And sickly vapors are near his lips,
    And close to his wire-net lamp,
  Unseen, as an evil spirit comes,
    Up stealeth the dread fire-damp!

  But the miner works on, though death is by,
    And fears not the monster grim;
  For the wiry gauze, round his steady light,
    Makes a safety-lamp for him.

  Rough and rude, and of little worth,
    Seems the ore that the miner brings
  From the hidden places where lie concealed
    Earth’s rare and precious things;

  But, tried awhile in the glowing fire,
    It is rough and rude no more;
  Art moulds the iron, and forms the gold,
    And fashions the silver ore.

And useful, rare, and beautiful things,
’Neath the hand of skill arise: 
Oh! a thousand thousand human wants
The miner’s toil supplies!

VISIT TO FAIRY LAND.

So, then, you want to hear some stories about the fairies, do you, little girl?  Well, I must humor you a little, I suppose; though I should not wonder if my fairy stories were somewhat different from those you have heard before.  But have you the least idea that there were ever such beings as the fairies in the world?  If you have, let me tell you, you are quite mistaken.  The stories that have been told about these fairy people are none of them worthy of belief, though it must be admitted that millions have believed them.  Many of the men and women who pretended to have seen the fairies, and who related the stories in the first place, believed all they said, I have no doubt.  But they were generally ignorant persons, very superstitious, and easily imposed upon.  There are, it is true, invisible inhabitants in this world.  Those who believe the Bible, can hardly doubt the presence of angels among us.  But angels, as they are represented in the Scriptures, are a very different class of spirits from those called fairies, if we may credit what has been said of this singular race of beings, by those who pretend to have seen them in fairy land.

Not a great while ago, the people of England and Scotland were very superstitious.  It is not two centuries since our good forefathers on that island were burning witches by scores.  At that time, a great many believed in the existence of fairies, or elves.  I have been at some pains to find out at what time this fairy superstition first appeared among the Britons.  But it seems not very easy to determine.  One thing is certain, that the belief in some kind of spirits—­either the same with the fairies, under a different name, or very nearly related to them—­dates back to a very early period in British history—­earlier, probably, than the Christian era.