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 　

Three Dialogues Between Hylas and PhilonousGeorge Berkeley1713THREE DIALOGUESBetweenHYLAS AND PHILONOUSThe Design of which is Plainly to Demonstrate the Reality andPerfection ofHUMAN KNOWLEDGE...　

POETICSby AristotleTranslated by S. H. ButcherPOETICS|1II PROPOSE to treat of Poetry in itself and of its various kinds,noting the essential quality of each, to inquire into the structure ofthe plot as requisite to a good poem; into the number and nature ofthe parts of which a poem is composed; and similarly into whateverelse falls within the same inquiry. Following, then, the order ofnature, let us begin with the principles which come first....　

PERICLES490?-429 B.C.by Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenCAESAR once, seeing some wealthy strangers at Rome, carrying upand down with them in their arms and bosoms young puppy-dogs andmonkeys, embracing and making much of them, took occasion notunnaturally to ask whether the women in their country were not used tobear children; by that prince-like reprimand gravely reflecting uponpersons who spend and lavish upon brute beasts that affection and...　

　　-SHELLY, Prometheus Unbound　　　　　　Part One TERRA INCOGNITA　　　　Hell is the place of those who have denied; They find there what they planted and what dug.　　A Lake of Spaces, and a Wood of Nothing, And wander there and drift, and never cease Wailing for substance.　　-W.B. YEATS, The Hour Glass　　　　　　1　　The air was electric the day the thief crossed the city, certain that tonight, after so many weeks of frustration, he would finally locate the card-player. It was not an easy journey. Eighty-five percent of Warsaw had been leveled, either by the months of mortar bombardment that had preceded the R　

ITALIAN WITHOUT A MASTERIt is almost a fortnight now that I am domiciled in a medievalvilla in the country, a mile or two from Florence. I cannot speakthe language; I am too old not to learn how, also too busy when Iam busy, and too indolent when I am not; wherefore some willimagine that I am having a dull time of it. But it is not so.The "help" are all natives; they talk Italian to me, I answerin English; I do not understand them, they do not understand me,consequently no harm is done, and everybody is satisfied. In orderto be just and fair, I throw in an Italian word when I have one,...　

THE FROZEN DEEPTHE FROZEN DEEPby Wilkie Collins1- Page 2-THE FROZEN DEEPFirst 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 the moment isdancing....　

CHAPTER VIIThe Lion and the UnicornThe next moment soldiers came running through the wood, at firstin twos and threes, then ten or twenty together, and at last insuch crowds that they seemed to fill the whole forest. Alice gotbehind a tree, for fear of being run over, and watched them go by.She thought that in all her life she had never seen soldiers souncertain on their feet: they were always tripping oversomething or other, and whenever one went down, several morealways fell over him, so that the ground was soon covered with...　

The Sleeping-Car - A Farceby William D. HowellsI.SCENE: One side of a sleeping-car on the Boston and Albany Road.The curtains are drawn before most of the berths; from the hooks androds hang hats, bonnets, bags, bandboxes, umbrellas, and othertravelling gear; on the floor are boots of both sexes, set out forTHE PORTER to black. THE PORTER is making up the beds in the upperand lower berths adjoining the seats on which a young mother, slenderand pretty, with a baby asleep on the seat beside her, and a stoutold lady, sit confronting each otherMRS. AGNES ROBERTS and her aunt...　

THE SKETCH BOOKA ROYAL POETby Washington IrvingThough your body be confined,And soft love a prisoner bound,Yet the beauty of your mindNeither check nor chain hath found.Look out nobly, then, and dareEven the fetters that you wear.FLETCHER.ON A soft sunny morning in the genial month of May, I made anexcursion to Windsor Castle. It is a place full of storied and...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENLITTLE TUKby Hans Christian AndersenYES, they called him Little Tuk, but it was not his real name;he had called himself so before he could speak plainly, and he meantit for Charles. It was all very well for those who knew him, but notfor strangers.Little Tuk was left at home to take care of his little sister,Gustava, who was much younger than himself, and he had to learn hislessons at the same time, and the two things could not very well be...　

THE MAKE-BELIEVE MANTHE MAKE-BELIEVEMANBy Richard Harding Davis1- Page 2-THE MAKE-BELIEVE MANII had made up my mind that when my vacation came I would spend itseeking adventures. I have always wished for adventures, but, though Iam old enoughI was twenty-five last Octoberand have always gonehalf-way to meet them, adventures avoid me. Kinney says it is my fault....　

The Quaker Colonies, A Chronicle of the Proprietors of the Delawareby Sydney G. FisherCONTENTSI. THE BIRTH OF PENNSYLVANIAII. PENN SAILS FOR THE DELAWAREIII. LIFE IN PHILADELPHIAIV. TYPES OF THE POPULATIONV. THE TROUBLES OF PENN AND HIS SONSVI. THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WARVII. THE DECLINE OF QUAKER GOVERNMENTVIII. THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW JERSEYIX. PLANTERS AND TRADERS OF SOUTHERN JERSEYX. SCOTCH COVENANTERS AND OTHERS IN EAST JERSEYXI. THE UNITED JERSEYSXII. LITTLE DELAWAREXIII. THE ENGLISH CONQUESTBIBLIOGRAPHYTHE QUAKER COLONIES...　

The Clue of the Twisted Candleby Edgar WallaceCHAPTER IThe 4.15 from Victoria to Lewes had been held up at Three Bridges in consequence of a derailment and, though John Lexman was fortunate enough to catch a belated connection to Beston Tracey, the wagonette which was the sole communication between the village and the outside world had gone."If you can wait half an hour, Mr. Lexman," said the station-master, "I will telephone up to the village and get Briggs to come down for you."John Lexman looked out upon the dripping landscape and shrugged his shoulders....　

The Crystal Stopperby Maurice LeBlancCHAPTER ITHE ARRESTSThe two boats fastened to the little pier that jutted out from the garden lay rocking in its shadow. Here and there lighted windows showed through the thick mist on the margins of the lake. The Enghien Casino opposite blazed with light, though it was late in the season, the end of September. A few stars appeared through the clouds. A light breeze ruffled the surface of the water.Arsene Lupin left the summer-house where he was smoking a cigar and, bending forward at the end of the pier:"Growler?" he asked. "Masher?... Are you there　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE HAPPY FAMILYby Hans Christian AndersenTHE largest green leaf in this country is certainly theburdock-leaf. If you hold it in front of you, it is large enough foran apron; and if you hold it over your head, it is almost as good asan umbrella, it is so wonderfully large. A burdock never growsalone; where it grows, there are many more, and it is a splendidsight; and all this splendor is good for snails. The great whitesnails, which grand people in olden times used to have made into...