I and My Chimneyby Herman MelvilleI and my chimney, two grey-headed old smokers, reside in thecountry. We are, I may say, old settlers here; particularly myold chimney, which settles more and more every day.Though I always say, I AND MY CHIMNEY, as Cardinal Wolsey used tosay, "I AND MY KING," yet this egotistic way of speaking, whereinI take precedence of my chimney, is hereby borne out by thefacts; in everything, except the above phrase, my chimney takingprecedence of me.Within thirty feet of the turf-sided road, my chimneya huge,...　

THE UNDERGROUND WORKERSOn a bitter night somewhere between Christmas and the New Year, aman set out to walk to the neighbouring village. It was not manymiles off, but the snow was so thick that there were no roads, orwalls, or hedges left to guide him, and very soon he lost his wayaltogether, and was glad to get shelter from the wind behind athick juniper tree. Here he resolved to spend the night,thinking that when the sun rose he would be able to see his pathagain.So he tucked his legs snugly under him like a hedgehog, rolledhimself up in his sheepskin, and went to sleep. How long he...　

A Phyllis Of The Sierrasby Bret HarteCHAPTER I.Where the great highway of the Sierras nears the summit, and thepines begin to show sterile reaches of rock and waste in theirdrawn-up files, there are signs of occasional departures from themain road, as if the weary traveller had at times succumbed to thelong ascent, and turned aside for rest and breath again. The tiredeyes of many a dusty passenger on the old overland coach have gazedwistfully on those sylvan openings, and imagined recesses ofprimeval shade and virgin wilderness in their dim perspectives....　

El Doradoby Baroness OrczyFOREWORDThere has of late years crept so much confusion into the mind ofthe student as well as of the general reader as to the identity ofthe Scarlet Pimpernel with that of the Gascon Royalist plotterknown to history as the Baron de Batz, that the time seemsopportune for setting all doubts on that subject at rest.The identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel is in no way whateverconnected with that of the Baron de Batz, and even superficialreflection will soon bring the mind to the conclusion that greatfundamental differences existed in these two men, in their...　

The Inca of Perusalemby George Bernard ShawAN ALMOST HISTORICAL COMEDIETTAI must remind the reader that this playlet was written when itsprincipal character, far from being a fallen foe and virtually aprisoner in our victorious hands, was still the Caesar whoselegions we were resisting with our hearts in our mouths. Manywere so horribly afraid of him that they could not forgive me fornot being afraid of him: I seemed to be trifling heartlessly witha deadly peril. I knew better; and I have represented Caesar asknowing better himself. But it was one of the quaintnesses of...　

SHERLOCK HOLMESTHE PROBLEM OF THOR BRIDGEby Sir Arthur Conan DoyleSomewhere in the vaults of the bank of Cox and Co., at CharingCross, there is a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch-box with myname, John H. Watson, M. D., Late Indian Army, painted upon the lid.It is crammed with papers, nearly all of which are records of cases toillustrate the curious problems which Mr. Sherlock Holmes had atvarious times to examine. Some, and not the least interesting, werecomplete failures, and as such will hardly bear narrating, since no...　

FAIRY TALES OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSENSOUP FROM A SAUSAGE SKEWERby Hans Christian Andersen"WE had such an excellent dinner yesterday," said an old mouseof the female sex to another who had not been present at the feast. "Isat number twenty-one below the mouse-king, which was not a bad place.Shall I tell you what we had? Everything was first rate. Mouldy bread,tallow candle, and sausage. And then, when we had finished thatcourse, the same came on all over again; it was as good as two feasts....　

Lectures on the History of Philosophyby G W F Hegel (1805-6)Translated by E S Haldane (1892-6)Inaugural AddressPrefatory NoteIntroductionA. Notion of the History of Philosophy1. Common Ideas regarding the History of Philosophya. The History of Philosophy as an accumulation of Opinionsb. Proof of futility of Philosophical Knowledge obtained through History of Philosophyitselfc. Explanatory remarks on the diversity in Philosophies2. Explanatory remarks on the Definition of the History of Philosophy...　

TWICE-TOLD TALESTHE GREAT STONE FACEby Nathaniel HawthorneONE AFTERNOON, When the sun was going down, a mother and her littleboy sat at the door of their cottage, talking about the Great StoneFace. They had but to lift their eyes, and there it was plainly tobe seen, though miles away, with the sunshine brightening all itsfeatures.And what was the Great Stone Face?Embosomed amongst a family of lofty mountains, there was a valleyso spacious that it contained many thousand inhabitants. Some of these...　

Chapter II of Volume III (Chap. 44)ELIZABETH had settled it that Mr. Darcy would bring his sister to visit her the very day after her reaching Pemberley; and was consequently resolved not to be out of sight of the inn the whole of that morning. But her conclusion was false; for on the very morning after their own arrival at Lambton, these visitors came. They had been walking about the place with some of their new friends, and were just returned to the inn to dress themselves for dining with the same family, when the sound of a carriage drew them to a window, and they saw a gentleman and lady 　

All Roads Lead to Calvaryby Jerome K. JeromeCHAPTER IShe had not meant to stay for the service. The door had stood invitingly open, and a glimpse of the interior had suggested to her the idea that it would make good copy. "Old London Churches: Their Social and Historical Associations." It would be easy to collect anecdotes of the famous people who had attended them. She might fix up a series for one of the religious papers. It promised quite exceptional material, this particular specimen, rich in tombs and monuments. There was character about it, a scent of bygone days. She pictured th　

Memoirs of Carwin the BiloquistCharles Brockden BrownChapter I.I was the second son of a farmer, whose place of residence was a western district of Pennsylvania. My eldest brother seemed fitted by nature for the employment to which he was destined. His wishes never led him astray from the hay-stack and the furrow. His ideas never ranged beyond the sphere of his vision, or suggested the possibility that to-morrow could differ from to-day. He could read and write, because he had no alternative between learning the lesson prescribed to him, and punishment. He was diligent, as long as fear u　

A SIMPLIFIED ALPHABET(This article, written during the autumn of 1899, was aboutthe last writing done by Mark Twain on any impersonal subject.)I have had a kindly feeling, a friendly feeling, a cousinlyfeeling toward Simplified Spelling, from the beginning of themovement three years ago, but nothing more inflamed than that.It seemed to me to merely propose to substitute one inadequacyfor another; a sort of patching and plugging poor old dentalrelics with cement and gold and porcelain paste; what was reallyneeded was a new set of teeth. That is to say, a new ALPHABET....　

How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Dayby Arnold BennettPREFACE TO THIS EDITIONThis preface, though placed at the beginning, as a preface must be,should be read at the end of the book.I have received a large amount of correspondence concerning thissmall work, and many reviews of itsome of them nearly as longas the book itselfhave been printed. But scarcely any of thecomment has been adverse. Some people have objected to afrivolity of tone; but as the tone is not, in my opinion, at allfrivolous, this objection did not impress me; and had no weightierreproach been put forward I might almost ha　

Dummling, and was despised, mocked, and sneered at on every occasion.It happened that the eldest wanted to go into the forest to hew wood,and before he went his mother gave him a beautiful sweet cake and abottle of wine in order that he might not suffer from hunger orthirst.When he entered the forest he met a little grey-haired old man whobade him good-day, and said, do give me a piece of cake out of yourpocket, and let me have a draught of your wine, I am so hungry andthirsty. But the clever son answered, if I give you my cake andwine, I shall have none for myself, be off with you, and he l　

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...