General Books

WARWICK CASTLE. The history of a fabric, so intimately connected with some of the most important events recorded in the chronicles of our country, as that of Warwick Castle, cannot fail to be alike interesting to the antiquary, the historian, and the man of letters. This noble edifice is also rendered the more attractive, as being one of the very few that have escaped the ravages of war, or have defied... more...

INTRODUCED TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. OW for it, girls! Let me introduce you to the Atlantic Ocean! Mr. Ocean, these are my three cousins from Kentucky: Miss Jenny, Miss Eva, and Miss Kate Logan. They never saw you till today. This lady on my left is my sister, Miss Dora Drake, the best swimmer at Brant Rock Beach; but her you know already, also my dog Andy.""Oh! I don't want to go any... more...

THE ARBALEST, OR CROSS-BOW. THE ARBALEST, OR CROSS-BOW. The Bow would appear to have been in most ancient nations the principal implement of war; and to keep alive this "mystery of murder," archery, or the art of shooting with a bow and arrow, seems to have been a favourite pastime in days of peace. In no country, however, has archery been more encouraged than in this island; wherefore the... more...

The first glimpse of the Kennebec, on approaching it from the sea, presents to the stranger a barren and uninviting picture. Hemmed in on either side by low, rocky isles, studded with scraggy pines that have long defied old Atlantic's blasts, it must have been a dreary and disappointing sight, indeed, to the little band of voyagers who were seeking a home in the new world over two centuries ago.... more...

Lee And Shepard. By George L. Austin, M.D. For a quarter of a century the firm-name of Lee and Shepard has been familiar to the public. During this interval of time it has been printed upon millions of volumes, which have gone forth on their two-fold mission of instruction and entertainment. Few publishing houses in America have achieved a more honorable record, or have more indelibly left their... more...

ON TWO PASSAGES IN "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL." Among the few passages in Shakspeare upon which little light has been thrown, after all that has been written about them, are the following in Act. IV. Sc. 2. of All's Well that Ends Well, where Bertram is persuading Diana to yield to his desires: "Bert. I pr'ythee, do not strive against my vows: I was compell'd to her; but... more...

THE ADMIRALTY-OFFICE. The Admiralty Office, Whitehall, has few pretensions to architectual beauty. It is, however, to use a common phrase, a commanding pile, and its association with Britain's best bulwarks—her NAVY—renders it an interesting subject for representation. The Admiralty-office adjoins to the north side of the Horse Guards, and was erected by Ripley, in the reign of George II., on... more...

DERIVATION OF THE WORD "ISLAND." Lexicographers from time to time have handed down to us, and proposed for our choice, two derivations of our English word Island; and, that one of these two is correct, has, I believe, never yet been called in question. The first which they offer, and that most usually accepted as the true one, is the A.-S. Ealand, Ealond, Igland; Belg. Eylandt: the first... more...

SOVEREIGNS AND SONS. The sudden death of Prince Albert caused profound regret, and the Royal Family of Britain had the sincere sympathies of the civilized world on that sad occasion. The Prince Consort was a man of brilliant talents, and those talents he had cultivated with true German thoroughness. His knowledge was extensive, various, and accurate. There was no affectation in his regard for... more...

CHAPTER I. THE OLD TOWN. The setting sunbeams slant over the antique gateway of Sorrento, fusing into a golden bronze the brown freestone vestments of old Saint Antonio, who with his heavy stone mitre and upraised hands has for centuries kept watch thereupon. A quiet time he has of it up there in the golden Italian air, in petrified act of blessing, while orange lichens and green mosses from year to... more...