FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE NEIGHBOURING FAMILIESby Hans Christian AndersenONE would have thought that something important was going on inthe duck-pond, but it was nothing after all. All the ducks lyingquietly on the water or standing on their heads in it- for theycould do that- at once swarm to the sides; the traces of their feetwere seen in the wet earth, and their cackling was heard far and wide.The water, which a few moments before had been as clear and smoothas a mirror, became very troubled. Before, every tree, everyneighbouring bush, the old farmhouse with the holes in the roof and...　

Burlesquesby William Makepeace ThackerayCONTENTSNOTES BY EMINENT HANDS.George de Barnwell. By Sir E. L. B. L., Bart.Codlingsby. By D. Shrewsberry, Esq.Phil Fogarty. A Tale of the Fighting Onety-Oneth. By HarryRollickerBarbazure. By G. P. R. Jeames, Esq., etc.Lords and Liveries. By the Authoress of "Dukes and Dejeuners,""Hearts and Diamonds," "Marchionesses and Milliners," etc., etc.Crinoline. By Je-mes Pl-sh, Esq.The Stars and Stripes. By the Author of "The Last of theMulligans," "Pilot," etc.A Plan for a Prize NovelTHE DIARY OF C. JEAMES DE LA PLUCHE, ESQ., WITH HIS LETTERS....　

Staccato Notes of a Vanished Summerby William Dean HowellsMonday afternoon the storm which had been beating up against thesoutheasterly wind nearly all day thickened, fold upon fold, in thenorthwest. The gale increased, and blackened the harbor and whitened theopen sea beyond, where sail after sail appeared round the reef ofWhaleback Light, and ran in a wild scamper for the safe anchorageswithin.Since noon cautious coasters of all sorts had been dropping in with acasual air; the coal schooners and barges had rocked and nodded knowinglyto one another, with their taper and truncated masts, on the breast ofthe invisible swell; and the flock of little yachts and pleasure-boats...　

AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONSby Adam Smith1776BOOK FIVEOF THE REVENUE OF THE SOVEREIGN OR COMMONWEALTHCHAPTER IOf the Expenses of the Sovereign or CommonwealthPART 1Of the Expense of DefenceTHE first duty of the sovereign, that of protecting thesociety from the violence and invasion of other independentsocieties, can be performed only by means of a military force.But the expense both of preparing this military force in time of...　

Ponkapog Papersby Thomas Bailey AldrichTO FRANCIS BARTLETTTHESE miscellaneous notes andessays are called Ponkapog Papersnot simply because they chanced, forthe most part, to be written within thelimits of the old Indian Reservation,but, rather, because there is somethingtypical of their unpretentiousness in themodesty with which Ponkapog assumesto being even a village. The littleMassachusetts settlement, nestled underthe wing of the Blue Hills, has no illu-sions concerning itself, never mistakesthe cackle of the bourg for the soundthat echoes round the world, and nomore thinks of rivalling great centres ofhuman activity than these slight papers...　

The Portygeeby Joseph C. LincolnCHAPTER IOverhead the clouds cloaked the sky; a ragged cloak it was, and,here and there, a star shone through a hole, to be obscured almostinstantly as more cloud tatters were hurled across the rent. Thepines threshed on the hill tops. The bare branches of the wild-cherry and silverleaf trees scraped and rattled and tossed. Andthe wind, the raw, chilling December wind, driven in, wet andsalty, from the sea, tore over the dunes and brown uplands andacross the frozen salt-meadows, screamed through the telegraphwires, and made the platform of the dismal South Harniss railwaystation the lonesomest, coldest, darkest and most miserable spot on...　

The Ethics [Part 4](Ethica Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata)by Benedict de SpinozaTranslated by R. H. M. ElwesPART IV: Of Human Bondage, or the Strength of the EmotionsPREFACEHuman infirmity in moderating and checking the emotions I name bondage:for, when a man is a prey to his emotions, he is not his own master, butlies at the mercy of fortune: so much so, that he is often compelled,while seeing that which is better for him, to follow that which is worse.Why this is so, and what is good or evil in the emotions, I propose toshow in this part of my treatise. But, before I begin, it would be well...　

Arms and the Manby George Bernard ShawINTRODUCTIONTo the irreverentand which of us will claim entire exemption from thatcomfortable classification?there is something very amusing in theattitude of the orthodox criticism toward Bernard Shaw. He so obviouslydisregards all the canons and unities and other things which everywell-bred dramatist is bound to respect that his work is really unworthyof serious criticism (orthodox). Indeed he knows no more about thedramatic art than, according to his own story in "The Man of Destiny,"Napoleon at Tavazzano knew of the Art of War. But both men weresuccesses each in his waythe latter won victories and the former...　

The Love Affairs Of A Bibliomaniacby Eugene FieldIntroductionThe determination to found a story or a series of sketches on the delights, adventures, and misadventures connected with bibliomania did not come impulsively to my brother. For many years, in short during the greater part of nearly a quarter of a century of journalistic work, he had celebrated in prose and verse, and always in his happiest and most delightful vein, the pleasures of book-hunting. Himself an indefatigable collector of books, the possessor of a library as valuable as it was interesting, a library containing volumes obtained only at the cost of great personal sacrifice, he was in the most active sympathy with the di　

ELECBOOK CLASSICSHARDTIMESCharles Dickens- Page 2-ELECBOOK CLASSICSebc0006. Charles Dickens: Hard TimesThis 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(C) The Electric Book Co 1998The Electric Book Company Ltd20 Cambridge Drive, London SE12 8AJ, UK+44 (0)181 488 3872 www.elecbook- Page 3-HARD TIMESCharles Dickens...　

EconomyWhen I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, Ilived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a housewhich I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord,Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only.I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojournerin civilized life again.I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of myreaders if very particular inquiries had not been made by mytownsmen concerning my mode of life, which some would callimpertinent, though they do not appear to me at all impertinent,but, considering the circumstances, very natural and pertinent....　

Speeches: Literary and Socialby Charles DickensSPEECH: EDINBURGH, JUNE 25, 1841.[At a public dinner, given in honour of Mr. Dickens, and presidedover by the late Professor Wilson, the Chairman having proposed hishealth in a long and eloquent speech, Mr. Dickens returned thanksas follows:-]IF I felt your warm and generous welcome less, I should be betterable to thank you. If I could have listened as you have listenedto the glowing language of your distinguished Chairman, and if Icould have heard as you heard the "thoughts that breathe and wordsthat burn," which he has uttered, it would have gone hard but I...