Poems (McDonald)/A Whisper from Fairy Land

by Mary Noel McDonald

A WHISPER FROM FAIRY LAND.

 Alas! alas! for the fairy folk,
 Who, under the boughs of the elm or oak,
 Danced in the moon-beams till morning broke.
They made their homes in our brightest bowers,
 They revelled at night 'neath our favourite tree,
They slept 'mid the leaves of our fairest flowers,
 And woke the still air with their fairy glee:
The rose was the throne of the elfish queen,
 With a royal flush of crimson dye;
And her couch was the lily's cup I ween,
 Where she slept till the stars came out on high,
And one reposed on the violet's lip,
 Where the earliest dew-drops all sparkling lay;
Oh! sweet were the honied gems to sip,
 As a nectar draught to that dancing fay.
Alas! alas! for the fairy folk—
As thus I sighed, on the still air broke
A silvery voice, and this answer spoke:

 

 "Sad indeed the fatal hour
Fairies fled from earthly bower,
When no more in magic ring,
They could dance, and laugh, and sing,
Tripping through each haunted grove,
While the Moon was bright above,
And amid their gentle mirth,
Flinging fairy gifts o'er earth.

"First they threw the dew-drops sweet,
Where the vales were parched with heat;
And the cotter woke at morn,
Glad to find the springing corn.
Where the busy wheel was still,
There they led the laughing rill;
And at morning's earliest beam,
Joyed the miller o'er the stream,
Deeming 'twas the summer rain
Thus had filled his pods again.
Where the tidy housewife's care,
Would the early meal prepare—
Hands unseen at midnight drear,
Spread the board with dainty cheer,
Woke the maids at peep of day,
With a fairy roundelay;
And a thousand favors then
Lavishly bestowed on men.

 "Thus we lived—the summer day
Wore all peacefully away,
As we slumbered in the cell
Of the fragrant lily's bell,
'Till the purple twilight fell
Soft on meadow, grove, and dell,
And our queen's attendant train,
Called us to our tasks again.
 "All the balmy summer through,
Thus we lived, a merry crew,
Gay and lightsome, 'till a foe,
Came to work us fear and woe.
Hideous was the monster grim,
Strange alike in face and limb;
Wheresoe'er he chanced to roam,
There did wonderous changes come.
Hard it were for me to tell
All the harm which then befell,
As before his giant sway
Fled the frightened elves away.
Soon our magic ring gave place
To the courser's flying race;
Swiftly through the land there came
Steedless chariots urged by flame,
Hissing with such horrid tone
As they rushed all madly on,
That the fays in great affright
Feared to tempt the summer night.

 "Soon the groves were borne to earth,
Once resounding with our mirth;
Nature's children, faint at heart,
Fled before the steps of Art.
Where the mineral waters bright
Sparkle in the morning light,
Cure for every fairy's ill,
Bathing in the healing rill,
Whiskered dandy, perfumed belle,
Came to break the holy spell:
Once by mortal taste defiled,
Lost the charm for elfland child;
And where bright those waters play,
Never more their steps may stray.

 "Sad the change—ungrateful man,
Then to doubt our power began;
Wickedly proclaimed, that we
Lived alone in phantasie;
Scorned our gifts with skeptic word,
Left our warnings all unheard,
And with impious jeer and jest,
Other sway than our's confessed.
 "What then could the fairies do?
Far away from earth we flew,
At our gracious queen's command,
Back again to fairy land:
Nor shall mortal ever see
Aught of elfish revelry.
Changed is now each haunted spot,
And the elves are half forgot,
Only sung in legends wild,
To the gay and wondering child;
Or remembered, it may be,
Lady fair, by such as thee."