r. On
this a document was handed to him.

I will here explain that I shall translate the names of men and places,
as well as the substance of the document; and I shall translate all names
in future. Indeed I have just done so in the case of Sunch'ston. As an
example, let me explain that the true Erewhonian names for Hanky and
Panky, to whom the reader will be immediately introduced, are Sukoh and
Sukop--names too cacophonous to be read with pleasure by the English
public. I must ask the reader to believe that in all cases I am doing my
best to give the spirit of the original name.

I would also express my regret that my father did not either uniformly
keep to the true Erewhonian names, as in the cases of Senoj Nosnibor,
Ydgrun, Thims, &c.--names which occur constantly in Erewhon--or else
invariably invent a name, as he did whenever he considered the true name
impossible. My poor mother's name, for example, was really Nna Haras,
and Mahaina's Enaj Ysteb, which he dared not face. He, therefore, gave
these characters the first names that euphony suggested, without any
attempt at translation. Rightly or wrongly, I have determined to keep
consistently to translation for all names not used in my father's book;
and throughout, whether as regards names or conversations, I shall
translate with the freedom without which no translation rises above
construe level.

Let me now return to the permit. The earlier part of the document was
printed, and ran as follows:-

"Extracts from the Act for the afforesting of certain lands lying
between the town of Sunchildston, formerly called Coldharbour, and the
mountains which bound the kingdom of Erewhon, passed in the year
Three, being the eighth year of the reign of his Most Gracious Majesty
King Well-beloved the Twenty-Second.

"Whereas it is expedient to prevent any of his Majesty's subjects from
trying to cross over into unknown lands beyond the mountains, and in
like manner to protect his Majesty's kingdom from intrusion on the
part of foreign devils, it is hereby enacted that certain lands, more
particularly described hereafter, shall be afforested and set apart as
a hunting-ground for his Majesty's private use.

"It is also enacted that the Rangers and Under-rangers shall be
required to immediately kill without parley any foreign devil whom
they may encounter coming from the other side of the mountains. They
are to weight the