TOADS AND DIAMONDSTHERE was once upon a time a widow who had twodaughters. The eldest was so much like her in the faceand humor that whoever looked upon the daughter sawthe mother. They were both so disagreeable and so proudthat there was no living with them.The youngest, who was the very picture of her fatherfor courtesy and sweetness of temper, was withal one ofthe most beautiful girls ever seen. As people naturallylove their own likeness, this mother even doted on hereldest daughter and at the same time had a horribleaversion for the youngestshe made her eat in the kitchenand work continually.Among other things, this poor child was forced twice a...　

A Defence of Poesie and Poemsby Philip SidneyContents:Introduction by Henry MorleyA Defence of PoesiePoemsINTRODUCTIONPhilip Sidney was born at Penshurst, in Kent, on the 29th of November, 1554. His father, Sir Henry Sidney, had married Mary, eldest daughter of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and Philip was the eldest of their family of three sons and four daughters. Edmund Spenser and Walter Raleigh were of like age with Philip Sidney, differing only by about a year, and when Elizabeth became queen, on the 17th of November, 1558, they were children of four or five years old.In the year 1560 Sir Henry Sidney was made Lord President of Wales, representing the Queen in Wales and the fou　

The Land of Footprintsby Stewart Edward WhiteI. ON BOOKS OF ADVENTUREBooks of sporting, travel, and adventure in countries little known to the average reader naturally fall in two classes-neither, with a very few exceptions, of great value. One class is perhaps the logical result of the other.Of the first type is the book that is written to make the most of far travels, to extract from adventure the last thrill, to impress the awestricken reader with a full sense of the danger and hardship the writer has undergone. Thus, if the latter takes out quite an ordinary routine permit to go into certain districts, he makes the most of travelling in "closed territory," implying that he has obtained 　

The Path of the Lawby O. W. Holmes, Jr.10 Harvard Law Review 457 (1897)When we study law we are not studying a mystery but a well-knownprofession. We are studying what we shall want in order to appearbefore judges, or to advise people in such a way as to keep them out ofcourt. The reason why it is a profession, why people will pay lawyersto argue for them or to advise them, is that in societies like ours thecommand of the public force is intrusted to the judges in certain cases,and the whole power of the state will be put forth, if necessary, tocarry out their judgments and decrees. People want to know under whatcircumstances and how far they will run the risk of coming against what...　

The Religion of Babylonia and Assyriaby Theophilus G. PinchesCHAPTER IFOREWORDPosition, and Period.The religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians was the polytheistic faith professed by the peoples inhabiting the Tigris and Euphrates valleys from what may be regarded as the dawn of history until the Christian era began, or, at least, until the inhabitants were brought under the influence of Christianity. The chronological period covered may be roughly estimated at about 5000 years. The belief of the people, at the end of that time, being Babylonian heathenism leavened with Judaism, the country was probably ripe for the reception of the new faith. Christianity, however, by no means replaced t　

A Waif of the Plainsby Bret HarteCHAPTER IA long level of dull gray that further away became a faint blue,with here and there darker patches that looked like water. Attimes an open space, blackened and burnt in an irregular circle,with a shred of newspaper, an old rag, or broken tin can lying inthe ashes. Beyond these always a low dark line that seemed to sinkinto the ground at night, and rose again in the morning with thefirst light, but never otherwise changed its height and distance.A sense of always moving with some indefinite purpose, but ofalways returning at night to the same placewith the samesurroundings, the same people, the same bedclothes, and the same...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE STORY OF THE WINDby Hans Christian Andersen"NEAR the shores of the great Belt, which is one of the straitsthat connect the Cattegat with the Baltic, stands an old mansionwith thick red walls. I know every stone of it," says the Wind. "I sawit when it was part of the castle of Marck Stig on the promontory. Butthe castle was obliged to be pulled down, and the stone was used againfor the walls of a new mansion on another spot- the baronial residenceof Borreby, which still stands near the coast. I knew them well, thosenoble lords and ladies, the successive generations that dwelt there;...　

Fraternityby John GalsworthyCHAPTER ITHE SHADOWIn the afternoon of the last day of April, 190-, a billowy sea of little broken clouds crowned the thin air above High Street, Kensington. This soft tumult of vapours, covering nearly all the firmament, was in onslaught round a patch of blue sky, shaped somewhat like a star, which still gleameda single gentian flower amongst innumerable grass. Each of these small clouds seemed fitted with a pair of unseen wings, and, as insects flight on their too constant journeys, they were setting forth all ways round this starry blossom which burned so clear with the colour of its far fixity. On one side they were massed in fleecy congeries, so crowding 　

A Ramble Among the Hills.I USED frequently to amuse myself towards the close of the day, whenthe heat had subsided, with taking long rambles about theneighboring hills and the deep umbrageous valleys, accompanied by myhistoriographic squire, Mateo, to whose passion for gossiping I onsuch occasions gave the most unbounded license; and there was scarce arock, or ruin, or broken fountain, or lonely glen, about which hehad not some marvellous story; or, above all, some golden legend;for never was poor devil so munificent in dispensing hidden treasures.In the course of one of these strolls Mateo was more than usuallycommunicative. It was toward sunset that we sallied forth from the...　

Short Stories and Essaysby William Dean HowellsCONTENTS:Worries of a Winter WalkSummer Isles of EdenWild Flowers of the AsphaltA Circus in the SuburbsA She HamletThe Midnight PlatoonThe Beach at RockawaySawdust in the ArenaAt a Dime MuseumAmerican Literature in ExileThe Horse ShowThe Problem of the SummerAesthetic New York Fifty-odd Years AgoFrom New York into New EnglandThe Art of the AdsmithThe Psychology of PlagiarismPuritanism in American FictionThe What and How in ArtPolitics in American AuthorsStorage"Floating down the River on the O-hi-o"...　

Men of Ironby Ernie Howard PyleINTRODUCTIONThe year 1400 opened with more than usual peacefulness in England. Only a few months before, Richard IIweak, wicked, and treacherous had been dethroned, and Henry IV declared King in his stead. But it was only a seeming peacefulness, lasting but for a little while; for though King Henry proved himself a just and a merciful manas justice and mercy went with the men of iron of those daysand though he did not care to shed blood needlessly, there were many noble families who had been benefited by King Richard during his reign, and who had lost somewhat of their power and prestige from the coming in of the new King.Among these were a number of great lor　

The Confessions of a Summer Colonistby William Dean HowellsThe season is ending in the little summer settlement on the Down Eastcoast where I have been passing the last three months, and with eachloath day the sense of its peculiar charm grows more poignant.A prescience of the homesickness I shall feel for it when I go alreadybegins to torment me, and I find myself wishing to imagine some form ofwords which shall keep a likeness of it at least through the winter; someshadowy semblance which I may turn to hereafter if any chance or changeshould destroy or transform it, or, what is more likely, if I shouldnever come back to it. Perhaps others in the distant future may turn to...