PREFACEThese selections from the poetry of Robert Browning have been madewith especial reference to the tastes and capacities of readers of thehigh-school age. Every poem included has been found by experience tobe within the grasp of boys and girls. Most of Browning\'s best poetryis within the ken of any reader of imagination and diligence. To thereader who lacks these, not only Browning, but the great world ofliterature, remains closed: Browning is not the only poet who requiresclose study. The difficulties he offers are, in his best poems, notmore repellent to the thoughtful reader than the nut that protects andcontains the kernel. To a boy or girl of active mind, the difficultyneed rarely be more than a pleasant challenge to the exercise of alittle patience and ingenuity.