--_Acteon and Diana_.
As I was lying in bed this morning, enjoying one of those half dreams,
half reveries, which are so pleasant in the country, when the birds
are singing about the window, and the sunbeams peeping through the
curtains, I was roused by the sound of music. On going down-stairs I
found a number of villagers, dressed in their holiday clothes, bearing
a pole ornamented with garlands and ribands, and accompanied by the
village band of music, under the direction of the tailor, the pale
fellow who plays on the clarionet. They had all sprigs of hawthorn,
or, as it is called, "the May," in their hats, and had brought green
branches and flowers to decorate the Hall door and windows. They had
come to give notice that the May-pole was reared on the green, and to
invite the household to witness the sports. The Hall, according to
custom, became a scene of hurry and delighted confusion. The servants
were all agog with May and music; and there was no keeping either the
tongues or the feet of the maids quiet, who were anticipating the
sports of the green and the evening dance.
I repaired to the village at an early hour, to enjoy the merrymaking.
The morning was pure and sunny, such as a May morning is always
described.
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