68 
LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
ing, “every man, except impediment, would 
walk into the sweet meadows and green woods, 
there to rejoice their spirits with the beauty and 
savour of sweet flowers, and with the harmony 
of birds praising God in their kind.” People 
of all ranks joined in this recreation. King 
Henry VIII. rode a-maying from Greenwich to 
Shooter’s Hill, with his queen Katherine, accom¬ 
panied by many lords and ladies. 
In the country, the juvenile part of both 
sexes were accustomed to rise soon after mid¬ 
night, and walk to some neighbouring wood, 
accompanied with music and the blowing of 
horns; there they would break branches from 
the trees and adorn them with nosegays and 
crowns of flowers. This done, they returned 
homeward about sunrise with their booty, and 
decorated their doors and windows with the 
flowery spoil. The after-part of the day was 
chiefly spent in dancing round a tall pole, called 
a May-pole; which, being placed in a conve¬ 
nient part of the village, stood there, conse¬ 
crated as it were to the goddess of flowers, 
without suffering the least violation during the 
whole year. 
