ter. Truly, all her ways were so bright, and her
sense so keen, and her laugh so gladsome, that we never thought of such
a thing till she was long past the age when children ought to speak
freely. But when at last they began to fear the truth, it was indeed a
bitter grief to the royal parents. The Lord King offered five cloths of
gold at Saint Edward's shrine for the children, and specially for our
little Lady, in hope that the Divine mercy might be moved to have pity
on her. But it was all in vain."

Avice sighed heavily. And there was no one to say to her, O woman,
_small_ is thy faith! Was the Divine mercy no greater, which called
that little child, unspotted by the world, to tread the fair streets of
the Golden City, than the mercy thou wouldst have had instead of it?

"It was not long after that," said Avice, slowly drawing out the white
threads, "that our little Lady's health began to fail. The heats of
summer tried her sorely. She drooped like a flower that had no water.
Instead of playing with the other children, her gleeful laughter ringing
through the galleries of the Castle, she would come and draw her little
velvet stool to my side, and lay her head on my knee as if she were very
weary. And when I looked down and smiled on her, instead of smiling
back as she was wont, the great, dark wistful eyes used to look up so
sadly, as if her soul were looking out of them. Oh, it was pitiful to
read the dear eyes, when they said, `I am suffering: cannot you help
me?' And as time went on, they said it more and more. When the Lady
Queen came to Windsor, she was shocked at the sad change in our darling
little Lady. She called in Master Thomas, the King's surgeon, and he
advised that our little Lady should be removed from Windsor to some
country place, where the air was good, and where she could play about in
the fields. So she was put in charge of Emma La Despenser, Lady de
Saint John, at her manor of Swallowfield, in Berkshire. Of course I
went with her, and her cousin Alianora also, who was her favourite
playfellow, for it was not thought well she should be entirely with
older people, though I cannot say I was sorry to get rid of all those
rough boys. The Lord King also commanded that a kid should be taken in
the forest, as small and fair as might be found, for our little Lady to
play with: and very fond she was of it. It was a lovely little
creature, and grew as tame as possible. Ah, they were much al