ROMANTIC TALES FROM THE PANJAB. With over a Hundred Illustrations by Native Artists. BRILLIANT FRONTISPIECE IN COLOURS AND GOLD BY AN INDIAN ARTIST OF THE TIME Collected and Translated by the Rev. CHARLES SWYNNERTON, F.S.A., &c., Dedicated when the Book was in MS. (by Her Majesty's permission during her lifetime) to the late Queen Victoria. "A HANDSOME VOLUME, SUMPTUOUS PAPER, FINE TYPE."-Spectator. PRESS SPECTATOR, September 12 (two cols.). "Mr. Swynnerton's Romantic Tales of the Panjab' is a book that will probably take as strong a hold upon the imaginations of the generation now in the nursery as the Arabian Nights' has taken on the imaginations of elder generations. It is not, however, in any sense a book especially for the nursery....A handsome volume, sumptuous paper, ane type, a critical introduction addressed to people of culture, and an appendix that will appeal to antiquarians and scholars, &c.....Through all one feels the beat of the two motives, love and adventure. The Rasalu Legend' is the apotheosis of adventure. The triumph of love is in Hic and Ranjha.... Mr. Swynnerton's description of how he got the stories accounts very well for the delightful crispness of the style in which they are told. One feels that they have been taken from living lips. not from books....A curious and pleasant feature of some of the most important legends is the mingling of verse with prose. The effect is delightful....All the illustrations are by native hands. In the human figures one finds more character than charm, but the humbler creatures are all enchanting-the monkeys especially, in spite of their ungodly greediness." TIMES, October 2 (two cols.).-"They are the bard tales of the Panjab put into English for readers in the West....In his well-considered introduction are many suggestions welcome to the student of folk-lore....The chief stories in the book are Hir and Ranjha,' The Rasalu Legend,' and Puran Bhagat'; but all are interesting, varied in interest, and not too improbable for Western taste.... Rasaiu's adventures are more exciting than those of Orpheus....So full is the legend of things that charm.... Love and knightly adventure render all the sum of living.... Very charming is Nex Bakht,' &c., with its allegory of Chance and Fate wrangling over human interests....The book promises pleasure for all ho will venture on its near 500 pages." GUARDIAN, October 10.- Mr. Swynnerton has given us a book of real value and interest, and has laid a large section of the reading public under obligations to him....The idyllic beauty of the stories of The Hunter King and Rasalu and the Swans,' &c. MORNING POST, September 11. Mr Swynnerton is a vivid prose writer. His Panjab tales are not the first publication of his which has attracted notice, but they will, we believe, be welcome to everybody. His description of the Panjab village at evening when he first heard the story of Hir and Ranjna,' told by the black-bearded minstrel, is unusually graphic.... The stories of Rasalu form a chain like the Arthurian legend.... Hir and Ranjha' is simple and pathetic, &c..... But the real value in these stories and this book is the connexion between Panjab folk-lore and the mythology of Greeks, Teutons, and Hindoos. That connexion is carefully shown in the introduction and notes of Mr Swynnerton, and scholars will be grateful to him for them." STAFFORDSHIRE ADVERTISER, August 29 by JOHN W. BRADLEY, Librarian, William Salt Library, Stafford).The stories are among the most fascinating in their simplicity and directaess ever told in literature, and the pictures 28 illustrations of an English book absolutely unique....A most interesting preface.... The tales are a veritably crowded storehouse of amusement and recreation.... We defy the reader who would take up the book to be able to put it down again without reluctance....For the writer we have nothing but praise and welcome.... We took up the volume to criticise, and have been beguiled till time has gone, and we have no space left for blame....Altogether, Romantic Tales from the Panjab' is a book to get as soon as you can, for it is a sort of book not often seen -a book made from persons and deeds, and not from other books....The frontispiece in colours and gold is a most successful reproduction of an illumination by an Indian artist of the time of Shah Jenan. The original is now in the possession of Queen Alexandra." SCOTSMAN, August 10.-"A treasure-house for students.... Rendered with graceful and smoothly flowing English....Pictures no less curious than appropriate....A valuable and substantial contribution to the literature in which the inner life of the East is opened up to readers of English." NOTES and QUERIES, August 29.-"Not the first contribution of Mr. Swynnerton is this to the great and deeply interesting subject of Indian folk-lore....Once more we are struck with the resemblance to classic fable, to Bible story, and to mediaval superstitions.... Mr. 8wynnerton's style is agreeable and good....So interesting. meanwhile, are the illustrations that, &c.... An acceptable and valuable contribution, and is equally fitted for the library and the bower.'" GLASGOW HERALD, August 13.-" Vivid and romantic." OPINIONS. PALL MALL GAZETTE, August 18.-"We can well understand the love which some of these heroic narratives inspire in the race to whom they are sanctified with all the influence of religious and tribal lore.... The [verse] passages are of a notably archaic form in the original, and Mr. Swynnerton's translation has preserved a most winning cadence and translucent quality of feeling....Those who read for pleasure will be delighted with the whole series.... Mr. Swynnerton's rendering conveys that sense of atmosphere which is the greatest test of a translator, and the abundant illustrations," &c. Mr. JOSEPH KNIGHT, Editor of Notes and Queries.-"A delightful book....Your books deserve all that can be said concerning them, and I am happy in the possession of both." DAILY TELEGRAPH, October 30.-"The Rev. Chas. Swynnerton, F.S.A., formerly Senior Chaplain to the Indian Government, has made a collection of Hill Tales which surpass in interest, in real charm, and in local colour, the best attempts of fictionists in that direction, and it will be welcomed not only by lovers of folk-lore but by all who care to know about the quaint, unsophisticated, religious beliefs of ancient peoples....Altogether about two dozen of the best and most popular legends of the Panjab are now collected, and are not only rich in the luxuriance of Oriental imagination, but really illustrate the mind and thoughts of the people who believe them almost as part of their faith. It is not too much to say that any one who peruses attentively Mr. Swynnerton's book will gain a far better idea of the tendencies, aspirations, aud mental atmosphere of the inhabitants of these faraway regions than can be derived from tomes of philosophical disquisitions and anthropological or topographical reports. They are instinct with life, and narrated with a dramatic force worthy all praise. The illustrations, drawn from native sources, are quaint and appro priate, showing not only considerable skill in draughtmanship, out much native humour. We cordially recommend the volume to all who take an interest in our Eastern Empire." MANCHESTER GUARDIAN, November 19.-" Mr. Swynnerton has deserved well alive of scholars and of the general reader by producing this remarkable and beautiful volume, a most attractive blend of folklore and romance....The volume, which is an admirable example of the printer's art, contains many illustrations of a weird beauty and delicacy, the work of indian hands. Perhaps we may hope that some of the stories will before long be added to the common stock of children's libraries." GLOBE, September 7.-"Unquestionably Mr. Swynnerton, in this very interesting work, has done very considerable service to the cause of comparative mythology, while at the same time providing matter which can be read with much pleasure even by the unlearned....He supplies notes and an appendix; there is a brilliant frontispiece in colours; and in the text there are very many illustrations by a Hindu artist." INDIAN PIONEER (on the Author's Rasalu variant of 1834, now enlarged). Considered simply as a tale, the story is a charming one. The adventures of the hero himself are sufficiently exciting, the loves of his ill-fated queen are pathetic, the deaths of her and her lover and of Rasalu are tragic, while the whole is told in homely, simple language, so admirably adapted to the subject-matter, that one is apt to overlook the very considerable literary skill by which it is inspired The book is well worth reading merely as a story, and independently of any historical value that may attach to it, and would form a welcome present to any Indian child. It will be, however, no less welcome to the student of Indian history and manners....Thus the book is not only pleasant to read but profitable to study, and Mr. Swynnerton is to be congratulated," &c. Sir DENZIL IBBETSON, K.C.S.I. (on the Rasalu Legend ').-" I have read the book with great delight, the story is so pleasantly and admirably told " ENGLISHMAN (on the same subject). -"We hope our readers, even if they care nothing for the higher claims of folk-lore, will possess themselves of a copy of the book. To boys and girls the stories will be quite as fascinating as a fairy-book, and to English lads and lasses there is here a new world of wonderland opened out" INDIAN DAILY NEWS (on the same). It is written with the pen of a born story-teller, who can make his hero paint himself, and it is full of an old-world knowledge, where human nature, and the witchcraft and supernatural machinery of a real Oriental tale are mixed up in a manner the most interesting and entertaining." Westminster: ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO., LIMITED. Published Weekly by JOHN C. FRANCIS, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C.; and Printed by JOHN EDWARD FRANCIS, Athenæum Press, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C.-Saturday, December 26, 1903. INDEX. NINTH SERIES.-VOL. XII. [For classified articles, see ANONYMOUS WORKS, BIBLIOGRAPHY, BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED, EDITORIAL, EPIGRAMS, Addison (J.), passage in Johnson's life of, 68 Scudamore's poems, 228 Addison's (C. G.) Damascus and Palmyra,' 446, 494 Angelo (Anthony), baptismal register of his children, Addy (S. O.) on hagioscope or oriel? 494 Tideswell and Tideslow, 341 Wake a village feast, 473 dral, 53 206 Angier (John), b. 1629, his biography, 128, 197, 257 Adkin (Mary), ob. 1805, memorial in Llandaff Cathe- Angus (G.) on cushions on the altar, 346, 436 Animal baiting, modern forms of, 127 Abbey of Kilkhampton, 381, 411, 488 Anonymous Works :- Le Vicaire Savoyard, 68, 93 Novelty Fair; or, Hints for 1851, 74 Rose of Eden, 231 Serjeant Bell and his Raree Show, 306 Tales from Dreamland, 169, 237, 333 Twelve Profits of Tribulation, 184, 301, 373 Antiquity, relics of, destroyed, 466 Antiquities, manufactory of spurious, 268 Axon (W. E. A.) on Adam the Carthusian, 373 Godkin (Edwin Lawrence), 438 History of bookselling, 316, 490 Lloyd (Thomas), republican, 378 Montagu (Walter), 77 Persian legend, 45 Pontius Pilate, 405 'Twelve Profits of Tribulation,' 184 B. on "Mais on revient toujours," 308 Antonelli, cardinal deacon of Sta. Agata alla Suburra, B. (C. A.) on killen or keeling a barn, 149 Arthur, King, legend of his sleeping, 502 Arthur and Uther, etymology of the names, 57 Artillery, Royal, regimental records of the, 207 Astarte on dog of S. Roch, 189 Fictitious Latin plurals, 518 Jacobin: Jacobite, 469 Scot (Robert), 18 Astley (H. J. D.) on immurement alive, 25, 297 Atkinson (S. B.) on medical barristers, 485 Atkyns (Mrs. Charlotte), née Walpole, her artistic career, 53, 128, 151, 171, 254, 311, 488 Auden (George A.) on Marat in York, 506 Augustinian canons, square cap worn by, 28, 111, 231 Avarum, its locality, 92 Avary, origin and meaning of the word, 349, 453 B. (C. C.) on all over, 294 Antiquity of businesses, 176 Ash, place-name, 211 "Betwixt the devil and the deep sea," 272 Coffee made of malt, 191 Folk-lore of childbirth, 413 Gin palaces, 378 Heidelberg gallery 454 I printed with small letter, 231 Infant Saviour, 115 King's Champion, 254 Living dead, 97 Milton's Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Mug, 231 Sunflower, 130 'Temple Shakespeare,' 13 Wake a village feast, 216 Wesley's portrait by Romney, 37 Wordsworth and Henry Vaughan, 146 Darby (Horatio D'Esterre), 469 Gage (H., W., and W. H.), 268 Gale (William), 368 Gallini (Francis and John), 269 Gott (Henry and Richard), 228 Gowland (Ralph), 430 Grimwood (Eliza), 377 House of Lords and Queen Caroline, 397 Mineralogist and botanist to George III., 215 B. (H. I.) on owls, 114 Wenthlok, 188 Barclay-Allardice (R.) on De Mesmes and Memes Mayor's correct title and precedence, 58 Alias in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 277 Bards, bohemian, 328 Gillygate at York, 173 Gin-palaces, 249 Halley (Dr. Edmond), 267 Infant Saviour, 115 Knaggs (Thomas), 483 Marat in London, 110 Mico family, 145 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' 245 Orange blossoms, 56 Peculiars, 137 Quarterings, 98 St. Dials, 113 Semper eadem, 466 Thomson: Thompson, 518 Witham arms, 149 B. (W. R) on Carson family, 332 Babiole, privateer, 389 Bacientis, its meaning, 92 Bacon (Sir Francis) on Hercules, 54, 156, 275 Bacon (Nicholas), of Brussels, 429 Bacon (Roger) and Robert Greene, 361 Bacon Shakespeare controversy, 35 Baddy, derivation and use of the word, 87, 153 Bagshaw (Dorothy) = Thomas Stafford, 1631, their Bailey (E.) on Band=Waldron, 289 Baillie - Grohman (W. A.) on eulachon and its Barnard's Inn, history of, 13 Barnes, history of Byfield House at, 108, 193 Barnes (Barnabe), Parthenophil and Parthenophe,' 142, 274 Barnstaple, Huguenot congregation at, 426 Barristers, medical, 485 Basilicas, 168, 315, 412 Bastable family, 268 Bates (E. F.) on Shakespeare's geography, 91 Bath, the change of calendar in 1751, 15; Richard Bathford on Nelson's sister Anne, 428 Batson (H. M.) on hawthorn, 473 'Battle of Prague,' by F. Katzwara, 327 Bayley (A. R.) on "Catherine Wheel" Inn, 293 Bell (D. C. and A.), their 'Standard Elocutionist,' 107 Bell inscriptions: at Preston-on-Wye, 68, 152; modern, Beltane, Welsh custom, 322 Benham (W.) on Eliza Grimwood, 377 Bensly (E.) on Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy,' 2, 62, 162, 301, 362, 442 Latin quotation, 315, 374 'Vita posse priore frui," 114 Bent (M.) on Johnson's prayer, 389 Bibliography :— Scattergood (Dr. Anthony), his edition of the School library of the seventeenth century, 435 Simcoe (Lieut.-Col. J. G.), 46 Smollett (T.), his 'Roderick Random,' 206 Wagner's 'Art and the Revolution,' 369 Biblos or the Bible=the book, first use of the designa. Birch-sap wine, its manufacture, 50, 296 Benton (G. M.) on Long Melford Church, Suffolk, 19 Bird as crest, 485 Beowulf,' translations of, 83, 198 Beresford (S. B.) on Col. Stanhope Cotton, 487 Bermuda, Hambleton tribe in, 129; town of Hamilton, 198 Betheney, original name of site of Stafford, 271 Bible: Breeches, its value, 68; homer and omer in the, Anderson (Capt. T. A.), 168 Bell (D. C. and A.), 107 Beowulf,' 83, 198 Bible, 68, 281, 303, 395 Bookselling, history of, 267, 316, 395, 490 Bunyan (John), 68 Burns (Robert), 82 'Bisclavret,' derivation of the word, 46, 112 Bisk, use and meaning of the word, 186, 375 Black (W. G.) on imaginary or invented saints, 127 Bland (John), Edinburgh actor, c. 1773, 207, 277, 335 Blue associated with the Blessed Virgin, 96, 177 Board schools, Parliamentary returns relating to, 107, Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy,' 2, 62, 162, Bodmin, Anglo-Saxon heraldry at, 247; clergyman's 301, 362, 442 duel at, in 1260, 112 Boger (Mrs. C. G.), her death, 180 Bogle bogey, 430, 494 Bohemia, Wycliffe's teaching borne to, by P. Payne, 308, 495; and Prague, 382 Boissier (A.) on Don Manuel Rosas, 167 Bolbelt (Roger) and Donhead St. Mary, 205 Bolton Row, London, in 1860, 248, 332, 397 Bonnycastle (Sir Richard), Royal Engineers, 1841, 228 Books recently published:- Acheson's (A.) Shakespeare and the Rival Poet, Acts of the Privy Council of England, ed. by J. R. Adams Family of Cavan, Genealogical History, 340 Alexandre's (A.) La Maison de Victor Hugo, 519 Barber's (S.) Cloud World: its Features and Bathonian Dickensiana, 159 Begley's (W.) Biblia Cabalistica, 279 Belmore's (Earl of) History of Two Ulster Manors and of their Owners, 298 Benson's (E. F.) Valkyries, 159 Besant's (W.) Essays and Historiettes, 339 |