The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bagh O Bahar, Or Tales of the Four Darweshes
by Mir Amman of Dihli

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Title: Bagh O Bahar, Or Tales of the Four Darweshes

Author: Mir Amman of Dihli

Release Date: May 17, 2004 [EBook #12370]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and Distributed Proofreaders
From scans of the Million Book Project

BAGH O BAHAR; OR TALES OF THE FOUR DARWESHES.

Translated from the Hindustani of Mir Amman of Dihli

By Duncan Forbes, LL.D.,

_Professor of Oriental Languages in King's College, London; Member
of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, author of
several works on the Hindustani and Persian Languages._

1874.

PREFACE.

The _Bagh O Bahar_, or "Garden and Spring," has, for the last half
century, been held as a classical work throughout our Indian empire. It
highly deserves this distinguished fate, as it contains various modes
of expression in correct language; and displays a great variety of
Eastern manners and modes of thinking. It is an excellent introduction
not only to the colloquial style of the _Hindustani_ language, but
also to a knowledge of its various idioms and popular phrases.

The tale itself is interesting, if we bear in mind the fact, that no
Asiatic writer of romance or history has ever been consistent, or free
from fabulous credulity. The cautious march of undeviating truth, and
a careful regard to _vraisemblance_, have never entered into their
plan. Wildness of imagination, fabulous machinery, and unnatural
scenes ever pervade the compositions of Oriental authors,--even in
most serious works on history and ethics. Be it remembered, that
_jinns_, demons, fairies, and angels, form a part of the _Muhammadan_
creed. The people to this day believe in the existence of such beings
on the faith of the _Kur,an_; and as they are fully as much attached
to their own religion as we are to ours, we ought not to be surprised
at their credulity.

I have rendered the translation as literal as possible, consistent
with the comprehension of the author's meaning. This may be considered
by some a