BY J. W. SEARSON PROFESSOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. MANHATTAN AND GEORGE E. MARTIN THE UNIVERSITY Chicago and Lincoln THE UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING COMPANY HARVARD COPYRIGHT, 1910, 1911, 1912 THE UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING COMPANY All Rights Reserved The Lakeside Press R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY CHICAGO R PREFACE EADING with appreciation is a fine art. It is the modest purpose of this volume to afford the means whereby the reader may gain a more intelligent appreciation of some of the inspiring short poems of the language. The poems selected cover a wide range and appeal to every grade and variety of emotion. Each study consists of an introduction, the poem, suggestive questions for study, and a list of references. to other helpful selections. The introduction brings the reader's mind into the right attitude, or atmosphere, to appreciate the poem. The questions afford him means of deepening and intensifying that appreciation. The references, if followed, permit him to widen his appreciation into other fields. With such directed effort he can read the selection with genuine appreciation. He is taught how to study, and through directed study, how to appreciate and to express the best thought and feeling of the race. All methods, devices, and helpful exercises usually employed in teaching reading are supplemented and brought to bear fruit a hundred-fold when reinforced by such directed study. The authors desire to acknowledge their indebtedness to the school men and women who have tried and proven these studies in the school-room practice. Especial thanks are due to Superintendent Carroll G. Pearse, Milwaukee, Superintendent W. M. Davidson, Omaha, Superintendent A. H. Waterhouse, Fremont, Nebraska, for helpful suggestions and criticisms; and to ex-State Superintendent W. K. Fowler for expert care, criticisms, and corrections in the preparation of this volume. J. W. SEARSON. CONTENTS Robert Louis Stevenson Theodore O'Hara IT IS A BEAUTEOUS EVENING, CALM AND FREE |