Bureaucracyby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo the Comtesse Seraphina San Severino, with the respectfulhomage of sincere and deep admiration.De Balzac.BUREAUCRACYCHAPTER ITHE RABOURDIN HOUSEHOLDIn Paris, where men of thought and study bear a certain likeness toone another, living as they do in a common centre, you must have metwith several resembling Monsieur Rabourdin, whose acquaintance we areabout to make at a moment when he is head of a bureau in one of our...
RECOLLECTIONS OF THE PRIVATE LIFE OF NAPOLEON, V7BY CONSTANTPREMIER VALET DE CHAMBRETRANSLATED BY WALTER CLARKCONTENTS:CHAPTER XIII. to CHAPTER XXI.CHAPTER XIII.His Majesty remained only ten days at Saint-Cloud, passed two or three ofthese in Paris at the opening of the session of the Corps Legislatif, andat noon on the 29th set out a second time for Bayonne.The Empress, who to her great chagrin could not accompany the Emperor,sent for me on the morning of his departure, and renewed in most touchingaccents the same recommendations which she made on all his journeys, for...
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE SNAIL AND THE ROSE-TREEby Hans Christian AndersenROUND about the garden ran a hedge of hazel-bushes; beyond thehedge were fields and meadows with cows and sheep; but in the middleof the garden stood a Rose-tree in bloom, under which sat a Snail,whose shell contained a great deal- that is, himself."Only wait till my time comes," he said; "I shall do more thangrow roses, bear nuts, or give milk, like the hazel-bush, the cows andthe sheep.""I expect a great deal from you," said the rose-tree. "May I ask...
The Chateau of Prince Polignacby Anthony TrollopeFew Englishmen or Englishwomen are intimately acquainted with thelittle town of Le Puy. It is the capital of the old province of LeVelay, which also is now but little known, even to French ears, forit is in these days called by the imperial name of the Department ofthe Haute Loire. It is to the south-east of Auvergne, and is nearlyin the centre of the southern half of France.But few towns, merely as towns, can be better worth visiting. Inthe first place, the volcanic formation of the ground on which it...
The Trumpet-Majorby Thomas Hardybeing a tale of the Trumpet-Major, John Loveday, a soldier in thewar with Buonaparte, and Robert, his brother, first mate in theMerchant Service.PREFACEThe present tale is founded more largely on testimonyoral andwrittenthan any other in this series. The external incidentswhich direct its course are mostly an unexaggerated reproduction ofthe recollections of old persons well known to the author inchildhood, but now long dead, who were eye-witnesses of thosescenes. If wholly transcribed their recollections would have filled...
The Aspern Papersby Henry JamesTHE ASPERN PAPERSII had taken Mrs. Prest into my confidence; in truth withouther I should have made but little advance, for the fruitfulidea in the whole business dropped from her friendly lips.It was she who invented the short cut, who severed the Gordian knot.It is not supposed to be the nature of women to rise as a general thingto the largest and most liberal viewI mean of a practical scheme;but it has struck me that they sometimes throw off a bold conception...
THE MAIDEN WITH THE WOODEN HELMETIn a little village in the country of Japan there lived long,long ago a man and his wife. For many years they were happy andprosperous, but bad times came, and at last nothing was left thembut their daughter, who was as beautiful as the morning. Theneighbours were very kind, and would have done anything theycould to help their poor friends, but the old couple felt thatsince everything had changed they would rather go elsewhere, soone day they set off to bury themselves in the country, takingtheir daughter with them.Now the mother and daughter had plenty to d
A Prince of Bohemiaby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Clara Bell and othersDEDICATIONTo Henri Heine.I inscribe this to you, my dear Heine, to you that represent inParis the ideas and poetry of Germany, in Germany the lively andwitty criticism of France; for you better than any other will knowwhatsoever this Study may contain of criticism and of jest, oflove and truth.DE BALZAC.A PRINCE OF BOHEMIA"My dear friend," said Mme. de la Baudraye, drawing a pile ofmanuscript from beneath her sofa cushion, "will you pardon me in our...
The Acts of the Apostlesby ELLEN G.WHITE(v)PREFACETHE FIFTH BOOK OF THE NEW TESTAMENT HAS BEEN KNOWN FROM ANCIENT TIMES AS THEACTS OF THE APOSTLES; BUT THIS TITLE CANNOT BE FOUND IN THE BOOK ITSELF. ONEOF THE EARLIEST MANUSCRIPTS, THE CODEX SINAITICUS, GIVES AS THE TITLE THESIMPLE WORD ACTS, WITH NO MENTION OF THE APOSTLES. THERE IS A REASON FORTHIS. ACTS WAS INTENDED TO BE MORE THAN A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SERVICERENDERED BY THE TWELVE DISCIPLES, MUCH MORE THAN THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN THE...
Lectures XIV and XVTHE VALUE OF SAINTLINESSWe have now passed in review the more important of the phenomenawhich are regarded as fruits of genuine religion andcharacteristics of men who are devout. Today we have to changeour attitude from that of description to that of appreciation; wehave to ask whether the fruits in question can help us to judgethe absolute value of what religion adds to human life. Were Ito parody Kant, I should say that a "Critique of pureSaintliness" must be our theme....
THE FORGED COUPONPART FIRSTIFEDOR MIHAILOVICH SMOKOVNIKOV, the presi-dent of the local Income Tax Department, a manof unswerving honestyand proud of it, tooa gloomy Liberal, a free-thinker, and an enemyto every manifestation of religious feeling, whichhe thought a relic of superstition, came home fromhis office feeling very much annoyed. The Gov-ernor of the province had sent him an extraordi-narily stupid minute, almost assuming that hisdealings had been dishonest.Fedor Mihailovich felt embittered, and wroteat once a sharp answer. On his return home...
The Virgin of the SunBy H. Rider HaggardDEDICATIONMy Dear Little,Some five-and-thirty years ago it was our custom to discuss manymatters, among them, I think, the history and romance of thevanished Empires of Central America.In memory of those far-off days will you accept a tale that dealswith one of them, that of the marvellous Incas of Peru; with thelegend also that, long before the Spanish Conquerors entered ontheir mission of robbery and ruin, there in that undiscovered landlived and died a White God risen from the sea?...
The Wandering Jew, Volume 9by Eugene SueBOOK IX.XV. The Constant WandererXVI. The LuncheonXVII. Rendering the AccountXVIII. The Square of Notre DameXIX. The Cholera MasqueradeXX. The DefianceXXI. Brandy to the RescueXXII. MemoriesXXIII. The PoisonerXXIV. CathedralXXV. The MurderersXXVI. The PatientXXVII. The LureXXVIII. Good NewsXXIX. The OperationXXX. The TortureXXXI. Vice and VirtueXXXII. SuicideCHAPTER XV.THE CONSTANT WANDERER....
The Mirror of the Seaby Joseph ConradContents:I. Landfalls and DeparturesIV. Emblems of HopeVII. The Fine ArtX. Cobwebs and GossamerXIII. The Weight of the BurdenXVI. Overdue and MissingXX. The Grip of the LandXXII. The Character of the FoeXXV. Rules of East and WestXXX. The Faithful RiverXXXIII. In CaptivityXXXV. InitiationXXXVII. The Nursery of the CraftXL. The TremolinoXLVI. The Heroic Age...
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1866-1875By Albert Bigelow PaineVOLUME I, Part 2: 1866-1875LIVTHE LECTURERIt was not easy to take up the daily struggle again, but it wasnecessary. [Clemens once declared he had been so blue at this periodthat one morning he put a loaded pistol to his head, but found he lackedcourage to pull the trigger.] Out of the ruck of possibilities (hisbrain always thronged with plans) he constructed three or four resolves.The chief of these was the trip around the world; but that lay monthsahead, and in the mean time ways and means must be provided. Another...
THE FROZEN DEEPby Wilkie CollinsFirst SceneThe Ball-roomChapter 1.The date is between twenty and thirty years ago. The place is anEnglish sea-port. The time is night. And the business of themoment isdancing.The Mayor and Corporation of the town are giving a grand ball, incelebration of the departure of an Arctic expedition from theirport. The ships of the expedition are two in numberthe_Wanderer_ and the _Sea-mew_. They are to sail (in search of theNorthwest Passage) on the next day, with the morning tide.Honor to the Mayor and Corporation! It is a brilliant ball. The...