The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-05-01

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MAY-DAY.-The month of May, the open
ing of spring, the harbinger of the sweet
summer time has always been held in pc
culiar reverence, and its opening days in
the Old World are still attended with
mirth and merry making. In England, the
May-polc, with its long streamers, no longer
stands upon the village green; the num-
mcrs and masqucrs no longer appear at early
morn, prepared to make the wclkin ring
with Joyous shouts: no maiden fair is
chosen Queen of the May" welding her
brief authority with all the innocent arch
ness of the child and the finished CO.
quctry of the woman; there is no longer
the vigorous country dance to conclude
the evenings sports, while the tiagons of
humming brown ale pass from hand to
hand yet May-day is still remembered,
although its observance has passed from the
fresh smiling country village to the dull
and smoky town.
Traditions and customs, in this respect
at least, have not become hOn0red by age,
and that day which was once celebrated
with innocent fun and frolic is now devoted
to the annual gathering of the worshipful
craft of chimncy-SwecperS 4 wicker
frame, covered with green leaves and
crowned with wreath of flowers, is borne
through the streets, and by it marches the
May Queen" with flushed face and lccr-
ing eye, dressed in tawdry spangled mus
lin, wearing hat Of doubtful shape, and
bearing in her hand Il braZcn ladlc, whose
only purpose seems to be to receive the
falling halEpcncc of the gaping crowd.
Near the "Quccn" struts the Lord " of
the day, dressed in faded regimcntals, and
wearing a cooked hat with Il noddng, limp
looking plume, and around the "Quecn y
and her "IOrd !" CirculatcS the clown,
whose place it is to joke and jest, and
Black Sarah," man in woman'S garb,
who is the chosen butt and target for the
ridiculc and practical Jokes Of all the rest
of the company. Through the streets march
the motley crew, stopping at the street
corners to collect subscriptions, and finally
returning at night to their homes in tot
tcring, staggering condition, induced by
other causes than the excitement and heat
of the weather. So have times changed
50 are the old manners gone. The month
of Nav is also the time at which the meet
ingS of the religious bodies, the Mission
AIRY, Bible. and other societies, are held ;
and then in London may be seen al influx
of country clcrgymcn and unprotected tc-
males, who at no other season honor the
great metropolis with their presence.
In Catholic countries the month of May
is known as the month of Mary" and
during its continuance, special religious
services, blended with devotional hymns,
are offered daily in the churches in honor
OF the Madonna. The atarS, the massive
| columns. and the statues, arc wrcathcd III
flowers, and that period which is the first
assurance of peace and prosperity is fifty
dedicated to that virgin lady who was the
Mother of Him by whom the spring time
Of redemption was hcraldcd To the world.
/ In the Southern States, and indeed III
the North before the war, May-day was
accompanied by May sports, in imitation ot
the old English customs, and the crowning
OF the "Quccn of the May" and its attend
ant amuSemcntS was eagerly welcomed and
looked forward to by the little folks. In
the North, moreover, May was the carnival
time of the apostles of abolition. Then
/ they trothcd and tctcd at their ease, theI
they planned and Schcmcd, and laid NJ
that store Of invective and Slander which
! at last resulted, as they had hoped, in !
( terrible and disastrous conflict. But now
all this is past, and the apostles "f aboli
tion must seek Il new sensation.
~ 1 ~ ,.,N 'iT
ginia that fair May-timc, twelve months
ago, when the green trees which encircl,
our capitol were grimcd and blackcned
with smoke and dust; when the yerdan
carpet OF the Capitol Square was burned
and criSpcd by falling cindcrS; when the
taircst portions of this city were smoking
/ in dcsolatc ruins May-day will rccal
those who died in the last hours of the
war, spared the knowledge of blighted
hopes and ruined fortunes: and it will re.
call that day of doubt and dread when oul
lives, our dear ones, our all, save honor
seemed lost forever.
Again the trees are mantlcd in ruStlin9
green, the flowers are opening their petals
upon the graves of our dead heroes bloom
the blossoms of hope and promise, ant
growth of luXuriant replation which kindl,
hides the shattered caisSon, the broker
sabre, and the scattered relics of the tallel
soldier So, in all our desolation must w
hope that our miserable, comfortlcSs win
ter of life will soon pass away, and tina
the time may come ere long when the pas
will be hidden, if not torgottcn-whcn TIN
wounds in our bosoms may be healed
though the deep scar may remain-when
in the mercy of Providence, we may b
delivered from injury and calumny, tha
there may be the spring of hope and pcac
in our hearts as there is now the spring o
Natures purity and beauty throughou
this deSolatcd land.
Big CROwD-MAN IN LUCK.-PasSin
along the north bank of the Basin ycStcr
day afternoon, our attention was attracted
:, n lnrrn nrnNyI assembled nt the cOrnp