How the whole of us marched towards Tezcuco, and what happened to us on our way there. When Cortes found himself so well provided again with muskets, powder, crossbows, and horses, and observed how impatient the whole of us, officers as well as soldiers, were to commence the siege of the great city of Mexico, he desired the caziques of Tlascalla to furnish him with 10,000 of their troops to join us in... more...

CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE The first great English poet was the father of English tragedy and the creator of English blank verse. Chaucer and Spenser were great writers and great men: they shared between them every gift which goes to the making of a poet except the one which alone can make a poet, in the proper sense of the word, great. Neither pathos nor humor nor fancy nor invention will suffice for that:... more...

Esther 1:1 Now it happened in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over one hundred twenty-seven provinces), 1:2 that in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, 1:3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and... more...

PROCLAMATION OF HENRY VIII. AGAINST THE POSSESSION OF RELIGIOUS BOOKS. The progress of the Reformation in England must have been greatly affected by the extent to which the art of printing was brought to bear upon the popular mind. Before the charms of Anne Boleyn could have had much effect, or "doubts" had troubled the royal conscience, Wolsey had been compelled to forbid the introduction or... more...

INTRODUCTION In all branches of medicine the master word is prophylaxis, or prevention, and its benefits are nowhere more strikingly illustrated than in the practice of obstetrics. In former times every woman who gave birth to a child or passed through a miscarriage was exposed to grave danger of infection or child-bed fever; but at present—thanks to the recognition of the bacterial origin of the... more...

Chapter 1The Approach to the Valley When I set out on the long excursion that finally led to California I wandered afoot and alone, from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico, with a plant-press on my back, holding a generally southward course, like the birds when they are going from summer to winter. From the west coast of Florida I crossed the gulf to Cuba, enjoyed the rich tropical flora there for a few... more...

CHAPTER I Uncle Charlie Wheeler stamped on the steps before Nance McGregor's bake-shop on the Main Street of the town of Coal Creek Pennsylvania and then went quickly inside. Something pleased him and as he stood before the counter in the shop he laughed and whistled softly. With a wink at the Reverend Minot Weeks who stood by the door leading to the street, he tapped with his knuckles on the... more...

HOW THE COLLECTION WAS FORMED This question may be answered shortly; it was formed—at least the beginning of it—under compulsion. After fifteen years of very hard work, Mr. Measures broke down. The doctor prescribed a long rest, and insisted on it; but the patient was equally determined not to risk the career just opening, with an assurance of success, by taking a twelve-months’ holiday.... more...

THE WANDERING JEW'S SENTENCE. The site is wild and rugged. It is a lofty eminence covered with huge boulders of sandstone, between which rise birch trees and oaks, their foliage already yellowed by autumn. These tall trees stand out from the background of red light, which the sun has left in the west, resembling the reflection of a great fire. From this eminence the eye looks down into a deep... more...

THE ROAD TO RICHMOND The tobacco-roller and his son pitched their camp beneath a gum tree upon the edge of the wood. It was October, and the gum was the colour of blood. Behind it rolled the autumn forest; before it stretched a level of broom-sedge, bright ochre in the light of the setting sun. The road ran across this golden plain, and disappeared in a league-deep wood of pine. From an invisible... more...