everybody like this for?"

"I wasn't 'keeping away' that I know of," he said. "There are times when
a fellow's glad to get a quiet moment to himself, that's all."

"Perhaps," she said, "I know the _real_ reason why you've been so mopy
lately."

"What do you mean, Mater?" he asked. "You haven't----?"

"My dear Clarence, do you think I can't see that you've never got over
your fondness for little Miss Heritage? I can't bear to see you looking
so unhappy, and I've come to think that I may have been wrong in keeping
her out of your way. So--and this is what I came to tell you--if you
feel that she is necessary to your happiness, I shall not oppose you any
longer--and I will see that your father doesn't."

"I wish you'd said so before, Mater!" he replied. "The Governor's been
at me to propose to old Goldenenbergenland's daughter, but I had to tell
him I couldn't take it on."

"Of course not, dear, I'm told she's hideous. While Miss Heritage, at
all events----"

"But she's engaged to Mirliflor! Lucky chap he is to get her, too. _I_
might have once, perhaps--if I'd had the pluck!"

"You may get her _still_, dear boy," said his fond Mother. "You see, she
doesn't know who Mirliflor _is_ yet--she thinks he's a student or
something, pretending to be a gardener. Well, she's much too clever a
little person not to get out of such an engagement as that if she knew
she could be the Crown Princess." Which was no more than Queen Selina
actually believed. "Trust me, Clarence," she concluded, "you've only to
ask."

"I dare say you're right, Mater," he said, "only the worst of it is I'm
not _free_ to ask her."

"Not free? What do you mean?"

"I didn't like to tell you before," he said, "but--well, I--I've gone
and got engaged to someone else."

"Engaged! Who to?" demanded the Queen, in her own English. "If it's
anyone in my Court----!"

"It's no one _you_ know, Mater. But she's all _right_, you know. At
least, she's a King's daughter of sorts. Her Father's King of the
Crystal Lake."

"The Crystal Lake!" cried Queen Selina. "You--you wretched boy! Don't
tell me you're engaged to--to a _Water-nixie_!"

"Well, I suppose that's what it _amounts_ to," he said. "I never
_wanted_ to be. I met her when I was fishing there. She came up out of
the water, and we got talking and that, and I told her who I was. And
after that, whenever I got to the lake, she was always popping up. I
thought she was rather a jolly sort of girl if she