“The proper study of mankind is man.”
and so the folk-lore student, in collecting the myths, the proverbs,
the traditions, the customs of the peasants of many lands, is doing an
important work in accumulating facts bearing on the history of mankind;
not the mere records of the wars and doings of kings and generals, but
of the beliefs, aspirations, thoughts and feelings of the working
classes of various nations.
In this work the author has done some valuable service, and it is to be
hoped that this addition to his former labours may be found of value,
seeing that it deals not with the traditions of the peasantry of
distant and foreign lands, but with the legends and traditions of the
country folk of one of the most romantic and interesting counties of
“Merrie England.”