When the writer was a wee little girl there lived next door to her home two old maiden ladies, who always kept a bottle of May-dew among their treasures. Although the ladies in question had long since passed that period when maidens are supposed to be lovely, superstitious persons might have found confirmation of a belief in the power of the dew, when they looked upon the sweet and kindly faces of these old maids. Faith in the fabled efficacy of May-dew will probably lose its last adherents when the two old ladies, very aged now, leave this world; but other pretty customs, from which all the superstitious elements seem to have departed, should not be allowed to die out, and we intend this chapter on May-day sports as a reminder that May-day is a holiday and should be fittingly celebrated by the older girls as well as the little children, who, in these times, seem to be the only ones to remember the day. =May-day Sports.= A May-day custom, and a very pretty one, still survives among the children in our New England States. It is that of hanging upon the door-knobs of friends and neighbors pretty spring-offerings in the shape of small baskets filled with flowers, wild ones, if they can be obtained; if not, the window-gardens at home are heavily taxed to supply the deficiency. When the dusky twilight approaches, it is time for the merry bands of young folks to start out on this lovely errand of going from house to house, leaving behind them the evidence of their flying visit in these sweetest of May-offerings. Silently approaching a door, they hang a May-basket upon the knob and, with a loud rap, or ring of the bell, scamper off, and flee as though for life. [Illustration: Fig. 33.] [Illustration: The Straw Basket.] These little Mayers are sometimes pursued, but few are ever caught, for the recipients of the baskets know that to capture a child, carry her into the house and treat her to sweetmeats, usually dear to the youthful palate, will not compensate the little prisoner for being held captive and thereby missing the fun going on among the other children. =How to Make May-baskets.= The dainty little baskets which are used by the Mayers are generally of home manufacture. They are made of almost any material, and in a variety of shapes. Some, constructed of card-board, are covered with crimped tissue-paper, or with gilt, silver, or colored paper. They are never large unless flowers are plentiful, and even in that case a small basket is prettier. Our first illustration represents a May-basket made of straws. Fig. 33 shows the frame of this basket, for which three straws seven inches long are required; these are sewed together, two and one-half inches from the bottom, forming a tripod. For the sides eighteen straws are necessary, six on each side, of graduating lengths; the three top straws being five inches long and the lowest ones three and one-half inches. These are sewed to the frame, log-cabin fashion, one upon another.