the same ground as Mr. Payne’s Tales from the Arabic.  In both he followed Mr. Payne closely, as will be seen from his notes (such as “Here I follow Mr. Payne, who has skilfully fine-drawn the holes in the original text")[FN#562] which, frequent as they are, should have been multiplied one hundred-fold to express anything like the real obligation he owed to Mr. Payne’s translation.  “I am amazed,” he once said to Mr. Payne, “at the way in which you have accomplished what I (in common with Lane and other Arabists) considered an impossibility in the elucidation and general re-creation from chaos of the incredibly corrupt and garbled Breslau Text.  I confess that I could not have made it out without your previous version.  It is astonishing how you men of books get to the bottom of things which are sealed to men of practical experience like me.”  And he expressed himself similarly at other times.  Of course, the secret was the literary faculty and intuition which in Burton were wanting.

Burton’s Third Volume [FN#563] consists of the tales in Galland’s edition which are not in the Nights proper.  All of them, with the exception of “Alaeddin” and “Zayn Al Asnam,” are reproductions, as we said, from a Hindustani translation of the French text—­the Arabic originals of the tales being still (1905) undiscovered.

His Fourth and Fifth Volumes [FN#564] are from the Wortley-Montague Text.  His sixth and last [FN#565] contains the Chavis and Cazotte Text—­the manuscript of which is reputed to have been brought to France by a Syrian priest named Shawish (Frenchlifted into Chavis), who collaborated with a French litterateur named Cazotte.  The work appeared in 1788.  “These tales,” says Mr. Payne, “seem to me very inferior, in style, conduct, and diction, to those of ’the old Arabian Nights,’ whilst I think ‘Chavis and Cazotte’s continuation’ utterly unworthy of republication whether in part or ’in its entirety.’  It is evident that Shawish (who was an adventurer of more than doubtful character) must in many instances have utterly misled his French coadjutor (who had no knowledge of Arabic), as to the meaning of the original.”—­Preface to Alaeddin, &c., xv., note.  Mr. Payne adds, “I confess I think the tales, even in the original Arabic, little better than rubbish, and am indeed inclined to believe they must have been, at least in part, manufactured by Shawish."[FN#566]

157.  Comparison.

Burton’s supplementary volume containing “Alaeddin” and “Zayn Al Asnam,” appeared, as we have seen, in 1887; and in 1889 Mr. Payne issued a Translation from Zotenberg’s text.  When dealing with the Nights proper we gave the reader an opportunity of comparing Burton’s translation with Payne’s which preceded it.  We now purpose placing in juxtaposition two passages from their supplemental volumes, and we cannot do better than choose from either “Alaeddin” or “Zayn Al Asnam,” as in the case of both the order is reversed, Burton’s translation having preceded Payne’s.  Let us decide on the latter.  Any passage would do, but we will take that describing the finding of the ninth image: