Elfin music: an anthology of English fairy poetry

consistent development of fairy mythology in English poetry does not justify a simple chronological plan. I have adopted another arrangement, which I trust will contribute to the attractiveness and literary value of the book. It opens with a "foreview," or a bird's-eye prospect of the fairy country as it might be seen by a traveler from the outside. A prelude follows, which pleads for the return of its inhabitants to the human world.

Then, the first division provides a detailed account of the court, country, and people of Fairyland, including its temples, palaces, and festivals. The second division contains the "Chronicles of Fairyland," a series of pleasing poetic romances set in the fairy country where the characters are exclusively elfin folk. A third division is devoted to those wonderful and mystical travels or spiritual pilgrimages into Fairyland, which have occasionally been undertaken by favored and adventurous mortals. The section titled "Men and Fairies" includes those poems and romances in which the different orders of elfin spirits communicate with humanity and mingle in earthly life, dispensing supernatural kindness or causing unheard-of misery, according to their various temperaments. Some poems that cannot be included in the previous divisions, but deserve a place in this elfin anthology due to

their merits, are gathered in a miscellaneous section. The work closes with an epilogue, which explains why the fairies have departed and what the conditions are for their return.

My best thanks are due to Mr. William Allingham for his permission to insert several graceful poems; to Mr. Philip James Bailey for the use of his mystical "Fairy Tale"; to Dr. Charles Mackay for similar kindness regarding his "Kelpie of Corrievreckan"; and to a number of recent writers who have generously contributed to the decoration of this collection. The omission of several poems by illustrious contemporary poets, whose copyrights are strictly reserved by their publishers, should be viewed by indulgent readers as a matter of necessity, however much it may be regretted.