We soon arrived at Family Bridge, where I had some hopes of meeting Francis, and perhaps his mother, who was beginning to walk very well; but I was disappointed--they were not there.

Yet I was not uneasy, for they were neither certain of the hour of our return, nor of the way we might take.

I expected, however, to find them in the colonnade--they were not there.

I hastily entered the house; I called aloud, "Elizabeth! Francis! where are you ?" No one answered.

A mortal terror seized me--and for a moment I could not move.
"They will be in the grotto," said Ernest.
"Or in the garden," said Fritz.
"Perhaps on the shore," cried Jack; "my mother likes to watch the waves, and Francis may be gathering shells." These were possibilities.