ii|i^iliapi«^P'^'^^^*^'W ^OFCAIIFO/?;^ ^OFCAIIFO/?^ ^^AHvaaiH^ ^^AHvaaii ^WEUNlVERi/A jHvsoi^'^ %ai f A ^ 5: ,aWEUNIVe: \NCElfj> ,;^OFCALIFOfti^ ^. :WSANCI ■ o :Mm'0/. iirr rvc.rAri r.r,r, . . ^ ^^ W/. ^mmWiEs.^ ^:lOSANCElfj> ^M •^mmnQV^ %ii3AiNn]i\v -^t-lIBRARY*?/- ^l-UBRARY(9/. '^(^OJIIVOJO^ '^^ ^^WEUNIVERiZ/i Cf ^^p. o %aaAiNa3\\v ^^■OF-CAIIFO/?^ ^.OF-CALIFOftj;^ vr vr. ^c)o Copies. c 6^0^ TO FORSTER FITZGERALD ARBUTHNOT, ESQ., MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. My Df:ar Arbuthnot, Since you have always been warmly interested in my own works as well as in Oriental Literature generally, allow me to Dedicate to you the present collection of Eastern Tales. This I do with the greater pleasure, knowing that no man is more able than yourself to appreciate their value for the comparative study of popular fictions, and also to recognise their entertaining qualities. Believe me, Yours ever faithfully, W. A. CLOUSTON. Glasgow, April, 1889. ^ PREFACE. T has been justly remarked that "the literature of a nation furnishes the best guide to researches into its character, manners, and opinions, and no de- partment of literature contains a more ample store of data in this respect than the light and popular part consisting of tales, romances, and dramatic pieces." The lighter literature of medieval Europe affords us <0 an insight into customs, manners, and superstitions C» which have long passed away; but in "the unchanging '^ East " the literature of the Asiatic races, produced at ^ the same period, continues to reflect the sentiments and M habits of the Hindus, Buddhists, and MusHms at the tH present day. For among Asiatics belief in astrology, magic, divination, good and bad omens, and evil spirits (rakshasas, divs, jinn, etc.) who are ever eager to injure human beings is still as prevalent as when the oldest of their popular tales and romances were first written. The child-like, wonder-loving Oriental mind delights in stories of the supernatural, and the more such narratives exceed the bounds of human possibility the greater is the pleasure derived from them ; — like our vi PREFACE. own peasantry, who believed (and not so long since) in "ghosts, fairies, goblins, and witches," as well as in the frequent apparition of Satan in various forms to delude the benighted traveller, and were fond of listening to "tales of the wild and wonderful" during the long winter evenings. The following collection comprises fairly represen- tative Eastern tales ; some of which are of common life and have nothing in them of the supernatural, while in others may be found all the machinery of typical Asiatic fictions : gorgeous palaces constructed of priceless gems ; wealth galore ; enchantments ; magical transformations; fairies and jinn, good and evil. Those who think that they are " sensible, practical men " (and are therefore iiot sensible) would not condescend to read "such a pack of lies"; but there be men, I wot, who entertain no particularly high opinion of themselves, to whom what poor Mr. Buckle called " the lying spirit of Romance " is often a great solace amidst the stern realities of work-a-day life, and, carried away in imagination to regions where all is as it ought to t>e, they for a brief season quite forget " life and its ills, duns and their bills." But few words are necessary to explain the design of the present work. I found the four romances diverting and many of their incidents peculiarly inter- esting from a comparative folk-lore point of view; and PREFACE. vii I felt encouraged by the friendly reception of my Book of Sindibdd to reproduce them as a companion volume and as a farther contribution to the study of popular fictions. It may be considered by some readers that my notes are too copious. I know that foot-notes have been likened to runaway knocks, calling one downstairs for nothing ; but as the book is not specially designed for Eastern scholars (who indeed require none of the information that I could furnish), I was desirous that nothing likely to be obscure to the ordinary reader should pass without explanation and illustration ; and since these foot- notes have considerably swelled the bulk of the book and I shall certainly not profit by them, I trust they will not prove altogether useless or superfluous. The abstract of the romance of Hatim Tai — which was an afterthought — and the other matter in the Appendix will be, I venture to think, interesting to readers "of all ranks and ages." It only remains to express my thanks, in the first place, to the learned Orientalist Mr. Edward Rehatsek, of Bombay, for kindly permitting me to reprint his translations from the Persian, with which I have taken a few liberties, but had he revised them himself, I feel sure he would have made very similar alterations : I much regret that want of space prevented me from reproducing more of the shorter stories. In the next place, I (and the reader also, if I am not mistaken) viii PREFACE. have to thank Pandit Natesa Sastri, of Madras, for his translation of the Tamil romance, which I have entitled "The King and his Four Ministers." I must also acknowledge my great indebtedness to Dr. Chas. Rieu, of the British Museum, whose courtesy, great as everybody knows it is, I fear was very frequently sorely tried by my "anxious inquiries"; and to Prof. E. Fagnan, of the Ecole des Lettres, Algiers, and Mr. E. H. Whinfield, who has done good work in Persian literature, for their kind investigations regarding an inedited Turkish story-book. Private friends want no public recognition, but I should consider myself ungrateful did I omit to place also on record my obligations in the course of this work to Dr. David Ross, Principal of the E.G. Training College, Glasgow, to Mr. Leonard G. Smithers, Sheffield, and finally, but certainly not least of all, to my old and trusty friend Mr. Hugh Shedden, Grangemouth. With so much help it may well be thought my work might have been of higher quality than I fear is the case ; but there is an ancient saying about expecting "grapes of thorns," which I have made my excuse in a former work. W. A. G. CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION ------- xix HISTORY OF NASSAR 3 Story of Shah Manssnr 12 Story of Hatim Tai and the Benevolent Lady - 46 The Painter's Story . - . . - 53 The Washerman's Story - - - - 58 The Blind Man's Story 60 The Benevolent Lady's Story - - - - 64 Story of Prince Kasharkasha - - . . 69 Continuation of the History ok Nassau - - 98 Story of the Foolish Hermit - - - - - 112 Story of the Treacherous Vazir - - - - 114 Story of the Unlucky Shoayb - - - - 118 Conclusion of the History of Nassau - - 137 HISTORY OF FARRUKHRUZ. Chapter I. How three brothers set out on a trading journey — How the youngest is cruelly abandoned by his elder brethren — How he meets with royal favour 147 CONTENTS. Chapter II. The hero's quest of a throne of marvellous gems - 154 Chapter III. The hero goes in quest of four treasure-trees, and is married to the Queen of the Fairies - - 166 Chapter IV. How the hero pretended to visit Paradise, and caused all his enemies to perish - - - - 182 THE KING AND HIS FOUR MINISTERS - - 193 Story of the Lost Camel . . . - . 194 Story of the Hunter and His Faithful Dog - - 206 Story of the Brahman's Wife and the Mungiis - 211 Story of the Faithless Wife and the Ungrateful Blind Man - - - - - - - - 215 Story of the Wonderful Mango Fruit - - - 220 Story of the Poisoned Food ----- 226 Story of the Brahman and the Rescued Snake - 231 THE ROSE OF BAKAWALI. Proem ---------- 237 Chapter I. The Astrologers' prediction at the birth of our hero — His Father is struck with blindness — His four Brothers set out in quest of the Rose of Baka- wali, to restore their Father's sight — He secretly follows them — They fall into the toils of Dilbar, an artful courtesan, who fleeces them and makes them prisoners ..--.. 240 CONTENTS. Chapter II. The Prince determines to rescue his Brethren — He takes sen'ice with a nobleman, and makes friends with Dilbar's confidante, by whose instructions he turns the tables on Dilbar, and wins all her wealth and her own person — He tells Dilbar of his design to obtain the Rose of Bakawali, and she Warns him of the dangers he must encounter — He relates the Story of the Brd/unan and the Lion — Dilbar exhorts our hero before his depar- ture 247 Chapter III. Showing how the Prince is helped in his quest by a friendly Demon — Marries Mahmiida, a beauti- ful girl — Reaches the Garden of Bakawali and plucks the Rose — Seeing the Fairy Bakawali asleep, falls in love with her — Returns with Mahmiida and rejoins Dilbar, who liberates his Brethren, before the three set out for his own countrj' — On the way he is deprived of the Rose by his Brethren, who return home, and by means of the Flower restore their Father's sight - 259 Chapter IV. Bakawali, on awaking, discovers that her Rose has been stolen, sets out in search of the thief dis- guised as a man, and takes service with the Prince's Father, the King of the East — The Fairies build a grand Palace for the Prince, like that of Bakawali — The King hears of the new Palace — Story of the Princess and the Demon who exchanged Sexes — The Prince's CONTENTS. Father and Brethren, with Bakawali (disguised), visit him at his Palace, and he discloses him- self 272 Chapter V. Bakawali returns to her own country, and there writes a love-letter to the Prince, who sets out to visit her — The Mother of Bakawali discovers that her daughter is in love with a human being, tosses the Prince high up into the air, and im- prisons Bakawali — The Prince falls into a river, emerges from it in safety, obtains several magi- cal articles, is changed into a young woman, then into a foul-visaged Abyssinian, and finally regains his own form . . - . . 288 Chapter VI. The Prince comes to the Castle of a fierce Demon called Shah Pykar, where he finds Riih-afza, cousin of Bakawali, a prisoner — He rescues her from the Demon and conveys her to her parents — He obtains Bakawali in Marriage and returns with his beauteous Fairy Bride to his own Palace 303 Chapter VH. Bakawali goes to the Court of Indra, where she sings and dances — The Deity, enraged at her love for a human being, pronounces a curse upon her — The Prince goes to Ceylon, where he finds Baka- wali confined in a Temple, the lower part of her iDody being turned into marble — Chitrawat, the daughter of the Raja, falls in love with him, and on his declining her overtures he is thrown into prison ..-.--- 316 CONTENTS. Chapter VIII. The Prince is married to Chitrawat, Ijut, visiting Bakawali every night, his new bride complains to her Father of his indifference, and the Raja sends spies to dog his steps — The Temple is discovered and razed to the ground, and the Prince is in despair - . . . . 329 Chapter IX. Bakawali is re-born in the house of a Farmer — When she is of marriageable age the Prince and Chit- rawat meet her and they all three proceed to his own country, where he is welcomed affection- ately by Dilbar and Mahmuda — Bahram, the son of Zayn ul-Muluk's Vazir, falls in love with Ruh-afza, the cousin of Bakawali - - - 335 Chapter X. Bahram is long love-sick, but by the help of two sympathising fairy damsels is finally united to the beautiful Ruh-afza, and all ends happily - 343 PERSIAN STORIES. The Three Deceitful Wo.mex - - - 355 Trick of the Kazi's Wife - . . . 358 Trick of the Bazar-Master's Wife - - - 376 Trick of the Kutwal's Wife - - - . 384 The Envious Vazir ------ 390 The Blind Beggar 402 The Kazi of Ghazxi and the Merchant's Wife - 414 The Independent Max and his Travellixc; Companions 425 The King who learned a Trade - - - 434 CONTENTS. PAGE The Hidden Treasure 442 The Deaf Man and his Sick P'riend - - 446 The Gardener and the Little Bird - - 448 APPENDIX. Ilatim Tai and the Benevolent Lady - - - 455 Abstract of the Romance of Platim Tai - - 456 The Painter's Story - - - - - 471 The Washerman's .Story ----- 476 The Blind Man's Story 477 Story of Prince Kasharkasha ----- 479 Story of the Unlucky Shoayb - . - : . 489 History of Farrukhruz - - - - , - - 493 The Ungrateful Brothers - . . . 493 The Three Expeditions ----- 496 The Expedition to Paradise - - . - 500 The King and his Four Ministers - - - - 504 Bengali oral Version .-.--. ^04 Story of the Woman who knew the Language of Animals ------ ^05 Story of the King and his Faithful Horse - 507 Story of the Wonderful Fruit - - - - 507 Kashmiri oral Version ------ 507 Story of the Merchant and his Faithful Dog - 509 Story of the Woman who knew the Language of Animals 510 Story of the King and his Falcon - - - 510 Story of the Lost Camel - - - - - 511 Story of the Hunter and his Faithful Dog - - 513 Story of the Brahman's Wife and the Mungus - 515 Story of the Faithless Wife and the Ungrateful Blind Man - - 516 Story of the Wonderful Mango Fruit - - - 517 Story of the i'oisoncd Food - . . . . jiS CONTENTS. Story of the Brahman and the Rescued Snake - 518 The Rose of Bakawali - - - - - - - 519 The Magical Flower 520 The Prince and Dilbar playing Backgammon - - 522 The Brahman and the Lion 531 The Princess and the Div who exchanged Sexes - 532 The Prince obtains a Snake-Gem - - - - 540 The Prince conceals the Snake-Gem in his Thigh - 541 Bakawali at Indra's Court - - . . . 544 Bahram transformed into a Bird . - - . 545 Persian Stories. The Three Deceitful Women ----- 546 The Kazi and the Merchant's Wife - - - 555 The Hidden Treasure 558 The Deaf Man and his Sick Friend - - - 561 The Gardener and the Fittle Bird - - - - 563 Additional Notes, - - - - - - - 568 INDEX. INTRODUCTION. INTRODUCTION. MAN has been variously described as a laughing, a cooking, and a clothes-wearing animal, for no other animal laughs, or cooks, or wears clothes. Perhaps another definition might be added, namely, that he is a story-telling animal. From bleak Greenland to the sunny islands that be-gem the South Pacific, there seems to be no race so low in the scale of humanity as not to possess a store of legends and tales, which take their colouring from the ways of life and the habits of the people among whom they are found domiciled. But notwithstanding the very considerable number of popular tales that have been collected from various parts of the world, their origin and general diffusion are still involved in obscurity. The germs from which some of them sprang may have originated soon after men became sentient beings. It is possible, though not very probable, that the ideas on which are based the more simple fictions which are found to be similar — mutatis mutandis — among Non-Aryan as well as Aryan races were independently conceived ; but this concession does not apply to tales and stories of more elaborate construction, where the incidents and INTRODUCTION. their very sequence are almost identical — in such cases there must have been deliberate appropriation by one people from another. And assuredly not a few of the tales which became orally current in Europe during the middle ages through the preaching monks and the merry minstrels were directly imported from the East. But even when a tale has been traced through different countries till it is discovered in a book, the date of which is known to be at least 200 B.C., it does not follow, of course, that the author of the book where it occurs was the actual inventor of it. Men are much more imitative than inventive, and there is every reason to believe that the Buddhists and the Brahmans alike simply adapted for their own purposes stories and apologues which had for ages upon ages been common to the whole world. All that is now maintained by the so-called " Benfey school " is that many of the Western popular tales current orally, as well as existing in a literary form, during the mediaeval times which are found in old Indian books reached Europe from Syria, having travelled thither from India through Persia and Arabia, and that this importation of Eastern fictions had been going on long before the first crusades. Whatever our modern European authors may do in the production of their novels (the novel has no exist- ence in the East), it is certain that Asiatic writers do not attempt the invention of new " situations " and incidents. They have all along been content to use EASTERN STORY-TELLERS. such materials as came ready to hand, both by taking stories out of other books, and dressing them up according to their own taste and fancy, and by writing down tales which they had heard publicly or privately recited.^ Indeed they usually mention quite frankly in the prefaces to their books from whence they derived their materials. Thus, Somadeva tells us that his Kathd Sarit Sdgara (Ocean of the Streams of Story), of the nth century, is wholly derived from a very much older 1 Story-telling has been quite an art in the East time out of mind. Mrs. Meer Hasan Ali, in her Observations on the Mussul- mans of India, vol. ii, pp. 8i, 82, says: "Many of the ladies entertain women companions, whose chief lousiness is to tell stories and fables to their employer when she is composing herself to sleep. When the lady is fairly asleep the story is stayed, and the companion resumes her employment when the next nap is sought by her mistress. Among the higher classes the males also indulge in the same practice of being talked to sleep by their men slaves, and it is a certain introduction, with either sex, to the favour of their employer when one of these dependants has acquired the happy art of 'telling the khanie' (fable) with an agreeable voice and manner. The more they embellish a tale by flights of their versatile imaginations, so much the greater the merit of the rehearser in the opinion of the listeners." — In the Book of Esther, ch. vi, i, we read that on a certain night " could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king." Well was it for the Hebrew bondsmen that Ahasuerus did not call for a story-teller instead of the " state journal " ! — The practice of sleepless khalifs and sultans sending for story- tellers is referred to in many Eastern tales. For an account of public reciters of tales and romances see Lane's Modern Egyptians. INTRODUCTION. Sanskrit work, of the 6th century, the Vrihat Kathd (Great Story), of Gunadhya ; and Nakhshabi states that his Tuti Ndma (Parrot Book) is chiefly an abridg- ment, in more elegant language, of an older Persian work composed in a prolix style, which was translated from a book "originally written in the Indian tongue." So we need not expect to find much originality in later Eastern collections,^ though they are of special interest to students of the genealogy of popular tales in so far as they contain incidents, and even entire stories and fables, out of ancient books now lost, which have their parallels and analogues in European folk- lore. The first two romances in the present work form the third bdb^ or chapter, of a Persian collection of moral tales and anecdotes entitled Mahbub ul-Kalub, or the Delight of Hearts, written by Barkhurdar bin Mahmud Turkman Farahi, surnamed Mumtaz, concerning whom all that is known is given by himself in what Dr. Rieu terms " a diffuse preface, written in a stilted and am- 1 But are even the best novels of these days of grace marked by very much " originality " ? Do not prolific novelists repeat them- selves? Have they not, for the most part, a limited set of characters, which reappear in each succeeding novel ? In short, may it not be truly said of them, as Burton (not he of T/ie Nights, but he of The Melancholy) says of authors in general : ' ' They weave the same web, twist and untwist the same rope, and make new books as apothecaries make new mixtures, by pouring out of one vessel into another " ? THE MAHBUB UL-KALUB. bitious style." In early life^ he quitted his native place, Farah, for Marv Shahijan, where he entered the service of the governor, Asian Khan, and two years afterwards he proceeded to Ispahan and became sec- retary to Hasan Kuli Khan Shamlii : both amirs flourished during the reign of Shah Sultan Husain. A.H. 1 1 05-1 135 (a.d. 1 693-1 7 2 2). x\t Ispahan he heard in an assembly a pleasing tale, which, at the request of his friends, he "adorned with the flowers of rhetoric," under the title of Hikdydt-i Ra'nd u Zibd. In course of time he added other stories, until he had made a large collection, comprising no fewer than four hundred tales and anecdotes, divided into an introduc- tion, eight bdbs, and a khdtimak, or conclusion, and he entitled the work Mahfil-drd- — ' Adorner of the Assembly.' After a visit to his native place, he went to Herat, where he remained for some time, and thence he set out on a pilgrimage to the shrine at i^Iashad. But on his way he was attacked by a band of Kuzzaks in the desert, who robbed him of everything, including the precious manuscript of his Mahfil-drd. Returning 1 The following particulars regarding the author and his work are derived from Dr. Charles Rieu's Catalogue of the Persian Manitscripts in the British Museum, vol. ii, pp. 767-8, Add. 7619, and Or. 1370; and from Mr. F. F. Arbuthnot's useful and interesting little work, Persian Po7-traits: a Sketch of Persian History, Literature, and Politics (London: Quaritch), p. 119. The title of Shanisah t'c Kahkahah, under which Mr. Arbuthnot describes this collection, is taken from the names of a Witch and a Vazir who figure in the second hah. INTRO D UCTION. to Ispahan, it may be presumed, though he does not specify " the place of security," he re-wrote from memory his collection of tales, dividing the work into an introduction, five bdbs^ and a khdtimah. The work is formed on the plan of the Gulisfdn, or Rose- Garden, of the illustrious Persian poet Sa'di, each section being devoted to the exemplification of a special subject or theme. The introduction com- prises dissertations (i) On the necessity of Politeness ; (2) On the behaviour of a householder, so as to obtain for himself happiness in this world and the next ; (3) On the Education of Children ; (4) On the advantages of following a Trade or Profession ; (5) On Hospitality ; (6) On gratitude for the benefits received from God. Then follow Five Chapters : I — On Civility, Humility, and Modesty, the virtues on which amicable intercourse with all conditions of men is based. II — On Good Manners and abstention from injuring others by word or deed. Ill — On Equanimity in Prosperity and Adversity, and Resignation to the will of God in all things. IV — On Friendship, or Association : the choice of a suitable Companion, and the rejection of an uncongenial or base one. V — On the Advantages of Contentment and the Mean- ness of Envy and Covetousness. Conclusion : Story of Ra'na and Ziba. The Persian text of this large collection of Tales was printed at Bombay in 1852. There are two MS. THE HISTORY OF NASSAK. copies in the British Museum, one of which is de- scribed by Dr. Rieu as being embelHshed with two 'unvdns, or ornamental head-pieces, gold-ruled margins, and 55 miniatures in the Persian style. In 1870 Mr. Edward RehatsekpubUshed,at Bombay, a translation of the two Tales contained in the third chapter of the Mahbub ul-Kalub under the title of Fortune and Misfortune, which are reproduced in the present volume as the History of Nassar (properly Nasir) and the History of Farrukhruz, the Tales being quite distinct from each other. I — In the History of Nassar, son of the Mer- chant of Baghdad, the motif is that Fate, or Destiny, is paramount in all human affairs, and so long as Fortune frowns all the efforts of men to better their condition are utterly futile : an essentially Asiatic notion, and quite foreign to the sentiments of the more manly and self-relying Western races. It must be allowed, however, that there seems to be a mys- terious factor in human life which we call " luck,'" against which it were vain to struggle ; — only it is seldom to be recognised until it has worked out its purpose ! How, for example, are we to account for a soldier escaping uninjured after taking an active part in many battles, while his comrade by his side is shot dead at the first fire of the enemy ? There are certainly lucky and unlucky men who have done little or nothing to bring about their own good or ill for- INTR OD UCTION. tune. " Fate," says Uefoe, " makes footballs of men : kicks some upstairs and some down. Some are ad- vanced without honour, and others are suppressed without infamy. Some are raised without merit ; some are crushed without crime. And no man knows, by the beginning of things, whether his course will end in a peerage or a pillory." And a Persian poet chants in melancholy strain : Strive not to grapple with the grasp of Fate ; Canst thou with feebleness success combine ? All vain, 'gainst Destiny thy watchful state ; Go thou, and to its force thyself resign. But the Bard of Rydal Mount — the Christian Philo- sopher, whose grand poetry is out of vogue in these *' double-distilled" days — tells us that One adequate support For the calamities of mortal life Exists — one only : an assured belief That the procession of our fate, howe'er Sad or disturbed, is ordered by a Being Of infinite benevolence and power ; Whose everlasting purposes embrace All accidents, converting them to good. And it may be safely asserted that no great things were ever done by any man whose actions were con- trolled by a belief in mere "luck." The great American poet lustily sings : Let us then be up and doing, With a heart for any fate ; Still achieving, still pursuing. Learn to labour and to wait. THE HISTORY OF NASSAR. The Sinhalese have a number of proverbs about " luck " which might very suitably serve as mottoes for the Tale of Nasir and the subordinate stories of Mansur and of Shoayb ; for instance, they say : '"It hails whenever an unlucky man goes abroad": and again : " Even if the unlucky man have a gold coin in his purse, he is sure to be accused of having stolen it." In the tale of Prince Kasharkasha, when the ruined merchant comes to the young king whom he had formerly befriended, he is dismissed with a small sum of money, the king fearing lest his old friend's ill-luck should also affect him : an idea which is constantly cropping up in Asiatic stories ; though, by the way, it does not appear that the worthy mer- chant had himself any such fear when he so generously relieved the prince from his bitter distress. It can hardly be said that the " moral " to be drawn from the career of Nasir is a very elevating one. The three pieces of wholesome advice bestowed on him by his father's ancient friend, and enforced with such appropriate stories, did the young traveller little good; for we find him go on blundering out of one scrape into another, until his " lucky star " is once more in the ascendant. And in the case of poor Mansur, though he does ultimately attain wealth and ease through his own exertions, yet he was in the first instance indebted to sheer luck in discovering a treas- ure-crock in. an old ruin. From one point of view, there is droll humour in some of the incidents in INTRODUCTION. these tales, more especially in Nasir's unlucky exhi- bitions of his accomplishments before the king ; and in the narrative of the misfortunes of poor Shoayb, whom another king strove so persistently to benefit, disregarding the counsel of his prime minister and setting at defiance the evident decree of Fate ; — though one cannot help regretting that he should have been expelled from the country after all he had suffered. Let us believe that ere long his "run of ill-luck " came to an end I II— The History of Farrukhruz may be con- sidered as exemplifying the Sinhalese proverb which asserts that " the teeth of the dog that barks at the lucky man will fall out;" for did not all the vile schemes of the envious vazi'rs, to compass the death of this Favourite of Fortune, turn to his advantage and finally to their own well-merited destruction ? True, he was very near losing his good fortune when he parted with the talismanic ring, and, by the art magic of Kashank the Tfrit, was changed to an old barber in Damascus ; but here again have we not an illustration of another Sinhalese proverb which says that "you cannot even kick away good luck"? In this spirited little romance the interest is well sus- tained throughout, and the scene in Damascus will, I think, favourably compare with some of the facetious tales in the Arabian Nights. Variants and analogues of the principal incidents are given in the Appendix. THE KING AND HIS MINISTERS. xxix III — The King and his Four Ministers, which is now for the first time presented in EngHsh, has been translated from the Tamil, at my suggestion, by my friend Pandit S. M. Natesa Sastri, of Madras, who is already known in this country to students of the migrations of popular tales from his Folk-Lore iti Southern India, published at Bombay, and his trans- lation of another Tamil romance, Aladanakdmardjati- kadai, under the title of Dravidian Nights Entertain- ?}ients, published at Madras : London agents for both works, Messrs. Trlibner