_Sithche_ (pronounced _sheeche_) is the generic and commonest term. It is a noun of common gender, and its plural is _sithchean_ (sheechun). In Graham’s _Highlands of Perthshire_, a work more than once quoted by Sir Walter Scott, but unreliable as an authority, this word is written _shi’ich_. _Sireach_, plur. _sirich_, also _sibhrich_, is a provincial term; _an siriche du_, ‘the black elf,’ _i.e._ the veriest elf. _Sithbheire_ (pronounced _sheevere_), a masculine noun, is mostly applied to changelings, or the elf substituted for children and animals taken by the Fairies. Applied to men it is very contemptuous. _Siochaire_ is still more so. Few expressions of scorn are more commonly applied to men than _siochaire grannda_, “ugly slink.” _Duine sìth_ (plur. _daoine sìth_), ‘a man of peace, a noiselessly moving person, a fairy, an elf’; fem. _Bean shìth_ (gen. _mna sìth_, plur. _mnathan sìth_, gen. plur. with the article _nam ban shìth_), ‘a woman of peace, an Elle woman,’ are names that include the whole Fairy race. _Bean shìth_ has become naturalized in English under the form _Banshi_. The term was introduced from Ireland, but there appears no reason to suppose the Irish belief different from that of the Scottish Highlands. Any seeming difference has arisen since the introduction of the Banshi to the literary world, and from the too free exercise of imagination by book-writers on an imperfectly understood tradition. The _leannan sìth_, ‘fairy sweetheart, familiar spirit,’ might be of either sex. The use of this word by the translators of the Bible into Gaelic is made a great handle of by the common people, to prove from Scripture that Fairies actually exist. The Hebrew word so translated is rendered ‘pythons’ by the Vulgate, and ‘consulters of the spirits of the dead’ by modern scholars. Those said to have familiar spirits were probably a class of magicians, who pretended to be media of communication with the spirit world, their ‘familiar’ making himself known by sounds muttered from the ground through the instrumentality, as the Hebrew name denotes, of a skin bottle. _Brughadair_, ‘a person from a brugh, or fairy dwelling,’ applied to men, means one who does a stupid or senseless action. Other names are _sluagh_, ‘folk, a multitude’; _sluagh eutrom_, ‘light folk’; and _daoine beaga_, ‘little men,’ from the number and small size ascribed to the elves. _Daoine Còire_, ‘honest folk,’ had its origin in a desire to give no unnecessary offence. The ‘folk’ might be listening, and were pleased when people spoke well of them, and angry when spoken of slightingly. In this respect they are very jealous. A wise man will not unnecessarily expose himself to their attacks, for, ‘Better is a hen’s amity than its enmity’ (_S’fhearr sìth ciree na h-aimhreit_). The same feeling made the Irish Celt call them _daoine matha_, ‘good people,’ and the lowland Scot ‘gude neighbours.’ THE SIZE OF FAIRIES.