The Iceberg ExpressThe Iceberg Expressby David Cory1- Page 2-The Iceberg ExpressThe Magic CombOne bright morning in August little Mary Louise put on her hat andwent trudging across the meadow to the beach.It was the first time she had been trusted out alone since the family hadmoved to the seashore for the summer; for Mary Louise was a little girl,nothing about her was large, except her round gray eyes....　

SOUTH SEA TALESSOUTH SEA TALESby Jack London1- Page 2-SOUTH SEA TALESTHE HOUSE OF MAPUHIDespite the heavy clumsiness of her lines, the Aorai handled easily inthe light breeze, and her captain ran her well in before he hove to justoutside the suck of the surf. The atoll of Hikueru lay low on the water, acircle of pounded coral sand a hundred yards wide, twenty miles in...　

SHERLOCK HOMESTHE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD BUILDERby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleTHE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD BUILDER"From the point of view of the criminal" said Mr. Sherlock Holmes,"London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the deathof the late lamented Professor Moriarty.""I can hardly think that you would find many decent citizens toagree with you," I answered."Well, well, I must not be selfish," said he, with a smile, as bepushed back his chair from the breakfast-table. "The community is...　

Ivanoffby Anton CheckovA PLAYCHARACTERSNICHOLAS IVANOFF, perpetual member of the Council of PeasantAffairsANNA, his wife. Nee Sarah AbramsonMATTHEW SHABELSKI, a count, uncle of IvanoffPAUL LEBEDIEFF, President of the Board of the ZemstvoZINAIDA, his wifeSASHA, their daughter, twenty years oldLVOFF, a young government doctorMARTHA BABAKINA, a young widow, owner of an estate and daughterof a rich merchantKOSICH, an excisemanMICHAEL BORKIN, a distant relative of Ivanoff, and manager of hisestateAVDOTIA NAZAROVNA, an old woman...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE RACESby Hans Christian AndersenA PRIZE, or rather two prizes, a great one and a small one, hadbeen awarded for the greatest swiftness in running,- not in a singlerace, but for the whole year."I obtained the first prize," said the hare. "Justice must stillbe carried out, even when one has relations and good friends among theprize committee; but that the snail should have received the secondprize, I consider almost an insult to myself"...　

Before Adamby Jack London"These are our ancestors, and their history is ourhistory. Remember that as surely as we one day swungdown out of the trees and walked upright, just assurely, on a far earlier day, did we crawl up out ofthe sea and achieve our first adventure on land."CHAPTER IPictures! Pictures! Pictures! Often, before I learned,did I wonder whence came the multitudes of picturesthat thronged my dreams; for they were pictures thelike of which I had never seen in real wake-a-day life.They tormented my childhood, making of my dreams a...　

1872FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE TOADby Hans Christian AndersenTHE well was deep, and therefore the rope had to be a long one; itwas heavy work turning the handle when any one had to raise abucketful of water over the edge of the well. Though the water wasclear, the sun never looked down far enough into the well to mirroritself in the waters; but as far as its beams could reach, greenthings grew forth between the stones in the sides of the well.Down below dwelt a family of the Toad race. They had, in fact,come head-over-heels down the well, in the person of the old...　

AT THE SHRINE OF ST. WAGNERBayreuth, Aug. 2d, 1891It was at Nuremberg that we struck the inundation of music-mad strangers that was rolling down upon Bayreuth. It had beenlong since we had seen such multitudes of excited and strugglingpeople. It took a good half-hour to pack them and pair them intothe trainand it was the longest train we have yet seen inEurope. Nuremberg had been witnessing this sort of experience acouple of times a day for about two weeks. It gives one animpressive sense of the magnitude of this biennial pilgrimage....　

had nothing left but his mill and a large apple-tree behindit. Once when he had gone into the forest to fetch wood, anold man stepped up to him whom he had never seen before, andsaid, why do you plague yourself with cutting wood, I willmake you rich, if you will promise me what is standing behindyour mill. What can that be but my apple-tree, thought themiller, and said, yes, and gave a written promise to thestranger. He, however, laughed mockingly and said, when threeyears have passed, I will come and carry away what belongs to me,and then he went. When the miller got home, his wife came 　

The Ethics [Part II](Ethica Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata)by Benedict de SpinozaTranslated by R. H. M. ElwesPart II: ON THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE MINDPREFACE I now pass on to explaining the results, which mustnecessarily follow from the essence of God, or of the eternaland infinite being; not, indeed, all of them (for we proved inPart i., Prop. xvi., that an infinite number must follow in aninfinite number of ways), but only those which are able to lead...　

Hans Brinker or The Silver Skatesby Mary Mapes DodgeTo my father James J. Mapes this book is dedicated in gratitude and lovePrefaceThis little work aims to combine the instructive features of a book of travels with the interest of a domestic tale. Throughout its pages the descriptions of Dutch localities, customs, and general characteristics have been given with scrupulous care. Many of its incidents are drawn from life, and the story of Raff Brinker is founded strictly upon fact.While acknowledging my obligations to many well-known writers on Dutch history, literature, and art, I turn wi　

Black RockA TALE OF THE SELKIRKSby Ralph ConnorINTRODUCTIONI think I have met "Ralph Conner." Indeed, I am sure I haveoncein a canoe on the Red River, once on the Assinaboine, and twice orthrice on the prairies to the West. That was not the name he gaveme, but, if I am right, it covers one of the most honest and genialof the strong characters that are fighting the devil and doing goodwork for men all over the world. He has seen with his own eyes thelife which he describes in this book, and has himself, for someyears of hard and lonely toil, assisted in the good influences which...　

The Mysterious Strangerby Mark TwainCONTENTS:THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGERA FABLEHUNTING THE DECEITFUL TURKEYTHE McWILLIAMSES AND THE BURGLAR ALARMTHE MYSTERIOUS STRANGERChapter 1It was in 1590winter. Austria was far away from the world, and asleep;it was still the Middle Ages in Austria, and promised to remain soforever. Some even set it away back centuries upon centuries and saidthat by the mental and spiritual clock it was still the Age of Belief inAustria. But they meant it as a compliment, not a slur, and it was sotaken, and we were all proud of it. I remember it well, although I was...　

Idle Ideas in 1905by Jerome K. JeromeContents:Are We As Interesting As We Think We Are?Should Women Be Beautiful?When Is The Best Time To Be Merry?Do We Lie A-Bed Too Late?Should Married Men Play Golf?Are Early Marriages A Mistake?Do Writers Write Too Much?Should Soldiers Be Polite?Ought Stories To Be True?Creatures That One Day Shall Be MenHow To Be Happy Though LittleShould We Say What We Think, Or Think What We Say?Is The American Husband Made Entirely Of Stained GlassDoes The Young Man Know Everything Worth Knowing?How Many Charms Hath Music, Would You Say?...　

THE LOST PRINCESS OF OZby L. FRANK BAUMThis Book is DedicatedTo My GranddaughterOZMA BAUMTo My ReadersSome of my youthful readers are developing wonderfulimaginations. This pleases me. Imagination has broughtmankind through the Dark Ages to its present state ofcivilization. Imagination led Columbus to discoverAmerica. Imagination led Franklin to discoverelectricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine,the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile,...　

THE YELLOW DWARFOnce upon a time there lived a queen who had been themother of a great many children, and of them all only onedaughter was left. But then SHE was worth at least a thousand.Her mother, who, since the death of the King, herfather, had nothing in the world she cared for so much asthis little Princess, was so terribly afraid of losing her thatshe quite spoiled her, and never tried to correct any of herfaults. The consequence was that this little person, whowas as pretty as possible, and was one day to wear a crown,grew up so proud and so much in love with her own beauty...