, in order to gather
the lovely fruit. She thought that with a bouquet of raspberries in her
hand, she could throw herself at the feet of her mother, and pray for
forgiveness. So thought she, and tore up the raspberry bushes, and new
courage and new hope revived the while in her breast. If, thought she,
she clambered only a little way higher, could she not discover where
her home was? should she not see her mother, father, sisters, nay, the
whole world? Certainly. What a bright idea it was!

With one hand full of raspberries, the other assisted her to climb; but,
ah! first one foot slipped on the dry smooth grass, and then the other.
The left hand could no longer sustain the whole weight of her body; the
right hand would not let go the raspberries. A moment of anguish, a
violent effort, and then Petrea rolled down the cliff into a thicket of
bushes and nettles, where for the present we will leave her, in order to
look after the others.

The anxiety of the mother is not to be described, as after a whole hour
spent with Jacobi and Henrik (the little Queen-bee watched over the
other children near Pan's grotto), in seeking and calling for Petrea,
all was in vain. There were many ponds in the park, and they could not
conceal from themselves that it was possible she might have fallen into
one. It was a most horrible idea for Elise, and sent an anguish like
death into her heart, as she thought of returning in the evening to her
husband with one child missing, and that one of his favourites--missing
through her own negligence. Death itself seemed to her preferable.

Breathless, and pale as a corpse, she wandered about, and more than once
was near sinking to the earth. In vain the Candidate besought her to
spare herself; to keep herself quiet, and leave all to him. In vain! She
heard him not; and restless and unhappy, she sought the child herself.
Jacobi was afraid to leave her long alone, and kept wandering near her;
whilst Henrik ran into other parts of the park, seeking about and
calling.

It was full two hours of fruitless search after the lost one, when the
Candidate had again joined the despairing mother, that at the very same
moment their glances both fell suddenly on the same object--it was
Petrea! She lay in a thicket at the foot of the hill; drops of blood
were visible on her face and dress, and a horrible necklace--a yellow
spangled snake!--glittered in the sun around her neck. She lay
motionless, and appeared as