My Reminiscences

In these memory pictures so lightly even casually presented by the author there is nevertheless revealed a connected history of his inner life together with that of the varying literary forms in which his growing self found successive expression up to the point at which both his soul and poetry attained maturity. This lightness of manner and importance of matter form a combination the translation of which into a different language is naturally a matter of considerable difficulty. It was in any case a task which the present Translator not being an original writer in the English language would hardly have ventured to undertake had there not been other considerations. The translator''s familiarity however with the persons vi scenes and events herein depicted made it a temptation difficult for him to resist as well as a responsibility which he did not care to leave to others not possessing these advantages and therefore more liable to miss a point or give a wrong impression