manuscript dungeons, it being well known that many hundred, if not thousand, volumes have existed for a century in one of the large public libraries uncatalogued, and in some cases even unnumbered! This is a kind of gratuitous premium to posterity, to which they are not in any way entitled; and it is undoubtedly much less to my annoyance than to the credit of the body to which the collection belongs, that any obstacles should have been thrown in the way of preparing materials for compilations such as these, which, after all, can only occupy the attention of persons sincerely anxious for the progress of antiquarian literature. All men of literary zeal must regret that disinterested exertions of this kind should be subject to the interruptions of persons unable of themselves to profit by the opportunities they capriciously deny to others. J. O. HALLIwell. December 14th, 1844. LAUNFAL. Since the text of this work has been completed, I have had an opportunity of collating my copy of the romance of Launfal with the original manuscript, the terminal contractions, however, being often so indistinctly expressed as to create much doubt respecting the reading of some words. Ritson has wholly neglected them, otherwise his edition is very accurate. The following notes thus obtained may be worth giving, but no error has been committed in any way affecting the sense, and some are alterations purposely made from the original. P. 3,1. 8, playn; 1. 28, be-fylle, tenthe.-P. 4, 1. 3, lykede ; 1.7, there.— P. 5, 1. 7, hys; l. 8, kyng ; l. 9, yƒ ; l. 21, ryde ; l. 24, syre ; l. 25, how.— P. 6, 1. 19, hys.-P. 7, l. 7, tosour, MS.; 1. 14, alle —P. 8, l. 6, as we.— P. 9, l. 14, fel ; 1. 27, schadwe.—P. 10, l. 12, har —P. 11, 1. 5, hys; 1.6, the, MS.; 1. 22, lefsom.-P. 12, 1. 9, emperoure; 1. 29, zeve.-P. 13, l. 17, gon ; 1. 32, but.-P. 14, 1. 14, harneysyth.-P. 15, 1. 2, merys; l. 7, hymself; 1. 23, hadde ; 1. 28, yn ; 1. 33, povere prysouns, MS.-P. 16, 1. 18, me, MS.; qu. men? 1. 20, kyztes, MS.; 1. 23, dare ; 1. 24, lord ; 1. 32, yn ; 1. 34, hys.— P. 17, 1. 4, Chestere.-P. 18, l. 4, whan ; 1. 8, knyzt ; l. 12, that that, MS.; 1. 27, gantyle.-P. 19, 1. 25, mayne; 1. 26, schypede; 1. 29, whan.-P. 20, 1. 5, wyth; 1.27 scheld; 1. 28, brozte.-P. 21, 1. 11, wente.-P. 22, 1. 32, wente.-P. 23, 1. 8, marnere, MS.; 1. 15, thanne.—P. 24, l. 1, yn ; 1. 23, worth, MS.-P. 25, 1. 33, thou.-P. 26, 1. 5, mode ; 1. 33, 3elpynge.-P. 27, 1. 13, two.-P. 28, 1. 3, hym ; 1. 10, wer, uncertain in MS., perhaps wor; 1. 26, non ; l. 31, make; 1. 34, ys.-P. 29, 1. 10, whe; 1. 16, were; 1. 30, hem, MS.-P. 30, 1. 32, wordly.—P. 31, l. 5, crounne ; l. 14, her.—P. 33, l. 19, er ; 1. 22, ther ; 1. 33, withoute.—P. 34, 1. 3, 3eve. ILLUSTRATIONS OF FAIRY MYTHOLOGY. 66 I. ROMANCE OF LAUNFAL. Although there is little to be found of an earlier date than the sixteenth century that bears directly upon the popular notions of fairy mythology, as Shakespeare has embodied them in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," yet it would not be easy to develop the gradual transitions which took place in public belief in those matters, without presenting the reader with the earliest documents on the subject that have descended to our times. Reserving more detailed observations for our Introduction, it will only be necessary to observe that there probably is no absolute connexion between Tryamour, the daughter of Olyroun, and Titania. Tryamour is minutely described; we see in her a maiden of wonderful beauty, and possessed of superior powers; but still there is not Shakespeare's idea of a fairy princess, and we might perhaps have failed to recognize the description, had the poet forgotten to inform us that her father was 66 Kyng of Fayrye." The romance of Launfal is one of the earliest pieces of the kind known to exist. It is translated from a French original written by the celebrated Marie de France, and is here given from MS. Cott. Calig. A. ii., the text adopted by Ritson; and also in Way's Fabliaux, B |