THE CAMERA flashes blinded him for a moment. If only he could get the photographers away.　　But they had been at his side for months now-ever since the first artifacts had been found in these barren hills, south of Cairo. It was as if they too had known. Something about to happen. After all these years, Lawrence Stratford was on to a major find.　　And so they were there with the cameras, and the smoking flashes. They almost knocked him off balance as he made his way into the narrow rough-hewn passage towards the letters visible on the half-uncovered marble door.　　The twilight seemed to darken　

　A RED-HAIRED GIRL　　THE residence of Mr. Peter Pett, the well-known financier, on Riverside Drive is one of the leading eyesores of that breezy and expensive boulevard. As you pass by in your limousine, or while enjoying ten cents worth of fresh air on top of a green omnibus, it jumps out and bites at you. Architects, confronted with it, reel and throw up their hands defensively, and even the lay observer has a sense of shock. The place resembles in almost equal proportions a cathedral, a suburban villa, a hotel and a Chinese pagoda. Many of its windows are of stained glass, and above the por　

The Old Masters: how well they understoodIts human position; how it takes placeWhile someone else is eating or opening a window orMt walking dully along ...W. H. AUDEN, "Musee des Beaux Arts"Old Blue died and he died so hard He shook the ground in my back yard. I dug his grave with a silver spade And I lowered him down with a golden chain. Every link you know I did call his name, I called, "Here, Blue, you good dog, you.FOLK SONG"Nope, nothing wrong here.THE SHARP CEREAL PROFESSORONCE UPON A TIME, not so long ago, a monster came to the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. He killed. a waitress n　

　　IT WAS nothing out of the ordinary that Mrs. Barry Rackham had made the appointment with her finger pressed to her lips. That is by no means an unusual gesture for people who find themselves in a situation where the best thing they can think of is to make arrangements to see Nero Wolfe.　　With Mrs. Barry Rackham the shushing finger was only figurative, since she made the date speaking to me on the phone. It was in her voice, low and jerky, and also in the way she kept telling me how confidential it was, even after I solemnly assured her that we rarely notified the press when someone requeste　

Some Short Christmas StoriesSome Short ChristmasStoriesby Charles Dickens1- Page 2-Some Short Christmas StoriesA CHRISTMAS TREEI have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of childrenassembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree. The tree wasplanted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their...　

380 BCGORGIASby Platotranslated by Benjamin JowettGORGIASPERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: CALLICLES; SOCRATES; CHAEREPHON; GORGIAS; POLUS Scene: The house of Callicles.Callicles. The wise man, as the proverb says, is late for a fray, but not for a feast. Socrates. And are we late for a feast? Cal. Yes, and a delightful feast; for Gorgias has just been exhibiting to us many fine things. Soc. It is not my fault, Callicles; our friend Chaerephon is to blame; for he would keep us loitering in the Agora. Chaerephon. Never mind, Socrates; the misfortune of which I have been the cause I will also 　

The Second Funeral of Napoleonby William Makepeace Thackeray"by Michael Angelo Titmarch."I. On the Disinterment of Napoleon at St. HelenaII. On the Voyage from St. Helena to ParisIII. On the Funeral CeremonyI.ON THE DISINTERMENT OF NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA.MY DEAR ,It is no easy task in this world to distinguishbetween what is great in it, and what is mean; and many and many isthe puzzle that I have had in reading History (or the works offiction which go by that name), to know whether I should laud up to...　

The Story of Mankindby Hendrik van LoonTHE STORY OF MANKINDBY HENDRIK VAN LOON, PH.D.Professor of the Social Sciences in Antioch College.Author of The Fall of the Dutch Republic, The Rise of the DutchKingdom, The Golden Book of the Dutch Navigators,A Short Story of Discovery, Ancient Man.To JIMMIE``What is the use of a book without pictures?' said Alice.FOREWORDFor Hansje and Willem:WHEN I was twelve or thirteen years old, an uncle ofmine who gave me my love for books and pictures promised...　

STORIESSTORIESBY ENGLISH AUTHORS IN ITALY1- Page 2-STORIESA FAITHFUL RETAINERBY JAMES PAYNWhen I lived in the country,which was a long time ago,our nearestneighbours were the Luscombes. They were very great personages in thecountry indeed, and the family were greatly "respected"; though not, so faras I could discern, for any particular reason, except from their having been...　

Wessex Talesby Thomas HardyContents:PrefaceAn Imaginative WomanThe Three StrangersThe Withered ArmFellow-TownsmenInterlopers at the KnapThe Distracted PreacherPREFACEAn apology is perhaps needed for the neglect of contrast which isshown by presenting two consecutive stories of hangmen in such asmall collection as the following. But in the neighbourhood ofcounty-towns tales of executions used to form a large proportion ofthe local traditions; and though never personally acquainted withany chief operator at such scenes, the writer of these pages had as...　

29 BCTHE GEORGICSby VirgilGEORGIC IWhat makes the cornfield smile; beneath what starMaecenas, it is meet to turn the sodOr marry elm with vine; how tend the steer;What pains for cattle-keeping, or what proofOf patient trial serves for thrifty bees;-Such are my themes.O universal lightsMost glorious! ye that lead the gliding yearAlong the sky, Liber and Ceres mild,If by your bounty holpen earth once changed...　

MEMOIRS OF CARWIN THE BILOQUIST [A fragment]MEMOIRS OFCARWIN THEBILOQUIST [A fragment]Charles Brockden Brown1- Page 2-MEMOIRS OF CARWIN THE BILOQUIST [A fragment]Chapter I.I was the second son of a farmer, whose place of residence was awestern district of Pennsylvania. My eldest brother seemed fitted by...　

RECALLED TO LIFECHAPTER IThe PeriodIt was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other wayin short, the period was so. far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil　

LEGENDS AND LYRICS - SECOND SERIESLEGENDS ANDLYRICS - SECONDSERIESby Adelaide Ann Proctor1- Page 2-LEGENDS AND LYRICS - SECOND SERIESVERSE: A LEGEND OFPROVENCEThe lights extinguished, by the hearth I leant, Half weary with alistless discontent. The flickering giant-shadows, gathering near, Closed...　

THE SKETCH BOOKRURAL LIFE IN ENGLANDby Washington IrvingOh! friendly to the best pursuits of man,Friendly to thought, to virtue, and to peace,Domestic life in rural pleasures past!COWPER.THE stranger who would form a correct opinion of the Englishcharacter must not confine his observations to the metropolis. He mustgo forth into the country; he must sojourn in villages and hamlets; he...　

The Adventures of Pinocchioby C. Collodi[Pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini]CHAPTER 1How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a childCenturies ago there lived"A king!" my little readers will say immediately.No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It was not an expensive piece of wood. Far from it. Just a common block of firewood, one of those thick, solid logs that are put on the fire in winter to make cold rooms cozy and warm....