Some of them I saw, as it were, for a moment only; suddenly out
of the darkness they burst upon me; suddenly the darkness again
received them out of my sight.

But our acquaintance was of sufficient duration to allow me to
acquire some knowledge, and to gain some experience of lives more
than strange, and of characters far removed from the ordinary.

But with others I spent many hours, months, or years as
circumstances warranted, or as opportunities
permitted. Some of them became my intimates; and though seven
long years have passed since I gave up police-court duties, our
friendship bears the test of time, for they remain my friends and
acquaintances still.

But some have passed away, and others are passing; one by one my
list of friends grows less, and were it not that I, even now,
pick up a new friend or two, I should run the risk of being a
lonely old man. Let me confess, however, that my friends have
brought me many worries, have caused me much disappointment, have
often made me very angry. Sometimes, I must own, they have
caused me real sorrow and occasionally feelings of utter despair.
But I have had my compensations, we have had our happy times, we
have even known our merry moments.

Though pathos has permeated all our intercourse, humour and
comedy have never been far away; though sometimes tragedy has
been in waiting.