ot, ap. Peri_),
celebrated in the ancient Persian poetry, figures in the European
romances, under the various names of _Mourgue La Faye_, sister to _King
Arthur; Urgande La Deconnue_, protectress of _Amadis de Gaul_; and the
_Fata Morgana_ of Boiardo and Ariosto. The description of these nymphs,
by the troubadours and minstrels, is in no respect inferior to those of
the Peris. In the tale of _Sir Launfal_, in Way's _Fabliaux_, as well as
in that of _Sir Gruelan_, in the same interesting collection, the reader
will find the fairy of Normandy, or Bretagne, adorned with all the
splendour of eastern description. The fairy _Melusina_, also, who
married Guy de Lusignan, count of Poictou, under condition that he
should never attempt to intrude upon her privacy, was of this latter
class. She bore the count many children, and erected for him a
magnificent castle by her magical art. Their harmony was uninterrupted,
until the prying husband broke the conditions of their union, by
concealing himself, to behold his wife make use of her enchanted
bath. Hardly had _Melusina_ discovered the indiscreet intruder, than,
transforming herself into a dragon, she departed with a loud yell of
lamentation, and was never again visible to mortal eyes; although, even
in the days of Brantome, she was supposed to be the protectress of her
descendants, and was heard wailing, as she sailed upon the blast
round the turrets of the castle of Lusiguan, the night before it was
demolished. For the full story, the reader may consult the _Bibliotheque
des Romans_.[A]--Gervase of Tilbury (pp. 895, and 989), assures us,
that, in his days, the lovers of the Fadae, or Fairies, were numerous;
and describes the rules of their intercourse with as much accuracy, as
if he had himself been engaged in such an affair. Sir David Lindsay also
informs us, that a leopard is the proper armorial bearing of those
who spring from such intercourse, because that beast is generated by
adultery of the pard and lioness. He adds, that Merlin, the prophet, was
the first who adopted this cognizance, because he was "borne of faarie
in adultre, and right sua the first duk of Guyenne, was borne of a
_fee_; and, therefoir, the armes of Guyenne are a leopard."--_MS. on
Heraldry, Advocates' Library,_ w. 4. 13. While, however, the Fairy of
warmer climes was thus held up as an object of desire and of affection,
those of Britain, and more especially those of Scotland, were far
from being so fortu