Several of the essays here listed have previously appeared as magazine articles, or in separate pamphlet form. The reader must not expect to find a consecutive logical treatise, nor a settled solution of the race problem. The author will be satisfied if these papers serve the less ambitious purpose of flashing gleams or even glints of light upon a dark and indefinite background.<br><br>The reader will notice the recurrence of phrases and sentences in several of the chapters. The aim has been to preserve as far as practicable the integrity of the several essays originally prepared for widely different occasions, at the risk of occasional overlapping.