THE WITCH [28][28] From the Russian.Once upon a time there was a peasant whose wife died, leaving himwith two childrentwinsa boy and a girl. For some years thepoor man lived on alone with the children, caring for them asbest he could; but everything in the house seemed to go wrongwithout a woman to look after it, and at last he made up his mindto marry again, feeling that a wife would bring peace and orderto his household and take care of his motherless children. So hemarried, and in the following years several children were born tohim; but peace and order did not come to the household. Fo　

JACK LIGHTS OUTCHAPTER 1The Alhambra Inn and Gardens1　　　　On September 15th, 1981, a boy named Jack Sawyer stood where the water and land e together, hands in the pockets of his jeans, looking out at the steady Atlantic. He was twelve years old and tall for his age. The sea-breeze swept back his brown hair, probably too long, from a fine, clear brow. He stood there, filled with the confused and painful emotions he had lived with for the last three months-since the time when his mother had closed their house on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles and, in a flurry of furniture, checks, and real-estate a　

Part 8My poor afflicted governess was now as much concerned asI, and a great deal more truly penitent, though she had noprospect of being brought to trial and sentence. Not but thatshe deserved it as much as I, and so she said herself; but shehad not done anything herself for many years, other thanreceiving what I and others stole, and encouraging us to stealit. But she cried, and took on like a distracted body, wringingher hands, and crying out that she was undone, that shebelieved there was a curse from heaven upon her, that sheshould be damned, that she had been the destruction of all he　

Two Poetsby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Ellen MarriageDEDICATIONTo Monsieur Victor Hugo,It was your birthright to be, like a Rafael or a Pitt, a great poet at an age when other men are children; it was your fate, the fate of Chateaubriand and of every man of genius, to struggle against jealousy skulking behind the columns of a newspaper, or crouching in the subterranean places of journalism. For this reason I desired that your victorious name should help to win a victory for this work that I inscribe to you, a work which, if some persons are to be believed, is an act of courag　

THE DIAMOND MAKERSome business had detained me in Chancery Lane nine in theevening, and thereafter, having some inkling of a headache, I wasdisinclined either for entertainment or further work. So much ofthe sky as the high cliffs of that narrow canon of traffic leftvisible spoke of a serene night, and I determined to make my waydown to the Embankment, and rest my eyes and cool my head bywatching the variegated lights upon the river. Beyond comparisonthe night is the best time for this place; a merciful darknesshides the dirt of the waters, and the lights of this transitional...　

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the action of worms withobservations of their habitsby Charles DarwinINTRODUCTION.The share which worms have taken in the formation of the layer ofvegetable mould, which covers the whole surface of the land inevery moderately humid country, is the subject of the presentvolume. This mould is generally of a blackish colour and a fewinches in thickness. In different districts it differs but littlein appearance, although it may rest on various subsoils. Theuniform fineness of the particles of which it is composed is one of...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENTHE WILD SWANSby Hans Christian AndersenFAR away in the land to which the swallows fly when it iswinter, dwelt a king who had eleven sons, and one daughter, namedEliza. The eleven brothers were princes, and each went to schoolwith a star on his breast, and a sword by his side. They wrote withdiamond pencils on gold slates, and learnt their lessons so quicklyand read so easily that every one might know they were princes.Their sister Eliza sat on a little stool of plate-glass, and had a...　

Seven Discourses on Artby Sir Joshua ReynoldsINTRODUCTIONIt is a happy memory that associates the foundation of our Royal Academy with the delivery of these inaugural discourses by Sir Joshua Reynolds, on the opening of the schools, and at the first annual meetings for the distribution of its prizes. They laid down principles of art from the point of view of a man of genius who had made his power felt, and with the clear good sense which is the foundation of all work that looks upward and may hope to live. The truths here expressed concerning Art may, with slight adjustment of the way of th　

Little Travels and Roadside Sketchesby William Makepeace ThackerayI. FROM RICHMOND IN SURREY TO BRUSSELS IN BELGIUMII. GHENTBRUGES:Ghent (1840)BrugesIII. WATERLOOLITTLE TRAVELS AND ROADSIDE SKETCHESI.FROM RICHMOND IN SURREY TO BRUSSELS IN BELGIUM. . . I quitted the "Rose Cottage Hotel" at Richmond, one of thecomfortablest, quietest, cheapest, neatest little inns in England,and a thousand times preferable, in my opinion, to the "Star andGarter," whither, if you go alone, a sneering waiter, with his hair...　

An Unprotected Female at the Pyramidsby Anthony TrollopeIn the happy days when we were young, no description conveyed to us socomplete an idea of mysterious reality as that of an Oriental city. Weknew it was actually there, but had such vague notions of its ways andlooks! Let any one remember his early impressions as to Bagdad orGrand Cairo, and then say if this was not so. It was probably takenfrom the "Arabian Nights," and the picture produced was one of strange,fantastic, luxurious houses; of women who were either very young andvery beautiful, or else very old and very cunning; but in e　

The Wreck of the Golden Maryby Charles DickensTHE WRECKI was apprenticed to the Sea when I was twelve years old, and I haveencountered a great deal of rough weather, both literal andmetaphorical. It has always been my opinion since I first possessedsuch a thing as an opinion, that the man who knows only one subjectis next tiresome to the man who knows no subject. Therefore, in thecourse of my life I have taught myself whatever I could, andalthough I am not an educated man, I am able, I am thankful to say,to have an intelligent interest in most things....　

The Lady, or the Tiger?by Frank R. StocktonIn the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whoseideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by theprogressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large,florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which wasbarbaric. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of anauthority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his variedfancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing, and,when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done.When every member of his domestic and political systems moved...　

The Ball at Sceauxby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Clara BellTo Henri de Balzac, his brother Honore.The Comte de Fontaine, head of one of the oldest families in Poitou,had served the Bourbon cause with intelligence and bravery during thewar in La Vendee against the Republic. After having escaped all thedangers which threatened the royalist leaders during this stormyperiod of modern history, he was wont to say in jest, "I am one of themen who gave themselves to be killed on the steps of the throne." Andthe pleasantry had some truth in it, as spoken by a man left for dead...　

Noto, an unexplored corner of Japanby Percival LowellFrom you, my dear Basil, the confidant of my hopes toward Noto, Iknow I may look for sympathy now that my advances have met with suchhappy issue, however incomplete be my account. And so I ask you tobe my best man in the matter before the world.Ever yours,Percival Lowell.Basil Hall Chamberlain, Esq.Contents.I. An Unknown.II. Off and On.III. The Usui Pass.IV. Zenkoji.V. No.VI. On a New Cornice Road....　

THE COMPARISON OF PELOPIDAS WITH MARCELLUSby Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenTHESE are the memorable things I have found in historians concerningMarcellus and Pelopidas. Betwixt which two great men, though innatural character and manners they nearly resemble each other, becauseboth were valiant and diligent, daring and high-spirited, there wasyet some diversity in the one point, that Marcellus in many citieswhich he reduced under his power committed great slaughter; butEpaminondas and Pelopidas never after any victory put men to death, or...　

War and the Futureby H. G. WellsItaly, France and Britain at WarContentsThe Passing of the EffigyThe War in Italy (August, 1916)I. The Isonzo FrontII. The Mountain WarIII. Behind the FrontThe Western War (September, 1916)I. RuinsII. The Grades of WarIII. The War LandscapeIV. New Arms for Old OnesV. TanksHow People Think About the WarI. Do they Really Think at all?II. The Yielding Pacifist and the Conscientious ObjectorIII. The Religious RevivalIV. The Riddle of the BritishV. The Social Changes in ProgressVI. The Ending of the War...