tmost integrity
informed him, that, having occasion to sell a horse, he was accosted
among the mountains by a little gentleman plainly dressed, who priced
his horse, cheapened him, and, after some chaffering, finally purchased
him. No sooner had the buyer mounted, and paid the price, than, he sunk
through the earth, horse and man, to the astonishment and terror of the
seller; who experienced, however, no inconvenience from dealing with so
extraordinary a purchaser.--_Ibid._ p. 135.

It is hoped the reader will receive, with due respect, these, and
similar stories, told by Mr Waldron; for he himself, a scholar and a
gentleman, informs us, "as to circles in grass, and the impression
of small feet among the snow, I cannot deny but I have seen them
frequently, and once thought I heard a whistle, as though in my ear,
when nobody that could make it was near me." In this passage there is a
curious picture of the contagious effects of a superstitious atmosphere.
Waldron had lived so long among the Manks, that he was almost persuaded
to believe their legends.

From the _History of the Irish Bards_, by Mr Walker, and from the
glossary subjoined to the lively and ingenious _Tale of Castle
Rackrent_, we learn, that the same ideas, concerning Fairies, are
current among the vulgar in that country. The latter authority mentions
their inhabiting the ancient tumuli, called _Barrows_, and their
abstracting mortals. They are termed "the good people;" and when an eddy
of wind raises loose dust and sand, the vulgar believe that it announces
a Fairy procession, and bid God speed their journey.

The Scottish Fairies, in like manner, sometimes reside in subterranean
abodes, in the vicinity of human habitations or, according to the
popular phrase, under the "door-stane," or threshold; in which
situation, they sometimes establish an intercourse with men, by
borrowing and lending, and other kindly offices. In this capacity they
are termed "the good neighbours,"[A] from supplying privately the wants
of their friends, and assisting them in all their transactions, while
their favours are concealed. Of this the traditionary story of Sir
Godfrey Macculloch forms a curious example.

[Footnote A: Perhaps this epithet is only one example, among many, of
the extreme civility which the vulgar in Scotland use towards spirits of
a, dubious, or even a determinedly mischievous, nature. The archfiend
himself is often distinguished by the softened title of t