should be married to the first Prince, or other
suitable candidate, who arrived on that day. And even the Philosopher
might take his chance of being the first, if he were then in a position
to support the Princess in the luxury to which she had been accustomed.

[Illustration: "DO YOU THINK THE PHILOSOPHER WILL FIND THE STONE?" SHE
ASKED OF THE ELDEST LADY-IN-WAITING.]

As for the Princess herself, what did she think of it all? No one knew,
for she did not say. She sat at her palace window, and looked out over
the distant mountains, and dreamed of her wedding day.

"Do you think the Philosopher will find the Stone?" she asked of the
Eldest Lady-in-Waiting, who was in attendance.

"We may well hope so, your Royal Highness," said the Eldest Lady. "He is
a great man and wise. I hear, too, that he had been walking only a short
distance from the castle when he lost the Stone. It can hardly fail to
be found very soon."

The Princess sat still and looked over toward the mountains.

"Do you think the Philosopher will find the Stone?" she asked presently
of the Youngest and Favorite Lady-in-Waiting.

"Alas! your Royal Highness, I fear it is not likely," said the Favorite
Lady. "All the Sea-people have been searching day and night, I hear, and
nothing has been heard of it yet."

The Princess smiled. She still sat and smiled when the Favorite Lady
wrapped a cloak about herself, and took a letter that lay by the
Princess's hand. Then, without permission or instruction, she set out
toward the mountains. The Princess rested her elbows on the
window-ledge, and watched her out of sight, and perhaps wondered who
would be the earliest to arrive, and so fill the place of bridegroom, on
her wedding-day.

And all this time, as the Lady-in-Waiting had said, the Sea-people had
been searching day and night.

The Mer-babies and the little Sea-gulls were quite neglected, and did
no lessons; for every one was too busy to attend to them. They played
about and romped on the shore when they grew tired of hunting for the
Philosopher's Stone. The Sea-gulls had told the land-birds, who were
searching the woods and the fields, while the fresh-water fish knew of
it from their relatives in the sea, and they were searching the lakes
and the rivers. Then the Sea-gulls determined to consult the Great
Albatross of the Southern Seas, the King among all sea-fowl. They
arrived one sunny morning, and found him expecting them, for he had
heard what h