Matthew Arnold, that severe English critic, called one of these poems perfect of its kind, and Oliver Wendell Holmes cried over one of them. The student who reads these carefully is entitled to rely on his own judgment, without verifying which poem Arnold and Holmes had in mind. Compare Longfellow's ballads: _The Skeleton in Armor_, _The Birds of Killingworth_, and _The Wreck of the Hesperus_, with Whittier's _Skipper Ireson's Ride_, _Cassandra Southwick_, and _Maud Muller_. Compare Whittier's _Snow-Bound_ with Burns's _Cotter's Saturday Night_. In Whittier's poem, what group of lines descriptive of (_a_) nature, and (_b_) of inmates of the household pleases you most? What parts of _Hiawatha_ do you consider the best? What might be omitted without great damage to the poem? In _The Courtship of Miles Standish_, which incidents or pictures of the life of the Pilgrims appeal most strongly to you? What was the underlying purpose in writing _The Biglow Papers_ and _One-Hoss Shay_? Do we to-day read them chiefly for this purpose or for other reasons? In what does the humor of each consist? PROSE.--Why is it said that Mrs. Stowe showed a knowledge of psychological values? What were the chief causes of the influence of _Uncle Tom's Cabin_? What are Webster's chief characteristics? Why does he retain his preeminence among American orators? What transcendental qualities does Emerson's prose show? From any of his _Essays_ select thoughts which justify Tyndall's (p. 192) statement about Emerson's stimulating power. What passages show him to be a great moral teacher? What was Thoreau's object in going to Walden? Of what is he the interpreter? What was his mission? What passages in _Walden_ please you most? What is the reason for such a steady increase in Thoreau's popularity? Point out the allegory or symbolism in any of Hawthorne's tales. Which of his short stories do you like best? What is Hawthorne's special aim in _The Snow Image_ and _The Gentle Boy_? What qualities give special charm to sketches like _The Old Manse_ and the _Introduction_ to _The Scarlet Letter_? What is the underlying motive to be worked out in _The House of the Seven Gables_? Why is it said that the Ten Commandments reign supreme in Hawthorne's world of fiction? Was he a classicist or a romanticist (p. 219)? What qualities do you notice in his style? In Lowell's critical essays, what unusual turns of thought do you find to challenge your attention? Does he employ humor in his serious criticism? What most impresses you in reading selections from _The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table_, the humor, sprightliness, and variety of the thought, or the style? What especially satisfactory pages have you found?