From his nature poetry, read _To Ellen at the South_, _The Rhodora_, _Each and All_, _The Humble-Bee_, _Woodnotes_, _The Snow-Storm_. For a poetical exposition of his philosophy, read _The Problem_, _The Sphinx_, and _Brahma_. THOREAU.--If possible, read all of _Walden_; if not, Chaps. I., _Economy_, IV., _Sounds_, and XV., _Winter Animals_ (Riverside Literature Series). From the volume called _Excursions_, read the essay _Wild Apples_. Many will be interested to read here and there from his _Notes on New England Birds_ and from the four volumes, compiled from his _Journal_, describing the seasons. HAWTHORNE.--At least one of each of the different types of his short stories should be read. His power in impressing allegorical or symbolic truth may be seen in _The Snow Image_ or _The Great Stone Face_. As a specimen of his New England historical tales, read one or more of the following: _The Gentle Boy_, _The Maypole of Merry Mount_, _Lady Eleanore's Mantle_, or even the fantastic _Young Goodman Brown_, which presents the Puritan idea of witchcraft. For an example of his sketches or narrative essays, read _The Old Manse_ (the first paper in _Mosses from an Old Manse_) or the _Introduction_ to _The Scarlet Letter_. _The Scarlet Letter_ may be left for mature age, but _The House of the Seven Gables_ should be read by all. From his books for children, _The Golden Touch (Wonder Book)_ at least should be read, no matter how old the reader. LONGFELLOW.--His best narrative poem is _Hiawatha_, and its strongest part is _The Famine_, beginning:-- "Oh, the long and dreary Winter!" The opening lines of _Evangeline_ should be read for both the beauty of the poetry and the novelty of the meter. The first four sections of _The Courtship of Miles Standish_ should be read for its pictures of the early days of the first Pilgrim settlement. His best ballads are _The Wreck of the Hesperus, The Skeleton in Armor, Paul Revere's Ride,_ and _The Birds of Killingworth._ For specimens of his simple lyrics, which have had such a wide appeal, read _A Psalm of Life, The Ladder of St. Augustine, The Rainy Day, The Day is Done, Daybreak, Resignation, Maidenhood, My Lost Youth._ WHITTIER.--Read the whole of _Snow-Bound,_ and for specimens of his shorter lyrics, _Ichabod_, _The Lost Occasion_, _My Playmate_, _Telling the Bees_, _The Barefoot Boy_, _In School Days_, _My Triumph_, _An Autograph,_ and _The Eternal Goodness._ His best ballads are _Maud Muller, Skipper Ireson's Ride,_ and _Cassandra Southwick._