I have noticed in my translation sundry passages which appear to betray the Christian hand; but these are mostly of scanty consequence in no wise affecting the genuineness of the text.
The history of Zayn al-Asnam was copied from the Sabbágh MS. and sent to me by M. Houdas, _Professeur d’Arabe vulgaire a l’École des langues orientales vivantes_; an Arabist, whose name is favourably quoted in the French Colonies of Northern Africa. M. Zotenberg kindly lent me his own transcription of Alaeddin before sending it to print; and I can only regret that the dilatory proceedings of the Imprimerie Nationale, an establishment supported by the State, and therefore ignoring the trammels of private industry, have prevented my revising the version now submitted to the public. This volume then begins with the two Gallandian Tales, “Zeyn Alasnam” and “Aladdin,” whose Arabic original was discovered by M. Zotenberg during the last year: although separated in the French version, I have brought them together for the sake of uniformity. The other eight (or nine, including the Princess of Daryabar), entitled
History of Khudadad and his Brothers, and the Princess of Daryabar; History of the Blind Man, Baba Abdullah; History of Sidi Nu’uman; History of Khwajah Hasan al-Habbal; History of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; History of Ali Khwajah and the Merchant of Baghdad; History of Prince Ahmad and the Fairy Peri-banu; History of the two Sisters who envied their Cadette;
are borrowed mainly from the Indian version of Totárám Sháyán.
And here I must quote the bibliographical notices concerning the sundry versions into Urdu or Hindustani which have been drawn up with great diligence by Mr. Blumhardt.
“The earliest attempt to translate the Arabian Nights was made by Munshi Shams al-Dín Ahmad Shirwáni. A prose version of the first two hundred Nights made by him ‘for the use of the College at Fort St. George’ was lithographed at Madras in the year A.H. 1252 (A.D. 1836) and published in 8vo volumes (pp. 517, 426) under the title ‘Hikayat ool jaleelah’[3] (Hikáyát al-Jalílah). The translation was made from an Arabic original but it does not appear what edition was made use of. The translator had intended to bring out a version of the entire work, but states in his preface that, being unable to procure the Arabic of the other Nights, he could not proceed with the translation, and had to be content to publish only two hundred nights. This version does not appear to have become popular, for no other edition seems to have been published. And the author must not be confounded with Shaykh Ahmad Shirwáni, who, in A.D. 1814, printed an Arabic edition of the Arabian Nights Entertainments (Calcutta, Pereira) which also stopped at No. CC.”