lands aiKi nosegays, brought home at 

 sunrise and placed at windows and 

 doors. 



Shakespeare speaks of the custom in 

 his play of "Henry Vlll.," and again in 

 "All 's Well that Ends Well." Few vil- 

 lages are left that keep up this ancient 

 custom, which has passed with much 

 that is poetical, and yet which would 

 appear rather unseemly to twentieth- 

 century eyes. 



In different localities different flow- 

 ers were selected as May blossoms ; 

 cowslips and primroses were favourites 

 in many places, and so were hawthorn 

 branches. In Cornwall and Devon, 

 pixie-ridden counties where so many 

 quaint superstitions had a firm sway, 

 the lilac is the May flower, and a pecu- 

 liar virtue attaches to it if gathered 

 before the sun is up and while still 

 wet with dew. 



Many uncanny fancies hover about 

 H7 



