The Muse of the Departmentby Honore de BalzacTranslated by James WaringDEDICATIONTo Monsieur le Comte Ferdinand de Gramont.MY DEAR FERDINAND,If the chances of the world of literature/habent sua fata libelli/should allow these lines to be anenduring record, that will still be but a trifle in return for thetrouble you have takenyou, the Hozier, the Cherin, the King-at-Arms of these Studies of Life; you, to whom the Navarreins,Cadignans, Langeais, Blamont-Chauvrys, Chaulieus, Arthez,Esgrignons, Mortsaufs, Valoisthe hundred great names that formthe Aristocracy of the "Human Comedy" owe their lordly mottoes andingenious armorial bearings. Indeed, "the Armorial of the Etudes,...　

Winesburg, Ohioby SHERWOOD ANDERSONCONTENTSTHE TALES AND THE PERSONSTHE BOOK OF THE GROTESQUEHANDS, concerning Wing BiddlebaumPAPER PILLS, concerning Doctor ReefyMOTHER, concerning Elizabeth WillardTHE PHILOSOPHER, concerning Doctor ParcivalNOBODY KNOWS, concerning Louise TrunnionGODLINESS, a Tale in Four PartsI, concerning Jesse BentleyII, also concerning Jesse BentleyIII Surrender, concerning Louise BentleyIV Terror, concerning David HardyTo the memory of my mother,EMMA SMITH ANDERSON,whose keen observations on the life abouther first awoke in me the hunger to seebeneath the surface of lives,...　

THE WHITE DUCKOnce upon a time a great and powerful King married a lovelyPrincess. No couple were ever so happy; but before theirhoneymoon was over they were forced to part, for the King had togo on a warlike expedition to a far country, and leave his youngwife alone at home. Bitter were the tears she shed, while herhusband sought in vain to soothe her with words of comfort andcounsel, warning her, above all things, never to leave thecastle, to hold no intercourse with strangers, to beware of evilcounsellors, and especially to be on her guard against strangewomen. And the Queen promised faithfully to obey her royal lordand master in these four matters....　

KING RICHARD THE SECONDKING RICHARD THESECONDWilliam Shakespeare15961- Page 2-KING RICHARD THE SECONDACT I.2- Page 3-KING RICHARD THE SECONDSCENE I. London. The palaceEnter RICHARD, JOHN OF GAUNT, with other NOBLES andattendantsKING RICHARD. Old John of Gaunt, time-honoured Lancaster,...　

SHERLOCK HOMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD BUILDERby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleTHE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD BUILDER"From the point of view of the criminal" said Mr. Sherlock Holmes,"London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the deathof the late lamented Professor Moriarty.""I can hardly think that you would find many decent citizens toagree with you," I answered."Well, well, I must not be selfish," said he, with a smile, as bepushed back his chair from the breakfast-table. "The community iscertainly the gainer, and no one the loser, save the poorout-of-work specialist, whose occupation has gone. With that man in...　

SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE THREE GARRIDEBSby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleIt may have been a comedy, or it may have been a tragedy. It costone man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and it cost yetanother man the penalties of the law. Yet there was certainly anelement of comedy. Well, you shall judge for yourselves.I remember the date very well, for it was in the same month thatHolmes refused a knighthood for services which may perhaps some day bedescribed. I only refer to the matter in passing, for in my positionof partner and confidant I am obliged to be particularly careful to...　

Massacre at Parisby Christopher MarloweTable of Contents with inital stage directions* Dramatis Personae* Scene 1: Enter Charles the French King, [Catherine] the QueeneMother, the King of Navarre, the Prince of Condye, the Lord highAdmirall, and [Margaret] the Queene of Navarre, with others.* Scene 2: Enter the Duke of Guise.* Scene 3: Enter the King of Navar and Queen [Margaret], and his[olde] Mother Queen [of Navarre], the Prince of Condy, theAdmirall, and the Pothecary with the gloves, and gives themto the olde Queene.* Scene 4: Enter [Charles] the King, [Catherine the] QueeneMother, Duke of Guise, Duke Anjoy, Duke Demayne [and Cossin,...　

The Dragon and The Raven: Or The Days of King AlfredBy G. A. HentyC O N T E N T SPREFACEI. THE FUGITIVESII. THE BATTLE OF KESTEVENIII. THE MASSACRE AT CROYLANDIV. THE INVASION OF WESSEXV. A DISCIPLINED BANDVI. THE SAXON FORTVII. THE DRAGONVIII. THE CRUISE OF THE DRAGONIX. A PRIS0NERX. THE COMBATXI. THE ISLE OF ATHELNEYXII. FOUR YEARS OF PEACEXIII. THE SIEGE OF PARISXlV. THE REPULSE OF THE NORSEMENXV. FRIENDS IN TROUBLEXVI. FREDAXVII. A LONG CHASEXVIII. FREDA DISCOVEREDXIX. UNITEDPREFACEMY DEAR LADS,Living in the present days of peace and tranquillity it is...　

Christie JohnstoneA NOVELby Charles ReadeI dedicate all that is good in this work to my mother.C. R.,NOTETHIS story was written three years ago, and one or two topics in it arenot treated exactly as they would be if written by the same hand to-day.But if the author had retouched those pages with his colors of 1853, hewould (he thinks) have destroyed the only merit they have, viz., that ofcontaining genuine contemporaneous verdicts upon a cant that wasflourishing like a peony, and a truth that was struggling for bare life,in the year of truth 1850.He prefers to deal fairly with the public, and, with this explanation andapology, to lay at its feet a faulty but genuine piece of work....　

The Grey BrethrenThe Grey Brethren1- Page 2-The Grey BrethrenThe Grey BrethrenSome of the happiest remembrances of my childhood are of days spentin a little Quaker colony on a high hill.The walk was in itself a preparation, for the hill was long and steepand at the mercy of the north-east wind; but at the top, sheltered by acopse and a few tall trees, stood a small house, reached by a flaggedpathway skirting one side of a bright trim garden....　

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEThe June roses over the porch were awake bright and early on that morning, rejoicing with all their hearts in the cloudless sunshine, like friendly little neighbors, as they were. Quite flushed with excitement were their ruddy faces, as they swung in the wind, whispering to one another what they had seen, for some peeped in at the dining room windows where the feast was spread, some climbed up to nod and smile at the sisters as they dressed the bride, others waved a welcome to those who came and went on various errands in garden, porch, and hall, and all, from the rosiest full-blown flower to the palest baby bud, offered their tribute of beauty and fragrance to the gentle　

MY ANTONIAby Willa Sibert CatherTO CARRIE AND IRENE MINERIn memory of affections old and trueOptima dies ... prima fugitVIRGILINTRODUCTIONLAST summer I happened to be crossing the plains of Iowa in a seasonof intense heat, and it was my good fortune to have for a travelingcompanion James Quayle BurdenJim Burden, as we still call himin the West. He and I are old friendswe grew up togetherin the same Nebraska townand we had much to say to each other.While the train flashed through never-ending miles of ripe wheat,by country towns and bright-flowered pastures and oak groves wilting...