The original tales were written in Russian, mixed up, especially in the conversations, with the native idiom of the author, who was a Little Russian. Now, although, as Sir Jerome Horsey[7] reports, Queen Elizabeth boasted, when speaking of the Russian language, that "she could quicklie lern it," yet it has always proved a stumbling block to foreigners, and few, if any, Englishmen can appreciate at its full value the peculiarities of "this famoust and most copius language in the worlde," especially in conjunction with the Little Russian idiom, which even some Russians do not understand. In a translation, of course, many of the beauties of the original must disappear, particularly those which depend upon elegance of style, and this was one of the qualities of Gogol. But Gogol had one quality besides, that gave him a prominent place amongst authors, makes him till now the most popular writer in Russia, and caused his death to be lamented as an irretrievable loss to Russian literature: it was his art of making his reader join him in laughter whenever he laughs, in sorrow whenever he weeps, and to influence the feelings of his reader with every feeling he feels himself, and, above all, with that one which predominates in his heart-enthousiastic love of his native country. The translator will be happy if, in remaining faithful to the original, he has been so fortunate as to give even a faint outline of its beauties. [Footnote 1: "_Free as a Cossack_" is a common phrase in Russia.] [Footnote 2: _Zaporoghian_ means "beyond the rapids." _Ssiecha_ has two meanings: first, a place in a forest where trees have be en cut down; secondly, a slaughter, the thickest of a fight.] [Footnote 3: _Ataman_ (a rank still preserved amongst the Russian irregular troops and signifying _chief_) is a title quite different from that of _hetman_, who was the elective prince of Little Russia. The last who bore the title of _hetman_ was the favourite and supposed husband of the Empress Elizabeth, Count Razumoffsky. Count Platoff, who led the Cossacks in the war against Napoleon I. is miscalled _hetman_ by foreigners: he was in fact only _ataman_.] [Footnote 4: _Kooren_ is derived from a word signifying "to smoke." It designated the abode of a company whose fires smoked in common, and who had one common store of provisions.] [Footnote 5: A _koorennoï ataman_ was the chief of a kooren, and had to superintend the distribution of the victuals, and the division of the spoil taken by his kooren.] [Footnote 6: Literally, "Chief of the encampment."]