The Arabian Nights Entertainments
THE INTRODUCTION The _Arabian Nights_ was introduced to Europe in a French translation by Antoine Galland in 1704, and rapidly attained a unique popularity. There are even accounts of the translator being roused from sleep by bands of young men under his windows in Paris, importuning him to tell them another story. The learned world at first refused to believe that M. Galland had not invented the tales. But he had really discovered an Arabic manuscript from sixteenth-century Egypt, and had consulted Oriental story-tellers. In spite of inaccuracies and loss of color, his twelve volumes long remained classic in France, and formed the basis of our popular translations. A more accurate version, corrected from the Arabic, with a style admirably direct, easy, and simple, was published by Dr. Jonathan Scott in 1811. This is the text of the present edition. The Moslems delight in stories, but are generally ashamed to show a
fellow then!" and thought what a pet his sisters would make of him
when he took him back home with him for the holi - the Vacation!
~Mop~ was for following Mr. Lucre, who had clumped away up the
street; and his new master had some difficulty in keeping him at his
heels. By Mr. Bouncer's advice, he at once took him over the river
to the field opposite the Christ Church
[90 ADVENTURES OF MR. VERDANT GREEN]
meadows, in order to test his rat-killing powers. How this could be
done out in the open country, our hero was at a loss to know; but he
discreetly held his tongue, for he was gradually becoming aware that
a freshman in Oxford must live to learn, and that, as with most men,
~experientia docet~.
They had just been punted over the river, and ~Mop~ had been restored
to ~terra firma~, when Mr. Bouncer's remark of "There's the cove
that'll do the trick for you!" directed Verdant's THE INTRODUCTION The _Arabian Nights_ was introduced to Europe in a French translation by Antoine Galland in 1704, and rapidly attained a unique popularity. There are even accounts of the translator being roused from sleep by bands of young men under his windows in Paris, importuning him to tell them another story. The learned world at first refused to believe that M. Galland had not invented the tales. But he had really discovered an Arabic manuscript from sixteenth-century Egypt, and had consulted Oriental story-tellers. In spite of inaccuracies and loss of color, his twelve volumes long remained classic in France, and formed the basis of our popular translations. A more accurate version, corrected from the Arabic, with a style admirably direct, easy, and simple, was published by Dr. Jonathan Scott in 1811. This is the text of the present edition. The Moslems delight in stories, but are generally ashamed to show a