had nothing left but his mill and a large apple-tree behindit. Once when he had gone into the forest to fetch wood, anold man stepped up to him whom he had never seen before, andsaid, why do you plague yourself with cutting wood, I willmake you rich, if you will promise me what is standing behindyour mill. What can that be but my apple-tree, thought themiller, and said, yes, and gave a written promise to thestranger. He, however, laughed mockingly and said, when threeyears have passed, I will come and carry away what belongs to me,and then he went. When the miller got home, his wife came 　

Maitre Corneliusby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo Monsieur le Comte Georges Mniszech:Some envious being may think on seeing this page illustrated byone of the most illustrious of Sarmatian names, that I amstriving, as the goldsmiths do, to enhance a modern work with anancient jewel,a fancy of the fashions of the day,but you and afew others, dear count, will know that I am only seeking to pay mydebt to Talent, Memory, and Friendship.MAITRE CORNELIUS...　

ENDYMION: A POETIC ROMANCEby John KeatsPREFACE"The stretched metre of an antique song"INSCRIBED TO THE MEMORY OF THOMAS CHATTERTONPREFACEKNOWING within myself the manner in which this Poem has beenproduced, it is not without a feeling of regret that I make it public.What manner I mean, will be quite clear to the reader, who must soonperceive great inexperience, immaturity, and every error denoting afeverish attempt, rather than a deed accomplished. The two first...　

Castle Rackrentby Maria EdgeworthWith an Introduction by Anne Thackeray RitchieINTRODUCTIONIThe story of the Edgeworth Family, if it were properly told, should be as long as the ARABIAN NIGHTS themselves; the thousand and one cheerful intelligent members of the circle, the amusing friends and relations, the charming surroundings, the cheerful hospitable home, all go to make up an almost unique history of a county family of great parts and no little character. The Edgeworths were people of good means and position, and their rental, we are told, amounted to nearly L3000 a year. At one time th　

Falkby Joseph ConradA REMINISCENCESeveral of us, all more or less connected with thesea, were dining in a small river-hostelry not morethan thirty miles from London, and less than twentyfrom that shallow and dangerous puddle to whichour coasting men give the grandiose name of "Ger-man Ocean." And through the wide windows wehad a view of the Thames; an enfilading view downthe Lower Hope Reach. But the dinner was exe-crable, and all the feast was for the eyes.That flavour of salt-water which for so many ofus had been the very water of life permeated our...　

ARTAXERXES437-359 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenTHE first Artaxerxes, among all the kings of Persia the mostremarkable for a gentle and noble spirit, was surnamed theLong-handed, his right hand being longer than his left, and was theson of Xerxes. The second, whose story I am now writing, who had thesurname of the Mindful, was the grandson of the former, by hisdaughter Parysatis, who brought Darius four sons, the eldestArtaxerxes, the next Cyrus, and two younger than these, Ostanes and...　

VOLUME ICHAPTER ILord Angelo is precise; Stands at a guard with envy; Scarce confesses That his blood flows, or that his appetite Is more to bread than stone. Measure for Measure.Scarcely had the Abbey Bell tolled for five minutes,and already was the Church of the Capuchins thronged with Auditors. Do not encourage the idea that the Crowd was assembled either from motives of piety or thirst of information. But very few were influenced by those reasons; and in a city where superstition reigns with such despotic sway as in Madrid, to seek for true devotion would be　

THE GOOSE-GIRLONCE upon a time an old queen, whose husband hadbeen dead for many years, had a beautiful daughter.When she grew up she was betrothed to a prince who liveda great way off. Now, when the time drew near for herto be married and to depart into a foreign kingdom, herold mother gave her much costly baggage, and manyornaments, gold and silver, trinkets and knicknacks, and,in fact, everything that belonged to a royal trousseau, forshe loved her daughter very dearly. She gave her a waiting-maid also, who was to ride with her and hand her over...　

　　　　 Red Nails　　 Jewels of Gwahlur　　 Beyond the Black River　　　　RED NAILS　　　　　　For some two years, as captain of the Wastrel, Conan continues a highly successful career as a freebooter. However, the other Zingaran pirates, jealous of the outlander in their midst, at last bring him down off the coast of Shem. Escaping inland and hearing that wars are in the offing along the borders of Stygia, Conan joins the Free panions, a band of condottieri under the mand of one Zarallo. Instead of rich plunder, however, he finds himself engaged in uneventful guard duty in the border post of Sukhmet, on the 　

Rosamund, Queen of the Lombardsby Algernon Charles SwinburnePERSONS REPRESENTEDALBOVINE, King of the Lombards.ALMACHILDES, a young Lombard warrior.NARSETES, an old leader and counsellor.ROSAMUND, Queen of the LombardsHILDEGARD, a noble Lombard maiden.SCENE, VERONATime, June 573ACT IA hall in the Palace: a curtain drawn midway across it.Enter ALBOVINE and NARSETES.ALBOVINE.This is no matter of the wars: in warThy king, old friend, is less than king of thine,And comrade less than follower. Hast thou lovedEverloved woman, not as chance may love,...　

The Lake Gunby James Fenimore CooperThe Seneca is remarkable for its "Wandering Jew," and the"Lake Gun." The first is a tree so balanced that when itsroots are clear of the bottom it floats with its broken andpointed trunk a few feet above the surface of the water,driving before the winds, or following in the course of thecurrents. At times, the "Wandering Jew" is seen offJefferson, near the head of this beautiful sheet; and next itwill appear anchored, as it might be, in the shallow waternear the outlet.{"Wandering Jew" = The medieval legend of Ahasueras,...　

David Hume1742OF ESSAY WRITINGThe elegant part of mankind, who are not immersed in theanimal life, but employ themselves in the operations of the mind,may be divided into the and . The learned...　

Erewhon Revisitedby Samuel ButlerErewhon Revisited Twenty Years Later Both by the OriginalDiscoverer of the Country and by his Son.I forget when, but not very long after I had published "Erewhon" in1872, it occurred to me to ask myself what course events in Erewhonwould probably take after Mr. Higgs, as I suppose I may now callhim, had made his escape in the balloon with Arowhena. Given apeople in the conditions supposed to exist in Erewhon, and giventhe apparently miraculous ascent of a remarkable stranger into theheavens with an earthly bridewhat would be the effect on the...　

Lizzie Leighby Elizabeth GaskellCHAPTER I.When Death is present in a household on a Christmas Day, the verycontrast between the time as it now is, and the day as it has oftenbeen, gives a poignancy to sorrowa more utter blankness to thedesolation. James Leigh died just as the far-away bells of RochdaleChurch were ringing for morning service on Christmas Day, 1836. Afew minutes before his death, he opened his already glazing eyes, andmade a sign to his wife, by the faint motion of his lips, that he hadyet something to say. She stooped close down, and caught the broken...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENHOLGER DANSKEby Hans Christian AndersenIN Denmark there stands an old castle named Kronenburg, close bythe Sound of Elsinore, where large ships, both English, Russian, andPrussian, pass by hundreds every day. And they salute the old castlewith cannons, "Boom, boom," which is as if they said, "Good-day."And the cannons of the old castle answer "Boom," which means "Manythanks." In winter no ships sail by, for the whole Sound is coveredwith ice as far as the Swedish coast, and has quite the appearance...　

War of the Classesby Jack LondonContents:PrefaceThe Class StruggleThe TrampThe ScabThe Question of the MaximumA ReviewWanted: A New Land of DevelopmentHow I Became a SocialistPREFACEWhen I was a youngster I was looked upon as a weird sort ofcreature, because, forsooth, I was a socialist. Reporters fromlocal papers interviewed me, and the interviews, when published,were pathological studies of a strange and abnormal specimen of man.At that time (nine or ten years ago), because I made a stand in my...