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Suffice it to say, that many instances of such an association in the former country will be found in the pages of Mr. MacRitchie's works, whilst as to the latter, I shall content myself by quoting Sir William Wilde's statement, that every green "rath" in that country is consecrated to the "good people." In England there are numerous instances of a similar kind.
Their habitations may be in or amongst stones, in caves, under the water, in trees, or amongst the glades of a forest; they may dwell on mountains, on moors, or even under the altars of churches. We may freely grant that some of these habitations fall into line with Mr. MacRitchie's theory, but they are not all susceptible of such an explanation.
He also shows that illimitable riches and magical powers were ascribed to the Picts and to the Finns, and that the Lapps were pre-eminent in witchcraft. I shall leave it to Celtic scholars to deal with Mr. MacRitchie's remarkable etymologies and with his historical arguments, confining myself to one or two observations on the traditional aspect of the theory.
MacRitchie's theory as a complete explanation of the fairy question, but I am far from desirous of under-estimating the value and significance of his work. Mr. MacRitchie has gone far to show that one of these mythic elements, one strand in the twisted cord of fairy mythology, is the half-forgotten memory of skulking aborigines, or, as Mr.
MacRitchie's article "The Gypsies of India," and wishes the Society "God speed," while in that of 13th August 1888, he laments the trifling results that followed his own and Arbuthnot's efforts in behalf of Orientalism. Of course, all of us must do our best to secure new members, and by Xmas I hope that we shall find ourselves on the right road. Mr.
The fairies themselves are not represented as airy creatures in gauze wings and spangles, but they appear in tradition as small cunning people, eating and drinking, living close at hand in their green mound, stealing children and cattle, milk and food, from their bigger neighbours. They are uncanny, but so are the Lapps. MacRitchie's theory, which has been so admirably summarised by Mr.
Retrospect The fairies of Celtic and Teutonic races of the same nature as the supernatural beings celebrated in the traditions of other nations All superstitions of supernatural beings explicable by reference to the conceptions of savages Liebrecht's Ghost Theory of some Swan-maiden myths MacRitchie's Finn Theory The amount of truth in them Both founded on too narrow an induction Conclusion.
MacRitchie's view is that the elves, trolls, and fairies represented in popular tradition are really the mound-dwellers, whose remains have been discovered in some abundance in the form of green hillocks, which have been artificially raised over a long and low passage leading to a central chamber open to the sky. Mr.
Into these etymological questions I have no intention to enter, since I am not qualified to do so, nor is it necessary, as they have been fully dealt with by Mr. MacRitchie's views tally with the facts mentioned in the foregoing section.
Coffey also quotes O'Hartagain's poem, which seems to bear in Mr. MacRitchie's favour: "Behold the sidhe before your eyes: It is manifest to you that it is a king's mansion, Which was built by the firm Dagda; It was a wonder, a court, a wonderful hill." Trans. Roy. But certain of the expressions in this are evidently to be taken figuratively, since Mr.
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