His pride and reserve Our indebtedness to him VII WALT WHITMAN I The supreme example of the Vagabond in Literature 169 Mr. Swinburne’s verdict Whitman the pioneer of a new order No question about a “Return to Nature” with Whitman He never left it. A spiritual native of the woods and heath Yet wild only so far as he is cosmic His songs no mere pæans of rustic solitudes; they are songs of the crowded streets as well as of the country roads; of the men and women of every type, no less than of the fields and streams No quarrel with civilisation as such His “rainproof coat” and “good shoes” Compare with Borrow’s big green gamp II Whitman’s attitude towards Art 173 Two essentials of Art—Sincerity and Beauty Whitman’s allegiance to Sincerity Why he has chosen the better part His occasional failure to seize essentials Illustrations of his powers as an artist “On the Beach at Night”—“Reconciliation”—“When lilacs last on the dooryard bloomed” Whitman’s utterances on Death Whitman’s rude nonchalance deliberate, not due to carelessness “I furnish no specimens” Whitman’s treatment of sea The question of outspokenness in Literature Mr. Swinburne’s dictum Stevenson’s criticism—“A Bull in a China Shop” “The Children of Adam” Merits and defects of his Sex Cycle Whitman and Browning The poetry of animalism Whitman, William Morris, and Byron Mr. Burroughs’ eulogy of Whitman discussed The treatment of love in modern poetry On the whole the defects of Whitman’s sex poems typical of his defects as a writer generally Characteristics of Whitman’s style III Whitman’s attitude towards Humanity 187 His faith in the “powerful uneducated person” The Poet of Democracy Whitman and Victor Hugo His affection comprehensive rather than deep Mr. William Clarke’s eulogy discussed The psychology of the social reformer Whitman and the average man His egotism—emptied of condescension Whitman no demagogue—his plain speaking The Conservatism and conventionality of the masses Illustration from Mr. Barrie’s _Admirable Crichton_ Democratic poets other than Whitman—Ebenezer Elliott, Thomas Hood, and Mrs. Browning Whitman’s larger utterance Whitman and William Morris compared Affinity with Tolstoy IV Whitman’s attitude towards Life 198