he first place, to show how pure history was intimately
related to folklore at many stages, and yet how this relationship had
been ignored by both historian and folklorist. The research for this
purpose had necessarily to deal with much detail, and to introduce
fresh elements of research. There is thus produced a somewhat unequal
treatment; for when illustrations have to be worked out at length,
because they appear for the first time, the mind is apt to wander from
the main point at issue and to become lost in the subordinate issue
arising from the working out of the chosen illustration. This, I
fear, is inevitable in folklore research, and I can only hope I have
overcome some of the difficulties caused thereby in a fairly
satisfactory manner.

The next stage takes us to a consideration of materials and methods,
in order to show the means and definitions which are necessary if
folklore research is to be conducted on scientific lines. Not only is
it necessary to ascertain the proper position of each item of folklore
in the culture area in which it is found, but it is also necessary to
ascertain its scientific relationship to other items found in the same
area; and I have protested against the too easy attempt to proceed
upon the comparative method. Before we can compare we must be certain
that we are comparing like quantities.

These chapters are preliminary. After this stage we proceed to the
principal issues, and the first of these deals with the psychological
conditions. It was only necessary to treat of this subject shortly,
because the illustrations of it do not need analysis. They are
self-contained, and supply their own evidence as to the place they
occupy.

The anthropological conditions involve very different treatment. The
great fact necessary to bear in mind is that the people of a modern
culture area have an anthropological as well as a national or
political history, and that it is only the anthropological history
which can explain the meaning and existence of folklore. This subject
found me compelled to go rather more deeply than I had thought would
be necessary into first principles, but I hope I have not altogether
failed to prove that to properly understand the province of folklore
it is necessary to know something of anthropological research and its
results. In point of fact, without this consideration of folklore,
there is not much value to be obtained from it. It is not because it
consists of tradi