reader. The repose of many of the famous volumes, which have charmed past generations, grows ever more profound and undisturbed by reason of the perverted humour of the age, which ostentatiously postpones the claims of literary excellence to those of superficial novelty. In turning over their neglected pages the anthologist may now and again feel something of the wonder and delight of Cortes on the peak as he disinters from its musty obscurity some fragment rich in imagery and ringing with quaint melody. Moreover, he may harbour pride fully justified as he places his treasure where it may readily meet the eyes of those who, albeit appreciative of good literature, have little or no leisure to search on their own account.

One reason of the survival of the anthologist lies in the fact that, if he is of the true grit, he never finds a collection made by another hand to be entirely satisfactory. He detects numerous faults of omission and inclusion, and he dreams the while of an ideal public whose wants in the matter of anthologies have been completely neglected. If he is wise he will provide especially for those summer and autumn travellers cycling or with a knapsack-who would fain bear with them some light store of literary provender. Collections professing to cater for these have appeared from time to time, most of them taken

largely from modern writers, and incidentally they have done good service in introducing the younger generation of literary workers to some who, too fastidiously, ignore all but the great writers of the past; but a common mistake in many of these has been the allowance of novelty or of wellworn familiarity as qualification for admittance. Search will show that numerous treasures of our earlier literature still remain unknown except to the few, and to make some of these known to the many is the object of "Traveller's Joy." It is by the taste of these enticing morsels of good literary fare that men, hitherto indifferent, may be led to make a full meal of the same. The board will be none the less tempting if it should prove to be plentifully garnished with the spoil of years lying nearer to our golden prime.

There is some truth in the jibe that men talk of the classics more than they read them; wherefore no apology will be offered for the inclusion of certain pieces with which every reader might be supposed to be familiar. In this age of hurry few have the time-though they may have the taste for retrospective reading, and many of the stanzas within, which the critic will know by heart, will be rare and strange to the Joyful Traveller.

"Traveller's Joy" is compiled for the student in

posse rather than in esse: a guide to those flowery wildernesses which lie a little off the beaten track, and it may be hoped that those who find novelty may also find pleasure therein. Those who, in their fuller experience, may meet old friends will surely give them that greeting which old friends deserve.

THE compiler desires to tender his acknowledgments and thanks to Mr. Swinburne, Mr. Bridges, Mr. Bourdillon, Mr. Binyon, and Mr. Watts-Dunton for their kind permission to make use of such of their poems as appear in this volume. Mr. Alfred Nutt and Mr. Lloyd Osbourne, representing severally Mrs. Henley and Mrs. Stevenson, have permitted the insertion of certain of Henley's poems and of the extract from "Prince Otto." Mr. George Allen has also signified his approval of the use of W. Cory's poems, taken from "Ionica."