n on the grass, the old man
crept cautiously towards them, and watched their proceedings with deep
interest. They were evidently engaged in the pleasant occupation of
holding a fair. There were stalls, tastefully laid out and decorated
with garlands of flowers. On these were spread most temptingly all the
little articles of fairy costume. To be sure the said costume was very
scanty, and to all appearance more picturesque than useful; nevertheless
there was great variety. Some wore heath-bells jauntily stuck on their
heads; some were helmeted with golden blossoms of the furze, and looked
warlike; others had nothing but their own luxuriant hair to cover them.
A few of the lady fairies struck the old man as being remarkably
beautiful, and one of these, who wore an inverted tulip for a skirt,
with a small forget-me-not in her golden hair, seemed to him the very
picture of what his old Molly had been fifty years before. It was
particularly noticeable that the stalls were chiefly patronised by the
fairy fair sex, with the exception of one or two which were much
frequented by the men. At these latter, articles were sold which
marvellously resembled cigars and brandy, and the old man declared that
he saw them smoke the former, and that he smelt the latter; but as he
had himself been indulging a little that evening in smuggled spirits and
tobacco, we must regard this as a somewhat ungenerous statement on his
part, for it is ridiculous to suppose that fairies could be such
senseless creatures as to smoke or drink! They danced and sang,
however, and it was observed that one young man, with a yellow night-cap
and a bad cold, was particularly conspicuous for his anxiety to be
permitted to sing.

"The music was naturally the great attraction of the evening. It
consisted of a large band, and although some of the performers used
instruments made of reeds, and straws, and other hollow substances, cut
into various forms and lengths, most of them had noses which served the
purpose of musical instruments admirably. Indeed, the leader of the
band had a prolongation of the nose so like to a flesh-coloured
clarionet, that it might easily have been mistaken for the real thing,
and on this he discoursed the most seraphic music. Another fairy beside
him had a much longer nose, which he used as a trombone with great
effect. This fellow was quite a character, and played with such
tremendous energy that, on more than one occasion, he br