( 68 ) 



CHAPTER V. 



MAY. 



" Oh ! charming May ; oh ! charming May ; 

 Fresh, fair; fair and gay : 

 That com'st from thy bowers, 

 'Mid perfume and flowers, 

 Charming, charming, charming May. 

 Thou art spring with its winter's days gone by, 

 And summer without its scorching sky ; 

 The sun may be bright, the storm may be free, 

 But the tranquil beauty of May for me." 



" Oh ! charming May; oh ! charming May; 

 Fresh, fair ; fair and gay : 

 That com'st from thy bowers, 

 'Mid perfume and flowers, 

 Charming, charming, charming May. 

 There is gladness and joy in thy genial face, 

 Fit emblem of innocence, freshness and grace; 

 There is peaceful delight, to me ever dear, 

 In charming May, the green month of the year." 



The season has now commenced in earnest. The 

 insect tribes are now in full vigour, each on its mission 

 bent, whether as larvae devouring the young shoot or 

 mining the yet imperfectly developed leaf, or as the 

 perfect insect flitting about in the bright sunshine, or 

 sporting in the balmy air of the soft May evening by 

 the light of the " Ladye Moon." 



