Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 3 1885.djvu/101

Rh by verse in early literature. We will not go into the question of the comparative value of the stories—their contribution to the general study of folk-tales or märchen—because it must be attempted on a larger scale than can now be afforded; but we cannot help observing that many of the narratives are more illustrative of archaic life and manners than other story collections.

It is, however, in the appendices that the book will be of greatest value to the folk-lorist. Captain Temple has adopted the Society's scheme of analysis of folk-tales, and applied it to each of the stories of this book; and we cannot commend too highly this useful piece of work. It shows, too, that Captain Temple is fully alive to the scientific importance of the work proposed by the Society. But this is even more fully shown by his appendix on story incidents. The facts he brings out by an elaborate analysis of story incidents will, if we mistake not, go far towards altering the form of the study of storyology. He urges—and rightly—that too much attention has been paid to the temporary framework or setting of the stories, and too little attention to the permanent incidents. Every story-teller will, as a part of his art, vary the setting, but he never forgets or alters his incidents. This has not yet been fully recognised by all students, and when it becomes so it will go far to substantiate the correctness of Mr. Lang's school of thought as against that of the comparative mythologists.

Altogether Captain Temple and his collaborateur have earned a deep debt of gratitude from all folklorists, and from lovers of pure nursery literature as well. Every Member of the Society will doubtless possess themselves of this important book, and we hope it will be made the model of all future collections of a similar nature. It ought to establish the practice of not issuing for the future any collection of folk-tales unaccompanied by the tabulation formulæ prepared by this Society, and if this were done the work of the Folk-Tale Committee would be considerably lessened. Besides these features there are an admirable collection of notes, illustrative of important passages in the text of the stories, and a very good index; the latter of which will we hope induce the Society to set about the compilation of what has been before urged, a standard index of story incidents.