The Compiler of the graceful little volume which I have the pleasure of introducing to the public, has conferred an undeniable benefit upon the youth of England by presenting to them a collection of Oriental Tales, which, rich in the elements of in- terest and entertainment, are nevertheless entirely free from the licentiousness which renders so many of the fictions of the East, beautiful and brilliant as they are, most objectionable for young and ardent minds. There is indeed no lack of the wonderful in the pages before us, any more than in the Arabian and Persian Tales already so well known : but it will be seen that the supernatural agency in the narratives is used as a means to work
out totally different results. There is, in truth, scarcely one of these Tales which does not incul- cate a valuable moral lesson ; as may be seen by reference to " The Powder of Longevitv,'""