Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:22

Excerpt #1, from Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne

…Piglet to say “How?” or “Pooh, you couldn’t!” or something helpful of that sort, but Piglet said nothing. The fact was Piglet was wishing that he had thought about it first. “I shall do it,” said Pooh, after waiting a little longer, “by means of a trap. And it must be a Cunning Trap, so you will have to help me, Piglet.” “Pooh,” said Piglet, feeling quite happy again now, “I will.” And then he said, “How shall we do it?” and Pooh said, “That’s just it. How?” And then they sat down together to think it out. Pooh’s first idea was that they should dig a Very Deep Pit, and then the Heffalump would come along and fall into the Pit, and—- “Why?” said Piglet. “Why what?” said Pooh. “Why would he fall in?” Pooh rubbed his nose with his paw, and said that the Heffalump might be walking along, humming a little song, and looking up at the sky, wondering if it would rain, and so he wouldn’t see the Very Deep Pit until he was half-way down, when it would be too late. Piglet said that this was a very good Trap, but supposing it were raining already? Pooh rubbed his nose again, and said that he hadn’t thought of that. And…

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Excerpt #2, from Biology, by Edmund B. Wilson

…conclusion as the one I have indicated; and many able naturalists feel the same difficulty to-day. Whether this be justified or not, it is undoubtedly the fact that few working naturalists feel convinced that the problem of organic evolution has been fully solved. One of the questions with which research is seriously engaged is whether variations or mutations are indeterminate, as Darwin on the whole believed, or whether they may be in greater or less degree determinate, proceeding along definite lines as if impelled by a vis a tergo. The theory of “orthogenesis,” proposed by Naegeli and Eimer, makes the latter assumption; and it has found a considerable number of adherents among recent biological investigators, including some of our own colleagues, who have made important contributions to the investigation of this fundamental question. It is too soon to venture a prediction as to the ultimate result. That evolution has been orthogenetic in the case of certain groups, seems to be well established, but many difficulties stand in the way of its acceptance as a general principle of explanation. The uncertainty that still hangs over this question and that of the heredity of acquired characters bears witness to the unsettled state of opinion regarding the whole problem, and to the inadequacy of the attempts thus far made to find its consistent and adequate solution….

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Excerpt #3, from Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period, by J. Franklin Jameson

…turned Spaniard, 3 Spaniard Slaves and one Negro. Upon Examination John Everigin,[41a] one of the prisoners, declared that he had been taken some time in April last by Don Pedro Estrado[42] Capt. of the Privateer that had taken this Sloop, and that he forced him to List[43] with them and to pilott their Vessell on the Coast of N. Carolina and that then they took this Sloop att Obricock, July 5th, also 2 more Sloops and a Ship Loaded with Lumber bound to So. Carolina, that the Capt. of the privateer put him on Board with the french Master to Navigate the Vessell to Augustine with another Englishman, Saml. Elderedge, and that they were making the best of their way to that place. We Sent Our Master on board to fetch all the papers and bring the prisoners as above mentioned. the papers are as follows with some other things brought on board, Viz. [Footnote 41: Ocracoke Inlet.] [Footnote 41a: See note 62, below.] [Footnote 42: Don Pedro de Estrada is mentioned as an exceptionally able privateering captain, in 1742, by the captain-general of Cuba and by the chief engineer at St. Augustine. Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, VII., pt. 3, pp. 29, 59, 61-63. Wright, Oglethorpe, p. 283, speaks of his vessel as "a notorious privateer called the ‘Black Sloop’, commanded by Destrade, a French officer who…

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Excerpt #4, from Classic French Course in English, by William Cleaver Wilkinson

…made interest enough with influential friends to get himself transferred from the Franciscans to the Benedictines, an order more favorable to studious pursuits. But neither among the Benedictines was this roistering spirit at ease. He left them irregularly, but managed to escape punishment for his irregularity. At last, after various vicissitudes of occupation, he settled down as curate of Meudon, where (the place, however, is doubtful, as also the date) in 1553 he died. He was past fifty years of age before he finished the work which has made him famous. This work is “The Life of Gargantua and Pantagruel,” a grotesque and nondescript production, founded, probably, on some prior romance or traditionary tale of giants. The narrative of Rabelais is a tissue of adventures shocking every idea of verisimilitude, and serving only as a vehicle for the strange humor of the writer. The work is replete with evidences of Rabelais’s learning. It would be useless to attempt giving any abstract or analysis of a book which is simply a wild chaos of material jumbled together with little regard to logic, order, or method of whatever sort. We shall better represent its character by giving a few specimen extracts. Rabelais begins his romance characteristically. According as you understand him here, you judge the spirit of the whole work. Either he…

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Excerpt #5, from A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1, by Surendranath Dasgupta

…beginning from the first disturbance of the prak@rti to the final transformation as the world-order, is subject to “a definite law which it cannot overstep.” In the words of Dr B.N.Seal [Footnote ref 1], "the process of evolution consists in the development of the differentiated (_vai@samya_) within the undifferentiated (sâmyâvasthâ) of the determinate (vies’a) within the indeterminate (avis’esa) of the coherent (yutasiddha) within the incoherent (ayutasiddha). The order of succession is neither from parts to whole nor from whole to the parts, but ever from a relatively less differentiated, less determinate, less coherent whole to a relatively more differentiated, more determinate, more coherent whole." The meaning of such an evolution is this, that all the changes and modifications in the shape of the evolving collocations of gu@na reals take place within the body of the prak@rti. Prak@rti consisting of the infinite reals is infinite, and that it has been disturbed does not mean that the whole of it has been disturbed and upset, or that the totality of the gu@nas in the prak@rti has been unhinged from a state of equilibrium. It means rather that a very vast number of gu@nas constituting the worlds of thought and matter has been upset. These gu@nas once thrown out of balance begin to group themselves together first in one form, then in another, then…

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Excerpt #6, from Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

…occasion, it was not for me to tell him that he looked far better in his working-dress; the rather, because I knew he made himself so dreadfully uncomfortable, entirely on my account, and that it was for me he pulled up his shirt-collar so very high behind, that it made the hair on the crown of his head stand up like a tuft of feathers. At breakfast-time my sister declared her intention of going to town with us, and being left at Uncle Pumblechook’s and called for “when we had done with our fine ladies”—a way of putting the case, from which Joe appeared inclined to augur the worst. The forge was shut up for the day, and Joe inscribed in chalk upon the door (as it was his custom to do on the very rare occasions when he was not at work) the monosyllable HOUT, accompanied by a sketch of an arrow supposed to be flying in the direction he had taken. We walked to town, my sister leading the way in a very large beaver bonnet, and carrying a basket like the Great Seal of England in plaited Straw, a pair of pattens, a spare shawl, and an umbrella, though it was a fine bright day. I am not quite clear whether these articles were carried penitentially or ostentatiously; but I rather think they were displayed as articles of property,—much as Cleopatra or any other sovereign lady on the Rampage might exhibit her wealth in a pageant or procession….

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Excerpt #7, from Curiosities of Human Nature, by Samuel G. Goodrich

…currency with credit, he adopted the notion that paper money, equal to the whole property of the nation, might safely be issued. Upon this egregious error, his project was founded, and was, of course, rejected by his wary and sagacious countrymen. Law now visited the principal cities of Europe; his address gaining him admittance to the highest circles in all countries. He finally settled in Paris, and was there during the regency of the Duke of Orleans, as guardian of Louis XV. The government of France was then on the verge of bankruptcy, in consequence of the enormous expenditures of Louis XIV. Law now brought forward his schemes for a free supply of money, and they were seized upon with avidity. He established a bank, for which, a royal charter was granted in 1718. It was first composed of twelve hundred shares, of three thousand livres each, but the number was afterwards increased and the price reduced. This bank became the office at which all public moneys were received. A Mississippi company was also attached to it, which had grants of land in Louisiana, and which was expected to realize immense sums by planting and commerce. One privilege after another was granted, until the prospects of advantage appeared to be so great that crowds came forward to make investments in the stock of what was called the Mississippi Company….

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Excerpt #8, from The Last Stroke: A Detective Story, by Lawrence L. Lynch

…“I hope one of you has got a pistol,” she said, nervously, as they approached the stairs. “There’s no one up there, Mrs. Fry,” replied Ferrars. “Never fear.” But Mrs. Fry was not so positive. She closed the sitting-room door, all but the merest crack, and stood ready to clap it entirely shut at the first sound of attack and defence from the room above. Meantime Robert Brierly, who had led the way upstairs, placed a firm hand upon the key, turned it and softly opened the door. Then, for a moment, all three stood still at the threshold, gazing within. It was Francis Ferrars who spoke the first word, with his hand upon Robert Brierly’s shoulder, and his voice little more than a whisper. “Go inside, Brierly, quickly and quietly.” He gave the shoulder under his hand a quick, light, forward pressure, and instinctively, as it seemed, Brierly stepped across the threshold with the other two close at his heels, and, the moment they were inside the room, Ferrars turned and silently withdrew the key from the outer side, closed the door cautiously, and relocked it from within. “We will do well to dispense with Mrs. Fry, at least for the present,” he said, coolly. “It’s plain enough there has been mischief here. Mr. Brierly, you saw this room last night, for a moment.” Robert Brierly, who had dropped weakly upon a chair, stopped him with a…

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Excerpt #9, from Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries

…drifted to 57° 23′ south. On the 11th of January, 1833, by carrying a press of sail, we fetched within a few miles of the great rugged mountain of York Minster (so called by Captain Cook, and the origin of the name of the elder Fuegian), when a violent squall compelled us to shorten sail and stand out to sea. The surf was breaking fearfully on the coast, and the spray was carried over a cliff estimated at 200 feet in height. On the 12th the gale was very heavy, and we did not know exactly where we were: it was a most unpleasant sound to hear constantly repeated, “Keep a good lookout to leeward.” On the 13th the storm raged with its full fury: our horizon was narrowly limited by the sheets of spray borne by the wind. The sea looked ominous, like a dreary waving plain with patches of drifted snow: whilst the ship laboured heavily, the albatross glided with its expanded wings right up the wind. At noon a great sea broke over us, and filled one of the whale-boats, which was obliged to be instantly cut away. The poor Beagle trembled at the shock, and for a few minutes would not obey her helm; but soon, like a good ship that she was, she righted and came up to the wind again. Had another sea followed the first, our fate would have been decided soon, and for ever. We had now been twenty-four days trying in vain to get westward; the men were worn out with fatigue, and they had not had for many…

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Excerpt #10, from English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs

…was within a mile of the castle, the country people flying before him like chaff. But Jack was not a bit daunted, and said: “Let him come! I have a tool to pick his teeth; and you, ladies and gentlemen, walk out into the garden, and you shall witness this giant Thunderdell’s death and destruction.” The castle was situated in the midst of a small island surrounded by a moat thirty feet deep and twenty feet wide, over which lay a drawbridge. So Jack employed men to cut through this bridge on both sides, nearly to the middle; and then, dressing himself in his invisible coat, he marched against the giant with his sword of sharpness. Although the giant could not see Jack, he smelt his approach, and cried out in these words: “Fee, fi, fo, fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman! Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make me bread!” “Say’st thou so,” said Jack; “then thou art a monstrous miller indeed.” The giant cried out again: “Art thou that villain who killed my kinsmen? Then I will tear thee with my teeth, suck thy blood, and grind thy bones to powder.” “You’ll have to catch me first,” quoth Jack, and throwing off his invisible coat, so that the giant might see him, and putting on his…

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Excerpt #11, from My Man Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse

…“I am amazed! What is the nature of my nephew’s business, Mr. Wooster?” “Oh, just business, don’t you know. The same sort of thing Carnegie and Rockefeller and all these coves do, you know.” I slid for the door. “Awfully sorry to leave you, but I’ve got to meet some of the lads elsewhere.” Coming out of the lift I met Bicky bustling in from the street. “Halloa, Bertie! I missed him. Has he turned up?” “He’s upstairs now, having some tea.” “What does he think of it all?” “He’s absolutely rattled.” “Ripping! I’ll be toddling up, then. Toodle-oo, Bertie, old man. See you later.” “Pip-pip, Bicky, dear boy.” He trotted off, full of merriment and good cheer, and I went off to the club to sit in the window and watch the traffic coming up one way and going down the other. It was latish in the evening when I looked in at the flat to dress for dinner. “Where’s everybody, Jeeves?” I said, finding no little feet pattering about the place. “Gone out?” “His grace desired to see some of the sights of the city, sir. Mr….

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Excerpt #12, from Astounding Stories of Super

…For four hours after sunrise Bell worked desperately. With the few and inadequate tools in the plane he took apart the oiling system of the motor. It was in duplicate, of course, like all modern air engines, and there were three magnetos, and double spark plugs. Bell drained the crankcase beneath a sun that grew more and more hot and blistering, catching the oil in a gasoline can that he was able to empty into the main tanks. He washed out innumerable small oil pipes with gasoline, and flushed out the crankcase itself, and had at the end of his working as many small scraps of metal as would half fill a thimble. He showed then to Paula. “And the stars in their courses fought against Sisera,” he quoted dryly. “Any one of these, caught in just the right place, would have let us down into the jungle last night.” She smiled up at him. “But they didn’t.” “No…. God loves the Irish,” said Bell. “What’s that thing?” Paula was fishing, sitting on a fallen tree in the cloud of smoke from a smudge fire Bell had built for her. She was wearing the oily flying suit he had found in the shed with the plane, and had torn strips from her discarded dress to make a fishing line. The hook was made out of the stiff wire handle of one of the extra gasoline tins. "Hook and…

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