to bring them some.
Filling their little aprons with the spoil,
and still searching for something new, or
beautiful, they prolonged their ramble, I'M
conscious of the flight Of time, or extent of
space they were traversing. At length adj
monished by the chillness, which often marks
the declining hours of the early days of
spring, they turned their course homeward.-
Bnt the returning clue was lost, and they
walked rapidly, only to plunge more inextri-
cably into the mazes of the wilderness.
"Sister Mary, are these pretty snow-drops
good to eat' l am so hungry, and my feet
ache, and will not CO."
"Let me lift you over this brook, little
Jane, and hold tighter by my hand, and walk
as brave as you can, that we may get home,
and help mother set the table,
"We won't go so far next time, will we!
What is the reason that l cannot see any bet
teri"
sis not that the roof of our house, dear
Jane, the thin smoke curling up among the
trees? Many times have | thought so, and
found it only a rock or a mist"
As evening drew its veil, the hapless wan
derers, bewildered, hurried to and fro, calling
for their parents, or shouting for help, until
their strength was exhausted. Torn by
brambles, and their poor feet bleeding from
the rocks that strewed their path, they sunk
down, moaning bitterly. The tears that over
power the heart of a timid child, who for the
first time finds night approaching without
shelter or protection, wrought on the youngest
to insupportable anguish. The elder filled
with sacred warmth of %sisterly affection, after
the first paroxysms of grief; seemed to for
get herself, and sitting upon the damp ground
and folding the little one in her arms, rocked
her with a gentle movement, soothing and
hushing her like a nurseling.
IInop,t n don't crv AZ deorect. eoy
your prayers, and fear will fly away"
"How can / kneel down here in the darl
woods, or say my prayers, when mother is
not by to hear mel / think / soc a large
wolf, with sharp ears, and a mouth wide
open, and hear noises, as Of many fierce lions
growing"
"Dear little Jane, do say, Sour Father who
art in heaven BE a good girl, and when we
have rested here a while, perhaps he may be
pleased to send some one to find US, and fetch
ue home."
Narrowing was the anxiety in the lowly
hut of the emigrant, when day drew towards
is close, and the children came not. Aboy,
their sole assistant in the tolls of agriculture
on his return from labor, was sent in search
of them, but in vain. AS evening drew on,
the inmates of the neighboring house, and
those of small hamlet at a considerable dis
lance, were alarmed, and associated in the
pursuit The agony of the invalid parents,
through that night, was uncomfortable; start
ing at every footstep, shaping out of every
breeze the accents of the lost ones returning,
or their cries of misery. While the morning
was yet gray, the father, NO longer to be re-
strained, and armed with supernatural
strength, went forth, amid the rawlings of his
fever, to take part in the pursuit. With fiery
cheeks, his throbbing head bound with a