BRADFORD, WILLIAM (1590-1657), American colonial governor and historian, was born in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England, probably in March 1590. He became somewhat estranged from his family, which was one of considerable importance in the locality, when in early youth he joined the Puritan sect known as Separatists, and united in membership with the congregation at Scrooby. He prepared in 1607, with other... more...

THE TALL WOMAN I. "How little we really know, my friends; how little we really know." The speaker was Gabriel, a distinguished civil engineer of the mountain corps. He was seated under a pine tree, near a spring, on the crest of the Guadarrama. It was only about a league and a half distant from the palace of the Escurial, on the boundary line of the provinces of Madrid and Segovia. I know the... more...

CHAPTER I SYLVIA'S HOME Like most happy childhoods, Sylvia's early years lay back of her in a long, cheerful procession of featureless days, the outlines of which were blurred into one shimmering glow by the very radiance of their sunshine. Here and there she remembered patches, sensations, pictures, scents: Mother holding baby sister up for her to kiss, and the fragrance of the baby... more...

CHAPTER I. MAKING A FLORIDA PORT. "That's it, as true as you live, Captain Alick!" exclaimed Bob Washburn, the mate of the Sylvania, as he dropped the spy-glass from his right eye. "Your dead-reckoning was correct every time." "I have no doubt you are right, Washburn," I replied, referring to an open volume that lay on the shelf under the forward windows of the pilot-house.... more...

RHODA. Uncle Bradburn took down a volume of the new Cyclopædia, and placed it on the stand beside him. He did not, however, open it immediately, but sat absorbed in thought. At length he spoke:—"Don't you think a young girl in the kitchen, to help Dorothy, would save a good many steps?" "I don't know," replied Aunt Janet, slowly. "Dorothy has a great deal to do already.... more...

LETTERS TO PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW. (No answers required, thank you.) To Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, Head of the German Peace Delegation. The enthralling volume, entitled Preliminary Terms of Peace, on which your attention is being engrossed at the present moment, is said to be of the same length as A Tale of Two Cities. In other respects there is little resemblance traceable between the two works. A... more...

Milkmaid. An Old Song exhibited & explainedin many designs by R. Caldecott. A Lady said to her Son—a poor young Squire: “You must seek a Wife with a Fortune!”           “Where are you going, my Pretty Maid?” “I'm going a-milking, Sir,” she said.         “Shall I go with you, my Pretty Maid?” “Oh yes, if you please, kind Sir,” she said.       “What is your... more...

The men had driven away. Their carts and horses disappeared behind the roll of the low hills. They appeared now and then, like boats on the crest of a wave, further each time. And their laughter and singing and shouts grew fainter as the bushes hid them from sight. The women and children remained, with two old men to protect them. They might have gone too, the hunters said. "What harm could come in... more...

CHAPTER I. IS THERE PROFIT IN RAISING SQUABS? Of the question of profit in squab raising, there is no doubt. Squabs are coming into use more and more every day, not only as a delicacy for invalids, but also for hotels, restaurants, catering establishments, and household use. The first question is naturally of the market for them. The Hebrews, who entertain lavishly, are among our largest customers.... more...

CHAPTER I A solitary fisher ploughed the lively blue of a southern sea. Strength of limb, fair hair, and clear grey eyes told of a northern race, though his skin had been tanned to a red-brown, dark as the tint of the slender, dark-eyed, olive-skinned fishers born under these warm skies. In stature and might a man, he was scarcely more than a boy in years; beardless yet, and of an open, boyish... more...