THE POSTHUMOUS ESSAYS OF JOHN CHURTON COLLINS EDITED BY L. C. COLLINS LONDON : J. M. DENT & SONS LTD. 912 0712 PREFACE M OST of the following Essays were delivered by my father in the form of lectures. My task has been to put into shape passages which were little more than rough notes, to find references for the quotations given, and generally to see the Essays through the press. Amongst those who knew him some speculation may be aroused as to whether or not the quotations which are given throughout the book were written down by him from memory. Certainty on this point is impossible, but the nature of the few slips which occurred in the quoted extracts has induced me to think that the majority at least of the quotations were written down without reference to their originals; and to those who were acquainted with his wonderful memory, and to the readers of his "Life,” recently published, this would be no matter for surprise. As regards quoted extracts, which are still copyright, I have sought and obtained permission for their retention where the debt is a big one, in other words, where V 252428 "matter" has been quoted somewhat freely; where the debt is a slight one, I trust that the acknowledgment of its source will be considered as a sign of indebtedness, and that the omission of a formal request for the inclusion of such a quotation will not be looked upon as due to a want of courtesy. The essay on "Shakespearean Theatres," and that portion of the essay on Browning entitled "Browning and Butler," have been published since his death, and I desire to thank the editors of the Contemporary Review for their courtesy in allowing me to republish them here. The article on "Popular Proverbs," which I have also included, is not posthumous, having appeared in 1902 in the New Liberal Review, a magazine which eight years ago ceased publication. In conclusion, I have to thank Mr. George Phoenix, of Wolverhampton, for allowing me to reproduce the hitherto unpublished portrait as a frontispiece. April 1912 L. C. C. |