1883.] 
AMERICAS' AGRICULTURIST. 
247 
-and Mamma ! It will be all right when I get back 
and tell them, but then the games and dancing 
will be over, the queen crowned and the ice-cream 
and everything eaten up.” Poor Lulu put her head 
down on the hard rock and cried as she had never 
cried before. In a few minutes, however, she was 
walking slowly towards Granny Deane’s again, 
“ My boy is dead, he’s deud. He was all I had, 
and he is gone; my poor dear boy, my Charley, my 
darling! ” 
“ But he isn’t dead ! ” cried Lulu, “ the ship isn’t 
lost—look, here is a letter for you in his own writ¬ 
ing; shall I read it to you, Granny? ” and pushing 
back a window shutter that was keeping out the 
May sunshine, the little girl opened the letter and 
read it aloud. It was short, only saying that there 
had been a mistake ; that the ship he was in had 
come safe to port, and he would be with his dear 
old grandmother the next day. 
“ Think of it, Granny—to-day, don’t you under¬ 
stand ? ” 
She understood, but for a minute she was dumb 
with joy, then with a fervent “ Heaven bless you, 
darling 1 ” she dropped her white head on the 
child’s shoulder and began to sob, and Lulu gently 
stroked the silvery hair and forgot all about the 
May-party. After a while Granny dried her eyes 
and looked round the little room. 
“Aren’t you ashamed?” said Lulu, smiling 
“such an untidy room and garden for Charley to 
come home to ! Let me help you fix them ? ” 
In another minute the two were bustling about 
at a great rate, sweeping, dusting, washing dishes, 
boys leading the white heifer who was decked out 
with wreaths of flowers. 
“The queen of May, is here to-day, 
And gives us all a holiday ! ” 
sang Lulu going towards them, but they began to 
laugh when they heard her, and one of them cried 
gaily, “ You must not sing that verse, Lulu, you 
must just step into the car and sit with hands 
folded—you’re the Queen.” 
She the queen, the Queen of May ! Was it only 
a dream or “really true and no make believe,” 
when they helped her into the seat of honor, and 
then turned the car around and set of! for the 
cedar-grove. 
She was too much astonished to speak, but her 
play mates explained everything, talking all at 
once. They had waited and waited, for her to come, 
and had played “oats, peas, beans” until they 
were tired ; and no one knew where she could be, 
but at last farmer Black came along on his way to 
the village, and said that he had passed Lulu Lane 
away up on the hill, and told why she was there. 
Then Miss Payton ordered the voting to begin at 
once. Every single child there voted for the 
same person—and Miss Payton had said Lulu Lane 
deserved it all for being so kind to a poor old 
■drying her eyes and trying not to look back at the 
scarlet ribbons floating from the May-pole. 
There were no houses on the hill, nothing but 
fields and woods, and Lulu did not meet a single 
person, except old farmer Black going to the vil¬ 
lage in his wagon. He pulled up in surprise, and 
when she told him the news exclaimed in a pleased 
tone, “ Well, I never 1 So the young fellow isn’t 
drowned at all—oh, you can’t trust those news¬ 
papers—if that don’t beat all. Well, I’m right 
glad-poor old granny! Get up, Tom,” and he 
cracked his whip and went on. 
When Lulu reached the old woman’s cottage, she 
was surprised to find the garden over-run with 
weeds, the gate wide open and everything in dis¬ 
order. In the house it was just as bad; the floor 
unswept, the fire out, the table standing with 
Granny’s untouched meal upon it—the whole place 
plainly showing that the old woman had forgotten 
all else since she was told of her grandson’s death. 
By the fire-place sat the old Granny, bent nearly 
double in her chair. She was rocking to and fro 
and making a low moaning sound, and when Lulu 
patted her shoulder and whispered that she had 
good news, Granny only moaned the more, and 
Irept repeating : 
weeding the flower-beds, dressing 
up Granny herself in a clean gown 
and apron, and when it was all 
done, Lulu started for home, leaving 
the old woman standing at the gate 
with her wrinkled.face beaming with 
smiles. 
Down the road skipped the little 
girl, stopping now and then to gather 
a flower, and only remembering her 
disappointment when she came in sight 
of the May-pole again, but this time instead of 
crying she began to sing, 
“May-day, May day brightly breaking, 
Thro’ the mists of April-showers,” 
She stopped short to look at a bird which had 
just lighted on a fence close by, and then, to her 
great surprise, she heard some voices singing the 
next lines of the May-chorus : 
“Let us from our slumbers waking, 
Welcome in your happy hours 1 ” 
How delightful! Some of the children were go¬ 
ing home that way, she would run and meet them. 
The next minute she passed the turn of the road 
and saw a group of her play-mates before her, and 
better still, there was the May-queen’s car with two 
woman—then they had got the car and heifer ready 
and come to the foot of the hill to meet the May- 
queen. The grove was crowded with mothers and 
fathers when the little procession came up, singing, 
and every one clapped hands for the Queen— 
Widow Lane, louder than the rest. Lulu was 
crowned with a wreath of May-flowers, and then 
the merry-makings began, and there never was seen 
in all the world a happier May-party than that one. 
Just as the golden sun was going down, a young 
man dashed by on horseback, waving his hat above 
his head and shouting: 
“Hurrah! Can’t stop now, children—three 
cheers for the May-queen, hip, hip, hurrah!” 
It was Granny Deane’s boy Charley. 
