Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, more than four hundred and fifty years ago. Genoa was a rich town on the Mediterranean Sea. She had trading routes to India, China and Japan. Columbus was fond of stories of the sea and liked the study of geography. He was anxious to go to sea and while a boy made his first voyage. When he grew up to be a man, he went to Lisbon the capital of Portugal. The... 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...

The Boy that was not loaded. In the course of his travels in Europe, Rollo went with his uncle George one summer to spend a fortnight in Scotland. There are several ways of going into Scotland from England. One way is to take a steamer from Liverpool, and go up the Clyde to Glasgow. This was the route that Mr. George and Rollo took. On the way from Liverpool to Glasgow, Rollo became acquainted with a... more...

CHAPTER I THE FAMILY CURSE Freddie Rooke gazed coldly at the breakfast-table. Through a gleaming eye-glass he inspected the revolting object which Barker, his faithful man, had placed on a plate before him. "Barker!" His voice had a ring of pain. "Sir?" "What's this?" "Poached egg, sir." Freddie averted his eyes with a silent shudder. "It looks just like an old... more...

STUDY I. FOREWORD AND APPEAL. Memory Verse: "And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."—(Dan. xii, 3.) Scripture for Meditation: Matt. vi, 19-23; Rev. iii, 14-22. Fred B—— was a medical student. He was stricken, with that dreaded scourge, consumption. The physicians advised a trip to the... more...

CHAPTER I. If the narrative which I am about to recount perplex the reader, it can hardly do so more than it has perplexed the narrator. Explanations, let me say at the start, I have none to offer. That which took place I relate. I have had no special education or experience as a writer; both my nature and my avocation have led me in other directions. I can claim nothing more in the construction of... more...

CHAPTER I. THE WILD ROSE IS THE SWEETEST. I tell again the oldest and the newest story of all the world,—the story of Invincible Love! This tale divine—ancient as the beginning of things, fresh and young as the passing hour—has forms and names various as humanity. The story of Aspatria Anneys is but one of these,—one leaf from all the roses in the world, one note of all its myriad of songs.... more...

SIX MONTHS AFTER. "It's most time for Paul to come home," said Mrs. Hoffman. "I must be setting the table for supper." "I wonder how he will like my new picture," said Jimmy, a delicate boy of eight, whose refined features, thoughtful look, and high brow showed that his mind by no means shared the weakness of his body. Though only eight years of age he already manifested a... more...

ATTRIBUTED TO CHEVALIER JOHNSTONE. Hope that heavenly, healing balm, that gift from Providence, blended with persecutions to blunt the sharpness of their sting and hinder the unfortunate from being overwhelmed, and sinking under the load of their afflictions, never dies out—never abandons the distressed. "We don't believe in dangers," says Machiavel, "until they are over our heads;... more...

THE MARQUIS’ HONEYMOON Old Drury Lane rang with applause for the performance of Madame Carew. Of British-French parentage, she was a recognized peer among the favorite actresses on the English stage and a woman whose attractions of face and manner were of a high order. She came naturally by her talents, being a descendant of Madame de Panilnac, famed as an actress, confidante of Louise-Benedicte,... more...