Myths and Folk-tales of the Russians, Western Slavs, and Magyars

By JEREMIAH CURTIN
BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1890
Copyright, 1890 By Jeremiah Curtin
University Press John Wilson and Son, Cambridge

To FRANCIS JAMES CHILD, PH.D., LL.D.
Professor of English in Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
My dear Professor Child,—
It is more than a quarter of a century since you began for Harvard that collection of myths, folk-tales, and ballads, in all European languages, which has grown under your hand to such proportions that it is now, perhaps, the most complete of its kind in either hemisphere.
This work was begun by you through a clear perception of what was needed for laborers in a most important field of inquiry, and achieved by tireless and patient care in seeking and finding.
Your labors as a scholar are honored abroad as at home, and your work on English and Scottish ballads will endure as a monument of skill and devotion.
During your career as Professor you have been true to the ideals of Harvard scholarship and life, adding to them meanwhile something of your own.