New-York tribune., 1890-03-22
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

sourccs Translated. with Inroduciion> and Note,'
by A. II. Wratislaw. NJ. A. l@no' pp' 'i''
IIoughtOn. Minn q co.
This interesting collection OF folk tales Is from
u,,le explored region the savonic folklore. though
rlcb having hitherto been scarcely touchco' '''.
wratslaw obtained the greater part of MS n"tc''"'
from a book written by the late h. j. ErO"h' "'
Prague, this book having been prepared LOT ''''
anothcr purposc namely. 10 enable BohemianS l" ''
cin ,he study Of all the numerous Slav0nc dialects.
rh. late " L. : RalstOn brought t. light nuinbcr
NJ important Russian folktalcs. but these are ne
first belonging to allied languages Wh1ch nave Doc''
rendered into English. The stories III TINS Nou'o
embrace bohemian. Moravan. llnngarian's
J-nper and Lower Lusatan. Kashubian and PoiNh "i
,he Western ~lavonan dialects: and OF the Eastern
siavoniars there are examples of the White Enssld
Gacian Little Russian, sonth Russian the southern
slavonian department illustrates thc Hnl-'Ilf".
serlan Bosnian. CarniOlan serbian 'roaiiah ana
IIlyrian- -slovenish folklore. Many Of the tale' are
new or present few resemblance 90 more familiar
stories In Others strong family kcncsNes are trace
ahle One of ihc most curious novelties is the
einn,,lar NEUROLOGICAL being called kuIent. VINO ap
pears only in the serbian tales from 'arnoIH in an
essay by Professor Gregor Krcl Of Styra the subject
Is discussed but without throwing much light upon
H. save in one particular. The kurent Of the tales IS
a supernatural being, who after the creation oi man
soucht TO wrest from him the supremacy over inc
Garth lie is unable to effect this by force man
bejng too strong for him. but he has recourse u
stratagern and finally succeeds in subduins his n''i
by giving him drucped wine 10 drink
Here is the point upon which Professor krek pass
his theory that the myth Of the kuFcn' i o DiohSs"
origin and il appears to be well taken. The close
connection of the Kurent with the Vine, with wine
and with drunkenness inevitably suggests I'accho
association though in other respects these stories arc
so peculiar that it is difficult TO assign a place l"
Them Professor krck says " In mYtlolosi'di Po'''
Of view there is to be observed in the stories aDo",
Kurent certain mixture of heathcn-slavonlc ana
Christian elements but think the basis Is eh"rcN
indigenous. The circumstance may also possess some
significance that the Little Russians have the woin
.Kurent' in the sense of a merry wcddhg 'unc' -.
regard TO some of the present tales. we are ihcheo
10 think that the solar and lunar myth explanations
have been pushed further than the stories themselves
warrant but must be said that the Slavonan foh lore
is certainly peculiarly rich in tales, the astronomical
sirnfcancc of which is expressed 100 plainly 10 be
missed. The collection is happily varied anu now
ever close the translation may be. Mr. Wratisia" mas
succeeded in giving to it a quaint flavor which, III
several instances seems 10 approximate the cooqual
slsvonic turncs those OF Irish story-tellers.
swANIILDE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES Adapted
from the German BY HsrIe NoFI,s Ifma no'wn1 mp aos
Boston D. Lotmop Company.
This is one Of the prcttet. most daintily and charm
ingly Illustrated books of fairy tales that has been
puhlished for many year. MIR. BrdSinan'S lllnstr-
tions are with the exception Of the fronspece' IN
The text and they are full Of grace and beauty Ihev
are printed in what the French term sangne whlch
adds quantness their eject. The drawing j. care
fnl and spirited and the accordance with the text con"
pcte The giants and dragons and beautiful prHI-
re.ses and wicked cnchancrs and malignant witches
and fairy princes are each and all just as ono would
have them 10 be- The text is we'll composed and the
marks of translation not apparent 80 that altogether
This handy and handsomely printed volume Is quite u
gem in It's way.