They have changed into faithless Elves, hostile to men, like the other Gnomes.{269} [Illustration: 289] {271}The Fairies of our day are divided into two formidable classes. The White Fairies are damsels who wander about on meadows and in woods, like the Willis of the Slaves, and lie in wait for inexperienced young men, whom they persuade to join in their dances and keep dancing, till they lose their breath and generally fall to the ground never to rise again. German stories are full of such wicked tricks. The place where they perform their diabolic dances, becomes quite silvery under their feet. The shepherds can thus at once recognize the place where they have been, and are sure to hasten away at once with their flocks. [Illustration: 291] The Black Fairies personify Nightmare and Somnambulism, but only Natural Somnambulism, it must be borne in mind. {272}When men fall into this state, the Black Elf directs all the motions of the sleeper; he lives in him, thinks and acts for him, makes him get upon the furniture and climb upon roofs, and keeps him from falling, unless... Poor sleeper, he allowed them breath enough to swell the sails of a vessel or to chase the clouds from one end of the heavens to another. Among the Celts all magicians had been able to command the winds and the tempests at will; even now certain men in Norway and in Lapland will sell you, for a small price, the wind you desire to carry you home. Careful! The Black Fairies are treacherous and cruel; the Fairy who controls you for the moment may at any moment take a fancy to throw you from your height. [Illustration: 292] The Alfs, who have thus become Elves or Fairies, are of course not the only Spirits of the Air; their fragile and delicate structure would never have al{272}In Germany, on the contrary, the wind was looked upon as an elementary power. It was not deified, as in Rome, where there was a whole windy family of gods, like Eurus, Æolus, Boreas, and Favonius, but it was an important personage, with a will of his own and independent action. The poets did their part to give importance to _Master Wind._ I have in my hand a ballad, which will enable the reader to judge for himself:-- “Gretchen, the pretty miller’s daughter, was courted by the son of the king. Her father, the miller, knowing that kings’ sons are not apt to marry, had chosen her a husband, a young flour merchant from Rotterdam. “The Dutchman was on his way up the Rhine; that very evening he was expected to arrive, to make his proposals. “Gretchen called upon Master Wind to help her; he came in by the window, but not without breaking a number of panes. “‘What do you wish me to do?’ “‘A man wants to marry me, against my will; he is coming in a sail boat; contrive it so that he cannot land at Bingen.’