Year: 1876

l resolved to venture. | knew my horse
and had faith in him. My wife was anx-
ious, but she trusted my judgment. A
third of the way across, the water WAS
over the hub of the wheels. A little
more and it would have reached the body
of the wagon. began to be alarmed l
feared had left the true track. Pres
emily my horse stumbled and staggered,
having evidently stepped on moving
stone. The wagon swayed and tipped,
and the food poured in upon us. My
wife slipped, and in a moment more we
we're in the water. With one hand |
grasped the harness upon the horse and
with the other held my wife. l was
thus struggling when wild cry from her
lips startled the air. Our child was wash
ed away. "Oh, my soul cannot tell
you what suffered during those mo-
ments. i could not help our darling. If
left my wife she was lost. / clung to
the horse and clung to my shrieking wife
-shrieking TO God for mercy for her
child. In the distance, upon the bosom
of the surging food could see our little
one, her white dress cleaning in the sun,
being borne swiftly away. A moment
more and | saw man plunge from the
bank into the river. l saw this much,
and then an intervening point of land
shut out the scene. The horse was now
rapidly nearing the shore, and ere long
my wife and / were on dry land with
horse and wagon. As soon as | was sure
my wife was safe | left her to care for
the horse while posted off down the riv-
er bank in quest Of the swimmer and the
child.


You may we'll understand that all
this time | was frantic. | was a ma
chine being operated upon by surging
and agonizing emotion. How long or
how far / wandered i do not know, but
at length | met man, wet and dripping,
with my darling in his arms, my darling
safe and sound. He told me that he had
caught the child within few rods Of the
falls, and that in landing he had cleared
the fatal abyss by not more than two
yards. He was young man, not more
than %, handsome and stalwart. He
said he had seen my wagon tip and was
coming TO my assistance when he saw
the child washed way. Il threw my
life into the balance" said he with genial
smile, and, thank God both the lives
were saved !"


asked him how I should ever re-
pay him. He stopped me with an i'm
ploring gesture"


I" If you talk of more pay than ] have
already received" he said, "If you can
rob me of the only solid reward | can
claim, mercy If saving the life of such
a cherub is not enough Of reward in it.
self, then hard is the heart that Graves
more. And, with moistened eyes, he
told me that he had child of his own at
home-an only child of nearly the same
age.


&c asked if he would tell me his name.
With a smile he answered that his name
did not matter--he was not sure that he
had a name. | then asked him if he
knew me. He nodded and said he
thought I might be Mr.. burlington, of
Walbr.dge. When l told him he was
correct he said he must hurry home and
with that he turned away. | was too
deeply moved to stop him, and when he
| ho1 ta1 10 s,Nin
wife with the dawnng impression that
the man might be slightly deranged -
But my darling was safe-her broad
, leecy cloak had Aoated out and kept her
head above the water-and j went on
my way rejoicing, resolved that the pre-
server of my child should not be forgot
ten.


" will not tell you of the emotion of
my wife when she held her child once
more in her arms. We reached Shireton
before night, and found comfortable
quarters ut tavern.


"On the following day Laban Sarfurt
called upon me and was about to spread
his evidence for my inspection, when
interrupted him. / told him | could not
accept his confidence until / had made
up my mind to take his case in hand.-
Something seemed to whisper that there
was danger ahead. did not feel com
Portable in that mans presence. | felt
as though he was trying to buy me. The
court would sit in four days. l told him
would give him final answer in two
days from that.


That evening l made confdant of
my wife and asked her what | should do.
If take the case, j said, Il am sure
of $1,000 She bade me do what was
right. God has been very kind to us, ,
she said, Let us look to him for guild
ance.'


After this | called on the clergyman
Of tho place, whose son had been my
classmate in college, and whom | had
once before visited. lie received me
heartily, and by and by l asked him
about William Acton. The result of all
he told me summed up in his closing
sentence" He said


I" am sure William Acton was Phil
lip Aeton's child-in fact know it--and
| think the father and mother were mar
ried. Betsy died very soon after her
child was born, and we know that Phil
lips always treated the boy as legit-
mate child and that he loved him as
such can confidently affirm"


"On the following morning, after
breakfast, as l sat by the bar-room,
saw coming from the street the man who
had saved my child. He was walking