The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, vol 10 by Sir Richard Francis Burton (highly recommended books .TXT) 📕

the Thousand Nights and One Night, not occurring in the other printed texts of the work.” (Three vols., London, 1884.) Of this work, issued, like the other, by the Villon Society, to subscribers only, 750 copies were printed, besides 50 on large paper. The third volume includes indices of all the tales in the four principal printed texts.

 

Finally we have Sir R. F. Burton’s translation now in its entirety before his subscribers. It is restricted to 1,000

copies. (Why not 1,001?) The five supplementary vols. are to include tales wanting in the Mac. edition, but found in other texts (printed and MS.), while Lady Burton’s popular edition will allow of the free circulation of Sir R. F. Burton’s work among all classes of the reading public.

 

COLLECTIONS OF SELECTED TALES.

 

There are many volumes of selections derived from Galland, but these hardly require mention; the following may be noticed as derived from other sources:

 

1. Caliphs and Sultans, being tales omitted in the usual editions of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments. Re-written and re-arranged by Sylvanus Hanley, F. L. S., etc., London, 1868; 2nd edition 1870.

 

Consists of portions of tales chiefly selected from Scott, Lamb, Chavis and Cazotte, Tr�butien and Lane; much abridged, and frequently strung together, as follows:—

 

Nos. 246, 41, 32 (including Nos. 111, 21a, and 89); 9a (including 9aa [which Hanley seems, by the way, to have borrowed from some version which I do not recognise], 22 and 248); 155, 156, 136, 162; Xailoun the Silly (from Cazotte); 132 and 132a; and 169

(including 134 and 135x).

 

2. Il�m-en-N�s. Historical tales and anecdotes of the time of the early Kal�fahs. Translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mrs.

Godfrey Clerk, author of “The Antipodes, and Round the World.”

London, 1873.

 

Many of these anecdotes, as is candidly admitted by the authoress in her Preface, are found with variations in the Nights, though not translated by her from this source.

 

3. The New Arabian Nights. Select tales not included by Galland or Lane. By W. F. Kirby, London, 1882.

 

Includes the following tales, slightly abridged, from Weil and Scott: Nos. 200, 201, 264, 215, 209, and 208.

 

Two editions have appeared in England, besides reprints in America and Australia.

 

SEPARATE EDITIONS OF SINGLE OR COMPOSITE TALES.

 

6e (ee).—The Barber’s Fifth Brother.

 

Mr. W. A. Clouston (in litt.) calls attention to the version of this story by Addison in the “Spectator,” No. 535, Nov. 13, 1712, after Galland. There is good reason to suppose that this is subsequent to the first English edition, which, however, Addison does not mention. There is also an English version in Faris’

little Arabic Grammar (London, 1856), and likewise in Richardson’s Arabic Grammar. The latter author extracted it from a MS. belonging to Sir W. Jones.

 

5.—Nur Al-din and Badr Al-din Hasan.

 

There are two Paris editions of the “Histoire de Chems-Eddine et de NourEddine,” edited by Prof. Cherbonneau. The first (1852) contains text and notes, and the second (1869) includes text, vocabulary and translations.

 

7.—Nur Al-din and Anis Al-jalis.

 

An edition by Kasimiraki of “Enis’ el-Djelis, ou histoire de la belle Persane,” appeared in Paris in 1867. It includes text, translation and notes.

 

9.—King Omar Bin Al-nu’aman.

 

There is a French abridgment of this story entitled, “Scharkan, Conte Arabe, suivi de quelques anecdotes orientales; traduit par M. Asselan Riche, Membre de la Soci�t� Asiatique de Paris” (Paris and Marseilles, 12mo, 1829, pp. 240). The seven anecdotes appended are as follows: (1) the wellknown story of Omar’s prisoner and the glass of water; (2) Elhedjadj and a young Arab; (3)=our No. 140; (4) Anecdote of Elhedjadj and a story-teller; (5)=our No. 86; (6) King Bahman and the Moubed’s parable of the Owls; (7)=our No. 145.

 

133.—Sindbad the Seaman.

 

This is the proper place to call attention to a work specially relating to this story, “Remarks on the Arabian Nights Entertainments; in which the origin of Sindbad’s Voyages and other Oriental Fictions is particularly described. By Richard Hole, LL.D.” (London, 1797, pp. iv. 259.) It is an old book, but may still be consulted with advantage.

 

There are two important critical editions of No. 133, one in French and one in German.

 

1. Les Voyages de Sind-b�d le marin et la ruse des Femmes. Contes arabes. Traduction litt�rale, accompagn�e du Texte et des Notes.

Par L. Langl�s (Paris, 1814).

 

The second story is our No. 184.

 

2. Die beiden Sindbad oder Reiseabenteuer Sindbads des Seefabrers. Nach einer zum ersten Male in Europa bedruckten Aegyptischen Handschrift unmittelbar und wortlich treu aus den Arabischen �bersetzt und mit erkl�renden Anmerkungen, nebst zwei sprachlichen Beilagen zum Gebrauch f�r abgehende Orientalisten herausgegeben von J. G. H. Reinsch (Breslau, 1826).

 

135.—The Craft and Malice of Women.

 

The literature of this cluster of tales would require a volume in itself, and I cannot do better than refer to Mr. W. A. Clouston’s “Book of Sindibad” (8vo, Glasgow, 1884) for further information.

This book, though privately printed and limited to 300 copies, is not uncommon.

 

136.—Judar and His Brethren.

 

An edition of this story, entitled “Histoire de Djouder le P�cheur,” edited by Prof. Houdas, was published in the Biblioth�que Alg�rienne, at Algiers, in 1865. It includes text and vocabulary.

 

174.—The Ten Wazirs.

 

This collection of tales has also been frequently reprinted separately. It is the Arabic version of the Persian Bakhtyar Nameh, of which Mr. Clouston issued a privately-printed edition in 1883.

 

The following versions have come under my notice:—

 

1. Nouveaux Contes Arabes, ou Supplement aux Mille et une Nuits suivies de M�langes de Litt�rature orientale et de lettres, par l’Abbe * (Paris, 1788, pp. 425).

 

This work consists chiefly of a series of tales selected and adapted from the Ten Vazirs. “Written in Europe by a European, and its interest is found in the Terminal Essay, on the Mythologia Aesopica” (Burton in litt.).

 

2. Historien om de ti Vezirer og hoorledes det gik dem med Kong Az�d Bachts S�n, oversat af Arabisk ved R. Rask (8vo, Kobenhavn, 1829).

 

3. Habicht, x. p. vi., refers to the following:—Historia decem Vezirorum et filii regis Azad-Bacht insertis XIII. aliis narrationibus, in usum tironum Cahirensem, edid. G. Kn�s, G�ttingen, 1807, 8vo.

 

He also states that Kn�s published the commencement in 1805, in his “Disquisitio de fide Herodoti, quo perhibet Phoenices Africam navibus circumvectos esse cum recentiorum super hac re sententiis excussis.—Adnexurn est specimen sermonis Arabici vulgaris s.

initium historiae filii regis Azad-Bacht e Codice inedito.”

 

4. Contes Arabes. Histoire des dix Vizirs (Bakhtyar Nameh) Traduite et annot�e par Ren� Basset, Professeur A l’�cole superieure des lettres d’Alg�rie. Paris, 1883.

 

Chavis and Cazotte (ante� pp. 471, 472) included a version of the Ten Vazirs in their work; and others are referred to in our Table of Tales.

 

248.—The Wise Heycar.

 

Subsequently to the publication of Gauttier’s edition of The Nights, Agoub republished his translation under the title of “Le sage Heycar, conte Arabe” (Paris, 1824).

 

A few tales published by Scott in Ouseley’s Oriental Collections have already been noticed (ante�, pp. 434, 435).

 

TRANSLATIONS OF COGNATE ORIENTAL ROMANCES ILLUSTRATIVE

OF THE NIGHTS.

 

1. Les Mille et Un Jours. Contes Persanes.

 

“In imitation of the Arabian Nights, was composed a Persian collection entitled �Haz�r Yek R�z or the Thousand and One Days,’

of which Petis de la Croix published a French rendering [in 1710], which was done into English [by Dr. King, and published in 2 vols. (with the Turkish Tales=Forty Vezirs) as early as 1714; and subsequently] by Ambrose Phillips” (in 1738) (Clouston, in litt). Here, and occasionally elsewhere, I have quoted from some MSS. notes on The Nights by Mr. W. A. Clouston, which Sir R. F.

Burton kindly permitted me to inspect. Mr. Clouston then quotes Cazotte’s Preface (not in my edition of the Thousand and One Days), according to which the book was written by the celebrated Dervis Mocl�s (Mukhlis), chief of the Sofis (Sufis?) of lspahan, founded upon certain Indian comedies. Petis de la Croix was on friendly terms with Mukhlis, who allowed him to take a copy of his work in 1675, during his residence in Ispahan. (I find these statements confirmed in the Cabinet des F�es, xxxvii. pp. 266, 274, 278, and in Weber’s “Tales of the East,” i. pp. xxxvi., xxxxii.)

 

The framework of the story is the same as Nos. 9a and 152: a Princess, who conceives an aversion to men from dreaming of the self-devotion of a doe, and the indifference and selfishness of a stag. Mr. Clouston refers to Nakhshab�‘s T�t� N�ma (No. 33 of K�der�‘s abridgment, and 39 of India Office MS. 2,573 whence he thinks it probable that Mukhlis may have taken the tale.) But the tale itself is repeated over and over again in many Arabic, Persian, and Turkish collections; in fact, there are few of commoner occurrence.

 

The tales are told by the nurse in order to overcome the aversion of the Princess to men. They are as follows: Introduction and Conclusion: Story of the Princess of Cashmir.

1. Story of Aboulcassem Bafry.

2. Story of King Ruzvanchad and the Princess Cheheristani.

a. Story of the young King of Thibet and the Princess of the Naimans.

b. Story of the Vazir Cavercha.

3. Story of Couloufe and the Beautiful Dilara.

4. Story of Prince Calaf and the Princess of China.

a. Story of Prince Fadlallah, son of Bei-Ortoc, King of Moussel=Nos. 184 and 251.

5. Story of King Bedreddin-Lolo, and his Vazir Atalmulk, surnamed the Sad Vazir.

a. Story of Atalmulk and the Princess Zelica Beghume.

b. Story of Prince Seyf-el-Molouk.

c. Story of Malek and the Princess Chirine.

d. Story of King Hormuz, surnamed the King without trouble.

da. Story of Avicenna.

e. Story of the fair Arouya. Cf. Nos. 135q and 225.

f. Singular Adventures of Aboulfawaris, surnamed the Great Traveller (2 Voyages).

6. Story of the Two Brother Genii, Adis and Dahy.

7. Story of Nasiraddol�, King of Moussel, of Abderrahman, Merchant of Bagdad, and the Beautiful Zeineb.

8. Story of Repsima=No. 181r.

 

This work has many times been reprinted in France, where it holds a place only second to The Nights.

 

Sir R. F. Burton remarks, concerning the Persian and Turkish Tales of Petis de la Crois (the latter of which form part of the Forty Vazirs, No. 251), “Both are weak and servile imitations of Galland by an Orientalist who knew nothing of the East. In one passage in the story of Fadlallah, we read of �Le Sacrifice du Mont Araf�te,’ which seems to have become a fixture in the European brain. I found the work easy writing and exceedingly hard reading.”

 

The following tales require a passing notice:—

 

1. Story of Aboulcassem Bafry.—A story of concealed treasure; it has also some resemblance to No. 31.

 

2. Ruzvanchad and Cheheristani.—Cheheristani is a jinniyah, who is pursued by the King, under the form of a white doe; marries him, and becomes the mother of Balkis, the Queen of Sheba. She exacts a promise from him never to rebuke her for any of her actions: he breaks it, and she leaves him for a time.

 

2a. The Young King of Thibet.—Two imposters obtain magic rings by which they can assume the shapes of other persons.

 

2a, b. The Vazir Cavercha.—This is one of Scott’s stories (No.

223 of our Table). It goes back at least as far as the Ring of Polycrates. It is the 8th Vezir’s Story in Mr. Gibbs’ Forty Vezirs (pp. 200-205).

 

4. Prince Calaf.—This story is well known, and is sometimes played as a comedy. The Princess Turandot puts riddles to her suitors, and beheads them if they fail to answer.

 

5b. Story of