Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:25:25

Excerpt #1, from The Naval War of 1812, by Theodore Roosevelt

…himself worked like a common sailor, in pointing and handling a favorite gun. While bending over to sight it a round shot cut in two the spanker boom, which fell on his head and struck him senseless for two or three minutes; he then leaped to his feet and continued as before, when a shot took off the head of the captain of the gun and drove it in his face with such a force as to knock him to the other side of the deck. But after the first broadside not so much injury was done; the guns of the Confiance had been levelled to point-blank range, and as the quoins were loosened by the successive discharges they were not properly replaced, so that her broadsides kept going higher and higher and doing less and less damage. Very shortly after the beginning of the action her gallant captain was slain. He was standing behind one of the long guns when a shot from the Saratoga struck it and threw it completely off the carriage against his right groin, killing him almost instantly. His skin was not broken; a black mark, about the size of a small plate, was the only visible injury. His watch was found flattened, with its hands pointing to the very second at which he received the fatal blow. As the contest went on the fire gradually decreased in weight, the guns being disabled. The inexperience of both crews partly caused this. The American sailors overloaded their carronades so as to very much…

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Excerpt #2, from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare

…arrant knave. HORATIO. There needs no ghost, my lord, come from the grave To tell us this. HAMLET. Why, right; you are i’ the right; And so, without more circumstance at all, I hold it fit that we shake hands and part: You, as your business and desires shall point you,— For every man hath business and desire, Such as it is;—and for my own poor part, Look you, I’ll go pray. HORATIO. These are but wild and whirling words, my lord. HAMLET. I’m sorry they offend you, heartily; Yes faith, heartily. HORATIO. There’s no offence, my lord. HAMLET. Yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is, Horatio, And much offence too. Touching this vision here, It is an honest ghost, that let me tell you. For your desire to know what is between us, O’ermaster’t as you may. And now, good friends, As you are friends, scholars, and soldiers, Give me one poor request. HORATIO. What is’t, my lord? We will. HAMLET. Never make known what you have seen tonight. HORATIO and MARCELLUS. My lord, we will not. HAMLET. Nay, but swear’t. HORATIO. In faith, my lord, not I….

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Excerpt #3, from A Border Ruffian, by Thomas A. Janvier

…everything that the present occasion required. He seemed to have been sent from heaven direct. In twenty minutes Mr. Smith was asking for him at his hotel. “Mr. Livingstone? Mr. Livingstone is out.” “Did he leave any word as to when he would come in?” “Yes, sir. He said that a gentleman might call, and to say that he certainly would be back at six, and would not go out again to-night.” Mr. Smith looked at his watch–it was 5:30. Had there been any uncertainty as to Livingstone’s return, he would have waited. But it was clear that he was coming back to dine at his hotel, and to spend the evening there. A note, therefore, could be trusted to do the business, and by writing, instead of waiting, Mr. Smith would save half an hour; moreover, if he waited, he would not have time to make the mayonnaise. Probably it is only in Philadelphia that it ever occurs nowadays to the master of a feast to dress the salad; which, doubtless, is the reason why a better salad is served at certain dinner-tables in Philadelphia than at any other dinner-tables in the whole world. The thought of the mayonnaise settled the matter. Mr. Smith hastily wrote an account of the trying situation, and concluded his note with a solemn demand upon “dear old Van” to fill the vacant place, “in the holy name of the class of ’68, and for love of your old classmate, R. Smith.”…

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Excerpt #4, from The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu

…distressed and disquieted her by his wild behaviour, and feeling thoroughly ashamed of himself he answered: ‘I am afraid I know very little about these questions of rank and precedence. Such things are too confusing to carry in one’s head. And whatever you may have heard of me I want to tell you for some reason or other I have till this day cared nothing for gallantry nor ever practised it, and that even you cannot be more astonished at what I have done to-night than I myself am.’ With this and a score of other speeches he sought to win her confidence. But she, knowing that if once their talk became a jot less formal, she would be hard put to it to withstand his singular charm, was determined, even at the risk of seeming stiff and awkward, to show him that in trying so hard to put her at her ease he was only wasting his time, with the result that she behaved very boorishly indeed. She was by nature singularly gentle and yielding, so that the effort of steeling her heart and despite her feelings, playing all the while the part of the young bamboo-shoot which though so green and tender cannot be broken, was very painful to her; and finding that she could not longer think of arguments with which to withstand his importunity, she burst into tears; and though he was very sorry for her, it occurred to him that he would not gladly have missed that sight. He longed however to console her, but could not think of a way…

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Excerpt #5, from The Golden Wheel Dream

…Napoleon at St. Helena. The Calculation. The Surprise Party. The Four Kings. The Clock. The Garden. The Queen’s Audience. The Phalanx. The Idle Year. The Chameleon. La Belle Lucie. The Shamrocks. The House in the Wood. The House on the Hill. The Grand Duchess. The Constitution. The Beleaguered Castle. The Citadel. The Exiled Kings. Penelope’s Web. Napoleon’s Square.…

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Excerpt #6, from Astrology: How to Make and Read Your Own Horoscope, by Sepharial

…Descendant, West. If a malefic planet is rising or setting at birth it is advisable to fix the place of residence so much to the Eastward of the birthplace as will suffice to bring the malefic planets out of the angles of the horoscope. The same if malefic planets occupy the 10th or 4th Houses. On the contrary, if benefic planets are in the 3rd and 9th Houses the Subject should move Westward so as to bring the benefic influences into the 10th and 4th Houses. When benefic planets or planets well aspected occupy the angles of the figure at birth the Subject should not travel far, nor reside long away from the place of birth. Indications of many voyages are as follows: Many planets in watery signs, Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, and also in the sign Virgo. When the majority of the planets are in cardinal and flexed signs, Aries, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricornus, and Pisces, there will be many changes and journeys. Also if the Sun, Moon, Mars, and Mercury are in either the 3rd, 9th, 12th, or 6th Houses, there will be many journeys and long explorations in foreign countries. When planets are afflicted in watery signs there will be danger in voyages, and if the Moon or Sun be afflicted in Virgo there will be submersion due to wreck. Also, when there are planets, especially malefics, in Scorpio, Leo,…

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Excerpt #7, from Nonsense Novels, by Stephen Leacock

…His passion for outdoor sports endeared him to his tenants. A keen sportsman, he excelled in fox-hunting, dog-hunting, pig-killing, bat-catching and the pastimes of his class. In this latter respect Lord Ronald took after his father. From the start the lad had shown the greatest promise. At Eton he had made a splendid showing at battledore and shuttlecock, and at Cambridge had been first in his class at needlework. Already his name was whispered in connection with the All-England ping-pong championship, a triumph which would undoubtedly carry with it a seat in Parliament. Thus was Gertrude the Governess installed at Nosham Taws. The days and the weeks sped past. The simple charm of the beautiful orphan girl attracted all hearts. Her two little pupils became her slaves. “Me loves oo,” the little Rasehellfrida would say, leaning her golden head in Gertrude’s lap. Even the servants loved her. The head gardener would bring a bouquet of beautiful roses to her room before she was up, the second gardener a bunch of early cauliflowers, the third a spray of late asparagus, and even the tenth and eleventh a sprig of mangel-wurzel of an armful of hay. Her room was full of gardeners all the time, while at evening the aged butler, touched at the friendless girl’s loneliness, would tap softly at her door to bring her a rye whiskey and seltzer or a box of…

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Excerpt #8, from Seven O’Clock Stories, by Robert Gordon Anderson

…Who could they be talking about? Then they went through the gate. “Be very quiet,” said Mother as they entered the door, “and you’ll see the end of another true fairy story.” So they tiptoed in. There in a bed lay Mrs. Brown, looking very happy. And curled up in her arm she had–well, what do you think she had? A little sleeping baby! Like the little Orioles Baby had been born just a few days ago. “That,” said Mother, “is the prettiest fairy story of all.” And the children thought so too. There–we’ve finished just in time. We hear the Little Clock. There goes his silver tongue now. Good-night! Sweet Dreams. ELEVENTH NIGHT MOTHER HEN AND ROBBER HAWK Jehosophat and Marmaduke were whispering together. “Let’s try it,” said Jehosophat. “An’ see what happens,” added Marmaduke. So they tiptoed into the House of the White Wyandottes and placed the big duck’s eggs in with the smaller eggs under the setting hen. Mother Hen did not like that, oh no!…

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Excerpt #9, from Sailing Alone Around the World, by Joshua Slocum

…the 13th of the month, and 13 is my lucky number–a fact registered long before Dr. Nansen sailed in search of the north pole with his crew of thirteen. Perhaps he had heard of my success in taking a most extraordinary ship successfully to Brazil with that number of crew. The very stones on Briar’s Island I was glad to see again, and I knew them all. The little shop round the corner, which for thirty-five years I had not seen, was the same, except that it looked a deal smaller. It wore the same shingles–I was sure of it; for did not I know the roof where we boys, night after night, hunted for the skin of a black cat, to be taken on a dark night, to make a plaster for a poor lame man? Lowry the tailor lived there when boys were boys. In his day he was fond of the gun. He always carried his powder loose in the tail pocket of his coat. He usually had in his mouth a short dudeen; but in an evil moment he put the dudeen, lighted, in the pocket among the powder. Mr. Lowry was an eccentric man. At Briar’s Island I overhauled the Spray once more and tried her seams, but found that even the test of the sou’west rip had started nothing. Bad weather and much head wind prevailing outside, I was in no hurry to round Cape Sable. I made a short excursion with some friends to St. Mary’s Bay, an old cruising-ground, and back to the island. Then I sailed, putting into Yarmouth the following day on…

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Excerpt #10, from Mental Radio, by Upton Sinclair

…Finally, I have obtained the publisher’s consent to reproduce the jacket design of a recent book, so that I may put Craig’s telepathy alongside it, and give you a laugh or two. Observe the jolly little tourists, and what they have turned into! And then the efforts of Craig’s subconscious mind at French. They taught it to her in a “finishing school” on Fifth Avenue, and you can see that it was finished before it began (Figs. 23, 23a). Yet another form of experiment invented itself under the pressure of necessity. Impossible to have such a witch-wife without trying to put her to use! [Illustration: Fig. 23] [Illustration: Fig. 23a] I have the habit of working out a chapter of a new book in my head, and writing down a few notes on a scrap of paper, and sticking it away in any place that is handy; then, next day, or whenever I am ready for work, it is gone, and there is the devil to pay. I wander about the house for an hour or two, trying to imagine where I can have put that scrap of paper, and reluctant to do the work all over again. On one occasion I searched every pocket, my desk, the trash-baskets, and then, deciding that I had dropped it outdoors, where I work with my typewriter, I figured the direction of the wind, and picked up all the…

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Excerpt #11, from An Introduction to the History of Science, by Walter Libby

…countries farther north; while stars always above the horizon in northern countries are seen to set from countries to the south. Consequently the earth is not only spherical but also not large; otherwise this phenomenon would not present itself on so limited a change of position on the part of the observer. “It seems, therefore, not incredible that the region about the Pillars of Hercules [Gibraltar] is connected with that of India, and that there is thus only one ocean.” It is known that this passage from The Philosopher influenced Columbus in his undertaking to reach the Orient by sailing west from the coast of Spain. We must pass over Aristotle’s observation of a relationship (homology) between the arms of man, the forelegs of quadrupeds, the wings of birds, and the pectoral fins of fishes, as well as many other truths to which his genius for generalization led him. In the field of botany Aristotle had a wide knowledge of natural phenomena, and raised general questions as to mode of propagation, nourishment, relation of plants to animals, etc. His pupil and lifelong friend, and successor as leader of the Peripatetic school of philosophy, Theophrastus, combined a knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, botany, and mineralogy. His History of Plants describes about five hundred species. At the same time he treats the general principles of botany,…

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Excerpt #12, from Planet of the Damned, by Harry Harrison

…Dis. Brion threw it aside, along with the clothing. Nude, pierced, bloody, the corpse lay before him. In every external physical detail the man was human. Brion’s theory was becoming more preposterous with each discovery. If the magter weren’t alien, how could he explain their complete lack of emotions? A mutation of some kind? He didn’t see how it was possible. There had to be something alien about the dead man before him. The future of a world rested on this flimsy hope. If Telt’s lead to the bombs proved to be false, there would be no hope left at all. Lea was still unconscious when he looked at her again. There was no way of telling how long the coma would last. He would probably have to waken her out of it, but he didn’t want to do it too early. It took an effort to control his impatience, even though he knew the drug needed time in which to work. He finally decided on at least a minimum of an hour before he should try to disturb her. That would be noon–twelve hours before destruction. One thing he should do was to get in touch with Professor-Commander Krafft. Maybe it was being defeatist, but he had to make sure that they had a way off this planet if the mission failed. Krafft had installed a relay radio that would forward calls from his personal…

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