Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-17
THE BELIEF IN FAIRIES.

THE BELlEF IN FAIRIES,
Il stin Exists in Some Parts Of the World
"A Very Pretty and Harmless Delusion.
From the London Queen.
In countries where . good deal Of Celtic
blood yet remains pure and untainted with
Teutonic or Scandinavian q lingering belief
in fairies may still be traced in remote parts
few years ago an old man in the Isle of Man
solemnly assured Q traveller there that he HIM
self had one night beheld the fairies at their
revels in such multitudes shat there was quite
thickness tremendous Of them" and no
amount of skeptical questioning could shake
the old man in his belief. At the present day, in
the wilder parts Of Cornwall, quite genuine be-
Lief in being 'pisky-led" prevails. ''Piskie"
(pixie in Devonian) is the common Cornish
name for fairies and certain mischievous sprites
among them are supposed to derive great pleas
ure in enticing unwary travellers across the
wild moors and hills from the right paths and
leading them grieyously astray. After landing
some unlucky wight in a bog burst Of merry
laughter in the air generally informs the trav-
eier who his guide has been. The only way to
circumvent these airy sprites is to turn the
coat inside out before venturing across a deco
late expanse. That they have a certain COM
mand over the powers of nature is shown by
their having the power to blind and bewilder
the traveller by throwing fog around him, so
that he cannot trace his way.
The following account of their personal ap-
pearance is preserved in a tale told by old wives
in the neighborhood of Lamorna beyond Pen
zance: An old woman called ..Annt Joan"
when on visit to . neighbor popularity sup
posed to be a white witch, rubs q little oint-
ment she finds hidden under some fern upon
one OF her eyes, and the result is that when
she opens her eyes "the place was full of sprites
and spriggans. In all the folds of the nets and
sails hanging from the beams troops of small
people we're cutting all sorts Of capers, the lit
tie creatures were tossing up their heels wav-
ing their feathered caps and fans they
launched up and down on the merest bits Of
swinging in the cobwebs that hung from the
rafters, or riding the mice in and out through
the holes in the thatch.
II noted that all the little men we're dressed
in green, pinked out with red, and had feathEed
caps on their heads, high riding boots, With
silver spurs on their heels; their ladies' were all
decked out in the grand old fashion, their
gowns were Of green velvet, with long trains,
some Topped up with silver chains and bells or
tassels, others had their trains sweeping be-
hind them as they walked in grand state up
and down. They seemed to think there was
nobody in the house but themselves prancing
about in their high-heeled shoes, sparkling with
diamond buckles. The little women all wore
high-crowned steeple hats like mine, with
wreaths of the most beautiful flowers of all col
other parts OF their dress and in their hands rs
well, flirting their fans in the faces of the
men. They were the sauciest little mortals
ever did see. What puzzled me most was to
see SO many sweet flowers with them at that
time of the year. spied some ugly
spriggans seated in the dark corner looking
very gloomy, because they are doomed to guard
the treasures and do irksOme things the merry
small people are free from. - A troop
OF the small people entered, playing such sweet
strains on the pipes, flutes and other instru-
ments they had made with green reeds of the
brook and shells OF the Shore
Then follows an account Of how the fairy
band approached tho old dame Chenance (the
white witch) and cast punches Of the herbs into
her apron, with which she made the healing
salves and lotions. As soon as these fairies re-
tired others came forward. bearing in their
hands unopened flowers of the foxglove from
which they poured magic dyes, which no sooner
touched her dress than it was changed into vel
vet: others laid silver cord on the cuttings of
the petticoat, and decked the old dame out in
all manner and variety Of flowers. The house
Is covered with marvellous tapestries, and the
old dame SO transformed with her fairy attire
that Aunt Joan gets frightened and hobbies off,
but on glanclng back with her unanointed eye
sees Dame Chenance in her ordinary clothes
sewing but on looking with the anointed eve
the fairy scene is again revealed.
Another story relates how a man. cutting
furze on the heath, finds among the bushes a
tiny figure asleep. He was no bigger than a
cat and dressed in a green coat, sky-blue
breeches and diamond-buckled shoes. Uncle
Billy takes him home to his children. who
make great friends with him, and cali him
Bobby Grlglans (griglans is old Cornish for
heath). He is gay little creature. who sings
and dances for hours together. with a great
adherence of dirt or dust. He only drinks
milk and eats biackberries or hips and haws
They keep him few days, but among the
furze one day Bobby and the children meet a
little man and woman, the man dressed lust as
Bobby, only wearing riding boots with silver
spurs. The little woman wore a green gown
spangled all over with silver stars. Her little
steeple-crowned hat was wreathed with heather,
perched on her golden curls. and the pretty
soul was wringing her hands a crying, co., nv
dear and tender Skillywidden, where ever
eans1 basl be ss gone Rt to- my only oy Now
dad and mann are come. Here am, nanny
BY the time he said Here l am the little
man and woman ana Skillywidden vanished
and We're never more seen. The children got a
good thrashing for letting Skillywidden 60, for
II they had kept him he would have shown
their daddy where crooks of gold are buried
and they would all of them have bee rich
This al1usion to the crock of gold must not
serve to confound the fairies with the "Knack-
ers, who are in reality gnomes and live under
ground, ana nave possession of gold and gems
Many man in Cornwall at the present day
will tell you with fear and trembling that he
has heard the Knockers at work in the mines.
and he knows misfortune awaits him This
class of being has no affinity with the fairies of
Celtic fancy. but belongs to the demon and
gnOme traditions of Teutonic nations
All thing pass away: even our children now
VIII scarcely deign to own belief in one of the
purest fancies that ever entered human imsgi-
nations, and which in former days great poets
deigned to treat as by no means despicable
belief. Fairies are wholesomer diet for our
babies minds than anecdotes of great men and
diluted history of human endeavors and fail
ures. Let the children keep their fairies as
long as possible, for fairy reverence means
simple faith in goodness and it does no harm
for child to see fairies in the cups of the
flowers, even if he afterward has to learn all
that can be learnt about vegetable tissues and
coloring matter in solution.