in his youth, translated into Persian certain Indian plays, which
had been translated into all the Oriental languages and of which
a Turkish version existed in the Bibliotheque Royale, under the
title of Alfaraga Badal-Schidda (i.e. El Ferej bad esh Shiddeh),
which signified "Joy after Affliction"; but that, wishing to give
his work an original air, he converted the aforesaid plays into
tales. Cazotte's story of the Indian plays savours somewhat of
the cock and the bull and it is probable that the Hezar o Yek Roz
(which is not, to my knowledge, extant) was not derived from so
recondite a source, but was itself either the original of the
well-known Turkish collection or (perhaps) a translation of the
latter. At all events, Zeyn Alasnam, Codadad and the Princess of
Deryabar occur in a copy (cited by M. Zotenberg), belonging to
the Bibliotheque Nationale, of El Ferej bad esh Shidded (of which
they form the eighth, ninth and sixth stories respectively) and
in a practically identical form, except that in Galland's vol.
viii. the two latter stories are fused into one. Sir William
Ouseley is said to have brought from Persia a MS. copy of a
portion of the Hezar o Yek Roz which he describes as agreeing
with the French version, but, in the absence of documentary proof
and in view of the fact that, notwithstanding the unauthorized
incorporation of three of the tales of his original with
Galland's Vol. viii, the published version of the Thousand and
One Days is apparently complete and shows no trace of the
omission, I am inclined to suspect Petis de la Croix of having
invented the division into Days, in order to imitate (and profit
by the popularity of) his fellow savant's version of the Thousand
and One Nights. Galland's publisher was doubtless also that of
Petis de la Croix and in the latter capacity had in hand a
portion of the MS. of the 1001 Days, from which, no doubt weary