Into the sunshine,
Full of light,
Leaping and flashing,
From morn till night.
Into the moonlight,
Whiter than snow,
Waving so flower-like,
When the winds blow!
Into the starlight,
Rushing in spray,
Happy at midnight—
Happy by day!
Ever in motion,
Blithesome and cheery,
Still climbing heavenward,
Never aweary;
Glad of all weathers,
Still seeming best,
Upward or downward,
Motion thy rest;
Full of a nature
Nothing can tame,
Changed every moment—
Ever the same;
Ceaseless aspiring,
Ceaseless content,
Darkness or sunshine,
Thy element;
Glorious fountain!
Let my heart be
Fresh, changeful, constant
Upward, like thee!
J. R. LOWELL.
XVI.
=Fairies.=
“They inhabit the interior of green hills, chiefly those of a conical
form, on which they lead their dances by moonlight, impressing upon the
surface the marks of circles, which sometimes appear yellow and blasted,
sometimes of a deep-green hue, and within which it is dangerous to sleep
or to be found after sunset.
“They are heard sedulously hammering in linns, precipices, and rocky or
cavernous situations, where, like the dwarfs of the mines, mentioned by
Georg. Agricola, they busy themselves in imitating the actions and the
various employments of men. The brook of Beaumont, for example, which
passes in its course by numerous linns and caverns, is notorious for
being haunted by the Fairies; and the perforated and rounded stones,
which are formed by trituration in its channel, are termed, by the
vulgar, fairy-cups and dishes. A beautiful reason
is assigned by Fletcher for the fays frequenting streams and fountains.
He tells us of
'A virtuous well, about whose flowery banks
The nimble-footed Fairies dance their rounds
By the pale moonshine, dipping oftentimes
Their stolen children, so to make them free
From dying flesh and dull mortality.’
_Faithful Shepherdess._
There is upon the top of Minchmuir, a mountain in Peebleshire, a spring
called the Cheese Well, because, anciently, those who passed that way
were wont to throw into it a piece of cheese as an offering to the
Fairies, to whom it was consecrated.
“The usual dress of the Fairies is green, though, on the moors, they
have been sometimes observed in heath brown, or in weeds dyed with the
stoneran, or lichen. They often ride in invisible procession, when
their presence is discovered by the shrill ringing of their
bridles.”—_Minstrelsy of Scottish Border._
The seed of the fern, from its singular manner of growth, was supposed
to be under the especial protection of the Queen of the Fairies. It was
believed to have the quality of rendering whoever carried it about him
invisible, and to be also of great use in charms and incantations. But
the difficulties of gathering this mysterious seed were very great
indeed; it was supposed to be only visible on St. John’s Eve, and at the
very moment when the Baptist was born. How the rustic population
accounted for the fact that it might, in reality, be found on the fronds
both before and after that day, one can not say; but they probably held
this to be a delusion of the Fairies. It is certain, at least, that they
supposed the important magic seed itself only to be attainable on that
one evening in the year. But even at the right hour to collect this seed
was no easy task, the Fairies resorting to all kinds of devices to
prevent human hands from gathering it. A certain individual who
flattered himself that he had succeeded in his errand, and supposed that
“he had gotten a quantity of it, and
secured it in papers, and in a box besides, when he came home, found all
empty.” This fancy connected with the fern appears to have been very
general. Shakspeare alludes to it:
“We have the receipt of fern-seed; we walk invisible.”
_Henry IV., Act 1, Sc. 3._