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PEEFACE
The following tales, which are now published, were translated by me whilst I was engaged in the study of Eastern languages. They have lain in my desk for several years, and I should never have ventured to bring them to the light, had I not been strongly urged to do so by those who had read the manuscript.
"Wishing to give the English reader some idea of the novel style of these Eastern tales, I have, especially in the principal story, purposely retained many peculiarities which may make the language sound somewhat un-English. I must, therefore, claim the indulgence of the public for any faults of style they may notice, considering the difficulty I had to contend with in translating from languages so different from our own, especially as I wished not to completely denationalize the tales, but to preserve, to a certain extent, the strange mixture of rugged simplicity and gorgeous extravagance of the original.
With regard to the verses appended, I must forewarn the reader that I give them only as imitations of Eastern poetry, the metre of which is very irregular and peculiar. Judged as English poems, I am perfectly aware they may be found defective ; but as attempts at free metrical translations of Eastern verse, they might, I flattered myself, be of interest, and be looked on indulgently.
The immense success which attended the publication of the " Thousand and One Nights," which book is a translation of a collection of popular Eastern tales, led me to think that the English public might peruse with interest other Eastern tales. Those which I have selected, I believe, have never before been made known in England ; and the principal tale, which is an Arabic manuscript, has never been translated into any European language.
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