fairies and to people's fancies, as one of Sir Walter Scott's fanciful personages (we forget her name) does to flesh and blood in the novel.*

The passages in Ben Jonson regarding fairies want merit enough to be quoted; not that he had not a fine fancy, but that in this instance, as in some others, he overlaid it with his book-reading, probably in despair of equalling Shakespeare. The passages quoted from him by the author of the "Fairy Mythology," rather out of respect than his usual good taste, are nothing better than so many commonplaces, in which the popular notions are set forth. There is, however, one striking exception, out of the "Sad Shepherd,”

"There, in the stocks of trees, white fays do dwell,
And span-long elves, that dance about a pool
With each a little changeling in their arms."

This is very grim, and to the purpose. The changeling, supernaturally diminished, adds to the ghastliness, as if born and completed before its time.

For our next quotation, which is very pleasant, we are indebted, amongst our numerous obligations, to the same fairy historian. There is probably a good deal of treasure of the same sort in the rich mass of Old English Poetry; but the truth is, we dare not trust ourselves with the search. We have already a tendency to exceed the limits assigned us; and on subjects like these we should be tolled on from one search to another, as if Puck had taken the shape of a bee. The passage we speak of is in Randolph's pastoral of " Amyntas, or the Impossible Dowry." A young rogue of the name of Dorylas "makes a fool of

* The White Lady of Avenel, in the Monastery, was undoubtedly the personage Hunt had in his mind. — ED.

a fantastique sheapherd,' Jocastus, by pretending to be Oberon, King of Fairy." In this character, having provided a proper retinue (whom we are to suppose to be boys) he proposes a fairy husband for Jocastus's daughter, and obliges him by plundering his orchard. We take the former of these incidents for granted, from the context, for we have not seen the original. Dorylas appears sometimes to act in his own character, and sometimes in that of Oberon. In the former the following dialogue takes place between him and his wittol, descriptive of

A FAIRY'S JOINTURE.

Thestylis. But what estate shall he assure upon me?
Focastus. A royal jointure, all in Fairy land.

Dorylas. Paled round about with pickteeth.

foc. Besides a house made all of mother of pearl.

Dor. That bear as well in winter as in summer.

Foc. 'Bove all, the fish-ponds, every pond is full-
Dor. Of nectar. Will this please you? Every grove
Stored with delightful birds.

Dorylas proceeds to help himself to the farmer's apples, his brother rogues assisting him. This license, it must be owned, is royal. But what is still pleasanter, we are

here presented for the first time with some fairy Latin, and very good it is, quaint and pithy. The Neapolitan Robin Goodfellow, who goes about in the shape of a little monk, might have written it.

FAIRIES RObbing an ORCHARD, AND SINGING LATIN.

Dor. How like you now my grace? Is not my countenance
Royal and full of majesty? Walk not I

Like the young prince of pigmies? Ha! my knaves,
We'll fill our pockets. Look, look yonder, elves;
Would not yon apples tempt a better conscience
Than any we have, to rob an orchard? Ha!

Fairies, like nymphs with child, must have the things
They long for. You sing here a fairy catch

In that strange tongue I taught you, while ourself
Do climb the trees. Thus princely Oberon

Ascends his throne of state.

When to bed the world are bobbing,
Then's the time for orchard robbing;
Yet the fruit were scarce worth pealing,
Were it not for stealing, stealing.

Jocastus's man Bromio prepares to thump these pretended elves, but the master is overwhelmed by the condescension of the princely Oberon in coming to his orchard, when

His Grace had orchards of his own more precious

Than mortals can have any.

The elves therefore, by permission, pinched the officious servant, singing,

Quoniam per te violamur,
Ungues hic experiamur;

Statim dices tibi datam

Cutem valde variatam.

Since by thee comes profanation,

Taste thee, lo! scarification.

Noisy booby! in a twinkling

Thou hast got a pretty crinkling.

Finally, when the coast is clear, Oberon cries,

So we are clean got off: come, noble peers

Of Fairy, come, attend our royal Grace.

Let's go and share our fruit with our Queen Mab
And the other dairy-maids: where of this theme
We will discourse amidst our capes and cream.

Cum tot poma habeamus,
Triumphos læti jam canamus:
Faunos ego credam ortos,
Tantum ut frequentent hortos.

I, domum, Oberon, ad illas,
Quæ nos manent nunc ancillas,
Quarem osculemur sinum,

Inter poma, lac, et vinum.

Now for such a stock of apples,
Laud me with the voice of chapels.
Fays, methinks, were gotten solely
To keep orchard-robbing holy.

Hence then, hence, and let's delight us
With the maids whose creams invite us,
Kissing them, like proper fairies,
All amidst their fruits and dairies.

III.

NEXT comes Drayton, a proper fairy poet, with an infinite luxury of little fancies. Nor was he incapable of the greater; but he would not blot; and so took wisely to the little and capricious. His "Nymphidia," a story of fairy intrigue, is too long and too unequal to be given entire ; but it cuts out into little pictures like a penny sheet. You might border a paper with his stanzas, and read them instead of grotesque. His fairy palace is roofed with the skins of bats, gilded with moonshine ; -a fancy of exquisite fitness and gusto. There ought to be type by itself, -pin-points, or hieroglyphical dots,—in which to set forth the following

NAMES OF FAIRIES.

Hop, and Mop, and Drop so clear,
Pip, and Trip, and Skip, that were
To Mab, the sovereign lady dear,

Her special maids of honour;
Fib, and Tib, and Pinch, and Pin,
Tick, and Quick, and Fill and Fin,
Tit, and Wit, and Wap, and Win,
The train that wait upon her.

Oberon's queen (who is here called Mab) has made an assignation with Pigwiggen, a great fairy knight. The