A bout half of the songs in the following pages were collected and translated for the Royal Asiatic Society, and were read before that learned body about two years ago. The essays containing them were thought worthy of publication in the journal of the society, but have not yet been issued, as the journal cannot keep pace with the more valuable demands upon its space. A few have also appeared inT he Cornhill Magazine, Beyond this the present publication is original. Looking to the mode in which the book has been composed, it may be said that it consists of Essays written in intervals of business. The portions represented by the papers read before the Royal Asiatic Society were written and their materials collected during occasional sick or other leave, and the pleasant labor thus involved added fresh zest to the enjoyment which a holiday always brings to an overworked Indian official. The remaining portions have been written at times when arduous occupation made change of work a necessity. (Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don"t occur in the book.) About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology. Forgotten Books" Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org