rbourg.

The Notes, which might easily have been extended, I have confined
within moderate compass, so as not to enlarge unduly the bulk of the
volume.

To some, the Vocabulary may seem inadequate. I assume that those
persons who wish to make a critical study of the original text will
provide themselves with the Nahuatl Dictionaries of Molina or Simeon,
both of which are now easily obtainable, thanks to Mr. Julius
Platzmann for the reprint of Molina. I also assume that such students
will acquaint themselves with the rules of grammar and laws of
word-building of the tongue, and that they will use the vocabulary
merely as a labor-saving means of reaching the themes of compounds
and unusual forms of words. Employed in this manner, it will, I hope,
be found adequate.

In conclusion, I would mention that there is a large body of Nahuatl
literature yet unpublished, both prose and poetry, modern and
ancient, and as the Nahuatl tongue is one of the most highly
developed on the American continent, it is greatly to be desired that
all this material should be at the command of students. The Nahuatl,
moreover, is not a difficult tongue; for an Englishman or a
Frenchman, I should say it is easier to acquire than German, its
grammar being simple and regular, and its sounds soft and sonorous.
It has special recommendations, therefore, to one who would acquaint
himself with an American language.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

Sec. 1. THE NATIONAL LOVE OF POETRY
Sec. 2. THE POET AND HIS WORK
Sec. 3. THE THEMES AND CLASSES OF THE SONGS
Sec. 4. PROSODY OF THE SONGS
Sec. 5. THE VOCAL DELIVERY OF THE SONGS
Sec. 6. THE INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT
Sec. 7. THE POETIC DIALECT
Sec. 8. THE PRESERVATION OF THE ANCIENT SONGS
Sec. 9. THE LX SONGS OF THE KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL
Sec. 10. THE HISTORY OF THE PRESENT COLLECTION

ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS:

I. SONG AT THE BEGINNING
II. A SPRING SONG, AN OTOMI SONG, A PLAIN SONG
III. ANOTHER PLAIN SONG
IV. AN OTOMI SONG OF THE MEXICANS
V. ANOTHER PLAIN SONG OF THE MEXICANS
VI. ANOTHER CHALCO-SONG, A POEM OF TETLAPAN QUETZANITZIN
VII. ANOTHER
VIII. COMPOSED BY A CERTAIN RULER IN MEMORY OF FORMER RULERS
IX. AN OTOMI SONG OF SADNESS
X. A SPRING SONG OF THE MEXICANS
XI. ANOTHER
XII. A SPRING SONG, A SONG OF EXHORTATION,
BECAUSE CERTAIN ONES DID NOT GO TO WAR
XIII. A SONG OF HUEXOTZINCO
XIV. A