Fiction Books

INTRODUCTION Daudet once remarked that England was the last of foreign countries to welcome his novels, and that he was surprised at the fact, since for him, as for the typical Englishman, the intimacy of home life had great significance. However long he may have taken to win Anglo-Saxon hearts, there is no question that he finally won them more completely than any other contemporary French novelist... more...

I THE RAVAGES OF A CARPET “My dear, it’s so cheap!” These words were spoken by my wife, as she sat gracefully on a roll of Brussels carpet which was spread out in flowery lengths on the floor of Messrs. Ketchem & Co. “It’s so cheap!” Milton says that the love of fame is the last infirmity of noble minds. I think he had not rightly considered the subject. I believe that last infirmity is... more...

CHAPTER I. DISTRESSING SCENE "I say, laddie!" said Archie. "Sir?" replied the desk-clerk alertly. All the employes of the Hotel Cosmopolis were alert. It was one of the things on which Mr. Daniel Brewster, the proprietor, insisted. And as he was always wandering about the lobby of the hotel keeping a personal eye on affairs, it was never safe to relax. "I want to see the... more...

Ecclesiastes 1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: 1:2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." 1:3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun? 1:4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. 1:5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to... more...

CHAPTER I WINCHESTER AND CENTRAL HAMPSHIRE   The foundations of the ancient capital of England were probably laid when the waves of Celtic conquest that had submerged the Neolithic men stilled to tranquillity. The earliest records left to us are many generations later and they are obscure and doubtful, but according to Vigilantius, an early historian whose lost writings have been quoted by those who... more...

CHAPTER I MAKING THE BEST OF THINGS "Marjorie." The clear call rang out, breaking the afternoon stillness of the ranch, but there was no response, and after waiting a moment Miss Graham gave her wheeled chair a gentle push, which sent it rolling smoothly across the porch of the ranch house, down the inclined plane, which served the purpose of steps, to the lawn. It was very hot, the sun was... more...

CHAPTER I. A MERRY GROUP. The Whitney household, in the western part of Maine, was filled with sunshine, merriment and delight, on a certain winter evening a few years ago. There was the quiet, thoughtful mother, now past her prime, but with many traces of the beauty and refinement that made her the belle of the little country town until Hugh Whitney, the strong-bearded soldier, who had entered the war... more...

CHAPTER I. OF GOOD USE Why is it that for the purposes of English composition one word is not so good as another? To this question we shall get a general answer if we examine the effect of certain classes of expressions. —Let us examine first the effect produced by three passages in the authorized version of the English Bible—a version made by order of King James in 1611:— "For these two... more...

Bravo ! : You speak to one and speak to allOur minds ye have gracefully touchedIn joy we leap and misery we crawlBut in Belief and Faith we have much8>) The '99 Blues (composed in 1999) : Then garrisons marched out to conquer half the world ruled from the center with mastery of steel and agility discipline ensured victory in the reign of conquerors just a few millenniums ago The sea a vast... more...

THE STORY OF THE UNKNOWN CHURCH I was the master-mason of a church that was built more than six hundred years ago; it is now two hundred years since that church vanished from the face of the earth; it was destroyed utterly,—no fragment of it was left; not even the great pillars that bore up the tower at the cross, where the choir used to join the nave.  No one knows now even where it stood, only in... more...