Evening journal., 1914-05-04
ALL CITY WENT
A-NAYINC sunday
Thousands OF Grown Ups
and Children Seek Parks
and Suburbs
ALL NATURE IN
HER SPRING GARB
W. won't a.MayIng yesterdag.

We went a-Maying yesterday.
Thousands Of grown-nps and children
opened their eyes upon morning Of
sunshine and, hardening to the cali OF
springtime, went out to get acquainted
with the trees and the flowers and the
birds, the running streams. the green
grass and the inarticulate voice Of ma
ture, which il telling in its own way,
Just now, the wonders of growing
things
There was witchery about the day
that swept aside artidcialities and made
folks glad 10 get close to Mother Earth.
Sedate fathers, nneles and grandfathers,
unashamed, carried punches of wild
flowers pluclSed from wooded holIows
and arranged without regard to such
things as length Of stems OF harmony
of colors. Tattered urchins forgot their
ordinary disdain for nonessentials and
sturazesl tightly whiting windaowers
and bluets without knowing theiu
names.
Thousands in Park.
Naturally, the chief rendezvous Of
these ephcmeral nature worshipers was
brandywine Park. Little girls, dressed
IN summery garments of stiflly starched
whitenesa, with much ribbon done into
huge butterfly bows" played on the
grass beside unafraid squirrels and
pluelxed the feathery seed-balls OF dan~
dellons, with which TO tell their for-
tunes. Boys, more venturesome, iour-
ncyed TO the "zoo," The ducSpond and
then beyond, into the wooded knolls
where nature has not been so deftly
comhed and clipped and trained. And
there they found violets and ragged
robins and scraggly trees Of cerese red
bud.
But the grown-ups, for the most
part, sat on the benches, content 10
absorb the sunshine that played with
the shadows on the grass, 10 watch
the young folks and TO take note OF the
beauty of the park, as it stretched
away in wonderful vistas, with beds
Of pansies and towering shrubs re-
Iieving the general tone OF green
There were surprising number OF
straw hats on the heads of the men,
but the Brightness was in the gowns
Of the women; the prevailing shades
were green aud blue, which chanced
to match with nice harmony the deli
cate tInts Of the new leaves OF maple.
aspin and horse chestnut trees and
the azure OF the sky and Of the
lake.
0f course, the other parks Of the
city also had their throngs, for on
such q day none stayed indoors will
ingly. And there was not a wor
shipper at the shrine Of May who did
not feel strengthened after the rite,
Yet those who oontented themselves
with visits td the parks found no
such enjoyment as the city folks who
went into the country. These dis
covered more wild flowers, heard
more bird songs and had the pleasure
Of wandering along ways far from
the ken Of the landscape gardener.
And In the country the dogwood bloa@
SONS and redbud we're on every hand,
ready TO be broken Off in great
lunches with no blueclad policemen
10 say nay And hidden In many a
thicket aud tree fork we're cunning
ly contriyed nests of catbird, robin,
bluebird and sparrow, with eggs
colored more daintily than even the
flowers.
II was not warm at any time during
the day. AT sunrise the thermo-
meter stood at SO, and by noon the
mercury had climbed 10 only go; but
the sky was kind, the clouds were
only wisps Of snowy Vapor and the
sun shone all day long, until It went
down IN sea Of gold and crimson.