If
h
The fine small crimson drops in the Cowslip’s chalice are said
to possess the rare virtue of preser^ng, and even o i r^tonng,
youthful bloom and beauty; for these ruddy spots are fairy
favours, and therefore have enchanted value. Shakspeare says o
this fiower of the F ays
“ And I serve the Fairy queen.
To dew her orbs upon the green :
The Cowslips tall her pensioners be ;
In their gold coats spots you see ;
Those be rubies, fairy favours :
In those freckles live their savours.
Another of the fiowers made potent use of by the Fairies of
Skakspeare is the Pansy—that “ little Western fiowqr which
Oberon bade Puck procure :—
“ Fetch me that flower,—the herb I showed thee once:
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid,
Will make a man or woman madly dote ^
Upon the next live creature that it sees.”
The Anemone, or Wind-fiower, is a recognised F airy blossom.
The crimson marks on its petals have been painted there by ffiiry
hands; and, in wet weather, it affords shelter to bemghted E lv j ,
who are glad to seek shelter beneath its down-turned petals.
Tulips are greatly esteemed by the Fairy folk, who utilise them as
cradles in which to rock the infant Elves to sleep.
The Fairy F la x (Linum catharticum) is, from its extreme
delicacy, selected by the Fays as the substance to^ be woven for
their raiment. The Pyrus Japomca is the Fairies Fire. Fairy
Butter (Tremella arhorea and alUda) is a yellowish gelatinous substance,
found upon rotten wood or fallen timber, and wfoch is
popularly supposed to be made m the night, and s c jte red about
bv the Fairies. The Pezita, an exquisite scarlet Fungus cup,
which grows on pieces of broken stick, and is to be found m dry
ditches and hedge-sides, is the Fairies’ Bath.
To vellow flowers growing m hedgerows, the Fairies have a
special dislike, and will never frequent a place where they abound;
but it is notorious that they are passionately fond of most flowers.
It is part of their mission to give to each maturing blossom its
proper hue, to guide creepers and climbing plants, and to teach
young plants to move with befitting grace. r ■, r? ■ + -n
But the Foxglove is the especial delight of the Fairy tribe :
it is the F a iry plantY^r excellence. When it bends its tall stalks
the Foxglove is making its obeisance to its tiny masters, or preparing
to receive some little E lf who wishes to fode fomself m
the safe retreat afforded by its accommodating bells. In Ireland
this flower is called Lusmore, or the Great Herb. ^ It is there the
F airy Cap, whilst in Wales it becomes the Goblin s Gloves. _
As the Foxglove is the-special flower of the Fairies, so is a
four-leaved Clover their peculiar herb. It is believed only to grow
in places frequented by the Elfin tribe, and to be gifted by them
with magic power.
“ I ’ll seek a four-leaved Clover
In all the Fairy dells,
And if I find the charmed leaf.
Oh, how I ’ll weave my spells ! ”— S. Lover.
The maiden whose search has been successful for this diminutive
plant becomes at once joyous and light-hearted, for she knows
that she will assuredly see her true love ere the day is over. The
four-leaved Clover is the only plant that will enable its wearer to
see the Fairies—it is a magic talisman whereby to gain admittance
to the Fairy kingdom,* and unless armed with this potent herb, the
only other means available to mortals who wish to make the
acquaintance of the Fairies is to procure a supply of a certain
precious unguent prepared according to the receipt of a celebrated
alchymist, which, applied to the visual orbs, is said to enable
anyone with a clear conscience to behold without difficulty or
danger the most potent Fairy or Spirit he may anywhere encounter.
The following is the form of the preparation :—
“ R. A pint of Sallet-oyle, and put it into a vial-glasse ; but
first wash it with Rose-water and Marygolde water ; the fiowers
to be gathered towards the east. Wash it till the oyle come
white ; then put it into the glasse, ut supra: and then put thereto
the budds of Holyhocke, the fiowers of Marygolde, the fiowers or
toppers of Wild Thyme, the budds of young H a z le ; and the
Thyme must be gathered neare the side of a hill where Fayries
used to be : and take the grasse of a Fayrie throne. Then all
these put into the oyle into the glasse: and sette it to dissolve
three dayes in the sunne, and then keep it for thy use ; ut supra! '—
\Ashmolean M S S .].
o [ tRe ©yv'ai'ev
Certain of the F airy community frequented the vicinity of
pools, and the banks of streams and rivers. Ben Jonson tells of
“ Span-long Elves that dance about a p o o l; ” and Stagnelius asks—
“ Say, know’st the Elfin people gay?
They dwell on the river’s strand ;
They spin from the moonbeams their festive garb,
With their small and lily hand.”
Of this family are the Russalkis, river nymphs of Southern
Russia, who inhabit the alluvial islands studding the winding
river, or dwell in detached coppices fringing_ the banks, or construct
for themselves homes woven of fiowering Reeds and green
Willow-boughs.
The Swedes delight to tell of the Stromkarl, or boy of the
stream, a mystic being who haunts brooks and rivulets, and sits
* See legend in Part I I ., under the head of “ C l o v e r . ”