The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-04-21
HE LOST CHILD.
80, Eddy, form, rly Of Newark, N.

'
i, dill, thu; juv with the emotions towards
those who remained in the fathers house.
these who had not wandered and "needed
no repentance"
1t surely could not be that Heeven of
purity loved one sinner more than ninety
and n'ne toiiing, struggling, faithful Chris
tains. Tha. was impossible. The children
Of God arc precious in his sight. He has
told us that "the righteous is more ex
vrIlent than his neighbor." But it is pos.
sihlc that the All Merciiul. who pleads
with siuners {" to be reconci'ed," that the
kind Shepard who goes afar over desert
aud mountain after the ono wandering
sheep, shall feel for the imperilled a solici
'uy not felt for those in safety, and that
ITS deliverance from imminent peril shall
cause n thrill Of joy such as is no. occa-
stoned by contemplation Of the already
saved. One almost gone is saved. One
poised upon the crumbling bank of the
river is rescued.
meaning such ~ never before. We can
SEE how there is joy, deep and thrilling over
.hs wanderers return, such III not, and can
,lu, l.. tci, over those who have "not been
from honl.,," aal vet how love for the lat
;cr ma, h. none the less te,uler and endur
ry. Monday evening, Of last week, after \
hard days work, VIC left tie Office and star.
ted homcward In the room below We
found Mrs. E. in waiting, and together we
started up Sate-st. About half way. we
me, our Oldest son, and saw that lie had
some tidings Of evil. He could only say,
Little Ramv is lost, and we cannot find
him anywhere" The little one is the lamb
OF our fold, IL bright-eyed boy between two
and three years Of age, with fair hair hang
ing in sunny ringle,s Dear child-his
little feet always patter on the hall when
We ring the bell at noor, his arms have
always "a hug" and his rosy lips kiss
for papa.
We hastened home and ascertained that
he had been gone nearly An hour. The
Immediate neighborhood had been search
ell in vain. We startel ins,antly-the
streets, alleys. &c, within reach, traversad,
but no ,idings Night was at hand. and
evidently our child was beyond our neigh
borho"i, aud that cold nisht was lost in
the midst Of this great Babel.
No,ire WAS sent /" he ice station and
to som" OF tito '.'trrt""s na''ng service
that evening. y 'r.c"d procured the crier.
We bad often heard t!..,, bell. and the cry
Of 'o,t child hu: never f,.i, III. tones So sadly
:, We heard them hat ni.h:, M lie crel,
T. Luo. chii,!a little boy, not three years
i. -: from ! l2 L ana Place, bare headed,
:. -: .iry !,':, - I'll red dress, stockings
snl t'lie :: ;'p',s" @ those cries We
have n-a..' I,"'n "r-r since. Kind friends
came - cIr sd, Strangers came with tear.
IN. svm;.:s,hy; rar;es were formed, who
pur,ic.i tie s,rec;s and alleys in all di-
REGIONS, but came back with the sad word,
" No tidings.'
The hours wore on, and near midnight
the search Was given up for the night.
Dear reader, may you never pass night
of such suspense! We sat by the fire, and
now our hearts would bound as footsteps
neareJ our gate. Perhaps it is some one
from the police station with our child. No,
the steps sound on. Our door is passed
We did pray, we did commit our child
tn the All Father, and that alone sustained
lis. But we could not shut out the vision
which crowded upon us unbiden. Now
we imagined we heard his wall above the
moaning Of the tempest and signing of the
waves now we saw him lying upon the
cold ground, those locks frozen to the
earth; then again we saw him caught in
the net work Of railroads on Clarke.street,
and crushed to q shapelcss mass.
Slowly passed the honrs. Will daylight
never comet It. came at last. Ere we be-
gan our search agan. we wert into the break
fast room. anil there, lying upon the sew
Ing macll- WAS nj, itlls hat. We turned
from II. ami III the corner stood his rocking
hr"se. with Ieins drawn over his head, Just
IN !-e left it; while on the table WAS his
plate, with his high chair beside it. Up to
that moment we maintained our frmness.
but We could no longer.
Friends came into assist US. God bless
them. Never did we need them more
never did we appreciate them more highly.
The authorities placed the police at our
service, 10 make the search thorough.
Sill no tidings. Nearly eighteen hours
had passed, each hope had been crushed,
and the prospect grew darker.
At this juncture came q German to the
house, and said that If our child was the
one described In the morning papers, he
WIS safe and he would bring him. We
d;d mt soa hin, onl m Ioa.,: H.