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...
THE HISTORY OF DWARF LONG NOSEIt is a great mistake to think that fairies, witches, magicians,and such people lived only in Eastern countries and in such timesas those of the Caliph Haroun Al-Raschid. Fairies and theirlike belong to every country and every age, and no doubt weshould see plenty of them nowif we only knew how.In a large town in Germany there lived, some couple of hundredyears ago, a cobbler and his wife. They were poor andhard-working. The man sat all day in a little stall at thestreet corner and mended any shoes that were brought him. Hiswife sold the fruit and vegetables they grew in their garden inthe Market Place, and as she was always neat and clean and her...
The Pharisee And The Publicanby John BunyanTwo men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself; God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this Publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the Publican, standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Luke, xviii. 10-13.In the beginning of this chapter you read of the reason of the parable of the unjust judge and the poor widow; namely, to encourage men to pray. "He spake a parable to t
SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE PRIORY SCHOOLby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleTHE ADVENTURE OF THE PRIORY SCHOOLWe have had some dramatic entrances and exits upon our small stageat Baker Street, but I cannot recollect anything more sudden andstartling than the first appearance of Thorneycroft Huxtable, M.A.,Ph.D., etc. His card, which seemed too small to carry the weight ofhis academic distinctions, preceded him by a few seconds, and thenhe entered himself- so large, so pompous, and so dignified that he wasthe very embodiment of self-possession and solidity. And yet his first...
THE BRONZE RINGOnce upon a time in a certain country there lived aking whose palace was surrounded by a spacious garden.But, though the gardeners were many and the soil wasgood, this garden yielded neither flowers nor fruits, noteven grass or shady trees.The King was in despair about it, when a wise old mansaid to him:"Your gardeners do not understand their business: butwhat can you expect of men whose fathers were cobblersand carpenters? How should they have learned to cultivateyour garden?""You are quite right," cried the King."Therefore," continued the old man, "you should sendfor a gardener whose father and grandfather have been...
Uncle Remus, His Songs and His SayingsBy Joel Chandler HarrisPREFACE AND DEDICATION TO THE NEW EDITIONTo Arthur Barbette Frost:DEAR FROST:I am expected to supply a preface for this new edition of my first book-to advance from behind the curtain, as it were, and make a fresh bow to the public that has dealt with Uncle Remus in so gentle and generous a fashion. For this event the lights are to be rekindled, and I am expected to respond in some formal way to an encore that marks the fifteenth anniversary of the book. There have been other editions-how many I do not remember-but this is to be an entirely new one, except as to the matter: new type, new pictures, and new binding....
A NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY_To Sir John Sinclair__Washington, June 30, 1803_DEAR SIR, It is so long since I have had the pleasure ofwriting to you, that it would be vain to look back to dates toconnect the old and the new. Yet I ought not to pass over myacknowledgments to you for various publications received from time totime, and with great satisfaction and thankfulness. I send you asmall one in return, the work of a very unlettered farmer, yetvaluable, as it relates plain facts of importance to farmers. Youwill discover that Mr. Binns is an enthusiast for the use of gypsum.But there are two facts which prove he has a right to be so: 1. He...
The Writings of Abraham Lincolnby Abraham LincolnVOLUME II.1843-1858FIRST CHILDTO JOSHUA F. SPEED.SPRINGFIELD, May 18, 1843.DEAR SPEED:Yours of the 9th instant is duly received, which Ido not meet as a "bore," but as a most welcome visitor. I willanswer the business part of it first.In relation to our Congress matter here, you were right insupposing I would support the nominee. Neither Baker nor I,however, is the man, but Hardin, so far as I can judge frompresent appearances. We shall have no split or trouble about thematter; all will be harmony. In relation to the "coming events"...
FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE BOTTLE NECKby Hans Christian AndersenCLOSE to the corner of a street, among other abodes of poverty,stood an exceedingly tall, narrow house, which had been so knockedabout by time that it seemed out of joint in every direction. Thishouse was inhabited by poor people, but the deepest poverty wasapparent in the garret lodging in the gable. In front of the littlewindow, an old bent bird-cage hung in the sunshine, which had not evena proper water-glass, but instead of it the broken neck of a bottle,turned upside down, and a cork stuck in to make it hold the water with...
Styleby Walter RaleighStyle, the Latin name for an iron pen, has come to designate the art that handles, with ever fresh vitality and wary alacrity, the fluid elements of speech. By a figure, obvious enough, which yet might serve for an epitome of literary method, the most rigid and simplest of instruments has lent its name to the subtlest and most flexible of arts. Thence the application of the word has been extended to arts other than literature, to the whole range of the activities of man. The fact that we use the word "style" in speaking of architecture and sculpture, painting and music, dancing, play-acting, and cricket, that we can apply it to the careful achievements of the houseb
Essays on Life, Art and Scienceby Samuel ButlerContents:IntroductionQuis Desiderio?Ramblings in CheapsideThe Aunt, The Nieces, and the DogHow to make the best of lifeThe Sanctuary of MontrigoneA Medieval Girl SchoolArt in the Valley of SaasThought and LanguageThe Deadlock in DarwinismINTRODUCTIONIt is hardly necessary to apologise for the miscellaneous characterof the following collection of essays. Samuel Butler was a man ofsuch unusual versatility, and his interests were so many and sovarious that his literary remains were bound to cover a wide field.Nevertheless it will be found that several of the subjects to which...
The Playboy of the Western Worldby J. M. SyngeA COMEDY IN THREE ACTSPREFACEIn writing THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, as in my other plays, I have usedone or two words only that I have not heard among the country people ofIreland, or spoken in my own nursery before I could read the newspapers. Acertain number of the phrases I employ I have heard also from herds andfishermen along the coast from Kerry to Mayo, or from beggar-women andballadsingers nearer Dublin; and I am glad to acknowledge how much I owe tothe folk imagination of these fine people. Anyone who has lived in realintimacy with the Irish peasantry will know that the wildest sayings and ideas...