MAY. 
Hail, beauteous May ! thou dost inspire 
Mirth and youth and warm desire ; 
Woods and groves are of thy dressing, 
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. 
Thus we salute thee with our early song, 
And welcome thee, and wish thee long. 
Milton. 
Jimp AY ! charming May ! gay in all thy beauty, with 
the health, wealth, joyfulness, and youth of the 
year ; fresh with the fragrance of the hawthorn, 
the violet and primrose, and other vernal shrubs and 
flowers. “ Lo ! the Winter is past, the rain is over 
and gone ; the flowers appear on the earth, the time 
of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the 
turtle is heard in our land.” There is now a rich 
greenness in the leaf of the young corn and grass, and 
in the young leaves and buds of the trees, bursting 
into youthful beauty. May is described as “a beauti¬ 
ful maiden, clothed in sunshine, and scattering flowers 
