Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:05

Excerpt #1, from Ivanhoe: A Romance, by Walter Scott

…them to pray for—me—ungrateful villains as they are!—they suffer to die like the houseless dog on yonder common, unshriven and unhouseled!—Tell the Templar to come hither—he is a priest, and may do something—But no!—as well confess myself to the devil as to Brian de Bois-Guilbert, who recks neither of heaven nor of hell.—I have heard old men talk of prayer—prayer by their own voice—Such need not to court or to bribe the false priest—But I—I dare not!” “Lives Reginald Front-de-Bœuf,” said a broken and shrill voice close by his bedside, “to say there is that which he dares not!” The evil conscience and the shaken nerves of Front-de-Bœuf heard, in this strange interruption to his soliloquy, the voice of one of those demons, who, as the superstition of the times believed, beset the beds of dying men to distract their thoughts, and turn them from the meditations which concerned their eternal welfare. He shuddered and drew himself together; but, instantly summoning up his wonted resolution, he exclaimed, “Who is there?—what art thou, that darest to echo my words in a tone like that of the night-raven?—Come before my couch that I may see thee.” “I am thine evil angel, Reginald Front-de-Bœuf,” replied the voice. “Let me behold thee then in thy bodily shape, if thou be’st indeed a fiend,” replied the dying knight; “think not that I will blench from…

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Excerpt #2, from Letters of a Radio

…than it needs for every zinc ion which has left it. If only the extra electrons on the negative zinc plate could get around to the positive copper plate. They can if we connect a wire from one plate to the other. Then the electrons from the zinc stream into the spaces between the atoms of the wire and push ahead of them the electrons which are wandering around in these spaces. At the other end an equal number of electrons leave the wire to satisfy the positive copper plate. So we have a stream of electrons in the wire, that is, a current of electricity and our battery is working. That’s the sort of a battery I used to play with. If you understand it you can get the general idea of all batteries. Let me express it in general terms. At the negative plate of a battery ions go into solution and electrons are left behind. At the other end of the battery positive ions are crowded out of solution and join the plate where they cause a scarcity of electrons; that is, make the plate positive. If a wire is connected between the two plates, electrons will stream through it from the negative plate to the positive; and this stream is a current of electricity. [Illustration: Pl. III.–Dry Battery for Use in Audion Circuits (Courtesy of National Carbon Co., Inc.). Storage Battery (Courtesy of…

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Excerpt #3, from Science in Short Chapters, by W. Mattieu Williams

…who actually attempts to explain it by his infallible and ever applicable physiological nostrum of “unconscious cerebration.” No marvelous story either of ancient or modern date is too strong for this universal solvent, which according to the reviewer, is the sole and glorious invention of Dr. Carpenter. Space will not now permit me to further describe “unconscious cerebration” and its vast achievements, but I hope to find a corner for it hereafter. I may add that the name of the reviewer is kept a profound secret, and yet is perfectly well-known, as everybody who reads the article finds it out when he reaches those parts which describe Dr. Carpenter’s important physiological researches and discoveries. MATHEMATICAL FICTIONS. (BRITISH ASSOCIATION, 1871.) The President’s inaugural address, which was going through the press in London while being spoken in Edinburgh, has already been subject to an unusual amount of sharp criticism. For my own part I cannot help regarding it as one of the least satisfactory of all the inaugural addresses that have yet been delivered at these annual meetings. They have been of two types, the historical and the controversial; the former prevailing. In the historical addresses the President has usually made a comprehensive and instructive survey of the progress…

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Excerpt #4, from Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post, by Thomas Rainey

…requires that the steamer shall be docked, however great the expense; and as these accidents are constantly occurring in even the best constructed and best regulated propellers, it follows that they must be constantly on the docks. This species of vessel being built necessarily narrower than the side-wheel, it rolls more, and is found to be an exceedingly disagreeable passenger vessel. Propellers have become deservedly unpopular the world over; and if it were possible for them to be faster than the side-wheel, it is hardly probable that first-class passengers would even then go by them, as they are known to be so exceedingly uncomfortable. The propeller, I have before said, is erroneously supposed to run more cheaply than the side-wheel. I think that I have shown that as a mail packet it will cost more to run it at a given speed. But there are certain cases in which it does run more cheaply; these are, however, only where the speed is low, and the machinery not geared, and where, as a consequence, sail can be used to more advantage than on a side-wheel. The economy is not the result of the application of the power by the screw, as compared with the side-wheel, but of the sail alone; and this economy is more or less, just as canvas is employed more or less in the propulsion. The screw is the better form of steamer for using sail; and the low speed at which propellers…

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Excerpt #5, from Survival at Altitude for Heavy and Very Heavy Bomber Crews

…anything if you plug into a system that reads less than the gauge on the bottle. NOTE TO ENGINEERS: Because of its limited supply, the standard walk-around bottle is next to useless for many of your jobs which must be done in flight on a walk-around bottle. The ENGINEER NEEDS A LARGER WALK-AROUND BOTTLE. One, having a supply 5 TIMES AS GREAT as the standard portable cylinder, can be obtained as follows: Obtain a D-2 oxygen cylinder (stock No. 5500-344020 - class 03K) from Air Corps Supply. Remove the A-13 regulator assembly from a standard walk-around bottle. Remove the spud from one end of the D-2 cylinder and screw the A-13 regulator in tightly. Fill to 400 p.s.i. and leave overnight to determine if pressure is maintained or lost due to a leak. (A drop of 25 to 50 pounds will occur in the absence of a leak due to cooling of the oxygen which warmed up when the cylinder was charged). [Illustration: Fig. 6 D-2 WALK-AROUND BOTTLE] For leaks here or elsewhere in an oxygen system use the following anti-sieze and sealing compound on the pipe threads: Pioneer Antisieze No. 2., Class 96B, Stock no. 7500-050800. Never use a sealing compound which contains oil. A satisfactory bag with shoulder strap for carrying the walk-around bottle when in use can be made from heavy twill or canvas by the…

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Excerpt #6, from Vistas in Sicily, by Arthur Stanley Riggs

…of the “pans” are a yard in diameter by about eight inches deep, the wreaths draped with plentiful streamers of black upon which are stamped in gold letters suitable inscriptions and the names of the departed. The monks were chanting sleepily in a choir gallery as we entered the sacristy of the little church, to examine some interesting unfinished cartoons upon the walls for frescoes never executed–our guide an amazing friendly young brother whose face was a replica of Giotto’s unforgettable fresco of Dante in the Florence Bargello. Fra Giacomo, he called himself; and his interest in the world generally, his simple attitude of dangerous curiosity in everything not connected with the cloistered life, made us think of Hichens’ sorry hero–if hero he could be called!–in the “Garden of Allah.” Neither he, nor any of the other monks with whom we came into contact anywhere in either Sicily or Italy, had the spiritual austerity that is so marked a characteristic of the Spanish monk; nothing at all of the bearing or atmosphere that instantly stamps a man as either genuinely consecrated or fanatic–according to the eye with which he is seen. This lack of spirituality came out strongly when, wholly ignoring the service going on, Fra Giacomo dragged a confessional with a dreadful clatter across the tiled floor to serve as a camera-stand from which he insisted that I photograph the poor, bare little altar with its tawdry…

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Excerpt #7, from Desert Dust, by Edwin L. Sabin

…know, at each terminus, booms as long as the freight and passengers pile up–and all of a sudden the go-ahead business and professional men pull stakes for the next terminus as soon as located. That has been the custom, all the way from North Platte to Benton." “Which accounts for your acquaintance along the line. The trainmen seem to know you.” “Trainmen and others; oh, yes. It is to be expected. I have no objections to that. I am quite able to take care of myself, sir.” We were interrupted. A near-drunken rowdy (upon whom I had kept an uneasy corner of an eye) had been careening over the platform, a whiskey bottle protruding from the hip pocket of his sagging jeans, a large revolver dangling at his thigh, his slouch hat cocked rakishly upon his tousled head. His language was extremely offensive–he had an ugly mood on, but nobody interfered. The crowd stood aside–the natives laughing, the tourists like myself viewing him askance, and several Indians watching only gravely. He sighted us, and staggered in. “Howdy?” he uttered, with an oath. “Shay–hello, stranger. Have a smile. Take two, one for lady. Hic!” And he thrust his bottle at me. My Lady drew back. I civilly declined the “smile.” “Thank you. I do not drink.”…

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Excerpt #8, from Lakeland Words, by Bryham Kirkby

…MITEY—Cheese ’at’s full o’ lal mawks. MITR’D-AN’-MOULDR’D—Ye o’ know what mitey cheese is like, an’ owt ’at’s mitr’d ’s summat ’at’s gian throo t’ siam process wi’ moths an’ worms, whedder it’s a chair leg er owt else ’at’s sided away, an’ gits mitr’d an’ mouldr’d. MOCK—To imitate in derision. Mudder, oor Jack’s mocken mi slowpen mi tea; cloot his lugs for ’t, will ye? MOME—Smooth spoken; diffident; still. As mome as a moose. MONKEY—Mortgate. Ther’s a monkey astride o’ t’ chimla. MONKEY—What stians an’ mortar gahs up t’ stee in fer t’ wo’ers. See Hawky. MONEY-IN-IVRY-POCKET—Grows e’ t’ garden does this. MOP—Mop it up. That’s what t’ mudders say when they want yan ta sup a pint pot o’ salts an’ seeny fer a bad cauld er a strained wrist. Mop it up, it’ll deea thi good. MOPE—A body’s ’at’s nut ower mich to deea, an’ nivver gits ’t diun. MOPEN, MOPED—Mopen aboot like a steg i’ sitten time. It means when ivry body else is thrang, an’ neea time to bodder wi’ ye; an’ moped’s when a chap’s sitten ower t’ fire tell he’s aboot silly. MOUNTY-KITTY—A lad’s gam: “Mounty kitty, mounty kitty, yan, tweea, three.”…

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Excerpt #9, from Bel Ami; Or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel, by Guy de Maupassant

…comic-opera peasants." She smiled. “I know it, you have told me often enough.” “We shall be very uncomfortable. There is only a straw bed in my room; they do not know what hair mattresses are at Canteleu.” She seemed delighted. “So much the better. It would be charming to sleep badly–when–near you–and to be awakened by the crowing of the cocks.” He walked toward the window and lighted a cigarette. The sight of the harbor, of the river filled with ships moved him and he exclaimed: “Egad, but that is fine!” Madeleine joined him and placing both of her hands on her husband’s shoulder, cried: “Oh, how beautiful! I did not know that there were so many ships!” An hour later they departed in order to breakfast with the old couple, who had been informed several days before of their intended arrival. Both Duroy and his wife were charmed with the beauties of the landscape presented to their view, and the cabman halted in order to allow them to get a better idea of the panorama before them. As he whipped up his horse, Duroy saw an old couple not a hundred meters off, approaching, and he leaped from the carriage crying: “Here they are, I know them.” The man was short, corpulent, florid, and vigorous, notwithstanding his…

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Excerpt #10, from Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich, by Stephen Leacock

…himself. “For Fred, of course,” he said, “it’s different. But out of such a lot as that it’ll be easy to keep enough for him. It’ll be a grand thing for Fred, this money. He won’t have to grow up like you and me. He’ll have opportunities we never got.” He was getting them already. The opportunity to wear seven dollar patent leather shoes and a bell-shaped overcoat with a silk collar, to lounge into moving-picture shows and eat chocolates and smoke cigarettes–all these opportunities he was gathering immediately. Presently, when he learned his way round a little, he would get still bigger ones. “He’s improving fast,” said mother. She was thinking of his patent leather shoes. “He’s popular,” said his father. “I notice it downstairs. He sasses any of them just as he likes; and no matter how busy they are, as soon as they see it’s Fred they’re all ready to have a laugh with him.” Certainly they were, as any hotel clerk with plastered hair is ready to laugh with the son of a multimillionaire. It’s a certain sense of humour that they develop. “But for us, mother,” said the Wizard, “we’ll be rid of it. The gold is there. It’s not right to keep it back. But we’ll just find a way to pass it on to folks that need it worse than we do.”…

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Excerpt #11, from The Iliad of Homer (1873), by Homer

…and knew more. For this reason [Neptune] avoided aiding them openly, but always kept privately inciting them through the army, assimilated to a man. They indeed alternately stretched over both the cord of vehement contest and equally destructive war, irrefragable and indissoluble, which relaxed the knees of many. Then, although half-hoary Idomeneus, encouraging the Greeks, rushing upon the Trojans, created night; for he slew Othryoneus, who had come from Cabesus, staying within [Priam’s house]. 423 He had lately come after the rumour of the war, and demanded Cassandra, the most beautiful in form of the daughters of Priam, without a dowry; and he had promised a mighty deed, to repulse in spite of themselves the sons of the Greeks from Troy. But to him aged Priam had promised her, and pledged himself 424 to give her; therefore he fought, trusting in these promises. But Idomeneus took aim at him with his shining spear, and hurling it, struck him, strutting proudly; nor did the brazen corslet which he wore resist it, but he fixed it in the middle of his stomach. And falling, he gave a crash, and [the other] boasted and said: “Othryoneus! above all men indeed do I praise thee, if thou wilt now in truth accomplish all which thou hast undertaken for Dardanian Priam: but he also promised thee his daughter. We likewise, promising these things, will accomplish them to thee. We will give thee the most…

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Excerpt #12, from The Sea

…stage, do you hear me? NINA. It is the dream of my life, which will never come true. ARKADINA. Who knows? Perhaps it will. But let me present Monsieur Boris Trigorin. NINA. I am delighted to meet you. [Embarrassed] I have read all your books. ARKADINA. [Drawing NINA down beside her] Don’t be afraid of him, dear. He is a simple, good-natured soul, even if he is a celebrity. See, he is embarrassed himself. DORN. Couldn’t the curtain be raised now? It is depressing to have it down. SHAMRAEFF. [Loudly] Jacob, my man! Raise the curtain! NINA. [To TRIGORIN] It was a curious play, wasn’t it? TRIGORIN. Very. I couldn’t understand it at all, but I watched it with the greatest pleasure because you acted with such sincerity, and the setting was beautiful. [A pause] There must be a lot of fish in this lake. NINA. Yes, there are. TRIGORIN. I love fishing. I know of nothing pleasanter than to sit on a lake shore in the evening with one’s eyes on a floating cork. NINA. Why, I should think that for one who has tasted the joys of…

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