Sunday, May 04, 2014

Gertrude Victor’s Tribute to the Month of May

The essay below was a tribute to the month of May by Gertrude Victor. Gertrude Victor, born Gertrude Nash, was the wife of Sandusky tavern keeper, Henry Victor. She was the mother of author and editor, Orville James Victor. Gertrude Nash Victor died in 1882, and she is buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery



Hail lovely maid!
We thy fond even passions
now before thee with humble reverence bearing flowers we approach
thee for they are first emblems of your own freshness and bloom; yet although
at present like these, we fondly hope that your fate may not be as evenot ___
& transient as theirs – for the evening sun shining on them, their tints &
colors will be fading’ wilst the morrow’s sun will see them with
ired and dead forever – but for you, fondly do we hope that the future may
but add new grasses to the changes of the present and that the fruit
may e’en be fairer than the flower. With faces bedecked with smiles
and wreathed with flowers we salute thee our melody created sovereign.
True sovereign of our hearts, for thou art the sovereign of our love. Isle
among sovereigns dost thou sustain they power, and by force but by the
soft voice of kindness & charity which, as the warm rays of the sun do
melt by their soft and genial influence, the icy mounts which but presented
a firmer & more solid frost, as the ____ of North writing blast razed in
___ jury against them, but which, losing their rugged temper before the
mild & insinuating embraces of the genial sun, repent, after and dissolve
themselves into tears of sorrow for their own ungovernable temper, penetrate
and instill into our hearts the soothing feelings of love’s youth is the
season of flowers and with us all is gaiety and joy. The dark clouds of adieu
____ may in the future lower over our paths – but even so why trouble the
happiness of the present with dark forebodings of the future – why dim the
mirror of childhood with the shadow of age – Nay! Nay! Far from us let us drive
all such chilling thoughts for in nature also it is the season of happiness
and bloom. Removed alike from the chilling frosts of winter and
the arid beats of summer nature himself is bedecked and wreathed with
flowering smiles; - and the earth sends up her flowery messengers to


welcome the advent of spring in as she comes tripping along
thousands of perfumed harebells & primroses & daisies spring forth
to catch our glance of her bewitching eye, and to inhale the cheering
incense of her fragrant breath. Thus in the season of Nature’s
bloom, have met to enjoy our innocent pleasures and to
check our queen of May- Then bend your head sweet maid
and on our your fair brows, I will place in the name of my companions,
a flowery crown, that which there are none less weights &
less free of care, and which we fondly hope will be as it
has been in the past & present, the emblem of your future life – and thus crown
thee queen of May –

            Salute, dear friends, our beauteous queen,
            The fairest I know that e’er we’ve seen:
            Crowned with flowers and wreathed with smiles
The ___ of Nture the fairest child.
May the bloom in thy cheek n’er fade
May sorrow n’er visit the dear Maid
But as the sparkling rays of a sunny day
So mays’t they future be, the Queen of May!


                                                G.H. Victor

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