The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-13

lity of the day that they must needs
come in advance, even before the
horses which dragged the maypole.
Six of them there were so bedeck ed
with ribbons and green garlands that
/ marveled they could see the road
and were not wild with fear But
they seemed TO enter into the spirit of
it all and stepped highly and daintily
with proud archings of neeks and toss
ings of green plumed heads, and be-
hind them the maypole rasped and
/ bumped and grated, the trunk of a
mighty oak yet bristling with green,
like the stubble of a shaggy beard of
| virility.
And after the maypole came surely
the queerest company of morris dane
ers that ever the world saw, except
those of which l have heard tell which
danced in Herefordshire in the reign OF
| King James, those being composed of
ten men whose ages made up the sum
of twelve hundred years. These, while
| not so ancient as that, were still OF
! the oldest men to be come at who
could move without crutches and
whose estate was not of too much dig
nifty for such sports.
And Maid Marion was the oldest
and smallest of them all, riding her
hobby horse. dressed in a yellow petit
| coat and a crimson stomacher, with
| great wig Of yellow fax hanging down
under her gilt crown, and a painted
mask to hide her white beard. And
after Maid Marion came dancing, with
stiff struts and gambols. old men as
10
lands of peach blossoms on their gray
| heads, bearing gadsticks of peeled will
low boughs wound with cowsiips and
ringing bells and blowing horns with
all their might And after them troop
ed young men and maids, all finging
their heels aloft and waving with
green and flowers and shouting and
singing till it seemed the whole colony
was up and mad.
Mistress Catherine and I stood we'll
to one side to let them pass by. but
when the morris dancers reached us
and caught sight of Catherine in her
green robes standing among the green
bushes, above which her fair face
looked, half with dismay, half with a
quick leap of sympathy with the merri-
mentor there was in this girl a
strange spirit of misrule beneath all
her quiet, and I verify believe that,
had she but let loose the leash in
which she held herself, she would have
joined those dancing and singing lasses
and been outdone by none-there was
a sudden halt; then, before I knew
what was to happen, around her leap
ed laughing score OF them, shouting
that here was the true Maid Marion,
and that old John Lubberkin could
now resign his post
Then of the hobby horse they tun-
bled him, and the lads and lasses gath
cred around her, and the graybeards,
standing aloof with some chagrin,
would, I believe, in spite of me, since
they outnumbered me vastly, have
forced Catherine into that rude pa
geant as Maid Marion. But while I
was thrusting them aside, holding my
self before her as firmly as 1 might,
there came a quick clatter OF hoofs,
and Mistress Mary had dashed along
side on Merry Roger. She scattered
the merry jewellers right and left, call
ing out to her sister TO go homeward,
with a laugh. "Fie on thee. Gather
lne.~ she cried out. III thou art
abroad on May morning dressed
like the queen of it, what blame can
there be to these good folk for giving
thee thy queendom?"
Catherine did not move to go when
the people drew away from her, but
rather stood looking at them with that
lurking fire in her eyes and a flush on
her fair cheeks. Mistress Mary sat on
her horse, curbing him with her little
hand. and her golden curls foated
around her like a cloud, for she had
ridden forth without her hood on hear
ing the sound of the horns and bells,
eager to see the show like any child,
and the merrymakers stared at her.
grinnins with uncouth delight and new
er any resentment
There was that in Mary Cavendish's
look when she chose to have it SO that
could, I verify believe, have swayed
an army, so full of utter good will and
loving kindness it was, and. more than
that, of such confidence in theirs in re-
turn that it would have taken not only
knaves. but knaves with no conceit of
themselves. to have foresworn her good
opinion of them. Suddenly there rose
great shout and such a voliey of
cheering and hallooing as can come
only from English throats.
A tall lad cast a great wreath over
Mistress Mary's own head and cried
out with a shout that here, here was
Maid Marion. And scores of voices
echoed his with Maid Marion. Mar
ion," And then, to my great astonish-
ment and dismay. for man is with
no enemy so much at loss as with a
laughing one. since it wrongs his own
bravery to meet smiles with blows,
they gave forth that 1 was Robin
Hood: that the convict tutor. Harry |
Wingfeld. was Robin Hood,
1 felt myself white with wrath then |
and was for blindly wrestling with a |
great fellow who was among the fore |
most shaking with mirth, an oak |
wreath over his red curis making him |
look like satyr, when Mistress Mary |
rode between US. Back, Master Wing |
field said she. Il pray thee, stand |
back Then she looked at the folk, |
all smiles and ready understanding of /
them, until they hurrahed again and |