IRature IRotes: 
Zhc Selbome Society's ai>aoa3ine 
No. 29. 
MAY, 1892. 
VoL. III. 
A LETTER ABOUT OLD MAY DAY. 
Abbotsbury, Dorsetshire, 
May 14, 1889. 
Y DEAR EtTIE, 
I want to tell you about something pretty that 
was done here by the village children yesterday, and 
which pleased me very much. While I was getting 
my breakfast, I saw some little girls on the other side of the 
street with what looked like a large ring of flowers, which they 
were carrying between them. I thought that it was a wreath 
which they were taking to the churchyard to lay on, perhaps, 
a sister’s grave. But my landlady told me that at Abbotsbury 
the 13th of May was always a holiday, and was called “Gar- 
land Day,” and that it was the children’s pleasure-day of all 
the year. 
The people of Abbotsbury own ten or eleven fishing boats, 
that is, some of the people do. With these they go out on the 
sea in the proper season — now is the very time for it — to catch 
mackerel, and in that way they get part of their living. 
On Garland Day the children belonging to each boat get up 
very early in the morning and make up a large framework of 
wire or sticks in whatever shape they like best. Then they tie 
beautiful flowers all around the frame until they completely 
cover it, and so have a splendid show of gillyflowers and tulips 
and other richly-coloured blossoms, mixed of course with white 
ones, making a sort of picture. Yesterday most of the picture- 
shapes were like crowns, very large and handsome ones, or 
something of that kind, but one was meant to represent “ Little 
Bo-Peep.” The idea of “ Little Bo-Peep ” was got from a pretty 
piece of play-acting some of the children had performed at the 
school a few nights before. 
When all are ready the boys and girls — not the very big 
