An old Yorkshire May-Game.
“An account of a May-Game, performed at Richmond, Yorkshire, on the 29th of May, 1660, by the inhabitants of that town; whereby they demonstrated their universal joy for the happy return of Charles II., whom God was pleased to make the instrument of freeing this nation from tyranny, usurpation, and the dismal effects of a civil war.
“They came into the town, in solemn equipage, as follows:—
“1. Three antics before them with bagpipes.
“2. The representative of a lord, attended by trumpets, falconers, four pages, as many footmen, and fifty attendants, all suited as became persons of their quality.
“3. The representative of a sheriff, with forty attendants, in their liveries.
“4. The bishop of Hereford, with four pages and footmen, his chaplain, and twenty other household officers, besides their attendants.
“5. Two companies of morris-dancers, who acted their parts to the satisfaction of the spectators.
“6. Sixty nymphs, with music before them, following Diana, all richly adorned in white and gorgeous apparel, with pages and footmen attending them.
“7. Three companies of foot soldiers, with a captain and other officers, in great magnificence.