THE FROZEN DEEPby Wilkie CollinsFirst SceneThe Ball-roomChapter 1.The date is between twenty and thirty years ago. The place is anEnglish sea-port. The time is night. And the business of themoment isdancing.The Mayor and Corporation of the town are giving a grand ball, incelebration of the departure of an Arctic expedition from theirport. The ships of the expedition are two in numberthe_Wanderer_ and the _Sea-mew_. They are to sail (in search of theNorthwest Passage) on the next day, with the morning tide.Honor to the Mayor and Corporation! It is a brilliant ball. The...　

Of Taxesby David HumeThere is a prevailing maxim, among some reasoners, that everynew tax creates a new ability in the subject to bear it, and thateach encrease of public burdens encreases proportionably theindustry of the people. This maxim is of such a nature as is mostlikely to be abused; and is so much the more dangerous, as itstruth cannot be altogether denied: but it must be owned, whenkept within certain bounds, to have some foundation in reason andexperience.When a tax is laid upon commodities, which are consumed bythe common people, the necessary consequence may seem to be,...　

The Book of Teaby Kakuzo OkakuraI. The Cup of HumanityTea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticismTeaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possib　

OF TRAGEDYDavid Hume1757It seems an unaccountable pleasure, which the spectators ofa well-written tragedy receive from sorrow, terror, anxiety, andother passions, that are in themselves disagreeable and uneasy.The more they are touched and affected, the more are they...　

Of Interestby David HumeNothing is esteemed a more certain sign of the flourishingcondition of any nation than the lowness of interest: And with reason;though I believe the cause is somewhat different from what is commonlyapprehended. Lowness of interest is generally ascribed to plenty ofmoney. But money, however plentiful, has no other effect, if fixed,than to raise the price of labour. Silver is more common than gold;and therefore you receive a greater quantity of it for the samecommodities. But do you pay less interest for it? Interest in BATAVIAand JAMAICA is at 10 per cent. in PORTUGAL a　

ROUND THE RED LAMPROUND THE REDLAMPBy SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE1- Page 2-ROUND THE RED LAMPTHE PREFACE.I quite recognise the force of your objection that an invalid or awoman in weak health would get no good from stories which attempt totreat some features of medical life with a certain amount of realism. Ifyou deal with this life at all, however, and if you are anxious to make your...　

John Bull on the Guadalquivirby Anthony TrollopeI am an Englishman, living, as all Englishman should do, in England,and my wife would not, I think, be well pleased were any one toinsinuate that she were other than an Englishwoman; but in thecircumstances of my marriage I became connected with the south ofSpain, and the narrative which I am to tell requires that I shouldrefer to some of those details.The Pomfrets and Daguilars have long been in trade together in thiscountry, and one of the partners has usually resided at Seville forthe sake of the works which the firm there possesses. My fath　

The Red Sealby Natalie Sumner LincolnCHAPTER IIN THE POLICE COURTTe Assistant District Attorney glanced down at the papers in his hand and then up at the well-dressed, stockily built man occupying the witness stand. His manner was conciliatory."According to your testimony, Mr. Clymer, the prisoner, John Sylvester, was honest and reliable, and faithfully performed his duties as confidential clerk," he stated. "Just when was Sylvester in your employ?""Sylvester was never in my employ," corrected Benjamin Augustus Clymer. The president of the Metropolis Trust Company was noted for his precis　

The Ruby of KishmoorBy Howard PyleCONTENTSPrologueI. Jonathan RuggII. The Mysterious Lady with the Silver VeilIII. The Terrific Encounter with the One-eyed Little Gentleman inBlackIV. The Momentous Adventure with the Stranger with the SilverEar-ringsV. The Unexpected Encounter with the Sea-captain with theBroken NoseVI. The Conclusion of the Adventure with the Lady with theSilver VeilEpiloguePrologueA very famous pirate of his day was Captain Robertson Keitt.Before embarking upon his later career of infamy, he was, in the...　

THE LUTE PLAYEROnce upon a time there was a king and queen who lived happily andcomfortably together. They were very fond of each other and hadnothing to worry them, but at last the king grew restless. Helonged to go out into the world, to try his strength in battleagainst some enemy and to win all kinds of honour and glory.So he called his army together and gave orders to start for adistant country where a heathen king ruled who ill-treated ortormented everyone he could lay his hands on. The king then gavehis parting orders and wise advice to his ministers, took a...　

THE MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS AND SPEECHES OF LORD MACAULAY.THEMISCELLANEOUSWRITINGS ANDSPEECHES OF LORDMACAULAY.VOLUME III.LORD MACAULAY.1- Page 2-THE MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS AND SPEECHES OF LORD MACAULAY.CONTENTS.CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA.Francis Atterbury. (December 1853)John Bunyan. (May 1854)...　

Michael, Brother of Jerryby Jack LondonFOREWORDVery early in my life, possibly because of the insatiable curiosity that was born in me, I came to dislike the performances of trained animals. It was my curiosity that spoiled for me this form of amusement, for I was led to seek behind the performance in order to learn how the performance was achieved. And what I found behind the brave show and glitter of performance was not nice. It was a body of cruelty so horrible that I am confident no normal person exists who, once aware of it, could ever enjoy looking on at any trained-animal turn....　

THE LOST CONTINENTTHE LOSTCONTINENTEdgar Rice Burroughs1- Page 2-THE LOST CONTINENT1Since earliest childhood I have been strangely fascinated by themystery surrounding the history of the last days of twentieth centuryEurope. My interest is keenest, perhaps, not so much in relation to...　

Desperate Remediesby Thomas HardyCONTENTSPREFATORY NOTEI. THE EVENTS OF THIRTY YEARSII. THE EVENTS OF A FORTNIGHTIII. THE EVENTS OF EIGHT DAYSIV. THE EVENTS OF ONE DAYV. THE EVENTS OF ONE DAYVI. THE EVENTS OF TWELVE HOURSVII. THE EVENTS OF EIGHTEEN DAYSVIII. THE EVENTS OF EIGHTEEN DAYSIX. THE EVENTS OF TEN WEEKSX. THE EVENTS OF A DAY AND NIGHTXI. THE EVENTS OF FIVE DAYSXII. THE EVENTS OF TEN MONTHSXIII. THE EVENTS OF ONE DAYXIV. THE EVENTS OF FIVE WEEKSXV. THE EVENTS OF THREE WEEKSXVI. THE EVENTS OF ONE WEEK...　

SanditonJane Austen- Page 2-ELECBOOK CLASSICSebc0050. Jane Austen: SanditonThis file is free for individual use only. It must not be altered or resold.Organisations wishing to use it must first obtain a licence.Low cost licenses are available. Contact us through our web site(C) The Electric Book Co 1998The Electric Book Company Ltd20 Cambridge Drive, London SE12 8AJ, UKwww.elecbook...　

THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDERA ROMANCE OF THE EARLY SETTLERS IN THE OHIO VALLEYBY ZANE GREY1906To my brotherWith many fond recollections of days spent in the solitude of the forestswhere only can be satisfied that wild fever of freedom of which this booktells; where to hear the whirr of a wild duck in his rapid flight is joy;where the quiet of an autumn afternoon swells the heart, and where one maywatch the fragrant wood-smoke curl from the campfire, and see the starspeepover dark, wooded hills as twilight deepens, and know a happiness that dwells...