Non-Fiction > Books > London, 1881 - Virginibus Puerisque, and other papers

250 Child^s Play.
The true parallel for play is not to be found,
of course, in conscious art, which, though it
be derived from play, is itself an abstract, im-
personal thing, and depends largely upon philo-
sophical interests beyond the scope of childhood.
It is when we make castles in the air and
personate the leading character in our own
romances, that we return to the spirit of our
first years. Only, there are several reasons why
the spirit is no longer so agreeable to indulge.
Nowadays, when we admit this personal
element into our divagations we are apt to-
stir up uncomfortable and sorrowful memories,
and remind ourselves sharply of old wounds.
Our day-dreams can no longer lie all in the air
like a story in the Arabian Nights ; they read
to us rather like the history of a period in which
we ourselves had taken part, where we come
across many unfortunate passages and find our
own conduct smartly reprimanded. And then
the child, mind you, acts his parts. He does