The Westerly echo, & Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1854-1858, 1856-03-27

the child, she proposed to sell 1T to her
and Martha, innocent Of all guile, read
.ly accepted the proposal. All her little
hoard Of money was produced, the bar
gain was struck, and the two parted per-
|ectly satisfied with the transaction
The child was beautiful in its form and
features and Martha sat down with it
upon her knee, and lavished upon it all
tho endearing tenderness which her
most aifsctionate nature suggested.
In a short time the child fell asleep;
and as she sat gazing upon it, half
defined fear stole into her mind, that per-
haps she had done wrong in taking upon
her this charge unknown to her parents,
that perhaps they would be displeased
She rose up in haste and looked from
door and window for the beggar-woman,
but neither across the fields, nor down
tho valley, nor upon the distant high
ways, was she to be seen and then she
was afraid, and thought to hide the
ctill. She made it a comfortable
warm bed with blanket, in a largo
press, and kissing its sleeping eyes, and
wished that she had no fear, she left it
to its repose, and began with great anx-
iety to look out for the return of her
parents. To the old domestic she said
not one word of what she had done.
After two hours, all which time the
child had slept soundly, Walter Pixley
and lis wife returned. The good moth
er, who was accustomed to help in all
the domestic business, employed herself
in preparing the early afternoon meal,
aud Martha sat down with her parents
to partake Of it. While Walter Pixley
and his wife were in the midst of their
review of the events of the morning-of
Edward Burroughs extraordinary SER
mon, and of the concourso to whom it
was addressed, they were startlod by
what seemed to them the cry of a child.
Martha IS heart beat quick, and her sweet
face grew suddenly pale, but her parents
we're not observing her. The good
man stopped in the middle of sen
tence, and 10th he and his wife turned
their heads towards the part Of tho
house whence the sound proceeded, lis
tened for second or two, and then, all
being again still, without rcmarking
upon what they supposed was fancy,
they went on again with their conver-
sation. Again cry louder and more
determined was heard, and again they
paused. Surely said the wife, that
as the voice Of a young child
The critical moment was now come
---concealment was no longer possible /;
and Marlha's affection mastering her
fear, as the infant continued to cry she
darted from the table and exclaimed, a.,
Yes, yes, it is my child = and the
next moment was heard audibly sooth-
ing her little charge, in the chamber
above, with all the tenderness Of the
fondest mother.
NJ. Pixley was soon at her daughters
side, full of the most inconceivablc as
tonishment, and demanded from her
whence tho child had come, or how it
had been consigned to her charge
Martha related the story with perfect
honesty The old domestic was then
summond, she knew nothing of the af-
fair They were not long deliberations
that followed. The family could not
conscientiously burden themselves with
another dependent, and one Especially
who had no natural claim upon them,
in these pcrilous and anxious times,
when they could not even insure securi-
ty for themselves and besides this,
how did they know but this very cir
cumstanco might be made, in some way
or other, a cause Of offence or Of per-
secution-for the world looked with
jealous and suspicious eyes upon the
poor Quakors. Father Pixley, there
fore, soon determined what he had to
do in the aftsrnoon--to make the cir
cumstanccs known at the next village !;
to inquire after the woman, who, no
doubt, had been seen either before or
after parting with the child and also
TO state the Who'll Q affair to the nearest
justice of the peace.
Within an hour, therefore, after the
discovery Of the child, the good man