Historical Lecturers and Essaysby Charles KingsleyContents:The First Discovery of AmericaCyrus, Servant of the LordAncient CivilisationRondeletVesaliusParacelsusBuchananTHE FIRST DISCOVERY OF AMERICALet me begin this lecture {1} with a scene in the North Atlantic 863years since."Bjarne Grimolfson was blown with his ship into the Irish Ocean; andthere came worms and the ship began to sink under them. They had a...　

The Black Death and The Dancing Maniaby J. F. C. Hecker (translated by B. G. Babington)INTRODUCTIONJustus Friedrich Karl Hecker was one of three generations of distinguished professors of medicine. His father, August Friedrich Hecker, a most industrious writer, first practised as a physician in Frankenhausen, and in 1790 was appointed Professor of Medicine at the University of Erfurt. In 1805 he was called to the like professorship at the University of Berlin. He died at Berlin in 1811.Justus Friedrich Karl Hecker was born at Erfurt in January, 1795. He went, of coursebeing then ten years 　

Fanny and the Servant Problemby Jerome K. JeromeTHE CHARACTERSFannyHer Husband, Vernon Wetherell, Lord BantockHer Butler, Martin BennetHer Housekeeper, Susannah BennetHer Maid, Jane BennetHer Second Footman, Ernest BennetHer Still-room Maid, Honoria BennetHer Aunts by marriage, the Misses WetherellHer Local Medical Man, Dr. FreemantleHer quondam Companions, "Our Empire":EnglandScotlandIrelandWalesCanadaAustraliaNew ZealandAfricaIndiaNewfoundlandMalay ArchipelagoStraits SettlementsHer former Business Manager, George P. Newte...　

TIBERIUS GRACCHUSHaving completed the first two narratives, we now may proceedto take a view of misfortunes, not less remarkable, in theRoman couple, and with the lives of Agis and Cleomenes,compare these of Tiberius and Caius. They were the sons ofTiberius Gracchus, who, though he had been once censor, twiceconsul, and twice had triumphed, yet was more renowned andesteemed for his virtue than his honors. Upon this account,after the death of Scipio who overthrew Hannibal, he wasthought worthy to match with his daughter Cornelia, thoughthere had been no friendship or familiarity between Scip　

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hoodby Howard PylePREFACEFROM THE AUTHOR TO THE READERYou who so plod amid serious things that you feel it shame to give yourself up even for a few short moments to mirth and joyousness in the land of Fancy; you who think that life hath nought to do with innocent laughter that can harm no one; these pages are not for you. Clap to the leaves and go no farther than this, for I tell you plainly that if you go farther you will be scandalized by seeing good, sober folks of real history so frisk and caper in gay colors and motley that you would not know them but for th　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE LOVELIEST ROSE IN THE WORLDby Hans Christian AndersenTHERE lived once a great queen, in whose garden were found atall seasons the most splendid flowers, and from every land in theworld. She specially loved roses, and therefore she possessed the mostbeautiful varieties of this flower, from the wild hedge-rose, with itsapple-scented leaves, to the splendid Provence rose. They grew nearthe shelter of the walls, wound themselves round columns andwindow-frames, crept along passages and over the ceilings of the...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE ELFIN HILLby Hans Christian AndersenA FEW large lizards were running nimbly about in the clefts ofan old tree; they could understand one another very well, for theyspoke the lizard language."What a buzzing and a rumbling there is in the elfin hill," saidone of the lizards; "I have not been able to close my eyes for twonights on account of the noise; I might just as well have had thetoothache, for that always keeps me awake.""There is something going on within there," said the other lizard;...　

La Constantinby Alexandre Dumas, PereCHAPTER IBefore beginning our story, we must warn the reader that it will not be worth his while to make researches among contemporary or other records as to the personage whose name it bears. For in truth neither Marie Leroux, widow of Jacques Constantin, nor her accomplice, Claude Perregaud, was of sufficient importance to find a place on any list of great criminals, although it is certain that they were guilty of the crimes with which they were charged. It may seem strange that what follows is more a history of the retribution which overtook the crimi　

Rhymes a la Modeby Andrew LangBALLADE DEDICATORYTO MRS. ELTON OF WHITE STAUNTONThe painted Briton built his mound,And left his celts and clay,On yon fair slope of sunlit groundThat fronts your garden gay;The Roman came, he bore the sway,He bullied, bought, and sold,Your fountain sweeps his works awayBeside your manor old!But still his crumbling urns are foundWithin the window-bay,Where once he listened to the soundThat lulls you day by day; -The sound of summer winds at play,The noise of waters coldTo Yarty wandering on their way,...　

BOOK II: OF THEIR MAGISTRATESTHIRTY families choose every year a magistrate, who was ancientlycalled the syphogrant, but is now called the philarch; and overevery ten syphogrants, with the families subject to them, there isanother magistrate, who was anciently called the tranibor, but oflate the archphilarch. All the syphogrants, who are in number 200,choose the Prince out of a list of four, who are named by thepeople of the four divisions of the city; but they take an oathbefore they proceed to an election, that they will choose him whom...　

daughters, one ugly and wicked, and this one she loved because shewas her own daughter, and one beautiful and good, and this one shehated, because she was her step-daughter. The step-daughter once hada pretty apron, which the other fancied so much that she becameenvious, and told her mother that she must and would have that apron.Be quiet, my child, said the old woman, and you shall have it. Yourstep-sister has long deserved death, to-night when she is asleep Iwill come and cut her head off. Only be careful that you are at thefar-side of the bed, and push her well to the front. It would ha　

The Relics of General Chasseby Anthony TrollopeThat Belgium is now one of the European kingdoms, living by its ownlaws, resting on its own bottom, with a king and court, palaces andparliament of its own, is known to all the world. And a very nicelittle kingdom it is; full of old towns, fine Flemish pictures, andinteresting Gothic churches. But in the memory of very many of uswho do not think ourselves old men, Belgium, as it is now calledinthose days it used to be Flanders and Brabantwas a part ofHolland; and it obtained its own independence by a revolution. In...　

FINALE.Every limit is a beginning as well as an ending. Who can quit younglives after being long in company with them, and not desire to knowwhat befell them in their after-years? For the fragment of a life,however typical, is not the sample of an even web: promises maynot be kept, and an ardent outset may be followed by declension;latent powers may find their long-waited opportunity; a past errormay urge a grand retrieval.Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives,is still a great beginning, as it was to Adam and Eve, who kept...　

Arizona Nightsby Stewart Edward WhiteCHAPTER ONETHE OLE VIRGINIAThe ring around the sun had thickened all day long, and theturquoise blue of the Arizona sky had filmed. Storms in the drycountries are infrequent, but heavy; and this surely meant storm.We had ridden since sun-up over broad mesas, down and out ofdeep canons, along the base of the mountain in the wildestparts of the territory. The cattle were winding leisurely towardthe high country; the jack rabbits had disappeared; the quaillacked; we did not see a single antelope in the open....　

The Blue Flowerby Henry van DykeThe desire of the moth for the star,Of the night for the morrow,The devotion for something afarFrom the sphere of our sorrow.SHELLEY.ToTHE DEAR MEMORY OFBERNARD VAN DYKE1887-1897AND THE LOVE THAT LIVESBEYOND THE YEARSPREFACESometimes short stories are brought together like parcels ina basket. Sometimes they grow together like blossoms on abush. Then, of course, they really belong to one another,because they have the same life in them.The stories in this book have been growing together for a...　

Labour Defended against the Claims of CapitalOr the Unproductiveness of Capital proved with Reference to thePresent Combinations amongst Journeymenby Thomas Hodgskin1825NOTEIN all the debates on the law passed during the late session ofParliament, on account of the combinations of workmen, muchstress is laid on the necessity of protecting capital. Whatcapital performs is therefore a question of considerableimportance, which the author was, on this account, induced toexamine. As a result of this examination, it is his opinion thatall the benefits attributed to capital arise from co-existing an