



Produced by Giovanni Fini, David Edwards and the Online
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[Illustration: MERRICK RICHARDSON AT THE AGE OF SEVENTY-FIVE.]




                             LOOKING BACK

                           AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY


                                 _By_

                       MERRICK ABNER RICHARDSON

                               AUTHOR OF

    "JIM HALL AND THE RICHARDSONS", "EIGHT DAYS OUT", "MINA FAUST",
          "ROSE LIND", "PERSONALITY OF THE SOUL", "CHICAGO'S
                 BLACK SHEEP", "TWILIGHT REFLECTIONS."


                           PRIVATELY PRINTED

                           CHICAGO: MCMXVII




                            _Copyright 1917
                                  By_
                       MERRICK ABNER RICHARDSON




PREFACE


My spare time, only, is occupied in literary efforts. I never allow
them to interfere with either my business or social life.

In composing, in a mysterious way, I comprehend the companionship of my
imaginary friends as vividly as I do the material associates of life.
To me imagination is the counterpart or result of inspiration, while
inspiration is light thrown upon the unrevealed. The image may be the
result of known or unknown cause, but the mystery does not blot out the
actual existence of the image. The material image we call sight, the
retained memory, and the unknown revelation, but all are comprehensive
images.

I see a bird, its form created a picture on my eye, the image of which
mysteriously remained after the object had disappeared. Now what or who
cognizes the primitive object, the formed picture or the retained image?

The materialist assumes he has solved the mystery when