I
Once in a generation an author surpasses the bounds of nationality.
Of such cosmopolitan artists Maurice Maeterlinck is perhaps the most
shining example. Twenty years ago I was vainly endeavouring to interest
English publishers in his plays. To-day I am asked to produce a version
of one of his earlier and less familiar works, because the time is
approaching for that monument to his fame which so few writers enjoy
in their lifetime--namely, the complete edition. He is not a Belgian
writer merely or chiefly; above all he is an English, an American
author. His readers in England and the United States far outnumber
those who read the original French. His books are published in England
and America almost as soon as they appear in France and Belgium, and
in at least one case the English publication was the earlier. More and
more do his lovers demand every word that his pen has formed. Sooner or
later, therefore, it was inevitable that these "Poems" should appear in
translation.