s Persanes," to have, to a considerable extent, garbled the
original text by the introduction of modern European phrases and turns
of speech a la Galland. For the rest, the MS. contains no note or other
indication, on which we can found any opinion as to the source from
which the transcriber (or arranger) drew his materials; but it can
hardly be doubted, from internal evidence, that he had the command of
some genuine text of the Nights, similar to, if not identical with,
that of Galland, which he probably "arranged" to suit his own (and his
century's) distorted ideas of literary fitness. The discovery of the
interpolated tales contained in this MS. (which has thus presumably lain
unnoticed for a whole century, under, as one may say, the very noses of
the many students of Arabic literature who would have rejoiced in such a
find) has, by a curious freak of fortune, been delayed until our own day
in consequence of a singular mistake made by a former conservator of
the Paris Bibliotheque, the well-known Orientalist, M. Reinaud, who, in
drawing up the Catalogue of the Arabic MSS. in the collection described
(or rather misdescribed) it under the following heading:

"Supplement Arabe 1716. Thousand and One Nights, 3rd and 4th parts. This
volume begins with Night CCLXXXII and ends with Night DCXXXI. A copy in
the handwriting of Chavis. It is from this copy and in accordance with
the instructions (d'apres la indications) of this Syrian monk that
Cazotte composed (redigea) the Sequel to the Thousand and One Nights,
Cabinet des Fees, xxxvii et xl (should be tt. xxxviii-xli)."

It is of course evident that M. Reinaud had never read the MS. in
question nor that numbered 1723 in the Supplement Arabe, or he would at
once have recognized that the latter, though not in the handwriting of
the Syrian ecclesiastic, was that which served for the production of the
"Sequel" in question; but, superficial as was the mistake, it sufficed
to prevent the examination by students of the MS. No. 1716 and so
retarded the discovery of the Arabic originals of Aladdin and its
fellows till the acquisition (some two years ago) by the Bibliotheque
Nationale of another (and complete) MS. of the Thousand and One Nights,
which appears to have belonged to the celebrated Orientalist M. Caussin
de Perceval, although the latter could not have been acquainted with it
at the time (1806) he published his well-known edition and continuation
of Galland's translation, i