ALEXANDER356-323 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenIT being my purpose to write the lives of Alexander the king, and of Caesar, by whom Pompey was destroyed, the multitude of their great actions affords so large a field that I were to blame if I should not by way of apology forewarn my reader that I have chosen rather to epitomize the most celebrated parts of their story, than to insist at large on every particular circumstance of it. It must be borne in mind that my design is not to write histories, but lives. And the most glorious exploits do not alw
The Man Who Knew Too Muchby Gilbert K. ChestertonCONTENTSTHE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH:I. THE FACE IN THE TARGETII. THE VANISHING PRINCEIII. THE SOUL OF THE SCHOOLBOYIV. THE BOTTOMLESS WELLV. THE FAD OF THE FISHERMANVI. THE HOLE IN THE WALLVII. THE TEMPLE OF SILENCEVIII. THE VENGEANCE OF THE STATUETHE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCHI. THE FACE IN THE TARGETHarold March, the rising reviewer and social critic, was walking vigorously across a great tableland of moors and commons, the horizon of which was fringed with the far-off woods of the famous estate of Torwood Park. He was a good-looking young man in t
The Sorrows of Young Wertherby J.W. von GoetheTranslated by Thomas Carlyle and R.D. BoylanPREFACEI have carefully collected whatever I have been able to learn ofthe story of poor Werther, and here present it to you, knowingthat you will thank me for it. To his spirit and character youcannot refuse your admiration and love: to his fate you will notdeny your tears.And thou, good soul, who sufferest the same distress as he enduredonce, draw comfort from his sorrows; and let this little book bethy friend, if, owing to fortune or through thine own fault, thou...
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...
THE BOYS WITH THE GOLDEN STARSOnce upon a time what happened did happen: and if it had nothappened, you would never have heard this story.Well, once upon a time there lived an emperor who had half aworld all to himself to rule over, and in this world dwelt an oldherd and his wife and their three daughters, Anna, Stana, andLaptitza.Anna, the eldest, was so beautiful that when she took the sheepto pasture they forgot to eat as long as she was walking withthem. Stana, the second, was so beautiful that when she wasdriving the flock the wolves protected the sheep. But Laptitza,...
The Bab BalladsThe Bab BalladsW. S. Gilbert1- Page 2-The Bab BalladsBallad: Captain ReeceOf all the ships upon the blue, No ship contained a better crew Thanthat of worthy CAPTAIN REECE, Commanding of THEMANTELPIECE.He was adored by all his men, For worthy CAPTAIN REECE, R.N.,Did all that lay within him to Promote the comfort of his crew....
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE BUCKWHEATby Hans Christian AndersenVERY often, after a violent thunder-storm, a field of buckwheatappears blackened and singed, as if a flame of fire had passed overit. The country people say that this appearance is caused bylightning; but I will tell you what the sparrow says, and thesparrow heard it from an old willow-tree which grew near a field ofbuckwheat, and is there still. It is a large venerable tree, thougha little crippled by age. The trunk has been split, and out of the...
old, and lost all his teeth, so that he could no longer hold onto anything. One day the farmer was standing with his wife beforethe house-door, and said, to-morrow I intend to shoot old sultan,he is no longer of any use.His wife, who felt pity for the faithful beast, answered, he hasserved us so long, and been so faithful, that we might well givehim his keep.What, said the man, you are not very bright. He has not a toothleft in his head, and not a thief is afraid of him, now he cango. If he has served us, he has had good feeding for it.The poor dog, who was lying stretched out in the sun n
Down the Mother Lode - Pioneer Tales of CaliforniaBy Vivia HemphillForewordSo many inquiries have been made as to exactly where, and what is the "Mother Lode"!The geologist and the historian agree as to its location and composition, but the old miners and "sojourners" of the vanished golden era give strangely different versions of it. Some of these are here set down, if not all for your enlightenment at least, I hope, for your entertainment.That is, after all, the principal aim of these tales of the old days in California, that are gone "for good." Mark Twain says in his preface to "Roughing
A Book of Scoundrelsby Charles WhibleyTo the Greeks FOOLISHNESSCONTENTSINTRODUCTIONCAPTAIN HINDMOLL CUTPURSE AND JONATHAN WILDI. MOLL CUTPURSEII. JONATHAN WILDIII. A PARALLELRALPH BRISCOEGILDEROY AND SIXTEEN-STRING JACKI. GILDEROYII. SIXTEEN-STRING JACKIII. A PARALLELTHOMAS PURENEYSHEPPARD AND CARTOUCHEI. JACK SHEPPARDII. LOUIS-DOMINIQUE CARTOUCHEIII. A PARALLELVAUXGEORGE BARRINGTONTHE SWITCHER AND GENTLEMAN HARRYI. THE SWITCHERII. GENTLEMAN HARRY...
A MATTER OF MILLIONS THE Clipper smacked the blue of Biscayne Bay and settled into a lazy squat, from which it taxied toward a landing. An audible sigh of relief came from the roped-off crowd that lined the shore of Dinner Key. Little wonder that the sigh was heard, for the throng was immense. Seldom did the population of Miami, citizen and tourist, assemble en masse at the Marine Airways Base to witness the arrival of a Clipper plane. But the winged ship just in from the Caribbean was worthy of a huge turnout. Not only because its passengers were something of celebrities, but because of
Prologue Darkness had descended on Manassas, Virginia, the countryside alive with nocturnal undercurrents, as Bourne crept through the woods bordering the estate of General Norman Swayne. Startled birds fluttered out of their black recesses; crows awoke in the trees and cawed their alarms, and then, as if calmed by a foraging co-conspirator, kept silent. Manassas! The key was here! The key that would unlock the subterranean door that led to Carlos the Jackal, the assassin who wanted only to destroy David Webb and his family. ... Webb! Get away from me, David!" screamed Jason Bourne in the s
ODESSA, RUSSIA, 1918 THE DENSE FOG rolled into the harbor late in the afternoon, nudged by a sudden change in wind direction. The damp gray billows washed over the stone quays, swirled up the Odessa Steps and brought an early nightfall to the busy Black Sea port. Passenger ferries and freighters canceled their runs, idling dozens of sailors. As Captain Anatoly Tovrov groped his way through the bone-chilling mists that enveloped the waterfront, he could hear bursts of drunken laughter from the crowded dives and brothels. He walked past the main concentration of bars, turned down an alley an
In the Country of the Gillikins, which is at the North of the Land of Oz, lived a youth called Tip. There was more to his name than that, for old Mombi often declared that his whole name was Tippetarius; but no one was expected to say such a long word when "Tip" would do just as well. This boy remembered nothing of his parents, for he had been brought when quite young to be reared by the old woman known as Mombi, whose reputation, I am sorry to say, was none of the best. For the Gillikin people had reason to suspect her of indulging in magical arts, and therefore hesitated to associate w
On The Ruin of Britain (De Excidio Britanniae)by GildasTranslation by J.A. GilesThe Works of Gildas surnamed "Sapiens", or The Wise.I. The Preface1. Whatever in this my epistle I may write in my humble but wellmeaning manner, rather by way of lamentation than for display,let no one suppose that it springs from contempt of others or thatI foolishly esteem myself as better than they; -for alas! the subjectof my complaint is the general destruction of every thing that isgood, and the general growth of evil throughout the land;butthat I rejoice to see her revive therefrom: for it is my present...
THE ALHAMBRAby Washington IrvingPreface to the Revised Edition.Rough draughts of some of the following tales and essays wereactually written during a residence in the Alhambra; others weresubsequently added, founded on notes and observations made there. Carewas taken to maintain local coloring and verisimilitude; so that thewhole might present a faithful and living picture of that microcosm,that singular little world into which I had been fortuitously...