MAXWELL, Sir WILLIAar STIRLING, LL.D., b. near Glasgow, Scotland, in 1818; bore the name of Stirling until 1866, when by the death of sir John Maxwell, his mater nal uncle, he succeeded to a baronetcy and assumed the name of Maxwell. He gradu ated at Cambridge in 1839, after which he visited Spain and France, devoting several years to studies of the history, literature, and art of Spain at the close of the medimval period. Among his works are Annals of the Artists of Spain; Cloister Life of Charles V., And Velasquez and his Works. He was elected to parliament for Perthshire in 1852, and represented that borough most of the time for a period of more than 20 years. He was rector of the university of St. Andrews in 1803, and of that of Edinburgh in 1872, and in 1875 was elected chancellor of the university of Glasgow.
MAY [Lat. Mains, contracted from Magius, is from a root mag, or (Sans.) mah, to grow; so that May is just the season of growth], the fifth month of the year in our present calendar, consists of 31 days. The common notion that it was named Maius by the Romans in honor of Maia, the mother of Mercury, is quite erroneous, for the name was in use among them long before they knew anything either of Mercury or his mother. The outbreak into new life and beauty which tnarks nature at this time instinctively excites feelings of gladness and delight; hence it is not wonderful that the event should have at all times been celebrated. The first emotion is a desire to seize some part of that profusion of flower or blossom which spreads around us, to set it up in decorative fashion, pay it a sort of homage, and to let the pleasure it excites find expression in dance and song. Among the Romans the feeling of the time found vent in theirflora/ia, or floral games, which began on the 28th of April, and lasted a few days. The 1st of May—May-DAy—was the chief festival both in ancient and more modern times. Among the old Celtic peoples a festival called beltein (q.v.) was also held on this day, but it does not seem to have been connected with flowers. In England, as we learn from Chaucer and other writers, it 'VMS customary. durino. the middle ages, for all,
both high and low—even the court itself—to go out on the first°May morning at an early hour " to fetch the flowers fresh." Hawthorn (q.v.) branches were also gathered; these were brought home about sunrise, with accompaniments of horn and tabor, and all possible sig,ns of joy and merriment. The people then proceeded to decorate the doors and windows of their houses with the spoils. By a natural transition of ideas, they gave the hawthorn bloom the name of the "May;" they called the ceremony the bnnging home the May ;" they spoke of the expedition to the woods as ",going a-Maying." The fairest maid of the village was crowned with flowers as the "queen of the May ;" placed in a little bower or arbor, where she sat in state, receiving the homage and admiration of the youthful revelers, who danced and sang around her. This custom of having a May queen looks like a relic of the old Roman celebration of the day when the goddess Flora was specially worshiped. How thoroughly recognized the custom had become in England may be illustrated by the fact that in the reign of Henry VIII. the heads of the corporation of London went out into the high grounds of Kent to gather the May— the king and his queen, Catharine of Aragon, coming from their palace of Greenwich, .and meeting these respected dignitaries on Shooter's hill. But perhaps the most con spicuous feature of these festive proceedings was the erection in every town and village of ti fixed pole—called the May-pole--as high as the mast of a vessel of 100 tons, on which, -each May morning, they suspended wreaths of flowers, and round which the people danced in rings pretty nearly the whole day. A severe blow was given to these merry customs by the Puritans, who caused May-poles to be uprooted, and a stop put to all their jolli ties. They were, however, revived after the restoration, and held their ground for a long time; but they have now almost disappeared. Iu France and Germany too, May poles were common, and in some places are still to be seen, and festive sports are even yet observed.—See Chambers's Book of Days, pp. 569-582, vol. i.