On the last day of their residence in Milan, the family were finishing their letters and other small occupations, when the under-butler requested to speak with Mr. Darcy urgently; the steward’s boy was nowhere to be found! Mr. Darcy immediately thought of despatching Mr. Harmon in search of the boy, but then recollected that not one of their servants spoke Italian; Georgiana’s French maid, Adèle, might be intelligible to the Italians, but was more likely to get lost herself than assist anyone else in being found. Consequently, Darcy determined to go himself, and asked Georgiana if she would accompany Mr. Harmon so that they could expand their search in a shorter period of time. He found her in her apartment, looking vacantly out of the window with a book on her lap; but, upon his application, she was very willing to assist. In the space of two hours, the boy returned alone, relating that he had lost his way in walking about the town; it had grown dark, and he was unable to remember the name of the hôtel. He had been walking about for over an hour, not knowing which was the right way back again, was become bewildered, and could see no familiar-looking landmark to guide his path home. He had tried speaking with innumerable passers-by, who alternately stared or laughed at his language and pointed at him. He had then found himself the object of a small crowd, entirely surrounded by Milanese, making great sport of his distress. He was grown very frightened; when, at length, an older gentleman had approached asking, in English, if the boy needed assistance. Strangely, he had been walking within a few streets of the hôtel all along. Mr. Darcy returned sometime thereafter, having had no success, just ahead of Mr. Harmon and Miss Darcy—all very pleased to see the young man safe and returned to them. Without further incident, the party met their horses and baggage the next morning, and continued on the north-east post road to Caravaggio en route to Venice.

CHAP. 12.