



Produced by J. C. Byers, Sally Gellert, Renate Preuss, and
Christine Sturrock.









                    The "Aldine" Edition of

               The Arabian Nights Entertainments

                   Illustrated by S. L. Wood

              FROM THE TEXT OF DR. JONATHAN SCOTT

                        In Four Volumes

                            Volume 1

     Only 500 copies of the Small Paper Edition are printed
             for America, of which this is No. 217


                             London
                      Pickering and Chatto
                              1890




                    The Publishers' Preface.



This, the "Aldine Edition" of "The Arabian Nights
Entertainments," forms the first four volumes of a proposed
series of reprints of the Standard works of fiction which have
appeared in the English language.

It is our intention to publish the series in an artistic way,
well illustrating a text typographically as perfect as possible.
The texts in all cases will be carefully chosen from approved
editions.

The series is intended for those who appreciate well printed and
illustrated books, or who are in want of a handy and handsome
edition of such works to place upon their bookshelves.

The exact origin of the Tales, which appear in the Arabic as "The
Thousand and One Nights," is unknown. The Caliph Haroon al
Rusheed, who, figures in so lifelike a manner in many of the
stories, was a contemporary of the Emperor Charlemagne, and there
is internal evidence that the collection was made in the Arabic
language about the end of the tenth century.

They undoubtedly convey a picturesque impression of the manners,
sentiments, and customs of Eastern Mediaeval Life.

The stories were translated from the Arabic by M. Galland and
first found their way into English in 1704, when they were
retranslated from M. Galland's French text and at once became
exceedingly popular.

This process of double translation had great disadvantages; it
induced Dr. Jonathan Scott, Oriental Professor, to publish in
1811, a new edition, revised and corrected from the Arabic.

It is upon this text that the present edition is formed.

It will be found free from that grossness which is unavoidable in
a strictly literal translation of the original into English; and
which has rendered the splendid translations of Sir R. Burton and
Mr. J. Payne quite unsuitable as the basis of a popular edition,
though at the same time stamping the works as the two most
perfect editions for the student.

The scholarly translation of Lane, by the too strict an adherence
to Oriental forms of expression, and somewhat pedantic rendering
of the spelling of proper names, is found to be tedious to a very
large number of readers attracted by the rich imagination,
romance, and humour of these tales.



                     Contents of Volume I.

The Ass, the Ox, and the Labourer.
THE MERCHANT AND THE GENIE.
The Story of the First Old Man and the Hind.
The Story of the Second old Man and the Two Black Dogs.
THE STORY OF THE FISHERMAN.
The Story of the Grecian King and the Physician Douban.
The Story of the Husband and the Parrot.
The Story of the Vizier that was Punished.
The History of the Young King of the Black Isles.
STORY OF THE THREE CALENDERS, SONS OF SULTANS; AND OF THE FIVE
  LADIES OF BAGDAD.
The History of the First Calender.
The Story of the Second Calender.
The Story of the Envious Man, and of him that he Envied.
The History of the Third Calender.
The Story of Zobeide.
The Story of Amene.
THE STORY OF SINBAD THE VOYAGER.
The First Voyage.
The Second Voyage.
The Third Voyage.
The Fourth Voyage.
The Fifth Voyage.
The Sixth Voyage.
The Seventh and Last Voyage.
THE THREE APPLES.
The Story of the Lady who was Murdered, and of the Young Man her Husband.
The Story of Noor ad Deen Ali and Buddir ad Deen Houssun.
THE HISTORY OF GANEM, SON OF ABOU AYOUB, AND KNOWN BY THE SURNAME
  OF LOVE'S SLAVE.




               The Arabian Nights Entertainments.



The chronicles of the Sassanians, ancient kings of Persia, who
extended their empire into the Indies, over all the adjacent
islands, and a great way beyond the Ganges, as far as China,
acquaint us, that there was formerly a king of that potent