ed her to bear her honours with becoming
dignity, and to put aside her private anxiety for the time like other
royal personages. She danced round the maypole with her court, and led
the May-Day song as gaily as if her pleasure had been quite perfect.
But it was not; for all the while she was wondering what could possibly
have become of her mother.

At last, her public duties over, the Queen found herself at liberty.
The crowd had dispersed now, and was broken up into little knots of
people chatting together and waiting for the next excitement--tea-time.

Through these Lilac passed with always the same question: "Have you seen
Mother?" Sometimes in the distance she fancied she saw a shawl of a
pattern she knew well, but having pursued it, it turned out to belong to
someone quite different. She had just made up her mind to go home, when
one of her companions ran up to her with an excited face:

"Come along," she cried; "they're just agoin' to start the races."

Lilac hesitated. "I can't," she said; "I've got to go and look after
Mother."

"Well, it'll be on your way," said the other; "and you needn't stop no
longer nor you like. Come along."

She seized Lilac's arm and they ran on together to the flat piece of
ground on the edge of the wood, where the races were to take place. The
steep side of the down descended abruptly from this, and Lilac knew that
by taking that way, which was quite an easy one to her active feet, she
could very quickly reach home. So she stayed to look first at one race
and then at another, and they all proved so amusing that the more she
saw the more she wanted to see, though she still said to herself: "I'll
go after this one." She was laughing at the struggling efforts of the
boys in a sack race, when suddenly, amidst the noise of cheers and
shouting which surrounded her, she heard her own name spoken in an
urgent entreating voice: "Lilac--Lilac White!"

"Who is it wants me!" she said, starting up and trying to force her way
through the crowd. "I'm here; what is it?" The people stood back to
let her pass.

"It's Mrs Leigh wants you," said a woman. "She's standing back
yonder."

It was strange to see Mrs Leigh's beaming face look so grave and
troubled, and it gave Lilac a sense of fear when she reached her.

"Is Mother here, ma'am?" was her first question. "Does she want me,
please?"

Mrs Leigh did not answer quite at once, then she said very seriously:

"Your mother is a