OF SUPERSTITION AND ENTHUSIASMDavid Hume1741,is grown into a maxim, and is commonly proved, among otherinstances, by the pernicious effects of and, the corruptions of true religion.These two species of false religion, though both pernicious,are yet of a very different, and even of a contrary nature. The...
The Golden Asseby Lucius ApuleiusTranslated by William AdlingtonDedicationTo the Right Honourable and Mighty Lord, THOMAS EARLE OF SUSSEX, Viscount Fitzwalter, Lord of Egremont and of Burnell, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, Iustice of the forrests and Chases from Trent Southward; Captain of the Gentleman Pensioners of the House of the QUEENE our Soveraigne Lady.After that I had taken upon me (right Honourable) in manner of that unlearned and foolish Poet, Cherillus, who rashly and unadvisedly wrought a big volume in verses, of the valiant prowesse of Alexander the Great, to t
The Consulby Richard Harding DavisFor over forty years, in one part of the world or another, old manMarshall had, served his country as a United States consul. He hadbeen appointed by Lincoln. For a quarter of a century that fact washis distinction. It was now his epitaph. But in former years, aseach new administration succeeded the old, it had again and againsaved his official head. When victorious and voraciousplace-hunters, searching the map of the world for spoils, dug outhis hiding-place and demanded his consular sign as a reward for ayounger and more aggressive party worker, the ghost o
Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes ofsnow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat ata window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of blackebony. And whilst she was sewing and looking out of the windowat the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and threedrops of blood fell upon the snow. And the red looked prettyupon the white snow, and she thought to herself, would that I hada child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as thewood of the window-frame.Soon after that she had a little daughter, who was as white assnow, and as red
Nada the Lilyby H. Rider HaggardDEDICATIONSompseu:For I will call you by the name that for fifty years has been honouredby every tribe between Zambesi and Cape Agulbas,I greet you!Sompseu, my father, I have written a book that tells of men andmatters of which you know the most of any who still look upon thelight; therefore, I set your name within that book and, such as it is,I offer it to you.If you knew not Chaka, you and he have seen the same suns shine, youknew his brother Panda and his captains, and perhaps even that very...
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 Fatal Bootsby William Makepeace ThackerayJanuary.The Birth of the YearFebruary.Cutting WeatherMarch.ShoweryApril.FoolingMay.Restoration DayJune.Marrowbones and CleaversJuly.Summary ProceedingsAugust.Dogs have their DaysSeptember.Plucking a GooseOctober.Mars and Venus in OppositionNovember.A General Post DeliveryDecember."The Winter of Our Discontent"THE FATAL BOOTSJANUARY.THE BIRTH OF THE YEAR.Some poet has observed, that if any man would write down what has...
The Symposiumby XenophonTranslation by H. G. DakynsXenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.The Symposium records the discussion of Socrates and company at a dinner given by Callias for the youth Autolycus. Dakyns believed that Plato knew of this work, and that it influenced him to some degree when he wrote his own "Symposium."THE SYMPOSIUM...
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....
A Belated Guestby William Dean HowellsIt is doubtful whether the survivor of any order of things findscompensation in the privilege, however undisputed by his contemporaries,of recording his memories of it. This is, in the first two or threeinstances, a pleasure. It is sweet to sit down, in the shade or by thefire, and recall names, looks, and tones from the past; and if theAbsences thus entreated to become Presences are those of famous people,they lend to the fond historian a little of their lustre, in which hebasks for the time with an agreeable sense of celebrity. But another...
ONE BASKETONE BASKETTHIRTY-ONE SHORT STORIESEDNA FERBER1- Page 2-ONE BASKETThe Woman Who Tried to Be Good[1913]Before she tried to be a good woman she had been a very badwomanso bad that she could trail her wonderful apparel up and downMain Street, from the Elm Tree Bakery to the railroad tracks, without once...
Dorothy and the Wizard in Ozby L. Frank BaumA Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventuresin an Underground World; and How with theAid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eurekathe Kitten, and Jim the Cab-Horse,They Finally Reached theWonderful Landof Ozby L. Frank Baum"Royal Historian of Oz"To My Readers1. The Earthquake2. The Glass City3. The Arrival of the Wizard4. The Vegetable Kingdom5. Dorothy Picks the Princess6. The Mangaboos Prove Dangerous...
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...
JESPER WHO HERDED THE HARESThere was once a king who ruled over a kingdom somewhere betweensunrise and sunset. It was as small as kingdoms usually were inold times, and when the king went up to the roof of his palaceand took a look round he could see to the ends of it in everydirection. But as it was all his own, he was very proud of it,and often wondered how it would get along without him. He hadonly one child, and that was a daughter, so he foresaw that shemust be provided with a husband who would be fit to be king afterhim. Where to find one rich enough and clever enough to be a...
PRINCE RING [30][30] From the Icelandic.Once upon a time there was a King and his Queen in their kingdom.They had one daughter, who was called Ingiborg, and one son,whose name was Ring. He was less fond of adventures than men ofrank usually were in those days, and was not famous for strengthor feats of arms. When he was twelve years old, one fine winterday he rode into the forest along with his men to enjoy himself.They went on a long way, until they caught sight of a hind with agold ring on its horns. The Prince was eager to catch it, if...
The Mansionby Henry van DykeThere was an air of calm and reserved opulence aboutthe Weightman mansion that spoke not of money squandered,but of wealth prudently applied. Standing on a corner ofthe Avenue no longer fashionable for residence, it looked uponthe swelling tide of business with an expression of complacencyand half-disdain.The house was not beautiful. There was nothing in its straightfront ofchocolate-colored stone, its heavy cornices, its broad, staringwindows ofplate glass, its carved and bronze-bedecked mahogany doors at the...