THE LUTE PLAYEROnce upon a time there was a king and queen who lived happily andcomfortably together. They were very fond of each other and hadnothing to worry them, but at last the king grew restless. Helonged to go out into the world, to try his strength in battleagainst some enemy and to win all kinds of honour and glory.So he called his army together and gave orders to start for adistant country where a heathen king ruled who ill-treated ortormented everyone he could lay his hands on. The king then gavehis parting orders and wise advice to his ministers, took atender leave of his wife, and set off with his army across theseas.I cannot say whether the voyage was short or long; but at 　

ON LONGEVITY AND SHORTNESS OF LIFEby Aristotletranslated by G. R. T. Ross1THE reasons for some animals being long-lived and othersshort-lived, and, in a word, causes of the length and brevity oflife call for investigation.The necessary beginning to our inquiry is a statement of thedifficulties about these points. For it is not clear whether inanimals and plants universally it is a single or diverse cause thatmakes some to be long-lived, others short-lived. Plants too have insome cases a long life, while in others it lasts but for a year....　

To-morrowby Joseph ConradWhat was known of Captain Hagberd in the littleseaport of Colebrook was not exactly in his favour.He did not belong to the place. He had come tosettle there under circumstances not at all myste-rioushe used to be very communicative aboutthem at the timebut extremely morbid and un-reasonable. He was possessed of some little moneyevidently, because he bought a plot of ground, andhad a pair of ugly yellow brick cottages run upvery cheaply. He occupied one of them himselfand let the other to Josiah Carvilblind Carvil,the retired boat-buildera man of evil repute as a...　

A Question of Latitudeby Richard Harding DavisOf the school of earnest young writers at whom the word muckrakerhad been thrown in opprobrium, and by whom it had been caught up asa title of honor, Everett was among the younger and lessconspicuous. But, if in his skirmishes with graft and corruptionhe had failed to correct the evils he attacked, from the contestshe himself had always emerged with credit. His sincerity and hismethods were above suspicion. No one had caught him inmisstatement, or exaggeration. Even those whom he attacked,admitted he fought fair. For these reasons, the editors ofmagazines, with the fear of libel before their eyes, regarded him...　

Part 3When the buriers came up to him they soon found he was neither aperson infected and desperate, as I have observed above, or a persondistempered -in mind, but one oppressed with a dreadful weight ofgrief indeed, having his wife and several of his children all in the cartthat was just come in with him, and he followed in an agony andexcess of sorrow. He mourned heartily, as it was easy to see, but witha kind of masculine grief that could not give itself vent by tears; andcalmly defying the buriers to let him alone, said he would only see thebodies thrown in and go away, so they left importuning him. But nosooner was the cart turned round and the bodies shot into the pit...　

Philosophy 4A Story of Harvard Universityby Owen WisterITwo frowning boys sat in their tennis flannels beneath the glare of lampand gas. Their leather belts were loosened, their soft pink shirtsunbuttoned at the collar. They were listening with gloomy voracity tothe instruction of a third. They sat at a table bared of its customarysporting ornaments, and from time to time they questioned, sucked theirpencils, and scrawled vigorous, laconic notes. Their necks and facesshone with the bloom of out-of-doors. Studious concentration wasevidently a painful novelty to their features. Drops of perspirationcame one by one from their matted hair, and their hands dampened the...　

Glaucus; or The Wonders of the Shoreby Charles KingsleyDedication.MY DEAR MISS GRENFELL,I CANNOT forego the pleasure of dedicating this little book to you;excepting of course the opening exhortation (needless enough inyour case) to those who have not yet discovered the value ofNatural History. Accept it as a memorial of pleasant hours spentby us already, and as an earnest, I trust, of pleasant hours to bespent hereafter (perhaps, too, beyond this life in the nobler worldto come), in examining together the works of our Father in heaven.Your grateful and faithful brother-in-law,C. KINGSLEY....　

My Discovery of Englandby Leacock, StephenIntroduction of Mr. Stephen Leacock Given by Sir Owen Seaman on the Occasion of His First Lecture in LondonLADIES AND GENTLEMEN: It is usual on these occasions for the chairman to begin something like this: "The lecturer, I am sure, needs no introduction from me." And indeed, when I have been the lecturer and somebody else has been the chairman, I have more than once suspected myself of being the better man of the two. Of course I hope I should always have the good mannersI am sure Mr. Leacock hasto disguise that suspicion. However, one has to go through these formalities, and I will therefore introduce the lecturer to you....　

Returning Homeby Anthony TrollopeIt is generally supposed that people who live at home,gooddomestic people, who love tea and their arm-chairs, and who keep theparlour hearth-rug ever warm,it is generally supposed that theseare the people who value home the most, and best appreciate all thecomforts of that cherished institution. I am inclined to doubtthis. It is, I think, to those who live farthest away from home, tothose who find the greatest difficulty in visiting home, that theword conveys the sweetest idea. In some distant parts of the worldit may be that an Englishman acknowledges his permanent restingplace; but there are many others in which he will not call his daily...　

Glinda of Ozby L. Frank BaumIn which are related the Exciting Experiences of PrincessOzma of Oz, and Dorothy, in their hazardous journeyto the home of the Flatheads, and to the MagicIsle of the Skeezers, and how they wererescued from dire peril by thesorcery of Glinda theGoodby L. FRANK BAUM"Royal Historian of Oz"This Bookis Dedicated toMy SonRobert Stanton BaumLIST OF CHAPTERS1 The Call of Duty2 Ozma and Dorothy3 The Mist Maidens4 The Magic Tent5 The Magic Stairway...　

THE COMPARISON OF DEMOSTHENES AND CICEROby Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenTHESE are the most memorable circumstances recorded in history ofDemosthenes and Cicero which have come to our knowledge. Butomitting an exact comparison of their respective faculties inspeaking, yet thus much seems fit to be said; that Demosthenes, tomake himself a master in rhetoric, applied all the faculties he had,natural or acquired, wholly that way that he far surpassed in forceand strength of eloquence all his contemporaries in political andjudicial speaking, in grandeur and majesty all the panegyrical...　

Poor and Proud, or The Fortunes of Katy Redburnby Oliver OpticA STORY FOR YOUNG FOLKSTO ALICE MARIE ADAMS, This Book IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY HER FATHER.Poor and Proud.PREFACE.Bobby Bright and Harry West, whose histories were contained in the last two volumes of the "Library for Young Folks," were both smart boys. The author, very grateful for the genial welcome extended to these young gentlemen, begs leave to introduce to his juvenile friends a smart girl,Miss Katy Redburn, whose fortunes, he hopes, will prove sufficiently interesting to secure their attention.If any of my adult readers are disposed to accuse me of being a little extravagant, I fear I shall have to let the case go by