The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-09-28
Die FAIRIES a Real Eolkof Jlcsh and Blood
By ELLA F. MCSBY.

Almost every land has It's little folks.
Whenever and from whatsomever causes
arace, or a fraction thereof. is complete
ly Isolated whether in island surrounded
by a. rough and perilous sea, as those
near the coasts Of Scotland and Wales.
| in the Wild and rugged mountains, IN
| trackless moors and morasseS, or In
| dense and ,lnbroken forests. as In the
| tropics. there will probably be. after
| several generations. smaller and pc
! culiar race Continual interbreeding,
! life OF hardships and Il scanty. or mo-
| notonous diet, usually result from such
isolation and produce Il dwarfed stature.
an eXaggera ton to grotesGuenesS OF any
| physical pecuIarities. There are dwarf
races in the great banana forests of
Central Africa and the famous eXplor
| er, Henry Stanley. brought some of these
| to England with him. The small We'd
| dhas Rock .Veddahs and Veddah of the
village are well known in the forests
! OF Ceylon. The charcoal burners of the
New Forests in England. through the
| isolation, was far from being COM
| plete or as long as in the cases before
| cited, are described in the Civil War as
of low and Stunted stature and of I'M
| cOuth language.
In the mountains Of the New World
the Cumberland range of Tennessee
| there has been found the burial place OF
| a race scarcely larger THAI children. the
little strange people" of Miss Murfries
| poetic stories. In the South Sea Islands.
especially Hawaii, the Aborgines are said
| to have been pygnies in size. that were
driven by the invasion OF the present
| race back into the tropical forests of the
mountains, where they lived on roots
| and fruits and dwelt in caves. They were
| rarely seen. and their small stature Is
| more probably the result OF this isolated
,nI ct,s 1-<rT,f E.rf- ITO nj
| though they were undoubtedly the In
| feriors Of the present Hawaiians in vigor
! and strength
LIKE THE FAIRIES.
It will be interesting to see how far
| the known traits of these dwarf races
coincide with the traits and habits of
| the fairies in the folklore we possess
| teristc of the fairy was his power
of vanishing in the twinklinS of
| an eye from human men. There is
| scarcely a fairy tale which does not de-
! scribe such q disappearance from the
very spot where the elf or fay had
| stood. but a moment before and the
| kindly sprite with like suddenness APP
| pears to aid unhappy mortals. Now. the
| little races Of mountain and forest
know themselves no match for the race
| outside. and every trait and instinct OF
their lives teaches them to elude and
| escape from strangers. The training of
| their senses in the long struggle for
| food with the wild beasts about them is
perfect. AS shy, as Ebert, as swift as
| these. they appear or vanish as II by
| magic: and to aid their vanishing they
| have close a hand Kidding places and
| pathways the stranger cound never de-
| tect 1t is by q lucky chance, usually.
| that a traveller sees one Of these little
| folks. either at work or play; and it is
as strange and unfamiliar a sight as the
vision OF the Fairy Smitte under the
magic throntree would seem to a KeIt
| in the gltmmer of a gray dawn.
| The handicraft OF the fairy folks In
| legend is not much greater than that OF
| the primitive dwarf races. The latter
naturally learns something of the use
| of metals living in caves of the noun
| tains as they and the German stories
make their queer gnomes and COLLINS
gather crystals and gold from the noun
| tain caverns. By the way. the proverb-
| iaI use of Fairy gold" to describe
gnttering stone that proves valueless on
close Inspection. would seem TO prove
that these little folks are not too wise
! to be fooled by mica and Their shining
stun.
THE MAGIC SPELL.
The power of magic spell, as transfor-
| nation Of man into beast or bird, Is an
| onl Eastern legend that goes back into
| the 1nfsts of antiquity. Probably some OF
| these earliest traditions were disguised
nature stories. suggested by the marvel
Gus Weakening of the dead earth by the
sun In spring: the breaking OF eggs chry-
Said and the emergence of winged and
airy forms. and the unfolding of leaf
! and bud from the dry seed. It would
| tale short step for credulous and
! Yivid imagination to transfer these mys-
| te:ious changes to .he unfamiliar agen-
! cies OF the little people. whose whole
snsech -reA 17ointslligible. TIL. AixiAsA