Short Stories and Essaysby William Dean HowellsCONTENTS:Worries of a Winter WalkSummer Isles of EdenWild Flowers of the AsphaltA Circus in the SuburbsA She HamletThe Midnight PlatoonThe Beach at RockawaySawdust in the ArenaAt a Dime MuseumAmerican Literature in ExileThe Horse ShowThe Problem of the SummerAesthetic New York Fifty-odd Years AgoFrom New York into New EnglandThe Art of the AdsmithThe Psychology of PlagiarismPuritanism in American FictionThe What and How in ArtPolitics in American AuthorsStorage"Floating down the River on the O-hi-o"...　

The Queristby George Berkley1735The Querist containing several Queries proposed to theconsideration of the PublicI the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the lowtree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree toflourish. Ezek. xvii, 24.Advertisement by the AuthorThe Querist was first published in the year one thousand sevenhundred and thirty-five; since which time the face of things issomewhat changed. In this edition some alterations have beenmade. The three Parts are published in one; some few Queries areadded, and many omitted, particularly of those relating to thesketch or plan of a national bank, which it may be time enough to...　

The Dominion of the Airby J. M. BaconCHAPTER I. THE DAWN OF AERONAUTICS."He that would learn to fly must be brought up to the constant practice of it from his youth, trying first only to use his wings as a tame goose will do, so by degrees learning to rise higher till he attain unto skill and confidence."So wrote Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, who was reckoned a man of genius and learning in the days of the Commonwealth. But so soon as we come to inquire into the matter we find that this good Bishop was borrowing from the ideas of others who had gone before him; and, look back as far as we will, mankind is discovered to have entertained persistent and often plausible ideas of human flight. 　

THE WITCH [28][28] From the Russian.Once upon a time there was a peasant whose wife died, leaving himwith two childrentwinsa boy and a girl. For some years thepoor man lived on alone with the children, caring for them asbest he could; but everything in the house seemed to go wrongwithout a woman to look after it, and at last he made up his mindto marry again, feeling that a wife would bring peace and orderto his household and take care of his motherless children. So hemarried, and in the following years several children were born tohim; but peace and order did not come to the household. For thestep-mother was very cruel to the twins, and beat them, and...　

Chapter XV of Volume II (Chap. 38)ON Saturday morning Elizabeth and Mr. Collins met for breakfast a few minutes before the others appeared; and he took the opportunity of paying the parting civilities which he deemed indispensably necessary.``I know not, Miss Elizabeth,' said he, ``whether Mrs. Collins has yet expressed her sense of your kindness in coming to us, but I am very certain you will not leave the house without receiving her thanks for it. The favour of your company has been much felt, I assure you. We know how little there is to tempt any one to our humble abode. Our plain manner of living, our small rooms, and few domestics, and the little we see of the world, must make Hunsfor　

THE MAIDEN WITH THE WOODEN HELMETIn a little village in the country of Japan there lived long,long ago a man and his wife. For many years they were happy andprosperous, but bad times came, and at last nothing was left thembut their daughter, who was as beautiful as the morning. Theneighbours were very kind, and would have done anything theycould to help their poor friends, but the old couple felt thatsince everything had changed they would rather go elsewhere, soone day they set off to bury themselves in the country, takingtheir daughter with them.Now the mother and daughter had plenty to do in keeping the houseclean and looking after the garden, but the man would sit for...　

There are certain unsettled questions in economic theory that have been handed down as a sort of legacy from one generation to another. The discussion of these questions is revived twenty or it may be a hundred times in the course of a decade, and each time the disputants exhaust their intellectual resources in the endeavor to impress their views upon their contemporaries. Not unfrequently the discussion is carried far beyond the limits of weariness and satiety, so that it may well be regarded as an offence against good taste to again recur to so well-worn a theme. And yet these questions return again and again, like troubled spirits doomed restlessly to wander until the hour of their deliv　

Falkby Joseph ConradA REMINISCENCESeveral of us, all more or less connected with thesea, were dining in a small river-hostelry not morethan thirty miles from London, and less than twentyfrom that shallow and dangerous puddle to whichour coasting men give the grandiose name of "Ger-man Ocean." And through the wide windows wehad a view of the Thames; an enfilading view downthe Lower Hope Reach. But the dinner was exe-crable, and all the feast was for the eyes.That flavour of salt-water which for so many ofus had been the very water of life permeated ourtalk. He who hath known the bitterness of theOcean shall have its taste forever in his mouth. But...　

The Man Betweenby Amelia E. BarrPART FIRSTO LOVE WILL VENTURE IN!THE MAN BETWEENCHAPTER ITHE thing that I know least about is my beginning. For it is possible to introduce Ethel Rawdon in so many picturesque ways that the choice is embarrassing, and forces me to the conclusion that the actual circumstances, though commonplace, may be the most suitable. Certainly the events that shape our lives are seldom ushered in with pomp or ceremony; they steal upon us unannounced, and begin their work without giving any premonition of their importance.Consequently Ethel had no idea when she returned home one night from a rather stupid entertainment that she was about to open a new and important chapter　

Of Commerceby David HumeThe greater part of mankind may be divided into two classes;that of shallow thinkers, who fall short of the truth; and thatof abstruse thinkers, who go beyond it. The latter class are byfar the most rare: and I may add, by far the most useful andvaluable. They suggest hints, at least, and start difficulties,which they want, perhaps, skill to pursue; but which may producefine discoveries, when handled by men who have a more just way ofthinking. At worst, what they say is uncommon; and if it shouldcost some pains to comprehend it, one has, however, the pleasureof hearing something that is new. An author is little to bevalued, who tells us nothing but what we can learn 　

SERTORIUS130?-72 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenIT is no great wonder if in long process of time, while fortunetakes her course hither and thither, numerous coincidences shouldspontaneously occur. If the number and variety of subjects to bewrought upon be infinite, it is all the more easy for fortune, withsuch an abundance of material, to effect this similarity of results.Or if, on the other hand, events are limited to the combinations ofsome finite number, then of necessity the same must often recur, andin the same sequence. There are people who take a pleasure in making...　

Memoirs of Carwin the BiloquistCharles Brockden BrownChapter I.I was the second son of a farmer, whose place of residence was a western district of Pennsylvania. My eldest brother seemed fitted by nature for the employment to which he was destined. His wishes never led him astray from the hay-stack and the furrow. His ideas never ranged beyond the sphere of his vision, or suggested the possibility that to-morrow could differ from to-day. He could read and write, because he had no alternative between learning the lesson prescribed to him, and punishment. He was diligent, as long as fear urged him forward, but his exertions ceased with the cessation of this motive. The limits of his acq