PREFACE OF WILLIAM CAXTONAFTER that I had accomplished and finished divers histories, aswell of contemplation as of other historial and worldly acts ofgreat conquerors and princes, and also certain books of ensamplesand doctrine, many noble and divers gentlemen of this realm ofEngland came and demanded me many and oft times, wherefore that Ihave not do made and imprint the noble history of the SaintGreal, and of the most renowned Christian king, first and chiefof the three best Christian, and worthy, King Arthur, which oughtmost to be remembered among us Englishmen to-fore all other...　

A Waif of the Plainsby Bret HarteCHAPTER IA long level of dull gray that further away became a faint blue,with here and there darker patches that looked like water. Attimes an open space, blackened and burnt in an irregular circle,with a shred of newspaper, an old rag, or broken tin can lying inthe ashes. Beyond these always a low dark line that seemed to sinkinto the ground at night, and rose again in the morning with thefirst light, but never otherwise changed its height and distance.A sense of always moving with some indefinite purpose, but ofalways returning at night to the same placewi　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENBY THE ALMSHOUSE WINDOWby Hans Christian AndersenNEAR the grass-covered rampart which encircles Copenhagen lies agreat red house. Balsams and other flowers greet us from the long rowsof windows in the house, whose interior is sufficientlypoverty-stricken; and poor and old are the people who inhabit it.The building is the Warton Almshouse.Look! at the window there leans an old maid. She plucks thewithered leaf from the balsam, and looks at the grass-covered rampart,...　

Addressesby Henry DrummondIntroductoryI was staying with a party of friends in a country house during myvisit to England in 1884. On Sunday evening as we sat around thefire, they asked me to read and expound some portion of Scripture.Being tired after the services of the day, I told them to ask HenryDrummond, who was one of the party. After some urging he drew asmall Testament from his hip pocket, opened it at the 13th chapterof I Corinthians, and began to speak on the subject of Love.It seemed to me that I had never heard anything so beautiful, and...　

Bird Neighborsby Neltje Blanchan DoubledayBIRD NEIGHBORS. An Introductory Acquaintance With One Hundred and Fifty BirdsCommonly Found in the Gardens, Meadows, and Woods About Our HomesBy NELTJE BLANCHANINTRODUCTION BY JOHN BURROUGHS1897, 1904, 1922TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION BY JOHN BURROUGHSPREFACEI. BIRD FAMILIES: Their Characteristics and theRepresentatives of Each Family included in "BirdNeighbors"II. HABITATS OF BIRDSIII. SEASONS OF BIRDSIV. BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO SIZEV. DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO COLOR...　

　An Unexpected Party　In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means fort.　It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very fortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coa　

The Book of Snobsby William Makepeace ThackerayTHE BOOK OF SNOBSBY ONE OF THEMSELVESPREFATORY REMARKS(The necessity of a work on Snobs, demonstrated fromHistory, and proved by felicitous illustrations: I amthe individual destined to write that workMy vocationis announced in terms of great eloquenceI show that theworld has been gradually preparing itself for the WORKand the MANSnobs are to be studied like other objectsof Natural Science, and are a part of the Beautiful (witha large B). They pervade all classesAffecting instance...　

The Red Badge of CourageThe Red Badge ofCourageAn Episode of the American Civil WarStephen Crane1- Page 2-The Red Badge of CourageCHAPTER I.THE cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogsrevealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting. As the landscapechanged from brown to green, the army awak- ened, and began to tremble...　

There is a NeedDoes school prepare children for the real world? "Study hard and get good grades and you will find a high-paying job with great benefits," my parents used to say. Their goal in life was to provide a college education for my older sister and me, so that we would have the greatest chance for success in life. When T finally earned my diploma in 1976-graduating with honors, and near the top of my class, in accounting from Florida State University-my parents had realized their goal. It was the crowning achievement of their lives. In accordance with the "Master Plan," I was hired by 　

Chapter IV of Volume IIWITH no greater events than these in the Longbourn family, and otherwise diversified by little beyond the walks to Meryton, sometimes dirty and sometimes cold, did January and February pass away. March was to take Elizabeth to Hunsford. She had not at first thought very seriously of going thither; but Charlotte, she soon found, was depending on the plan, and she gradually learned to consider it herself with greater pleasure as well as greater certainty. Absence had increased her desire of seeing Charlotte again, and weakened her disgust of Mr. Collins. There was novelty　

　　July.　Heat.　In the city, they are synonymous, they are identical, they mean one and the same thing. In the 87th Precinct, they strut the streets with a vengeance, these twin bitches who wear their bleached blond hair and their bright-red lipstick slashes, who sway on glittering rhinestone slippers, who flaunt their saffron silk. Heat and July, they are identical twins who were born to make you suffer.　The air is tangible. You can reach out to touch it. It is sticky and clinging, you can wrap it around you like a viscous overcoat. The asphalt in the gutters has turned to gum, and your heels 　

Tarzan and the Jewels of OparTarzan and the Jewels ofOparby Edgar Rice Burroughs1- Page 2-Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar1Belgian and ArabLieutenant Albert Werper had only the prestige of the name he haddishonored to thank for his narrow escape from being cashiered. At first...　

I stood in line, as patient as the other taxpayers, my filled out forms and my cash gripped body in my hand. Cash, money, the old fashioned green folding stuff. A local custom that I intended to make expensive to the local customers. I was scratching under the artificial beard, which itched abominably, when the man before me stepped out of the way and I was at the window. My finger stuck in the glue and I had a job freeing it without pulling the beard off as well."e, e, pass it over," the aging, hatchet-faced, bitter and shrewish female official said, hand extended impatiently."On the contrar　

Curious Republic of Gondourby Mark TwainTHE CURIOUS REPUBLIC OF GONDOUR AND OTHER WHIMSICAL SKETCHESNOTE:Most of the sketches in this volume were taken from a series the authorwrote for The Galaxy from May, 1870, to April, 1871. The rest appearedin The Buffalo Express.TABLE OF CONTENTSTHE CURIOUS REPUBLIC OF GONDOURA MEMORYINTRODUCTORY TO "MEMORANDA".ABOUT SMELTA COUPLE OF SAD EXPERIENCESDAN MURPHYTHE "TOURNAMENT" IN A.D. 1870CURIOUS RELIC FOR SALEA REMINISCENCE OF THE BACK SETTLEMENTSA ROYAL COMPLIMENTTHE APPROACHING EPIDEMIC...　

Madame BovaryBy Gustave FlaubertTranslated from the French by Eleanor Marx-AvelingTo Marie-Antoine-Jules SenardMember of the Paris Bar, Ex-President of the National Assembly,and Former Minister of the InteriorDear and Illustrious Friend,Permit me to inscribe your name at the head of this book, andabove its dedication; for it is to you, before all, that I oweits publication. Reading over your magnificent defence, my workhas acquired for myself, as it were, an unexpected authority.Accept, then, here, the homage of my gratitude, which, how greatsoever it is, will never attain the height of your 　

How To Tell Stories To Children And Some Stories To Tellby Sara Cone BryantTo My MotherTHE FIRST, BEST STORY-TELLERTHIS LITTLE BOOK ISDEDICATEDPREFACEThe stories which are given in the followingpages are for the most part those which I havefound to be best liked by the children to whomI have told these and others. I have tried toreproduce the form in which I actually tellthem,although that inevitably varies withevery repetition,feeling that it would be ofgreater value to another story-teller than a...