The Women of the French SalonsBy Amelia Gere MasonPREFACEIt has been a labor of love with many distinguished Frenchmen to recall the memories of the women who have made their society so illustrious, and to retouch with sympathetic insight the features which time was beginning to dim. One naturally hesitates to enter a field that has been gleaned so carefully, and with such brilliant results, by men like Cousin, Sainte-Beuve, Goncourt, and others of lesser note. But the social life of the two centuries in which women played so important a role in France is always full of human interest from whatever point of view one may regard it. If there is not a great deal to be said that is new, old 　

Villainage in England: Essays in English Mediaeval Historyby Paul Vinogradoff1892First EssayThe Peasantry of the Feudal Age.Chapter OneThe Legal Aspect of Villainage. General ConceptionsIt has become a commonplace to oppose medieval serfdom to ancient slavery, one implying dependence on the lord of the soil and attachment to the glebe, the other being based on complete subjection to an owner. There is no doubt that great landmarks in the course of social development are set by the three modes hitherto employed of organising human labour: using the working man (1) as a chattel at will, (2) as a subordinate whose duties are fixed by custom, (3) as a free agent bound by contract. These landmar　

LITTLE NOVELSby Wilkie CollinsMRS. ZANT AND THE GHOST.I.THE course of this narrative describes the return of a disembodied spirit to earth, and leads the reader on new and strange ground.Not in the obscurity of midnight, but in the searching light of day, did the supernatural influence assert itself. Neither revealed by a vision, nor announced by a voice, it reached mortal knowledge through the sense which is least easily self-deceived: the sense that feels.The record of this event will of necessity produce conflicting impressions. It will raise, in some minds, the doubt which reason asserts; it will invigorate, in other minds, the hope which faith justifies; and it will leave the terrible 　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE ELFIN HILLby Hans Christian AndersenA FEW large lizards were running nimbly about in the clefts ofan old tree; they could understand one another very well, for theyspoke the lizard language."What a buzzing and a rumbling there is in the elfin hill," saidone of the lizards; "I have not been able to close my eyes for twonights on account of the noise; I might just as well have had thetoothache, for that always keeps me awake.""There is something going on within there," said the other lizard;"they propped up the top of the hill with four red posts, till...　

Hunted Downby Charles DickensI.Most of us see some romances in life. In my capacity as ChiefManager of a Life Assurance Office, I think I have within the lastthirty years seen more romances than the generality of men, howeverunpromising the opportunity may, at first sight, seem.As I have retired, and live at my ease, I possess the means that Iused to want, of considering what I have seen, at leisure. Myexperiences have a more remarkable aspect, so reviewed, than theyhad when they were in progress. I have come home from the Playnow, and can recall the scenes of the Drama upon which the curtainhas fallen, free from the glare, bewilderment, and bustle of the...　

Smoke BellewSmoke Bellewby Jack London1- Page 2-Smoke BellewTHE TASTE OF THE MEAT.I.In the beginning he was Christopher Bellew. By the time he was atcollege he had become Chris Bellew. Later, in the Bohemian crowd ofSan Francisco, he was called Kit Bellew. And in the end he was knownby no other name than Smoke Bellew. And this history of the evolutionof his name is the history of his evolution. Nor would it have happened...　

SOUTH SEA TALESSOUTH SEA TALESby Jack London1- Page 2-SOUTH SEA TALESTHE HOUSE OF MAPUHIDespite the heavy clumsiness of her lines, the Aorai handled easily inthe light breeze, and her captain ran her well in before he hove to justoutside the suck of the surf. The atoll of Hikueru lay low on the water, acircle of pounded coral sand a hundred yards wide, twenty miles incircumference, and from three to five feet above high-water mark. On the...　

CONCLUSION.There was one time of the year which was held in Raveloe to beespecially suitable for a wedding. It was when the great lilacs andlaburnums in the old-fashioned gardens showed their golden andpurple wealth above the lichen-tinted walls, and when there werecalves still young enough to want bucketfuls of fragrant milk.People were not so busy then as they must become when the fullcheese-making and the mowing had set in; and besides, it was a timewhen a light bridal dress could be worn with comfort and seen toadvantage.Happily the sunshine fell more warmly than usual on the lilac tuftsthe morning that Eppie was married, for her dress was a very light...　

The Conditions of Existenceby Thomas H. HuxleyIN the last Lecture I endeavoured to prove to you that, while, as ageneral rule, organic beings tend to reproduce their kind, there is inthem, also, a constantly recurring tendency to varyto vary to agreater or to a less extent. Such a variety, I pointed out to you,might arise from causes which we do not understand; we therefore calledit spontaneous; and it might come into existence as a definite andmarked thing, without any gradations between itself and the form whichpreceded it. I further pointed out, that such a variety having oncearisen, might be perpetuated to some extent, and indeed to a verymarked extent, without any direct interference　

BEASTS AND SUPER-BEASTS - H. H. MUNRO ("SAKI")CONTENTSTHE SHE-WOLFLAURATHE BOAR-PIGTHE BROGUETHE HENTHE OPEN WINDOWTHE TREASURE-SHIPTHE COBWEBTHE LULLTHE UNKINDEST BLOWTHE ROMANCERSTHE SCHARTZ-METTERKLUME METHODTHE SEVENTH PULLETTHE BLIND SPOTDUSKA TOUCH OF REALISMCOUSIN TERESATHE YARKAND MANNERTHE BYZANTINE OMELETTETHE FEAST OF NEMESISTHE DREAMERTHE QUINCE TREETHE FORBIDDEN BUZZARDSTHE STAKECLOVIS ON PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIESA HOLIDAY TASKTHE STALLED OXTHE STORY-TELLERA DEFENSIVE DIAMONDTHE ELK"DOWN PENS"THE NAME-DAYTHE LUMBER ROOM...　

An Historical Mysteryby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo Monsieur de Margone.In grateful remembrance, from his guest at the Chateau de Sache.De Balzac.AN HISTORICAL MYSTERYPART ICHAPTER IJUDASThe autumn of the year 1803 was one of the finest in the early part ofthat period of the present century which we now call "Empire." Rainhad refreshed the earth during the month of October, so that the treeswere still green and leafy in November. The French people werebeginning to put faith in a secret understanding between the skies andBonaparte, then declared Consul for life,a belief in which that man...　

Dr. Faustusby Christopher MarloweTHE TRAGICAL HISTORY OF DOCTOR FAUSTUSBY CHRISTOPHER MARLOWEFROM THE QUARTO OF 1616.EDITED BY THE REV. ALEXANDER DYCE.The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.Written by Ch. Mar. London, Printed for John Wright, and areto be sold at his shop without Newgate, at the signe of theBible, 1616, 4to.The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.With new Additions. Written by Ch. Mar. Printed at London forJohn Wright, and are to be sold at his shop without Newgate,1624, 4to.The Tragicall Historie of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus....