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THE LOST ONE. 



A " Live-oaker" employed on the St John's River, in East Florida, 

 left his cabin, situated on the banks of that stream, and, with his axe on 

 his shoulder, proceeded towards the swamp in which he had several times 

 before plied his trade of felling and squaring the giant trees that afford 

 the most valuable timber for naval architecture and other purposes. 



At the season which is the best for this kind of labour, heavy fogs not 

 unfrequently cover the country, so as to render it difficult for one to see far- 

 ther than thirty or forty yards in any direction. The woods, too, present 

 so little variety, that every tree seems the mere counterpart of every other ; 

 and the grass, when it has not been burnt, is so tall that a man of ordinary 

 stature cannot see over it, whence it is necessary for him to proceed with 

 great caution, lest he should unwittingly deviate from the ill-defined trail 

 which he follows. To increase the difficulty, several trails often meet, in 

 which case, unless the explorer be perfectly acquainted with the neighbour- 

 hood, it would be well for hiin to lie down, and wait until the fog should 

 disperse. Under such circumstances, the best woodsmen are not unfre- 

 quently bewildered for a while ; and I well remember that such an oc- 

 currence happened to myself, at a time when I had imprudently ventured 

 to pursue a wounded quadruped, which led me some distance from the 

 track. 



The live-oaker had been jogging onwards for several hours, and be- 

 came aware that he must have travelled considerably more than the dis- 

 tance between his cabin and the " hummock"" which he desired to reach. 

 To his alarm, at the moment when the fog dispersed, he saw the sun at its 

 meridian height, and could not recognise a single object around him. 



Young, healthy, and active, he imagined that he had walked with 

 more than usual speed, and had passed the place to which he was bound. 

 He accordingly turned his back upon the sun, and pursued a different 

 route, guided by a small trail. Time passed, and the sun headed his 

 course : he saw it gradually descend in the west •, but all around him con- 

 tinued as if enveloped with mystery. The huge grey trees spread their 

 giant boughs over him, the rank grass extended on all sides, not a living 

 being crossed his path, all was silent and still, and the scene was like a 

 dull and dreary dream of the land of oblivion. He wandered like a for- 



