Note 124 — Appendix. VARIANTS AND ANALOGUES OF THE TALES IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL NIGHTS, VOL. III.

Nor are those which do occur all in the same order: The first in the Turkish book, “Of ’Ebú-’l-Kásim of Basra, of the ’Emír of Basra, and of ’Ebú-’l-Faskh of Wásit,” is probably similar to the first in Petis, “History of Aboulcasem of Basra.” The second, “Of Fadzlu-’llah of Mawsil (Mosel), of ’Ebú-’l-Hasan, and of Máhyár of Wásit,” is evidently the seventh in Petis, “History of Fadlallah, Son of Bin Ortoc, King of Moussel.” The fourth, “Of Ridzwán-Sháh of China and the Shahristání Lady,” is the second in Petis, “History of King Razvanschad and of the Princess Cheheristany.” The eleventh, “Of the Sovereign without a care and of the Vazír full of care,” is the eighth in Petis, “History of King Bedreddin Lolo and of his Vizier Altalmulc.” The third, “Of the Builder of Bemm with the two Vazírs of the king of Kawáshar,” the seventh, “Of the Rogue Nasr and the son of the king of Khurásán,” and the tenth, “The Three Youths, the Old Man, and the Daughter of the King,” I cannot, from these titles, recognise in Petis; while the fifth, “Farrukh-Shád, Farrukh-Rúz, and Farrukh-Náz,” may be the same as the frame-story of the “Hazár ú Yek Rúz,” where the king is called Togrul-bey, his son Farrukrouz, and his daughter Farruknaz, and if this be the case, the Turkish book must differ considerably from the Persian in its plan.—Although “The Thousand and One Nights” has not been found in Persian, there exists a work in that language of which the plan is somewhat similar—but adapted from an Indian source. It is thus described by Dr. Rieu, in his Catalogue of Persian MSS. in the British Museum, vol. ii. p. 773: Tale of Shírzád, son of Gurgahan, emperor of China, and Gulshád, daughter of the vazír Farrukhzád (called the Story of the Nine Belvideres). Nine tales told by Gulshad to Shírzád, each in one of the nine belvideres of the royal palace, in order to save the forfeited life of her father.