It was in the forenoon of a Sabbath day, when all were at church, that he knocked at the door of his paternal dwelling, but found not those whom his heart yearned to see, and his soul longed to embrace. He set out for church, prompted by his piety and his love for his parents; for great was the change that had taken place in his feelings since he had last been within its walls. As soon as he entered and sat down, all eyes were upon him, for such a personage, perhaps, had seldom been seen within the church at Largo. He was elegantly dressed in gold laced clothes; besides, he was a stranger, which in a country church, is matter of attention to the hearers at all times. But his manner and appearance would have attracted the notice of more observing spectators.—After remaining some time engaged in devotion, his eyes were ever turning to where his parents and brothers sat, while theirs as often met his gaze; still they did not know him. At length his mother, whose thoughts perhaps at this time wandered to her long lost son, knew him, and uttering a cry of joy, could contain herself no longer. Even in the Meeting House, she rushed to his arms, unconscious of the impropriety of her conduct, and the interruption of the service. Alexander and his friends immediately retired to his father’s house, to give free scope to their joy and congratulations. [Illustration: Church and school] A few days passed away happily in the society of his parents and friends; but from long habits, he soon felt averse to mixing in society, and was happiest when alone. Returning, therefore, frequently to Keil’s Den, a secluded and lonely valley in the neighborhood, he spent most of his time in solitary wandering and meditation; till a new object began to engross much of his attention. In his musing by the burnside, he often met a young girl, tending a single cow, the property of her parents.