And lo! from out the foam, in lengthy line,

Like to a flock of fea-birds on the wing, The white fails of a fleet upon the brine, Departing, leffening.

And fast as they recede, and on the brine
Their fwift and furrow-tracing keels advance,
Arife the purple boskage of the vine

And funny fields of France.

Low droops the maiden's head; while eafeful tears
From her o'erbrimming eyes fall faft and large.
The scene hath paffed. The moon's faint rim appears
Upon the fountain's marge,

And leffer grows, and less, and fadeth quite.
The maiden ftands alone; but fast and far
Is fhooting down the foreft glade a bright
And fcintillating ftar.

"Thou shalt be free!" She fayeth only this,
Out-paffing from the fhadow of the tree,

In low foft tones of quiet happiness-
"France, France, thou fhalt be free!"

FAIRIES

OF THE

FIELDS AND
AND MEADOWS.

The Wee Fair Folk.

"And in their courses make that round
In meadows and in marshes found,
By them fo called the Fairy ground,
Of which they have the keeping."

The Wee Fair Folk appear to have been more widely scattered than any other branch of their race. Traces of them, more or less distinct, are to be found in all the Weft and North of Europe; but it is in Scotland that they feem to have been moft numerous, and to have lingered the latest. They lived in the funny meadows, and had for dwellings the interior of little mofs-crowned hillocks, round which they led their dances, tracing on the grafs circles of the deepest green. Within these circles it was dangerous for mortals to reft or fleep, for the Fair Folk generally punished such tranfgreffions feverely; either the offender was made lame for the rest of his life, so that he might not be able to repeat the offence, or he was ftricken with fome disease of which he died before the end of the year. This punishment may

membered that these fairy dwellings were peculiarly exposed to the depredations of the mifchievous or dishonest; and when the tranfgreffion was made with no dishonest intent, or from no vulgar curiofity to pry into the affairs of the Fairies, no punishment was inflicted. On the other hand, to those who protected, or otherwise shewed regard for, these their chofen places of refidence and recreation, they were ever grateful,—as shewn in the old rhyme—

"He wha tills the fairies' green,
Nae luck again fhall hae;
And he wha fpills the fairies' ring
Betide him want and wae-
For weirdless days and weary nights
Are his till his deein' day."

"He wha gaes by the fairies' ring
Nae dule nor pine shall see,
And he wha cleans the fairies' ring
An easy death shall dee."