Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 4 1886.djvu/216

 208 THE SCIENCE OF FOLK-LORE.

course have to vary with the cu'cumstances of the several branches, but whatever be the system we adopt, it will have to be continued throughout all our researches, wheresoever they may carry us.

Doubtless some will be found to assert that after all there is nothing much in the shape of practical advantage to be got out of Folk-lore, however scientifically studied. To refute in advance any such argu- ment, I have this evening brought with me a book, which will be new to most people in England, and to which I would draw special atten- tion. It is called Notes on the Spirit Basis of Belief and Custom, and is being produced by the Bombay Government, under the guidance of Mr. James Campbell, the able editor of the official Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency. It is, you will perceive, a big book, and con- sists, indeed, of 510 foolscap pages, printed on half margin for a par- ticular reason — for it purports to be only the rough draft of a summary of the chief details of the customs of the population of Bombay, and the blank margin is intended for the additions of those to whom it is circulated for information. Rough, incomplete, and imperfect as it professes to be, it is by far the best exposition of Indian Folk-lore that has yet been compiled. The treatment of the subject is through- out systematic, the theory is built up out of the facts accumulated, and each item is made to occupy its natural position in the structure. The introduction opens with the words : '' In most cases the known and open object of the nurse and wise woman, i.e., the private element in Indian family rites, is spirit-scaring." In perusing the pages that follow, one cannot help feeling that, though they stand first, these words were written last, and thus it ought always to be in works pur- porting to be scientific. The best impression a writer on science can convey to his readers is that his theory is the outcome of the study of the facts he has brought together. I have been so much struck with the method pursued by Mr. Campbell in supporting his theory that I have had the tabular statement of it, and also his table of contents, with suitable modifications, printed for circulation to-night. From these you will see that he has covered a considerable portion of the whole field of Folk-lore, and how readily his facts fall into their allotted places. Now, Mr. Campbell says in his preface that his notes were prepared " to show the natives of India how early and how wide-