[123] Udvalgde Danske Viser fra Middelaldaren, 5 vols. 12mo. Copenh. 1812. [124] Svenska Folk-Visor från Forntiden, 3 vols. 8vo. Stockholm, 1814-16. We have not seen the late collection of Arvidsson named Svenska Fornsånger, in 3 vols. 8vo. [125] The reader will find a beautiful instance of a double Omquæd in the Scottish ballad of the Cruel Sister. There were two sisters sat in a bower, _Binnōrie o Binnōrie_ There came a knight to be their wooer _By the bonny mill-dams of Binnōrie._ And in the Cruel Brother, There were three ladies played at the ba', _With a heigh ho and a lily gay_; There came a knight and played o'er them a', _As the primrose spreads so sweetly_. The second and fourth lines are repeated in every stanza. [126] These are the Swedish verses: Det växte upp _Liljor_ på begge deres graf, _Med äran och med dygd_-- De växte tilsamman med alla sina blad. _J vinnen väl, J vinnen väl både rosor och liljor._ Det växte upp _Rosor_ ur båda deras mun, _Med äran och med dygd_-- De växte tilsammans i fagreste lund. _J vinnen väl, J vinnen väl både rosor och liljor._ [127] Some readers may wish to know the proper mode of pronouncing such Danish and Swedish words as occur in the following legends. For their satisfaction we give the following information. J is pronounced as our _y_; when it comes between a consonant and a vowel, it is very short, like the y that is expressed, but not written, in many English words after _c_ and _g_: thus _kjær_ is pronounced very nearly as _care_: _ö_ sounds like the German _ö_, or French _eu_: _d_ after another consonant is rarely sounded, Trold is pronounced Troll: _aa_, which the Swedes write _å_, as o in _more_, _tore_. Aarhuus is pronounced _Ore-hoos_. ELVES. Säg, kännar du Elfvornas glada slägt? De bygga ved flodernas rand; De spinna af månsken sin högtidsdrägt, Med liljehvit spelande hand. STAGNELIUS. Say, knowest thou the Elves' gay and joyous race? The banks of streams are their home; They spin of the moonshine their holiday-dress, With their lily-white hands frolicsome. The Alfar still live in the memory and traditions of the peasantry of Scandinavia. They also, to a certain extent, retain their distinction into White and Black. The former, or the Good Elves, dwell in the air, dance on the grass, or sit in the leaves of trees; the latter, or Evil Elves, are regarded as an underground people, who frequently inflict sickness or injury on mankind; for which there is a particular kind of doctors called _Kloka män_,[128] to be met with in all parts of the country.