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Jack Mason, the Old Sailor
Francis C 试读
Francis Channing Woodworth (1812-1859), who wrote under the pseudonyms Uncle Frank and Theodore Thinker, was the author of Stories About Animals (1850), Stories About Birds (1851), Woodworth's Cabinet of Curious Things (1852), The Holiday Book (1853), Balloon (1854), Young American's Life of Fremont (1856), Jack Mason, The Old Sailor, Uncle Reuben and his Budget of Stories, Wreaths of Friendship, The Diving Bell or, Pearls to be Sought for, A Peep at our Neighbors and Willow Lane Stories. "Jack Mason had been to sea a great many times when I first knew him, and he has been a great many times since. He has sailed in a ship almost all over the world. Such a host of stories as he can tell Why, I do believe if he could find little boys and girls to talk to, he would begin in the morning as soon as he had got through his breakfast, and do nothing but tell stories about what he has seen, until it was time to go to bed at night. I don't know but he would want to stop once or twice to eat. Jack loves a good dinner as well as anybody. "
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A Circuit Riders Wife
Corra Harris 试读
If you will look back over the files of the "Southern Christian Advocate," published at the time in Macon, Georgia, you will find the following notice—by a singular coincidence on the page devoted to "obituaries": "Married—Mary Elizabeth Eden to William Asbury Thompson. The bride is the daughter of Colonel and Mrs. Eden, of Edenton; the groom is the son of the late Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Asbury Thompson, and is serving his first year in the itinerancy on the Redwine Circuit. We wish the young people happiness and success in their chosen field."
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A Beautiful Possibility
Black,Edith Ferguson 试读
In one of the fairest of the West Indian islands a simple but elegant villa lifted its gabled roofs amidst a bewildering wealth of tropical beauty. Brilliant birds flitted among the foliage gold and silver fishes darted to and fro in a large stone basin of a fountain which threw its glittering spray over the lawn in front of the house and on the vine-shaded veranda hammocks hung temptingly and low wicker chairs invited to repose.
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A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens 试读
The tale begins on Christmas Eve seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner Jacob Marley. Scrooge is established within the first stave (chapter) as a greedy and stingy businessman who has no place in his life for kindness, compassion, charity, or benevolence. After being warned by Marley's ghost to change his ways, Scrooge is visited by three additional ghosts "each in its turn" who accompany him to various scenes with the hope of achieving his transformation. The first of the spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to the scenes of his boyhood and youth which stir the old miser's gentle and tender side by reminding him of a time when he was more innocent. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to several radically differing scenes (a joy-filled market of people buying the makings of Christmas dinner, the family feast of Scrooge's near-impoverished clerk Bob Cratchit, a miner's cottage, and a lighthouse among other sites) in order to evince from the miser a sense of responsibility for his fellow man. The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, harrows Scrooge with dire visions of the future if he does not learn and act upon what he has witnessed. Scrooge's own neglected and untended grave is revealed, prompting the miser to aver that he will change his ways in hopes of changing these "shadows of what may be." In the fifth and final stave, Scrooge awakens Christmas morning with joy and love in his heart, then spends the day with his nephew's family after anonymously sending a prize turkey to the Crachit home for Christmas dinner. Scrooge has become a different man overnight, and now treats his fellow men with kindness, generosity, and compassion, gaining a reputation as a man who embodies the spirit of Christmas. The story closes with the narrator confirming the validity, completeness, and permanence of Scrooge's transformation.
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Madame Bovary-Flaubert,Gustave、 Aveling,Eleanor Marx
Gustave Flaubert 试读
To Marie-Antoine-Jules Senard Member of the Paris Bar, Ex-President of the National Assembly, and Former Minister of the Interior Dear and Illustrious Friend, Permit me to inscribe your name at the head of this book, and above its dedication; for it is to you, before all, that I owe its publication. Reading over your magnificent defence, my work has acquired for myself, as it were, an unexpected authority.
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Tales and Novels Volume 10
Maria Edgeworth 试读
Helen was the only daughter of colonel and Lady Anne Stanley; her parents had both died when she was too young to know her loss nor had she ever felt till now that she was an orphan for she had been adopted and brought up with the greatest tenderness by her uncle Dean Stanley a man of genius learning and sincere piety with the most affectionate heart and a highly cultivated understanding.
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Wagner the Wehr-Wolf
Reynolds,George W. M. 试读
Having bound Flora Francatelli to the chair, in the manner just described, the three nuns fell back a few paces, and the wretched girl felt the floor giving way under her. A dreadful scream burst from her lips as slowly, slowly the chair sank down while the working of hidden machinery in the roof, and the steady, monotonous revolution of wheels, sounded with ominous din upon her ears. An ice-stream seemed to pour over her soul.
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Yolanda:Maid of Burgundy
Charles Major 试读
Like the Israelites of old, mankind is prone to worship false gods, and persistently sets up the brazen image of a sham hero, as its idol. I should like to write the history of the world, if for no other reason than to assist several well-established heroes down from their pedestals.
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Handwork in Wood
William Noyes 试读
William Noyes (1862-1928) was an author and Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Arts. His works include: Handwork in Wood (1910) and Wood and Forest (1928). "The rough and ready methods common in American logging operations are the result partly of a tradition of inexhaustible supply, partly of the fear of fire and the avoidance of taxes, partly of an eagerness to get rich quick. Most of the logging has been done on privately owned land or on shamelessly stolen public land, and the lumberman had no further interest in the forest than to lumber it expeditiously. "
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Daisy
Susan Warner 试读
"You are a foolish boy " said Aunt Gary. "Of course if you fill Daisy's head with notions, she will not get them out again. If you have anything of that sort to say, you had better say it where she will not hear.""Daisy has eyes -- and a head," said Preston.As soon as I was able for it Preston took me out for short walks and as I grew stronger he made the walks longer. The city was a strange place to me very unlike New York there was much to see and many a story to hear and Preston and I enjoyed ourselves. Aunt Gary was busy making visits, I think. There was a beautiful walk by the sea which I liked best of all and when it was not too cold my greatest pleasure was to sit there looking over the dark waters and sending my whole soul across them to that unknown spot where my father and mother were. "Home," that spot was to me. Preston did not know what I liked the Esplanade for he sometimes laughed at me for being poetic and meditative when I was only sending my heart over the water. But he was glad to please me in all that he could and whenever it was not too cold, our walks always took me there.
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Rainbow Valley
Lucy Maud Montgomery 试读
Shirley is in bed and Jem and Walter and the twins are down in their beloved Rainbow Valley, said Anne. "They just came home this afternoon, you know, and they could hardly wait until supper was over before rushing down to the valley. They love it above every spot on earth. Even the maple grove doesn't rival it in their affections."
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Queen Hortense A Life Picture of the Napoleonic Era
L. (Luise) MühlbachMrs. Chapman Coleman 试读
Louise Muhlbach was the pen name of Clara Mundt (1814-1873), an Austrian writer best known for her works of historical fiction. Among her famous works are: Napoleon and Blucher (1845), Joseph II. and His Court (1858), Henry VIII and His Court (1865), The Empress Josephine (1867), Frederick the Great and His Family (1867), Berlin and Sans- Souci or Frederick the Great and His Friends (1867), The Merchant of Berlin (1867), Old Fritz and the New Era (1867), Marie Antoinette and Her Son (1867), Andreas Hofer (1868), Prince Eugene and His Times (1869), The Daughter of an Empress (1869), and A Conspiracy of the Carbonari (1896).
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Cab and Caboose The Story of a Railroad Boy
Kirk Munroe 试读
Kirk Munroe (1850-1930) was an American author. His works include: Wakulla: A Story of Adventure in Florida (1886), The Flamingo Feather (1887), Derrick Sterling: A Story of the Mines (1888), Cab and Caboose: The Story of a Railroad Boy (1892), Raftmates: A Story of the Great River (1893), Campmates: A Story of the Plains (1893), The Fur Seal's Tooth (1894), At War with Pontiac or, The Totem of the Bear (1895), The Copper Princess: A Story of Lake Superior Mines (1898), "Forward, March" A Tale of the Spanish-American War (1899) and Under the Great Bear (1900).
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Madame Midas
Fergus Hume 试读
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
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Happy Pollyooly The Rich Little Poor Girl
Edgar Jepson 试读
She heard him come out of his bedroom and at once dished up his bacon and carried it into his sitting-room.
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Fannys First Play
George Bernard Shaw 试读
Fanny's First Play, being but a potboiler, needs no preface. But its lesson is not, I am sorry to say, unneeded. Mere morality, or the substitution of custom for conscience was once accounted a shameful and cynical thing: people talked of right and wrong, of honor and dishonor, of sin and grace, of salvation and damnation, not of morality and immorality. The word morality, if we met it in the Bible, would surprise us as much as the word telephone or motor car. Nowadays we do not seem to know that there is any other test of conduct except morality; and the result is that the young had better have their souls awakened by disgrace, capture by the police, and a month's hard labor, than drift along from their cradles to their graves doing what other people do for no other reason than that other people do it, and knowing nothing of good and evil, of courage and cowardice, or indeed anything but how to keep hunger and concupiscence and fashionable dressing within the bounds of good taste except when their excesses can be concealed.
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James VI and the Gowrie Mystery
Andrew Lang 试读
An old Scottish lady, four generations ago, used to say, ‘It is a great comfort to think that, at the Day of Judgment, we shall know the whole truth about the Gowrie Conspiracy at last.’ Since the author, as a child, read ‘The Tales of a Grandfather,’ and shared King Jamie’s disappointment when there was no pot of gold, but an armed man, in the turret, he had supposed that we do know all about the Gowrie Conspiracy, that it was a plot to capture the King, carry him to Fastcastle, and ‘see how the country would take it,’ as in the case of the Gunpowder Plot. But just as Father Gerard has tried to show that the Gunpowder affair may have been Cecil’s plot, so modern historians doubt whether the Gowrie mystery was not a conspiracy by King James himself. Mr. Hume Brown appears rather to lean to this opinion, in the second volume of his ‘History of Scotland,’ and Dr. Masson, in his valuable edition of the ‘Register of the Privy Council,’ is also dubious.
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Kenilworth
Walter Scott 试读
Presents a fictional portrait of life during the Elizabethan era as the Earl of Leicester tries to keep his marriage to Amy Robsart a secret to avoid the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth.
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Baby Mine
Margaret Mayo 试读
The first year of a baby's life is a wondrous time, with each day bringing new changes and emotions. This journal goes above and beyond the traditional baby book, recognizing the journey that mother and child embark on together. Guided prompts throughout allow a new mom to record all the precious moments of baby's development, and also to reflect on what these milestones stir within her. There's also room to add pictures and other mementos.
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A Crime of the Under-seas
Guy Newell Boothby 试读
This collection is named for Guy Boothby's "A Crime of the Underseas" but there are other tales in this book as well -- "The Phantom Stockman," "The Treasure of Sacramento Nick," "Into the Outer Darkness," "The Story of Tommy Dodd and 'The Rooster'," "Quod Erat Demonstrandum," "Cupid and Psyche," "Misplaced Affections," "In Great Waters," "Mr. Aristocrat," and finally "This Man and This Woman." Boothby was and still is a delightful writer. See for yourself"Callingway was tracking an absconding Argentine Bank Manager, and, as it afterwards transpired, was, when we came in contact with him, on the point of getting possession of the money with which the other had left the country. Needless to say he was not a Government servant, nor were the Banking Company in question aware of his endeavors. Lastly there was myself, Christopher Collon, aged thirty-six, whose walk in life was even stranger, if such a thing were possible, than those of the two men I have just described. Had I been the possessor of a smart London office, a private secretary, and half a dozen corresponding clerks, I should probably have called myself a private detective . . ."
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Seekers after God
Frederic William Farrar 试读
The author has endeavored in the following pages to give in a popular manner as full an account of the lives and opinions of three great heathen philosophers as is possible. Selected contents: the family and early years of Seneca; the education of Seneca; the state of Roman society; the rein of Caius; the rein of Claudius and the banishment of Seneca; Seneca in exile; Seneca's recall from exile; Nero and his tutor; the beginning of the end; the death of Seneca; the life of Epictetus, and how he regarded it; the discourses of Epictetus; the education of Marcus Aurelius; the "meditations" of Marcus Aurelius. Illustrated.
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Richard Dares Venture
Edward Stratemeyer 试读
It is high time, mother, that I found something to do. Father seems to be worse, and I'm afraid before long he won't be able to go to work every day. Ever since I finished schooling I've felt like a fish out of water. And stowing away the remainder of the slice of bread he was eating, Richard Dare leaned back in his chair and gazed inquiringly across the breakfast-table to where his mother stood, ready to clear away the dishes when he had finished his meal. "I'm sure you have been busy enough, Richard," responded Mrs. Dare fondly. "I am well satisfied with the way you have planted the garden; and no carpenter could have made a neater job of the front fence. You haven't wasted your time."
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Little Susys Little Servants
Elizabeth Prentiss 试读
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
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Lovey Mary
Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice 试读
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
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Twenty Years After
Alexandre Dumas 试读
This titleincludes an introduction by A. M. de Medeiros, University of Kentat Canterbury. A year after the publication of "The ThreeMusketeers", Alexandre Dumas produced a sequel worthy in everyrespect of the original. In "Twenty Years After" the much belovedD'Artaganan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis reunite to fight the forcesof evil. In the original novel they defeated Milady, a formidablefoe; now they need to face her vengeful son Mordaunt, as well ascountering the machinations of the sinister Cardinal Mazarin. Theiradventures also take them to England, where Cromwell is about totopple Charles I. Meanwhile, they must overcome the obstacles whichthe passing of time has placed between them. Rediscovering strengthin unity, they fight for Queen and country. "The Musketeer" novelswere a huge success in Dumas' own lifetime, and have lost none oftheir original appeal. Translated into many languages and adaptedfor cinema and television, they have helped to make Dumas arguablythe most successful exporter of French culture to the widerworld.
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Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable
Mary Godolphin 试读
I had still some fear lest I should be caught by the Moors, so I would not go on shore in the day time. But when it grew dark we made our way to the coast, and came to the mouth of a stream, from which we thought we could swim to land, and then look round us. But as soon as it was quite dark we heard strange sounds-- barks, roars, grunts, and howls. The poor lad said he could not go on shore till dawn. "Well," said I, "then we must give it up, but it may be that in the day time we shall be seen by men, who for all we know would do us more harm than wild beasts." "Then we give them the shoot gun," said Xury with a laugh, "and make them run away." I was glad to see so much mirth in the boy, and gave him some bread and rice.
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Idolatry A Romance
Julian Hawthorne 试读
Manetho's devotion to Helen seems unwavering yet sometimes it is hard not to suspect a secret understanding between him and Salome. He has ceased to wear his diamond ring, and once we caught a diamond-sparkle from beneath the thick folds of lace which cover Helen's bosom but, on the other hand, we fear his arm has been round the gypsy's graceful waist, and that she has learnt the secret of the private chamber. Is demure Manetho a flirt, or do his affections and his ambition run counter to each other Helen would bring him the riches of this world, - but what should a clergyman care for such vanities - while Salome is far the prettier, livelier, and more attractive woman of the two. Brother Hiero, whimsical and preoccupied, sees nothing of what is going on. He is an antiquary - an Egyptologist - and thereto his soul is wedded. He has no eyes nor ears for the loves of other people for one another.
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Helping Himself
Horatio Alger 试读
Part of a series of rags to riches stories of boys achieving the American dream of wealth through hard work, these works can also be seen as helpful in understanding the development of American cultural and social ideals.
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Jacks Ward
Horatio Alger 试读
Horatio Alger, Jr., an author who lived among and for boys and himself remained a boy in heart and association till death, was born at Revere, Mass., January 13, 1834. He was the son of a clergyman; was graduated at Harvard College in 1852, and at its Divinity School in 1860; and was pastor of the Unitarian Church at Brewster, Mass., in 1862-66.
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Pink and White Tyranny A Society Novel
Harriet Beecher Stowe 试读
Trajectory presents classics of world literature with 21st century features! Our original-text editions include the following visual enhancements to foster a deeper understanding of the work: Word Clouds at the start of each chapter highlight important words. Word, sentence, paragraph counts, and reading time help readers and teachers determine chapter complexity. Co-occurrence graphs depict character-to-character interactions as well character to place interactions. Sentiment indexes identify positive and negative trends in mood within each chapter. Frequency graphs help display the impact this book has had on popular culture since its original date of publication. Use Trajectory analytics to deepen comprehension, to provide a focus for discussions and writing assignments, and to engage new readers with some of the greatest stories ever told."Pink and White Tyranny: A Society Novel" by Harriet Beecher Stowe tells the story of a New England man, John, who marries the gold digger, Lillie.
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Holy Bible(KJV)
King James 试读
The Bible is a collection of texts sacred in Judaism and Christianity. It is an example of a collection of scriptures written at different times by different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians consider the Bible to be a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship between God and humans.
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A Honeymoon in Space
George Chetwynd Griffith 试读
About eight o'clock on the morning of the 5th of November, 1900, those of the passengers and crew of the American liner St. Louis who happened, whether from causes of duty or of their own pleasure, to be on deck, had a very strange-in fact a quite unprece ...
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A Horses Tale
Mark Twain 试读
In Mark Twain's comical satire of the art of telling tall tales in America "A Horse's Tale," there was "night so dark the cats ran against each other he wrote of "a horse so fast the wagon started thirty yards ahead of the cloudburst and made it home without a drop of..." Twain extra ordinary sense of imagination and humor makes this a classic for all ages.
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A House-Boat on the Styx
John Kendrick Bangs 试读
When a house-boat arrives in Hades, Charon, ferryman of the River Styx is startled -- and annoyed Eleven more stories follow. Each features various souls from history and mythology. A classic fantasy.
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A Woman Named Smith
Marie Conway Oemler 试读
When Sophy Smith inherits a house from her Great-Aunt Sophronisba Scarlett, there is one condition. She must live in it. If she tried to sell it or rent it, she would forfeit all rights to the entire estate. So with great trepidation, Sophy Smith, along with her dear friend, Alicia, moves from the busy New York life to the slow drawn out days of South Carolina. Despite hearing music when there was no musician and suggestions that the house was haunted, they were both determined to stay at the Hyndes House. But when the house servants find an old statue buried beneath a tree, the mysterious life of the old witchy Sophronisba Scarlett begins to unfold.
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Simon Dale
Anthony Hope 试读
"KISS ME," SAID THE KING'S MISTRESS ""Kiss my hand now; kiss it as though I were fit for worship. It will do you no harm, and -- and perhaps -- perhaps I shall like to remember it." She bent down and kissed my forehead as I knelt before her. "Poor Simon," she whispered, as her hair brushed mine. Then her hand was gradually and gently withdrawn. I looked up to see her face; her lips were smiling but there seemed a dew on her lashes. Then she turned and left me, running swiftly over the grass, with never a look behind her. I watched till she was out of sight, and then sat down on the ground; with twitching lips and wide-open dreary eyes." "Ah, for youth's happiness Alas for its dismal woe Thus she came into my life." Her name was Nell Gwyn, the notorious mistress of the rake king of England, Charles II. But was her heart set on our young hero, Simon Dale? Find out through the steamy haze of Restoration passion and the flash of rapiers in this exciting historical adventure/romance by the author of "The Prisoner of Zenda "
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Sky Island
Lyman Frank Baum 试读
"Sky Island: being the further exciting adventures of Trot and Cap'n Bill after their visit to the sea fairies" by Lyman Frank Baum is a classic children's fairy tale! Button-Bright finds a magical umbrella that can fly him anywhere in the world.
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The Price of Love
Arnold Bennett 试读
Large Format for easy reading. A story of small-town intrigue that begins with a large sum of money being entrusted and then mysteriously disappearing. The novel was extremely popular and one of Bennett's greatest successes.
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Via Crucis
Francis Marion Crawford 试读
Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909) was an American writer noted for his many novels. He was born at Bagni di Lucca, Italy. In 1879 he went to India, where he studied Sanskrit and edited the Allahabad Indian Herald. Returning to America he continued to study Sanskrit at Harvard University for a year, contributed to various periodicals, and in 1882 produced his first novel, Mr Isaacs. This book had an immediate success, and its author's promise was confirmed by the publication of Doctor Claudius: A True Story (1883). After a brief residence in New York and Boston, in 1883 he returned to Italy, where he made his permanent home. He also published the historical works, Ave Roma Immortalis (1898), Rulers of the South (1900) renamed Sicily, Calabria and Malta in 1904, and Gleanings from Venetian History (1905). The Saracinesca series is perhaps known to be his best work, with the third in the series, Don Orsino, set against the background of a real estate bubble, told with effective concision. A fourth book in the series, Corleone, was the first major treatment of the Mafia in literature.
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A Fair Barbarian
Frances Hodgson Burnett 试读
1901. Burnett, began as a novelist, but she is now best remembered for her children's books including The Secret Garden and Sara Crewe (which was later rewritten to become The Little Princess). Her romance novels were also quite popular during her lifetime. A Fair Barbarian begins: Slowbridge had been shaken to its foundations. It may as well be explained, however, at the outse...
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Keats – Poems Published in 1820
John Keats 试读
Although John Keats poems were not generally well received by critics during his lifetime, his reputation grew after his death, and by the end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats was the most significant literary experience of his life.
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White Fang
Jack London 试读
With an introduction from award winning K.A. Applegate, White Fang is one of London's classic tales of survival and one of his most popular stories. White Fang is part dog, part wolf, and the lone survivor of his family. In his lonely world, he soon learns to follow the law of the North--kill or be killed.
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A Kidnapped Santa Claus
Lyman Frank Baum 试读
Try as they might, the Daemons of the Caves could not tempt old Santa Claus in any way. Quite the contrary, his cheery laughter disconcerted the evil ones and showed to them the folly of their undertaking.It's well known that no harm can come to Santa Claus while he is in the Laughing Valley, for the fairies, and ryls, and knooks all protect him. But on Christmas Eve he drives his reindeer out into the big world, carrying a sleighload of toys and pretty gifts to the children. Christmas Eve is the one time when his enemies have a chance to injure him. So the Daemons made their plans and awaited the arrival of Christmas Eve.Santa bridled his reindeer to the sleigh, and took to the air -- when suddenly a strange thing happened: a rope shot through the moonlight and a big noose that was in the end of it settled over the arms and body of Santa Claus and drew tight. Before he could resist or even cry out he was jerked from the seat of the sleigh and tumbled head foremost into a snowbank, while the reindeer rushed onward with the load of toys and carried it quickly out of sight and sound.Such a surprising experience confused old Santa for a moment, and when he had collected his senses he found that the wicked Daemons had pulled him from the snowdrift and bound him tightly with many coils of the stout rope. And then they carried the kidnapped Santa Claus away to their mountain, where they thrust the prisoner into a secret cave and chained him to the rocky wall so that he could not escape.
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A Lost Leader
Edward Phillips Oppenheim 试读
The two men stood upon the top of a bank bordering the rough road which led to the sea. They were listening to the lark, which had risen fluttering from their feet a moment or so ago, and was circling now above their heads. Mannering, with a quiet smile, pointed upwards. "There, my friend " he exclaimed. "You can listen now to arguments more eloquent than any which I could ever frame. That little creature is singing the true, uncorrupted song of life. He sings of the sunshine, the buoyant air the pure and simple joy of existence is beating in his little heart. The things which lie behind the hills will never sadden him. His kingdom is here, and he is content."
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Allan and the Holy Flower
Henry Rider Haggard 试读
I do not suppose that anyone who knows the name of Allan Quatermain would be likely to associate it with flowers, and especially with orchids. Yet as it happens it was once my lot to take part in an orchid hunt of so remarkable a character that I think it ...
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Andiron Tales
John Kendrick Bangs 试读
Tom was nearly asleep upon that bearskin rug in front of the blazing fire, staring at the two great brazen Andirons that stood in the fireplace. They had big, round, good-natured faces, shining like gold. Their necks were slight and graceful, but as they rounded downward toward handsome feet. They looked very much like a pair of amiable sea serpents.The logs were burning fiercely and at first Tom thought that the words he heard spoken were nothing but their crackling and hissing -- but then the "Lefthandiron" -- as Tom's uncle once called it -- winked his eye at Tom"Hullo, Sleepyhead," said the Andiron.Tom returned the wink -- too much surprised to say anything to this inanimate object suddenly coming to lifeJohn Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) has earned comparison with Mark Twain and L. Frank Baum for his humorous fantasies, including "A Houseboat on the Styx" and these wildly adventurous "Andiron Tales" -- featuring talking andirons, bellows and fire-pokers . . . and a voyage to the crescent Moon
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Austin and His Friends
Frederic Henry Balfour 试读
It was rather a beautiful old house-the house where Austin lived. That is, it was old-fashioned, low-browed, solid, and built of that peculiar sort of red brick which turns a rich rose-colour with age and this warm rosy tint was set off to advantage by the thick mantle of dark green ivy in which it was partly encased, and by the row of tall white and purple irises which ran along the whole length of the sunniest side of the building. There was an ancient sun-dial just above the door, and all the windows were made of small, square panes-not a foot of plate-glass was there about the place and if the rooms were nor particularly large or stately, they had that comfortable and settled look which tells of undisturbed occupancy by the same inmates for many years. But the principal charm of the place was the garden in which the house stood. In this case the frame was really more beautiful than the picture. On one side, the grounds were laid out in very formal style, with straight walks, clipped box hedges, an old stone fountain, and a perfect bowling-green of a lawn while at right angles to this there was a plot of land in which all regularity was set at naught, and sweet-peas, tulips, hollyhocks, dahlias, gillyflowers, wall-flowers, sun-flowers, and a dozen others equally sweet and friendly shared the soil with gooseberry bushes and thriving apple-trees.
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Ayesha, the Return of She
Henry Rider Haggard 试读
Ayesha is back in H. Rider Haggard's thrilling sequel to 'She', bursting with adventure, desire and revenge.
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Blix
Frank Norris 试读
It had just struck nine from the cuckoo clock that hung over the mantelpiece in the dining-room, when Victorine brought in the halved watermelon and set it in front of Mr. Bessemer's plate. Then she went down to the front door for the damp, twisted roll of the Sunday morning's paper, and came back and rang the breakfast-bell for the second time.
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Captivating Mary Carstairs
Henry Sydnor Harrison 试读
This book, representing the writer's first effort at a long story, has something of a story of its own. First planned in 1900 or 1901, it was begun in 1905, and finished at length, in a version, three years later. Through the two years succeeding it underwent various adventures, including, if memory serves, two complete overhauling. Having thus reached by stages something like its present form, it was, in August, 1910, favorably reported on by the publishers; but yet another rewriting preceded its final acceptance, a few weeks later. Meanwhile, I had turned to fresh work; and, as it chanced, "Queed" was both begun and finished in the interval while "Captivating Mary Carstairs" was taking her last journeys abroad. Turned away by two publishers, the newer manuscript shortly found welcome from a third. So it befell that I, as yet more experienced in rejections, suddenly found myself with two books, of widely different sorts and intentions, scheduled for publication by different publishers, almost simultaneously. As this seemed to be more books than society required from an unknown writer, it was decided to put out the present story—which is a "story," as I conceive the terms, and not a novel—over a pen name.
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Clayhanger
Arnold Bennett 试读
In this, the first volume of an ambitious trilogy designed to trace the parallel lives of a man and woman from youth to marriage and from marriage to old age, Bennett introduces the character of Edwin Clayhanger. A sober portrait of a boy growing up under a tyrannical father contrasts with young Edwin's glimpses of the mysterious and tantalizing Hilda Lessways. As the lives of these two characters unfold before us, Bennett uses autobiographical detail to beautifully depict the constraints and spiritual adventures of young life in the Potteries.
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Crome Yellow
Aldous Huxley 试读
The Crome of this novel's title is an English Country House in which most of the action occurs. Aldous Huxley's first novel, Crome Yellow, was published in 1921, and, as a comedy of manners and ideas, its relatively realistic setting and format may come as a surprise to fans of his later works such as Point Counter Point and Brave New World. Some who know only Brave New World may not know that as a 16-year-old planning to enter medicine, Aldous Huxley was stricken by a serious eye disease which left him temporarily blind, and which derailed what certainly would have been a prominent career as a physician or scientist. Crome Yellow has often been called "witty," as well as "talky," and it certainly owes as much to Vanity Fair as it may, surprisingly to some, owe to Tristram Shandy, although one might think that characters such as Mr. Barbecue-Smith and his remarkable writing theories could have some literary antecedents in Lawrence Sterne. Denis Smith, the protagonist of Crome Yellow, attempts to cross wits with the denizens of Crome, particularly Mr. and Mrs. Winbush and the remarkable Mr. Barbecue-Smith -- in pursuit of a star-crossed love, and in the face of another girl who possibly loves him.
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Daybreak; a Romance of an Old World
James Cowan 试读
It was an evening in early autumn in the last year of the nineteenth century. We were nearing the close of a voyage as calm and peaceful as our previous lives.Margaret had been in Europe a couple of years and I had just been over to bring her home, and we were now expecting to reach New York in a day or two.Margaret and I were the best of friends. Indeed, we had loved each other from our earliest recollection. No formal words of betrothal had ever passed between us, but for years we had spoken of our future marriage as naturally as if we were the most regularly engaged couple in the world.
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Dixie Hart
Will Nathaniel Harben 试读
In a blaze of splendor the morning sun broke over themountain, throwing its scraggy brown bowlders, spruce-pines,thorn-bushes, and tangled vines into impenetrable shadow. Massed atthe base and along the rocky sides were mists as dense as clouds,through the filmy upper edges of which the yellow light shone asthrough a mighty prism, dancing on the dew-coated corn-blades,cotton-plants, and already drinking from the fresh-ploughed, mellowsoil of the farm-lands which fell away in gentle undulations to theconfines of the village hard by. "A fellow couldn't ask for aprettier day than this, no matter how greedy he was," Alfred Henleymused as he stood in the doorway of his barn and heard the gnawingof the horses he had just fed in the stalls behind him. A hundredyards distant, on the main-travelled road which ran into thevillage of Chester, only half a mile away, stood his house, theeight rooms of which were divided into two equal parts by an openveranda, in which there was a shelf for water-pails, tinwash-basins, and a towel on a clumsy roller. A slender woman, withharsh, sharp features, older-looking than her thirty years wouldhave justified, and a stiff figure disguised by few attempts atadornment, was sweeping the veranda floor, and in chairs proppedback against the weather-boarding sat an old man and an old womanin the plainest of mountain attire.
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Doctor Therne
Henry Rider Haggard 试读
"Doctor Therne" foreshadows modern conventions in techno-thrillers with a documentary-style frame holding a confessional narrative from a mad scientist obsessed with one of the great issues of his day . . . in this case, vaccination against epidemic diseases like smallpox. His personal fears meet the tragic legacy of other doctors' careless ignorance and spawn a malignant crusade against vaccination that will ultimately create many more victims. H. Rider Haggard writes to alarm and educate his public, and creates a very engaging villain to carry his message. How long can a cowardly manipulator hide his dishonesty?
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Fair Margaret-Henry Rider Haggard
Henry Rider Haggard 试读
In the turbulent reign of King Henry VII, Peter Brome finds himself with a soldier's blood on his hands -- blood the Spanish ambassador's men demand be repaid. Poor and fatherless, Peter delivered the killing blow in self-defense -- and because of his helpless love for Margaret -- dark-eyed daughter of John Castell, the kindly and wealthy merchant who has overseen his upbringing. Now another pursues fair Margaret -- the powerful Marquis d'Aguilar of Spain, traveling in England upon a secret mission for the Inquisition. More than love hangs in the balance
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Four Weird Tales
Algernon Blackwood 试读
This collection assembles four of Blackwood's greatest stories: "The Insanity of Jones," "The Man Who Found Out," "The Glamour of the Snow," and "Sand."
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Jess
Henry Rider Haggard 试读
The day had been very hot even for the Transvaal, where the days still know how to be hot in the autumn, although the neck of the summer is broken—especially when the thunderstorms hold off for a week or two, as they do occasionally. Even the succulent blue lilies—a variety of the agapanthus which is so familiar to us in English greenhouses—hung their long trumpet-shaped flowers and looked oppressed and miserable, beneath the burning breath of the hot wind which had been blowing for hours like the draught from a volcano. The grass, too, near the wide roadway that stretched in a feeble and indeterminate fashion across the veldt, forking, branching, and reuniting like the veins on a lady's arm, was completely coated over with a thick layer of red dust. But the hot wind was going down now, as it always does towards sunset. Indeed, all that remained of it were a few strictly local and miniature whirlwinds, which would suddenly spring up on the road itself, and twist and twirl fiercely round, raising a mighty column of dust fifty feet or more into the air, where it hung long after the wind had passed, and then slowly dissolved as its particles floated to the earth.
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Kincaids Battery
George Washington Cable 试读
"If any one alive," he cried, "knows any cause why this thing should not be"Anna"'Tis good-by, Kincaid's Battery"And the next instant she was in his arms"No! not under this roof--nor in sight of these things.""You 'ave no ri-ight to leave me! Ah, you shall not!"She dropped into a seat, staring like one demented.