INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.
The absence of any elementary work calculated to afford to the English Student that assistance in the acquisition of Malayalam, for which in most languages a Delectus or such like manual is now available, and the acknowledged utility of the volume of Telugu Se- lections compiled by Mr. J. C. Morris, induced me to undertake the compilation of the following work.
The book is divided into four parts - 1st. Stories 2nd. Official papers 3rd. Dialogues 4th. Vocabulary. The Stories, to each of which a grammatical analysis is appended, while to the first thirty-five an English translation is likewise affixed, are merely a Malayalam version of the 70 stories contained in Mr. Morris' Book.
The Official Papers are mostly selected from papers procured by me from Malabar, translated and analysed by myself; and are intended as an aid towards the acquisition of the style used in Official business, which in Malayalam, as in the other languages of India, differs considerably from that found in books.
The Dialogues are principally translated from those in Mr. Morris' work; a few pages, which have reference to Revenue matters, having been altered to correspond with the state of things existing in Malabar.
The Vocabulary has been added to the work at the suggestion of the Rev. J. M. Fritz and J. Huber, Basle Missionaries of Calicut, to whom it was referred for a report on its merits. It may at first sight appear to be a superfluous addition, considering the copiousness of
