"Three volumes of these collections were edited by Hurt in 1875, 1876, and 1886, under the title of _Vana Kannel_, the 'Old Harp;' and other collections were published by several of his colleagues. In 1888 Hurt made a renewed appeal to the Esthonians to collect their old songs, and fresh contributions came pouring in from all quarters. "Special attention was called to Pastor Hurt's work at the Congress of Folk-lorists in Paris by Henry Carnoy. "According to the latest intelligence which I have received from Dr. Krohn, Pastor Hurt has received [Pg xxv] contributions from 633 different folk-tale collectors in the last three and a half years. Most of these contributors are simple peasants; some are schoolmasters, but only a few are students or highly educated persons. "He now possesses, as the result of three and a half years' work of this nature, epics, lyrics, wedding-songs, &c., upwards of 20,000 items; tales, about 3000; proverbs, about 18,000; riddles, about 20,000. Besides these he has a large collection of magical formulæ, superstitions, &c. "He has only been able to accomplish these extraordinary results by his having been able to awaken popular interest in the subject." [2] I am glad to hear from my friend Dr. Kaarle Krohn, to whom I have been indebted for much useful information and assistance in my own studies, that part of the results of these great collections are likely to be published very shortly. Of course a great number of tales and songs are merely variants. Many relate to legends belonging rather to the _Kalevala_ than to the _Kalevipoeg_. In Dr. Krohn's important paper, _Die geogra_ [Pg xxvi] _phische Verbreitung Estnischer Lieder_, published in 1892, he divides Esthonia and Northern Livonia into several districts, and marks the number of variants obtained in each. It may be interesting to summarise the latter, to show the extent to which the collection of variants has been carried on in Esthonia. 1. Legend of the creation of the earth and of the origin of the heavenly bodies, 62 variants. 2. Salme and her suitors, 160 variants; and 33 relative to the celestial suitors. 3. The Great Ox, 24 variants. 4. The Great Oak, 130 variants, and 61 relative to its fragments. 5. The Weeping Oak, 61 variants. 6. The origin of the harp and of boating, three variations, with 19, 39, and 17 variants respectively. 7. The bride of gold and silver, 52 variants. 8. Songs of the Seluks or Orthodox Esths, 91 variants. MYTHOLOGY We can, I think, trace Finnish and Esthonian religion through four well-marked stages. [Pg xxvii]