Father Goriotby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Ellen MarriageTo the great and illustrious Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, a token of admiration for his works and genius. DE BALZAC.Mme. Vauquer (nee de Conflans) is an elderly person, who for the past forty years has kept a lodging-house in the Rue Nueve- Sainte-Genevieve, in the district that lies between the Latin Quarter and the Faubourg Saint-Marcel. Her house (known in the neighborhood as the Maison Vauquer) receives men and women, old and young, and no word has ever been breathed against her respectable establishment; but, at the same time, it mus¡¡

Messer Marco Polo by Brian Oswald Donn-ByrneA NOTE ON THE AUTHOR OF MESSER MARCO POLOSo Celtic in feeling and atmosphere are the stories of Donn Byrne that many of his devotees have come to believe that he never lived anywhere but in Ireland. Actually, Donn Byrne was born in New York City. Shortly after his birth, however, his parents took him back to the land of his forefathers. There he was educated and came to know the people of whom he wrote so magically. At Dublin University his love for the Irish language and for a good fight won him many prizes, first as a writer in Gaelic and seco¡¡

PREFACE TO THE FIRST CHEAP EDITION OF "AMERICAN NOTES"IT is nearly eight years since this book was first published. Ipresent it, unaltered, in the Cheap Edition; and such of myopinions as it expresses, are quite unaltered too.My readers have opportunities of judging for themselves whether theinfluences and tendencies which I distrust in America, have anyexistence not in my imagination. They can examine for themselveswhether there has been anything in the public career of thatcountry during these past eight years, or whether there is anything...¡¡

THE CELESTIAL RAILROADNot a great while ago, passing through the gate of dreams, Ivisited that region of the earth in which lies the famous City ofDestruction. It interested me much to learn that by the publicspirit of some of the inhabitants a railroad has recently beenestablished between this populous and flourishing town and theCelestial City. Having a little time upon my hands, I resolved togratify a liberal curiosity by making a trip thither.Accordingly, one fine morning after paying my bill at the hotel,and directing the porter to stow my luggage behind a coach, I...¡¡

[Original Dedication of First Essay, Omitted in subsequent Editions,]To William Wilberforce, Esq., MPMY DEAR SIR In contemplating, the public characters of the day, no one among them appears to have more nearly adopted in practice the principles which this Essay develops than yourself. In all the most important questions which have come before the senate since you became a legislator, you have not allowed the mistaken considerations of sect or party to influence your decisions; so far as an unbiased judgement can be formed of them, they appear generally to have been dictated by compre¡¡

The Princeby Nicolo MachiavelliTranslated by W. K. MarriottNicolo Machiavelli, born at Florence on 3rd May 1469. From 1494 to 1512 held an official post at Florence which included diplomatic missions to various European courts. Imprisoned in Florence, 1512; later exiled and returned to San Casciano. Died at Florence on 22nd June 1527.INTRODUCTIONNicolo Machiavelli was born at Florence on 3rd May 1469. He was the second son of Bernardo di Nicolo Machiavelli, a lawyer of some repute, and of Bartolommea di Stefano Nelli, his wife. Both parents were members of the old Florentine nobility....¡¡

The Crown of ThornsA token for the sorrowingby E. H. ChapinPREFACE.One of the discourses in this volume-"The Mission of Little Children"was written just after the death of a dear son, and was published in pamphlet form. The edition having become exhausted sooner than the demand, it was deemed advisable to reprint it; and accordingly it is now presented to the reader, accompanied by others of a similar cast, most of them growing out of the same experience. This fact will account for any repetition of sentiment which may appear in these discourses, especially as they were written without any ¡¡

Ferragusby Honore de BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo Hector Berlioz.PREFACEThirteen men were banded together in Paris under the Empire, allimbued with one and the same sentiment, all gifted with sufficientenergy to be faithful to the same thought, with sufficient honor amongthemselves never to betray one another even if their interestsclashed; and sufficiently wily and politic to conceal the sacred tiesthat united them, sufficiently strong to maintain themselves above thelaw, bold enough to undertake all things, and fortunate enough to...¡¡

The Essays of Montaigne, V8by Michel de MontaigneTranslated by Charles CottonEdited by William Carew Hazilitt1877CONTENTS OF VOLUME 8.XLVIII. Of war-horses, or destriers.XLIX. Of ancient customs.L. Of Democritus and Heraclitus.LI. Of the vanity of words.LII. Of the parsimony of the Ancients.LIII. Of a saying of Caesar.LIV. Of vain subtleties.LV. Of smells.LVI. Of prayers.LVII. Of age.CHAPTER XLVIIIOF WAR HORSES, OR DESTRIERSI here have become a grammarian, I who never learned any language but by...¡¡

Ernest HemingwayWith a variety of themes and moods, dynamic action scenes andunexpectedlya rich and ribald sense of humor, ISLANDS IN THE STREAM tells a story closely resembling Hemingway¡¦s life.¡@Thomas Hudson is ¡§a good painter.¡¨ His solitary life of artistic self-discipline on the lush Caribbean island of Bimini is interrupted by a visit from his three lively sons. In a thrilling descriptive scene, David, the middle boy, shows his courage when attacked by a shark and his endurance while fighting a thousand-pound swordfish. It is an initiation into manhood.¡@Years later, Hudson is in Cuba mou¡¡

THE COMPARISON OF LUCULLUS WITH CIMONby Plutarchtranslated by John DrydenONE might bless the end of Lucullus, which was so timed as to lethim die before the great revolution, which fate, by intestine wars,was already effecting against the established government, and to closehis life in a free though troubled commonwealth. And in this, aboveall other things, Cimon and he are alike. For he died also when Greecewas as yet undisordered, in its highest felicity; though in thefield at the head of his army, not recalled, nor out of his mind,...¡¡

THE ENCHANTED CANARYIONCE upon a time, in the reign of King Cambrinus, there lived atAvesnes one of his lords, who was the finest manby which Imean the fattestin the whole country of Flanders. He ate fourmeals a day, slept twelve hours out of the twenty-four, and the onlything he ever did was to shoot at small birds with his bow andarrow.Still, with all his practice he shot very badly, he was so fat andheavy, and as he grew daily fatter, he was at last obliged to give upwalking, and be dragged about in a wheel-chair, and the people...¡¡

The Works of Edgar Allan PoeVolume 3 of the Raven EditionIN FIVE VOLUMESContents Volume IIINarrative of A. Gordon PymLigeiaMorellaA Tale of the Ragged MountainsThe SpectaclesKing PestThree Sundays in a WeekNARRATIVE OF A. GORDON PYMINTRODUCTORY NOTEUPON my return to the United States a few months ago, after theextraordinary series of adventure in the South Seas and elsewhere, ofwhich an account is given in the following pages, accident threw meinto the society of several gentlemen in Richmond, Va., who felt deepinterest in all matters relating to the regions I had visited, and...¡¡

THE HEADLESS DWARFSThere was once a minister who spent his whole time in trying tofind a servant who would undertake to ring the church bells atmidnight, in addition to all his other duties.Of course it was not everyone who cared to get up in the middleof the night, when he had been working hard all day; still, agood many had agreed to do it. But the strange thing was that nosooner had the servant set forth to perform his task than hedisappeared, as if the earth had swallowed him up. No bells wererung, and no ringer ever came back. The minister did his best to...¡¡

Over the Teacupsby Oliver W. HolmesPREFACE.The kind way in which this series of papers has been received hasbeen a pleasure greater than I dared to anticipate. I felt that Iwas a late comer in the midst of a crowd of ardent and eagercandidates for public attention, that I had already had my day, andthat if, like the unfortunate Frenchman we used read about, I had"come again," I ought not to surprised if I received the welcome of"Monsieur Tonson."It has not proved so. My old readers have come forward in thepleasantest possible way and assured me that they were glad to see me...¡¡

THE COMPLEAT ANGLERTHE COMPLEATANGLERIZAAK WALTON1- Page 2-THE COMPLEAT ANGLERTo the Right worshipfulJohn Offleyof Madeley Manor, in the County of Stafford Esquire, My mosthonoured FriendSir, I have made so ill use of your former favours, as by them to beencouraged to entreat, that they may be enlarged to the patronage and...¡¡