word to say to other people, unless they were ag
melancholy and wretched as she herself delighted

"I am wretched enough now," thought poor
??'-eres, "to talk with this melancholy Hecate,
vere she ten times sadder than ever she was
ret."

So she stepped into the cave, and sat down
on the withered leaves by the dog-headed wo-
man's side. In all the world, since her daugh-
ter's loss, she had found no other companion.

"O Hecate," said she, "if ever you lose a
daughter, you will know what sorrow is. Tell
me, for pity's sake, have you seen my poor child
Proserpina pass by the mouth of your cavern?"

"No," answered Hecate, in a cracked voice,
and sighing betwixt every word or two; "no,
Mother Ceres, I have seen nothing of your
daughter. But my ears, you must know, are
made in such a wav, that all cries of distress and
affright, all over the world, are pretty sure to find
their way to them; and nine days ago, as I sat in
my cave, making myself very miserable, I heard
the voice of a young girl, shrieking as if in great
distress. Something terrible has happened to the

[[241]]

p240 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p241w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p242

v?