FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE FLAXby Hans Christian AndersenTHE flax was in full bloom; it had pretty little blue flowers asdelicate as the wings of a moth, or even more so. The sun shone, andthe showers watered it; and this was just as good for the flax as itis for little children to be washed and then kissed by their mother.They look much prettier for it, and so did the flax."People say that I look exceedingly well," said the flax, "andthat I am so fine and long that I shall make a beautiful piece of...　

The Essays of Montaigne, V3by Michel de MontaigneTranslated by Charles CottonEdited by William Carew Hazilitt1877CONTENTS OF VOLUME 3.XIII. The ceremony of the interview of princes.XIV. That men are justly punished for being obstinate in the defenceof a fort that is not in reason to be defendedXV. Of the punishment of cowardice.XVI. A proceeding of some ambassadors.XVII. Of fear.XVIII. That men are not to judge of our happiness till after death.XIX. That to study philosophy is to learn to die....　

50 Bab Balladsby W. S. GilbertPREFACE.THE "BAB BALLADS" appeared originally in the columns of "FUN,"when that periodical was under the editorship of the late TOM HOOD.They were subsequently republished in two volumes, one called "THEBAB BALLADS," the other "MORE BAB BALLADS." The period duringwhich they were written extended over some three or four years;many, however, were composed hastily, and under the discomfortingnecessity of having to turn out a quantity of lively verse by acertain day in every week. As it seemed to me (and to others) that...　

The Mysterious Strangerby Mark TwainCONTENTS:THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGERA FABLEHUNTING THE DECEITFUL TURKEYTHE McWILLIAMSES AND THE BURGLAR ALARMTHE MYSTERIOUS STRANGERChapter 1It was in 1590winter. Austria was far away from the world, and asleep;it was still the Middle Ages in Austria, and promised to remain soforever. Some even set it away back centuries upon centuries and saidthat by the mental and spiritual clock it was still the Age of Belief inAustria. But they meant it as a compliment, not a slur, and it was sotaken, and we were all proud of it. I remember it well, although I was...　

MINNIKINTHERE was once upon a time a couple of needy folk who livedin a wretched hut, in which there was nothing but black want;so they had neither food to eat nor wood to burn. But if they hadnext to nothing of all else they had the blessing of God so far aschildren were concerned, and every year brought them one more.The man was not overpleased at this. He was always going aboutgrumbling and growling, and saying that it seemed to him thatthere might be such a thing as having too many of these goodgifts; so shortly before another baby was born he went away into...　

The White Mollby Frank L. PackardCONTENTSCHAPTERI. NIGHT IN THE UNDERWORLDII. SEVEN-THREE-NINEIII. ALIAS GYPSY NANIV. THE ADVENTURERV. A SECOND VISITORVI. THE RENDEZVOUSVII. FELLOW THIEVESVIII. THE CODE MESSAGEIX. ROOM NUMBER ELEVENX. ON THE BRINKXI. SOME OF THE LESSER BREEDXII. CROOKS vs. CROOKSXIII. THE DOOR ACROSS THE HALLXIV. THE LAME MANXV. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERXVI. THE SECRET PANEL...　

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　

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglassAn American SlaveNARRATIVEOF THELIFEOFFREDERICK DOUGLASS,ANAMERICAN SLAVE.-WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.-BOSTONPUBLISHED AT THE ANTI-SLAVERY OFFICE,...　

The Evolution of Theology: An Anthropological Studyby Thomas Henry HuxleyI conceive that the origin, the growth, the decline, and thefall of those speculations respecting the existence, the powers,and the dispositions of beings analogous to men, but more orless devoid of corporeal qualities, which may be broadlyincluded under the head of theology, are phenomena the study ofwhich legitimately falls within the province of theanthropologist. And it is purely as a question of anthropology(a department of biology to which, at various times, I have...　

BENITO CERENOby Herman MelvilleIN THE year 1799, Captain Amasa Delano, of Duxbury, in Massachusetts, commanding a large sealer and general trader, lay at anchor, with a valuable cargo, in the harbour of St. Maria- a small, desert, uninhabited island towards the southern extremity of the long coast of Chili. There he had touched for water. On the second day, not long after dawn, while lying in his berth, his mate came below, informing him that a strange sail was coming into the bay. Ships were then not so plenty in those waters as now. He rose, dressed, and went on deck. The morning wa　

ROUND THE MOONby JULES VERNEA SEQUEL TOFROM THE EARTH TO THE MOONPRELIMINARY CHAPTERTHE FIRST PART OF THIS WORK, AND SERVING AS A PREFACE TO THE SECONDDuring the year 186-, the whole world was greatly excited by ascientific experiment unprecedented in the annals of science.The members of the Gun Club, a circle of artillerymen formed atBaltimore after the American war, conceived the idea ofputting themselves in communication with the moon! yes, withthe moon by sending to her a projectile. Their president,Barbicane, the promoter of the enterprise, having consulted the...　

　　It was hot. The shallow place where I lay atop the desert ridge was like an oven, the rocks like burning coals. Out on the flat below, where the Apaches waited, the heat waves shimmered and danced. Only the far-off mountains looked cool.　When I tried to push out my tongue to touch my cracked lips it was like a dry stick in my mouth, and the dark splashes on the rock were blood ... my blood.　The round thing lying yonder with a bullet hole in it was my canteen, but there might be a smidgen of water left in the bottom - enough to keep me alive if I could get to it.　Down on the flat lay my sorr　

Hieroby XenophonTranslation by H. G. DakynsXenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was apupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans,and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him landand property in Scillus, where he lived for manyyears before having to move once more, to settlein Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.The Hiero is an imaginary dialogue, c. 474 B.C.,between Simonides of Ceos, the poet; and Hieron,of Syracuse and Gela, the despot....　

THE SKETCH BOOKA ROYAL POETby Washington IrvingThough your body be confined,And soft love a prisoner bound,Yet the beauty of your mindNeither check nor chain hath found.Look out nobly, then, and dareEven the fetters that you wear.FLETCHER.ON A soft sunny morning in the genial month of May, I made anexcursion to Windsor Castle. It is a place full of storied and...　

ConclusionTo the sick the doctors wisely recommend a change of air andscenery. Thank Heaven, here is not all the world. The buckeye doesnot grow in New England, and the mockingbird is rarely heard here.The wild goose is more of a cosmopolite than we; he breaks his fastin Canada, takes a luncheon in the Ohio, and plumes himself for thenight in a southern bayou. Even the bison, to some extent, keepspace with the seasons cropping the pastures of the Colorado onlytill a greener and sweeter grass awaits him by the Yellowstone. Yet...　

360 BCSTATESMANby Platotranslated by Benjamin JowettSTATESMANPERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: THEODORUS; SOCRATES; THE ELEATICSTRANGER; THE YOUNGER SOCRATESSocrates. I owe you many thanks, indeed, Theodorus, for theacquaintance both of Theaetetus and of the Stranger.Theodorus. And in a little while, Socrates, you will owe me threetimes as many, when they have completed for you thedelineation of theStatesman and of the Philosopher, as well as of the Sophist....