Disclaimer　　　　　　There is more than one reason why the Crown finds this overimaginative work most unacceptable.　　　First and foremost, of course, is that it purports to be about a planet called "Earth" and no such planet exists under that name or its pretended astrographic designation of Blito-P3. Admittedly, it has been cleverly created down to characters and locations. That is the precise danger for the unsuspecting reader.　　　It is also claimed that "Earth" is on the Invasion Timetable and thus scheduled for capture. The Timetable bequeathed by our ancestors has the status of Divine mand. It 　

Planet Earth rolled on in ever decreasing circles around the sun. As it had been carrying on in this fashion for more years than anyone cared to remember, there seemed no cause for immediate alarm. Not that things were exactly a bundle of laughs down on old terra firma at the present time, oh dear me, no. Things had never been quite the same since, in a moment of gay abandonment, outgoing US president Wayne L. Wormwood had chosen to press the nuclear button just as the New Year bells were gaily chiming in the arrival of the twenty-first century.This generally unwele turn in events had caught 　

THE TRUE HISTORY OF LITTLE GOLDENHOODYOU know the tale of poor Little Red Riding-hood, that the Wolfdeceived and devoured, with her cake, her little butter can,and her Grandmother; well, the true story happened quite differently,as we know now. And first of all the little girl was called andis still called Little Golden-hood; secondly, it was not she, nor thegood grand-dame, but the wicked Wolf who was, in the end, caughtand devoured.Only listen.The story begins something like the tale.There was once a little peasant girl, pretty and nice as a star in...　

The Book of Teaby Kakuzo OkakuraI. The Cup of HumanityTea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticismTeaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possib　

THE CONEThe night was hot and overcast, the sky red, rimmed with thelingering sunset of mid-summer. They sat at the open window,trying to fancy the air was fresher there. The trees and shrubs ofthe garden stood stiff and dark; beyond in the roadway a gas-lamp burnt, bright orange against the hazy blue of the evening.Farther were the three lights of the railway signal against thelowering sky. The man and woman spoke to one another in low tones."He does not suspect?" said the man, a little nervously."Not he," she said peevishly, as though that too irritated...　

Tales of Trail and Townby Bret HarteCONTENTSTHE ANCESTORS OF PETER ATHERLYTWO AMERICANSTHE JUDGMENT OF BOLINAS PLAINTHE STRANGE EXPERIENCE OF ALKALI DICKA NIGHT ON THE DIVIDETHE YOUNGEST PROSPECTOR IN CALAVERASA TALE OF THREE TRUANTSTALES OF TRAIL AND TOWNTHE ANCESTORS OF PETER ATHERLYCHAPTER IIt must be admitted that the civilizing processes of Rough andReady were not marked by any of the ameliorating conditions ofother improved camps. After the discovery of the famous "Eureka"...　

A CONVERT OF THE MISSIONThe largest tent of the Tasajara camp meeting was crowded to itsutmost extent. The excitement of that dense mass was at itshighest pitch. The Reverend Stephen Masterton, the single erect,passionate figure of that confused medley of kneeling worshipers,had reached the culminating pitch of his irresistible exhortatorypower. Sighs and groans were beginning to respond to his appeals,when the reverend brother was seen to lurch heavily forward andfall to the ground.At first the effect was that of a part of his performance; the...　

Dreamsby Olive SchreinerTo a small girl-child, who may live to grasp somewhat of that which for us is yet sight, not touch.Note.These Dreams are printed in the order in which they were written.In the case of two there was a lapse of some years between the writing of the first and last parts; these are placed according to the date of the first part.Olive Schreiner.Matjesfontein, Cape Colony, South Africa. November, 1890.CONTENTS.I. The Lost Joy.II. The Hunter (From "The Story of of an African Farm").III. The Gardens of Pleasure....　

The Essays of Montaigne, V16by Michel de MontaigneTranslated by Charles CottonEdited by William Carew Hazilitt1877CONTENTS OF VOLUME 16.VI. Of Coaches.VII. Of the Inconvenience of Greatness.VIII. Of the Art of Conference.CHAPTER VIOF COACHESIt is very easy to verify, that great authors, when they write of causes,not only make use of those they think to be the true causes, but also ofthose they believe not to be so, provided they have in them some beautyand invention: they speak true and usefully enough, if it be ingeniously....　

The Water-Babiesby Charles KingsleyCHAPTER I"I heard a thousand blended notes, While in a grove I sate reclined; In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thoughts to the mind."To her fair works did Nature link The human soul that through me ran; And much it grieved my heart to think, What man has made of man."WORDSWORTH.Once upon a time there was a little chimney-sweep, and his name was Tom. That is a short name, and you have heard it before, so you will not have much trouble in remembering it. He lived in a great town in the North country, where there were plenty of chimneys to 　

Minna von Barnhelmby Gotthold Ephraim LessingTranslated By Ernest BellINTRODUCTORY NOTEGotthold Ephraim Lessing was born at Kamenz, Germany, January 22, 1729, the son of a Lutheran minister. He was educated at Meissen and Leipzic, and began writing for the stage before he was twenty. In 1748 he went to Berlin, where he met Voltaire and for a time was powerfully influenced by him. The most important product of this period was his tragedy of "Miss Sara Samson," a modern version of the story of Medea, which began the vogue of the sentimental middle-class play in Germany. After a se　

The Outletby Andy AdamsPREFACEAt the close of the civil war the need for a market for the surplus cattle of Texas was as urgent as it was general. There had been numerous experiments in seeking an outlet, and there is authority for the statement that in 1857 Texas cattle were driven to Illinois. Eleven years later forty thousand head were sent to the mouth of Red River in Louisiana, shipped by boat to Cairo, Illinois, and thence inland by rail. Fever resulted, and the experiment was never repeated. To the west of Texas stretched a forbidding desert, while on the other hand, nearly every drive　

360 BCSOPHISTby Platotranslated by Benjamin JowettSOPHISTPERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: THEODORUS; THEAETETUS; SOCRATES;An ELEATIC STRANGER, whom Theodorus and Theaetetus bringwith them; The younger SOCRATES, who is a silent auditorTheodorus. Here we are, Socrates, true to our agreement ofyesterday; and we bring with us a stranger from Elea, who is adisciple of Parmenides and Zeno, and a true philosopher.Socrates. Is he not rather a god, Theodorus, who comes to us in...　

The VillageAfter hoeing, or perhaps reading and writing, in the forenoon, Iusually bathed again in the pond, swimming across one of its covesfor a stint, and washed the dust of labor from my person, orsmoothed out the last wrinkle which study had made, and for theafternoon was absolutely free. Every day or two I strolled to thevillage to hear some of the gossip which is incessantly going onthere, circulating either from mouth to mouth, or from newspaper tonewspaper, and which, taken in homoeopathic doses, was really as...　

The Women of the French SalonsBy Amelia Gere MasonPREFACEIt has been a labor of love with many distinguished Frenchmen to recall the memories of the women who have made their society so illustrious, and to retouch with sympathetic insight the features which time was beginning to dim. One naturally hesitates to enter a field that has been gleaned so carefully, and with such brilliant results, by men like Cousin, Sainte-Beuve, Goncourt, and others of lesser note. But the social life of the two centuries in which women played so important a role in France is always full of human interest from 　

The Works of Edgar Allan PoeVolume 1 of the Raven EditionIN FIVE VOLUMESVOLUME I ContentsEdgar Allan Poe, An AppreciationLife of Poe, by James Russell LowellDeath of Poe, by N. P. WillisThe Unparalled Adventures of One Hans PfallThe Gold BugFour Beasts in OneThe Murders in the Rue MorgueThe Mystery of Marie Rog阾The Balloon HoaxMS. Found in a BottleThe Oval PortraitEDGAR ALLAN POEAN APPRECIATIONCaught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful DisasterFollowed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden boreTill the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore...