Smyrna times., 1878-05-15
May Day.
BY REV. DR.. BADGER,

Many are the varieties of springs-of
door, OF trap, of a watch, of a wagon. O
!; leeIing, OF fancy, of sui phur, soda, iron
u warm, hot, cold, and last, but not least. tn
spring OF the year, which, in this climate
though oftener cold spring than a warn
one, exceeds, in its own exhaustless variety
all the other varieties of springs.
ihey called 1t in the west of Europt
Beltane," probably a corruption of f.
HmpS-the beautiful season--and made much
OF II. Perdttd, in the " Winters Tale" l.
compared to Flora peering in Anril's
front; and it was the old goddess Flora
whose festival, which the goddess left ont
was perpetuated in Christian Europe The
people changed their faith, but thew held
10 thelr trolic, and the Church of Rome.
wiser IN some things than some of her sue.
cuSSSors and opponents, saw no good rea.
son for interfering with what, after all, was
mere matter for a May morning"
| . win the features of the time. .honored
May Day Festival in England and most
| people of any reading on this side of the
ocean are familiar. They can call up the
scene on the last night of April, when the
quaint houses of the village, standing pable
! emu to the street, are open and lit up long
before the usual hour of rising. thonoS
tnat hour itself anticipated daybreak, while
within are sounds of joyous preparation,
ana, presently, from first one, and then
another and another dwelling, floods of
iiight stream out into the dark before the
dawn, followed by laughing groups of
youths and maidens, who, forming rustic
traln' move out OF the village to strains of
tne music that an hour ago awakened
then, anu take their way toward the fields
ana the woodland where the destined NOV
SIN F1vIo
Is waiting to be drawn to its place unon Tho
green by oxen, with their honest ewes loo[,
ing in dull amazement out of wTeotbS nf
nowers. There are flowers everywhere bv !
sunrise, IN gay and sweet profusion. The |
churches are trimmed with hawthorn. eg.
lahtlne, roses, honeysucllle, daisies. lilies
vlolets ana LADY smocks all silver white.
JUST as they are trimmed with eyergreens
at CHRISTMAS; the houses are all color and
fragrance exquisite garlands wreathe the
shoulders OF the men and the fair fire.
heads and necks Of the maidens. and or,
OF that atmosphere of beauty and nerfun,o
rises the maypole, slender spire of lowars
from base to tapering point and the centre
OF attraction for the day, q lovely blue and
gold one, of course.
Chaucer's bulletin, Bright was the SIM
and clear that morwening," seems 10 stonJ
Tor all time, both before it was written and
since, as long as the sylvan sports endured
Inc CHIEF amusemcnts Of the festival ,
"hether at court, in manor hall or on vii. {
age green, were dancing aand banduetino
'hough the day was further enlivened bv
'c'0"atioI - ~ OF the queen, and the masaue
d hooln HOOD, wherein that bold forester
. . the PrlhcIpal character shared his yernal
'ate WIN MAID Marion, and was "sup. :
'orted oy Little John, Friar Tuck, and l
uch other OF his train as varying tradition Il
r invention suggested; the "hobby borsen a
ontriving frequently to get away from I
christmas, and frolic about the mavnoIo n
nth the rest. P010 t
ZONES to tear the garlands from the V
layPole, silence pipe and tabor, and scatter n
ne dancers and masquers, Bigotry in sugar. n
'at hat starched band and sad.colored b
ilment. How it ever ventured itself upon p
ne waves in vessel with so worldly and t
'rnal name as the MayAower," is in. Il
xplicable. - ~ rC
But bigotry is not to blame for the sinh. n
quent decay of May Day customs. either p
England, where public taste has CHANGED B
nee the festivities in the London streets 6'
DAY, the torchlight pageant of the ol
archlng watch at night, or in America p
here the rigor of the climate forbids a tn
'ral .Jete, over vast portion of the w
untry. '"e m
Sannazzano exclaims, in fine frenzy Of nj
'euc enjoyment OF an italian spring pc
81 dolce primayera, iornoyeIu VI
aure, o arboscelli o fresche erbette. re
piagge benedette, o COLI, o month pc
Valli, o fumi, o fonti, o verdi rivi tr'
Palme lauri, ed olive edere mirtir' sy
tn much moro to the same purnose re-
gaming thereby: Fo' =.
o thou delicious spring, We new aowers ex
airs youngling bowers, fresh thickenin0 grass Je
"u pains beneath heavens face, hill and
mountains
alleys and streams and fountains banks of oraoD III
lyrtles and palms serene, ivies and baysP hr,
:ording to the admirable translation of lig
Ugh Hunt, the Goldsmith of the nine. "I
nth century. 1w
1eranger, evidently about the frat of tro
ri, very appropriately rebukes the go'
son Tor covering the lindens in Paris &"
n leaves, and thereby yelling from him Pc
windows OF a lovely neighbor over the CHI
Y, whom be used 10 ogle while she fed ant
oirds Win crumbs OF snowy morning. cat
ina IL was iair countryman of his. ma
0. tred OF waiting in New England the
st village for the balmy spriny of IA PaI
q France, arrayed herself in her 9new fer,
ngs," saying, cheerfully, Z" If sommaire." stol
not come to me, will come TO som. stol
II, and, going out in search of it, found ant
way to her grave.
n English essayist writes thus enyiabiy S
Spring is complete. The winds have Va.
e their work. The shaken air, well the
pered and equalized, has subsidized. auc
! trees and bushes are putting forth of /
n crisp fans. The meadows are thick Coll
4 the bright young grass, running into bro
cps OF white and gold with the daisies
buttercups. The orchards announce y
r riches in shower of silver blossoms. | ma,