Historical Lecturers and Essaysby Charles KingsleyContents:The First Discovery of AmericaCyrus, Servant of the LordAncient CivilisationRondeletVesaliusParacelsusBuchananTHE FIRST DISCOVERY OF AMERICALet me begin this lecture {1} with a scene in the North Atlantic 863years since."Bjarne Grimolfson was blown with his ship into the Irish Ocean; andthere came worms and the ship began to sink under them. They had a...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE BIRD OF POPULAR SONGby Hans Christian AndersenIT is winter-time. The earth wears a snowy garment, and looks likemarble hewn out of the rock; the air is bright and clear; the windis sharp as a well-tempered sword, and the trees stand like branchesof white coral or blooming almond twigs, and here it is keen as on thelofty Alps.The night is splendid in the gleam of the Northern Lights, andin the glitter of innumerable twinkling stars.But we sit in the warm room, by the hot stove, and talk about...　

Oliver Wendell Holmesby William Dean HowellsElsewhere we literary folk are apt to be such a common lot, withtendencies here and there to be a shabby lot; we arrive from all sorts ofunexpected holes and corners of the earth, remote, obscure; and at thebest we do so often come up out of the ground; but at Boston we were ofascertained and noted origin, and good part of us dropped from the skies.Instead of holding horses before the doors of theatres; or capping versesat the plough-tail; or tramping over Europe with nothing but a flute inthe pocket; or walking up to the metropolis with no luggage 　

Little Travels and Roadside Sketchesby William Makepeace ThackerayI. FROM RICHMOND IN SURREY TO BRUSSELS IN BELGIUMII. GHENTBRUGES:Ghent (1840)BrugesIII. WATERLOOLITTLE TRAVELS AND ROADSIDE SKETCHESI.FROM RICHMOND IN SURREY TO BRUSSELS IN BELGIUM. . . I quitted the "Rose Cottage Hotel" at Richmond, one of thecomfortablest, quietest, cheapest, neatest little inns in England,and a thousand times preferable, in my opinion, to the "Star andGarter," whither, if you go alone, a sneering waiter, with his hair...　

THE COMPARISON OF PHILOPOEMEN WITH FLAMININUSby Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenFIRST them, as for the greatness of the benefits which Titusconferred on Greece, neither Philopoemen, nor many braver men than he,can make good the parallel. They were Greeks fighting againstGreeks, but Titus, a stranger to Greece, fought for her. And at thevery time when Philopoemen went over into Crete, destitute of means tosuccour his besieged countrymen, Titus, by a defeat given to Philip inthe heart of Greece, set them and their cities free. Again, if we...　

ALEXANDER356-323 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenIT being my purpose to write the lives of Alexander the king, and of Caesar, by whom Pompey was destroyed, the multitude of their great actions affords so large a field that I were to blame if I should not by way of apology forewarn my reader that I have chosen rather to epitomize the most celebrated parts of their story, than to insist at large on every particular circumstance of it. It must be borne in mind that my design is not to write histories, but lives. And the most glorious exploits do not alw　

The Lesson of the Masterby Henry JamesHe had been told the ladies were at church, but this was correctedby what he saw from the top of the steps - they descended from agreat height in two arms, with a circular sweep of the mostcharming effect - at the threshold of the door which, from the longbright gallery, overlooked the immense lawn. Three gentlemen, onthe grass, at a distance, sat under the great trees, while thefourth figure showed a crimson dress that told as a "bit of colour"amid the fresh rich green. The servant had so far accompanied Paul...　

The Pharisee And The Publicanby John BunyanTwo men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself; God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the Publican, standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Luke, xviii. 10-13.In the beginning of this chapter you read of the reason of the parable　

Arms and the Manby George Bernard ShawINTRODUCTIONTo the irreverentand which of us will claim entire exemption from thatcomfortable classification?there is something very amusing in theattitude of the orthodox criticism toward Bernard Shaw. He so obviouslydisregards all the canons and unities and other things which everywell-bred dramatist is bound to respect that his work is really unworthyof serious criticism (orthodox). Indeed he knows no more about thedramatic art than, according to his own story in "The Man of Destiny,"Napoleon at Tavazzano knew of the Art of War. But both men were...　

Memoirs of the Comtesse du Barry With Minute Details of Her Entire Career as Favorite of Louis XV"Written by Herself"by Baron Etienne Leon Lamothe-LangonTABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER ILetter from LebelVisit from LebelNothing conclusiveAnother visit from LebelInvitation to sup with the kingInstructions of the comte Jean to the comtesseCHAPTER IIA slight prefaceArrival at VersaillesPortrait of the kingThe duc de RichelieuThe marquis de ChauvelinThe duc de la Vauguyon-Supper with the kingThe first nightThe following dayThe curiosity of comte JeanPresents from the kingHow disposed of...　

Tommy and Co.Tommy and Co.by Jerome K. Jerome1- Page 2-Tommy and Co.STORY THE FIRSTPeter Hopeplans his Prospectus"Come in!" said Peter Hope.Peter Hope was tall and thin, clean-shaven but for a pair of sidewhiskers close-cropped and terminating just below the ear, with hair ofthe kind referred to by sympathetic barbers as "getting a little thin on the...　

LAHOMALAHOMAby John Breckenridge Ellis1- Page 2-LAHOMACHAPTER ITHE TOUCH OF A CHILD"I have given my word of honormy sacred oathnot to betray what Ihave discovered here."At these words from the prisoner, a shout arose in which oaths andmocking laughter mingled like the growling and snapping of hunger-...　

The Circulation of the Bloodby Thomas H. HuxleyI DESIRE this evening to give you some account of the life and laboursof a very noble EnglishmanWilliam Harvey.William Harvey was born in the year 1578, and as he lived until the year1657, he very nearly attained the age of 80. He was the son of a smalllandowner in Kent, who was sufficiently wealthy to send this, hiseldest son, to the University of Cambridge; while he embarked theothers in mercantile pursuits, in which they all, as time passed on,attained riches.William Harvey, after pursuing his education at Cambridge, and taking...　

The History of John Bullby John ArbuthnotINTRODUCTION BY HENRY MORLEY.This is the book which fixed the name and character of John Bull on the English people. Though in one part of the story he is thin and long nosed, as a result of trouble, generally he is suggested to us as "ruddy and plump, with a pair of cheeks like a trumpeter," an honest tradesman, simple and straightforward, easily cheated; but when he takes his affairs into his own hands, acting with good plain sense, knowing very well what he wants done, and doing it.The book was begun in the year 1712, and published in four successi　

For the Term of His Natural Lifeby Marcus ClarkeDEDICATIONTOSIR CHARLES GAVAN DUFFYMy Dear Sir Charles, I take leave to dedicate this work to you, not merely because your nineteen years of political and literary life in Australia render it very fitting that any work written by a resident in the colonies, and having to do with the history of past colonial days, should bear your name upon its dedicatory page; but because the publication of my book is due to your advice and encouragement.The convict of fiction has been hitherto shown only at the beginning or at the end of his career. Either hi　

THE VITAL MESSAGETHE VITAL MESSAGEARTHUR CONAN DOYLE1- Page 2-THE VITAL MESSAGEPREFACEIn "The New Revelation" the first dawn of the coming change hasbeen described. In "The Vital Message" the sun has risen higher, and onesees more clearly and broadly what our new relations with the Unseenmay be. As I look into the future of the human race I am reminded of how...