tremity of the ravine they could perceive that the little harbour was vacant; nor was any boat discernible upon the water, though they were aware that Amadeus often embarked from Savoy, ere the sun had tinged the highest of the distant summits. Meanwhile, his mother and sisters ran with trembling eagerness, and searched every spot where they had formerly seen him busied in naval preparations-but in vain. Here and there fragments were strewed, indicating that these had once been the scenes of his boyish toils; but now all was silent. No foot moved-no hand plied skilfully the tool. They then took the direction of the lake, stopping at every turn as they winded down the declivity, in hopes to catch the blithe song that used to an-. nounce the approach of the little navigator. Now, they called him by name, and checked their steps in breathless suspense.—They heard a note:-it was the far shepherd-boy as he cheered his flock. Now, they hastened forward, and again paused for a moment. -A sound died on the ear:-it was the

C

echo responsive from the neighbouring hill. Anon, they cast an anxious look along the water, if possibly they might descry the well-known sail; but nothing was visible save the long undulations of the lake, still darkened by the morning breeze. Their distress now became extreme. Amadeus, Amadeus,' resounded from every rock-but the voice of Amadeus was to reply no more!

By this time his father, who had reached the shore, and was flying from place to place in a state of agitation bordering on distraction (for Amadeus was his favourite child), throwing his eye along the line where the little vessel generally appeared when returning from Savoy, thought he observed the resemblance of a human figure floating on the water. His heart sunk within him at the sight. Hope, however, that last friend of the wretched, still suggested it might be something brought down by the current of the river and fain would he have believed it. But he was to be too soon undeceived. As it drifted towards him, he recognized the little sailor's hat; and a moment after,

his pale defeatured face, as the body rose upon the wave.

The melancholy event was supposed to have occurred during one of those hurricanes, which so much endanger the navigation of waters environed by high grounds; and which sometimes sweep the lake of Geneva with irresistible impetuosity, particularly the upper parts of it, from their proximity to the mountains, whose continuity is there broken by the valley which forms the bed of the Upper Rhone. It was moreover stated by the fishermen, who were quickly collected by the cries of the unhappy father, that, on the preceding evening, the heavens had suddenly overcast with clouds that presaged a storm, though none but an experienced eye could have been aware of the impending danger. A little sail, they added, had been remarked about that time near the anchorage of the river, and a woman, washing on the bank, had been startled by a shriek just as the first blast came down. When the skies cleared, nothing was to be seen; and it was con

jectured, that the boat had been upset, and all on board had perished.

From this period Albert became more thoughtful. The airy fabric of happiness he would have reared on earth had dissolved before his eyes. While the sun of prosperity shone on it, it seemed fair to view; but when the clouds of sorrow and adversity loured around it, it tottered for an instant, and then vanished for ever. He was now conscious he had been leaning on a reed for comfort, instead of deriving it from that only source whence true consolation can spring. The late tragical occurrence sunk deep into his mind; and the impression it left there, indelible as the loss he had sustained, often elicited from him the self-upbraiding sigh. He had neglected the education of his children-that portion of it more especially, which should have had a tendency to fit them for a residence in a kingdom, which flesh and blood cannot inherit.' One of them had passed into eternity-and his irrevocable sentence could now never be reversed.

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These were afflicting recollections; and they awakened in his breast the most agonizing emotions.

Henceforth, he was led to reflect on the realities of the invisible world, and was frequently heard, when alone, to cry out as with an involuntary burst of anguish ; ' Amadeus, where art thou? Where is my Amadeus? Say! Have I undone thee, my poor boy?' The Bible, thenceforward, became the companion of his solitude; and his grief began gradually to subside from the perusal of its sacred pages, as if absorbed in the glorious prospects they unfolded to his view. There, he found a balm for his wounds which the scene around him was unable to impart. Like the dew on the tender grass, it fell upon his wounded spirit. The blessing from on high was present, and he was sensible of its healing efficacy. Through it, he was taught that no incident, however trivial it may seem, can arrive without the supreme concurrence of an infinitely wise and gracious God; and that all things, untoward as they may appear to our narrow sight, work to