2 HIKAYAT SAIF-AL-YEZAN. 



story-tellers in Cairo used, a few years since, to amuse their 

 audiences by recitations from it. I was not able to discover 

 the period at which it was composed, but it is said to have 

 been written long before the Tales of the Thousand and One 

 Nights. I saw once a portion of a copy of it which appeared 

 from the handwriting and the paper to be three or four hundred 

 years old." The first Edition of Lane's translation of The 

 Arabian Nights was published in 1838-1840. 



Lane considers that several of the incidents in the Arabian 

 Nights have been suggested by occurrences in the earlier 

 romance. I have mentioned some instances of resemblance 

 and possible borrowing in the notes at the end of the, story. 



A lithograph edition of the Hi'cayat Saif-al-Yezan was 

 published at No. 37 Jalan Bali Lebar, Singapore, in 1894: 

 but it appears to be out of print now; I could only get a 

 second-hand copy of the second volume. 



. Hikayat Saif-al-Yezan. 



(The numerals which occur in the text refer to notes at 

 the end of 4, ~>e story.) 



I.o^iu-u^HI AL EAHMAN AL EAHMIN. 



(Then follow the usual pious prefatory remarks, chiefly 

 Arabic.) 



Maka adalah pada zeman dahulu lagi deripada cheritera 

 yang dahulu, 1 bahwasanya adalah pada masa zeman itu suatu 

 Eaja namanya Eaja Teba,' 2 anak Masuda, dan Masuda itu anak 

 orang yang mempunyai deripada Eaja Teba Baah, yang dahulu 

 kala mempunyai kamuliaan dan kabesaran dan kakrasan, serta 

 dengan mempunyai rayat tentara yang amat banyak, yang 

 tiada dapat terbilang, dan tiada dibandingnya pada masa 



Jour, Straits Branch 



