Shelley : AN ESSAYby Francis ThompsonThe Church, which was once the mother of poets no less than ofsaints, during the last two centuries has relinquished to aliens thechief glories of poetry, if the chief glories of holiness she haspreserved for her own. The palm and the laurel, Dominic and Dante,sanctity and song, grew together in her soil: she has retained thepalm, but forgone the laurel. Poetry in its widest sense, {1} andwhen not professedly irreligious, has been too much and too longamong many Catholics either misprised or distrusted; too much andtoo generally the feeling has been that it is at best superfluous,at worst pernicious, most often dangerous. Once poetry was, as she...　

The Magic Skinby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Ellen MarriageTo Monsieur Savary, Member of Le Academie des Sciences.ITHE TALISMANTowards the end of the month of October 1829 a young man entered thePalais-Royal just as the gaming-houses opened, agreeably to the lawwhich protects a passion by its very nature easily excisable. Hemounted the staircase of one of the gambling hells distinguished bythe number 36, without too much deliberation."Your hat, sir, if you please?" a thin, querulous voice called out. Alittle old man, crouching in the darkness behind a railing, suddenlyrose and exhibited his features, carved after a mean design.As you enter a gaming-house the law despoils you of your hat a　

North AmericaVolume 2by Anthony TrollopeCONTENTS OF VOL. II.CHAPTER I.WashingtonCHAPTER II.CongressCHAPTER III.The Causes of the WarCHAPTER IV.Washington to St. LouisCHAPTER V.MissouriCHAPTER VI.Cairo and Camp WoodCHAPTER VII.The Army of the NorthCHAPTER VIII.Back to BostonCHAPTER IX.The Constitution of the United StatesCHAPTER X.The GovernmentCHAPTER XI.The Law Courts and Lawyers of the United StatesCHAPTER XII.The Financial PositionCHAPTER XIII.The Post-officeCHAPTER XIV.American HotelsCHAPTER XV.LiteratureCHAPTER XVI.ConclusionNORTH AMERICA.CHAPTER 1. WASHINGTON.The site of the present City of Washington was chosen with three special views: firstly, that being on the Potomac it might hav　

SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE BRUCE-PARTINGTON PLANby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleIn the third week of November, in the year 1895, a dense yellow fogsettled down upon London. From the Monday to the Thursday I doubtwhether it was ever possible from our windows in Baker Street to seethe loom of the opposite houses. The first day Holmes had spent incross-indexing his huge book of references. The second and third hadbeen patiently occupied upon a subject which he had recently madehis hobby- the music of the Middle Ages. But when, for the fourthtime, after pushing back our chairs from breakfast we saw the...　

CYMBELINECYMBELINEWilliam Shakespeare16091- Page 2-CYMBELINEDramatis PersonaeCYMBELINE, King of Britain CLOTEN, son to the Queen by aformer husband POSTHUMUS LEONATUS, a gentleman, husband toImogen BELARIUS, a banished lord, disguised under the name of MorganGUIDERIUS and ARVIRAGUS, sons to Cymbeline, disguised underthe names of POLYDORE and CADWAL, supposed sons to BelariusPHILARIO, Italian, friend to Posthumus IACHIMO, Italian, friend to...　

　January 1954　　The Boeing C-97 Stratocruiser bore the look of a crypt. Perhaps the image was bred by the cold winter night, or perhaps it came from the gusting snow that was piling an icy shroud on the wings and fuselage. The flickering lights from the cockpit windshield and the fleeting shadows of the maintenance crew served only to exaggerate the chilling scene.　Major Raymond Vylander, United States Air Force, did not care for what he saw. He watched silently as the fuel truck drove away and vanished into the stormy darkness. The loading ramp was dropped from the rear of the great whalelike belly, and then the cargo doors slowly swung closed, cutting off a rectangle of light that spilled 　

ENDYMION: A POETIC ROMANCEby John KeatsPREFACE"The stretched metre of an antique song"INSCRIBED TO THE MEMORY OF THOMAS CHATTERTONPREFACEKNOWING within myself the manner in which this Poem has beenproduced, it is not without a feeling of regret that I make it public.What manner I mean, will be quite clear to the reader, who must soonperceive great inexperience, immaturity, and every error denoting afeverish attempt, rather than a deed accomplished. The two firstbooks, and indeed the two last, I feel sensible are not of suchcompletion as to warrant their passing the press; nor should they if I...　

The Spirit of Place and Other EssaysThe Spirit of Place andOther Essaysby Alice Meynell1- Page 2-The Spirit of Place and Other EssaysTHE SPIRIT OF PLACEWith mimicry, with praises, with echoes, or with answers, the poetshave all but outsung the bells. The inarticulate bell has found too muchinterpretation, too many rhymes professing to close with her inaccessibleutterance, and to agree with her remote tongue. The bell, like the bird, is...　

Chapter XIX of Volume III (Chap. 61)HAPPY for all her maternal feelings was the day on which Mrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters. With what delighted pride she afterwards visited Mrs. Bingley, and talked of Mrs. Darcy, may be guessed. I wish I could say, for the sake of her family, that the accomplishment of her earnest desire in the establishment of so many of her children produced so happy an effect as to make her a sensible, amiable, well-informed woman for the rest of her life; though perhaps it was lucky for her husband, who might not have relished domestic felicity in so unusual a form, that she still was occasionally nervous and invariably silly.Mr. Bennet missed 　

　　　　　　　　What I did was take all the spades out of a deck of cards plus a joker. Ace to King = 1-13. Joker = 14. I shuffled the cards and dealt them. The order in which they came out of the deck became the order of the stories, based on their position in the list my publisher sent me. And it actually created a very nice balance between the literary stories and the all-out screamers. I also added an explanatory note before or after each story, depending on which seemed the more fitting position. Next collection: selected by Tarot.　　　　　　Introduction: Practicing the (Almost) Lost Art　　Autopsy Room Four　　The Man in the Black Suit　　All That You Love Will Be Carried Away...　

The Story of the Glittering PlainorThe Land of Living Menby William MorrisCHAPTER I: OF THOSE THREE WHO CAME TO THE HOUSE OF THE RAVENIt has been told that there was once a young man of free kindred andwhose name was Hallblithe: he was fair, strong, and not untried inbattle; he was of the House of the Raven of old time.This man loved an exceeding fair damsel called the Hostage, who wasof the House of the Rose, wherein it was right and due that the menof the Raven should wed.She loved him no less, and no man of the kindred gainsaid their love,and they were to be wedded on Midsummer Night....　

DAVIDCOPPERFIELDCharles DickensELECBOOK CLASSICSebc0004. Charles Dickens: David CopperfieldThis file is free for individual use only. It must not be altered or resold.Organisations wishing to use it must first obtain a licence.Low cost licenses are available. Contact us through our web site. The Electric Book Co 1998The Electric Book Company Ltd20 Cambridge Drive, London SE12 8AJ, UK+44 (0)181 488 3872 www.elecbook.comDAVIDCOPPERFIELDTHE PERSONAL HISTORY ANDEXPERIENCE OF DAVIDCOPPERFIELD THE YOUNGERCHARLES DICKENSAFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED TOTHE HON. Mr. AND Mrs. RICHARD WATSON,OF ROCKINGHAM, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE....