History Books

THE ESTRANGER In the effort to dull the edge of his mental anguish by physical exhaustion Catullus had walked far out from the town, through vineyards and fruit-orchards displaying their autumnal stores and clamorous with eager companies of pickers and vintagers. On coming back to the eastern gate he found himself reluctant to pass from the heedless activities of the fields to the bustle of the town... more...

COLUMBUS   Behind him lay the gray Azores,    Behind the Gates of Hercules;  Before him not the ghost of shores,    Before him only shoreless seas.  The good mate said: "Now we must pray,    For, lo! the very stars are gone.  Brave Admiral, speak; what shall I say?"    "Why say, 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'"   "My men grow mutinous day by... more...

THE FIRST REMOVE Now away we must go with those barbarous creatures, with our bodies wounded and bleeding, and our hearts no less than our bodies. About a mile we went that night, up upon a hill within sight of the town, where they intended to lodge. There was hard by a vacant house (deserted by the English before, for fear of the Indians). I asked them whether I might not lodge in the house that... more...

CHAPTER I. HOW THE PRESS-GANG CAME IN. The practice of pressing men—that is to say, of taking by intimidation or force those who will not volunteer—would seem to have been world-wide in its adoption. Wherever man desired to have a thing done, and was powerful enough to insure the doing of it, there he attained his end by the simple expedient of compelling others to do for him what he, unaided,... more...

THE PERQUIMANS RIVER From the Great Swamp's mysterious depths,Where wild beasts lurk and strange winds sough;From ancient forests dense and dark,Where gray moss wreathes the cypress bough;'Mid marshes green with flowers starred,Through fens where reeds and rushes sway,Past fertile fields of waving grain,Down to the sea I take my way. The wild swan floats upon my breast;The sea-gulls to my... more...

INTRODUCTION Biographical Note Two years before the mast were but an episode in the life of Richard Henry Dana, Jr.; yet the narrative in which he details the experiences of that period is, perhaps, his chief claim to a wide remembrance. His services in other than literary fields occupied the greater part of his life, but they brought him comparatively small recognition and many disappointments. His... more...

HORACE WALPOLE.The Commoners of England.—Horace's Regret for the Death of his Mother.— 'Little Horace' in Arlington Street.—Introduced to George I.— Characteristic Anecdote of George I.—Walpole's Education.—Schoolboy Days.—Boyish Friendships.—Companionship of Gray.—A Dreary Doom.— Walpole's Description of Youthful Delights.—Anecdote of Pope and Frederic of... more...

PREFACE The formality of a preface to this little book might have been very well omitted, if it were not to gratify the curiosity of some inquisitive people, who, I foresee, will be apt to make objections against the reality of the narrative. Indeed the public has too often been imposed upon by fictitious stories, and some of a very late date, so that I think myself obliged by the usual respect which... more...

CHAPTER I THE GIRL-QUEEN AND HER KINGDOM Rather more than one mortal lifetime, as we average life in these later days, has elapsed since that June morning of 1837, when Victoria of England, then a fair young princess of eighteen, was roused from her tranquil sleep in the old palace at Kensington, and bidden to rise and meet the Primate, and his dignified associates the Lord Chamberlain and the royal... more...

1. PRIMITIVE ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY. The growth of intelligence in the human race has its counterpart in that of the individual, especially in the earliest stages. Intellectual activity and the development of reasoning powers are in both cases based upon the accumulation of experiences, and on the comparison, classification, arrangement, and nomenclature of these experiences. During the infancy of... more...