Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:25:25

Excerpt #1, from Rilla of Ingleside, by L. M. Montgomery

…have written them anything half so wonderful and exquisite. Kenneth was not the son of a famous novelist for nothing. He “had a way” of expressing things in a few poignant, significant words that seemed to suggest far more than they uttered, and never grew stale or flat or foolish with ever so many scores of readings. Rilla went home from Rainbow Valley as if she flew rather than walked. But such moments of uplift were rare that autumn. To be sure, there was one day in September when great news came of a big Allied victory in the west and Susan ran out to hoist the flag–the first time she had hoisted it since the Russian line broke and the last time she was to hoist it for many dismal moons. “Likely the Big Push has begun at last, Mrs. Dr. dear,” she exclaimed, “and we will soon see the finish of the Huns. Our boys will be home by Christmas now. Hurrah!” Susan was ashamed of herself for hurrahing the minute she had done it, and apologized meekly for such an outburst of juvenility. “But indeed, Mrs. Dr. dear, this good news has gone to my head after this awful summer of Russian slumps and Gallipoli setbacks.” “Good news!” said Miss Oliver bitterly. "I wonder if the women whose men have been killed for it will call it good news. Just because our own men are not on that part of the front we are rejoicing as if the…

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Excerpt #2, from David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens

…which I wondered how they knew. I heard that the man with the wooden leg, whose name was Tungay, was an obstinate barbarian who had formerly assisted in the hop business, but had come into the scholastic line with Mr. Creakle, in consequence, as was supposed among the boys, of his having broken his leg in Mr. Creakle’s service, and having done a deal of dishonest work for him, and knowing his secrets. I heard that with the single exception of Mr. Creakle, Tungay considered the whole establishment, masters and boys, as his natural enemies, and that the only delight of his life was to be sour and malicious. I heard that Mr. Creakle had a son, who had not been Tungay’s friend, and who, assisting in the school, had once held some remonstrance with his father on an occasion when its discipline was very cruelly exercised, and was supposed, besides, to have protested against his father’s usage of his mother. I heard that Mr. Creakle had turned him out of doors, in consequence; and that Mrs. and Miss Creakle had been in a sad way, ever since. But the greatest wonder that I heard of Mr. Creakle was, there being one boy in the school on whom he never ventured to lay a hand, and that boy being J. Steerforth. Steerforth himself confirmed this when it was stated, and said that he should like to begin to see him do it. On being asked by a mild boy (not me) how he would proceed if he did begin to see…

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Excerpt #3, from The Myths and Fables of To Day, by Samuel Adams Drake

…their supernatural powers by his own arts. Indeed, the very word “charms” so innocently given to a bunch of jingling objects dangling from the belt or watch-chain, is itself indicative of a superstitious origin, to say the least. As an example of the change wrought by the tyrant fashion in the supposed attributes of certain gems, the ruby was formerly considered the correct thing for an engagement ring, but that stone is now almost wholly superseded by the diamond for that highly interesting event; though the ruby continues to be regarded as a valuable gift upon other occasions, and if of a fine quality, is much more costly than a diamond. Very possibly the familiar Biblical phrase, “for her price is far above rubies,” spoken of the truly virtuous woman in Proverbs, may have suggested the peculiar fitness of this gem in a promise of marriage. If so, we can only regret the substitution. Perhaps the most plausible explanation given for the present popularity of the diamond–it must, however, be a solitaire of the purest water–is that, as the diamond is the most durable substance known, so it is hoped that it may symbolize an enduring affection between the contracting parties. Though in itself nothing but a symbol or sign, the gift of an engagement ring is considered as evidence in a breach of promise case, thus showing that the very ancient custom in use among…

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Excerpt #4, from Primitive & Mediaeval Japanese Texts, by F. Victor Dickins

…forth from, or their combinations. =imogakami=, my love’s hair; with age, lift up (to knot), in Agesasabanu, Moor of Agesasaba. =imogakeru=, by my love worn; to mikasa (fine hat), of Mikasa Hill (pl. n.). =imogamewo=, my love’s eye; with mi-somu, fall in love; Tomi no saki (Cape Tomi, mi = see); Mimakuhoriye (pl. n.), mimakuhori, desire to see and love. =imogarito=, or imoragari (imo ga ari), towards where my love is; with ima (now, or place where), as in Imaki (Peak); with Ikoma (Hill)–Ikoma = yuku (iku) koma. =imogasode=, my love’s sleeve; with maki, roll up, of Makimuku Hill. =imogatewo=, my love’s hand; with tori (take), toru or toro; Toroshi no ike, Pool of Toroshi. =inamushiro=, rice-straw matting; used as kaha (skin employed also as mat); with kake and shiku, apply, spread, by quibble with kaha, stream, 102. =inanomeno=, the word means daybreak (not-sleep-eye); applied to ake, open, break as dawn; another explanation is, ina no me (ina–rice-plant–no mure) no, ake is then confounded with aku akaramu, grow ruddy, ripe, and an involved word-play results….

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Excerpt #5, from Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

…ending in vowels; and there is a simplicity in the turn of some of the phrases which have been translated to me that pleased and interested me. In the country the farmers use the thou and thee; and they do not acquire the polite plurals of the towns by meeting at market. The not having markets established in the large towns appears to me a great inconvenience. When the farmers have anything to sell they bring it to the neighbouring town and take it from house to house. I am surprised that the inhabitants do not feel how very incommodious this usage is to both parties, and redress it; they, indeed, perceive it, for when I have introduced the subject they acknowledged that they were often in want of necessaries, there being no butchers, and they were often obliged to buy what they did not want; yet it was the custom, and the changing of customs of a long standing requires more energy than they yet possess. I received a similar reply when I attempted to persuade the women that they injured their children by keeping them too warm. The only way of parrying off my reasoning was that they must do as other people did; in short, reason on any subject of change, and they stop you by saying that “the town would talk.” A person of sense, with a large fortune to ensure respect, might be very useful here, by inducing them to treat their children and manage their sick properly, and eat food dressed in a simpler manner–the example, for instance, of a count’s lady….

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Excerpt #6, from Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War, by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

…the range of the gun. The sighting arrangements of these Krupp anti-aircraft guns are carried out upon these lines. Beneath the barrel of the back-sight is an observing glass with an eye-piece for the artillerist, while above and behind the observing glass is another eye-piece, to be used in conjunction with the manipulation of the back-sight. The eye-piece of the observation glass is so made that it can be turned through a vertical plane in proportion as the angle of fire increases in relation to the horizontal. The determination of the distance from the objective and from the corresponding back-sight as well as the observation of the altitude is carried out with the aid of the telemeter. This again carries an observation glass fitted with an eye-piece which can be turned in the vertical plane in the same manner as that of the fore-sight. By means of this ingenious sighting device it is possible to ascertain the range and angle of fire very easily and speedily. The weight of the special Krupp anti-aircraft field-piece, exclusive of the protecting shield, is approximately identical with that of the ordinary light artillery field-piece. It throws a shell weighing 8.8 pounds with an initial velocity of about 2,066 feet per second. Although the German armament manufacturers were among the first to enter the field with an anti-aircraft gun of this character they were speedily…

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Excerpt #7, from Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, by Austen Henry Layard

…I gazed with deep interest upon the scene of such great events–a plain, where nothing remains to tell of the vast armies which once moved across it, of European valour, or of Eastern magnificence. Whilst riding through the jungle towards Negoub, a wolf rose before me from its lair, and ran towards the plain. Following the animal, I wounded it with one barrel of my pistol, and was about to discharge the second, when my horse slipt on some wet straw left by a recent encampment, and we fell together upon the wolf. It struggled and freed itself, leaving me besmeared with its blood. The cock of the pistol fortunately broke in going off whilst the muzzle was close to my head, and I escaped without other injury than a bruised hand, the complete use of which I did not recover for some months. On my return to Nimroud, I remained there a few days to give directions to the overseers for continuing the work during a prolonged absence which I meditated in the desert. At Kouyunjik several new chambers had been opened. The western portal of the great hall, whose four sides were now completely uncovered, led into a long narrow chamber (eighty-two feet by twenty-six), the walls of which had unfortunately been almost entirely destroyed. In the chamber beyond, a few slabs were still standing in their original places. In length this room was the same as that parallel to it, but in breadth it was only eighteen feet. The bas-reliefs represented the…

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Excerpt #8, from A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

…loud, red, bluff, and free from any drawback of delicacy, had a pushing way of shouldering himself (morally and physically) into companies and conversations, that argued well for his shouldering his way up in life. He still had his wig and gown on, and he said, squaring himself at his late client to that degree that he squeezed the innocent Mr. Lorry clean out of the group: “I am glad to have brought you off with honour, Mr. Darnay. It was an infamous prosecution, grossly infamous; but not the less likely to succeed on that account.” “You have laid me under an obligation to you for life–in two senses,” said his late client, taking his hand. “I have done my best for you, Mr. Darnay; and my best is as good as another man’s, I believe.” It clearly being incumbent on some one to say, “Much better,” Mr. Lorry said it; perhaps not quite disinterestedly, but with the interested object of squeezing himself back again. “You think so?” said Mr. Stryver. “Well! you have been present all day, and you ought to know. You are a man of business, too.” “And as such,” quoth Mr. Lorry, whom the counsel learned in the law had now shouldered back into the group, just as he had previously shouldered him out of it–“as such I will appeal to Doctor Manette, to break up this conference and order us all to our homes. Miss Lucie looks ill, Mr….

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Excerpt #9, from The Fifth Ace, by Isabel Ostrander

…Mr. Wiley is a friend and I will see him—-" “Not here, you won’t!” growled Jim. “He’s gone.” The girl wheeled upon him, her face darkening. “Gone where?” she demanded. “What do you mean, Jim?” “How should I know where?” The hotel-keeper shrugged. “His hacienda is shut up tight, except for the caretaker. Reckon he’s gone home for good. It wasn’t none too healthy for him around here.” Billie rose and stumbled to the window. Across the plaza beyond the flower-market, the Blue Chip could be discerned in an unfamiliar aspect of transformation. Scaffolding had been erected against its walls and their cerulean expanse was being rapidly hidden beneath a coating of brick red. Her eyes blurred for a moment, then a swift hardness came into them and her small fists clenched at her sides. “We will not discuss the matter of your inheritance, further, for the moment.” The lawyer’s voice, smooth as oil, came from just behind her. “You will listen to reason, I know, when you have had time for consideration. Mr. Baggott, here, will agree with me that you must accept the conditions of your grandfather’s will—-” “Mr. Baggott will do nothing of the kind,” vociferated that gentleman, suddenly. "I’ve listened to all you had to say, and kept my mouth shet, but since you’re bringing me into this, you might as well know…

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Excerpt #10, from Overland through Asia; Pictures of Siberian, Chinese, and Tartar Life, by Knox

…[Illustration: A WIFE AT IRKUTSK] There was no steamer waiting at Posolsky, but we were told that one was hourly expected. Maack was radiant at finding a letter from his wife awaiting him at the station. I enquired for letters but did not obtain any. Unlike my companion. I had no wife at Irkutsk. [Illustration: NO WIFE AT IRKUTSK.] The steamboat landing is nine versts below the town, and as the post route ended at Posolsky, we were obliged to engage horses at a high rate, to take us to the port. The alternate freezing and thawing of the road—its last act was to freeze—had rendered it something like the rough way in a Son-of-Malta Lodge. The agent assured us the steamer would arrive during the night. Was there ever a steamboat agent who did not promise more than his employers performed? According to the tourist’s phrase the port of Posolsky can be ‘done’ in about five minutes. The entire settlement comprised two buildings, one a hotel, and the other a storehouse and stable. A large quantity of merchandise was piled in the open air, and awaited removal. It included tea from Kiachta, and vodki or native whiskey from Irkutsk. There are several distilleries in the Trans-Baikal province, but they are unable to meet the demand in the country east of the lake. From what I saw in transitu the consumption must be enormous….

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Excerpt #11, from Meddler’s Moon, by George O. Smith

…personalities. Finally he snapped the switch and the roar died. “That’s it!” he said exultantly. “It’s beyond me,” said Marie, looking dazedly at the solid bank of figures she’d written down. “That’s because you’ve never been exposed to the stuff before. Come on–I’ll show you.” He snapped the safety switch and watched the last dying flicker of the radiation counter above the control panel. Then he pressed a button and a huge door creaked open. He led Marie along a zigzag hallway, explaining, “Radiation products, like all Chinese Devils, travel only in straight lines.” Then, inside of the shielding, she saw the generator. “This made that terrible racket?” she asked. He nodded. “I’d hate to be inside here when it’s running,” she said nervously. “Me, too,” he grinned. “But I daresay the radiation would kill you long before the noise did.” “Oh!” she gasped, getting the implication of the dangers of nuclear physics in one gulp. “This,” he said, "is brand new. In the center is a small, thin-walled brass container filled with radon gas, and suspending a cloud of finely…

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Excerpt #12, from Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling

…Then the Elephant’s Child grew all breathless, and panted, and kneeled down on the bank and said, ‘You are the very person I have been looking for all these long days. Will you please tell me what you have for dinner?’ ‘Come hither, Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’ Then the Elephant’s Child put his head down close to the Crocodile’s musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his little nose, which up to that very week, day, hour, and minute, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful. ‘I think, said the Crocodile–and he said it between his teeth, like this–‘I think to-day I will begin with Elephant’s Child!’ At this, O Best Beloved, the Elephant’s Child was much annoyed, and he said, speaking through his nose, like this, ‘Led go! You are hurtig be!’ Then the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake scuffled down from the bank and said, ‘My young friend, if you do not now, immediately and instantly, pull as hard as ever you can, it is my opinion that your acquaintance in the large-pattern leather ulster’ (and by this he meant the Crocodile) ‘will jerk you into yonder limpid stream before you can say Jack Robinson.’ This is the way Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snakes always talk. Then the Elephant’s Child sat back on his little haunches, and pulled,…

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