ly
decked with flowers, drew to the village green the time-honoured pole,
decked with streamers, flowers, and flags, where it was raised amidst
laughter and shouts; and the Queen of the May was enthroned in an
arbour and all danced round; and the morris-dancers, Robin Hood, Friar
Tuck, and Maid Marian performed wonderful antics as they led the
revels. Targets were set up at the other end of the green, and archery
formed an important part of the day's pleasures. The preachers at the
time of the Reformation thought the people made an idol of the
Maypole, and condemned the innocent amusements, which were revived
again when Charles II. came to the throne. After May Day our villagers
had not long to wait until the Whitsuntide holiday came round--

"A day of jubilee,
An ancient holiday;
When, lo! the rural revels are begun,
And gaily echoing to the laughing sky,
On the smooth-shaven green,
Resounds the voice of mirth."

I have already given a description of these Whitsuntide rejoicings in
a preceding chapter.

Then there were the miracle plays, or "mysteries," as they were called,
in June, on Corpus Christi Day, which were performed before the
Reformation, principally in the neighbourhood of large monasteries;
Coventry, Chester, London, York being specially renowned for these
performances. The subjects were taken from Holy Scripture, or from
the lives of saints, and were intended to teach the people religious
knowledge, but the scenes were disfigured by many absurdities and
grotesque perversions. Their history is a curious one, too long to
enter upon in this chapter; but often in the open fields, at the bottom
of natural amphitheatres, were these plays performed, very similar in
construction to the famous passion play performed by the peasants, at
Ober Ammergau, in Bavaria, the last surviving specimen of the ancient
religious drama.

Then there were the bonfires to be lighted on St. John's Day upon the
hillsides, and the dance of the young people around them, the more
venturesome youths leaping through the flames, all carrying home the
firebrands and forming a glad procession. Afterwards followed the busy
harvest-time, when everyone was too hard at work, and too tired at the
end of the day's labours, to think of holiday-making; but at length
came the harvest home, when the last sheaf was gathered in, and the
harvest supper was a very joyous occasion. With light hearts, smiling
faces, and cheerful s