Excerpt: PART I; CHAPTER I -- IN the days when the spinning-wheels hummed busily in the farmhouses--and even great ladies, clothed in silk and thread-lace, had their toy spinning-wheels of polished oak --there might be seen in districts far away among the lanes, or deep in the bosom of the hills, certain pallid undersized men, who, by the side of the brawny country-folk, looked like the remnants of a disinherited race. The shepherd?s dog barked fiercely when one of these alien-looking men appeared on the upland, dark against the early winter sunset; for what dog likes a figure bent under a heavy bag? --and these pale men rarely stirred abroad without that mysterious burden. The shepherd himself, though he had good reason to believe that the bag held nothing but flaxen thread, or else the long rolls of strong linen spun from that thread, was not quite sure that this trade of weaving, indispensable though it was, could be carried on entirely without the help of the Evil One. In that far-off time superstition clung easily round every person or thing that was at all unwonted, or even intermittent and occasional merely, like the visits o...

Table of Contents: CHAPTER I, 1 -- CHAPTER II, 10 -- CHAPTER III, 16 -- CHAPTER IV, 25 -- CHAPTER V, 31 -- CHAPTER VI, 35 -- CHAPTER VII, 43 -- CHAPTER VIII, 48 -- CHAPTER IX, 55 -- CHAPTER X, 61 -- CHAPTER XI, 73 -- CHAPTER XII, 88 -- CHAPTER XIII, 93 -- CHAPTER XIV, 99 -- CHAPTER XV, 109 -- CHAPTER XVI, 110 -- CHAPTER XVII, 122 -- CHAPTER XVIII, 131 -- CHAPTER XIX, 134 -- CHAPTER XX, 142 -- CHAPTER XXI, 144 -- CONCLUSION, 147...

Excerpt: PREFACE; This book is essentially a desultory book, the result of intermittent observation, and often, no doubt, of rash assumption. Having been written in Paris, at odd moments, during the last two years of the war, it could hardly be more than a series of disjointed notes; and the excuse for its publication lies in the fact that the very conditions which made more consecutive work impossible also gave unprecedented opportunities for quick notation. The world since has been like a house on fire. All the lodgers are on the stairs, in dishabille. Their doors are swinging wide, and one gets glimpses of their furniture, revelations of their habits, and whiffs of their cooking, that a life-time of ordinary intercourse would not offer. Superficial differences vanish, and so (how much oftener) do superficial resemblances; while deep unsuspected similarities and disagreements, deep common attractions and repulsions, declare themselves. It is one of these fundamental substances that the new link between France and America is made, and some reasons for the strength of the link ought to be discoverable in the suddenly bared depths of...

Table of Contents: Preface, 1 -- I ?First Impression, 4 -- I, 4 -- II, 6 -- III, 8 -- II? Reverence, 10 -- I, 10 -- II, 13 -- III, 15 -- III? Taste, 17 -- I, 17 -- II, 17 -- III, 18 -- IV, 21 -- IV? Intellectual Honesty, 24 -- I, 24 -- II, 26 -- III, 28 -- V? Continuity, 31 -- I, 31 -- II, 32 -- III, 35 -- IV, 37 -- VI? The New Frenchwoman, 39 -- VII? In Conclusion, 48 -- I, 48 -- II, 52 -- III, 53...

Excerpt: The Tragedie of King Lear; Actus Primus -- Scoena Prima -- Enter Kent, Gloucester, and Edmond. Kent. I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany, then Cornwall. Glou. It did alwayes seeme so to us: But now in the division of the Kingdome, it appeares not which of the Dukes hee valewes most, for qualities are so weigh?d, that curiosity in neither, can make choise of eithers moity. Kent. Is not this your Son, my Lord? Glou. His breeding Sir, hath bin at my charge. I have so often blush?d to acknowledge him, that now I am braz?d too?t. Kent. I cannot conceive you. Glou. Sir, this yong Fellowes mother could; where-upon she grew round womb?d, and had indeede (Sir) a Sonne for her Cradle, ere she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell a fault? Kent. I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it, being so proper. Glou. But I have a Sonne, Sir, by order of Law, some yeere elder then this; who, yet is no deerer in my ac-count, though this Knave came somthing sawcily to the world before he was sent for: yet was his Mother fayre, there was good sport at his making, and the horson must be acknowledged. Doe you know this ...

Table of Contents: The Tragedie of King Lear, 1 -- Actus Primus. Scoena Prima., 1 -- Scena Secunda., 8 -- Scena Tertia., 12 -- Scena Quarta., 12 -- Scena Quinta., 20 -- Actus Secundus. Scena Prima., 21 -- Scena Secunda., 25 -- Actus Tertius. Scena Prima., 36 -- Scena Secunda., 37 -- Scaena Tertia., 40 -- Scena Quarta., 40 -- Scena Quinta., 45 -- Scena Sexta., 45 -- Scena Septima., 47 -- Actus Quartus. Scena Prima., 49 -- Scena Secunda., 51 -- Scena Tertia., 53 -- Scena Quarta., 54 -- Scena Quinta., 55 -- Scaena Septima., 62 -- Actus Quintus. Scena Prima., 64 -- Scena Secunda., 66 -- Scena Tertia., 67...

Excerpt: The Life and Death of King John; Actus Primus -- Scaena Prima -- Enter King John, Queene Elinor, Pembroke, Essex, and Salisbury, with the Chattilion of France. King John. Now say Chatillion, what would France with us? Chat. Thus (after greeting) speakes the King of France, In my behaviour to the Majesty, The borrowed Majesty of England heere. Elea. A strange beginning: borrowed Majesty? K. John. Silence (good mother) heare the Embassie. Chat. Philip of France, in right and true behalfe Of thy deceased brother, Geffreyes sonne, Arthur Plantaginet, laies most lawfull claime To this faire Iland, and the Territories: To Ireland, Poyctiers, Aniowe, Torayne, Maine, Desiring thee to lay aside the sword Which swaies usurpingly these severall titles, And put the same into yong Arthurs hand, Thy Nephew, and right royall Soveraigne. K. John. What followes if we disallow of this? Chat. The proud controle of fierce and bloudy warre, To inforce these rights, so forcibly withheld, K. John. Heere have we war for war, & bloud for bloud, Controlement for controlement: so answer France. Chat. Then take my Kings defiance from my mouth, The far...

Table of Contents: The life and death of King John, 1 -- Actus Primus, Scaena Prima., 1 -- Scaena Secunda., 7 -- Actus Secundus, 21 -- Actus Tertius, Scaena prima., 23 -- Scoena Secunda., 29 -- Scaena Tertia., 31 -- Actus Quartus, Scaena prima., 35 -- Scena Secunda., 39 -- Scoena Tertia., 45 -- Actus Quartus, Scaena prima., 49 -- Scoena Secunda., 51 -- Scaena Tertia., 55 -- Scena Quarta., 55 -- Scena Quinta., 57 -- Scena Sexta., 57 -- Scena Septima., 59 -- The life and death of King Iohn., 62...

Excerpt: BUCK did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the Northland. These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they wanted were heavy dogs, with strong muscles by which to toil, and furry coats to protect them from the frost....

Table of Contents: I: Into the Primitive, 1 -- II: The Law of Club and Fang, 9 -- III: The Dominant Primordial Beast, 16 -- IV: Who Has Won to Mastership, 26 -- V: The Toil of Trace and Trail, 33 -- VI: For the Love of a Man, 44 -- VII: The Sounding of the Call, 54...

Excerpt: A Scandal in Bohemia; TO SHERLOCK HOLMES she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer--excellent for drawing the veil from men?s motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubio...

Table of Contents: A Scandal in Bohemia, 1 -- I, 1 -- II, 9 -- III, 18 -- The Red-headed League, 21 -- A Case of Identity, 41 -- The Boscombe Valley Mystery, 56 -- The Five Orange Pips, 77 -- The Man with the Twisted Lip, 93 -- The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, 113 -- The Adventure of the Speckled Band, 131 -- The Adventure of the Engineer?s Thumb, 152 -- The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, 170 -- The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, 189 -- The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, 210...

Excerpt: TO THE READER [Preface; to the Ist edition () by Richard Redmer, the publisher.]; This Sermon was, by Sacred Authoritie, stiled the Authors owne funeral Sermon. Most fitly: whether wee respect the time, or the matter. It was preached not many dayes before his death; as if, having done this, there remained nothing for him to doe, but to die: And the matter is, of Death; the occasion and subject of all funerall Sermons. It hath beene observed of this Reverent Man, That his Faculty in Preaching continually encreased: and, That as hee exceeded others at first; so, at last hee exceeded himselfe. This is his last Sermon; I will not say, it is therefore his best; because, all his were excellent. Yet thus much: A dying Mans words, if they concerne our selves, doe usually make the deepest impression, as being spoken most feelingly, and with least affectation. Now, whom doth it not concerne to learn, both the danger, and benefit of death? Death is every man?s enemy, and intends hurt to all; though to many, hee be occasion of greatest goods. This enemy wee must all combate dying; whom hee living did almost conquer; having discovered t...

Table of Contents: DEATH?S DUEL, 1 -- TO THE READER, 1 -- DEATH?S DUEL, 2

Excerpt: ?But I say, Kid, isn?t that going it a little too strong? Whiskey and alcohol?s bad enough; but when it comes to brandy and peppersauce and?--?Dump it in. Who?s making this punch, anyway?? And Malemute Kid smiled benignantly through the clouds of steam. ?By the time you?ve been in this country as long as I have, my son, and lived on rabbit tracks and salmon-belly, you?ll learn that Christmas comes only once per annum. And a Christmas without punch is sinking a hole to bedrock with nary a pay-streak.? ......

Table of Contents: To the Man on Trail, 1 -- The White Silence, 12 -- In a Far Country, 24 -- The Wisdom of the Trail, 44 -- An Odyssey of the North, 53 -- The Law of Life, 90 -- The God of His Fathers, 99 -- The League of the Old Men, 117 -- B?atard, 136 -- All Gold Canyon, 153 -- Love of Life, 177 -- The Wit of Porportuk, 201 -- The Apostate, 230 -- To Build a Fire, 254 -- South of the Slot, 274 -- The Chinago, 295 -- A Piece of Steak, 313 -- Mauki, 336 -- Koolau the Leper, 354 -- The Strength of the Strong, 373 -- War, 391 -- The Mexican, 398 -- Told in the Drooling Ward, 428...

Excerpt: BOOK I; Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of EDEN, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, Sing Heav?nly Muse, that on the secret top Of OREB, or of SINAI, didst inspire That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed, In the Beginning how the Heav?ns and Earth Rose out of CHAOS: Or if SION Hill Delight thee more, and SILOA?S Brook that flow?d Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song, That with no middle flight intends to soar Above th? AONIAN Mount, while it pursues Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime. And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer Before all Temples th? upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for Thou know?st; Thou from the first Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss And mad?st it pregnant: What in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That to the highth of this great Argument I may assert th? Eternal Providence, And justifie the wayes of God to men. Say first, for Heav?n hides nothi...

Table of Contents: BOOK I., 1 -- BOOK II., 20 -- BOOK III, 45 -- BOOK IV., 62 -- BOOK V., 86 -- BOOK VI., 108 -- BOOK VII., 130 -- BOOK VIII., 160 -- BOOK IX., 188 -- BOOK X., 214...

Excerpt: PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION; MUCH to the author?s surprise, and (if he may say so without additional offence) considerably to his amusement, he finds that his sketch of official life, introductory to THE SCARLET LETTER, has created an unprecedented excitement in the respectable community immediately around him. It could hardly have been more violent, indeed, had he burned down the Custom House, and quenched its last smoking ember in the blood of a certain venerable personage, against whom he is supposed to cherish a peculiar malevolence. As the public disapprobation would weigh very heavily on him, were he conscious of deserving it, the author begs leave to say, that he has carefully read over the introductory pages, with a purpose to alter or expunge whatever might be found amiss, and to make the best reparation in his power for the atrocities of which he has been adjudged guilty. But it appears to him, that the only remarkable features of the sketch are its frank and genuine good-humor, and the general accuracy with which he has conveyed his sincere impressions of the characters therein described. As to enmity, or ill f...

Table of Contents: PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, 1 -- THE CUSTOM HOUSE INTRODUCTORY, 2 -- 1 THE PRISON DOOR, 31 -- 2 THE MARKET-PLACE, 33 -- 3 THE RECOGNITION, 40 -- 4 THE INTERVIEW, 47 -- 5 HESTER AT HER NEEDLE, 52 -- 6 PEARL, 59 -- 7 THE GOVERNOR?S HALL, 66 -- 8 THE ELF-CHILD AND THE MINISTER, 72 -- 9 THE LEECH, 79 -- 10 THE LEECH AND HIS PATIENT, 87 -- 11 THE INTERIOR OF A HEART, 95 -- 12 THE MINISTER?S VIGIL, 100 -- 13 ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER, 108 -- 14 HESTER AND THE PHYSICIAN, 114 -- 15 HESTER AND PEARL, 119 -- 16 A FOREST WALK, 124 -- 17 THE PASTOR AND HIS PARISHIONER, 129 -- 18 A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE, 136 -- 19 THE CHILD AT THE BROOKSIDE, 141 -- 20 THE MINISTER IN A MAZE, 147 -- 21 THE NEW ENGLAND HOLIDAY, 155 -- 22 THE PROCESSION, 162 -- 23 THE REVELATION OF THE SCARLET LETTER, 170 -- 24 CONCLUSION, 177...

Excerpt: Measure For Measure; Actus Primus -- Scena Prima -- Enter Duke, Escalus, Lords. Duke. Escalus. Esc. My Lord. Duk. Of Government, the properties to unfold, Would seeme in me t? affect speech & discourse, Since I am put to know, that your owne Science Exceedes (in that) the lists of all aduice My strength can give you: Then no more remaines But that, to your sufficiency, as your worth is able, And let them worke: The nature of our People, Our Cities Institutions, and the Termes For Common Justice, y?are as pregnant in As Art, and practise, hath inriched any That we remember: There is our Commission, From which, we would not have you warpe; call hither, I say, bid come before us Angelo: What figure of us thinke you, he will beare. For you must know, we have with speciall soule Elected him our absence to supply; Lent him our terror, drest him with our love, And given his Deputation all the Organs Of our owne powre: What thinke you of it? Esc. If any in Vienna be of worth To undergoe such ample grace, and honour, It is Lord Angelo. Enter Angelo. Duk. Looke where he comes. Ang. Alwayes obedient to your Graces will, I come to know...

Table of Contents: Measvre, For Measure, 1 -- Actus primus, Scena prima., 1 -- Scena Secunda., 3 -- Scena Tertia., 5 -- Scena Quarta., 7 -- Scena Quinta., 9 -- Actus Secundus. Scoena Prima., 11 -- Scena Secunda., 17 -- Scena Tertia., 22 -- Scena Quarta., 23 -- Actus Tertius. Scena Prima., 28 -- Actus Quartus. Scoena Prima., 40 -- Scena Secunda., 42 -- Scena Tertia., 47 -- Scena Quarta., 51 -- Scena Quinta., 52 -- Scena Sexta., 52 -- Actus Quintus. Scoena Prima., 53...

Excerpt: WHEN I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again. I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of my readers if very particular inquiries had not been made by my townsmen concerning my mode of life, which some would call impertinent, though they do not appear to me at all impertinent, but, considering the circumstances, very natural and pertinent. Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained. I will therefore ask those of my readers who feel no particular interest in me to pardon me if I undertake to answer some of these questions in this book. In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this...

Table of Contents: Economy, 1 -- Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, 50 -- Reading, 62 -- Sounds, 69 -- Solitude, 80 -- Visitors, 87 -- The Bean-Field, 97 -- The Village, 105 -- The Ponds, 109 -- Baker Farm, 126 -- Higher Laws, 132 -- Brute Neighbors, 140 -- House-Warming, 149 -- Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors, 160 -- Winter Animals, 169 -- The Pond in Winter, 176 -- Spring, 186 -- Conclusion, 199...

Excerpt: Chapter I; ABOUT thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet?s lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income. All Huntingdon exclaimed on the greatness of the match, and her uncle, the lawyer, himself, allowed her to be at least three thousand pounds short of any equitable claim to it. She had two sisters to be benefited by her elevation; and such of their acquaintance as thought Miss Ward and Miss Frances quite as handsome as Miss Maria, did not scruple to predict their marrying with almost equal advantage. But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world, as there are pretty women to deserve them. Miss Ward, at the end of half a dozen years, found herself obliged to be attached to the Rev Mr. Norris, a friend of her brother-in-law, with scarcely any private fortune, and Miss Frances fared yet worse. Miss Ward?s match, indeed, when it came to the point, was not contemptible, Sir Th...

Table of Contents: I, 1 -- I, 3 -- II, 10 -- III, 18 -- IV, 26 -- V, 33 -- VI, 39 -- VII, 47 -- VIII, 56 -- IX, 62 -- X, 72 -- XI, 79 -- XII, 85 -- XIII, 90 -- XIV, 97 -- XV, 103...

Excerpt: Chapter 1; THE family of Dashwood had been long settled in Sussex. Their estate was large, and their residence was at Norland Park, in the centre of their property, where, for many generations, they had lived in so respectable a manner, as to engage the general good opinion of their surrounding acquaintance. The late owner of this estate was a single man, who lived to a very advanced age, and who for many years of his life, had a constant companion and housekeeper in his sister. But her death, which happened ten years before his own, produced a great alteration in his home; for to supply her loss, he invited and received into his house the family of his nephew Mr. Henry Dashwood, the legal inheritor of the Norland estate, and the person to whom he intended to bequeath it. In the society of his nephew and niece, and their children, the old Gentleman?s days were comfortably spent. His attachment to them all increased. The constant attention of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood to his wishes, which proceeded not merely from interest, but from goodness of heart, gave him every degree of solid comfort which his age could receive; and ...

Table of Contents: I 1 -- Chapter 1, 3 -- Chapter 2, 6 -- Chapter 3, 10 -- Chapter 4, 13 -- Chapter 5, 17 -- Chapter 6, 19 -- Chapter 7, 22 -- Chapter 8, 24 -- Chapter 9, 27 -- Chapter 10, 31 -- Chapter 11, 35 -- Chapter 12, 38 -- Chapter 13, 42 -- Chapter 14, 47 -- Chapter 15, 50 -- Chapter 16, 55 -- Chapter 17, 60 -- Chapter 18, 64 -- Chapter 19, 67 -- Chapter 20, 73 -- Chapter 21, 78 -- Chapter 22, 84 -- II 91 -- Chapter 23, 93 -- Chapter 24, 97...

Excerpt: CHAPTER I; DEPARTURE -- The fourteenth of August was the day fixed upon for the sailing of the brig Pilgrim on her voyage from Boston round Cape Horn to the western coast of North America. As she was to get under weigh early in the afternoon, I made my appearance on board at twelve o?clock, in full sea-rig, and with my chest, containing an outfit for a two or three years? voyage, which I had undertaken from a determination to cure, if possible, by an entire change of life, and by a long absence from books and study, a weakness of the eyes, which had obliged me to give up my pursuits, and which no medical aid seemed likely to cure....

Table of Contents: CHAPTER I ? DEPARTURE, 1 -- CHAPTER II ? FIRST IMPRESSIONS???SAIL HO!??, 3 -- CHAPTER III ? SHIP?S DUTIES?TROPICS, 6 -- CHAPTER IV ? A ROGUE?TROUBLE ON BOARD???LAND -- HO!???POMPERO?CAPE HORN, 9 -- CHAPTER V ? CAPE HORN?A VISIT, 13 -- CHAPTER VI ? LOSS OF A MAN?SUPERSTITION, 18 -- CHAPTER VII ? JUAN FERNANDEZ?THE PACIFIC, 21 -- CHAPTER VIII ? ??TARRING DOWN???DAILY LIFE???GOING AFT???CALIFORNIA -- ., 25 -- CHAPTER IX ? CALIFORNIA?A SOUTH-EASTER, 28 -- CHAPTER X ? A SOUTH-EASTER?PASSAGE UP THE COAST, 32 -- CHAPTER XI ? PASSAGE UP THE COAST?MONTEREY, 35 -- CHAPTER XII ? LIFE AT MONTEREY, 38 -- CHAPTER XIII ? TRADING?A BRITISH SAILOR, 40 -- CHAPTER XIV ? SANTA BARBARA?HIDE-DROGHING?HARBOR -- DUTIES?DISCONTENT?SAN PEDRO, 46 -- CHAPTER XV ? A FLOGGING?A NIGHT ON SHORE?THE STATE OF THINGS ON -- BOARD?SAN DIEGO, 52 -- CHAPTER XVI ? LIBERTY-DAY ON SHORE, 59 -- CHAPTER XVII ? SAN DIEGO?A DESERTION?SAN PEDRO AGAIN?BEATING UP -- COAST, 63 -- CHAPTER XVIII ? EASTER SUNDAY???SAIL HO!???WHALES?SAN -- JUAN?ROMANCE OF HIDE-DROGHING?SAN DIEGO AGAIN, 67 -- CHAPTER XIX ? THE SANDWICH -- ISLANDERS?HIDE-CURING?WOOD-CUTTING? RATTLE-SNA...

Excerpt: THE SONG OF THE HAPPY SHEPHERD; THE woods of Arcady are dead, And over is their antique joy; Of old the world on dreaming fed; Grey Truth is now her painted toy; Yet still she turns her restless head: But O, sick children of the world, Of all the many changing things In dreary dancing past us whirled, To the cracked tune that Chronos sings, Words alone are certain good. Where are now the warring kings, Word be-mockers?--By the Rood, Where are now the watring kings? An idle word is now their glory, By the stammering schoolboy said, Reading some entangled story: The kings of the old time are dead; The wandering earth herself may be Only a sudden flaming word, In clanging space a moment heard, Troubling the endless reverie. Then nowise worship dusty deeds, Nor seek, for this is also sooth, To hunger fiercely after truth, Lest all thy toiling only breeds New dreams, new dreams; there is no truth Saving in thine own heart. Seek, then, No learning from the starry men, Who follow with the optic glass The whirling ways of stars that pass--Seek, then, for this is also sooth, No word of theirs--the cold star-bane Has cloven and rent ...

Table of Contents: LYRICAL 3 -- CROSSWAYS 5 -- THE SONG OF THE HAPPY SHEPHERD, 5 -- THE SAD SHEPHERD, 6 -- THE CLOAK, THE BOAT, AND THE SHOES, 7 -- ANASHUYA AND VIJAYA, 8 -- THE INDIAN UPON GOD, 11 -- THE INDIAN TO HIS LOVE, 11 -- THE FALLING OF THE LEAVES, 12 -- EPHEMERA, 13 -- THE MADNESS OF KING GOLL, 13 -- THE STOLEN CHILD, 16 -- TO AN ISLE IN THE WATER, 17 -- DOWN BY THE SALLEY GARDENS, 18 -- THE MEDITATION OF THE OLD FISHERMAN, 18 -- THE BALLAD OF FATHER O?HART, 19 -- THE BALLAD OF MOLL MAGEE, 20 -- THE BALLAD OF THE FOXHUNTER, 22 -- THE ROSE 26 -- TO THE ROSE UPON THE ROOD OF TIME, 26 -- FERGUS AND THE DRUID, 26 -- CUCHULAIN?S FIGHT WITH THE SEA, 28 -- THE ROSE OF THE WORLD, 31 -- THE ROSE OF PEACE, 31 -- THE ROSE OF BATTLE, 32 -- A FAERY SONG, 33 -- THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE, 34...

Excerpt: Prelude; Who that cares much to know the history of man, and how the mysterious mixture behaves under the varying experiments of Time, has not dwelt, at least briefly, on the life of Saint Theresa, has not smiled with some gentleness at the thought of the little girl walking forth one morning hand-in-hand with her still smaller brother, to go and seek martyrdom in the country of the Moors? Out they toddled from rugged Avila, wide-eyed and helpless-looking as two fawns, but with human hearts, already beating to a national idea; until domestic reality met them in the shape of uncles, and turned them back from their great resolve. That child pilgrimage was a fit beginning. Theresa?s passionate, ideal nature demanded an epic life: what were many-volumed romances of chivalry and the social conquests of a brilliant girl to her? Her flame quickly burned up that light fuel; and, fed from within, soared after some illimitable satisfaction, some object which would never justify weariness, which would reconcile self-despair with the rapturous consciousness of life beyond self. She found her epos in the reform of a religious order....

Table of Contents: Book I ?Miss Brooke, 1 -- Prelude, 1 -- Chapter I., 3 -- Chapter II., 10 -- Chapter III., 16 -- Chapter IV., 25 -- Chapter V., 31 -- Chapter VI., 38 -- Chapter VII., 47 -- Chapter VIII., 51 -- Chapter IX., 55 -- Chapter X., 65 -- Chapter XI., 74 -- Chapter XII., 82 -- Book II ?Old and Young., 97 -- Chapter XIII., 97 -- Chapter XIV., 104 -- Chapter XV., 113 -- Chapter XVI., 124 -- Chapter XVII., 135 -- Chapter XVIII., 142 -- Chapter XIX., 151 -- Chapter XX., 154 -- Chapter XXI., 164 -- Chapter XXII., 170 -- Book III?Waiting For Death., 183 -- Chapter XXIII., 183 -- Chapter XXIV., 192...

Excerpt: CHAPTER I; PRELIMINARY -- CONSIDERING our present advanced state of culture, and how the Torch of Science has now been brandished and borne about, with more or less effect, for five thousand years and upwards; how, in these times especially, not only the Torch still burns, and perhaps more fiercely than ever, but innumerable Rushlights, and Sulphur-matches, kindled thereat, are also glancing in every direction, so that not the smallest cranny or dog-hole in Nature or Art can remain unilluminated,--it might strike the reflective mind with some surprise that hitherto little or nothing of a fundamental character, whether in the way of Philosophy or History, has been written on the subject of Clothes. Our Theory of Gravitation is as good as perfect: Lagrange, it is well known, has proved that the Planetary System, on this scheme, will endure forever; Laplace, still more cunningly, even guesses that it could not have been made on any other scheme. Whereby, at least, our nautical Logbooks can be better kept; and watertransport of all kinds has grown more commodious. Of Geology and Geognosy we know enough: what with the labors of ...

Table of Contents: BOOK I 3 -- CHAPTER I ?PRELIMINARY, 3 -- CHAPTER II ?EDITORIAL DIFFICULTIES, 7 -- CHAPTER III ?REMINISCENCES, 11 -- CHAPTER IV? CHARACTERISTICS, 19 -- CHAPTER V? THE WORLD IN CLOTHES, 24 -- CHAPTER VI? APRONS, 29 -- CHAPTER VII? MISCELLANEOUS-HISTORICAL, 31 -- CHAPTER VIII? THE WORLD OUT OF CLOTHES, 34 -- CHAPTER IX? ADAMITISM, 39 -- CHAPTER X? PURE REASON, 43 -- CHAPTER XI? PROSPECTIVE, 47 -- BOOK II 55 -- CHAPTER I ?GENESIS, 55 -- CHAPTER II ?IDYLLIC, 61 -- CHAPTER III ?PEDAGOGY, 68 -- CHAPTER IV? GETTING UNDER WAY, 79 -- CHAPTER V? ROMANCE, 88 -- CHAPTER VI? SORROWS OF TEUFELSDRO? CKH, 97 -- CHAPTER VII? THE EVERLASTING NO, 104 -- CHAPTER VIII? CENTRE OF INDIFFERENCE, 110 -- CHAPTER IX? THE EVERLASTING YEA, 118 -- CHAPTER X? PAUSE, 126 -- BOOK III 133 -- CHAPTER I ?INCIDENT IN MODERN HISTORY, 133 -- CHAPTER II ?CHURCH-CLOTHES, 137...

Excerpt: PREFACE; Among many matters thrown into relief by a refreshed acquaintance with ?The Golden Bowl? what perhaps most stands out for me is the still marked inveteracy of a certain indirect and oblique view of my presented action; unless indeed I make up my mind to call this mode of treatment, on the contrary, any superficial appearance notwithstanding, the very straightest and closest possible. I have already betrayed, as an accepted habit, and even to extravagance commented on, my preference for dealing with my subject matter, for ?seeing my story,? through the opportunity and the sensibility of some more or less detached, some not strictly involved, though thoroughly interested and intelligent, witness or reporter, some person who contributes to the case mainly a certain amount of criticism and interpretation of it. Again and again, on review, the shorter things in especial that I have gathered into this Series have ranged themselves not as my own impersonal account of the affair in hand, but as my account of somebody?s impression of it--the terms of this person?s access to it and estimate of it contributing thus by some fi...

Table of Contents: PREFACE, iii -- Volume I 3 -- Book I 3 -- Chapter 1, 3 -- Chapter 2, 15 -- Chapter 3, 25 -- Chapter 4, 35 -- Chapter 5, 50 -- Chapter 6, 58 -- Book II 69 -- Chapter 1, 69 -- Chapter 2, 79 -- Chapter 3, 85 -- Chapter 4, 92 -- Chapter 5, 105 -- Chapter 6, 115 -- Chapter 7, 124 -- Book III 133 -- Chapter 1, 133 -- Chapter 2, 144 -- Chapter 3, 149 -- Chapter 4, 156 -- Chapter 5, 162 -- Chapter 6, 169...

Excerpt: ON THE 31st of August, 1846, I left Concord in Massachusetts for Bangor and the backwoods of Maine, by way of the railroad and steamboat, intending to accompany a relative of mine engaged in the lumber-trade in Bangor, as far as a dam on the west branch of the Penobscot, in which property he was interested. From this place, which is about one hundred miles by the river above Bangor, thirty miles from the Houlton military road, and five miles beyond the last log-hut, I proposed to make excursions to Mount Ktaadn, the second highest mountain in New England, about thirty miles distant, and to some of the lakes of the Penobscot, either alone or with such company as I might pick up there. It is unusual to find a camp so far in the woods at that season, when lumbering operations have ceased, and I was glad to avail myself of the circumstance of a gang of men being employed there at that time in repairing the injuries caused by the great freshet in the spring. The mountain may be approached more easily and directly on horseback and on foot from the northeast side, by the Aroostook road, and the Wassataquoik River; but in that case...

Table of Contents: Ktaadn, 1 -- Chesuncook, 51 -- The Allegash and East Branch, 96 -- Appendix, 184 -- I. TREES., 184 -- II. FLOWERS AND SHRUBS., 185 -- III. LIST OF PLANTS., 188 -- IV. LIST OF BIRDS, 196 -- V. QUADRUPEDS., 197 -- VI. OUTFIT FOR AN EXCURSION., 198 -- VII. A LIST OF INDIAN WORDS., 199...

Excerpt: THE PREFACE; If ever the story of any private Man?s Adventures in the World were worth making Publick, and were acceptable when Publish?d, the Editor of this Account thinks this will be so. The Wonders of this Man?s Life exceed all that (he thinks)is to be found extant; the Life of one Man being scarce capable of a greater Variety. The Story is told with Modesty, with Seriousness, and with a religious Application of Events to the Uses to which wise Men always apply them (viz.) to the Instruction of others by this Example, and to justify and honour the Wisdom of Providence in all the Variety of our Circumstances, let them happen how they will. The Editor believes the thing to be a just History of Fact; neither is there any Appearance of Fiction in it: And however thinks, because all such things are dispatch?d, that the Improvement of it, as well to the Diversion, as to the Instruction of the Reader, will be the same; and as such, he thinks, without father Compliment to the World, he does them a great Service in the Publication....

Table of Contents: THE PREFACE, 1 -- THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, &c., 2 -- THE JOURNAL., 51