Excerpt from An Artist's Reminiscences However, when a man begins to say I remember, it is a sign that he has mental records of a different world from the present, and probably of actors long passed from the world's stage. In these revolutionary times, when changes are so rapid, it needs no great pretensions to fulness of years to have witnessed extraordinary transformations in the outward aspects of life, in manners and customs, in dress, as well as in mental attitude. A comparatively short life would be sufficient in which to have observed most extraordinary changes in the aspects of London, for instance. Twenty or thirty years ago, measured by the changes which have taken place, might well be centuries, and this would also hold good of the less obvious and less noted, perhaps, shifting of intellectual focus, to say nothing of political and social change. The main interest of reminiscences lies, however, I presume, in the direct personal impressions a writer may be able to give of eminent persons he has met, or of scenes and movements of which he has been a witness or in which he has taken part. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.