John recollected, at this moment, that his kind friend the fruit-woman would be uneasy at his long stay, so he told the gentleman that he believed he ought to return to her to relieve her anxiety; but the gentleman would not hear of his leaving him, and despatched a footman to bid the fruit-woman not to feel anxious for the two children, as they were perfectly safe.

By this time the poor little Julie had quite recovered from the effects of her swoon (which was only occasioned by the sudden shock of surprise and joy in seeing her dear papa after so long a separation), and she could now sit up on the sofa, and talk with her usual sprightliness. With her eyes and lips glistening with mingled new-fallen tears and beaming smiles, and her cheek resting on her kind father's bosom, she chatted away to him with such a happy tone of voice, as made her father stop every now and then to kiss her for joy, and gave John a sensation of such proud gladness as he had never in his life felt before. "And now, my brave little fellow," said the gentleman, turning to John after his daughter had stopped speaking, "it is but fair, you, who have been so kind a protector to my poor little wandering child, should be told who she is, and indeed her whole story, which she has just been relating to me; I see you did not understand her, but you may be sure that, in the course of her tale, she did not forget to mention your kindness to her, my little friend; at any rate, her father will never forget it."

So saying, the gentleman shook John Barton very heartily by the hand, and after doing so two or three times, he continued: "Having lost my dear wife when my little Julie was very young, I was compelled to trust the child very much

to the care of servants; and one afternoon, when she was about five years old, the maid who had the charge of her returned home with the dreadful news, that, in the course of their walk, she had suddenly missed Mademoiselle Julie, and that she had searched everywhere in Paris for her, but in vain. The agony I then suffered," said the gentleman, looking affectionately at his little girl, "can only be equalled by the delight I now feel in again beholding my child, whom I have so long mourned as lost to me for ever. Her loss was so sudden and strange, as to seem almost like a dream; no trace whatever could be discovered of the cause of her removal, and after the strictest inquiry and search were made throughout Paris, I was compelled to give up my efforts for her recovery as perfectly hopeless. The cause of her extraordinary disappearance is explained by the account Julie has just given She says, That while she was walking with the servant in the gardens of the Tuilleries, she saw a very beautiful butterfly, which she begged the maid to try and catch for her, but as this latter was busily engaged in talking with some acquaintance, and did not attend to her request, she tried to run after it herself, and as she was pursuing it behind one of the many statues which adorn the gardens, a tall woman with glaring black eyes started out, caught her up in her arms, and ran off with her as quickly as possible; at the same time covering her mouth with her dirty brown hand so tightly as almost to stifle her, in order that she might not cry out for help. My poor little girl tells me, that from that day she went through the most shocking hardships; that the horrid gipsey used to beat her dreadfully, if she did not perform tasks which were much too hard for her possibly to

me.