him very kindly; and, at his departure gave him divers things of good
value."--_Verstigan's Restitution of Decayed Intelligence._ Chap. _Of
the Sirnames of our Antient Families._ Antwerp, 1605.



INTRODUCTION TO THE TALE OF TAMLANE.


ON THE FAIRIES OF POPULAR SUPERSTITION.


_"Of airy elves, by moon-light shadows seen,
The silver token, and the circled green._--POPE.

In a work, avowedly dedicated to the preservation of the poetry and
tradition of the "olden time," it would be unpardonable to omit this
opportunity of making some observations upon so interesting an article
of the popular creed, as that concerning the Elves, or Fairies. The
general idea of spirits, of a limited power, and subordinate nature,
dwelling among the woods and mountains, is, perhaps common to all
nations. But the intermixture of tribes, of languages, and religion,
which has occurred in Europe, renders it difficult to trace the origin
of the names which have been bestowed upon such spirits, and the primary
ideas which were entertained concerning their manners and habits.

The word _elf_, which seems to have been the original name of the
beings, afterwards denominated fairies, is of Gothic origin, and
probably signified, simply, a spirit of a lower order. Thus, the Saxons
had not only _dun-elfen_, _berg-elfen_, and _munt-elfen_, spirits of