of King Oberon and Queen Titania; but the writers on demonology of the last age gravely laboured to prove that the kith and kin of the queen of Elfland are no other than Satan himself in various disguises. Such is the first who answers to our call, the merry wanderer PUCK, who was said to have long dwelt in the house of the gray friars at Schwerin, or Mecklenburgh, which he haunted in the form of a pug, or monkey. Puck, notwithstanding the tricks which he played upon all strangers who visited the monastery, was sufficiently useful to its inmates. He turned the spit, drew the wine, and cleaned the kitchen, while the lay-brothers were snoring: yet, in spite of all these services, the monk, to whom the world is indebted for "A Veritable Relation of the Demon Puck," has described him as an "impure spirit."

Friar Rush, to whom we have already alluded, (p. 62,) is Puck under another name. Puck is also found under the character of ROBIN GOODFELLOW, or ROBIN HOOD; the outlaw of that name having acquired it from his resemblance to the unquiet wandering spirit. The ROBIN HOOD of England is also the Scottish RED CAP, and the Saxon HUDKEN, or HOODEKIN, SO called from the hoodekin, or little hood, or hat, which he wore, and which also covers his head when he appears in the shape of the Nisse of Sweden.

In the neighbouring kingdom of Denmark, wonderful cunning in music is ascribed to the PUCKS; and there is a certain jig or dance called the Elf-king's dance, well known amongst the country crowders, which yet no one dares to play. Its notes produce the same effect as the enchanted horn of Oberon; whenever it is heard, old and young are compelled to foot it to the tune,-nay, the very stools and tables begin to caper; nor can the musician undo the charm, and release the victims from the doom of perpetual dancing, unless he can play the tune backwards without misplacing a note, or unless one of the involuntary dancers can contrive to pass behind, and cut the strings of the fiddle by reaching over his shoulders. This silly belief, a mixture of imposture and superstition, still prevails.

The people of Sweden, whether high or low, are all particularly addicted to a belief in ghosts and spirits; with the lower classes, indeed, it is not only a passion as an entertainment, but a serious matter of faith. A sufficient proof, too, that such superstitions are not always confined to the common class, may be found in the general credence that was given, even in Stockholm, to the vision of Charles the Eleventh*, which with us, and at the present day, would be considered as the mere effect of delirium. But with the peasant such belief seems to be a part of his habitual thinking; and even the postilion will en

The account of this vision is preserved at Stockholm, in the king's own hand-writing. On the night of the 16th of December, 1676, it is said, he was sitting in his chamber, and was surprised at the appearance of a light in the hall of the Diet. Accompanied by two noblemen he descended to the hall, which they found hung with black cloth and lighted up. In the centre, surrounding a table, sat sixteen venerable men, each with a large volume before him; above them was the king with the crown on his head and sceptre in his hand, having on one side a personage about forty years old, and on the other an old man of seventy, who appeared very urgent that he should make a sign with his head, which as often as he did, the

tertain the traveller on his journey with tales of his popular superstitions. These are, perhaps, more numerous with the Swede than with the peasant of any other country, each element having its peculiar spirits, and each spirit some legend of love or terror attached to his existence.

The Swedish word Troll is very undefined; properly speaking, it means the little wood and mountain spirits; but it is also applied, in a more general sense, to the whole race of supernatural beings in their various forms and attributes. The wood and water sprites are known more particularly under the names of Skagara and Sjora, little beings that milk the cows and lame the horses; but if anything of iron is cast over them, their power to work mischief ceases. The cattle may be also secured from them by hiding garlic or assafoetida about their heads.

Among the spirits that have most to do with the human race, the Kobalds play a conspicuous part. They dwell in and about the habitations of men, on which account they are commonly called Tomtegubbar, Tomtegubbe, (meaning the old woman of the hearth,) and sometimes Tomtebizar, and Nisse god drang, (Nisse good lad,) because they help the family in all its difficulties. These are said to swarm in the lofty trees that grow near houses; on which account great care is to be taken not to cut any down, especially those that are old.

If any one falls sick, and the cause of his illness is unknown, the common people at once ascribe it to the supposed guardian spirits of the place where the party was first affected-hence the common expression, "he has met with something evil in the air,in the water,-in the fields." In such cases, it is essential to mollify the Nisse, which may be done by pouring liquor into a goblet, and mixing with it the filings of a bride-ring, or of silver, or of any metal that has been inherited. This mixture is to be taken to the place where the man was supposed to be taken ill, and poured over the left shoulder of him. who takes it, but he must not look round or utter a syllable.

In addition to the belief in these things, which seem to be of the peculiar growth of the country, the Swedes have tales of dwarfs and giants, and the night-mare, and dragons whose office it is to watch concealed treasures. Nor is there with them any want of Elves or Fairies, the lightest and prettiest creatures of the creations of the popular superstition of the North. Elf, (in the plural Elfwor,) in its original and limited acceptation, signifies a riversprite; and hence every great river is called Elf; for instance, Gota-Elf.

The mythology of these little beings is nearly the same among the Swedes as it was in this country about a century ago; and when the Swedish carle sees a circle on the morning grass, he attributes it to the midnight dances of the fairies. With them, as with us,

O'er the dewy green, By the glow-worm's light, Dance the elves of night

Unheard unseen.

Yet where their midnight pranks have been The circled turf will betray to-morrow.

venerable men struck tneir hands on their books. Further, he beheld executioners cutting off the heads of many young men, and the throne being overturned. On asking when these things should be, the young king answered, "In the days of the sixth sovereign after you; he shall be of the same age as I appear now to be, and the person now sitting beside me resembles the regent. During the last year of the regency, the country shall be sold by some young men, but the king and regent shall subdue them, and the Swedes prosper under the young king's reign." Having thus said, the king adds, the whole vanished, and we saw nothing but ourselves and our flambeaux.

Where the bee sucks, there lurk I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie;

There I couch when owls do cry. The fable of the spirit called Sprömkari is no less beautiful, though belonging to another element. According to the old belief, he sits in his blue depths, playing constantly on the harp; and when any children by chance have seen him in his lonely waters, they have always received from him the gift of harmony, for he himself lives in eternal music. He will play, too, by lakes and streams, to the dancing of the elves, who, on his account, generally choose the river-meads for the place of their midnight revelling, a superstition infinitely more beautiful than the sweetest

of Greece or Rome.

The Skogara is a spirit of a darker nature, whose cry is often heard at night in the woods. On such occasions he must be answered by calling out He! which prevents it doing any injury.

The Neck is no less evil; but he belongs to the water; and formerly those who intended to bathe, used first to charm him by flinging some metal substance into the stream; at such times of security, it was the custom of the peasants to taunt him with mocking verses, singing,—

Neck, Neck, you thief, you're on the land, but I'm in the water; and on coming out of the water again, they took back the metal, reversing the words,

Neck, Neck, you thief, I'm on the land, but you're in the water.

Such mischievous beings, as well as magic animals, are not to be called by their own names; but by euphemisms, or by slight allusions to their peculiar characteristics. In beating cats, or speaking crossly to them, their name must not be spoken out, for they belong to the infernal host, and have acquaintances among the Bergtroll in the mountains, where they frequently visit.

The cuckoo, the owl, and the pie, are birds, of supernatural powers, and great care is to be taken how you speak to them, or you run the risk of being choaked. They are not to be killed either without good reason, for their adherents might revenge their deaths. But it is still more dangerous to harm toads, for enchanted princesses are often hidden in them; and many who have neglected this caution, have been struck lame for their temerity, without either fall of blow. If you speak of the Trollpack (the witch host), you must name fire and water, and the name of the church that you belong to; this prevents them from doing any injury. The weasel must not be called weasel, but aduine; the fox you must call blue-foot, or, he who runs in the woods; the wolf, gray-foot, or gold-foot; and the bear, the old man, or the grandfather. With these precautions you may shoot them, and they lose the power of harming you. According to the same superstition, too, children born on Sunday can see spirits, and tame the dragon who watches over hidden treasures.

A Tomtegubbe is generally imagined in the shape of

that is, as applied to his own person, for he cannot bear it in others, and hence the gray cattle of some places never prosper. But a good Tomtegubbe is a friendly creature, who protects the house in all danger, and often does the work of the servants when they sleep too long o'mornings. This superstition extends even to Stockholm. If one of these spirits is reported to be visible anywhere in the evening, something extraordinary is expected; according to the popular belief, they have always been seen roaming disquietedly about the royal castles, and the parts adjacent, on the eve of any of those revolutions so frequent in Swedish history

THE SCANDINAVIAN NEKKAR AND TEUTONIC
NIXES.

ACCORDING to the Scandinavian mythology, Odin assumes the name of the NIKAR, or HNICKAR, when he acts as the destroying, or evil principle. In this character he inhabits the lakes and rivers of Scandinavia, where, under the ancient appellation of the NIKKER (the Old Nick of England, and the Kelpie of Scotland), he raises sudden storms and tempests, and leads mankind into destruction. There is a gloomy lake in the island of Rugen, its waters are turbid, and its shores covered with thick woods; this, it is said, he loves to haunt; and here he vexes the fishermen, and amuses himself by placing their boats on the summits of the loftiest fir-trees.

Propitiatory worship is offered to the being which is feared. So strangely have the superstitions of the middle ages amalgamated with the more ancient popular mythology, that the Nekker, by an easy transition, became the ST. NICHOLAS, the patron of sailors, whose aid is invoked in storms and tempests.

The Scandinavian Nekkar generated the river-men and river-maids, the Teutonic Nixes. None of the latter are more celebrated than the nymphs of the Elbe and the Saal. In the days of paganism, the Saxons, who dwelt in the district between these rivers, worshipped a female deity, whose temple was situated in the town of Magdeburg, or Meydeburch, "the Maiden's Castle;" and who still continued to be feared as the nymph of the Elbe in after-times. Often was she said to appear at Magdeburgh, where she was wont to visit the market with her basket hanging on her arm; she was gentle in her manner, and neat in her dress, and nothing differing in appearance from a burgher's daughter; yet one corner of her snow-white apron appeared constantly wet, as a token of her aquatic nature.

Pretorius, a credulous yet valuable writer of the sixteenth century, tells us that the Elbe nymph sometimes sits on the banks of the river combing her golden hair-a description agreeing with the rude "counterfyt" which Botho has given, probably from tradition, of the goddesses of Magdeburgh. Beautiful and fair as the Nixes seem to be, the ruling passion retains its unity-the evil one is veiled-and the water-nymphs assert their affinity to the deluder, the tormentor, the destroyer. Inevitable death awaits the wretch who is seduced by their charms. They seize and drown the swimmer, and entice the child; and when they anticipate that their malevolence will be gratified, they are seen daily darting over the surface of the waters.

Witnesses were not wanting, who asserted that the inundations in the Valais, which happened some years ago, were caused by demons, who, if not strictly Nekkars, or Nixes, are at least of an amphibious nature. This story is still current among the peasants in the neighbourhood of St. Maurice.

THE HORSE CHESTNUT, (Esculus hippocastanum.) THE Horse Chestnut tree, and the Spanish or Sweet Chestnut, (Fagus castanea,) although, from the similarity of their fruit they bear the same name, are, nevertheless, two very distinct genera; the Spanish Chestnut being more nearly allied to the Beech. There are, at least, three species of the Horse Chestnut, two natives of America, and one of Asia. Asiatic species, the common Horse Chestnut, is supposed to have been brought into Europe as early as the year 1550; it was taken to Vienna, and from thence to France and Italy: those which were imported into England came from the Levant. As a tree it is extremely grand, although, perhaps, somewhat formal, from the regularity of its growth. It is also distinguished by the beautiful arrangement of its white blossoms. The most eligible situation for the Horse Chestnut is in lawns and parks, planted singly, its overshadowing branches affording an excellent protection for cattle from the heat of the sun; the fruit, also, is good food for the deer, who are very partial to it. It is a tree of very quick growth, but as it soon reaches maturity, it as soon decays, and the wood is of little value.

In Turkey, the nuts of this tree are ground and mixed with provender for horses, and they are considered excellent for these animals in cases of coughs, &c. A French agriculturist gave them, mixed with other food, to his cows, and considered that they increased the quantity of milk, without injuring the quality. An Italian physician declares that he found the bark, after repeated trials, to be equal to Peruvian bark in cases of fever, and several other writers have mentioned the same fact. In France it has been used for the purpose of bleaching yarn. Twenty nuts, being peeled and rasped into ten or twelve quarts of hot rain or river-water, were employed in preparing woollen and silk goods to receive the dye,

with considerable success; and it has been supposed, that, if the meal of the nuts were made into cakes, or balls, it would answer the purpose of soap. Starch has also been prepared from them, and the dried nut finely powdered has been employed as an eye-snuff.

There is one species, a native of Brazil, Carolina, &c., which, if it could be cultivated with success in this country, would make a beautiful addition to the appearance of a gentleman's park, the blossoms being of a bright scarlet. The common method resorted to by nurserymen who propagate this tree for sale, is to graft or bud it upon stocks of the common Horse Chestnut, but as the stock fast outgrows the graft, the tree soon becomes unsightly, and in the course of a few years is apt to decay.

The common Horse Chestnut is propagated by sowing the nuts, after preserving them in sand during the Winter, in order to prevent their rotting early in the Spring. In this case the plants, in a proper soil, will shoot nearly a foot the first Summer, and they may be transplanted either the following Autumn, or in February or March, into the nursery, and set in rows at the distance of three feet, and one foot asunder, where they are to remain two years, and they will then be fit for planting where they are to continue. The most favourable soil for them is a sandy loam, inclining to moisture.

The whole annual shoot of this tree is completed in less than three weeks after the buds are opened, and as soon as the flowers are fallen, the buds for the succeeding year are formed, which continue swelling till Autumn, when they are overspread with a thick tenacious juice, that defends them from the action of the frost, and on the return of warm weather this melts and runs off, and leaves the buds at liberty to expand themselves.

To watch the economy of birds,-to mark the enjoyment of the animal world, to view with an eye of interest and contemplation the fields "with verdure clad," and every opening blossom bursting into beauty and to life, are enjoyments that instruct and delight youth, middle, and old age. They supply us with a source of innocent employ ment, to which none need be dead but those who wilfully become so by keeping their eyes closed before that book of Nature which is everywhere spread around, that we should read in it those characters of an Almighty hand that lead the mind to wonder at and adore his goodness, and the heart to acknowledge and to feel his power, as a Father, who in his "wisdom has created," and preserves them all. MRS. BRAY.

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND. PUBLISHED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE ONE PENNY, AND IN MONTHLY PARTE Sold by all Booksellers and Newsvenders in the Kingdom,

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