Tea, versus, Ghosts and Fairies.—

It has been long alleged that there existed a close connexion between the more ghostly spirits of the country and its distilled ones. “How do you account,” said a north country minister of the last age (the late Rev. Mr. M'Bean, of Alves,) to a sagacious old elder of his session, “for the almost total disappearance of the ghosts and fairies that used to be so common in your younger days?” “Take my word fort minister,” replied the old man, “it's a owing to the tea; when the tea cam in, the ghaists and fairies gaed out. Weel do I mind when at a’ our neebourly meetings—bridals, christenings, lykewakes and the like—we entertained one anither wi’ rich, nappy ale; and when the verra douiest o' us used to get warm i' the nappy tho’ a little confused in the head, an' weel fit to see amaist ony thing when on the moors on our way home. But the tea has put out the nappy: an’ I have remarked, that by losing the nappy we lost baith ghosts and fairies.”

—H. Millar.