第36部分(第6/7 頁)

pict。　With　elderly　men；　such　as　old　Allan　Quatermain；　to　take　an　instance；　the　case　is　different。　With　these　I　have　had　no　trouble；　perhaps　because　from　my　boyhood　my　great　friends　have　always　been　men　much　older　than　myself；　if　I　except　the　instances　of　Sheil　or　Brother　Basil；　and　that　other　friend　who　died；　of　whom　I　have　already　written。　Now　I　am　reaping　the　sad　fruits　of　this　idiosyncrasy；　since　nearly　all　of　those　to　whom　I　was　deeply　attached　have　gone　before　me；　although；　thank　Heaven！　a　few　still　remain；　such　as　Arthur　Cochrane；　Andrew　Lang；　and　Charles　Longman。

My　criticism　on　“Dawn”　considered　as　a　whole　—　that　is；　so　far　as　I　recollect　it；　for　I　have　not　reread　the　book　for　many　years　—　is　that　it　ought　to　have　been　cut　up　into　several　stories。　However；　it　has　pleased；　and　apparently　still　continues　to　please；　a　vast　number　of　persons；　and　not　long　ago　I　was　much　amused　to　see　in　an　article　in　The　Times　that　at　Pekin　—　or　Hong…Kong　—　it　is　one　of　the　favourite　subjects　of　study　among　the　Chinese　students　of　English　literature。　Perhaps　an　old　aunt　of　mine；　who　still　lives　at　the　age　of　nearly　a　hundred；　was　right　when　she　declared　that　the　book　was　too　full　of　“amateur　villains。”

However；　in　due　course　it　appeared　in　charming　type；　such　as　we　do　not　get　in　novels　nowadays；　and　three　nice　volumes　bound　in　green；　which　I　admire　as　I　write。　Certain　of　the　reviews　of　it　still　remain　pasted　in　a　book。　They　were　not　very　many　nearly　thirty　years　ago；　or　perhaps；　as　there　were　no　Press…cutting　agencies；　one　did　not　see　them。　On　the　whole；　however；　they　seem　to　have　been　fairly　favourable。　Since　1883　I　have　read　hundreds；　if　not　thousands；　of　reviews　of　my　books；　good；　bad；　and　indifferent；　but　I　can　safely　say　that　few　if　any　of　them　have　pleased　me　mor