A LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURYRiverdale-on-the-Hudson, OCTOBER 15, 1902.THE HON. THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, WASHINGTON, D. C.:Sir,Prices for the customary kinds of winter fuel having reachedan altitude which puts them out of the reach of literary persons instraitened circumstances, I desire to place with you the following order:Forty-five tons best old dry government bonds, suitable for furnace,gold 7 per cents., 1864, preferred.Twelve tons early greenbacks, range size, suitable for cooking.Eight barrels seasoned 25 and 50 cent postal currency, vintage of 1866,...
The Spirit of Place and Other EssaysThe Spirit of Place andOther Essaysby Alice Meynell1- Page 2-The Spirit of Place and Other EssaysTHE SPIRIT OF PLACEWith mimicry, with praises, with echoes, or with answers, the poetshave all but outsung the bells. The inarticulate bell has found too muchinterpretation, too many rhymes professing to close with her inaccessible...
TWICE-TOLD TALESTHE CELESTIAL RAILROADby Nathaniel HawthorneNOT A GREAT WHILE AGO, passing through the gate of dreams, Ivisited that region of the earth in which lies the famous city ofDestruction. It interested me much to learn that, by the public spiritof some of the inhabitants, a railroad has recently been establishedbetween this populous and flourishing town, and the Celestial City.Having a little time upon my hands, I resolved to gratify a liberalcuriosity to make a trip thither. Accordingly, one fine morning, after...
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A debt of gratitude to Emily Bestler, Jason Kaufman, Ben Kaplan, and everyone at Pocket Books for their belief in this project. To my friend and agent, Jake Elwell, for his enthusiasm and unflagging effort. To the legendary George Wieser, for convincing me to write novels. To my dear friend Irv Sittler, for facilitating my audience with the Pope, secreting me into parts of Vatican City few ever see, and making my time in Rome unforgettable. To one of the most ingenious and gifted artists alive, John Langdon, who rose brilliantly to my impossible challenge and created the amb
IS SHAKESPEARE DEAD?(from My Autobiography)Scattered here and there through the stacks of unpublishedmanuscript which constitute this formidable Autobiography andDiary of mine, certain chapters will in some distant future befound which deal with "Claimants"claimants historicallynotorious: Satan, Claimant; the Golden Calf, Claimant; theVeiled Prophet of Khorassan, Claimant; Louis XVII., Claimant;William Shakespeare, Claimant; Arthur Orton, Claimant; Mary BakerG. Eddy, Claimantand the rest of them. Eminent Claimants,successful Claimants, defeated Claimants, royal Claimants, pleb...
The Anti-Slavery Crusade, A Chronicle of the Gathering Stormby Jesse MacyCONTENTSI. INTRODUCTIONII. THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE CRUSADEIII. EARLY CRUSADERSIV. THE TURNING-POINTV. THE VINDICATION OF LIBERTYVI. THE SLAVERY ISSUE IN POLITICSVII. THE PASSING OF THE WHIG PARTYVIII. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROADIX. BOOKS AS ANTI-SLAVERY WEAPONSX. "BLEEDING KANSAS"XI. CHARLES SUMNERXII. KANSAS AND BUCHANANXIII. THE SUPREME COURT IN POLITICSXIV. JOHN BROWNBIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTETHE ANTI-SLAVERY CRUSADECHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION The Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln marks the beginning of the end of a long
Aucassin and NicoleteTranslated by Andrew LangINTRODUCTIONThere is nothing in artistic poetry quite akin to "Aucassin andNicolete."By a rare piece of good fortune the one manuscript of the Song-Storyhas escaped those waves of time, which have wrecked the bark ofMenander, and left of Sappho but a few floating fragments. The veryform of the tale is peculiar; we have nothing else from the twelfthor thirteenth century in the alternate prose and verse of the cante-fable. {1} We have fabliaux in verse, and prose Arthurian romances....
THE KREUTZER SONATA.CHAPTER I.Travellers left and entered our car at every stopping of thetrain. Three persons, however, remained, bound, like myself, forthe farthest station: a lady neither young nor pretty, smokingcigarettes, with a thin face, a cap on her head, and wearing asemi-masculine outer garment; then her companion, a veryloquacious gentleman of about forty years, with baggage entirelynew and arranged in an orderly manner; then a gentleman who heldhimself entirely aloof, short in stature, very nervous, ofuncertain age, with bright eyes, not pronounced in color, but...
ClocksClocksby Jerome K. Jerome1- Page 2-ClocksThere are two kinds of clocks. There is the clock that is alwayswrong, and that knows it is wrong, and glories in it; and there is the clockthat is always rightexcept when you rely upon it, and then it is morewrong than you would think a clock _could_ be in a civilized country.I remember a clock of this latter type, that we had in the house when I...
THE YOUNG KING[TO MARGARET LADY BROOKE - THE RANEE OF SARAWAK]It was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and theyoung King was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber. Hiscourtiers had all taken their leave of him, bowing their heads tothe ground, according to the ceremonious usage of the day, and hadretired to the Great Hall of the Palace, to receive a few lastlessons from the Professor of Etiquette; there being some of themwho had still quite natural manners, which in a courtier is, I needhardly say, a very grave offence....
Afternoon of the fourth Monday in January 1977; the Chateau Bronnitsy off the Serpukhov road not far out of Moscow; 2.40 P.M. middle-European time, and a telephone in the temporary Investigation Control Room ringing... ringing... ringing. The Chateau Bronnitsy stood central on open, peaty ground in the middle of a densely wooded tract now white under drifted snow. A house or mansion of debased heritage and mixed architectural antecedents, several recent wings were of modern brick on old stone foundations, while others were cheap breeze blocks camouflaged in grey and green paint. A once-court
BY THE TIME they have finished this book, many readers will be uneasy, frightened, perhaps even horrified. Once entertained, however, they will be tempted to dismiss Night Chills as quickly as they might a novel about demonic possession or reincarnation. Although this story is intended primarily to be a "good read," I cannot stress strongly enough that the basic subject matter is more than merely a fantasy of mine; it is a reality and already a major influence on all our lives. Subliminal and subaudial advertising, carefully planned manipulation of our subconscious minds, became a serious th
The Old Masters: how well they understoodIts human position; how it takes placeWhile someone else is eating or opening a window orMt walking dully along ...W. H. AUDEN, "Musee des Beaux Arts"Old Blue died and he died so hard He shook the ground in my back yard. I dug his grave with a silver spade And I lowered him down with a golden chain. Every link you know I did call his name, I called, "Here, Blue, you good dog, you.FOLK SONG"Nope, nothing wrong here.THE SHARP CEREAL PROFESSORONCE UPON A TIME, not so long ago, a monster came to the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. He killed. a waitress n
Dreams & Dustby Don MarquisTOMY MOTHERVIRGINIA WHITMORE MARQUISCONTENTSPROEMDAYLIGHT HUMORSTHIS IS ANOTHER DAYAPRIL SONGTHE EARTH, IT IS ALSO A STARTHE NAMETHE BIRTHA MOOD OF PAVLOWATHE POOL"THEY HAD NO POET"NEW YORKA HYMNTHE SINGERWORDS ARE NOT GUNSWITH THE SUBMARINESNICHOLAS OF MONTENEGRODICKENSA POLITICIANTHE BAYONETTHE BUTCHERS AT PRAYERSHADOWSHAUNTEDA NIGHTMARETHE MOTHER...