Symonds's _Walt Whitman: A Study_. Dowden's _The Poetry of Democracy_, in _Studies in Literature_. Stevenson's _Familiar Studies of Men and Books_. (Whitman.) Whitman's _Works_, edited by Triggs. (Putnam Subscription Edition.) Vol. X. contains a bibliography and reference list of 98 pp. SUGGESTED READINGS THE PROSE REALISTS.--Sections II., XV., and XXVIII., from Howells's _Criticism and Fiction_. _Silas Lapham_ is the best of his novels. Those who desire to read more should consult the list on p. 373 of this book. In Henry James, read either _The Portrait of a Lady_ or _Roderick Hudson_. _A Passionate Pilgrim_, and _The Madonna of the Future_ are two of his best short stories. Read any or all of these short stories by Mary Wilkins Freeman: _A New England Nun,_ _A Gala Dress_, in the volume, _A New England Nun and Other Stories_, _Evelina's Garden_, in the volume, _Silence and Other Stories_. Her best long novel is _Pembroke_. WALT WHITMAN.--While the majority of his poems should be left for mature years, the following, carefully edited by Triggs in his volume of _Selections_, need not be deferred:-- _Song of Myself_, Triggs, pp. 105-120. (Begin with the line on p. 105, "A child said, _What is the Grass?_"), _Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking_, pp. 154-160, _I Hear America Singing_, p. 100, _Reconciliation_ p. 175, _O Captain! My Captain_, p. 184, _When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed_, pp. 176-184, _Patrolling Barnegat_, p. 163, _With Husky-Haughty Lips, O Sea!_ p. 232. Selections from his prose, including _Specimen Days_, _Memoranda of the War_, and his theories of art and poetry, may be found in Triggs, pp. 3-95. QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS THE PROSE REALISTS.--To what school did the best writers in American fiction belong, prior to the last quarter of the nineteenth century? What was the subject of each? What is the realistic theory advanced by Howells? In what respects does this differ from the practice of the romantic school? Take any chapter of _Silas Lapham_ and of either _The Portrait of a Lady_, or of _Roderick Hudson_, and show how Howells and James differ from the romanticists. What difference do you notice in the realistic method and in the style of Howells and of James? What special qualities characterize the work of Mary Wilkins Freeman? What is the secret of her success in so employing a little realistic incident as to hold the reader's attention? Compare the two short stories, _The Madonna of the Future_ (James) and _A New England Nun_ (Wilkins Freeman) and show how James's interest lies in the subtle psychological problem, while Mrs. Freeman's depends on the unfolding of simple emotions. It will also be found interesting to compare the method of that early English realist Jane Austen, _e.g._ in her novel _Emma_, with the work of the American realists.