Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Tbe aim of tbe edztor of tbis volume bas been to make a representative selection from tbe prose and poetical writ ings of Walt W bitman. He bas tried to select, not wbat from a conventional point of view would be called tbe best of W bitman, but ratber wbat is most cbaracteristic in bis writings.