Miss Billyby Eleanor H. PorterCONTENTSCHAPTERI. BILLY WRITES A LETTERII. "THE STRATA"III. THE STRATAWHEN THE LETTER COMESIV. BILLY SENDS A TELEGRAMV. GETTING READY FOR BILLYVI. THE COMING OF BILLYVII. INTRODUCING SPUNKVIII. THE ROOMAND BILLYIX. A FAMILY CONCLAVEX. AUNT HANNAHXI. BERTRAM HAS VISITORSXII. CYRIL TAKES HIS TURNXIII. A SURPRISE ALL AROUNDXIV. AUNT HANNAH SPEAKS HER MINDXV. WHAT BERTRAM CALLS "THE LIMIT"XVI. KATE TAKES A HANDXVII. A PINK-RIBBON TRAILXVIII. BILLY WRITES ANOTHER LETTERXIX. SEEING BILLY OFFXX. BILLY, THE MYTHXXI. BILLY, THE REALITY...　

SCHIPPEITAROIt was the custom in old times that as soon as a Japanese boyreached manhood he should leave his home and roam through theland in search of adventures. Sometimes he would meet with ayoung man bent on the same business as himself, and then theywould fight in a friendly manner, merely to prove which was thestronger, but on other occasions the enemy would turn out to be arobber, who had become the terror of the neighbourhood, and thenthe battle was in deadly earnest.One day a youth started off from his native village, resolvednever to come back till he had done some great deed that wouldmake his name famous. But adventures did not seem very plentiful...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENLITTLE CLAUS AND BIG CLAUSby Hans Christian AndersenIN a village there once lived two men who had the same name.They were both called Claus. One of them had four horses, but theother had only one; so to distinguish them, people called the owner ofthe four horses, "Great Claus," and he who had only one, "LittleClaus." Now we shall hear what happened to them, for this is a truestory.Through the whole week, Little Claus was obliged to plough forGreat Claus, and lend him his one horse; and once a week, on a Sunday,Great Claus lent him all his four horses. Then how Little Claus...　

A Psychological Counter-Current in Recent Fictionby William Dean HowellsIt is consoling as often as dismaying to find in what seems acataclysmal tide of a certain direction a strong drift to theopposite quarter. It is so divinable, if not so perceptible,that its presence may usually be recognized as a beginning of theturn in every tide which is sure, sooner or later, to come. Inreform, it is the menace of reaction; in reaction, it is thepromise of reform; we may take heart as we must lose heart fromit. A few years ago, when a movement which carried fiction tothe highest place in literature was apparently of such onward...　

The Ball at Sceauxby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Clara BellTo Henri de Balzac, his brother Honore.The Comte de Fontaine, head of one of the oldest families in Poitou,had served the Bourbon cause with intelligence and bravery during thewar in La Vendee against the Republic. After having escaped all thedangers which threatened the royalist leaders during this stormyperiod of modern history, he was wont to say in jest, "I am one of themen who gave themselves to be killed on the steps of the throne." Andthe pleasantry had some truth in it, as spoken by a man left for deadat the bloody battle of Les Quatre Chemins. Though ruined by...　

THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA[TO MRS. WILLIAM H. GRENFELL OF TAPLOW COURT - LADY DESBOROUGH]It was the birthday of the Infanta. She was just twelve years ofage, and the sun was shining brightly in the gardens of the palace.Although she was a real Princess and the Infanta of Spain, she hadonly one birthday every year, just like the children of quite poorpeople, so it was naturally a matter of great importance to thewhole country that she should have a really fine day for theoccasion. And a really fine day it certainly was. The tallstriped tulips stood straight up upon their stalks, like long rowsof soldiers, and looked defiantly across the grass at the roses,...　

Four Short Playsby John GalsworthyCONTENTS:HALL-MARKEDDEFEATTHE SUNPUNCH AND GOHALL-MARKEDA SATIRIC TRIFLECHARACTERSHERSELF.LADY ELLA.THE SQUIRE.THE MAID.MAUD.THE RECTOR.THE DOCTOR.THE CABMAN.HANNIBAL and EDWARDHALL-MARKEDThe scene is the sitting-room and verandah of HER bungalow.The room is pleasant, and along the back, where the verandahruns, it seems all window, both French and casement. There is adoor right and a door left. The day is bright; the timemorning.[HERSELF, dripping wet, comes running along the verandah,...　

The Little Dukeby Charlotte M. YongeCHAPTER IOn a bright autumn day, as long ago as the year 943, there was a great bustle in the Castle of Bayeux in Normandy.The hall was large and low, the roof arched, and supported on thick short columns, almost like the crypt of a Cathedral; the walls were thick, and the windows, which had no glass, were very small, set in such a depth of wall that there was a wide deep window seat, upon which the rain might beat, without reaching the interior of the room. And even if it had come in, there was nothing for it to hurt, for the walls were of rough stone, and the floor of tiles. There was a fire at each end of this great dark apartment, but there were no c　

The Age of Invention, A Chronicle of Mechanical Conquestby Holland ThompsonPREFATORY NOTEThis volume is not intended to be a complete record of inventive genius and mechanical progress in the United States. A bare catalogue of notable American inventions in the nineteenth century alone could not be compressed into these pages. Nor is it any part of the purpose of this book to trespass on the ground of the many mechanical works and encyclopedias which give technical descriptions and explain in detail the principle of every invention. All this book seeks to do is to outline the personalities of some of the outstanding American inventors and indicate the significance of their achievements....　

The Works of Edgar Allan PoeVolume 5 of the Raven EditionIN FIVE VOLUMESContentsPhilosophy of FurnitureA Tale of JerusalemThe SphinxHop FrogThe Man of the CrowdNever Bet the Devill Your HeadThou Art the ManWhy the Little Frenchman Wears his Hand in a SlingBon-BonSome words with a MummyThe Poetic PrincipleOld English PoetryPOEMSDedicationPrefacePoems of Later LifeThe RavenThe BellsUlalumeTo HelenAnnabel LeeA ValentineAn EnigmaTo my MotherFor AnnieTo FTo Frances S. OsgoodEldoradoEulalieA Dream within a DreamTo Marie Louise (Shew)To the SameThe City in the SeaThe SleeperBridal BalladNotes...　

The Outletby Andy AdamsPREFACEAt the close of the civil war the need for a market for the surplus cattle of Texas was as urgent as it was general. There had been numerous experiments in seeking an outlet, and there is authority for the statement that in 1857 Texas cattle were driven to Illinois. Eleven years later forty thousand head were sent to the mouth of Red River in Louisiana, shipped by boat to Cairo, Illinois, and thence inland by rail. Fever resulted, and the experiment was never repeated. To the west of Texas stretched a forbidding desert, while on the other hand, nearly every drive to Louisiana resulted in financial disaster to the drover. The republic of Mexico, on the south, af　

Sword Blades and Poppy Seedby Amy LowellPrefaceNo one expects a man to make a chair without first learning how,but there is a popular impression that the poet is born, not made,and that his verses burst from his overflowing heart of themselves.As a matter of fact, the poet must learn his trade in the same manner,and with the same painstaking care, as the cabinet-maker.His heart may overflow with high thoughts and sparkling fancies,but if he cannot convey them to his reader by means of the written wordhe has no claim to be considered a poet. A workman may be pardoned,therefore, for spending a few moments to explain and describe...