MY OWN ACRE A lifelong habit of story-telling has much to do with the production of these pages. All the more does it move me because it has always included, as perhaps it does in most story-tellers, a keen preference for true stories, stories of actual occurrence. A flower-garden trying to be beautiful is a charming instance of something which a storyteller can otherwise only dream of. For such a... more...

How does it come about that alongside of the idea of ponderable matter, which is derived by abstraction from everyday life, the physicists set the idea of the existence of another kind of matter, the ether? The explanation is probably to be sought in those phenomena which have given rise to the theory of action at a distance, and in the properties of light which have led to the undulatory theory. Let... more...

CHAPTER I The Prophecies of Merlin, and the Birth of Arthur   ing Vortigern the usurper sat upon his throne in London, when, suddenly, upon a certain day, ran in a breathless messenger, and cried aloud— “Arise, Lord King, for the enemy is come; even Ambrosius and Uther, upon whose throne thou sittest—and full twenty thousand with them—and they have sworn by a great oath, Lord, to slay thee,... more...

The present is the best collected edition of the important works of Schiller which is accessible to readers in the English language. Detached poems or dramas have been translated at various times since the first publication of the original works; and in several instances these versions have been incorporated into this collection. Schiller was not less efficiently qualified by nature for an historian... more...

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN EUROPE. A Catalogue of the great Masters of the Order of the Dutch knights, commonly called the Hospitalaries of Ierusalem: and what great exploites euery of the saide Masters hath atchieued either in conquering the land of Prussia, or in taming and subduing the Infidels, or els in keeping them vnder their obedience and subiection, taken out of Munster. The order of the Dutch... more...

CHAPTER I LOST ON AN OCEAN FLOOR The handsome clubroom of the Black Bear Patrol, Boy Scouts of America, in the City of New York, was ablaze with light, and as noisy as healthy, happy boys could well make it. "Over in the Chinese Sea!" shouted Jimmie McGraw from a table which stood by an open window overlooking the brilliantly illuminated city. "Do we go to the washee-washee land this... more...

CHAPTER 2.   Infantry Drill Regulations. The greatest lesson of the present war is that the keynote of success is discipline. In trenches the direct control of the men is even less than in extended order in open warfare, and only thoroughly disciplined troops with a trusted leader can hope to succeed. The successful officer will show anger or irritation only in rare cases, and then by design: he will... more...

SCENE I. MILLER—MRS. MILLER. MILLER (walking quickly up and down the room). Once for all! The affair is becoming serious. My daughter and the baron will soon be the town-talk—my house lose its character—the president will get wind of it, and—the short and long of the matter is, I'll show the younker the door. MRS MILLER. You did not entice him to your house—did not thrust your daughter... more...

PREFACE Measured by the standards of duration, absence of violent commotions, maintenance of law and order, general prosperity and contentment of the people, and by the extent of its influence on the institutions and political thought of other lands, the English government has been one of the most remarkable the world has ever known. An attempt, therefore, to study it at any salient epoch cannot be... more...

HANDY DICTIONARY OF POETICAL A. Abashed. Abash'd the devil stood,And felt how awful goodness is, and sawVirtue in her shape how lovely.1MILTON:Par. Lost,Bk. iv., Line 846. Abbots. To happy convents bosom'd deep in vines,Where slumber abbots purple as their wines. POPE:Dunciad,Bk. iv., Line 301. Abdication. I give this heavy weight from off my head,And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand,The... more...