The banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1844-1847, 1846-05-06
(FoR THE BANNER.)
MAY DAY.

With its light fingers full of leaves and
flowers,
And with it comes the thirst to be away,
Wasting in wood paths its voluptuous
hours"
The month of flowers, poetry and
love, the sweet merry month of May is
here. The dark, cold days of winter
are gone, and we have in their place,
days as soft and bright and balmy, as
zephyrs and sunshine can make them.
The spirits, after having been as it
were frozen and congealed by winter,
are now turned loose and set at ram
bling. The gay prospect of fields and
meadows, with the courtships of the
birds in every bush, naturally unbend
the mind, and soften it to pleasure, and
along with this delightful season-this
carnival Of nature-the first Of May
-" comes thirst to be away,
WastI"J in woodpaths it's voluptuous
And ace 'rdingly, in obedience to this
instinct within, and this universal invi-
tation of nature without, the good peo-
pie of Abbeville, and the ladies in par
ticular, rose at an earlier hour this
morning than usual-their slumbers no
doubt having been disturbed by visions
of rural retreats, sylvan solitudes, bub-
bling streams" Mercedes of the strand"
and all the dramatis persona" of spEN-
GERS fairy Queen.
The sun though lately shorn of his
locks by "huge eclipse" and but yes
terday obscured by clouds and rain, as
if conscious of his power and Importance
upon this occasion, and anxious to re-
trieve his tarnished brightness, rose with
a majesty, and shone with splendor
unusual even with himself
About 9 o'clock: quite a cavalcade
was prepared for the long anticipated
epic nic," which the young ladies of,he
Abbeville Female Institute had so ge-
nerously suggested. Quite display of
female beauty from the village, yes, and
from the country too, (for the young la
dies from favored us with their
attendance,) was seen vending to the
far-famed retreat, the rural resort of a
former occasion, well known in the
District as CALHouN's creek.
We are upon the banks, and every
countenance is lit up with a Joyous
smile preparatory for the occasion, indi
eating that the object of their meeting,
pleasure and pleasure alone, was lurk-
ing unrestrained within their fervent
bosoms. The parties commenced with
feverish desire the "modus operandi"
of hooking mimners'' from the stream.
This sport continued with unalloyed
pleasure until the announcement of
dinner time" was given, when the
Gro ID returned to their, carriages fully
sati" ed with their success.
About 2 o'clock, the cloth was spread
upon the green, and the substantiais
and sweetmeats that was placed before
us, language would fail me to describe :;
but the recollection Oft by those, whose
good fortune it was to enjoy it, will re-
dound in continued praise of the gene
rosity and taste of those good matrons
that were present, and those that assist
ed in preparing that magnificent and
glorious feast Suffice it by saying that
the savory viands and agreeable flavors,
cannot possibly have been surpassed on
any former occasion. After this treat
was past we then returned to the car
riages and spent a few hours in social
"cha chot;;" after which, the day being
far spent, the parties dispersed and re-
turned to the village in gavetv and