ef that all this was of enormous
proportions, and that the people appearing and disappearing in that
immense space were beyond the usual stature of mankind as I got to know
it in later life. Amongst them I remember my mother, a more familiar
figure than the others, dressed in the black of the national mourning
worn in defiance of ferocious police regulations. I have also preserved
from that particular time the awe of her mysterious gravity which,
indeed, was by no means smileless. For I remember her smiles, too.
Perhaps for me she could always find a smile. She was young then,
certainly not thirty yet. She died four years later in exile.

In the pages which follow I mentioned her visit to her brother's house
about a year before her death. I also speak a little of my father as I
remember him in the years following what was for him the deadly blow of
her loss. And now, having been again evoked in answer to the words of a
friendly critic, these Shades may be allowed to return to their place of
rest where their forms in life linger yet, dim but poignant, and
awaiting the moment when their haunting reality, their last trace on
earth, shall pass for ever with me out of the world.

J. C.

1919.

A FAMILIAR PREFACE

A PERSONAL RECORD

As a general rule we do not want much encouragement to talk about
ourselves; yet this little book is the result of a friendly suggestion,
and even of a little friendly pressure. I defended myself with some
spirit; but, with characteristic tenacity, the friendly voice insisted,
"You know, you really must."

It was not an argument, but I submitted at once. If one must!...

You perceive the force of a word. He who wants to persuade should put
his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of
sound has always been greater than the power of sense. I don't say this
by way of disparagement. It is better for mankind to be impressionable
than reflective. Nothing humanely great--great, I mean, as affecting a
whole mass of lives--has come from reflection. On the other hand, you
cannot fail to see the power of mere words; such words as Glory, for
instance, or Pity. I won't mention any more. They are not far to seek.
Shouted with perseverance, with ardour, with conviction, these two by
their sound alone have set whole nations in motion and upheaved the
dry, hard ground on which rests our whole social fabric. There's
"virtue" for you if you like!... Of course the a