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THOUGH the ghost is confessedly
entitled to no small degree of consideration from his intimate connection
with our own species, no one will pretend to deny, that the fairy is a
character whose greatness of
descent renders him equally interesting and respectable. The genealogy
of the ghost can no doubt be traced back to the earliest ages of the
world, and it is pretty certain that he has been amongst the first of its
inhabitants,—still, on the score of antiquity, he cannot pretend to
compete with the fairy, who, it seems, existed long before the world
itself. The origin and descent of the fairies, which had so long proved
such knotty subjects of controversy in other quarters of the kingdom, are
points which have been finally settled and disposed of in these countries.
No doubt now remains, in the minds of those who have bestowed any
attention on the important subject, of their being those unhappy angels
whose diabolical deeds produced their expulsion from Paradise. In support
of this rational theory, the wise men of the day never fail to quote the
highest authority. Scripture, they say, tells us, those
angels were cast down; and although,
indeed, it does not mention to what place, sad experience proves the fact,
that the Highland mountains received an ample share of them. Here,
wandering up and down like the hordes of Tartary, they pitch their camp
where spoil is most plentiful; and taking advantage of the obstinate
incredulity of some of their human neighbours, contrive to make themselves
perfectly comfortable at the latter’s expence. To dispel any doubt that
may remain on the mind of the reader as to the soundness of this doctrine,
we present him with the following particulars:
"Not long since, as a pious
clergyman was returning home, after administering spiritual consolation to
a dying member of his flock, it
was late of the night, and he had to pass through a good deal of
uncanny ground. He was, however, a good and a conscientious minister
of the gospel, and feared not all the spirits in the country. On his
reaching the end of a lake which stretched alongst the road-side for some
distance, he was a good deal surprised to have his attention arrested by
the most melodious strains of music. Overcome by pleasure and curiosity,
the minister coolly sat down to listen to the harmonious sounds, and try
what new discoveries he could make with regard to their nature and source.
He had not sitten many minutes when he could distinguish the approach of
the music, and also observe a light in the direction from whence it
proceeded gliding across the lake towards him. Instead of taking to his
heels, as any faithless wight would have done, the pastor fearlessly
determined to await the issue of the phenomenon. As the light and music
drew near, the clergyman could at length distinguish an object resembling
a human being walking on the surface of the water, attended by a group of
diminutive musicians, some of them bearing lights, and others of them
instruments of music, on which they continued to perform those melodious
strains which first attracted his attention. The leader of the band
dismissed his attendants, landed on the beach, and afforded the minister
the amplest opportunities of examining his appearance. He was a little
primitive looking grey-headed man, clad in the most grotesque habit he
ever witnessed, and such as led the venerable minister all at once to
suspect his real character. He walked up to the minister, whom he saluted
with great grace, offering an apology for his intrusion. The pastor
returned his compliments, and without farther explanation, invited the
mysterious stranger to sit down by his side. The invitation was complied
with, upon which the minister proposed the following question: "Who art
thou, stranger, and from whence?" To this question the fairy, with
downcast eye, replied, that he was one of those sometimes called "Doane
Shee, or men of peace, or good men, though the reverse of this title
was a more fit appellation for them. Originally angelic in his nature and
attributes, and once a sharer of the indescribable joys of the regions of
light, he was seduced by Satan to join him in his mad conspiracies; and,
as a punishment for his transgression, he was cast down from those regions
of bliss, and was now doomed, along with millions of fellow-sufferers, to
wander through seas and mountains, until the coming of the great day; what
their fate would be then they could not divine, but they apprehended the
worst. And," continued he, turning to the minister, with great anxiety,
"the object of my present intrusion on you is to learn your opinion, as an
eminent divine, as to our final condition on that dreadful day." Here the
venerable pastor entered upon a long conversation with the fairy, (the
particulars of which we shall be excused for omitting,) touching the
principles of faith and repentance. Receiving rather unsatisfactory
answers to his questions, the minister desired the "Sheech" to
repeat after him the Paternoster, in attempting to do which, it was not a
little remarkable, that he could not repeat the word "art," but
"wert," in heaven. Inferring from every circumstance, that their fate
was extremely precarious, the minister resolved not to puff the fairies up
with presumptuous and perhaps groundless expectations. Accordingly,
addressing himself to the unhappy fairy, who was all anxiety to know the
nature of his sentiments, the reverend gentleman told him, that he could
not take it upon him to give them any hopes of pardon, as their crime was
of so deep a hue as scarcely to admit of it. On this the unhappy fairy
uttered a shriek of despair, plunged headlong into the loch, and the
minister resumed his course to his home." |
