Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-07-31

eleQ thousands OF miles IN pursuit OF
him, and spent over 800, 900, in trying to
trace him in vain. In the first two years
alone over three hundred children, scat
tered from Maine to San Francisco, and
even in England, Scotland, Cuba, Nova
Scotia and Canada, were supposed to be
my child from the resemblance to his
pictures or the mystery surrounding
them l have often thought of the ex-
traordinary number, if girls are included,
of children about whose existence and
surroundings there is something sus-
picious."
ssHas this hunt for Charlie ever re-
suited in the return of any lost children
to their parents2"
'sYes, of number; though mine was
the first case on which ransom had been
put, other children have been stolen by
tramps to beg for them, and even in some
cases taken for personal revenge. The
most pitiful case know of was that OF
little Henry Lachmuller, of st. Louis,
who was stolen from his fathers garden
by two tramps who had a woman with
them and wanted child to beg. Mr..
Lachmuller offered large rewards, and
employed every available means to re-
cover his child, travelling all over Europe
and several times in this country, adver-
tising his loss, but in vain"
We'll, one day | received letter from
Chester, Ill. describing the tramps who
had been brutal in their treatment of a
child supposed to be Charlie, and to dis
guise him had thrown acids into his face,
badly disfguring him, dyed his hair. and
Scared his poor little body. My brother
James went on at once. and saw that it
was not our lost lamb; but the publicity
given the case by the papers reached Mr..
Lachmuller, and on the bare supposition
of its being his son he came on and
found, indeed, that it was his child.
Strangely enough, though the vii
lainous treatment he had been subjected
to he had made the boy even forget his
name and the place where he came from,
he recognized his father with scream OF
JOY.
"There have also been another class oi
cases, in which, though the proper pa
rents could not be found, the children
have been taken away from the wretches
who had them in charge and properly
taken care Of by the authorities
Eyes" continued Mr. Ross, in reply
to question, dozens of children have
looked me in the face and said their
name was Charlie Ross. In fact, that
name has become the synonym of lost
child, and it is frequently given to chill
dren in houses and asylums. Hardly
week passes without letter or clue
Of some sort being sent to me now, and,
of course, the claimants are frequent.
Why, a fortnight. ago little tramp calling
himself Charlie Ross, looked me right in
the eye, and said he remembered me
singing him to sleep with Moody and
Sankey's hymns"
Do you believe your son is living
nowi'
II do not know what to believe any
more than you do; but until know he
is dead his mother and shall watch fol
his coming" concluded Mr. Ross, with
emotion.
Six other lovely children played about
the Ross homestead, one of them fairy
girl bearing a striking likeness to hei
lost brother, but as I walked back
through the shady lanes to the station,
was struck by the fact that, though ter
summers had fed since the cruel rob
berry, not a child could be sen frolicking
on the highways.