The drug-induced sleep wore off into nothingness, and the girl began the agonizing struggle back to consciousness. A dim and hazy light greeted her slowly opening eyes while a disgusting, putrid stench invaded her nostrils. She was nude, her bare back pressed flat against a damp, yellow, slime-coated wall. It was unreal, an impossibility, she tried to tell herself upon awakening. It had to be some kind of horrifying nightmare. Then suddenly, before she had a chance to fight the panic mushrooming inside her, the yellow slime on the floor rose and began working up the thighs of her defenseles　

Honorineby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Clara BellDEDICATIONTo Monsieur Achille DeveriaAn affectionate remembrance from the Author.HONORINEIf the French have as great an aversion for traveling as the Englishhave a propensity for it, both English and French have perhapssufficient reasons. Something better than England is everywhere to befound; whereas it is excessively difficult to find the charms ofFrance outside France. Other countries can show admirable scenery, andthey frequently offer greater comfort than that of France, which makes...　

A Charmed Lifeby Richard Harding DavisShe loved him so, that when he went away to a little war in whichhis country was interested she could not understand, nor quiteforgive.As the correspondent of a newspaper, Chesterton had looked on atother wars; when the yellow races met, when the infidel Turkspanked the Christian Greek; and one he had watched from inside aBritish square, where he was greatly alarmed lest he should betrampled upon by terrified camels. This had happened before he andshe had met. After they met, she told him that what chances he hadchosen to take before he came into her li　

A RECORD OF BUDDHISTIC KINGDOMSA RECORD OFBUDDHISTICKINGDOMSTranslated and annotated with a Corean recension of the ChinesetextBY JAMES LEGGE1- Page 2-A RECORD OF BUDDHISTIC KINGDOMSPREFACESeveral times during my long residence in Hong Kong I endeavouredto read through the "Narrative of Fa-hien;" but though interested with the...　

The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivanby Arthur Gilbert and William Schwenk SullivanTHE 14 GILBERT AND SULLIVAN PLAYSWilliam S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan collaborated on 14operas in the period from 1871 to 1896. The are the following:GONDOLIERSGRAND DUKEH.M.S. PINAFOREIOLANTHETHE MIKADOPIRATES OF PENZANCEPRINCESS IDARUDDIGORETHE SORCERERTHESPISTRIAL BY JURYUTOPIA, LIMITEDYEOMEN OF THE GUARDPATIENCEThe Gondoliersor...　

An Open-Eyed ConspiracyAn Idyl of Saratogaby William Dean HowellsCHAPTER IThe day had been very hot under the tall trees which everywhereembower and stifle Saratoga, for they shut out the air as well asthe sun; and after tea (they still have an early dinner at all thehotels in Saratoga, and tea is the last meal of the day) I strolledover to the pretty Congress Park, in the hope of getting a breath ofcoolness there. Mrs. March preferred to take the chances on theverandah of our pleasant little hotel, where I left her with theother ladies, forty fanning like one, as they rocked to and fro...　

THE GREAT HOGGARTY DIAMONDTHE GREATHOGGARTY DIAMONDBy Thackeray1- Page 2-THE GREAT HOGGARTY DIAMONDCHAPTER IGIVES AN ACCOUNT OF OUR VILLAGE AND THE FIRSTGLIMPSE OF THE DIAMONDWhen I came up to town for my second year, my aunt Hoggarty mademe a present of a diamond-pin; that is to say, it was not a diamond- pin...　

Weir of Hermistonby Robert Louis StevensonTO MY WIFEI saw rain falling and the rainbow drawnOn Lammermuir. Hearkening I heard againIn my precipitous city beaten bellsWinnow the keen sea wind. And here afar,Intent on my own race and place, I wrote.Take thou the writing: thine it is. For whoBurnished the sword, blew on the drowsy coal,Held still the target higher, chary of praiseAnd prodigal of counsel - who but thou?So now, in the end, if this the least be good,If any deed be done, if any fireBurn in the imperfect page, the praise be thine....　

The Dragon and The Raven: Or The Days of King AlfredBy G. A. HentyC O N T E N T SPREFACEI. THE FUGITIVESII. THE BATTLE OF KESTEVENIII. THE MASSACRE AT CROYLANDIV. THE INVASION OF WESSEXV. A DISCIPLINED BANDVI. THE SAXON FORTVII. THE DRAGONVIII. THE CRUISE OF THE DRAGONIX. A PRIS0NERX. THE COMBATXI. THE ISLE OF ATHELNEYXII. FOUR YEARS OF PEACEXIII. THE SIEGE OF PARISXlV. THE REPULSE OF THE NORSEMENXV. FRIENDS IN TROUBLEXVI. FREDAXVII. A LONG CHASEXVIII. FREDA DISCOVEREDXIX. UNITED...　

ANTHEMANTHEMby Ayn Rand1- Page 2-ANTHEMPART ONEIt is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think andto put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. Itis as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know wellthat there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. We have...　

Burlesquesby William Makepeace ThackerayCONTENTSNOTES BY EMINENT HANDS.George de Barnwell. By Sir E. L. B. L., Bart.Codlingsby. By D. Shrewsberry, Esq.Phil Fogarty. A Tale of the Fighting Onety-Oneth. By HarryRollickerBarbazure. By G. P. R. Jeames, Esq., etc.Lords and Liveries. By the Authoress of "Dukes and Dejeuners,""Hearts and Diamonds," "Marchionesses and Milliners," etc., etc.Crinoline. By Je-mes Pl-sh, Esq.The Stars and Stripes. By the Author of "The Last of the...　

APPENDIX DThe Awful German LanguageA little learning makes the whole world kin.Proverbs xxxii, 7.I went often to look at the collection of curiositiesin Heidelberg Castle, and one day I surprised the keeperof it with my German. I spoke entirely in that language.He was greatly interested; and after I had talked a whilehe said my German was very rare, possibly a "unique";and wanted to add it to his museum.If he had known what it had cost me to acquire my art,he would also have known that it would break anycollector to buy it. Harris and I had been hard at...　

The High Price of Bullionby David Ricardo1810The High Price of Bullion, a Proof of the Depreciation of BankNotes.by David RicardoLondon: Printed for John Murray, 32, Fleet-Street; And Sold byEvery Other Bookseller in Town and Country1810IntroductionThe writer of the following pages has already submitted somereflections to the attention of the public, on the subject ofpaper-currency, through the medium of the Morning Chronicle. Hehas thought proper to republish his sentiments on this question...　

　FOR NATALIE　　ACKNOWLEDGMENTS　　Special thanks to Natalie Freer-the most genuine and giving person I know. To Stephen Reilly, my brother and my good friend and my loyal supporter, even from thousands of miles away. To Mum for her ments on the text and to Dad for his woeful title suggestions and to both of them for their love and support. And, last, thanks to everyone at Pan and Thomas Dunne Books (in particular, my editors, Cate Paterson, Pete Wolverton, and Madonna Duffy, first, for "discovering" me and, second, for enduring all of my crazy ideas). To all of you, never underestimate the power　

　"The Captive"　Chapter One　She sat by the creek, half-hidden in lush grasses. Carefully she twined purple summer flowers into her single dark brown braid, and dabbled bare feet in the rushing water. Stems and crushed blooms littered the coarse yellow gown she wore and damp earth stained the garment, but she paid it no mind. She was purpose-fully intent on her work, for if she allowed her thoughts to range freely she would be overtaken by the knowledge and the hope that he still might e.　A songbird called from the forest behind and she glanced up, smiling at the delicate melody. Then her atten　

　　　　　　1.　　　　Fingers of lightning tore holes in the black skies as an angry cloudburst drenched the surrealistic landscape. It was 3 A.M. on a cold, wet morning in late November 1967. and the little houses scattered along the dirt road winding through the hills of West Virginia were all dark. Some seemed unoccupied and in the final stages of decay. Others were unpainted, neglected, forlorn. The whole setting was like the opening scene of a Grade B horror film from the 1930s.　　　　Along the road there came a stranger in a land where strangers were rare and suspect. He walked up to the door of a c