Receipts, &c.

DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING FRUITS. CURRANT JELLY-Pick fine red, but long ripe, currants from the stems; bruise them, and strain the juice from a quart at a time through a thin muslin; wring it gently, to get all the liquid; put a pound of white sugar to each pound of juice; stir it until it is all dissolved; set it over a gentle fire; let it become hot, and boil for fifteen minutes; then try it by taking a spoonful into a saucer; when cold, if it is not quite firm enough, boil it for a few minutes longer. Or, pick the fruit from the stems; weigh it, and put it into a stone pot; set it in a kettle of hot water, reaching nearly to the top; let it boil until the fruit is hot through, then crush them, and strain the juice from them; put a pound of white sugar to each pint of it; put it over the fire, and boil for fifteen minutes; try some in a saucer; when the jelly is thick enough, strain it into small white jars or glass tumblers; when cold, cover with tissue-paper, as directed. Glass should be tempered by keeping it in warm water for a short time before pouring any hot liquid into it; otherwise it will crack

CURRANT JELLY WITHOUT COOKING. -Press the juice from the currants, and strain it; to every pint, put a pound of fine white sugar; mix them together until the sugar is dissolved; then put it in jars, seal them, and expose them to a hot sun for two or three days.

GOOSEBERRIES PRESERVED.-Take the blossom from the end, and take off the stems; finish as directed for strawberries and currants.

TO KEEP RED GOOSEBERRIES.-Pick gooseberries when fully ripe, and for each quart take a quarter of a pound of sugar and a gill of water; boil together until quite a syrup; then put in the fruit, and continue to boil gently for fifteen minutes; then put them into small stone jars; when cold, cover them close; keep them for making tarts or pies.

FINE RHUBARB JAM.-Let the rhubarb be drawn on a dry day; wipe the stalks clean, but do not wash them; peel off the skin and coarse fibres, and slice the stalks thin. To each pound thus prepared, allow a pound of fine sugar in fine powder: put the fruit in a pan, and strew a quarter of the sugar amongst it and over it; let it stand until the sugar is dissolved, when boil it slowly to a smooth pulp; take it from the fire, and stir in the remainder of the sugar by degrees; when it is dissolved, boil the preserve quickly until it becomes very thick, and leaves the bottom of the pan visible when stirred. The time required for preparing this preserve will depend on the kind of rhubarb used, and the time of year in which it is made. It will vary from an hour and a half to two hours and a quarter. The juice should be slowly drawn from it at first.

CHERRIES PRESERVED.-Take fine large cherries, not very ripe; take off the stems, and take out the stones; save whatever juice runs from them; take an equal weight of white sugar; make the syrup of a teacup of water for each pound; set it over the fire until it is dissolved and boiling hot; then put in the juice and cherries; boil them gently until clear throughout; take them from the syrup with a skimmer, and spread them on flat dishes to cool; let the syrup boil until it is rich and quite thick; set it to cool and settle; take the fruit into jars or pots, and pour the syrup carefully over; let them remain open until the next day; then cover as directed. Sweet cherries are improved by the addition of a pint of red currant-juice,

and half a pound of sugar to it, for four or five pounds of cherries.

TO DRY CHERRIES.-Take the stems and stones from ripe cherries; spread them on flat dishes, and dry them in the hot sun or warm oven; pour whatever juice may have run from them, a little at a time, over them; stir then: about, that they may dry evenly. When they are perfectly dry, line boxes or jars with white paper, and pack them close in layers; stew a little brown sugar, and foid the paper over, and keep them in a dry place; or put them in muslin bags, and hang them in an airy place. PLUMS.-There are several varieties of plums. The richest purple plum for preserving is the damson. There are of these large and small; the large are called sweet damsons; the small ones are very rich flavored. The great difficulty in preserving plums is that the skins crack and the fruit comes to pieces. The rule here laid down for preserving them obviates that difficulty. Purple gages, unless properly preserved, will turn to juice and skins; and the large horse-plum (as it is generally known) comes completely to pieces in ordinary modes of preserving. The one recommended herein will keep them whole, full, and

rich.

TO PRESERVE PURPLE PLUMS.-Make a syrup of clean brown sugar; clarify it as directed in these receipts; when perfectly clear and boiling hot, pour it over the plums, having picked out all unsound ones and stems; let them remain in the syrup two days, then drain it off, make it boiling hot, skim it, and pour it over again; let them remain another day or two, then put them in a preservingkettle over the fire, and simmer gently until the syrup is reduced, and thick or rich. One pound of sugar for each pound of plums. Small damsons are very fine preserved as cherries or any other ripe fruit. Clarify the syrup, and when boiling hot put in the plums; let them boil very gently until they are cooked, and the syrup rich. Put them in pots or jars. The next day secure as directed.

TO PRESERVE PLUMS WITHOUT THE SKINS.-Pour boiling water over large egg or magnum bonum plums; cover them until it is cold, then pull off the skins. Make a syrup of a pound of sugar and a teacup of water for each pound of fruit; make it boiling hot, and pour it over; let them remain for a day or two, then drain it off, and boil again; skim it clear, and pour it hot over the plums; let them remain until the next day, then put them over the fire in the syrup; boil them very gently until clear; take them from the syrup with a skimmer into the pots or jars; boil the syrup until rich and thick; take off any scum which may arise, then let it cool and settle, and pour it over the plums. If brown sugar is used, which is quite as good, except for green gages, clarify it as directed.

TO DRY PLUMS.-Split ripe plums, take the stones from them, and lay them on plates or sieves to dry in a warm oven or hot sun; take them in at sunset, and do not put them out again until the sun will be upon them; turn them that they may be done evenly; when perfectly dry, pack them in jars or boxes lined with paper, or keep them in bags; hang them in an airy place.

TO PRESERVE GREEN GAGES.-The following receipt appears to be a good one: Pick and prick all the plums; put them into a preserving-pan with cold water enough to cover them; let them remain on the fire until the water simmers well; then take off, and allow them to stand until half cold, putting the plums to drain. To every pound of plums, allow one pound of sugar, which must be boiled in the water from which the plums have been taken; let it boil very fast until the syrup drops short from the

is sufficiently boiled, put in the plums, and allow them to boil until the sugar covers the pan with large bubbles; then pour the whole into a pan, and let them remain until the following day; drain the syrup from the plums as dry as possible, boil it up quickly, and pour it over the plums; then set them by; do this a third and a fourth time. On the fifth day, when the syrup is boiled, put the plums into it, and let them boil for a few minutes; then put them into jars. Should the green gages be over ripe, it will be better to make jam of them, using three-fourths of a pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. Warm the jars before putting the sweetmeats in, and be careful not to boil the sugar to a candy.

JAM OF GREEN GAGES.-Put ripe green gages into a kettle with very little water, and let them stew until soft; then rub them through a sieve or colander, and to every pint of pulp put a pound of white sugar powdered fine; then put it in a preserving-kettle over the fire, stir it until the whole is of the consistence of jelly, then take it off; put the marmalade in small jars or tumblers, and cover as directed for jelly. Any sort of plums may be done in this

manner.

TO KEEP DAMSONS.-Put them in small stone jars, or wide-mouth glass bottles, and set them up to their necks in a kettle of cold water; set it over the fire to become boiling hot, then take it off, and let the bottles remain until the water is cold; the next day fill the bottles with cold water, and cork and seal them. These may be used the same as fresh fruit. Green gages may be done in this way.

TO PRESERVE DAMSONS A SECOND WAY.-Put a quart of damsons into a jar with a pound of sugar stewed between them; set the jar in a warm oven, or put it into a kettle of cold water, and set it over the fire for an hour; then take it out, set to become cold, drain the juice off, boil it until it is thick, then pour it over the plums; when cold, cover as directed for preserves.

TO PRESERVE APPLES.-Pare, and core, and cut them in halves or quarters; take as many pounds of the best brown sugar; put a teacup of water to each pound; when it is dissolved, set it over the fire; and, when boiling hot, put in the fruit, and let it boil gently until it is clear, and the syrup thick; take the fruit with a skimmer on to flat dishes, spread it to cool, then put it in pots or jars, and pour the jelly over. Lemons boiled tender in water, and sliced thin, may be boiled with the apples.

TO PRESERVE PIPPINS IN SLICES.-Take the fairest pippins, pare them, and cut them in slices a quarter of an inch thick, without taking out the cores; boil two or three lemons, and slice them with the apples; take the same weight of white sugar (or clarified brown sugar), put half a gill of water for each pound of sugar, dissolve it, and set it over the fire; when it is boiling hot, put in the slices, let them boil very gently until they are clear, then take them with a skimmer, and spread them out on flat dishes to cool; boil the syrup until it is quite thick, put the slices on flat dishes, and pour the syrup over. These may be done a day before they are wanted; two hours will be sufficient to make a fine dish for dessert or supper.

TO PRESERVE CRAB-APPLES.-Take off the stem and core them with a penknife, without cutting them open; weigh a pound of white sugar for each pound of prepared fruit; put a teacup of water to each pound of sugar; put it over a moderate fire. When the sugar is all dissolved and hot, put the apples in; let them boil gently until they are clear, then skim them out, and spread them

on flat dishes. Boil the syrup until it is thick; put the yrup in whatever they are to be kept, and, when the syrup is cooled and settled, pour it carefully over the fruit. Slices of lemon boiled with the fruit may be considered an improvement; one lemon is enough for several pounds of fruit. Crab-apples may be preserved whole, with only half an inch of the stem on; three-quarters of a pound of sugar for each pound of fruit.

BAKED SWEET APPLES.-Wash well the apples; place them in a pan with a very little water, that the juice may not burn, if they are to be cooked in a brick oven; then put the apples in a jar, cover them close, and bake them five or six bours. Sweet apples should be baked long after they are tender.

BAKED SOUR APPLES.-Wash well the apples; place them in a pan; pour in a teacupful of water and one of sugar; bake them slowly till done. Eat them with cream and the juice which cooks from them.

CODDLED APPLES.-Take windfalls, or fall apples; wash them, and put half a peck into a preserving kettle; add half a cup of water, sweetened with a large cup of sugar, or half a cup of molasses. Cover them, and boil gently until tender.

TO PRESERVE FRUIT SO AS TO KEEP WELL IN A HOT CLIMATE. The fruit to be ripe, but not over ripe; picked with care; the best lump sugar used; and all to be boiled rather longer than is usually done in this country. Then pour into jars, and, when quite cool, tie over with bladder.

TO PRESERVE PEARS.-Take small, rich, fair fruit, as soon as the pips are black; set them over the fire in a kettle, with water to cover them; let them simmer until they will yield to the pressure of the finger, then with a skimmer take them into cold water; pare them neatly, leaving on a little of the stem, and the blossom end; pierce them at the blossom end to the core, then make a syrup of a pound of sugar for each pound of fruit; when it is boiling hot, pour it over the pears, and let it stand until the next day, when drain it off, make it boiling hot, and again pour it over; after a day or two, put the fruit in the syrup over the fire, and boil gently until it is clear; then take it into the jars or spread it on dishes, boil the syrup thick, then put it and the fruit in jars.

TO STEW PEARS.-Pare them and cut them in halves, if large, or leave them whole, if small; put them in a stewpan with very little water, cover them and let them stew till tender, then add a small teacup of sugar to a quarter of a peck of pears, let them stew until the syrup is rich; a lemon boiled with the pears, and sliced thin when the sugar is put in, improves both flavor and color; or a wineglass of red wine may be used instead.

TO BAKE PEARS.-Wash half a peck of tart pears, cut the stems so as to leave only an inch length; put them in an iron pot over the fire, with half a pint of water and a pint of molasses to them; cover the pot or kettle, and let them boil rather gently until the pears are soft and the syrup rich, almost like candy; take care not to scorch it.

PEARS IN BRANDY.-Take fine, rich, juicy, but not very ripe pears; put them into a saucepan with cold water to cover them; set them over a gentle fire and simmer them until they will yield to the pressure of your finger, then put them into cold water; pare them with the greatest care, so that not a single defect may remain; make a syrup of three-quarters of a pound of white sugar for each pound of fruit, and a cup of water to each pound of sugar; when the syrup is clear, and boiling hot, put in the pears, boil them gently until they are done through and clear, and

the syrup is rich; now take them with a skimmer into glass jars; boil the syrup thick, then mix with it a gill of white brandy to each pint, pour it over the fruit, and, when cold, put paper and a close-fitting cover over.

PEAR MARMALADE.-To six pounds of small pears, take four pounds of sugar; put the pears into a saucepan with a little cold water; cover it, and set it over the fire until the fruit is soft, then put them into cold water; pare, quarter, and core them; put to them three teacups of water, set them over the fire; roll the sugar fiue, mash the fruit fine and smooth, put the sugar to it, stir it well together nutil it is thick, like jelly, then put it in tumblers or jars, and when cold, secure it as jelly.

TO BOTTLE FRUIT.-Cherries, strawberries, sliced pineapple, plums, apricots, gooseberries, &c., may be preserved in the following manner, to be used the same as fresh fruit. Gather the fruit before it is very ripe; put it in widemouthed bottles made for the purpose; fill them as full as they will hold, and cork them tight; seal the corks; put some hay in a large saucepan; set in the bottles, with hay between them, to prevent their touching; then fill the saucepan with water to the necks of the bottles, and set it over the fire until the water is nearly boiling; then take it off; let it stand until the bottles are cold; then keep them in a cool place until wanted, when the fruit will be found equal to fresh.

PINE-APPLE PRESERVE.-Twist off the top and bottom, and pare off the rough outside of pine-apples; then weigh them, and cut them in slices, chips, or quarters, or cut them in four or six, and shape each piece like a whole pineapple; to each pound of fruit, put a teacup of water; put it in a preserving kettle; cover it, and set it over the fire, and let them boil gently until they are tender and clear; then take them from the water, by sticking a fork in the centre of each slice, or with a skimmer into a dish. Put to the water white sugar, a pound for each pound of fruit; stir it until it is all dissolved; then put in the pine-apple; cover the kettle, and let them boil gently until transparent throughout: when it is so, take it out, let it cool, and put it in glass jars; as soon as the syrup is a little cooled, pour it over them; let them remain in a cool place until the next day, then secure the jars as directed previously. Pineapple done in this way is a delicious preserve. The usual manner of preserving it, by putting it into the syrup without first boiling it, makes it little better than sweetened leather.

PINE-APPLE JELLY.-Take a perfectly ripe and sound pine-apple, cut off the outside, cut it in small pieces; bruise them, and to each pound put a teacup of water; put it in a preserving-kettle over the fire, cover the kettle, and let them boil for twenty minutes; then strain it, and squeeze it through a bit of muslin. For each pound of fruit take a pound of sugar; put a teacup of water to each pound; set it over the fire until it is dissolved; then add the pineapple juice. For each quart of the syrup, clarify an ounce of the best isinglass, and stir it in; let it boil until, by taking some on a plate to cool, you find it a stiff jelly. Secure it as directed.

BARBERRIES.-Preserve them the same as currants; or they may be preserved in molasses. Pick them from the stems, and put them into a jug or jar with molasses to cover them. The acid soon destroys all taste of molasses. The small winter or frost grape may be done in the same manner.

A NEW PRESERVE.-A correspondent sends us the following: "I have lately been very busy making a new kind of preserve, which, I may say, is quite a discovery, to me at least, and which promises to insure me a plentiful

supply of good, wholesome jam, for my family during the winter, at a price below the usual cost of preserves. I was,

the other day, making some ordinary apple jam, and before finishing it, I put in some blackberry juice, in order to give it a little color, and I was surprised at finding how much the preserve was improved by the addition; so much so that it might very easily be mistaken for damson jam. And as you will see, by the following proportions, the cost must be very small, wherever apples and blackberries are to be got. I put to two quarts of the juice of blackberriesthat is, I bring the berries up to a simmer for five minutes, and then strain them through a coarse cloth-about six pounds' weight of cut-up apples, and one pound of crushed lump-sugar, and stew it up in the usual way, till the apples are softened down, and the mass becomes of the usual thickness. It is wholesome and good, and I thought that what was within any one's reach ought to be known."

TO CANDY FRUIT. After peaches, plums, citrons, or quinces have been preserved, take the fruit from the syrup; drain it on a sieve; to a pound of loaf sugar put half a teacup of water; when it is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire; when boiling hot, put in the fruit; stir it continually until the sugar is candied about it; then take it upon a sieve, and dry it in a warm oven, or before a fire; repeat this two or three times if you wish.

TO PRESERVE CUCUMBERS AND MELONS.-Take large cucumbers, green, and free from seed; put them in a large jar of salt and water, with vine leaves on the top; set them by the fireside till they are yellow; then wash and set them over a slow fire in alum and water, covered with vine leaves; let them boil till they become green; take them off, and let them stand in the liquor till cold; then quarter them, and take out the seed and pulp; put them in cold spring water, changing it twice a day for three days. Have ready a syrup made thus: to one pound of loaf-sugar, half an ounce of ginger bruised, with as much water as will wet it; when it is quite free from scum, put in, when boiling, the rind of a lemon and juice; when quite cold, pour the syrup on the melons. If the syrup is too thin, after standing two or three days, boil it again, and add a little more sugar. A spoonful of rum gives it the West Indian flavor. Gherkins may be preserved the same way. One ounce of alum, when pounded, is sufficient for a dozen melons of a middling size.

HOW TO MAKE TOMATO FIGs.-Pour boiling water over the tomatoes in order to remove the skins; then weigh them and place them in a stone jar, with as much sugar as you have tomatoes, and let them stand two days; then pour off the syrup, and boil and skim it until no seum rises. Then pour it over the tomatoes, and let them stand two days, as before, then boil and skim again. After the third time, they are fit to dry, if the weather is good; if not, let them stand in the syrup until drying weather. Then place on large earthen plates or dishes, and put them in the sun to dry, which will take about a week, after which pack them down in small wooden boxes, with fine white sugar between every layer. Tomatoes prepared in this manner will keep for years.

TOMATO PRESERVES.-Take the round yellow variety as soon as ripe, scald and peel; then to seven pounds of tomatoes add seven pounds of white sugar, and let them stand over night. Take the tomatoes out of the sugar, and boil the syrup, removing the scum. Put in the tomatoes, and boil gently fifteen or twenty minutes; remove the fruit again and boil until the syrup thickens. On cooling, put the fruit into jars and pour the syrup over it, and add a few slices of lemon to each jar, and you will have something to please the taste of the most fastidious.

TO PICKLE TOMATOES.-Always use those which are thoroughly ripe. The small round ones are decidedly the best. Do not prick them, as most receipt-books direct. Let them lie in strong brine three or four days, then put them down in layers in your jars, mixing with them small onions, and pieces of horseradish; then pour on the vinegar (cold), which should be first spiced as for peppers; let there be a spice-bag to throw into every pot. Cover them carefully, and set them by in the cellar for a full month before using.

TOMATO CATSUP.-Take ripe tomatoes and scald them just sufficient to allow you to take off the skin; then let them stand for a day, covered with salt; strain them thoroughly, to remove the seeds. Then to every two quarts, three ounces of cloves, two of black pepper, two nutmegs, and a very little cayenne pepper, with a little salt. Boil the liquor for half an hour, and then let it cool and settle. Add a pint of the best cider vinegar, after which bottle it, corking and sealing it tightly. Keep it always in a cool place.

Another way.-Take one bushel of tomatoes, and boil them until they are soft. Squeeze them through a fine wire sieve, and add-half a gallon of vinegar; one pint and a half of salt; two ounces of cloves; quarter of a pound of allspice; two ounces of Cayenne pepper; three tablespoonfuls of black pepper; five heads of garlic, skinned and separated. Mix together, and boil about three hours, or until reduced to about one-half. Then bottle, without straining.

TO PRESERVE SEVILLE ORANGES WHOLE.-Cut a hole at the stem end of the oranges, the size of a half dime; take out all the pulp, put the oranges into cold water for two days, changing it twice a day; boil them rather more than an hour, but do not cover them, as it will spoil the color; have ready a good syrup, into which put the oranges, and boil them till they look clear; then take out the seeds, skins, &c., from the pulp first taken out of the oranges, and add to it one of the whole oranges, previously boiled, with an equal weight of sugar to it and the pulp; boil this together till it looks clear, over a slow fire, and, when cold, fill the oranges with this marmalade, and put on the tops; cover them with syrup, and put brandy paper on the top of the jar. It is better to take out the inside at first, to preserve the fine flavor of the juice and pulp, which would be injured by boiling in the water.

ORANGES IN JELLY.-Take a dozen of the smallest-sized oranges; boil them in three changes of water, until a straw will easily penetrate the skin; take half a pound of white sugar for each pound of oranges, and for each pound of sugar a small teacup of water; when it is all dissolved, set it over a gentle fire, put in the oranges, cover them, and let them boil gently; when the fruit looks clear, take the oranges up, cut them half way down in quarters, or cut them entirely through; put to the syrup half an ounce of isinglass dissolved in a little hot water, give it one boil, then take some of it into a saucer; if it is not as thick as you wish, boil it a short time longer, put the oranges into a deep glass dish, and turn the jelly over them. Applejelly may be used instead of isinglass. Lemons may be done in this manner. This is a highly ornamental dish, and may be made the day before it is wanted. The jelly may be made firm, and the oranges sliced; put an ounce of isiuglass to a quart of syrup. Put the jelly an inch deep in the mould; when it is cold, lay in slices of the preserved orange: put more jelly in; when that is cold, put on more slices; and so continue until the mould is full. When wanted, dip the mould for an instant in hot water, then turn it out on a flat glass dish.

FAIRIES.

In olde dayes of the King Artour,

Of which that Bretons speken gret honour,
All was this land fulfilled of faerie.
The elf-quene, with hire joly compagnie,
Danced ful oft in many a greene mede.
This was the old opinion as I rede;

I speke of many hundred yeres ago:

For now can no man see no elves neo.-CHAUCER.

IN childhood, we are delighted with fairy tales; and in more matured age we appreciate these "tricksome spirits" with the classic poets of our language. While Shakspeare, Spenser, Ben Jonson, with other renowned though less mighty names, have used these fanciful little beings as machinery, and ornamented garnish to their creations of genius in prose and poem, is it strange that fairies should have become naturalized, as it were, in the literature of our tongue? We, of this Western World, and in this nineteenth century, look upon these as toys for childhood, or gleaming tints for poetic dreams, rather thanremembering that for our European ancestors they were a reality-objects of superstitious dread or superstitious

hope.

The belief in fairies seems to have pervaded all Europe; though these tiny creatures, appearing everywhere, are described and considered according to the people of the different nations they were believed to haunt. In habits and character, the Norwegian Elf, dressed in fur, with icicles from his beard, is very different from the brilliant French Fée, who is Cinderella's godmother, or to the homely English Puck, with his rough tricks and hard work,

Where, in one night, ere glimpse of morn,
His shadowy flail hath thrashed the corn
That ten-day laborers could not end.

L'ALLEGRO.

The Irish and Scotch Fairy, owing to the wild aspect of these countries, and wilder character of their people in the olden times, is less genial than those of England. The Irish Elves are droll and humorous; but they lack the good fellowship and superior cultivation of the English Mab and Robin Goodfellow. The creatures of Scottish superstition are mostly uncanny and vindictive, the "water kelpie" betraying the victim into swollen streams, and raising hideous screams of laughter at his distress, and phantom monsters, too, who, at Hallowmas Eve, sweep by the belated peasant, frightening him with the sound of their tiny harps and the music of their bridlebells.

The French Fée is an elegant marquise. She lives in comfort, and has all the etiquette and ornaments of a court dame. She has the honor to receive you" with a stately courtesy. She is called in at christenings and weddings, and returns the compliment by some rare gift. Even the Je Carabasse, malicious, old, ugly, is by no means deficient in good breeding or magnificence.

Notwithstanding these differences of race, there are some immutable qualities which appear to belong to the fairy tribes wherever they are found. To tell them a lie, or to

attempt to deceive them, is sure to bring a dreadful punishment on the offender. They always require the exact truth, and thus point an important moral. Then their revels are always held in the night, and, though often generous, they are implacable, thus showing their atter lack of that "quality of mercy" which only belongs to Divinity, and which God only can breathe into the human soul.

The fairy love of truth, and their unsparing rigor against the criminal, are both illustrated in "Parnell's Fairy Tale," where the courageous Edwin, by truth and courage, loses his deformity; while Sir Topaz, as a punishment for deception, is obliged to take the hump-back from which Edwin has been so happily freed. This poem is founded on a real legend, and is quite in keeping with ancient belief. To show how similar traditions are met with in different lands, we will relate a Spanish fairy legend :

"A countryman, returning from his work rather late one night, passed near the ruins of an old castle, which, to his surprise, exhibited gleams of light through its dilapidated windows. He softly gained a post of observation, and found the great hall illuminated by millions of tiny wax tapers, while a gay roundelay was danced with much spirit by a troop of little elves. They danced to their own singing, in a monotonous tune, constantly repeating over and over again the first three days of the week in measured jingle

'Lúnes y Mártes y Miércoles tres.

"The human and stricken spectator, suddenly inspired a rhyming muse, finished the couplet for them, and sang aloud the other three days of the week

'Jueves y Viérnes y Sábado séis.'

"The fairy court were perfectly astounded and charmed with this stupendous effort of talent. Their song was completed, embellished, perfected. They surrounded the fortunate peasant, and sent him away loaded with gold and jewels. Returning to his village, he showed his wealth, and told his story. A covetous neighbor determined to try his luck, and the next night, at the witching hour,' sought the haunted ruins. He found the joyous set merrily dancing to their now finished couplet

Lúnes y Mártes y Miércoles tres,

Juéves y Viernes y Sábado séis.'

"The stupid eavesdropper, who had no ear for rhythm, found no better expedient for adding to the song than to cry out 'Y Domingo' (Sunday). Such a stupid interruption, which had neither rhyme nor reason, justly exasperated the little crew, who flew on him, and flogged him heartily. The show vanished, and he was left in the dark, bruised and beaten."

The "Midsummer Night's Dream" has familiarized every reader with Titania and Oberon. Drayton's poem, "Nymphidia," which is supposed to have furnished Shakspeare with the idea of these little sovereigns and their court, is less known; but, as it is a little chef d'œuvre of fairy poetry, we advise those who know it not to peruse it. In the mean time, we will extract from it the description of the fairy palace: