Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:25:58

Excerpt #1, from Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, by Lewis Carroll

…my dear paws! oh my fur and whiskers! She’ll have me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets! Where can I have dropped them, I wonder?" Alice guessed in a moment that it was looking for the nosegay and the pair of white kid gloves, and she began hunting for them, but they were now nowhere to be seen–everything seemed to have changed since her swim in the pool, and her walk along the river-bank with its fringe of rushes and forget-me-nots, and the glass table and the little door had vanished. Soon the rabbit noticed Alice, as she stood looking curiously about her, and at once said in a quick angry tone, “why, Mary Ann! what are you doing out here? Go home this moment, and look on my dressing-table for my gloves and nosegay, and fetch them here, as quick as you can run, do you hear?” and Alice was so much frightened that she ran off at once, without saying a word, in the direction which the rabbit had pointed out. She soon found herself in front of a neat little house, on the door of which was a bright brass plate with the name W. RABBIT, ESQ. She went in, and hurried upstairs, for fear she should meet the real Mary Ann and be turned out of the house before she had found the gloves: she knew that one pair had been lost in the hall, “but of course,” thought Alice, "it has plenty more of them…

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Excerpt #2, from Grimms’ Fairy Tales, by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

…at that moment pulling the kitchen-boy by the hair to give him a box on the ear for something he had done amiss, let him go, and both fell asleep; the butler, who was slyly tasting the ale, fell asleep with the jug at his lips: and thus everything stood still, and slept soundly. A large hedge of thorns soon grew round the palace, and every year it became higher and thicker; till at last the old palace was surrounded and hidden, so that not even the roof or the chimneys could be seen. But there went a report through all the land of the beautiful sleeping Briar Rose (for so the king’s daughter was called): so that, from time to time, several kings’ sons came, and tried to break through the thicket into the palace. This, however, none of them could ever do; for the thorns and bushes laid hold of them, as it were with hands; and there they stuck fast, and died wretchedly. After many, many years there came a king’s son into that land: and an old man told him the story of the thicket of thorns; and how a beautiful palace stood behind it, and how a wonderful princess, called Briar Rose, lay in it asleep, with all her court. He told, too, how he had heard from his grandfather that many, many princes had come, and had tried to break through the thicket, but that they had all stuck fast in it, and died. Then the young prince said, ‘All this shall not frighten me; I will go and see this Briar Rose.’ The old man tried to hinder him, but…

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Excerpt #3, from Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

…confusion, threw himself on his knees and held out his clasped hands in supplication. At that I once more stopped. “Who are you?” I asked. “Ben Gunn,” he answered, and his voice sounded hoarse and awkward, like a rusty lock. “I’m poor Ben Gunn, I am; and I haven’t spoke with a Christian these three years.” I could now see that he was a white man like myself and that his features were even pleasing. His skin, wherever it was exposed, was burnt by the sun; even his lips were black, and his fair eyes looked quite startling in so dark a face. Of all the beggar-men that I had seen or fancied, he was the chief for raggedness. He was clothed with tatters of old ship’s canvas and old sea-cloth, and this extraordinary patchwork was all held together by a system of the most various and incongruous fastenings, brass buttons, bits of stick, and loops of tarry gaskin. About his waist he wore an old brass-buckled leather belt, which was the one thing solid in his whole accoutrement. “Three years!” I cried. “Were you shipwrecked?” “Nay, mate,” said he; “marooned.” I had heard the word, and I knew it stood for a horrible kind of punishment common enough among the buccaneers, in which the offender…

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Excerpt #4, from In the Sargasso Sea, by Thomas A. Janvier

…about a dozen feet square. That there were several layers of these boxes seemed probable, for those in sight were only six feet or so below the level of the cabin floor, and that they held either gold or silver I considered to be beyond a doubt; and as I raised my head up out of the hatch, my eyes blinking as the light struck them, and thought of the wealth that must be stored there in that little chamber, and that it was mine because I had found it, I gave a long great sigh. For a minute or two I was quite dazed by my discovery; and then as I got steadier–or got crazier, perhaps I ought to say–nothing would serve me but that I must get down to where my treasure was, so that my eyes might see it and that I might touch it with my hands. And with that I caught at the tackle and gave a tug on the ropes to test them, and as they held I swung to them to slide down–and the moment that my full weight was on them they snapped like punk, and down I went feet foremost and struck on the tiers of boxes with a bang. As I fell only a little way, and upon a level surface–for I went clear of the box to which the tackle was made fast–no harm came to me; but under my feet I felt the rotten wood going squashily, and then beneath it something firm and hard. And when I got back my balance and looked down eagerly my eyes caught a dull gleam in the semi-darkness, and…

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Excerpt #5, from Hard Times, by Charles Dickens

…thirty?’ Mrs. Sparsit laughed outright. ‘A chit,’ said she. ‘Not twenty when she was married.’ ‘I give you my honour, Mrs. Powler,’ returned the stranger, detaching himself from the table, ‘that I never was so astonished in my life!’ It really did seem to impress him, to the utmost extent of his capacity of being impressed. He looked at his informant for full a quarter of a minute, and appeared to have the surprise in his mind all the time. ‘I assure you, Mrs. Powler,’ he then said, much exhausted, ‘that the father’s manner prepared me for a grim and stony maturity. I am obliged to you, of all things, for correcting so absurd a mistake. Pray excuse my intrusion. Many thanks. Good day!’ He bowed himself out; and Mrs. Sparsit, hiding in the window curtain, saw him languishing down the street on the shady side of the way, observed of all the town. ‘What do you think of the gentleman, Bitzer?’ she asked the light porter, when he came to take away. ‘Spends a deal of money on his dress, ma’am.’ ‘It must be admitted,’ said Mrs. Sparsit, ‘that it’s very tasteful.’ ‘Yes, ma’am,’ returned Bitzer, ‘if that’s worth the money.’ ‘Besides which, ma’am,’ resumed Bitzer, while he was polishing the table,…

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Excerpt #6, from The Busy Life of Eighty Five Years of Ezra Meeker, by Ezra Meeker

…McLeod, was one of the party (mob, the company called it), but the records do not show whether he read his chapter in the Bible that day, or whether instead, he took a double portion of whiskey to relieve his conscience. It is doubtful whether the old man thought he was doing wrong or thought anything about it, except that he had a belief that somehow or other a survey might make against him getting a title to his own claim. I had a similar experience at a later date with the Indians near the Muckleshute Reservation, while attempting to extend the sub-divisional lines of the township near where the reserve was located. I could not convince the Indians that the survey meant no harm to them. The case was different in the first instance, as in fact, neither party was acting within the limits of their legal rights, and for the time being, the strongest and most belligerent prevailed, but only to be circumvented at a little later date by a secret completion of the work, sufficient to platting the whole. All this while the little party was halting. The father said the island home would not do, and as he had come two thousand miles to live neighbors, I must give up my claim and take another near theirs, and so, abandoning over a year’s hard work, I acted upon his request with the result told elsewhere, of fleeing from our new chosen home, as we…

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Excerpt #7, from Diego Collado’s Grammar of the Japanese Language, by Diego Collado

…nanda; e.g., corobanu:corobananda ‘I did not fall,’ iomananda ‘I did not read.’ The other tenses are formed in the same way as the negative first conjugation. The Third Affirmative Conjugation The roots of the third conjugation end in ai, oi, or ui. Those ending in ai change to ó to form the present; e.g., narai:naró ‘I learn.’ Those {136} ending in oi change to ô; e.g., vomoi:vomô ‘I think.’ Those ending in ui change to ú; e.g., cui:cú ‘I eat.’ The preterit is formed by adding ta to the present tense; e.g., naróta ‘I learned,’ vomôta ‘I thought,’ cúta ‘I ate.’ The pluperfect is formed by changing the final a of the preterit to e and adding the verb gozaru in the present and gozatta in the past, in the same way as we have described for the first conjugation; e.g., naróte gozaru or narǒte gozatta ‘I have already learned.’ The future is formed by changing the final i of the root to vó, vózu, or vózuru; e.g., naravó, naravǒzu, or naravózuru ‘I shall learn.’ If the root ends in oi it is changed to vô, vôzu, or vôzuru [vǒ, vǒzu, (31 or vǒzuru]; e.g., vomoi:vomouô, vomovozu, or vomovôzuru [vomoi:vomovǒ, vomovǒzu, or vomovǒzuru] ‘I shall think.’[92] The imperative is formed by placing e after the root; e.g., naraie ‘learn!’ toie ‘ask!’ cuie ‘eat!’[93] It is also formed by removing the…

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Excerpt #8, from Why Men Fight: A method of abolishing the international duel, by Bertrand Russell

…Much of what is to be said against militarism in the State is also to be said against capitalism in the economic sphere. Economic organizations, in the pursuit of efficiency, grow larger and larger, and there is no possibility of reversing this process. The causes of their growth are technical, and large organizations must be accepted as an essential part of civilized society. But there is no reason why their government should be centralized and monarchical. The present economic system, by robbing most men of initiative, is one of the causes of the universal weariness which devitalizes urban and industrial populations, making them perpetually seek excitement, and leading them to welcome even the outbreak of war as a relief from the dreary monotony of their daily lives. If the vigor of the nation is to be preserved, if we are to retain any capacity for new ideas, if we are not to sink into a Chinese condition of stereotyped immobility, the monarchical organization of industry must be swept away. All large businesses must become democratic and federal in their government. The whole wage-earning system is an abomination, not only because of the social injustice which it causes and perpetuates, but also because it separates the man who does the work from the purpose for which the work is done. The whole of the controlling purpose is concentrated in the capitalist; the purpose of…

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Excerpt #9, from Guide to Fortune Telling, by Dreams, by Anonymous

…post-paid upon receipt of only =Ten Cents=. KEYSTONE BOOK CO., Philadelphia, Pa. * * * * * Parlor Magic. [Illustration] This valuable textbook contains complete and exhaustive directions for performing over one hundred amusing and mysterious tricks in magic and legerdemain, including sleights with dice, dominoes, cards, ribbons, rings, fruit, coin, balls, handkerchiefs, etc., etc., the whole illustrated and clearly explained with 121 engravings. The directions for performing these tricks are made so very clear by the aid of the many illustrations given that any one may readily perform them, and thus become a veritable wizard in his own circle of acquaintances. Tricks which you have seen performed by professional magicians, and which have seemed to you almost miraculous, are so clearly and fully explained in this book that you may perform them with ease. Among the tricks explained in the book are: “The Magic Coin,” “The Magic Handkerchief,” “The Dancing Egg,” “The Domino Oracle,” “The Magic Bond,” “To Swallow a Barber’s Pole,” “The Restored Ribbon,” “The Magnetized Cane,” “To Eat a Peck of Shavings, and Convert them into a Ribbon,” “The Wonderful Hat,” “The Pepper-Box Trick,” “The Bag of…

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Excerpt #10, from The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated, by Alexandre Dumas

…who will receive no personal benefit from the transaction,—I come to entreat you to restore, not your love, for that she has always possessed, but to restore your fortune to your granddaughter.” There was a doubtful expression in Noirtier’s eyes; he was evidently trying to discover the motive of this proceeding, and he could not succeed in doing so. “May I hope, sir,” said Madame de Villefort, “that your intentions accord with my request?” Noirtier made a sign that they did. “In that case, sir,” rejoined Madame de Villefort, “I will leave you overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness at your prompt acquiescence to my wishes.” She then bowed to M. Noirtier and retired. The next day M. Noirtier sent for the notary; the first will was torn up and a second made, in which he left the whole of his fortune to Valentine, on condition that she should never be separated from him. It was then generally reported that Mademoiselle de Villefort, the heiress of the marquis and marchioness of Saint-Méran, had regained the good graces of her grandfather, and that she would ultimately be in possession of an income of 300,000 livres. While all the proceedings relative to the dissolution of the marriage-contract were being carried on at the house of M. de…

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Excerpt #11, from Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War, by Finley Peter Dunne

…iv risolution on his face; an’ whin he left me, he says, says he, ‘Dooley,’ he says, ‘I’ll conquir, or I’ll die,’ he says. “It’s been comin f’r months, but it on’y bust oh Donahue las’ week. He’d come home at night tired out, an’ afther supper he was pullin’ off his boots, whin Mollie an’ th’ mother begun talkin’ about th’ rights iv females. ‘’Tis th’ era iv th’ new woman,’ says Mollie. ‘Ye’re right,’ says th’ mother. ‘What d’ye mean be the new woman?’ says Donahue, holdin’ his boot in his hand. ‘Th’ new woman,’ says Mollie, ‘’ll be free fr’m th’ opprision iv man,’ she says. ‘She’ll wurruk out her own way, without help or hinderance,’ she says. She’ll wear what clothes she wants,’ she says, ‘an’ she’ll be no man’s slave,’ she says. ‘They’ll be no such thing as givin’ a girl in marredge to a clown an’ makin’ her dipindant on his whims,’ she says. ‘Th’ women’ll earn their own livin’,’ she says; ‘an’ mebbe,’ she says, ‘th’ men’ll stay at home an’ dredge in th’ house wurruk,’ she says. ‘A-ho,’ says Donahue. ‘An’ that’s th’ new woman, is it?’ he says. An’ he said no more that night.”But th’ nex’ mornin’ Mrs. Donahue an’ Mollie come to his dure. ‘Get up,’ says Mrs. Donahue, ‘an’ bring in some coal,’ she says. ‘Ye drowsy man, ye’ll be late f’r ye’er wurruk.’ ‘Divvle th’ bit iv coal I’ll fetch,’ says Donahue. ‘Go away an’ lave me alone,’ he says. ‘Ye’re inthruptin’ me dreams.’ ‘What ails ye, man alive?’ says Mrs. Donahue….

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Excerpt #12, from Recollections and impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler, by Arthur Jerome Eddy

…than a painter of easel pictures; that instinctively he was akin to those great masters who combined their efforts with those of the architect in the endeavor to produce beautiful results. A sympathetic writer has said: “Although he was in no way a spendthrift, he would make every sort of sacrifice to his art. Had he been given more opportunity, there seems no reason to doubt that he would have made other rooms even more beautiful than the famous ‘Peacock’ dining-room. But, frankly, the public did not care for his work enough to buy much of it from him at anything like a fair price; so that he was obliged to limit himself to comparatively small surfaces, easel pictures, over which collectors will soon begin to wrangle, we dare say, now that the clever hand which created them can work no more, and the big, kind heart which gave this man the courage to fight through fifty years against ‘la bêtise humaine’ is cold and still.”[23] In showing his work to visitors he exercised all the reserve and discretion of the Japanese, who places before his guests but one kakemona during that most formal and elaborate of social festivities, the “Tea Ceremony,” or who, under pressure of repeated requests, takes from its little box and unfolds from its many silken wrappings one, just one, of his precious bits of porcelain. No more on the same day, lest…

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