THE MONKEY AND THE JELLY-FISHChildren must often have wondered why jelly-fishes have noshells, like so many of the creatures that are washed up everyday on the beach. In old times this was not so; the jelly-fishhad as hard a shell as any of them, but he lost it through hisown fault, as may be seen in this story.The sea-queen Otohime, whom you read of in the story ofUraschimatoro, grew suddenly very ill. The swiftest messengerswere sent hurrying to fetch the best doctors from every countryunder the sea, but it was all of no use; the queen grew rapidlyworse instead of better. Everyone had almost given up hope, whenone day a doctor arrived who was cleverer than the rest, and said...　

ORTHODOXYBYGILBERT K. CHESTERTONPREFACEThis book is meant to be a companion to "Heretics," and toput the positive side in addition to the negative. Many criticscomplained of the book called "Heretics" because it merely criticisedcurrent philosophies without offering any alternative philosophy.This book is an attempt to answer the challenge. It is unavoidablyaffirmative and therefore unavoidably autobiographical. The writer hasbeen driven back upon somewhat the same difficulty as that which beset...　

Phyllis of Philistiaby Frank Frankfort MooreCHAPTER I.AN ASTRONOMER WITHOUT A TELESCOPE."After all," said Mr. Ayrton, "what is marriage?""Ah!" sighed Phyllis. She knew that her father had become possessed of a phrase, and that he was anxious to flutter it before her to see how it went. He was a connoisseur in the bric-a-brac of phrases."Marriage means all your eggs in one basket," said he."Ah!" sighed Phyllis once more. She wondered if her father really thought that she would be comforted in her great grief by a phrase. She did not want to know how marriage might be defined. She knew that all definitions are indefinite. She knew that in the case of marriage everything depends upon the defin　

The Magic Skinby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Ellen MarriageTo Monsieur Savary, Member of Le Academie des Sciences.ITHE TALISMANTowards the end of the month of October 1829 a young man entered thePalais-Royal just as the gaming-houses opened, agreeably to the lawwhich protects a passion by its very nature easily excisable. Hemounted the staircase of one of the gambling hells distinguished bythe number 36, without too much deliberation."Your hat, sir, if you please?" a thin, querulous voice called out. Alittle old man, crouching in the darkness behind a railing, suddenlyrose and exhibited his features, carved after a mean design....　

Chapter IV of Volume IIWITH no greater events than these in the Longbourn family, and otherwise diversified by little beyond the walks to Meryton, sometimes dirty and sometimes cold, did January and February pass away. March was to take Elizabeth to Hunsford. She had not at first thought very seriously of going thither; but Charlotte, she soon found, was depending on the plan, and she gradually learned to consider it herself with greater pleasure as well as greater certainty. Absence had increased her desire of seeing Charlotte again, and weakened her disgust of Mr. Collins. There was novelty in the scheme; and as, with such a mother and such uncompanionable sisters, home could not be fault　

Dreamsby Olive SchreinerTo a small girl-child, who may live to grasp somewhat of that which for us is yet sight, not touch.Note.These Dreams are printed in the order in which they were written.In the case of two there was a lapse of some years between the writing of the first and last parts; these are placed according to the date of the first part.Olive Schreiner.Matjesfontein, Cape Colony, South Africa. November, 1890.CONTENTS.I. The Lost Joy.II. The Hunter (From "The Story of of an African Farm").III. The Gardens of Pleasure.IV. In a Far-off World.V. Three Dreams in a Desert.VI. A Dream of Wild Bees (Written as a letter to a friend)....　

El Doradoby Baroness OrczyFOREWORDThere has of late years crept so much confusion into the mind ofthe student as well as of the general reader as to the identity ofthe Scarlet Pimpernel with that of the Gascon Royalist plotterknown to history as the Baron de Batz, that the time seemsopportune for setting all doubts on that subject at rest.The identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel is in no way whateverconnected with that of the Baron de Batz, and even superficialreflection will soon bring the mind to the conclusion that greatfundamental differences existed in these two men, in theirpersonality, in their character, and, above all, in their aims.According to one or two enthusiastic historians, the　

The Lifted Veilby George Eliot [Mary Anne Evans]CHAPTER IThe time of my end approaches. I have lately been subject toattacks of angina pectoris; and in the ordinary course of things,my physician tells me, I may fairly hope that my life will not beprotracted many months. Unless, then, I am cursed with anexceptional physical constitution, as I am cursed with anexceptional mental character, I shall not much longer groan underthe wearisome burthen of this earthly existence. If it were to beotherwiseif I were to live on to the age most men desire andprovide forI should for once have known whether the miseries ofdelusive expectation can outweigh the miseries of true provision....　

The Scouts of the Valleyby Joseph A. AltshelerCHAPTER ITHE LONE CANOEA light canoe of bark, containing a single human figure, moved swiftly up one of the twin streams that form the Ohio. The water, clear and deep, coming through rocky soil, babbled gently at the edges, where it lapped the land, but in the center the full current flowed steadily and without noise.The thin shadows of early dusk were falling, casting a pallid tint over the world, a tint touched here and there with living fire from the sun, which was gone, though leaving burning embers behind. One glowing shaft, piercing straight through the heavy forest that clothed either bank, fell directly upon the figure in the boat, as 　

Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange ThingsBy Lafcadio HearnA Note On Japanese PronunciationAlthough simplified, the following general rules will help the readerunfamiliar with Japanese to come close enough to Japanese pronunciation.There are five vowels: a (as in fAther), i (as in machIne), u (as infOOl), e (as in fEllow), and o (as in mOle). Although certain vowels becomenearly "silent" in some environments, this phenomenon can be safely ignoredfor the purpose at hand.Consonants roughly approximate their corresponding sounds in English,except for r, which is actually somewhere between r and l (this is why the...　

THE RATCATCHERA VERY long time ago the town of Hamel in Germany wasinvaded by bands of rats, the like of which had never been seenbefore nor will ever be again.They were great black creatures that ran boldly in broaddaylight through the streets, and swarmed so, all over the houses, thatpeople at last could not put their hand or foot down anywhere withouttouching one. When dressing in the morning they found themin their breeches and petticoats, in their pockets and in their boots;and when they wanted a morsel to eat, the voracious horde hadswept away everything from cellar to garret. The night was evenworse. As soon as the lights were out, these untiring nibblers set...　

SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE SOLITARY CYCLISTby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleFrom the years 1894 to 1901 inclusive, Mr. Sherlock Holmes was avery busy man. It is safe to say that there was no public case ofany difficulty in which he was not consulted during those eight years,and there were hundreds of private cases, some of them of the mostintricate and extraordinary character, in which he played aprominent part. Many startling successes and a few unavoidablefailures were the outcome of this long period of continuous work. As Ihave preserved very full notes of all these cases, and was myself...