The Symposiumby XenophonTranslation by H. G. DakynsXenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.The Symposium records the discussion of Socrates and company at a dinner given by Callias for the youth Autolycus. Dakyns believed that Plato knew of this work, and that it influenced him to some degree when he wrote his own "Symposium."THE SYMPOSIUMorThe BanquetIFor myself,[1] I hold to the opinion that not alone are the serious transactions of "good and noble men"[2] 　

The Marriage Contractby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo Rossini.THE MARRIAGE CONTRACTCHAPTER IPRO AND CONMonsieur de Manerville, the father, was a worthy Norman gentleman,well known to the Marechael de Richelieu, who married him to one ofthe richest heiresses of Bordeaux in the days when the old dukereigned in Guienne as governor. The Norman then sold the estate heowned in Bessin, and became a Gascon, allured by the beauty of thechateau de Lanstrac, a delightful residence owned by his wife. Duringthe last days of the reign of Louis XV., he bought the post of major...　

The Man From Glengarryby Ralph ConnorA TALE OF THE OTTAWADEDICATIONTO THE MEN OF GLENGARRY WHO IN PATIENCE, IN COURAGE AND IN THE FEAROF GOD ARE HELPING TO BUILD THE EMPIRE OF THE CANADIAN WEST THISBOOK IS HUMBLY DEDICATEDPREFACEThe solid forests of Glengarry have vanished, and with the foreststhe men who conquered them. The manner of life and the type ofcharacter to be seen in those early days have gone too, andforever. It is part of the purpose of this book to so picturethese men and their times that they may not drop quite out of mind.The men are worth remembering. They carried the marks of theirblood in their fierce passions, their courage, their loyalty; and...　

Old Christmasby Washington IrvingBut is old, old, good old Christmas gone? Nothing but the hair ofhis good, gray, old head and beard left? Well, I will have that,seeing that I cannot have more of him.Hue and Cry after Christmas.CONTENTSCHRISTMASTHE STAGE-COACHCHRISTMAS EVECHRISTMAS DAYTHE CHRISTMAS DINNERA man might then beholdAt Christmas, in each hallGood fires to curb the cold,And meat for great and small.The neighbours were friendly bidden,And all had welcome true,The poor from the gates were not chidden,When this old cap was new.Old SongChristmasThere is nothing in England that exercises a more delightful spell over my imagination than the lingerings of the holiday customs and rural 　

Hermann and DorotheaBy Johann Wolfgang von GoetheTranslated by Ellen FrothinghamINTRODUCTORY NOTEThere are few modern poems of any country so perfect in their kind as the "Hermann and Dorothea" of Goethe. In clearness of characterization, in unity of tone, in the adjustment of background and foreground, in the conduct of the narrative, it conforms admirably to the strict canons of art; yet it preserves a freshness and spontaneity in its emotional appeal that are rare in works of so classical a perfection in form.The basis of the poem is a historical incident. In the year 1731 the Archbishop of Salzburg drove out of his diocese a thousand Protestants, who took refuge in South Germany, and am　

An Unprotected Female at the Pyramidsby Anthony TrollopeIn the happy days when we were young, no description conveyed to us socomplete an idea of mysterious reality as that of an Oriental city. Weknew it was actually there, but had such vague notions of its ways andlooks! Let any one remember his early impressions as to Bagdad orGrand Cairo, and then say if this was not so. It was probably takenfrom the "Arabian Nights," and the picture produced was one of strange,fantastic, luxurious houses; of women who were either very young andvery beautiful, or else very old and very cunning; but in either stateexercising much more influence in life than women in the East do now;...　

Lays of Ancient RomeLays of Ancient RomeBy Thomas Babbington Macaulay1- Page 2-Lays of Ancient RomePrefaceHoratius The LayThe Battle of the Lake Regillus The LayVirginia The LayThe Prophecy of Capys The LayThat what is called the history of the Kings and early Consuls ofRome is to a great extent fabulous, few scholars have, since the time ofBeaufort, ventured to deny. It is certain that, more than three hundred and...　

THE COMPLEAT ANGLERTHE COMPLEATANGLERIZAAK WALTON1- Page 2-THE COMPLEAT ANGLERTo the Right worshipfulJohn Offleyof Madeley Manor, in the County of Stafford Esquire, My mosthonoured FriendSir, I have made so ill use of your former favours, as by them to beencouraged to entreat, that they may be enlarged to the patronage andprotection of this Book: and I have put on a modest confidence, that I shall...　

Red Eveby H. Rider HaggardDEDICATIONDitchingham,May 27, 1911.My dear Jehu:For five long but not unhappy years, seated or journeying side byside, we have striven as Royal Commissioners to find a meanswhereby our coasts may be protected from "the outrageous flowingsurges of the sea" (I quote the jurists of centuries ago), theidle swamps turned to fertility and the barren hills clothed withforest; also, with small success, how "foreshore" may be bestdefined!What will result from all these labours I do not know, nor whether...　

The Girl with the Golden Eyesby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Ellen MarriageDEDICATIONTo Eugene Delacroix, Painter.NoteThe Girl with the Golden Eyes is the third part of a trilogy. Partone is entitled Ferragus and part two is The Duchesse de Langeais.The three stories are frequently combined under the title TheThirteen.THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN EYESOne of those sights in which most horror is to be encountered is,surely, the general aspect of the Parisian populacea people fearfulto behold, gaunt, yellow, tawny. Is not Paris a vast field inperpetual turmoil from a storm of interests beneath which are whirledalong a crop of human beings, who are, more often than not, reaped by...　

The Chignecto Isthmus And Its First Settlersby Howard Trueman1902PREFACE.For some years past I, in common with many others, have felt that all letters of interest and accessible facts in connection with the early history of the Truemans should be collected and put in permanent form, not because there is anything of interest to the general public in the records of a family whose members have excelled, if at all, in private rather than in public life, but in order that the little knowledge there is of the early history of the family might not pass forever out of the reach of later generations with the death of those whose memory carries them back to the original settlers. In getting together 　

Youthby Leo TolstoyTranslated by C. J. HogarthIWHAT I CONSIDER TO HAVE BEEN THE BEGINNING OF MY YOUTHI have said that my friendship with Dimitri opened up for me anew view of my life and of its aim and relations. The essence ofthat view lay in the conviction that the destiny of man is tostrive for moral improvement, and that such improvement is atonce easy, possible, and lasting. Hitherto, however, I had foundpleasure only in the new ideas which I discovered to arise fromthat conviction, and in the forming of brilliant plans for amoral, active future, while all the time my life had beencontinuing along its old petty, muddled, pleasure-seeking course,...