Traveller's Joy

TRAVELLERS JOY An Anthology compiled by W. G. WATERS LONDON. JONATHAN CAPE 30 BEDFORD SQUARE FIRST PUBVKHED 1900 FIRST ISSUED IN THE TRAVELLERS. LIBRARY 1928 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN PREFACE THE work of the contemporary anthologist must needs differ both in character and in aim from that of him who gleaned in the scantier field of the past, seeing that every succeeding decade has largely increased theliterarystorefsom which he may gather. Fresh volumes of selections follow one another without intermiasipn, and these, with a few marked exceptions, quickly sink into oblivion but the supply of anthologists Seems as inexhaustible as that of ungarnered masterpieces, . Various reasons may be advanced for this persistence. The fact that all the great prizes have been appropriated and set finally in the treasury of immortal achieve ment will not daunt the searcher who is really in earnest. The ardour of the chase waxes with the rarity of the prey. The wealth of our literature is so immense 1 How many fascinating byways are there which are only familiar to the diligent student, and of those which are thoroughly explored only an inconsiderable portion is known to the general 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 neg lected 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 mayharbour 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 ap peared from time to time, most of them taken vi 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 writer of the past but a common mistake in many of these has been the allowance of novelty or of well worn 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 Travellers 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 plenti fully 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 theyread them wherefore no apology will be offered for the inclusion of cer tain 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...