AN ODYSSEY OF THE NORTH.ITHE SLEDS WERE SINGING their eternal lament to the creaking of theharness and the tinkling bells of the leaders; but the men and dogswere tired and made no sound. The trail was heavy with new-fallensnow, and they had come far, and the runners, burdened with flint-likequarters of frozen moose, clung tenaciously to the unpacked surfaceand held back with a stubbornness almost human. Darkness was comingon, but there was no camp to pitch that night. The snow fell gentlythrough the pulseless air, not in flakes, but in tiny frost crystalsof delicate design. It was very warm- barely ten below zero- and the...　

The Cavalry GeneralThe Cavalry GeneralBy XenophonTranslation by H. G. Dakyns1- Page 2-The Cavalry GeneralXenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates.He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gavehim land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years beforehaving to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.The Cavalry General is a discourse on the merits a cavalry general, or...　

1690CONCERNING CIVIL GOVERNMENT, SECOND ESSAYAN ESSAY CONCERNING THE TRUE ORIGINAL EXTENT ANDEND OF CIVIL GOVERNMENTby John LockeChapter IOf Political Power1. It having been shown in the foregoing discourse:** An Essay Concerning Certain False Principles.Firstly. That Adam had not, either by natural right of fatherhood orby positive donation from God, any such authority over his children,nor dominion over the world, as is pretended....　

Walkingby Henry David ThoreauI wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom andwildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merelycivilto regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel ofNature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make anextreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for thereare enough champions of civilization: the minister and the schoolcommittee and every one of you will take care of that.I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my lifewho understood the art of Walking, that is, of taking walkswhohad a genius, so to speak, for SAUNTERING, which word is...　

EARLY KINGS OF NORWAY.EARLY KINGS OFNORWAY.by Thomas Carlyle1- Page 2-EARLY KINGS OF NORWAY.The Icelanders, in their long winter, had a great habit of writing; andwere, and still are, excellent in penmanship, says Dahlmann. It is to thisfact, that any little history there is of the Norse Kings and their oldtragedies, crimes and heroisms, is almost all due. The Icelanders, it seems,not only made beautiful letters on their paper or parchment, but were...　

TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT or The Speediest Car on the RoadTOM SWIFT AND HISELECTRIC RUNABOUTor The Speediest Car onthe RoadVICTOR APPLETON1- Page 2-TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT or The Speediest Car on the RoadCHAPTER ITOM HOPES FOR A PRIZE"Father," exclaimed Tom Swift, looking up from a paper he wasreading, "I think I can win that prize!""What prize is that?" inquired the aged inventor, gazing away from a...　

THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBERTHE TAPESTRIEDCHAMBERby Sir Walter Scott1- Page 2-THE TAPESTRIED CHAMBERINTRODUCTION.This is another little story from The Keepsake of 1828. It was told tome many years ago by the late Miss Anna Seward, who, among otheraccomplishments that rendered her an amusing inmate in a country house,had that of recounting narratives of this sort with very considerable effect--much greater, indeed, than any one would be apt to guess from the style...　

Animal HeroesAnimal Heroesby Ernest Thompson Seton1- Page 2-Animal HeroesNote to ReaderA hero is an individual of unusual gifts and achievements. Whether itbe man or animal, this definition applies; and it is the histories of such thatappeal to the imagination and to the hearts of those who hear them.In this volume every one of the stories, though more or less composite,is founded on the actual life of a veritable animal hero. The mostcomposite is the White Reindeer. This story I wrote by Utrovand in...　

The Paths of Inland Commerce, A Chronicle of Trail, Road, and WaterwayBy Archer B. HulbertPREFACEIf the great American novel is ever written, I hazard the guess that its plot will be woven around the theme of American transportation, for that has been the vital factor in the national development of the United States. Every problem in the building of the Republic has been, in the last analysis, a problem in transportation. The author of such a novel will find a rich fund of material in the perpetual rivalries of pack-horseman and wagoner, of riverman and canal boatman, of steamboat promoter and railway capitalist. He will find at every point the old jostling and challenging the new pack-hors　

The Lily of the Valleyby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo Monsieur J. B. Nacquart,Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine.Dear DoctorHere is one of the most carefully hewn stones in thesecond course of the foundation of a literary edifice which I haveslowly and laboriously constructed. I wish to inscribe your nameupon it, as much to thank the man whose science once saved me asto honor the friend of my daily life.De Balzac.THE LILY OF THE VALLEYENVOIFelix de Vandenesse to Madame la Comtesse Natalie de Manerville:I yield to your wishes. It is the privilege of the women whom we...　

THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERSTHE SEVEN POORTRAVELLERSby Charles Dickens1- Page 2-THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERSCHAPTER IIN THE OLD CITYOF ROCHESTERStrictly speaking, there were only six Poor Travellers; but, being aTraveller myself, though an idle one, and being withal as poor as I hope tobe, I brought the number up to seven. This word of explanation is due atonce, for what says the inscription over the quaint old door?RICHARD WATTS, Esq. by his Will, dated 22 Aug. 1579, founded...　

Dudley DementedThe hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing -for the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. The only person left outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four.He was a skinny, black-haired, bespectacl