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Author of "If I May," "The Dover Road," "Mr. Pim Passes By," etc.
1922
My publisher wants me to apologize for—"introduce" was the kindly wordhe used—this collection of articles and verses from Punch. I do sowith pleasure.
Among the many interests of a long and varied career—
No, I don't think I shall begin like that.
It was early in 1871—
Nor like that.
Really it is very difficult, you know. I wrote these things for a numberof years, and—well, here they are. But just to say "Here they are" is tobe too informal for my publisher. He wants, not a casual introduction,but a presentation. Let me tell you a little story instead.
When war broke out, I had published three of these books in England, thegleanings of nine years' regular work for Punch. There are, Iunderstand, a few Americans who read Punch, and it was suggested to methat a suitable collection of articles from these three books might havesome sort of American sale. So I made such a collection, leaving out themore topical and allusive sketches, and including those with a moregeneral appeal. I called the result "Happy Days"—an attractive title,you will agree—and in 1915 a New York publisher was found for it.
This is a funny story; at least it appeals to me; so I won't remindmyself of the number of copies which we sold. That was tragedy, notcomedy. The joke lay in one of the few notices which the book receivedfrom the press. For a New York critic ended his review of "Happy Days"with these immortal words:
"Mr. Milne is at present in the trenches facing the German bullets, sothis will probably be his last book."
You see now why an apology is necessary. Here we are, seven years later,and I am still at it.
But at any rate, it is the last of this sort of book. As I said in aforeword to the English edition: "It is the last time because this sortof writing depends largely upon the irresponsibility and high spirits ofyouth for its success, and I want to stop before (may I say 'before'?)the high spirits become mechanical and the irresponsibility a trick.Perhaps the fact that this collection is final will excuse its air ofscrappiness. Odd Verses have crept in on the unanswerable plea that, ifthey didn't do it now, they never would; War Sketches protested that Ishouldn't have a book at all if I left them out; an Early Article,omitted from three previous volumes, paraded for the fourth time withsuch a pathetic 'I suppose you don't want me' in its eye that it couldnot decently be rejected. So here they all are."
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