PREFACE THE three essays contained in this little book were written, long before the war, for a private Reading Club. I mention this to explain, and if possible to excuse, the "immoderate quotation from well-known literary critics. I have, however, received the generous permission of authors, publishers and owners of copyright to make use of these same quotations, and I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness in full. I beg to thank Messrs. Methuen and Co., the Publishers of "The English Poems of Richard Crashaw," and " The Poems of Henry Vaughan (The Little Library) for their kindness in allowing me to quote freely from Mr. Edward Hutton's "Introductions and Notes" to the two Volumes above-mentioned. My warm thanks are also due to Miss Alexander for the permission to quote four stanzas from the late Mrs. Alexander's version of "St. Partick's Breastplate." I wish to thank Mr. Ernest Rhys and the Walter Scott Publishing Company for kindly permitting me to quote at great length from Mr. Rhys' Introduction to The Noble History of King Arthur" (The Scott Library); and for many 899412 905 4886 suggestions contained in his introduction to the Second Volume ("Marvellous Adventures") of the same series; and for both suggestions and quotations taken from his Preface to " The History of King Arthur" in the Camelot Classics. It is perhaps unnecessary to state that the history of the Romance, as given in the Essay, has been taken from an Encyclopaedia (Chambers) -to the Publishers of which I beg to offer my sincere thanks. I am further indebted to "Chambers' Encyclopaedia" for much information on Mystics and Mysticism. I also wish to express my gratitude to the following Publishers who have most kindly allowed me to make long quotations (in East and West") from many poems of which they hold the copyright: Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Publishers of 'Gitanjali" and "A Crescent Moon (Sir Rabindranath Tagore); Messrs. Chatto and Windus, Publishers of" Poems "(R. L. Stevenson); Messrs. Longmans, Green and Co., Publishers of "A Child's Garden of Verses" (R. L. Stevenson); and Messrs. Charles Scribner and Sons, Publishers, New York, who hold the American copyright of Stevenson's Poetical Works. K, M. L. |