A DREAM OF ARMAGEDDONThe man with the white face entered the carriage at Rugby. Hemoved slowly in spite of the urgency of his porter, and even whilehe was still on the platform I noted how ill he seemed. He droppedinto the corner over against me with a sigh, made an incompleteattempt to arrange his travelling shawl, and became motionless,with his eyes staring vacantly. Presently he was moved by a senseof my observation, looked up at me, and put out a spiritless handfor his newspaper. Then he glanced again in my direction.I feigned to read. I feared I had unwittingly embarrassed...　

A Defence of Poesie and Poemsby Philip SidneyContents:Introduction by Henry MorleyA Defence of PoesiePoemsINTRODUCTIONPhilip Sidney was born at Penshurst, in Kent, on the 29th of November, 1554. His father, Sir Henry Sidney, had married Mary, eldest daughter of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and Philip was the eldest of their family of three sons and four daughters. Edmund Spenser and Walter Raleigh were of like age with Philip Sidney, differing only by about a year, and when Elizabeth became queen, on the 17th of November, 1558, they were children of four or five years old....　

THE COMPARISON OF DION AND BRUTUSby Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenTHERE are noble points in abundance in the characters of these twomen, and one to be first mentioned is their attaining such a height ofgreatness upon such inconsiderable means; and on this score Dion hasby far the advantage. For he had no partner to contest his glory, asBrutus had in Cassius, who was not, indeed, his equal in proved virtueand honour, yet contributed quite as much to the service of the war byhis boldness, skill, and activity; and some there be who impute to him...　

Chronicle of the Conquest of Granadaby Washington IrvingCONTENTS.I..........Of the Kingdom of Granada, and the Tribute which it Paidto the Castilian Crown.II.........Of the Embassy of Don Juan de Vera to Demand Arrears ofTribute from the Moorish Monarch.III........Domestic Feuds in the AlhambraRival SultanasPredictionsconcerning Boabdil, the Heir to the ThroneHowFerdinand Meditates War against Granada, and how heis Anticipated.IV.........Expedition of the Muley Abul Hassan against the Fortress...　

The Life of Charlotte Bronte - Volume 1by Elizabeth Claghorn GaskellCHAPTER IThe Leeds and Skipton railway runs along a deep valley of the Aire; a slow and sluggish stream, compared to the neighbouring river of Wharfe. Keighley station is on this line of railway, about a quarter of a mile from the town of the same name. The number of inhabitants and the importance of Keighley have been very greatly increased during the last twenty years, owing to the rapidly extended market for worsted manufactures, a branch of industry that mainly employs the factory population of this part of Yorkshire, w　

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...　

Meditationsby Marcus AureliusCONTENTSINTRODUCTIONFIRST BOOKSECOND BOOKTHIRD BOOKFOURTH BOOKFIFTH BOOKSIXTH BOOKSEVENTH BOOKEIGHTH BOOKNINTH BOOKTENTH BOOKELEVENTH BOOKTWELFTH BOOKAPPENDIXGLOSSARYMeditationsMarcus AureliusIntroductionMARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS was born on April 26, A.D. 121. His real name was M. Annius Verus, and he was sprung of a noble family which claimed descent from Numa, second King of Rome. Thus the most religious of emperors came of the blood of the most pious of early kings. His father, Annius Verus, had held high office in Rome, and his grandfather, of the same name,　

The Lumley Autographby Susan Fenimore Cooper[Not long since an American author received an application from aGerman correspondent for "a few Autographs"the number of namesapplied for amounting to more than a hundred, and covering severalsheets of foolscap. A few years since an Englishman of literary notesent his Album to a distinguished poet in Paris for his contribution,when the volume was actually stolen from a room where every otherarticle was left untouched; showing that Autographs were morevaluable in the eyes of the thief than any other property. Amused...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE CONCEITED APPLE-BRANCHby Hans Christian AndersenIT was the month of May. The wind still blew cold; but from bushand tree, field and flower, came the welcome sound, "Spring iscome." Wild-flowers in profusion covered the hedges. Under thelittle apple-tree, Spring seemed busy, and told his tale from one ofthe branches which hung fresh and blooming, and covered withdelicate pink blossoms that were just ready to open. The branch wellknew how beautiful it was; this knowledge exists as much in the leaf...　

Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchiefby James Fenimore CoopoerCHAPTER I.Certain moral philosophers, with a due disdain of the flimsy foundationsof human pride, have shown that every man is equally descended from amillion of ancestors, within a given number of generations; therebydemonstrating that no prince exists who does not participate in theblood of some beggar, or any beggar who does not share in the bloodof princes. Although favored by a strictly vegetable descent myself, thelaws of nature have not permitted me to escape from the influence ofthis common rule. The earliest accounts I po　

All For Loveby John DrydenINTRODUCTORY NOTEThe age of Elizabeth, memorable for so many reasons in the history of England, was especially brilliant in literature, and, within literature, in the drama. With some falling off in spontaneity, the impulse to great dramatic production lasted till the Long Parliament closed the theaters in 1642; and when they were reopened at the Restoration, in 1660, the stage only too faithfully reflected the debased moral tone of the court society of Charles II.John Dryden (1631-1700), the great representative figure in the literature of the latter part of the se　

THE DESIRE OF AGESby ELLEN G.WHITEPREFACEIN THE HEARTS OF ALL MANKIND, OF WHATEVER RACE OR STATION IN LIFE, THERE ARE INEXPRESSIBLE LONGINGS FOR SOMETHING THEY DO NOT NOW POSSESS. THIS LONGING IS IMPLANTED IN THE VERY CONSTITUTION OF MAN BY A MERCIFUL GOD, THAT MAN MAY NOT BE SATISFIED WITH HIS PRESENT CONDITIONS OR ATTAINMENTS, WHETHER BAD, OR GOOD, OR BETTER. GOD DESIRES THAT THE HUMAN SHALL SEEK THE BEST, AND FIND IT TO THE ETERNAL BLESSING OF HIS SOUL.SATAN, BY WILY SCHEME AND CRAFT, HAS PERVERTED THESE LONGINGS OF THE HUMAN HEART. HE MAKES MEN BELIEVE THAT THIS DESIRE MAY BE SATISFIED BY　

A LaodiceanA STORY OF TO-DAYby Thomas HardyCONTENTS.PREFACE CHAPTERSBOOK THE FIRST. GEORGE SOMERSET. I - XV.BOOK THE SECOND. DARE AND HAVILL. I - VII.BOOK THE THIRD. DE STANCY. I - XI.BOOK THE FOURTH. SOMERSET, DARE, AND DE STANCY. I - V.BOOK THE FIFTH. DE STANCY AND PAULA. I - XIV.BOOK THE SIXTH. PAULA. I - V.PREFACEThe changing of the old order in country manors and mansionsmay be slow or sudden, may have many issues romantic or...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE DROP OF WATERby Hans Christian AndersenOF course you know what is meant by a magnifying glass- one ofthose round spectacle-glasses that make everything look a hundredtimes bigger than it is? When any one takes one of these and holdsit to his eye, and looks at a drop of water from the pond yonder, hesees above a thousand wonderful creatures that are otherwise neverdiscerned in the water. But there they are, and it is no delusion.It almost looks like a great plateful of spiders jumping about in a...　

THE CALASHThe town of B had become very lively since a cavalry regiment hadtaken up its quarters in it. Up to that date it had been mortallywearisome there. When you happened to pass through the town andglanced at its little mud houses with their incredibly gloomy aspect,the pen refuses to express what you felt. You suffered a terribleuneasiness as if you had just lost all your money at play, or hadcommitted some terrible blunder in company. The plaster covering thehouses, soaked by the rain, had fallen away in many places from theirwalls, which from white had become streaked and spotted, whi　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE SHIRT-COLLARby Hans Christian AndersenTHERE was once a fine gentleman who possessed among other things aboot-jack and a hair-brush; but he had also the finest shirt-collar inthe world, and of this collar we are about to hear a story. The collarhad become so old that he began to think about getting married; andone day he happened to find himself in the same washing-tub as agarter. "Upon my word," said the shirt-collar, "I have never seenanything so slim and delicate, so neat and soft before. May I...