Or who comes here to chase the deer, "Up, Urgan, up! to yon mortal hie, For cross or sign thou wilt not fly,`` 66 For mutter'd word or ban. Lay on him the curse of the wither'd heart, The curse of the sleepless eye; Till he wish and pray that his life would part, [See Appendix, Note L.] As the Daoine shi', or Men of Peace, wore green habits, they were supposed to take offence when any mortals ventured to assume their favourite colour. Indeed, from some reason, which has been, perhaps, originally a general superstition, green is held in Scotland to be unlucky to particular tribes and counties. The Caithness men, who hold this belief, allege, as a reason, that their bands wore that colour when they were cut off at the battle of Flodden; and for the same reason they avoid crossing the Ord on a Monday, being the day of the week on which their ill-omened array set forth. Green is also disliked by those of the name of Ogilvy; but more especially is it held fatal to the whole clan of Grahame. It is remembered of an aged gentleman of that name, that when his borse fell in a fox-chase, he accounted for it at once, by observing, that the whip-cord attached to his lash was of this unlucky colour. 3 The Elves were supposed greatly to envy the privileges acquired by Christian initiation, and they gave to those mortals who had fallen into their power, a certain precedence, founded upon this advantageous distinction. Tamlane, in the old ballad, describes his own rank in the fairy procession : "For I ride on a milk-white steed, And aye nearest the town; Because I was a christen'd knight, I presume, that, in the Danish ballad of the Elfin Gray, [see Appendix, Note L.] the obstinacy of the "Weiest Elf," who would not flee for cross or sign, is to be derived from the circumstance of his having been "christen'd man.” How eager the Elves were to obtain for their offspring the prerogatives of Christianity, will be proved by the following story: "In the district called Haga, in Iceland, dwelt a nobleman called Sigward. Forster, who had an intrigue with one of the subterranean females. The elf became pregnant, and exacted from her lover a firm promise that he would procure the baptism of the infant. At the appointed time, the mother came to the churchyard, on the wall of which she placed a golden cup, and a stole for the priest, agreeable to the custom of making an offering at baptism. She then stood a little apart. When the priest left the church, he enquired the meaning of what he saw, and demanded of Sigward, if he avowed himself the father of the child. But Sigward, ashamed of the connexion, denied the paternity. He was then interrogated he desired that the child should be baptized; but this also he answered in the negative, lest, by such request, he should admit himself to be the father. On which the child was left untouched and unbaptized. Whereupon the mother, in extreme wrath, snatched up the infant and the cup, and retired, leaving the priestly cope, of which fragments are still in preservation. But this female denounced and imposed upon Sigward, and his posterity, to the ninth generation, a singular disease, with which many of his descendants are afflicted at this day.' Thus wrote Einar Dudmond, pastor of the parish of Garpsdale, in Iceland, a man profoundly versed in learning, from whose manuscript it was extracted by the learned Torfæus.-Historia Hrolfi Krakii, Hafniæ, 1715, prefatio. XIV. BALLAD CONTINUED. 'Tis merry, 'tis merry, in good greenwood, Up Urgan starts, that hideous dwarf, And, as he cross'd and bless'd himself, But out then spoke she, Alice Brand, "And if there's blood upon his hand, "Now loud thou liest, thou bold of mood! It cleaves unto his hand, The stain of thine own kindly blood, The blood of Ethert Brand." Then forward stepp'd she, Alice Brand, And made the holy sign, "And if there's blood on Richard's hand, A spotless hand is mine, "And I conjure thee, Demon elf, By Him whom Demons fear, To show us whence thou art thyself, And what thine errand here!". "Tis merry, XV. BALLAD CONTINUED. 'tis merry, in Fairy-land, When fairy birds are singing, When the court doth ride by their monarch's side, With bit and bridle ringing : "And gaily shines the Fairy-land But all is glistening show,' Like the idle gleam that December's beam Can dart on ice and snow. "And fading, like that varied gleam, Is our inconstant shape, [See Appendix, Note M.] Who now like knight and lady seem, "It was between the night and day, And, 'twixt life and death, was snatch'd away 66 But wist I of a woman bold, I might regain my mortal mold, As fair a form as thine." She cross'd him once-she cross'd him twice That lady was so brave; The fouler grew his goblin hue, The darker grew the cave. She cross'd him thrice, that lady bold; He rose beneath her hand The fairest knight on Scottish mold, Her brother, Ethert Brand! Merry it is in good greenwood, When the mavis and merle are singing, XVI. Just as the minstrel sounds were staid, The subjects of Fairy-land were recruited from the regions of humanity by a sort of crimping system, which extended to adults as well as to infants. Many of those who were in this world supposed to have discharged the debt of nature, had only become denizens of the "Londe of Faery." In the beautiful Fairy Romance of Orfee and Heurodiis ( Orpheus and Eurydice) in the Auchinleck MS., is the following striking enumeration of persons thus abstracted from middle earth. Mr. Ritson unfortunately published this romance from a copy in which the following, and many other highly poetical passages, do not Occur: "Then he gan biholde about al, And seigbe ful liggeand with in the wal of folk that wer thidder y-brought, And thought dede and nere nought; Some stode with outen hadde; And sum none armes nade; And sum thurch the bodi hadde wounde; And sum lay wode y-bounde; And sum armed on hors sete; And sum astrangled as thai ete; And sum war in water adreynt ; A stranger climb'd the steepy glade : His hunting suit of Lincoln green, His eagle glance, remembrance claims 'Tis Snowdoun's Knight, 'tis James Fitz-James. Ellen beheld as in a dream, Then, starting, scarce suppress'd a scream : "O stranger! in such hour of fear, What evil hap has brought thee here?". That bids me look again on thee? 66 "The happy path!—what! said he nought Of war, of battle to be fought, "Sweet Ellen, dear my life must be, Since it is worthy care from thee; Yet life I hold but idle breath, When love or honour's weigh'd with death. Then let me profit by my chance, And speak my purpose bold at once. I come to bear thee from a wild, Where ne'er before such blossom smiled; By this soft hand to lead thee far From frantic scenes of feud and war. I'll place thee in a lovely bower, Too much, before, my selfish ear Was idly soothed my praise to hear.' The wreck my vanity brought on!— Still wouldst thou speak?—then hear the truth! If yet he is!-exposed for me And mine to dread extremity Thou hast the secret of my heart; 66 "O! little know'st thou Roderick's heart! Safer for both we go apart. O haste thee, and from Allan learn, Then, as some thought had cross'd his brain, [MS." Was idly fond thy praise to hear." ] |
