TOUR IN SKANE 265 



during, and after the service, with no procession or 

 superstitious ceremony before the images. The church 

 obtains on an average about 100 to 300 dollars, silver 

 mint, which are devoted to repairs ; otherwise it might 

 fall into decay. The poor people, in times of need, sick- 

 ness, necessity, or anxiety about relatives out at sea, do 

 this as an officium pietatis.' 



It was a picturesque sight to see all these Sk&nskt 

 bondfolk. The women wear the pretty cloth cap, mostly 

 scarlet, with a high crown, that one so often sees worn 

 in Stockholm, chiefly by servants and rnilkwomen from 

 SkSne ; or else a white cloth flowing broadly over the 

 shoulders, kept in place by a band a sort of diadem or 

 fillet round the brow. 



The May games reminded Linnaeus of the Olympic 

 and Pythic games. He had been to Ystad during^ the 

 day, but returned that same evening to Skanor. He gives 

 a full-page sketch of the elaborate maypole with its 

 yards and shrouds and flags. The youths and maidens 

 assembled in the market-place; the lads bore staves 

 and the girls flowers. They bound together the staves 

 in the form of a high mast, with a cross-piece, and in a 

 few minutes the whole pole was dressed with garlands 

 and flowers which hung down from the projecting points. 

 The maypole thus prepared was one of the most beau- 

 tiful, and was hoisted amid joyous exclamations. The 

 young people danced round it the whole night, notwith- 

 standing the rain. 



The royal fishery of Falsterbo was the chief scene of 



