LAND OF THE LEPRECHAUN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 165, 15 July 1939, Page 3 (Supplement)

LAND OF THE LEPRECHAUN.

The Emerald Isles are the home 'of fairies and fairy lore, the bog-sprite, the leprechaun and the enchanted thorntree. The peasants say the blue gaseous flame hovering above the marshes is the phnntiim Will-o'-the-wisp, the mischievous sprite that, lurk* ill the bnglancl.

Tlie k'preehaun i« of a more retiring nature —hence his name of solitary or '"hermit" fairy. He is said to follow the humble trade of shoemaker, but his.

gay apparel is hardly in keeping with his vocation. He has been described as wearing the red square cut coat and long waistcoat laced with gold, the kneebreeches, shoes and cocked hat characteristic of the fine gentlemen of the last century. He possesses the power of bestowing unbounded wealth on whatever mortal can catch and keep him under his eye until, weary of human observation, he gives the ransom demanded for his liberty. But this is not nearly so easy as it appears to be. Nearly always, by some device, the leprechaun makes his captor avert his gaze if only for a moment, when he vanishes.