The result of my investigations confirms me
in my impression that the scope of the English folk-tale should include
all those current among the folk in English, no matter where spoken, in
Ireland, the Lowlands, New England, or Australia. Wherever there is
community of language, tales can spread, and it is more likely that
tales should be preserved in those parts where English is spoken with
most of dialect. Just as the Anglo-Irish Pale preserves more of the
pronunciation of Shakespeare's time, so it is probable that Anglo-Irish
stories preserve best those current in Shakespeare's time in English. On
the other hand, it is possible that some, nay many, of the Anglo-Irish
stories have been imported from the Celtic districts, and are positively
folk-translations from the Gaelic. Further research is required to
determine which is English and which Celtic among Anglo-Irish
folk-tales. Meanwhile my collection must stand for the nucleus of the
English folk-tale, and we can at any rate judge of its general spirit
and tendencies from the eighty-seven tales now before the reader.
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