DRIFT FROM TWO SHORESDRIFT FROM TWOSHORESby BRET HARTE1- Page 2-DRIFT FROM TWO SHORES2- Page 3-DRIFT FROM TWO SHORESTHE MAN ON THE BEACHIHe lived beside a river that emptied into a great ocean. The narrowstrip of land that lay between him and the estuary was covered at high tideby a shining film of water, at low tide with the cast-up offerings of sea and...　

The Secret Sharerby Joseph ConradIOn my right hand there were lines of fishing stakes resemblinga mysterious system of half-submerged bamboo fences,incomprehensible in its division of the domain of tropical fishes,and crazy of aspect as if abandoned forever by some nomadtribe of fishermen now gone to the other end of the ocean;for there was no sign of human habitation as far as the eyecould reach. To the left a group of barren islets,suggesting ruins of stone walls, towers, and blockhouses,had its foundations set in a blue sea that itself looked solid,so still and stable did it lie below my feet; even the trackof light from the westering sun shone smoothly, without that...　

SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE CARDBOARD BOXby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleIn choosing a few typical cases which illustrate the remarkablemental qualities of my friend, Sherlock Holmes, I have endeavoured, asfar as possible, to select those which presented the minimum ofsensationalism, while offering a fair field for his talents. It is,however, unfortunately impossible entirely to separate the sensationalfrom the criminal, and a chronicler is left in the dilemma that hemust either sacrifice details which are essential to his statement andso give a false impression of the problem, or he must use matter which...　

The Hand of Ethelbertaby Thomas HardyPREFACEThis somewhat frivolous narrative was produced as an interludebetween stories of a more sober design, and it was given the sub-title of a comedy to indicatethough not quite accuratelythe aimof the performance. A high degree of probability was not attemptedin the arrangement of the incidents, and there was expected of thereader a certain lightness of mood, which should inform him with agood-natured willingness to accept the production in the spirit inwhich it was offered. The characters themselves, however, weremeant to be consistent and human.On its first appearance the novel suffered, perhaps deservedly, for...　

THE YOUNG MAN WHO WOULD HAVE HIS EYES OPENEDOnce upon a time there lived a youth who was never happy unlesshe was prying into something that other people knew nothingabout. After he had learned to understand the language of birdsand beasts, he discovered accidentally that a great deal tookplace under cover of night which mortal eyes never saw. Fromthat moment he felt he could not rest till these hidden secretswere laid bare to him, and he spent his whole time wandering fromone wizard to another, begging them to open his eyes, but foundnone to help him. At length he reached an old magician calledMana, whose learning was greater than that of the rest, and who...　

ReadingWith a little more deliberation in the choice of their pursuits,all men would perhaps become essentially students and observers, forcertainly their nature and destiny are interesting to all alike. Inaccumulating property for ourselves or our posterity, in founding afamily or a state, or acquiring fame even, we are mortal; but indealing with truth we are immortal, and need fear no change noraccident. The oldest Egyptian or Hindoo philosopher raised a cornerof the veil from the statue of the divinity; and still the tremblingrobe remains raised, and I gaze upon as fresh a glory as he did,since it was I in him that was then so bold, and it is he in me that...　

Dorothy and the Wizard in Ozby L. Frank BaumA Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventuresin an Underground World; and How with theAid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eurekathe Kitten, and Jim the Cab-Horse,They Finally Reached theWonderful Landof Ozby L. Frank Baum"Royal Historian of Oz"To My Readers1. The Earthquake2. The Glass City3. The Arrival of the Wizard4. The Vegetable Kingdom5. Dorothy Picks the Princess6. The Mangaboos Prove Dangerous7. Into the Black Pit and Out Again8. The Valley of Voices9. They Fight the Invisible Bears...　

THE CHILD WHO CAME FROM AN EGGOnce upon a time there lived a queen whose heart was sore becauseshe had no children. She was sad enough when her husband was athome with her, but when he was away she would see nobody, but satand wept all day long.Now it happened that a war broke out with the king of aneighbouring country, and the queen was left in the palace alone.She was so unhappy that she felt as if the walls would stifleher, so she wandered out into the garden, and threw herself downon a grassy bank, under the shade of a lime tree. She had beenthere for some time, when a rustle among the leaves caused her tolook up, and she saw an old woman limping on her crutches towards...　

ARTAXERXES437-359 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenTHE first Artaxerxes, among all the kings of Persia the mostremarkable for a gentle and noble spirit, was surnamed theLong-handed, his right hand being longer than his left, and was theson of Xerxes. The second, whose story I am now writing, who had thesurname of the Mindful, was the grandson of the former, by hisdaughter Parysatis, who brought Darius four sons, the eldestArtaxerxes, the next Cyrus, and two younger than these, Ostanes andOxathres. Cyrus took his name of the ancient Cyrus, as he, they say,...　

THE FROZEN DEEPby Wilkie CollinsFirst SceneThe Ball-roomChapter 1.The date is between twenty and thirty years ago. The place is anEnglish sea-port. The time is night. And the business of themoment isdancing.The Mayor and Corporation of the town are giving a grand ball, incelebration of the departure of an Arctic expedition from theirport. The ships of the expedition are two in numberthe_Wanderer_ and the _Sea-mew_. They are to sail (in search of theNorthwest Passage) on the next day, with the morning tide.Honor to the Mayor and Corporation! It is a brilliant ball. Theband is complete. The room is spacious. The large conservatoryopening out of it is pleasantly lighted with Chinese lanterns,.　

Muratby Alexander Dumas, pereITOULONOn the 18th June, 1815, at the very moment when the destiny of Europewas being decided at Waterloo, a man dressed like a beggar wassilently following the road from Toulon to Marseilles.Arrived at the entrance of the Gorge of Ollioulles, he halted on alittle eminence from which he could see all the surrounding country;then either because he had reached the end of his journey, orbecause, before attempting that forbidding, sombre pass which iscalled the Thermopylae of Provence, he wished to enjoy themagnificent view which spread to the southern horizon a littlelonger, he went and sat down on the edge of the ditch which bordered...　

The Darwinian Hypothesisby Thomas H. HuxleyDARWIN ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES.THERE is a growing immensity in the speculations of science to which nohuman thing or thought at this day is comparable. Apart from theresults which science brings us home and securely harvests, there is anexpansive force and latitude in its tentative efforts, which lifts usout of ourselves and transfigures our mortality. We may have apreference for moral themes, like the Homeric sage, who had seen andknown much:"Cities of menAnd manners, climates, councils, governments";yet we must end by confession that"The windy ways of menAre but dust which rises up...