Ogre's daughter advises hero, 366-379; wife gives protection, 358-366. Old woman gives help, 366-371, 390; Pigs and wolf, 439, 444. Places changed with ogre's children, 358-366. Playing dead to catch game, 441, 449; for bridal party, 445-448; godfather, 437, 442. Pot, the enchanted, 454-455; race with, 417-419. Poucet, little, 357-366. Practicing for strength, 435-436. Proof, dragon togues used as, 323334. Protection by ogre's wife, 358-366. Quest, enforced, 383, 386, 387, 390; for water of life, 387. Questions for sun to answer, 387. Rabbit, briar-patch punishment for. 440, 446-447; rides for a-courting, 440, 447. Race, riding on back in, 441, 449; test of suitor by, 345-347; with pot, 417-419. Release of monster by boy, 331. PREFACE. In the preparation of this paper, begun as part of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts, I am indebted most of all to Professor Mark Skidmore of the department of Romance Languages at Colorado College. He has been to me a guide and constant source of inspiration. For material obtained direct from Tegucigalpa I desire to express my gratitude to the Rev. Irving H. Cammack, Superintendent of the Friends' Mission in Honduras. El Señor Professor F. Molina of Toledo University, Toledo, Ohio, has furnished valuable data concerning the life of our poet, with whom he enjoyed for a number of years the most intimate relationship. El Señor Angel Sevilla h., an engineer of Danlí, Honduras, has supplied interesting facts concerning the life and travels of Molina. May 15, 1921. J. W. C. JUAN RAMON MOLINA. It is necessary to introduce Molina to the American people, since he is practically unknown, and the majority of the best libraries are devoid of material in any form regarding him. Even the literary public seems unaware of his having existed or, at least, of his being worthy of study. It would be easy to compile a long bibliography of books dealing with Spanish-American literature which entirely ignore him, although in Central America he is second only to Darío in fame. A search through indices of magazines and of the New York Times revealed no trace of Juan Ramón Molina. Not only the libraries of the United States, but apparently Spanish libraries, are barren of material regarding him. By request, Professor S. G. Morley made a search for material in Madrid and failed to discover anything.* Coester's Bibliography, in the Romanic Review, 1912, lists the following books under Honduras: R. E. Durón, Honduras Literaria, Tegucigalpa, 1896;-Hojas Literarias, Tegucigalpa, 1906; J. T. Reyes, Pastorelas. Restauradas por R. E. Durón, precedidas de un estudio por E. Guardiola, Tegucigalpa, 1905. Of these, all except Hojas Literarias have been examined. Reyes' Pastorelas contains nothing regarding Molina. Honduras Literaria is in two volumes: Volume I contains 835 pages of prose selections by Honduran authors, with a few brief facts concerning the life of *"As to Juan Ramón Molina, of Honduras, I must confess that I have never heard of him. This does not necessarily imply that he is not a great writer, but, had he been a luminary of any great power, it is probable that I would have heard of him. He is not mentioned in the literary histories of Latin America which I have, so that others have failed to locate him. However, as I have said, he may be a great man, I merely state the facts as they have come to me."-Dr. W. E. Browning, Buenos Aires, Argentina. |