the ballads say--the fiend of hell
takes a tithe from the fairies, usually preferring one who is fair and of
good flesh and blood. Hence in _Thomas of Erceldoune_,[70] the elf queen is
anxious that he should leave her realm, because she thinks the foul fiend
would choose him (ll. 219-224).

The notion of the fairies' demand of a tithe of produce, agricultural or
domestic, is parallel to this sacrifice.[71]

A third point on which fairy-lore usually insists is that the steeds of the
fairies shall be white; here _Thomas of Erceldoune_ is at variance with the
other poems, the elf-queen's palfrey being a dapple-grey. It is curious to
learn that this superstition still survives. "At that time there was a
gentleman who had been taken by the fairies, and made an officer among
them, and it was often people would see him and her riding on a white horse
at dawn and in the evening."[72]

It will have been observed that the tale of Orfeo varies considerably from
the classical tale of Orpheus; but this is not surprising; no one can
imagine that it comes direct from the classics. A French original is
presumed; indeed, there are references in early "lais" to a "Lai d'Orphey,"
indicating the existence of a poem which was probably the original of our
_King Orfeo_. This original is presumed to have been a Breton lay, one of
the many that were popular in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and the
English version may have been taken from the supposed source through a
French form.

Now, these Breton lays were chiefly on Celtic subjects, and placed their
scenes in the Celtic realms of Great Britain, Little Britain, Ireland, or
Scotland. The bards of Armorica doubtless picked up a good story wherever
they could find it; and the classical story of Orpheus and Eurydice would
appeal strongly to Celts, who have always been famous for harping. But why
should these early Celtic singers have made such changes in the story,
_unless they had a similar story of their own_ which was confused with it?
The parallel story has been adduced by Professor Kittredge[73] from an
Irish epic tale, The Wooing (or Courtship) of Etain. The portions of the
story which concern us here follow.

Eochaid Airemm, king of Ireland, found him a wife in Etain daughter of Etar
in the Bay of Cichmany, and with her Mider of Bri Leith (a fairy chief) was
in love. On a summer's day, as the king sat on the heights of Tara
beholding the plain of Breg, a strange young warrior app