FOREWORD
NOT long ago, in England, young writers were tagged with the names of their discoverers, or of the alleged founders of the "schools" to which, it was supposed, they belonged. Thus, in the "glorious nineties," one who was not of the "decadent" group headed by Beardsley and godfathered by Wilde, was likely to be one of the pugilistic school principaled by Henley, and such an one was dubbed "one of Mr. Henley's young men." The practice feebly survives, and is not without its usefulness, since, in a tight corner, the youngster may seek refuge under the coat-tails of his master, who stoically must receive the blows intended for his protegé, and who undoubtedly is held responsible for sins actually not in his calendar.
I have no wish to hide behind a greater name, and what blows may be directed my way I shall not attempt to deflect to other shoulders; but I am genuinely eager to associate my name with that of the man whom I have delighted to call Master, and whose kindly encouragement and active support enabled me to enter a field already vastly overcrowded…
William Marion Reedy.
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