Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/24

Rh and am, moreover, by no means sure that English rhyme would convey so good an idea of the rhythm and flow of Arabic verse as does the measured prose in which I have rendered it. With the concurrence therefore of better judges than myself, I have left the verses in their rhymeless form, striving only in the poetry, as in the prose, to give not merely the general sense of the original, but the very words and idioms used therein.

It is not for me to point out what I may deem the merits of the various stories. But it may not be considered out of place if, recalling the truth of the old saying, "History repeats itself," I draw attention to the tales of "The Young Man who was deemed Mad," p. 158 et seq., and "The Three Educated Young Men," p. 168 et seq. The former might well form the groundwork of as thrilling a romance as any modern writer has produced; while in the latter, the remarks made upon the subject of education by the tyrant el-Hajjâj might have been uttered to-day by our foremost advocates of universal instruction.

I wish to offer my grateful thanks, not only to my friends Mr. Ayrton and Mr. Badger, but also to Dr. Rost, librarian to the India Office, and to Mr.