A NIGHT IN THE WOODS..

WILLIAM was the son of a clergyman in the country. At the time when he was eight or nine years old, his father was very ill, and the care of the family and the education of the children rested for the time entirely upon his mother, who was fortunately a woman of very superior understanding, and consequently well fitted for the task.

It was in the month of November that he one

day obtained leave of his father to go and pay a visit at his uncle's house, at a few miles distance. He had a donkey, of which he was very fond. The poor animal was a great favourite with all his brothers and sisters; and though they had often the pleasure of riding it by turns, yet it was never ill-used by any of them, but led a comfortable and happy life.

Well, upon this donkey little William rode when he went to visit his uncle: it was a fine autumnal day, and he had a delightful ride. The chief part of the road was cut through a wood, and William amused himself as he went along in watching the squirrels, which were jumping about in the branches.

When William arrived at his uncle's, he found a large party of boys and girls, beside his cousins, waiting his arrival; and the day passed so quickly,

(as happy days are apt to do,) that it was much later than William was aware of before he mounted his donkey again, and set off upon his return.

His mother, who had been taken up by her attendance upon her husband all day, as soon as she saw the sun declining, began to look out for her little boy; and as he was not yet arrived, she put on her hat and shawl, and went out to meet him. She walked some little distance, but as she could not see him she was obliged to return, as she feared her husband would miss her, and inquire into the cause of her unusual absence; and she could not bear to make him uneasy about William, because the least anxiety of mind would have endangered his life.

It now grew darker and darker, and yet little William did not return; and his mother, who began to be alarmed lest some accident should have befallen him, sent off a servant on horseback to meet him, with orders that he should go on to her brother's house, unless he met little William on the road.

She waited a tedious hour without any relief to her suspense, and at the end of that time the servant returned, and said that Master William had set off two hours ago, and ought to have been at home long before. This intelligence, of course, doubled the alarm of his mother, who now sent every servant out in search of him; and at the

same time that she felt herself almost distracted by apprehension, she still concealed it from her husband, and suffered the shutters to be shut, and the candles to be brought in, as usual; but hour after hour passed, and he was not to be found.

Bed-time arrived, and William's mother, having seen every thing done that was in her power to provide for his safety, resolutely determined, for fear of alarming her husband, to go to bed as usual, though she was herself much too unhappy to sleep for a moment.

All this time poor William had lost his way in the wood. He knew the road very well by daylight; but the sun was setting when he left his uncle's, and by the time he got into the middle of the wood it was quite dark; and having taken a wrong turning, he soon found himself in a sort of wilderness, where, though he could just get on through the underwood with much difficulty, yet nothing like the right road could he find. He tried first going a little to the left, and then a little to the right, and then he got off and led his donkey backwards and forwards, still expecting to get back into the road; but instead of this, he only ran up against a great tree, or fell over an old stump of one, or tore his legs in the brambles. So at last he was obliged to give it up, and then he began to feel very much frightened. He was frightened for himself, when he thought of staying alone all

night in the wood; but he was not a selfish child, he did not think only of his own distress; the thoughts of his mother and his poor father came into his mind, and putting his hands before his face, he burst into tears.

After wandering came to an open

In a very little while, however, he recovered himself, and drying his eyes, determined to make another attempt to find his way on. This was quite as unsuccessful as before. about for a long time, he at last place in the wood: here he stopped, and tried to rally his spirits, by thinking of all the most entertaining things he had ever heard or read of. "Now," thought he, "if I was a wild man of the woods, I should live all my life in such a place as this or if I was Robin Hood, I should take up my quarters here with Little John, and call to my merry-men all' to come and feast with me. But I have neither merry-men to call, nor feast to eat, and it begins to be very, very cold," said he, shuddering from head to foot, and feeling that these fanciful thoughts were not sufficient to entertain him now. 66 Perhaps I shall die before the night is over," thought he, as the wind whistled mournfully amongst the trees, and the dry leaves pattered down at his feet. "I shall die with cold, and my poor donkey, too, will be starved to death. My father and mother will never see me again: and perhaps they will never know what is become

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of

poor William! And what will become of me if I die?"

This awful question, which seldom occurs in full force to so young a mind, carried his thoughts immediately to God, and he knelt down and said. his prayers. William had often prayed before, but never with such sincerity and fervour as now. No human being ever addressed himself to God, in spirit and in truth, without finding comfort and support, let his situation be ever so forlorn and desolate; and little William arose from his knees cheered and animated.

As he raised his eyes towards heaven, he saw the twinkling stars, which now appeared in the sky; and as they shone through the dark branches of the trees, he recollected the pious instructions of his good father; and many of the lessons which his mother had taught him, came into his mind, and brought support and comfort with them. He thought of the great and good God who is equally present everywhere, who, "neither slumbers nor sleeps," and to whom "the night is as clear as the day." He repeated the lines he had learned,

"My noon-day walks he shall attend,

And all my midnight hours defend."

While he was engaged in these comforting meditations, he heard a noise at a little distance; he listened, and thought it was only the wind