THE AUNT JANE STORIES. 



V. MAY-DAY CUSTOMS. 



"And I'm to be queen o' the May, mother ; 

 I'm to be queen o' the May." 



Sang Birdie as she danced into the 

 Hbrary on the evening of April thirtieth. 



'Indeed !" exclaimed the other girls. 

 ''By whose authority do you propose to 

 ascend the throne?" 



"By virtue of inherited rights, and a 

 large endowment of beauty," she rogu- 

 ishly replied. ''By the way, let us ask 

 Aunt Jane to tell us about the old time 

 observance of May-day." 



"Agreed," cried the willing group of 

 children, both boys and girls. "Why, 

 here she comes !" 



"You are just in the nick of time, 

 Auntie," said Howard ; "we have voted 

 you historian of May-day. No doubt you 

 appreciate the dignity of such an office?" 



"To be sure I do," was the smiling 

 response. "I will 'bate no jot or tittle of 

 the truth, but tell you, as far as I am 

 able, all the former merry conceits and 

 happy customs pertaining to the day as 

 an honest historian should." 

 • "Do tell us, first of all," said Alice, "if 

 the little word 'May' means anything, for 

 it seems just the name to suit the month." 



"May comes from an old Latin word 

 which means 'to grow.' So you are right 

 in thinking the name suits the season." 



"Did the Romans have a May-day?" 

 John inquired. 



"Yes, the custom of observing the day 

 was common among the Romans. They 

 had 'Floralia,' or floral games, in honor 

 of the growing season. At one period, 

 or another, the day has been celebrated in 

 most countries, notably during the mid- 

 dle ages. France, Germany, England, 

 Ireland, and even bleak Russia formerly 

 made a custom of welcoming the spring." 



"Are there any superstitions about the 

 time as there are in connection with 

 Hallowe'en?" 



"Yes, indeed. Irish maids would not 

 venture out on the eve of May for fear 

 of tricky Brownies, who were thought to 

 have a peculiar power on that particu- 



lar night. Young girls also arose betimes 

 in the morning to get May dew in which 

 to wash their faces for the benefit of 

 their complexions." 



"Oh, Auntie," cried brown little 

 Madge, excitedly, "do you think May 

 dew really and truly would whiten me?" 



"Pshaw," said skeptical John, "early 

 rising and exercise in a dewy meadow 

 while collecting the dew might, but May 

 dew never !" 



"It was long a custom in Ireland," 

 continued Aunt Jane, "for the people to 

 assemble May first dressed in their Sun- 

 day clothes, and carrying holly bushes, 

 flags and streamers, while they made the 

 air resound with the sound of drum, fife 

 and trombone. The clown always ap- 

 peared upon the scene dressed in fan- 

 tastic garb, with a long handled mop in 

 his hand, which he would dip into pools 

 of water and sprinkle the merry crowds." 



"Good," cried John. "Bird may be 

 queen tomorrow, and I'll play 'clown.' " 



"No, you will not," cried the girls in 

 a chorus. "In America it usually rains 

 enough the first of May without any 

 assistance from a mop." 



"I do wonder," queried Alice "what 

 people did for flowers when they cele- 

 brated their Floralia? Here, at least, we 

 seldom have a spring forward enough to 

 furnish an abundance." 



"You must remember how the climate 

 differs in various countries. In England 

 there was one especial flower, the haw- 

 thorne bloom, that people went out very 

 early on May morning to gather. They 

 brought home many boughs to decorate 

 their homes, and they called this 'bring- 

 ing home the May.' " 



"What a pretty custom," exclaimed 

 Alice. "Do tell us about the English 

 May." 



"Several celebrated characters, such as 

 'Jack o' the Green,' 'Maid Marion' and 

 'Robin Hood,' were introduced into their 

 May pageant. The people erected very 

 tall May poles around which they danced. 



