|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 6
"Rise little Lads,
Wi' your iron gads,
And set the Lad o' Midridge hame."
Tam o' Shanter-like, elated with the contents of the pewter vessels, he
nothing either feared or doubted, and off went the lad to the fairy
hill; so, being arrived at the base, he was nothing loth to extend his
voice to its utmost powers in giving utterance to the above invitatory
verses. Scarcely had the last words escaped his lips ere he was nearly
surrounded by many hundreds of the little folks, who are ever ready to
revenge, with the infliction of the most dreadful punishment, every
attempt at insult. The most robust of the fairies, who I take to have
been Oberon, their king, wielding an enormous javelin, thus, also in
rhymes equally rough, rude, and rustic, addressed the witless wight:
"Silly Willy, mount thy filly;
And if it isn't weel corn'd and fed,
I'll ha' thee afore thou gets hame to thy Midridge bed."
Well was it for Willy that his home was not far distant, and that part
light was still remaining in the sky. Horrified beyond measure, he
struck his spurs into the sides of his beast, who, equally alarmed,
darted off as quick as lightning towards the mansion of its owner.
Luckily it was one of those houses of olden time, which would admit of
an equestrian and his horse within its portals without danger; lucky,
also, was it that at the moment they arrived the door was standing wide
open: so, considering the house a safer sanctuary from the belligerous
fairies than the stable, he galloped direct into the hall, to the no
small amazement of all beholders, when the door was instantly closed
upon his pursuing foes! As soon as Willy was able to draw his breath,
and had in part overcome the effects of his fear, he related to his
comrades a full and particular account of his adventures with the
fairies; but from that time forward, never more could any one, either
for love or money, prevail upon Willy to give the fairies of the hill an
invitation to take an evening walk with him as far as the village of
Midridge!
To conclude, when the fairies had departed, and it was considered safe
to unbar the door, to give egress to Willy and his filly, it was found,
to the amazement of all beholders, that the identical iron javelin of
the fairy king had pierced through the thick oaken door, which for
service as well as safety was strongly plated with iron, where it still
stuck, and actually required the strength of the stoutest fellow in the
company, with the aid of a smith's great fore-hammer, to drive it forth.
This singular relic of fairy-land was preserved for many generations,
till passing eventually into the hands of one who cared for none of
those things, it was lost, to the no small regret of all lovers of
legendary lore!
M.A.D.
* * * * *
FOLK LORE.
_St. Thomas's Day._--A Guernsey charm _pour ve ki ke sera son amant_--
"Into a golden pippin stick eighteen new pins, nine in the eye, and nine
in the stem, tie round it the left {510} garter, and place it under the
pillow. Get into bed backwards, saying,
"Le jour de St. Thomas,
Le plus court, le plus bas,
Je prie Dieu journellement,
Qu'il me fasse voir, en dormant,
Celui qui sera mon amant;
Et le pays et la contr�e
O� il fera sa demeur�e,
Tel qu'il sera je l'aimerai,
Ainsi soit-il."
VIATOR.
NOV. 6. 1850.
_Black Doll at Old Store-shops_ (Vol. i., p. 27.).--Is it not probable
that the black doll was an image of the Virgin, sold at the Reformation
with a lot of church vestments, and other "rags of Popery," as the
Puritans called the surplice, and first hung up by some Puritan or
Hebrew dealer.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|