Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 1
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 3 (of 6) Part 1
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
_i.e._ the “Height or Glory (’Alá) of the Faith (al-Dín)” pron.
Aláaddeen; which is fairly represented by the old form “Aladdin;” and
better by De Sacy’s “Ala-eddin.” The name has occurred in The Nights,
vol. iv. 29–33; it is a household word in England and who has not
heard of Thomas Hood’s “A-lad-in?” Easterns write it in five different
ways and in the Paris MS. it is invariably “’Alí al-dín,” which is a
palpable mistake. The others are (1) ’Alá al-Dín, (2) ’Alá yadín, (3)
’Alah Dín in the H. V., and (4) ’Aláa al-Din (with the Hamzah), the
last only being grammatical. In Galland the _Histoire de la Lampe
merveilleuse_ is preceded by the _Histoire du Dormeur Eveillé_ which,
being “The Story of Abú al-Hasan the Wag, or the Sleeper awakened,” of
the Bresl. Edit. (Nights cclxxi-ccxc), is here omitted. The Alaeddin
Story exists in germ in Tale ii. of the “Dravidian Nights
Entertainments,” (Madana Kamara-Sankádái), by Pandit S. M. Natisa
Shastri (Madras, 1868, and London, Trübner.) We are told by Mr. Coote
that it is well represented in Italy. The Messina version is by Pitrè,
“La Lanterna Magica,” also the Palermitan “Lanterne;” it is “Il
Matrimonio di Cajussi” of Rome (R. H. Busk’s _Folk-lore_); “Il Gallo e
il Mago,” of Visentini’s “Fiabe Mantovane,” and the “Pesciolino,” and
“Il Contadino che aveva tre Figli,” of Imbriana. In “La Fanciulla e il
Mago,” of De Gubernatis (“Novelline di Santo Stefano de Calcenaja,” p.
47), occurs the popular incident of the original. “The Magician was
not a magician for nothing. He feigned to be a hawker and fared
through the streets, crying out, ‘Donne, donne, chi baratta anelli di
ferro contra anelli di argento?’”
Alaeddin has ever been a favourite with the stage. Early in the
present century it was introduced to the Parisian opera by M. Etienne,
to the Feydeau by Théaulon’s _La Clochette_; to the Gymnase by _La
Petite-Lampe_ of MM. Scribe and Melesville, and to the Panorama
Dramatique by MM. Merle, Cartouche and Saintine (Gauttier, vii. 380.)
Footnote 67:
This MS. always uses Dínárzád like Galland.
Footnote 68:
Arab. “’Abadan,” a term much used in this MS. and used correctly. It
refers always and only to future time, past being denoted by “Kattu”
from Katta = he cut (in breadth, as opposed to Kadda = he cut
lengthwise). See De Sacy, Chrestom. ii. 443.
Footnote 69:
In the text “Ibn mín,” a vulgarism for “man.” Galland adds that the
tailor’s name was Mustapha—_il y avait un tailleur nommé Mustafa_.
Footnote 70:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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