have called them kings.
The Ayahs say, "A Badshah is a much greater man than a Raja." When
_badshah_ (the Persian _padishah_) in its corrupted form of _basa_ is
tacked on to a proper name, such as _Anar_ (_Anarbasa_), _Hiralal_
(_Hiralalbasa_), the _basa_ has been preserved, because, Dunkni says,
in these cases _basa_ is no longer a title, but part of the proper
name.

Old Muniya tells her stories with the solemn, authoritative air of a
professor. She sits quite still on the floor, and uses no gestures.
Dunkni gets thoroughly excited over her tales, marches up and down the
room, acting her stories, as it were. For instance, in describing the
thickness of Mahadeo's hair in King Burtal's story, she put her two
thumbs to her ears, and spread out all her fingers from her head
saying, "His hair stood out like this," and in "Loving Laili," after
moving her hand as if she were pulling the magic knife from her pocket
and unfolding it, she swung her arm out at full length with great
energy, and then she said, "Laili made one 'touch'" (here she brought
back the edge of her hand to her own throat), "and the head fell off."
Dunkni sometimes used an English word, such as the "touch" in the
present case.

All these stories were read back in Hindustani by my little girl to
the tellers at the time of telling, and nearly all a second time by me
this winter before printing. I never saw people more anxious to have
their tales retold exactly than are Dunkni and Muniya. Not till each
tale was pronounced by them to be _thik_ (exact) was it sent to the
press.

It is strange in these Indian tales to meet golden-haired,
fair-complexioned heroes and heroines. Mr. Thornton tells me that in
the Panjab when one native speaks of another with contempt, he says,
"he is a black man," _ek kala admi hai_. Sir Neville Chamberlain tells
me that if you wish to praise a native for his valour and brave
conduct, you say to him, "Your countenance is red," or "your cheeks
are red," and that nothing is worse than to tell him his "face is
black." And this is what Mr. Boxwell says about the expression "kala
admi" and our fairy tales:--

"The stories are of the Aryan conquerors from beyond the
Indus; distinguished by their fair skin from the dark
aborigines of India. In Vedic times Var[n.]a, 'colour,'
is used for stock or blood, as the Latins used Nomen. It
is in India 'Yas Dasam var[n.]am adharam guhakar.' 'Who
sank in darkness the B