University of South Carolina Libraries
^I raw MAI DA 1. ^^^ppestiyal up the flowers, its HSm origin and observance. May Day 4000 Year9 Ago?The mjj^m In Egypt, China, Mexico and Per> W ?Old Customs in Connection W With the Holiday. K "1 ~TOR the origiD of May Day with g Y=f its joyous associations, we are I I compelled to go back to a time g when men personified the B powers of nature and called them gods |1 and goddesses. How far back the godI dess of the flowers was adored at the Em seaton when the earth put on her H green mantle with its floral spangles IB of everv hue. we do not know, for the (earliest records speak of a spring festival as an institution already well established and even then known from more ancient times. The Egyptians / A MAY DAY IN THI made pictures of everything, ao it is not surprising that among the paintings on the walls of their catacombs there should be found some which, from the accompaniments of dowers, garlands and wreaths, are judged by the antiquarians to be of a spring festival, a feast of flowers. May Day is therefore at least 4500 years old. 11 jr < MAY DAT DANCE OF LONDON BOOTBLACKS. When traces of May Day are discovered in the earliest ages of Egypt and at the dawn of history in Greece, among the Etruscans, among the Celts of the Rhone and the Germans of the Rhine, in Scandinavia and Wales and Ireland, among the natives of the Indian Peninsula and among the Aborigines of America and Australia and New Guinea, the conclusion is safe that such a custom is of universal observance and remotest antiquity. So it may be that the Chinese are not as extravagant as they seem when they olaim that May Day originated in the Celestial Empire 90,000 years before the flood, being instituted by the never-to-be-enough-praised Empteror Chi-Whee, who was fond of flowers and employed exactly 1,000,000 men to take care of his garden. Leaving, however, the claims of the nu; Trru?? u? j?c? vxii' n ucc IU uo UOIDUUOU uy his own people, it is worth remembering that a festival, in many particulars bearing a close resemblance to our May Day, was celebrated all over Italy and the south of Europe at the beginning of the Christian era, when every one who could spare the time went into the woods and fields for a day's outing, gathered flowers and returning laid them on the altars of Flora. It is also interesting to know, that on these occasions the goddess of flowers was personated by a young tgirl, the prettiest who could be found, who, during the day, received the i homage of lier friends and 'was orowned with the spoils of the fields, a genuine Queen of the May. As cities grew, it became inconvenient to go far into the country, for the excursion ateamers and railroad trains packed full of pleasure seekers were not, and a substitute was found by bringing a tree into town, setting it in the ground in a public place, decorating it with flowers, which the country people, in the hope of gaining shekels, or oboli or denarii, or whatever other coin was legal tender for debts public and private in the neighborhood, were easily ij THE DANCE OF THE Mil induced to bring in. Time, in the |5 May pole is seen the descendant of the S green tree, and the dancing about it 1 j? in circles is explained l<y the fact that || the only way to dance around it at all m is in a circle, and also, perhaps, the 9 circle has always had a myetic signifi% canoe, being much used in charms and I. incantations. From authors of our own tongue we , may glean almost innumerable references and allusions to the pretty custom of hallowing the May Day, and we also learn that less than isuu years ago the May pole was as indispensable in every English village aa the stocks - the pillory. When the Puritans 1-nto power the May Day dancing ' iwer gathering were tabooed (joles were all cot down. But n old Oliver passed away the po-fie began to amuse themselves again, erected taller May poles than were ever known before, and danced about them harder than ever. But, as often happens in such cases, when nobody opposed the May Day and its pole, both soon fell into "innocuous desuetude," and now there is hardly a May pole to be found in all J^nglana. The custom of remembering the day, however, still survives, and little girls wearing garlands, and carrying with them a doll decorated with flowers, termed the "Lady of the May," still go about the towns on this day, pre ; DAYS OF C?3AR^ senting their doll to the passers-by as a modest hint for halfpence. It is a strange circams tanoe that the chimney sweeps and bootblacks of London should be the only people in that great metropolis who now do honor to the May Day. When Pepys was keeping his journal the whole court used to go out at sunrise to gather dowers and wash their faces in dew for good luck and looks, but the custom gradually fell in caBte until ? " " 1_ IL . nnauy it remains oniy among ine dregs of eooiety. Every May Day, however, it is religiously observed by the street boys, who, with green branches or leaves in their hands, parade to the music of a fife and drum, attended by two or three figures fantastically attired and a "jack-in-thex,"whboois indispensable to the occasion. Who the jack originally represented, or what was the significance of his presence on so joyous an occasion, can not now be ascertained, but he is always on hand, and in different countries assumes different forms. From sfreet to street goes the little procession of ragged and dirty folk, halting here and there to dance and caper about, while one of the number diligently passes the hat to collect such pennies as the spectators feel like contributing, but, poor and dingy as it may be, it is one of the survivals of the grand parades in honor of Flora, of which emperors and kings were proud to be a part. In France there are more remains of the old-time customs, and even to the present day the dance of the milkmaids marching in procession with their cows is seen in scores of villages at thin season. That the dance origi QUEEN" OF THE MAY IN* EUROPE. nated with dairy people is unquestioned, and it was probably once limited to their numbers, but now it is participated in by any young women who choose, the only requisite being that they shall wear a dairy maid's hat. When the pole was at the height of its glory in England it was also in jKMAIDS IN PROVENCE. great favor in the Low Countries, where May poles as high as the mast of a three-decker were often set up. Some, turned intg fiagstaffe, still remain, and their former use may often be ascertained from the remains of the paint with which they were formerly decorated, for the Dutch were artistic, and, besides decorating their May poles with stripes of red, white and blue, like barbers' poles, they often ornamented the top with an iron band, which, at the time of the annual festival, was covered with flowers, thus making a very presentable wreath. A fnh nnntftinin<r a t.rpfl or shrub was OC- ' ?? 0 casionally substituted for the wreath, but as the tub was hard to get up and I easy to fall down, it was not in much favor. In the quiet country districts of France, Germany and Italy there are stiil queens of the May, young girls who are on this day crowned queens of the festivities. A little floral arbor is provided, in which the queen sits in. state all day long, taking no part in the festivities ; no one speaks to her ; save a bow or courtesy in passine, no one pays her any special attention, and the situation would seem rather dreary, but the honor of the position has compensations, and at every May Day there is lively competition among the various candidate3. In many parts of Europe the May festival takes the form of games and athletic sports of various kinds. In England there were formerly the Robin Hood games among the country people, which kept alive the memory of the merry outlaw and his companions. v arious persons, aressea in cnaracter, cnaoted in an open square a pantomime representing ?ome scene chosen , from the ballads which are the principal literary survivals of the famous hunter. Every entertainment, at one time or another, has a contest in archery as a special feature, a peculiarity of the Swiss games also, which have probably inherited this part of their programme from the exploits of William Tell. It is a singular faot, as showing not only the university of the custom, but also the fact that all the varieties probably had oue origin, that many of the features of the celebration in countries very widely separated are almost identical. The Chinese, as well as the English, had a Queen of the May, while in Mexico and Peru, the crowning of a young girl with flowers at this season is a hint of the same thing. While there seems notmng so transient as a jovial custom like this, nothing is, in reality, more permanent, and the manner in which apparently frivolous and meaningless celebrations are handed down from parents to children, from race to race, constitutes one of the bonds which unite us to remote ages and countries far distant from our own. Why 1771 the nnaa<7ement was broken off. Japanese Economy, While sitting on one of the verandas of the Yaami Hotel, Kioto, one evening, writes Robert P. Porter, a Japanese gentleman said to me: "What an inconvenient man you are. Yon require so much more than we Japanese to keep you comfortable. Here, for example, you are paying $5 (silver) per day, and I am only paying 75 sen, or 40 cents of your money. I i am just as comfortable and happy as vou are. To be sure, you have tables and chairs and washstands and pitch- , ers and bedstead and sofa and goodness < knows what, in your rooms. I have nothing of tbe sort. A nice clean i tatami mat and a quilt is a good enough bed for me. Then you give so much \ more trouble at your meals with your ] tables and chairs and crockery and j glassware and knives and forks and , Bpoons and mustard and pepper pots. Ihen you are crowded together in one j room. My meals are served on a tray \ in my room by a pretty maid who kneels before me while I eat, and chats and makes herself interesting, looking after my every want at the same time. Then you cart a lot of unnecessary baggage around. The hotel furnishes me a fine Bilk dressing gown and a nice clean night robe, and I can buy a toothbrush for a sen or so. No, say what you like, you Europeans are inconvenient people." The Language of a Pet Eagle. Mr. W. Le C. Beard writes in St. Nicholas of a pet eagle named Moses, which he caught in the Arizona de- ' sert. Mr. Beard says: Moses had a language of his own, which, by the [ constant practice he gave us, we soon 1 learned to understand. It consisted of a series of cries, all harsh and y nerve-rasping, but perfectly distinct, I each one expressing a different emo- 1 tion. Thus, rage, entreaty, excite- ( ment and pleasure were each easily distinguished by those who knew him well. His one syllable note of greeting was more explosive and perhaps a ^ shade less disagreeable than the rest; ( and he had also a low, crooning sort ' of murmur ; but this he used only in soliloquy, so to use it expressed only the faot that Moses was talking over t things with himself. f A NATION OF READER!*. 1= Whir Manir A morgan IMoUSCS Now Have a Mbrary. I ] Thure may be one or two countries j whero the percentage of illiteracy is | lower than in the United States, but there is no country more deserving to PERSPECTIVE 7IEW. be called a nation of readers. The peasantry of other lands rarely make a practice oi reading ; bat in America the laborer, the artisan and the farmer are ardent readers of the daily newspapers, and often of class publications, even if they do not venture into the field of general literature. The magazines owe their enormous circulation to their widespread love of reading, there being dozens of them that sell more than a hundred thousand copies every month, thus ' proving that they must go into millions of households. Thei tremendous and ever-increasing nni/nnt nf hooks is another testimonial of the habit of the people. This growth of love for reading mast to a great extent influence their lives for the better; and although it by no '**?> v0*"* I MflltfJ ? " [ <? * I BHnpaV V?rand? I .Jl I rnisT FLOOB. means follows that a library will make readers, there can be no denying the fact that a convenient and comfortable room, with something of artistic simplicity and finish about it, set apart and dedicated as a library, encourages and fosters the habit of reading. That this is generally known and appreciated is shown bv the fact that of late years a very large proportion of the houses built contain a room Ret apart for that purpose. It is well within the memory that when a house con* tained two rooms on the first floor in addition to the dining-room, one was called "front parlor" and the other "back parlor," or, more euphoniously, perhaps, parlor and reception room. At the present time, however, one of fho vnnma in fxlmnftfc invariablv dubbed "the library," even if it has only a beggarly array of books. It is meet and fitting that the library should be a general sitting room uid the place where the best of the home life centres. Moat plans that are drawn now give the library one of the choicest locations in the honse, and full advantage is taken of this fact in the fitting and furnishing of the room. Reds and browns are the most pleasing colors, but these may be shaded to light fawn color, terra cotta, or warm yellow if necessary. There may be a panelled ceiling and hardwood floor, the latter covered with rich Oriental rugs, if means permit. Of course these are not essential ;some of the most delightful libraries have merely papered ceilings, and floors covered with cheaper carpets o"r dark mattinfs. In a new house wh?ire everything is i planned from the beginning, the problem of fitting the library is comparatively simple. Instead of movable bookcases, which are always cumbersome, low shelves should be arranged around the walls as permanent tix- i tares, or they may be carried up to the ceiling to fill odd corners. Dust | is a great enemy of books, and to keep : this out is the excuse many people give for sticking to the old-faahioned ! way of having bookcases with glass doors; bat tins ena is just as wen odtained by placing escaloped leather valances on the shelves, or hanging attractive India silk curtains in front of them. The central feature of the room 3hould be an elegant library table for books and magazines, a desk made for writing and not for mere display, one or two straight-backed chairs, several easy-chairs and a comfortable lounge. The attached plan dhows that the irohitect has provided a most attractive library, finished in cherry, wi{h Sooring of maple, the whole room ' " ' i- - xt L lending useii to iuu must musuu furnishing, and that without a great outlay of money. The arrangement and sizes of the rooms are shown by the floor plans, the width of the house being fortyf n jji *** j a*' R. | u'e'x uf |j?? *10 | >} ( i* SECOND FLOOB. | 'our feet four inches, and depth, insluding veranda, twenty-tive feet two nches. Thitj design can be built in the s ricinitj of New York for about three housand five hundred dollars, though a n many seotions of the country the 3 ;ost should be much less. ^ Copyright 1897. '3 ? v Heli Chatelain, the traveler in 6 Africa, Bays that among the '200,000,- !j! )00 of people in the Dark Continent, >0,000,000 are slaves. a M In tho fiords of the Norway coasts a he clearness of the water is wonder- , Bl. 1 RESTS ON LOVE. tfEW VIEW OF MUSIC PROPOUNDED IN GOTHAM. Foot Bicycles Are the Latest FadFifth Avenue Tea Room an Adamless Eden ? Women's Fashions. (Special New York Letter). rrom r 1 .1J T J uoi iancy sooer oiu uouauu goI ing wild over "Foot Bicycles," (yV little bicycles on the feet?and whirling in the parks at breakneok speed ! New Yorkers, of coarse, must follow sait; and a school has been opened for this latest craze. Two tiny tires are joined together and so constructed as to fit the boot or shoe firmly. The softness of the mbber and the ea6e and epeed with which one can spin along is indeed luxurious and exhilarating. This is assuredly an age where the one cry is "Time fliesand we are all chasing after it. Imagine the sensation of a modern Rip Van Winkle who had slept from a date when cable cars and bicycles, to say nothing of "wheels in the head," had not made their appearance. His cry would be, "I am not mad, but crazy." Miss Virginia Earle, the clever Molly Seamore of "The Geisha," is a d< votee of the wheel, and looks a iisiin^TT 1?4- + 1a flornna -in Ka?> jauui/jr l?bi>*v uguiw *u mv* breasted reefer aad skirt of fine serge Df a marine blue. Her favorite run is to Olaremont, adjoining the Grant monument, a spot where one may meet many well known people in kid glove Bohemia taking eleven o'clock breakfast in the glass-covered balcony overlooking the Hudson. A society leader, who recently leotured here before a distinguished company of aristocratic dames, took for her subject Mr. Krehbiel's definition of music, which asserls that "Musio is an art whioh rests on love; and that it represents pure thought, lofty imagination and deep learning." This may be true at times. But some German street band music I hear, SUIT OF SAGE GREEN "NOVELTY" CLOTH. wafted by the gentle freeze of spring through my open window, rests wholly, I should eav, on rye bread and cheese, and love has nothing whatever to do with it. ^ " Jnd then again, I do not think that Ranting ab^ut for shoes to hurl at sinffln? cats aF midn'ght is "pare thoughtalthough I allow that one may get worked up to a pitch o-f "lofty imagination" in the hope of annihilating one's neighbor's pet. But, as Rudyard Kipling would say, "that is another story," Miss Elsie De Wolfe, the society girl who joined the ranks of the theatrical profession is making, with Miss Agnes Miller, a big hit in the ridicu[oub but clever farce "Never Again." Both ladies looked very stylish as they 1'IUNGQOWN AXD "FETCHIN'O" SHORT COAT. lighted from their cabs to enter the tage door last Saturday; Miss De Volfe, tall and elegant, in a costume j f gray and brown in a pin-check, i rhich had an open fronted jacket howing a golden brown silk shirt 'aist, and wearing one of the new j Inglish walking hats with a large bow cross the front. Miss Miller was a ,o less striking figure in a handsome j uit of sage green "novelty" oloth > aade with a close-fitting Eton coat; iraided around the edges and with t three ornaments in front. A tall linenj collar and a de Joinville scarf peeped out coquetishlj* from the opening at the throat. Her stylish flaring a rasa EABLE 8 JAUNTY BICYCLE BUTT. m skirt had several rows of braid around ^ the bottom. , Not seeing the Fifth Avenue TeeBoom mentioned in the morning, af- ? ternoon and evening odition of every newspaper in town, I dropped in to see if it were still in existence. When it opened a fewk'months ago, it was given aa muoh space by oar to "new" and "old" journalism as is P ordinarily given to an international a event. This may have been out ol 61 . a ii COSTUME OP GRAY AND BROWN PIN CHECK. V9 deference to Mayor Strong, a lover ol strong tea; or because our men, like their English cousins, were actual!; going to tajie time to sip a cup oj f( Ceylon with their women friends. t? The Tea Boom is still there in all p its gilt-edged glory, with a perfume of violets and serviettes of drawn linen. But at 4 p. m., the hour 1 dropped in, it was an Adamless Eden. Maids and matrons, however, were ?] there in plenty, chatting and discuss- , ing the last debutante's tea or reception. I noticed Miss Katherine Duer, 111 considered by many to be the hand- C( somest girl in New York's smart set, at one of the tables looking radiant e< in a spring gown of a large cream and a< brown oheck. The short coat fitted ti i. it. - a. i.1*^ 1..A *?11 Tl ugnuy iu me ukurt) iu me utxja, ian- ing foosely in front, displaying a wais' b of exquisite grass linen with strips oi n embroidery. A huge brown picture ? hat shaded Miss Duer's star-like eveg, " and the soft light that oame from the w pink candles made her look still more P orientally beautiful. ? The costumes illustrated herewith fi were designed by The National Oloak Co., of New York. c? I'enusylrauia is Rich in Fur. J Dr. B. H. Warren, the Pennsylvania tl State Zoologist, shows that, notwith- w standing the great slaughter of anima) T life, the fur trade of the State is great. 01 In York County alone the fur?chieflj tl muskrata, opossums, raccoons, minke tl and foxes?last year obtained there ai sold for 820,000. In Chester County h one dealer has for several years sold si fur in New York worth from 33000 tc w 85000. In Wayne County a large sum fi is annually realized by hqafpp an<? trappers for fur^ __ h The omciaT ccunty records show ji that Jhe payment of bounties hae B grownTo be something considerable, ci Statistics from nine counties show that h during the past few years bounties d< have been paid on 16,000 foxes, 1000 k> wildcats, 1 panther, 5000 weasels, 800 te mink, 900 hawks, 2000 owls and thou- ai I sands of other animals and birds.? W New York Press. cc Trees for City Planting. DC Persons who are not members of di the Tree Planting Association may di share in its fruits. The association will mail free of charge to all those q; who may desiro to set out trees in cc New York a printed list of trees that in are recommended by experts as most | at suitable for growth in this city, to- 0f gether with a list of oity nurserymen th who will do the completed work, in* he eluding iron guards, with their chargce li^ for the same varying in price from m 89 to 820. The office of the association is at No. 66 White street. Trees a i increase the value of property, jg beautify the streets and improve mi health wherever they grow.?New he York Press. at 4 *.' ? HOUSEHOLD MATTERS. JELLY JAB COVERING. For covering tumblers of jellies and eserves, melted paraifihe is excelnt. Poar it over the perfeotly cold lly and it will form a thin crnit that clean, tasteless and dnrable. It can > taken off and used again. Mutton llow is sometimes used for the same irpose. SILVER POLISH* For an excellent silver polish that ay be kept on hand for every day e mix a few drops of ammonia with . * e common whiting used for silver, id add enough water to make it of ? ,e consistency of cream. Bottle this -1 1 Al AA?1TAA T^i?rtr? Q IU iiUOp IV bl^uvij wuinou. ? ;tle of this mixture on the polishing oth, pub the silver lightly and rinse . warm water, and the silver will be istantly brightened . and cleaned ithont the hand rubbing necessary hen polishing with the dry whiting. New York Journal. CANNING COR*. To preserve green corn by canning more difficult than the preserving of < 'A ly other vegetable. In former years, ime patents have been issued for , >me processes, and even now factories. ake something of a trade secret of ieir methods. The general princile to be observed is, that after the )rn has been removed from the cob > subject it to enough heat to destroy 1 germs, several hours being necesiry for this. After the corn has been at in the cans, these are plaoed into ? -i ??mi.. .... water or sieam utuu. iuo unu? Last be completely filled, leaving a ary small hole ia the top of the oanf le critical point being to close up lis vent by soldering so that air canot enter the can.?New England .'omestead. .Jx WASTEFUL HOUSEWIVES. Here is a list of oareleBs bits of exravagance which keep many a woman oor. They seem like insignificant ,Js tatters, bnt the snm of them ia no sail affair. Let every housewife with desire to save read, mark, learn and - : lwardly digest the list and resolve 'M ever again to be guilty of the follow* Allowing pieces of oake and bread o dry and mould and then throwing hem away. Failing to dry a box of soap for everal days before using it. Leaving dried fruits uncovered and || onsequently allowing them to beoome a rormy, , 'Using dish towels for holders, nap:ins for dieh towels and sheets for roning. Using the face of flat irons to orack ints. Cold potatoes allowed to sour. Sour milk thrown away. The kerosene can left open to erap- " irate. , Gold fish thrown away. Oheese permitted to mould. Lemons left to dry. * Fat put in earthen dishes. The mustard cruise remaining <Jpen ojty. Can goods left exposed in cans. Bread Dan left with dough sticking o it. ' 'jM Left over vegetables thrown away. Bice and eagar wasted in the handTto mnoh starch made and thrown " ( nt. Pails and waahtabs left dry to fall o pieces. ' Oliver spoons ana lor&s asea m tne iljhen. Tjn dishes improperly dried when raslied. Mops and brooms not hnng up. Tea and coffee pots neglected. Soap left in dishpans to dissolve and aste. Bits of meat thrown away. Carpet brooms used to scrub with. it Throwing away tea leaves (save them >r sweeping dark oarpets; coarse ible salt should be used for light car* eu.) TIECTPE3. Celery and Sardine SalaJ?Cat up risp, tender celery into inch lengths. ake the sardines carefully from tbe ox and pat on the oelery. Pour a layuiillttlbu UfCoaiUg v v ca. uaro vw 3ld, flat dish. ' . Vanilla Chips?Beat three whole ggs and ten oanoes of sugar together; id half a ponnd of sifted fioar and ro teaspoonfuls of vanilla. Mix well, d11 the paste ont on the molding* oard in a thin sheet, and cnt into - t ? arrow strips sis mobes long. Jjay a a greased tin, and bake carefully 1 a hot oven for ten minutes. While arm twist them around a stick or encil to give tbe chips a spiral form. !ept in a tin box they will remain esh and crisp for a long time. Graham Butter Cakes?Take two jffee cups of graham flour, one teajoonful of salt, three teaspoons mooth) of baking powder. Mix well, ' len make a very thin batter with cold ater. Have your griddle very hot. 0 he cakes will seem thin on pouring a to the griddle, but the heat makes lem swell and puff up so light that ley are delicious, so quickly made ad oue of the nicest wajs to use this ealthful food. A cup of granulated igar and three tablespoons of boiling ater niake a nioe sirup after boiling TojpSw. ( 'frig'Salaqp Place, _one gill oj: atraiq?3 oner ffiTijowl; s^ueJze over it the'' licSjjjjTwo le?ns, and sjjf tog^tKer. eat To a ,su? frpth half a prnT'^f' ream, and~s|[r this Tightly into 1fie oney. Strip the skins from two ozen ripe tut firm figs, and with a een-bladed knife divide into quarirs. Pour over them the dressing id place on ice to become cold. fhen fresh figs are not obtainable )ver dried figs with lukewarm water id allow them to soak from five to :ven hours; dry on a coarse towel, ivide into quarters; then proceed as irected above. Codfish Omelet?One largo cup lite full of freshened and well-picked ?dtish. Rub one tablespoon of butter to one of flour. Warm a cup of milk, ir into it the floured butter, a dash pepper, a little minced parsley and e fish. Toast six pieces of bread id butter while hot. Beat six eggs ;ht. Cook the milk and fish two iuutes, then add the beaten eggs. i they begin to "set" pour them into spider in which a spoonful of butter hissing. Shake well; when the t ixture begins to brown on the edges ap it on the toast and send to table cnce on a heated dieh