*70 Dfant Isore, Iseger^/, cmR "bijric/. 



The fine small crimson drops in the Cowslip's chalice are said 

 to possess the rare virtue of preserving, and even of restoring, 

 youthful bloom and beauty ; for these ruddy spots are fairy 

 favours, and therefore have enchanted value. Shakspeare says of 

 this flower of the Fays : — 



" And I serve the Fairy queen, 

 To dew her orbs upon the green : 

 The CowsHps 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 flowers made potent use of by the Fairies of 

 Skakspeare is the Pansy — that "little Western flower" 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-flower, is a recognised Fairy blossom. 

 The crimson marks on its petals have been painted there by fairy 

 hands ; and, in wet weather, it aff"ords shelter to benighted Elves, 

 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 Flax {Limmi catharticum) is, from its extreme 

 delicacy, selected by the Fays as the substance to be woven for 

 their raiment. The Pyriis Japonica is the Fairies' Fire. Fairy- 

 Butter (Tremella arborea and albida) is a yellowish gelatinous sub- 

 stance, found upon rotten wood or fallen timber, and which is 

 popularly supposed to be made in the night, and scattered about 

 by the Fairies, The Pezita, an exquisite scarlet Fungus cup, 

 which grows on pieces of broken stick, and is to be found in dry 

 ditches and hedge-sides, is the Fairies' Bath. 



To yellow flowers growing in 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. 



But the Foxglove is the especial delight of the Fairy tribe : 

 it is the Fairy plant par excellence. When it bends its tall stalks 

 the Foxglove is making its obeisance to its tiny masters, or pre- 

 paring to receive some little Elf who wishes to hide himself in 

 the safe retreat aftbrded by its accommodating bells. In Ireland 

 this flower is called Lusmore, or the Great Herb. It is there the 

 Fairy 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 



