Scandanavia. Elves : ELVES Sg, knnar du Elfvornas glada slgt? De bygga ved fiodernas rand; De spinna af mnsken sin hgtidsdrgt, Med liljehvit spelande hand. STAGNELIUS. Say, knowest thou the Elves' gay and joyous race? The banks of streams are their home; They spin of the moonshine their holiday-dress, With their...
Scandanavia. Dwarfs Or Trolls : DWARFS OR TROLLS Ther bygde folk i the brg, Quinnor och mn, fr mycken duerf. HIST. ALEX. MAG. "Suedice". Within the hills folk did won, Women and men, dwarfs many a one. THE more usual appellation of the Dwarfs is Troll or Trold, [a] word originally significant of any evil spirit, [b] giant...
Oriental Romance. The Peri Wife : The Peri-Wife THE son of a merchant in a city of Hindostan, having been driven from his father's house on account of his undutiful conduct, assumed the garb of a Kalenderee or wandering Derweesh, and left his native town. On the first day of his travels, being overcome with fatigue before he...
Switzerland. The Dwarf In Search Of Lodging : THE DWARF IN SEARCH OF LODGING ONE night, during a tremendous storm of wind and rain, a Dwarf came travelling through a little village, and went from cottage to cottage, dripping with rain, knocking at the doors for admission. None, however, took pity on him, or would open the door to receive him:...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy's Inquiry : THE FAIRY'S ENQUIRY A CLERGYMAN was returning home one night after visiting a sick member of his congregation. His way led by a lake, and as he proceeded he was surprised to hear most melodious strains of music. He sat down to listen. The music seemed to approach coming over the lake accompanied...
Scandanavia. The Young Swain And The Elves : THE YOUNG SWAIN AND THE ELVES I WAS a handsome young swain, And to the court should ride. I rode out in the evening-hour; In the rosy grove I to sleep me laid. Since I her first saw. I laid me under a lind so green, My eyes they sunk in sleep; There came two maidens going along, They fain would...
Switzerland. The Rejected Gift : THE REJECTED GIFT A DWARF came down one night from the chesnut woods on the side of the mountain over the village of Walchwyl, and enquired for the house of a midwife, whom he earnestly pressed to come out and go with him. She consented, and the Dwarf, bearing a light, led the way in silence...
Germany. The Water Smith : THE WATER-SMITH THERE is a little lake in Westphalia called the Darmssen, from which the peasants in the adjacent village of Epe used to hear all through the night a sound as if of hammering upon an anvil. People who were awake used also to see something in the middle of the lake. They got one...
Celts And Cymry. Gitto Bach : GITTO BACH GITTO BACH, [a] who was a fine boy, used often to ramble to the top of the mountain to look after his father's sheep. On his return, he would show his brothers and sisters pieces of remarkably white paper, like crown-pieces, with letters stamped upon them, which he said. were given him...
Celts And Cymry. The Leprechaun In The Garden : THE LEPRECHAUN IN THE GARDEN THERE's a sort a' people that every body must have met wid sumtime or another. I mane thim people that purtinds not to b'lieve in things that in their hearts they "do "b'lieve in, an' are mortially afeard o' too. Now Failey [a] Mooney was one o' these. Failey (iv any...
Fairy Land. Fairy Land : FAIRY LAND There, renewed the vital spring, Again he reigns a mighty king And many a fair and fragrant clime, Blooming in immortal prime, By gales of Eden ever fanned, Owns the monarch's high command. T. Warton. AMONG all nations the mixture of joy and pain, of exquisite delight and intense misery...
Celts And Cymry. The Wounded Seal : THE WOUNDED SEAL THERE once dwelt on the northern coast, not far from Taign Jan Crot Callow "(John o' Groat's House), a "man who gained his living by fishing. He was particularly devoted to the killing of the seals, in which he had great success. One evening just as he had returned home from his...
Celts And Cymry. The Two Fiddlers : THE TWO FIDDLERS NEARLY three hundred years ago, there dwelt in Strathspey two fiddlers, greatly renowned in their art. One Christmas they resolved to go try their fortune in Inverness. On arriving in that town they took lodgings, and as was the custom at that time, hired the bellman to go round...
Celts And Cymry. Greece : GREECE Like a tender Nymph Within the dewy caves. Euripides THE Grecian mythology, like its kindred systems, abounded in personifications. [a] Modified by scenery so beautiful, rich, and various as Hellas presented, it in general assigned the supposed intelligences who presided over the various...
Untitled : Title Page Table of Plates Preface Introduction ORIENTAL ROMANCE Persian Romance The Peri-Wife Arabian Romance MIDDLE-AGE ROMANCE Middle-Age Romance FAIRY-LAND Fairy-Land SPENSER'S FAERIE QUEENE Spenser's Faerie Queene EDDAS AND SAGAS Eddas and Sagas The Alfar The Duergar Loki and the Dwarf...
Scandanavia. Svend Faelling And The Elle Maid : SVEND FAELLING AND THE ELF-MAID SVEND FAELLING was, while a little boy, at service in Sjeller-wood-house in Framley; and it one time happened that he had to ride of a message to Ristrup. It was evening before he got near home, and as he came by the hill of Borum Es, he saw the Elle-maids, who were...
Celts And Cymry. Celts And Cymry : CELTS AND CYMRY There every herd by sad experience knows, How winged with fate their elf-shot arrows fly; When the sick ewe her summer-food foregoes, Or stretched on earth, the heart-smit heifers lie. Collins. UNDER the former of these appellations we include the inhabitants of Irel...
Scandanavia. Necks, Merman And Mermaids : NECKS, MERMEN AND MERMAIDS El Necken mer i flodens vgor quder, Och ingen Hafsfru bleker sina klder Pas bljans rygg i milda solars glans. STAGNELIUS. The Neck no more upon the river sings, And no Mermaid to bleach her linen flings Upon the waves in the mild solar ray. IT is a prevalent opini...
Celts And Cymry. Pepito El Corcovado : PEPITO EL CORCOVADO PEPITO EL CORCOVADO, [a] a gay lively little hunchback, used to gain his living by his voice and his guitar; for he was a general favourite, and was in constant request at weddings and other festivities. He was going home one night from one of these festive occasions, being...
Germany. Wedding Feast Of The Little People : WEDDING-FEAST OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE THE little people of the Eilenburg in Saxony had occasion to celebrate a wedding, and. with that intent passed one night through the key-hole and the window-slits into the castle-hall, and jumped down on the smooth level floor like peas on a barn floor. The noise...
Celts And Cymry. The Three Leprechauns : THE THREE LEPRECHAUNS MRS. L. having heard that Molly Toole, an old woman who held a few acres of land from Mr. L., had seen Leprechauns, resolved to visit her, and learn the truth from her own lips. Accordingly, one Sunday, after church, she made her appearance at Molly's residence, which was--no...
Scandanavia. The Legend Of Bodedys : THE LEGEND OF BODEDYS. THERE is a hill called Bodedys close to the road in the neighbourhood of Lynge, that is near Sore. Not far from it lived an old farmer, whose only son was used to take long journeys on business. His father had for a long time heard no tidings of him, and the old man became...
Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe : EASTERN EUROPE Up the hill I went, and gazed round. Hoping golden maids to see; Trooping lovely maidens came, who Round the hill danced merrily. All the sweetest ditties singing, Sweetest ditties that might be; Bearing fragrant apple-blossoms, These fair maidens came to me. Lettish Song. Europe is...
Switzerland. Aid And Punishment : AID AND PUNISHMENT ON the side of Mount Pilatus is a place named the Kastler-Alpe, now covered with stones and rubbish, but which once was verdant and fertile. The cause of the change was as follows. The land there was formerly occupied by a farmer, a churlish, unfeeling man, who, though wealthy...
Great Britian. The Fairies' Cauldron : THE FAIRIES' CALDRON "IN the vestry of Frensham church, in Surrey, on the north side of the chancel, is an extraordinary great kettle or caldron, which the inhabitants say, by tradition, was brought hither by the fairies, time out of mind, from Borough-hill, about a mile hence. To this place, if...
Scandanavia. The Dwarfs' Banquet : THE DWARF'S BANQUET A Norwegian Tale [a] THERE lived in Norway, not far from the city of Drontheim, a powerful man, who was blessed with all the goods of fortune. A part of the surrounding country was his property; numerous herds fed on his pastures, and a great retinue and a crowd of servants...
Scandanavia. The Troll Turned Cat : THE TROLL TURNED CAT ABOUT a quarter of a mile from Sore lies Pedersborg, and a little farther on is the town of Lyng. Just between these towns is a hill called Brndhi "(Spring-hill), "said to be inhabited by the Troll-people. There goes a story that there was once among these Troll. people...
Great Britian. The Changeling : THE CHANGELING BUT the Fairies of Scotland were not, even according to Mr. Cromek, uniformly benevolent. Woman and child abstraction was by no means uncommon with them, and the substitutes they provided were, in general, but little attractive. A fine child at Caerlaveroc, in Nithsdale, w...
Appendices. A Farewell : A FAREWELL FAREWELL! farewell! the parting hour Is come, and I must leave thee! Oh! ne'er may aught approach thy bower That might of bliss bereave thee! But ever a perennial rill Of joy, so brightly flowing, Keep each fair thought in fragrance still Within thy pure mind blowing. For life all charm...
Germany. The Dwarf's Feast : THE DWARF'S FEAST THERE appeared in the night to one of the Counts von Hoya, an extremely small little man. The count was utterly amazed at him, but he bid him not to be frightened; said he had a request to make of him, and entreated that he might not be refused. The count gave a willing assent...
Scandanavia. Kallundborg Church : KALLUNDBORG CHURCH WHEN Esbern Snare was about building a church in Kallundborg, he saw clearly that his means were not fully adequate to the task. But a Troll came to him and offered his services; and Esbern Snare made an agreement with him on these conditions, that he should be able to tell...
Appendices. The Soul Cages : THE SOUL CAGES JACK DOGHERTY lived on the coast of the county Clare. Jack was a fisherman, as his father and his grandfather before him had been. Like them, too, he lived all alone (but for the wife), and just in the same spot, too. People used to wonder why the Dogherty family were so fond...
Great Britian. The Luck Of Eden Hall : THE LUCK AT EDEN HALL IN this house (Eden Hall, a seat of the Musgraves,) are some good old-fashioned, apartments. An old painted drinking-glass, called the "Luck of Eden Hall, is "preserved with great care. In the garden near to the house is a well of excellent spring water, called St. Cuthbert's...
Northern Islands. Feroes : FEROES. Sjurur touk tea besta svr Sum Dvrgurin heji smuja. QVORFINS THAATTUR. Sigurd took the very best sword That the Dwarfs had ever smithed. THE people of the Feroes believe in the same classes of beings as the inhabitants of the countries whence their ancestors came. They call the Trolls...
Middle Age Romance. Middle Age Romance : MIDDLE-AGE ROMANCE Ecco quet che le carte empton di sogni, Lancliotto, Tristano e gil altri erranti, Onde conven che il voigo errante agogni. PETRARCA. FEW will now endeavour to trace romantic and marvellous fiction to any individual source. An extensive survey of the regions of fancy and their...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy Borrowing Oatmeal : THE FAIRY BORROWING OATMEAL A FAIRY came one day from one of the turrets of Craig-ail-naic to the wife of one of the tenants in Delnabo, and asked her to lend her a firlot of oatmeal for food for her family, promising to repay it soon, as she was every moment expecting an ample supply. The wom...
Switzerland. The Dwarfs On The Tree : THE DWARFS ON THE TREE IN the summer-time the troop of the Dwarfs came in great numbers down from the hills into the valley, and joined the men that were at work, either assisting them or merely looking on. They especially liked to be with the mowers in the hay-making season, seating themselves...
Northern Islands. The Black Dwarfs Of Granitz : THE BLACK DWARFS OF GRANITZ. NOT far from the Ahlbeck lies a little mansion called Granitz, just under the great wood on the sea-coast called the wood of Granitz. In this little seat lived, not many years ago, a nobleman named Von Scheele. Toward the close of his life he sank into a state...
Germany. Germany : GERMANY Von wilden getwergen han ich gehret sagen Si sin in holren bergen; unt daz si ze scherme tragen Einez heizet tarnkappen, von wunderlicher art-- Swerz hat an sime libe, der sol vil wohl sin bewart Vor slegen unt vor stichen. NIBELUNGEN, LIED st. 342. Of wild dwarfs I oft have heard men...
Celts And Cymry. Rhys At The Fairy Dance : RHYS AT THE FAIRY-DANCE Rhys and Llewellyn, two farmer's servants, who bad been all day carrying lime for their master, were driving in the twilight their mountain ponies before them, returning home from their work. On reaching a little plain, Rhys called to his companion to stop and listen...
Switzerland. The Wonderful Little Pouch : THE WONDERFUL LITTLE POUCH AT NOON one day a young peasant sat by the side of a wood, and, sighing, prayed to God to give him a morsel of food. A Dwarf suddenly emerged from the wood, and told him that his prayer should be fulfilled. He then gave him the pouch that he had on his side, with...
Scandanavia. The Nis And The Mare : THE NIS AND THE MARE THERE was a man who lived in the town of Tirup, who had a very handsome white mare. This mare had for many years gone, like an heirloom, from father to son, because there was a Nis attached to her, which brought luck to the place. This Nis was so fond of the mare, that he...
Northern Islands. Gioga's Son : GIOGA'S SON A BOAT'S-CREW landed one time upon one of the stacks [a] with the intention of attacking the seals. They had considerable success; stunned several of them, and while they lay stupefied, stripped, them of their skins, with the fat attached to them. They left the naked carcases lying...
Scandanavia. The Elle Maids : THE ELLE-MAIDS THERE lived a man in Aasum, near Odense, who, as be was coming home one night from Seden, passed by a hill that was standing on red pillars, and underneath there was dancing and great festivity. He hurried on past the hill as fast as he could, never venturing to cast his eyes th...
Eddas And Sagas. The Alfar : THE ALFAR Ther ro meth Alfum. Brynhildar Quida. (Those are with the Alfs.) IN the prose Edda, Ganglar inquires what other cities beside that in which the Nornir dwelt were by the Urdar fount, under the Ash Yggdrasil. [a] Hr replies, "There are many fair cities there. There is the city which is...
Great Britian. The Cauld Lad Of Hilton : THE CAULD LAD OF HILTON "HILTON HALL, in the vale of the Wear, was in former times the resort of a Brownie or House-spirit called The Cauld Lad. Every night the servants who slept in the great hall heard him at work in the kitchen, knocking the things about if they had been set in order, arranging...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy Hunt : THE FAIRY HUNT A YOUNG sailor coming off a long voyage, though it was late at night, chose to land rather than lie another night in the vessel. Being permitted to do so, he was set on shore at Douglas. It happened to be a line moonlight night, and very dry, being a small frost; he therefore...
Great Britian. Great Britian : GREAT BRITAIN In old wives dates that in old time did live, To whose odde tales much credit men did give, Great store of goblins, fairies, bugs, nightmares, Urchins and elves to many a house repaires. Old Poem. WE use the term Great Britain in a very limited sense, as merely inclusive of those...
Celts And Cymry. Italy : ITALY Faune Nympharum fuglentum amator, Per meos fines at aprica rura Lenis incedas, abeasque parvis Aequus alumnis. Horatius. UNFORTUNATELY for our knowledge of the ancient Italian mythology, the ballad-poetry of Rome is irrecoverably lost. A similar fate has befallen the literature of Etruri...
Celts And Cymry. The Dance And Song Of The Korred : THE DANCE AND SONG OF THE KORRED THE valley of Goel was a celebrated haunt of the Korred. [a] It was thought dangerous to pass through it at night lest one should be forced to join in their dances, and thus perhaps lose his life. One evening, however, a peasant and his wife thoughtlessly did so...
Celts And Cymry. The Young Man In The Shian : THE YOUNG MAN IN THE SHIAN A FARMER named Macgillivray, one time removed from the neighbourhood of Cairngorm in Strathspey to the forest of Glenavon, in which the fairies are said to reside. Late one night, as two of his sons, Donald and Bory, were in search of some of his sheep that had strayed...
Celts And Cymry. The Daughter Of Peter De Cabinam : THE DAUGHTER OF PETER DE CABINAM IN the bishoprick of Gerunda ("i.e. "Gerona), and the province of Catalonia, stands a mountain which the natives call Convagum. It is very steep, and on its summit is a lake of dark water, so deep that it cannot be fathomed. The abode of the Demons is in this lake;...
Scandanavia. The Nis Removing : THE NIS REMOVING [a] IT is very difficult, they say, to get rid of a Nis when one wishes it. A man who lived in a house in which a Nis carried his pranks to great lengths resolved to quit the tenement, and leave him there alone. Several cart-loads of furniture and other articles were already gone...
Great Britian. Addlers And Menters : ADDLERS AND MENTERS An old lady in Yorkshire related as follows:--My eldest daughter Betsey was about four years old; I remember it was on a fine summer's afternoon, or rather evening, I was seated in this chair which I now occupy. The child had been in the garden, she came into that entry...
Great Britian. Pixy Gratitude : PIXY-GRATITUDE An old woman who lived near Tavistock had in her garden a splendid bed of tulips. To these the Pixies of the neighbourhood loved to resort, and often at midnight might they be heard singing their babes to rest among them. By their magic power they made the tulips more beautiful...
Switzerland. Curiousity Punished : CURIOUSITY PUNISHED IN old times men lived in the valley, and around them, in the clefts and holes of the rocks, dwelt the Dwarfs. They were kind and friendly to the people, often performing hard and heavy work for them in the night; and when the country-people came early in the morning with their...
Scandanavia. Nisses : NISSES [a] Og Trolde, Hexer; Nisser i hver Vrase. FINN MAGNUSSEN. And Witches, Trolls, and Nisses In each nook. THE Nis is the same being that is called Kobold in Germany, Brownie in Scotland, and whom we shall meet in various other places under different appellations. He is in Denmark and Norway...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy Labour : THE FAIRY-LABOUR MANY years ago there dwelt in Strathspey a midwife of great repute. One night just as she was going to bed, she heard a loud knocking at the door, and on opening it she saw there a man and a grey horse, "both out of breath. "The rider requested her to jump up behind him and come...
Eddas And Sagas. Eddas And Sagas : EDDAS AND SAGAS En sng om strlende Valhalla, Om Gudar och Gudinnar alla. TREGNER. A song of Vallhall's bright abodes, Of all the goddesses and gods. THE ancient religion of Scandinavia, and probably of the whole Gotho-German race, consisted, like all other systems devised by m...
Appendices. To Amanda : TO AMANDA [These are the verses quoted in the Introduction to the "Tales and Popular Fictions." The author was very young when he wrote them; and Amanda was, like Beatrice and Laura, a mere "donna di mente, "having no real existence.] As when a storm in vernal skies The face of day doth st...
Germany. The Changeling : THE CHANGELING IT was the belief, in some parts of Germany, that if a child that was not thriving were taken to a place named Cyriac's Mead, near Neuhausen, and left lying there and given to drink out of Cyriac's Well, at the end of nine days it would either die or recover. The butler and cook...
Appendices. Verses : VERSES WRITTEN AT BATH IN 1840, FOR A LITTLE BOY WHO KEPT AN ALBUM, AND WAS A GREAT ADMIRER OF ROBIN HOOD AND HIS MERRY MEN. HAD the kind Muse, young friend, on me Her pleasing gifts bestowed, And taught to tread of poesy The smooth and flowery road; Then should the deeds of Robin Hood, And Little...
Germany. Smith Riechert : SMITH RIECHERT ON the east side of the Dwarf-hill of Dardesheim there is a piece of arable land. A smith named Riechert had sown this field with peas; but he observed that when they were just in perfection they were pulled in great quantities. Riechert built himself a little hut on his ground...
Scandanavia. Svend Faelling : SVEND FAELLING SVEND FAELLING was a valiant champion. He was born in Faelling, and was a long time at service in Aakjaer house, Aarhuus, and as the roads were at that time greatly infested by Trolls and underground-people, who bore great enmity to all Christians, Svend undertook the office...
Celts And Cymry. Southern Europe : SOUTHERN EUROPE O faretrate Ninfe, o agresti Pani, O Satiri e Silvani, o Fauni e Driadi, Najadi ed Amadriadi, e Semidee Oreadi, e Napee, or siete sole. Sanazzaro. UNDER the title of Southern Europe, we comprise Greece and those nations whose languages are derived from the Latin; Italy, Sp...
Appendices. Lines : LINES Written in Rome in the Spring of 1842. FAIR Tibur, once the Muses' home, Before us lay; around Was spread the plain which mighty Rome Oft saw with victory crowned. The sun rode high, the sky was clear, The lark poured forth his strain, And flowers, the firstlings of the year, Shed fragrance...
Germany. Hodeken : HODEKEN ANOTHER Kobold or House-spirit took up his abode in the palace of the bishop of Hildesheim. He was named Hdeken or Htchen, that is Hatekin or Little Hat, from his always wearing a little felt hat very much down upon his face. He was of a kind and obliging disposition, often told the bishop...
Preface : PREFACE A PREFACE is to a book what a prologue is to a play--a usual, often agreeable, but by no means necessary precursor. It may therefore be altered or omitted at pleasure. I have at times exercised this right, and this is the third I have written for the present work. In the first, after...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy Banquet : THE FAIRY-BANQUET A MAN one time was led by invisible musicians for several miles together, and not being able to resist the harmony, followed till it conducted him to a large common, where were a great number of little people sitting round a table, and eating and drinking in a very jovial manner...
Great Britian. The Green Children : THE GREEN CHILDREN "ANOTHER wonderful thing," says Ralph of Coggeshall, [a] "happened in Suffolk, at St. Mary's of the Wolf-pits. A boy and his sister were found by the inhabitants of that place near the mouth of a pit which is there, who had the form of all their limbs like to those of other men...
Scandanavia. The Nis And The Boy : THE NIS AND THE BOY THERE was a Nis in a house in Jutland; he every evening got his groute at the regular time, and he, in return, used to help both the men and the maids, and looked to the interest of the master of the house in every respect. There came one time an arch mischievous boy to live...
Germany. Inge Of Rantum : INGE OF RANTUM THE Friesland. girls are, however, rather shy of these matches, and if they have unwarily been drawn into an engagement they try to get out of it if they possibly can. A girl named Inge of Rantum had some way or other got into an engagement with one of the Underground people...
Great Britian. The Fairy Fair : THE FAIRY-FAIR "Reading once the eighteenth of Mr. Glanvil's relations, p. 203, concerning an Irishman that had like to have been carried away by spirits, and of the banquet they had spread before them in the fields, etc., it called to mind a passage I had often heard, of Fairies or spirits, so...
Africans, Jews, Etc. The Broken Oaths : THE BROKEN OATHS THERE was a man who was very rich, and who had but one only son. He bestowed upon him every kind of instruction, so that he became very leaned and of great talent. Before his death the old man gave a great entertainment, and invited all the chief people of the city; and when...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairies Banished : THE FAIRIES BANISHED ONE of those old farm-houses, where the kitchen and cow-house are on the same floor, with only a low partition between them, was haunted by the fairies. If the family were at their meals in the kitchen, "they "were racketing in the cow-house, and if the people were engaged...
Northern Islands. Northern Islands : NORTHERN ISLANDS Hr Necken sin Harpa i Glasborgen slr, Och Hafsfruar kamma sltt grnskande hr, Och bleka den skinande drgten. STAGNELIUS. The Neck here his harp in the glass-castle plays, And Mermaidens comb out their green hair always, And bleach here their shining white clothes. UNDER the title...
Germany. The Working Waterman : THE WORKING WATERMAN AT Seewenweiher, in the Black-Forest, a little Water-man "(Seemnlein) "used to come and join the people, work the whole day long with them, and in the evening go back into the lakes. They used to set his breakfast and dinner apart for him. When, in apportioning the work...
Germany. The Wild Women : THE WILD-WOMEN Ein Mgdlein kam tin Abendglanz, Wie ich's noch me gefunden. SCHRIEBER. A maiden came in Evening's glow, Such as I ne'er have met. THE Wilde Frauen or Wild-women of Germany bear a very strong resemblance to the Elle-maids of Scandinavia. Like them they are beautiful, have fine...
Celts And Cymry. Scottish Highlands : SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS Brownie has got a cowl and coat, And never more will work a jot. "Stewart". COLONIES of Gothic Fairies, it would appear, early established themselves in the Highlands, and almost every Lowland, German, and Scandinavian Fairy or Dwarf-tale will there find its fellow. The Gaelic...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairies' Christening : THE FAIRIES' CHRISTENING A WOMAN related that being great with child, and expecting every moment the good hour, as she lay awake one night in her bed, she saw seven or eight little Women come into her chamber, one of whom had an infant in her arms. They were followed by a man of the same size with...
Scandanavia. Scandanavia : SCANDINAVIA Du vare syv og hundrede Trolde, De vera bade grumme og lede, De vilde gjre Bonden et Gjaesterle, Med hannem baade drikke og aede. ELINE AF VILLENSKOV. There were seven and a hundred Trolls, They were both ugly and grim, A visit they would the farmer make, Both eat and drink with him...
Great Britian. The Grant : THE GRANT "THERE is," says he, again [a] "in England a certain kind of demon whom in their language they call Grant, [b] like a yearling foal, erect on its hind legs, with sparkling eyes. This kind of demon often appears in the streets in the heat of the day, or about sunset. If there is any...
Celts And Cymry. The Spirit Of The Van : THE SPIRIT OF THE VAN AMONG the mountains of Carmarthen, lies a beautiful and romantic piece of water, named The Van Pools. Tradition relates, that after midnight, on New Year's Eve, there appears on this lake a being named The Spirit of the Van. She is dressed in a white robe, bound by a golden...
Introduction : THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY. INTRODUCTION. In olde days of the King Artour, Of which that Bretons spoken gret honour, All was this lond fulfilled of farie; The elf-qrene with hir jolts companie Danced full oft in many a grene mede. CHAUCER. ORIGIN OF THE BELIEF IN FAIRIES. ACCORDING to a well-known law...
Appendices. Alexander Selkirk's Dream : ALEXANDER SELKIRK'S DREAM COMPOSED ONE DAY WHEN CONFINED TO BED BY A COLD AND UNABLE TO READ O'ER the isle of Juan Fernandez Cooling shades of evening spread, While upon the peaks of Andes Still the tints of day were shed. From the sea-beat shore returning Homeward hied the lonely man, O'er his...
Celts And Cymry. Ireland : IRELAND Like him, the Sprite, Whom maids by night Oft meet In glen that's haunted. Moore. WE commence our survey of the lands of Celts and Cymry with Ireland, as being the first in point of importance, but still more as being the land of our birth. It is pleasing to us, now in the autumn of our...
Scandanavia. The Tile Stove Jumping Over The Brook : THE TILE-STOVE JUMPING OVER THE BROOK NEAR Hellested in Zealand, lived a man, who from time to time remarked that he was continually plundered. All his suspicions fell on the Troll-folk, who lived in the neighbouring hill of lldshi "(Fire-hill), "and once hid himself to try and get a sight...
Northern Islands. Isle Of Rugen : ISLE OF RUGEN Des Tagscheins Blendung driickt, Nur Finsternise beglckt; Drum hausen wir so gem Tief in des Erdballs Kern. MATTHISON. Day's dazzling light annoys Us, darkness only joys; We therefore love to dwell Deep underneath earth's shell. WE now return to the Baltic, to the Isle of Rgen, once...
Germany. King Goldemar : KING GOLDEMAR ANOTHER celebrated House-spirit was King Goldemar, who lived in great intimacy with Neveling von Hardenberg, on the Hardenstein at the Rhr, and often slept in the same bed with him. He played most beautifully on the harp, and he was in the habit of staking great sums of money at dice...
Great Britian. The Pixy Labour : THE PIXY-LABOUR ONE night, about twelve o'clock in the morning, as the good folks say, who tell this good tale, Dame--the "sage femme "of Tavistock, had just got comfortably into bed, when rap, rap, rap, came on her cottage door, with such bold and continued noise, that there was a sound...
Scandanavia. The Nis Stealing Corn : THE NIS STEALING CORN THERE lived a man at Thyrsting, in Jutland, who had a Nis in his barn. This Nis used to attend to the cattle, and at night he would steal fodder for them from the neighbours, so that this farmer had the best fed and most thriving cattle in the country. One time the boy went...
Appendices. Rousseau's Dream : ROUSSEAU'S DREAM THESE verses are adapted to the well-known air. They were suggested by a passage from Rousseau's works, quoted by Alison in his Essay on Taste. Though real names are mentioned, the scenery and subject are purely ideal. Calmly at eve shone the sun o'er Lake Leman, Bright in his...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy Whipping : THE FAIRY-WHIPPING A WOMAN who lived about two miles distant from Ballasalli, and used to serve Mr. Waldron's family with butter, made him once very merry with a story she told him of her daughter, a girl of about ten years old, who being sent over the fields to the town for a pennyworth...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy Chapman : THE FAIRY-CHAPMAN A MAN being desirous of disposing of a horse he had at that time no great occasion for, and riding him to market for that purpose, was accosted in passing over the mountains by a little man in a plain dress, who asked him if he would sell his horse. "Tis the design I am going...
Africans, Jews, Etc. The Mazik Ass : THE MAZIK-ASS IT came to pass in the countries of Africa, in a particular month, during which it is the usage and the custom of the Jews to rise in the night to say their prayers, that a servant, whose business it was to knock at the doors, and to call up the people, found one night an ass...
Appendices. A Moonlight Scene : A MOONLIGHT SCENE CONCEIVED AND COMMENCED WHEN PASSING OVEN PUTNEY BRIDGE ON A FINE MOONLIGHT NIGHT IN SUMMER. THE moonbeams on the lake are glancing, The nimble bark is now advancing, That for this grove is bound. Ye gentle clouds, ah! hear a lover, And hasten not the moon to cover And darkness...
Northern Islands. The Lost Bell : THE LOST BELL A SHEPHERD'S boy belonging to Patzig, about half a mile from Bergen, where there are great numbers of the underground people in the hills, found one morning a little silver bell on the green heath, among the Giants'-graves, and fastened it on him. It happened to be the bell belonging...
Scandanavia. Origin Of Tiis Lake : ORIGIN OF TIIS LAKE A TROLL had once taken up his abode near the village of Kund, in the high bank on which the church now stands; but when the people about there had become pious, and went constantly to church, the Troll was dreadfully annoyed by their almost incessant ringing of bells...
Eddas And Sagas. The Duergar : THE DUERGAR By ek fur jrth nethan, A ek, undir stein, stath. Alvis--Mal. (I dwell the earth beneath, I possess, under the stone, my seat.) THESE diminutive beings, dwelling in rocks and hills, and distinguished for their skill in metallurgy, seem to be peculiar to the Gotho-German mythology [a]...
Celts And Cymry. The Fiddler And The Fairy : THE FIDDLER AND THE FAIRY A FIDDLER having agreed with a person, who was a stranger, for so much money, to play to some company he should bring him to, all the twelve days of Christmas, and received earnest for it, saw his new master vanish into the earth the moment he had made the barg...
Germany. Nixes : NIXES Kennt ihr der Nixen, munt're Schaar? Von Auge schwarz und grn von Haar Sie lauscht am Schilfgestade. MATTHISSON. Know you the Nixes, gay and fair? Their eyes are black, and green their hair-- They lurk in sedgy shores. THE Nixes, or Water-people, inhabit lakes and rivers. The man is like any...
Great Britian. The Fairy Rade : THE FAIRY RADE THE "Fairy Rade, "or procession, was a matter of great importance. It took place on the coming in of summer, awl the peasantry, by using the precaution of placing a branch of rowan over their door, might safely gaze on the cavalcade, as with music sounding, bridles ringing...
Northern Islands. The Wonderful Plough : THE WONDERFUL PLOUGH THERE was once a farmer who was master of one of the little black ones, that are the blacksmiths and armourers; and he got him in a very curious way. On the road leading to this farmer's ground there stood a stone cross, and every morning as he went to his work he used to stop...
Northern Islands. The Mermaid Wife : THE MERMAID WIFE ON a fine summer's evening, an inhabitant of Unst happened to be walking along the sandy margin of a voe. [a] The moon was risen, and by her light he discerned at some distance before him a number of the sea-people, who were dancing with great vigour on the smooth sand. Near them...
Great Britian. Ainsel And Puck : AINSEL and PUCK A WIDOW and her son, a little boy, lived, together in a cottage in or near the village of Rothley, Northumberland. One winter's evening the child refused to go to bed with his mother, as he wished to sit up for a while longer, "for," said he, "I am not sleepy." The mother finding...
Germany. The Dwarfs Borrowing Bread : THE DWARFS BORROWING BREAD ALBERT STEFFEL, aged seventy years, who died in the year 1680, and Hans Kohmann, aged thirty-six, who died in 1679, two honest, veracious men, frequently declared that as one time Kohmann's grandfather was working in his ground which lay in the neighbourhood of the place...
Germany. The Dwarf Husband : THE DWARF HUSBAND A POOR girl went out one day and as she was passing by a hill she heard a Dwarf hammering away inside of it, for they are handy smiths, and singing at his work. She was so pleased with the song, that she could not refrain from wishing aloud that she could sing like him, and live...
Scandanavia. Skotte In The Fire : SKOTTE IN THE FIRE NEAR Gudmanstrup, in the district of Odd, is a bill called Hjulehi "(Hollow-hill). "The hill-folk that dwell in this mount are well known in all the villages round, and no one ever omits making a cross on his beer-barrels, for the Trolls are in the habit of slipping down...
Germany. Hinzelmann : HINZELMANN [a] A WONDERFUL house-spirit haunted for a long time the old castle of Hudemhlen, situated in the country of Lneburg, not far from the Aller, and of which there is nothing remaining but the walls. It was in the year 1584 that he first notified his presence, by knocking and making...
Great Britian. Departure Of The Fairies : DEPARTURE OF THE FAIRIES ON a Sabbath morning, all the inmates of a little hamlet had gone to church, except a herd-boy, and a little girl, his sister, who were lounging beside one of the cottages, when just as the shadow of the garden-dial had fallen on the line of noon, they saw a long cavalcade...
Scandanavia. Sir Olof In The Elve Dance : SIR OLOF IN THE ELVE-DANCE SIR Olof he rode out at early day, And so came he unto an Elve-dance gay. The dance it goes well, So well in the grove. The Elve-father reached out his white hand free, "Come, come, Sir Olof, tread the dance with me." The dance it goes well, So well in the grove. "O...
Scandanavia. The Troll Labourer : THE TROLL-LABOURER "IN the year 1660, when I and my wife had gone to my farm "(faboderne), "which is three quarters of a mile from Ragunda parsonage, and we were sitting there and talking a while, late in the evening, there came a little man in at th door, who begged of my wife to go and aid his...
Celts And Cymry. The Phynodderee : THE PHYNNODDEREE THE Phynnodderee, or Hairy-one, is a Manks spirit of the same kind with the Brownie or the Kobold. He is said to have been a fairy who was expelled from the fairy society. The cause was, he courted a pretty Manx maid who lived in a bower beneath "the blue tree "of Glen Aldyn...
Germany. Journey Of Dwarfs Over The Mountain : JOURNEY OF DWARFS OVER THE MOUNTAIN On the north side of the Hartz there dwelt several thousand Dwarfs in the clefts of the rocks, and in the Dwarf-caves that still remain. It was, however, but rarely that they appeared to the inhabitants in a visible form; they generally went about among them...
Scandanavia. Hans Puntleder : HANS PUNTLEDER THERE are three hills on the lands of Bubbelgaard in Funen, which are to this day called the Dance-bills, from the following occurrence. A lad named Hans was at service in Bubbelgaard, and as he was coming one evening past the hills, he saw one of them raised on red pillars...
Scandanavia. Sir Thynne : SIR THYNNE. AND it was the knight Sir Thynn, He was a knight so grave; Whether he were on foot or on horse, He was a knight so brave. [a] And it was the knight Sir Thynn Went the hart and the hind to shoot, So he saw Ulva, the little Dwarf's daughter, At the green linden's foot. And it was Ulv...
Celts And Cymry. Legend Of Melusina : ELINAS, king of Albania, to divert his grief for the death of his wife, amused himself with hunting. One day, at the chase, he went to a fountain to quench his thirst: as he approached it he heard the voice of a woman singing, and on coming to it he found there the beautiful Fay Pressina. After...
Scandanavia. The Elle Maid Near Ebeltoft : THE ELLE-MAID NEAR EBELTOFT A FARMER'S boy was keeping cows not far from Ebeltoft. There came to him a very fair and pretty girl, and she asked him if he was hungry or thirsty. But when he perceived that she guarded with the greatest solicitude against his getting a sight of her back, he...
Oriental Romance. Arabian Romance : ARABIAN ROMANCE THE Prophet is the centre round which every thing connected with Arabia revolves. The period preceding his birth is regarded and designated as the times of ignorance, and our knowledge of the ancient Arabian mythology comprises little more than he has been pleased to transmit to us...
Appendices. Lines Written In A Lady's Album : LINES' WRITTEN IN A LADY'S ALBUM IN those blest days, when free from care, And happy as the birds in air, I roamed the hills and dales, By purling rills oft passed the day, Or on green banks recumbent lay, Listening the shepherds' tales, My fancy, rising on the wing, Would visions fair before me...
Scandanavia. Maid Vae : MAID VAE THERE was once a wedding and a great entertainment at Oesterhaesinge. The party did not break up till morning, and the guests took their departure with a great deal of noise and bustle. While they were putting their horses to their carriages, previous to setting out home, they stood...
Africans, Jews, Etc. Africans, Jews, Etc : DEER AND VILA Loud from the hills the voice of riot comes, Where Yumboes shout and beat their Jaloff drums. T. K. This division of our work is somewhat miscellaneous, not being restricted to any particular race, or to any determinate part of the earth's surface. It contains merely such matters...
Celts And Cymry. The Stolen Lady : THE STOLEN LADY JOHN ROY, who lived in Glenbroun, in the parish of Abernethy, being out one night on the hills in search of his cattle, met a troop of fairies, who seemed to have got a prize of some sort or other. Recollecting that the fairies are obliged to exchange whatever they may have with...
Appendices. The Praises Of Mazenderan : THE PRAISES OF MAZENDERAN [The object of this version was to give a correct idea of the animated anapastic measure in which the Shib-Nameh Is written. Our knowledge of Persian was extremely slight; but a friendly Orientalist gave us a faithful line-for-line translation, which we versified, and he...
Great Britian. England : ENGLAND Merry elves, their morrice pacing, To arial minstrelsy, Emerald rings on brown heath tracing, Trip it deft and merrily. Scott. THE Fairy Mythology of England divides itself into two branches, that of the people and that of the poets. Under the former head will be comprised the few...
Switzerland. Switzerland : SWITZERLAND Denn da hielten auch im lande Noch die guten Zwerglein Hans; Kleingestalt, doch hochbegabet, Und so hlfreich liberaus! Mller. For then also in the country The good Dwarflings still kept house; Small in form, but highly gifted, And so kind and generous! WE now arrive at Switzerl...
Africans, Jews, Etc. Africans : AFRICANS When evening's shades o'er Goree's Isle extend, The nimble Yumboes from the Paps descend, Slily approach the natives' huts, and steal, With secret hand, the pounded coos-coos meal. T. K. THE Jaloff inhabitants of the mainland of Africa, opposite the isle of Goree, believe in a species...
Celts And Cymry. Lai D'ywenec : LAI D'YWENEC I HAVE in thought and purpose too, Of Ywenec to tellon you-- Of whom he born was, his sire's fame, How first he to his mother came. He who did beget Ywenec Y-clepod was Eudemarec. There formerly lived in Britain a man who was rich and old. He was Avoez or governor of Caerwent...
Scandanavia. The Penitant Nis : THE PENITENT NIS IT is related of a Nis, who had established himself in a house in Jutland, that he used every evening, after the maid was gone to bed, to go into the kitchen to take his groute, which they used to leave for him in a wooden bowl. One evening he sat down as usual to eat his supper...
Title Page : THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY Illustrative Of The Romance And Superstition Of Various Countries. BY THOMAS KEIGHTLEY [b. 1789 D. 1872.] London, H. G. Bohn, [1870] Scanned And Redacted By Phillip Brown. Additional Formatting And Proofing By John B. Hare. This Text Is In The Public Domain. This File May Be...
Celts And Cymry. Isle Of Man : ISLE OF MAN Mona once hid from those that search the main, Where thousand elfin shapes abide. COLLINS. THE Isle of Man, peopled by Celts, and early and frequently visited and colonised by the Northmen, has also its Fairies, which differ little from those of the greater islands between which it...
Celts And Cymry. Spain : SPAIN Duendecillo, duendecillo, Quien qulera quo seas o fueras, El dinero que tu das En lo que mandares vuelve. Calderon, La Dama Duende. WHEN we inquired, after the fairy-system of Spain, we were told that there was no such thing, for that the Inquisition had long since eradicated all such ide...
Germany. Dwarfs Stealing Corn : DWARFS STEALING CORN 'Tis not very long since there were Dwarfs at Jne near Gttingen, who used to go into the fields and steal the sheaves of corn. This they were able to do the more easily by means of a cap they wore, which made them invisible. They did much injury to one man in particular who...
Eddas And Sagas. The Dwarf Sword Tirfing : THE DWARF SWORD TIRFING SUAFORLAMI, the second in descent from Odin, was kin over Gardarike (Russia). One day he rode a-hunting, an sought long after a hart, but could not find, one the whole day. When the sun was setting he found himself immersed so deep in the forest that he knew not where he...
Eddas And Sagas. Thorston And The Dwarf : THORSTON AND THE DWARF WHEN spring came, Thorston made ready his ship, and put twenty-four men on board of her. When they came to Vinland, they ran her into a harbour, and every day he went on shore to amuse himself. He came one day to an open part of the wood, where he saw a great rock, and out...
Scandanavia. The Changeling : THE CHANGELING THERE lived once, near Tiis lake, two lonely people, who were sadly plagued with a changeling, given them by the underground-people instead of their own child, which had not been baptised in time. This changeling behaved in a very strange and uncommon manner, for when there was no...
Celts And Cymry. France : FRANCE Porquol faut-il s'dmerveiller Que la raison la mteux sense, Lasse souvent do veiller, Par des contes d'ogre et de fe Ingenieusement berce, Prenne plaisir sommelier? Perrault. THE Fairy mythology of France may be divided, as respects its locality, into two parts, that of Northern and th...
Scandanavia. Departure Of The Trolls : DEPARTURE OF THE TROLLS FROM VENDSYSSEL ONE evening, after sunset, there came a strange man to the ferry of Sund. He engaged all the ferry-boats there to go backwards and forwards the whole night long between that place and Vendsyssel, without the people's knowing what lading they had. He told...
Celts And Cymry. The Tylwyth Teg : THE TYLWYTH TEG IN the mountains near Brecknock, says Davies, [a] there is a small lake, to which tradition assigns some of the properties of the fabled Avernus. I recollect a Mabinogi, or mythologic tale, respecting this piece of water, which runs thus:- In ancient times a door in a rock near...
Great Britian. The Fairy Thieves : THE FAIRY THIEVES A FARMER in Hampshire was sorely distressed by the unsettling of his barn. However straightly over-night he laid his sheaves on the threshing-floor for the application of the morning's flail, when morning came, all was topsy-turvy, higgledy-piggledy, though the door remained...
Switzerland. Gertrude And Rosy : GERTRUDE AND ROSY GERTRUDE. QUICK, daughter, quick! spin off what's on your rock. 'Tis Saturday night, and with the week you know Our work must end; we shall the more enjoy To-morrow's rest when all 's done out of hand. [a] Quick, daughter, quick! spin off what 's on your rock. ROSY. True, mother...
Germany. The Friendly Dwarfs : THE FRIENDLY DWARFS' CLOSE to the little town of Dardesheim, between Halberstadt and Brunswick, is a spring of the finest water called the Smansborn, and which flows out of a hill in which in old. times the dwarfs dwelt. When the former inhabitants of the country were in want of a holiday-dress...
Scandanavia. The Nis Riding : THE NIS RIDING THERE was a Nis in a farm-house, who was for ever tormenting the maids, and playing all manner of roguish tricks on them, and they in return were continually planning how to be even with him. There came one time to the farm-house a Juttish drover and put up there for the night...
Germany. Kobolds : THE KOBOLDS [a] Von Kobolt sang die Amme mir Von Kobolt sing' ich winder. VON HALEM. Of Kobold sang my nurse to me; Of Kobold I too sing. THE Kobold is exactly the same being as the Danish Nis, and Scottish Brownie, and English Hobgoblin. [b] He performs the very same services for the family...
Celts And Cymry. The Brownies : THE BROWNIES Two Brownies, man and woman, were attached to the ancient family of Tullochgorm, in Strathspey. The former was named Brownie-Clod, from a habit he had of flinging clods at passers-by; the latter was called Maug Vuluchd "(i.e., "Hairy Mag), on account of her great quantity of hair. She...
Northern Islands. Iceland : ICELAND Hvad mon da ei Og her lyksalig leves kan? Jeg troer Det mueligt, som fr i Heden-Old For rasks Skander mueligt det var, Paa denne kolde Oe. ISLANDSKE LANDLEVNET. What cannot one Here, too, live happy? I believe it now As possible, as in the heathen age, For the bold Scandinavians it w...
Germany. The Heinzelmanchen : THE HEINZELMANCHEN IT is not over fifty years since the Heinzelmnchen, as they are called, used to live and perform their exploits in Cologne. They were little naked mannikins, who used to do all sorts of work; bake bread, wash, and such like house-work. So it is said, but no one ever saw them...
Appendices. Barry Of Cairn Thierna : BARRY OF CAIRN THIERNA FERMOY, though now so pretty and so clean a town, was once as poor and as dirty a village as any in Ireland. It had neither barracks, nor church, nor school, nor anything to admire. Two-storied houses were but few: its street (for it had but one) was chiefly formed...
Germany. The Nix Labour : THE NIX LABOUR A MIDWIFE related that her mother was one night called up, and desired to make haste and come to the aid of a woman in labour. It was dark, but notwithstanding she got up and dressed herself, and went down, where she found a man waiting. She begged of him to stay till she should get...
Switzerland. The Chamois Hunter : THE CHAMOIS HUNTER A CHAMOIS-RUNTER set out early one morning, and ascended the mountains. He had arrived at a great height, and was in view of some chamois, when, just as he was laying his bolt on his crossbow, and was about to shoot, a terrible cry from a cleft of the rock interrupted his...
Celts And Cymry. Lord Nann And The Korrigan : LORD NANN AND THE KORRIGAN The Lord Nann and his bride so fair In early youth united were, In early youth divided were. The lady lay-in yesternight Of twins, their skin as snow was white, A boy and girl, that glad his sight. "What doth thy heart desire, loved one, For giving me so fair a son? Say...
Celts And Cymry. Origin Of The House Of Haro : ORIGIN OF THE HOUSE OF HARO As Don Diego Lopez, lord of Biscay, was one day lying in wait for the wild boar, he heard the voice of a woman who was singing. On looking around, he beheld on the summit of a rock a damsel, exceedingly beautiful, and richly attired. Smitten with her charms, he...
Great Britian. The Fairy Labour : THE FAIRY LABOUR ANOTHER tale relates that a messenger having visited a country-midwife or "howdie "requested her professional assistance in a case where so much secrecy was required that she must be conducted to and from the destined place blindfolded; she at first hesitated, but her scruples...
Germany. Dwarfs : DWARFS Fort, fort! Mich schau' die Sonne nicht, Ich darf nicht langer harren; Mich Elfenklnd vor ihren Licht Shst du zum Fels erstarren. La Motte Fouque. Away! let not the sun view me, I dare no longer stay; An Elfin-child thou wouldst me see, To atone turn at his ray. THESE beings are called...
Northern Islands. The Little Glass Shoe : THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER A PEASANT, named John Wilde, who lived in Rodenkirchen, found one time a glass shoe on one of the hills where the little people used to dance. He clapped it instantly into his pocket and ran away with it, keeping his hand as close on his pocket as if he had a dove in it;...
Germany. The Oldenburg Horn : THE OLDENBURG HORN IN the time of count Otto of Oldenburg, who succeeded his father Ulrich in the year 967, a wonderful transaction occurred. For as he, being a good sportsman, and one who took great delight in the chase, had set out early one day with his nobles and attendants, and had hunted...
Germany. The Peasant And The Waterman : THE PEASANT AND THE WATERMAN A WATER-MAN once lived on good terms with a peasant who dwelt not far from his lake. He often visited him, and at last begged that the peasant would visit him in his house under the water. The peasant consented, and went down with him. There was everything down under...
Scandanavia. A Farmer Tricks A Troll : A FARMER TRICKS A TROLL A FARMER, on whose ground there was a little hill, resolved not to let it lie idle, so he began at one end to plough it up. The hill-man, who lived in it, came to him and asked him bow he dared to plough on the roof of his house. The farmer assured him that he did not know...
Spenser's Faerie Queene. Spenser's Faerie Queene : SPENSER'S FAERIE QUEENE. A braver lady never tript on land, Except the ever-living Faerie Queene, Whose virtues by her swain so written been That tlme shall call her high enhanced story, In his rare song, the Muse's chiefest glory. BROWN. DURING the sixteenth century the study of classical...
Oriental Romance. Persian Romance : ORIENTAL ROMANCE [a] Persian Romance The pure and simple religion of ancient Persia, onginating, it is said, with a pastoral and hunting race among the lofty bills of Aderbijan, or, as others think, in the elevated plains of Bactria, in a region where light appears in all its splendour, took...
Scandanavia. The Nisses In Vosborg : THE NISSES IN VOSBORG THERE was once an exceeding great number of Nisses in Jutland. Those in Vosborg in particular were treated with so much liberality, that they were careful and solicitous beyond measure for 'their master's interest. They got every evening in their sweet-groute a large lump...
Appendices. The Young Piper : THE YOUNG PIPER THERE was livin', it's not very long ago, on the borders o' the county Wicklow, a dacint honest couple, whose names wor Mick Flanagan and Judy Muldoon. These poor people wor blist, as the saying is, wid four childher, all buys: three o' them wor as fine, stout, healthy, goodlukin'...
Celts And Cymry. The Little Shoe : THE LITTLE SHOE "Now tell me, Molly," said Mr. Coote to Molly Cogan, as he met her on the road one day, close to one of the old gateways of Kilmallock, "did you ever hear of the Cluricaun?"--"Is it the Cluricaun? Why, thin, to be shure; aften an' aften. Many 'a the time I h'ard my father, rest his...
Northern Islands. Shetland : SHETLAND Well, since we are welcome to Yule, Up wi 't Lightfoot, link it awa', boys! Send for a fiddler, play up Foula reel, The Shaalds will pay for a', boys. SHETLAND SONG. DR. HIBBERT's valuable work on the Shetland Islands [a] fortunately enables us to give a tolerably complete account...
Great Britian. The Fairy Banquet : THE FAIRY BANQUET IN the next chapter of his history, William of Newbridge relates as follows:-- "In the province of the Deiri (Yorkshire), not far from my birth-place, a wonderful thing occurred, which I have known from my boyhood. There is a town a few miles distant from the Eastern Sea, near...
Africans, Jews, Etc. The Moohel : THE MOOHEL THERE was once a man who was exceedingly rich, but out of all measure avaricious, and who never had done a good deed in his life, and. never had given even the value of a farthing unto the poor. It happened one winter's nights between the hours of twelve and one, that a man came...
Germany. The Hill Man At The Dance : THE HILL-MAN AT THE DANCE OLD people have positively asserted that some years ago, at the celebration of a wedding in the village of Glass, a couple of miles from the Wunderberg, and the same distance from the city of Saltzburg, there came toward evening a little Hill-man out of the Wunderberg. He...
Great Britian. The Boggart : THE BOGGART IN the house of an honest farmer in Yorkshire, named George Gilbertson, a Boggart had taken up his abode. He here caused a good deal of annoyance, especially by tormenting the children in various ways. Sometimes their bread and butter would be snatched away, or their porringers...
Celts And Cymry. Brittany : BRITTANY Mut ant este noble Barun Cil de Bretaine il Bretun. Marie de France. Thise old gentil Bretons in hir dayes Of diverse aventurs maden layes. Chaucer BRITTANY, the ancient Armorica, retains perhaps as unmixed a population as any part of Western Europe. Its language has been, however, like...
Scandanavia. Duke Magnus And The Mermaid : DUKE MAGNUS AND THE MERMAID DUKE MAGNUS looked out through the castle window, How the stream ran so rapidly; And there he saw how upon the stream sat A woman most fair and lovelie, Duke Magnus, Duke Magnus, plight thee to me, I pray you still so freely; Say me not nay, but yes, yes! "O, to you I...
Africans, Jews, Etc. Jews : JEWS And the Mazikeen shall not come near thy tents. IT has long been an established article of belief among the Jews that there is a species of beings which they call Shedeem, Shehireem, or Mazikeen. These beings exactly correspond to the Arabian Jinn; and the Jews hold that it is by means...
Eddas And Sagas. Loki And The Dwarf : LOKI AND THE DWARF LOKI the son of Laufeiar, had out of mischief cut off all the hair of Sif. When Thor found this out he seized Loki, and would have broken every bone in his body, only that he swore to get the Suartalfar to make for Sif hair of gold, which would grow like any other hair. Loki...
Celts And Cymry. The Changeling : THE CHANGELING A COUPLE of Strathspey lads who dealt in whiskey that never paid duty, which they used to purchase in Glenlivat, and sell at Badenoch and Fort William, were one night laying in stock at Glenlivat when they heard the child in the cradle give a piercing cry, just as if it had been...
Great Britian. Pixy Vengence : PIXY-VENGENCE Two serving-girls in Tavistock said that the Pixies were very kind to them, and used to drop silver for them into a bucket of fair water which they took care to place for them in the chimney-nook every night. Once it was forgotten, and the Pixies forthwith came up to the girls' room...
Great Britian. Scottish Lowlands : THE SCOTISH LOWLANDS When from their hilly dens, at midnight hour, Forth rush the airy elves in mimic state, And o'er the moonlight heath with swiftness scour, In glittering arms the little horsemen shine. ERSKINE. THE Scottish Fairies scarcely differ in any essential point from those of Engl...
Appendices. The Harvest Dinner : APPENDIX THE HARVEST DINNER The following tales are some of those which we contributed to the Irish Fairy Legends. Subjoined is a selection from the verses which we have written on various occasions, chiefly to oblige our lady-friends. They are inserted merely to show that the writer could compose...
Celts And Cymry. The Urisk : THE URISK THERE is also in the Highlands a rough hairy spirit, called the Urisk. The following legend will display his nature and character: To the very great annoyance of a Highland miller, and to the injury of the machinery, his mill, he found, used to be set to work at night when there w...
Appendices. Aileen A Roon : AILEEN A ROON (ELLEN MY LOVE) CARROL O'DALY is the Lochinvar of Ireland. He and Ellen Cavanagh were intimate from childhood. The result was love; but Ellen's father insisted on her marrying a wealthier suitor. On the wedding-night Carrol came disguised as a harper, and played and sung this air...
Scandanavia. Kirsten's Hill : KIRSTEN'S HILL THERE is a hill on the lands of Skjelverod, near Ringsted, called Kirsten's-hill "(Kirstens Bjerg). "In it there lived a Hill-troll whose name was Skynd, who had from time to time stolen no less than three wives from a man in the village of Englerup. It was late one evening when...
Scandanavia. The Troll Wife : THE TROLL WIFE THE grandfather of Reor, who dwelt at Fuglekrr (i.e. "Bird-marsh), "in the parish of Svartsborg "(Black-castle), "lived close to a hill, and one time, in the broad daylight, be saw sitting there on a stone a comely maiden. He wished to intercept her, and for this purpose "he threw...
Appendices. Father Cuddy's Song : FATHER CUDDY'S SONG IN THE LEGEND OF CLOUGH NA CUDDY. QUAM pulchra sunt ova, Cum alba et nova In stabulo scite leguntur; Et Margery bells, Quae festiva puella! Pinguis lardi cum frustis coquuntur. Ut belles in prato Aprico et lato Sub sole tam laete renident, Ova tosta, in mensa Mappa bene extens...
Eastern Europe. Finns : FINNS Bee! thou little mundane bird! Fly away to where I bid thee; O'er the moon, beneath the sun, Behind the lofty heaven's stars, Close by the Wain's axle--fly To the great Creator's court. Finnish Rune. OF the mythology of the Finnish race, the first possibly that appeared in Europe, and. one...
Celts And Cymry. The Fairy Gift : THE FAIRY GIFT A FARMER in Strathspey was one day engaged in sowing one of his fields and singing at his work. A fairy damsel of great beauty came up to him and requested him to sing for her a favourite old Gaelic song named "NighanDonne na Bual. "He complied, and she then asked him to give her...
Celts And Cymry. Tale Of Elidurus : TALE OF ELIDURUS A SHORT time before our days, a circumstance worthy of note occurred in these parts, which Elidurus, a priest, most strenuously affirmed had befallen himself. When he was a youth of twelve years,--since, as Solomon says, "The root of learning is bitter, although the fruit is sweet...
Scandanavia. The Girl At The Troll Dance : THE GIRL AT THE TROLL DANCE A GIRL, belonging to a village in the isle of' Funen, went out, one evening, into the fields, and as she was passing by a small hill, she saw that it was raised upon red pillars, and a Troll-banquet going on beneath it. She was invited in, and such was the gaiety...
Great Britian. The Fairy Nursling : THE FAIRY NURSELING A COTTAGER and his wife residing at Nether Witton were one day visited by a "fary "and his spouse with their young child, which they wished to leave in their charge. The cottager agreed to take care of the child for a certain period when it had to be taken thence. The fary gave...
Scandanavia. The Altar Cup In Aagerup : THE ALTAR-CUP IN AAGERUP BETWEEN the villages of Marup and Aagerup in Zealand, there is said to have lain a great castle, the ruins of which are still to be seen near the strand. Tradition relates that a great treasure is concealed among them, and that a dragon there watches over three kings'...
Conclusion. Conclusion : CONCLUSION HERE, then, we conclude. The task which we imposed on ourselves was to collect, arrange, classify, and give under one point of view the various ideas and legends respecting Fairies and similar beings of the popular creed, which lay scattered in a variety of books and a variety...
Northern Islands. Adventures Of John Dietrich : ADVENTURES OF JOHN DIETRICH THERE once lived in Rambin an honest, industrious man, named James Dietrich. He had several children, all of a good disposition, especially the youngest, whose name was John. John Dietrich was a handsome, smart boy, diligent at school, and obedient at home. His gre...
Celts And Cymry. La Infantina : LA ENFANTINE A CAZAR va el caballero, A cazar como solia.-- Los perros Ileva cansados, El falcon perdido at. Arrimarase un roble, Alto es a maravilla, En un ramo mas alto Viera estar una Infantina. Cabellos de su cabeza Todo aquel roble cobrian; "No te espantes, caballero. Ni tengas tamana grim...
Eastern Europe. Deer And Vila : DEER AND VILA A YOUNG deer track'd his way through the lone forest One lonely day--another came in sadness-- And the third dawn'd, and brought him sighs and sorrow; Then he address'd him to the forest Vila: "Young deer" she said, "thou wild one of the forest! Now tell me what great sorrow h...
Celts And Cymry. Wales : WALES It was the Druid's presage, who had long In Geirionydd's [a] airy temple marked The songs that from the Gwyllion [b] rose, of eve The children, in the bosom of the lakes. "Taliesin". THE oldest account we have met with of Welsh Fairies is in the Itinerary of Giraldus Cambrensis, who...
Celts And Cymry. The Stolen Ox : THE STOLEN OX THE tacksman "(i. e. "tenant) of the farm of Auchriachan in Strathavon, while searching one day for his goats on a hill in Glenlivat, found himself suddenly enveloped in a dense fog. It continued till night came on when he began to give himself up to despair. Suddenly he beheld...
Northern Islands. Orkneys : ORKNEYS. Harold was born where restless seas Howl round the storm-swept Oreades. SCOTT. OF the Orcadian Fairies we have very little information. Brand [a] merely tells us, they were, in his time, frequently seen in several of the isles dancing and making merry; so that we may fairly conclude they...
Celts And Cymry. Clever Tom And The Leprechaun : CLEVER TOM AND THE LEPRECHAUN OLIVER Tom Fwich-(i.e. Fitz)pathrick, as people used to call him, was the eldest son o' a comfortable farmer, who lived nigh hand to Morristown-Lattin, not far from the Liftey. Tom. was jist turned o' nine-an'-twinty, whin he met wid the follyin' advinthur, an' he w...
Scandanavia. The Hill Smith : THE HILL SMITH BIORN MARTINSSON went out shooting, one day, with a gamekeeper, on the wooded hill of Ormkulla. They there found a hill-smith "(bergsmed) "lying fast asleep. Birn directed the gamekeeper to secure him, but he refused, saying "Pray to God to protect you! The hill-smith will fling you...
Scandanavia. The Hill Man Invited : THE HILL MAN INVITED TO THE CHRISTENING THE hill-people are excessively frightened during thunder. When, therefore, they see bad weather coming on, they lose no time in getting to the shelter of their hills. This terror is also the cause of their not being able to endure the beating of a drum...
Scandanavia. Proud Margaret : PROUD MARGERET PROUD Margaret's [a] father of wealth had store, Time with me goes slow.-- And he was a king seven kingdoms o'er, But that grief is heavy I know. [b] To her came wooing good earls two, Time with me goes slow.-- But neither of them would she hearken unto, But that grief is heavy I...
Great Britian. The Fairies' Nurse : THE FAIRIES NURSE THE Fairies have a great fondness for getting their babes suckled by comely, healthy young women. A fine young woman of Nithsdale was one day spinning and rocking her first-born child. A pretty little lady in a green mantle, and bearing a beautiful babe, came into 'the cottage...
Eastern Europe. Vilas : VILAS CHERRY! dearest Cherry! Higher lift thy branches, Under which the Vilas Dance their magic roundels. Them before Radisha Dew from flowers, lashes, Leadeth on two Vilas, To the third he sayeth-- "Be thou mine, O Vila! Thou shalt, with my mother, In the cool shade seat thee; Soft silk deftly...
Eastern Europe. Slaves : SLAVES Whatsoe'er at eve had raised the workmen, Did the Vila raze ere dawn of morning. Bowring, Servian Popular Poetry. A DEMON, in the attire of a mourning widow, used, in the Eastern Russia, to go through the fields at noon in harvest-time, and break the legs and arms of the workmen, who failed...
Great Britian. The Portunes : THE PORTUNES IN another part of this work the Chancellor says, [a]-- "They have in England certain demons, though I know not whether I should call them demons or figures of a secret and unknown generation, which the French call Neptunes, the English Portunes. [b] It is their nature to embrace...
Scandanavia. The Elf Woman And Sir Olof : THE ELF-WOMAN AND SIR OLOF SIR Olof rideth out ere dawn, Breaketh day, falleth rime; Bright day him came on. Sir Olof cometh home, When the wood it is leaf-green. Sir Olof rides by Borgya, Breaketh day, falleth rime; Meets a dance of Elves so gay. Sir Olof cometh home, When the wood it is...
Great Britian. The Brownie : THE BROWNIE THE Nis, Kobold, or Goblin, appears in Scotland under the name of Brownie. [a] Brownie is a personage of small stature, wrinkled visage, covered with short curly brown hair, and wearing a brown mantle and hood. His residence is the hollow of the old tree, a ruined castle, or the abode...
Scandanavia. The Power Of The Harp : THE POWER OF THE HARP LITTLE Kerstin she weeps in her bower all the day; Sir Peter in his courtyard is playing so gay. My heart's own dear! Tell me wherefore you grieve? "Grieve you for saddle, or grieve you for steed? Or grieve you for that I have you wed?" My heart's, &c. "And grieve do I not...
Great Britian. The Fairy Horn : THE FAIRY-HORN "THERE is," says he, [a] "in the county of Gloucester, a forest abounding in boars, stags, and every species of game that England produces. In a grovy lawn of this forest there is a little mount, rising in a point to the height of a man, on which knights and other hunters are used...
