The Divine Comedyby DANTE ALIGHIERI(1265-1321)TRANSLATED BYHENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW(1807-1882)Incipit Comoedia Dantis Alagherii,Florentini natione, non moribus.The Divine Comedytranslated by Henry Wadsworth LongfellowINFERNOInferno: Canto IMidway upon the journey of our lifeI found myself within a forest dark,For the straightforward pathway had been lost.Ah me! how hard a thing it is to sayWhat was this forest savage, rough, and stern,Which in the very thought renews the fear.So bitter is it, death is little more;...　

Salammboby Gustave FlaubertCHAPTER ITHE FEASTIt was at Megara, a suburb of Carthage, in the gardens of Hamilcar.The soldiers whom he had commanded in Sicily were having a great feastto celebrate the anniversary of the battle of Eryx, and as the masterwas away, and they were numerous, they ate and drank with perfectfreedom.The captains, who wore bronze cothurni, had placed themselves in thecentral path, beneath a gold-fringed purple awning, which reached fromthe wall of the stables to the first terrace of the palace; the common...　

The Origination of Living Beingsby Thomas H. HuxleyIn the two preceding lectures I have endeavoured to indicate to you theextent of the subject-matter of the inquiry upon which we are engaged;and now, having thus acquired some conception of the Past and Presentphenomena of Organic Nature, I must now turn to that which constitutesthe great problem which we have set before ourselves;I mean, thequestion of what knowledge we have of the causes of these phenomena oforganic nature, and how such knowledge is obtainable.Here, on the threshold of the inquiry, an objection meets us. There are...　

GRACIOSA AND PERCINETONCE upon a time there lived a King and Queen who had onecharming daughter. She was so graceful and pretty andclever that she was called Graciosa, and the Queen was so fond ofher that she could think of nothing else.Everyday she gave the Princess a lovely new frock of gold brocade,or satin, or velvet, and when she was hungry she had bowls full ofsugar-plums, and at least twenty pots of jam. Everybody said shewas the happiest Princess in the world. Now there lived at thissame court a very rich old duchess whose name was Grumbly....　

THE SKETCH BOOKCHRISTMAS EVEby Washington IrvingSaint Francis and Saint BenedightBlesse this house from wicked wight;From the night-mare and the goblin,That is hight good fellow Robin;Keep it from all evil spirits,Fairies, weezels, rats, and ferrets:From curfew timeTo the next prime.CARTWRIGHT.IT WAS a brilliant moonlight night, but extremely cold; our chaise...　

"A Death in the Desert"Everett Hilgarde was conscious that the man in the seatacross the aisle was looking at him intently. He was a large,florid man, wore a conspicuous diamond solitaire upon his thirdfinger, and Everett judged him to be a traveling salesman of somesort. He had the air of an adaptable fellow who had been aboutthe world and who could keep cool and clean under almost anycircumstances.The "High Line Flyer," as this train was derisively calledamong railroad men, was jerking along through the hot afternoon...　

Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, V14by Louis Antoine Fauvelet de BourrienneHis Private SecretaryEdited by R. W. PhippsColonel, Late Royal Artillery1891CONTENTS:CHAPTER VII. to CHAPTER X. 1815CHAPTER VII.[By the Editor of the 1836 edition]1815.Napoleon at ParisPolitical manoeuvresThe meeting of the Champ-de-MaiNapoleon, the Liberals, and the moderate ConstitutionalistsHis love of arbitrary power as strong as everParis during theCent JoursPreparations for his last campaignThe Emperor leavesParis to join the armyState of BrusselsProclamation of Napoleon...　

The Perpetuation of Living Beingsby Thomas Henry HuxleyThe inquiry which we undertook, at our last meeting, into the state ofour knowledge of the causes of the phenomena of organic nature,of thepast and of the present,resolved itself into two subsidiaryinquiries: the first was, whether we know anything, either historicallyor experimentally, of the mode of origin of living beings; the secondsubsidiary inquiry was, whether, granting the origin, we know anythingabout the perpetuation and modifications of the forms of organicbeings. The reply which I had to give to the first question was...　

Abraham Lincolnby James Russell LowellTHERE have been many painful crises since the impatient vanity ofSouth Carolina hurried ten prosperous Commonwealths into acrime whose assured retribution was to leave them either at themercy of the nation they had wronged, or of the anarchy they hadsummoned but could not control, when no thoughtful Americanopened his morning paper without dreading to find that he had nolonger a country to love and honor. Whatever the result of theconvulsion whose first shocks were beginning to be felt, there...　

The Ancien Regimeby Charles KingsleyPREFACEThe rules of the Royal Institution forbid (and wisely) religious orpolitical controversy. It was therefore impossible for me in theseLectures, to say much which had to be said, in drawing a just andcomplete picture of the Ancien Regime in France. The passagesinserted between brackets, which bear on religious matters, wereaccordingly not spoken at the Royal Institution.But more. It was impossible for me in these Lectures, to bringforward as fully as I could have wished, the contrast between the...　

The Adventure of the Red CircleThe Adventure of the RedCircleBy Sir Arthur Conan Doyle1- Page 2-The Adventure of the Red CircleOne"Well, Mrs. Warren, I cannot see that you have any particular cause foruneasiness, nor do I understand why I, whose time is of some value,should interfere in the matter. I really have other things to engage me."...　

The Lost HouseThe Lost Houseby Richard Harding Davis1- Page 2-The Lost HouseIIt was a dull day at the chancellery. His Excellency the AmericanAmbassador was absent in Scotland, unveiling a bust to Bobby Burns,paid for by the numerous lovers of that poet in Pittsburg; the FirstSecretary was absent at Aldershot, observing a sham battle; the Military...　

The Registerby William D. HowellsI.SCENE: In an upper chamber of a boarding-house in Melanchthon Place,Boston, a mature, plain young lady, with every appearance ofestablishing herself in the room for the first time, moves about,bestowing little touches of decoration here and there, and talkingwith another young lady, whose voice comes through the open doorwayof an inner room.MISS ETHEL REED, from within: "What in the world are you doing,Nettie?"MISS HENRIETTA SPAULDING: "Oh, sticking up a household god or two.What are you doing?"...　

CHAPTER IWHICH TREATS OF THE CHARACTER AND PURSUITS OF THE FAMOUS GENTLEMANDON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHAIN a village of La Mancha, the name of which I have no desire tocall to mind, there lived not long since one of those gentlemen thatkeep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean hack, and agreyhound for coursing. An olla of rather more beef than mutton, asalad on most nights, scraps on Saturdays, lentils on Fridays, and apigeon or so extra on Sundays, made away with three-quarters of hisincome. The rest of it went in a doublet of fine cloth and velvetbreeches and shoes to match for ho　

Henry Ossian Flipper, The Colored Cadet at West Pointby Henry Ossian FlipperHenry Ossian Flipper, The Colored Cadet at West Point.Autobiography of Lieut. Henry Ossian Flipper, U.S.A., FirstGraduate of Color from the U.S. Military AcademyTOThe Faculty of Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga.,AND TOTHE PRESIDENT IN PARTICULAR,TO WHOSE CAREFULMENTAL AND MORAL TRAINING OF MYSELF IS DUE ALLMY SUCCESS AT THE MILITARY ACADEMYAT WEST POINT, N. Y.,I AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE THIS VOLUME,AS IN SOME SORTA TOKEN OF THAT HEARTFELT GRATITUDE WHICHI SO DEEPLY FEEL, BUT CAN SO...　

1872FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE WILD SWANSby Hans Christian AndersenFAR away in the land to which the swallows fly when it iswinter, dwelt a king who had eleven sons, and one daughter, namedEliza. The eleven brothers were princes, and each went to schoolwith a star on his breast, and a sword by his side. They wrote withdiamond pencils on gold slates, and learnt their lessons so quicklyand read so easily that every one might know they were princes.Their sister Eliza sat on a little stool of plate-glass, and had abook full of pictures, which had cost as much as half a kingdom. Oh,