Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:37

Excerpt #1, from Planet of Sand, by Murray Leinster

…lengthwise. Another had all of one set of legs cut off clean, and lay otherwise unharmed but utterly helpless. Out of that incapacitated giant a smaller version of itself crawled. It was like a lifeboat. Stan watched. Other small versions of the great machines appeared. One made a dash at the Erebus, and he cut it savagely in two. There was no other attack. Instead, the smaller many-legged machines ran busily from one to another of the wrecks–seeming to gather up survivors–and then went racing away into the dark. Then there was stillness. “They knew we saw them,” said Stan grimly. “They knew we could smash them. And they realized that we wouldn’t unless they attacked again. I wonder what they think of us now?” “What you did to them was–awful,” said Esther. She shuddered. “I still don’t know what it was. I never heard of any weapon like that!” “It could only exist here,” said Stan. He grimaced. “We’ve meteor-repellers. They push away anything in their beam. I narrowed them to their smallest size and put full power into them. That was all.” “But meteor-repellers don’t cut!” protested Esther. “These did,” said Stan. "They were working through sand, just that. They pushed it. With a force of eighty tons in a half-inch beam….

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Excerpt #2, from Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

…her address in guiding, and composure in bearing with, her husband, and to acknowledge that it was all done very well. She had also to anticipate how her visit would pass, the quiet tenor of their usual employments, the vexatious interruptions of Mr. Collins, and the gaieties of their intercourse with Rosings. A lively imagination soon settled it all. About the middle of the next day, as she was in her room getting ready for a walk, a sudden noise below seemed to speak the whole house in confusion; and, after listening a moment, she heard somebody running up stairs in a violent hurry, and calling loudly after her. She opened the door and met Maria in the landing place, who, breathless with agitation, cried out— “Oh, my dear Eliza! pray make haste and come into the dining-room, for there is such a sight to be seen! I will not tell you what it is. Make haste, and come down this moment.” Elizabeth asked questions in vain; Maria would tell her nothing more, and down they ran into the dining-room, which fronted the lane, in quest of this wonder; It was two ladies stopping in a low phaeton at the garden gate. “And is this all?” cried Elizabeth. “I expected at least that the pigs were got into the garden, and here is nothing but Lady…

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Excerpt #3, from A Short History of the World, by H. G. Wells

…To which riddle the reply of one important political group was to set about “dividing up.” They wanted to intensify and universalize property. Aiming at the same end by another route, there were the primitive socialists—or, to be more exact, communists—who wanted to “abolish” private property altogether. The state (a democratic state was of course understood) was to own all property. It is paradoxical that different men seeking the same ends of liberty and happiness should propose on the one hand to make property as absolute as possible, and on the other to put an end to it altogether. But so it was. And the clue to this paradox is to be found in the fact that ownership is not one thing but a multitude of different things. It was only as the nineteenth century developed that men began to realize that property was not one simple thing, but a great complex of ownerships of different values and consequences, that many things (such as one’s body, the implements of an artist, clothing, toothbrushes) are very profoundly and incurably one’s personal property, and that there is a very great range of things, railways, machinery of various sorts, homes, cultivated gardens, pleasure boats, for example, which need each to be considered very particularly to determine how far and under what limitations it may come under private ownership, and how far it falls into the public domain and may be administered and let out by the state…

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Excerpt #4, from Argot and Slang, by Albert Barrère

…Jardinier_. The pair induce a simpleton to dig at the foot of a tree for a buried treasure, when they rob him of his money; a swindler who pretends he has just returned from America; (familiar) a drink, something between grog and punch. Faire l’œil —-, to scrutinize with searching glance. Oeil —-, eye with purposely amorous, “killing,” expression; also a very sharp eye. AMÉRICAINE, vol à l’ (see CHARRIAGE). AMI (thieves’), expert thief, “gonnof;” —- de collège, prison chum. AMICABLEMENT (popular), in a friendly manner, affectionately. AMINCHE, AMINCHEMAR, AMINCHEMINCE, m. (thieves’), friend, “ben cull;” —- d’aff, accomplice, “stallsman.” AMIS, m. pl. (popular), comme cochons, “thick” friends. AMITEUX, adj. (popular), friendly, amiable, gentle. AMOCHER (popular), to bruise, to ill-treat, to “manhandle.” S’—- la gueule, to maul one another’s face, to “mug” one another. AMORCÉ, adj. (popular), furnished, garnished. V’la qu’est richement amorcé, j’en suis moi-même ébaubi.–=RICHEPIN.= AMOUREUX (popular), hunchback, or “lord;” —- de carême, a timid lover. Literally a “Lent lover.” (Printers’) Papier —-, _paper that…

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Excerpt #5, from The Topaz Story Book: Stories and Legends of Autumn, Hallowe’en, and

…Dark Cloud. She was the Moon. Their little children were the stars that played all over Skyland. All this time, Little Turtle was taking care of Skyland. The animals below called her, She Who Takes Care of Skyland. And she was very happy, because she was doing her good deed. Some of the animals became jealous of Little Turtle,–especially the Deer, who was so proud of his antlers. One day, Deer said to Rainbow: “Rainbow, please take me up to Skyland where Little Turtle lives.” Rainbow did not know whether it would be quite right to take Deer up to Little Turtle’s house, but he said: “In the winter, when I rest upon the big mountain by the lake, then I will take you.” This made the Deer glad. He did not tell anyone about the promise of Rainbow. All winter long, he waited and watched near the big mountain for Rainbow to come; but Rainbow did not come to him. In the spring, one day, Deer saw Rainbow beside the lake. “Rainbow,” he asked, “why did you not keep your promise to me?” Rainbow made him another promise. “Come to me by the lake, when you see me in the thick fog,” he said. The Deer kept this promise a secret, too; because he hoped to go to Skyland alone. Day after day, he waited beside the lake. One day,…

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Excerpt #6, from Candide, by Voltaire

…the numerous inns where I have been servant, I have taken notice of a vast number of people who held their own existence in abhorrence, and yet I never knew of more than eight who voluntarily put an end to their misery; three negroes, four Englishmen, and a German professor named Robek.[14] I ended by being servant to the Jew, Don Issachar, who placed me near your presence, my fair lady. I am determined to share your fate, and have been much more affected with your misfortunes than with my own. I would never even have spoken to you of my misfortunes, had you not piqued me a little, and if it were not customary to tell stories on board a ship in order to pass away the time. In short, Miss Cunegonde, I have had experience, I know the world; therefore I advise you to divert yourself, and prevail upon each passenger to tell his story; and if there be one of them all, that has not cursed his life many a time, that has not frequently looked upon himself as the unhappiest of mortals, I give you leave to throw me headforemost into the sea." XIII HOW CANDIDE WAS FORCED AWAY FROM HIS FAIR CUNEGONDE AND THE OLD WOMAN. The beautiful Cunegonde having heard the old woman’s history, paid her all the civilities due to a person of her rank and merit. She likewise accepted her proposal, and engaged all the passengers, one after the other, to relate their adventures; and then both she and Candide allowed…

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Excerpt #7, from The Great Boer War, by Arthur Conan Doyle

…fluttered with joy. Men, women, and children, rich and poor, clubman and cabman, joined in the universal delight. The thought of our garrison, of their privations, of our impotence to relieve them, of the impending humiliation to them and to us, had lain dark for many months across our spirits. It had weighed upon us, until the subject, though ever present in our thoughts, was too painful for general talk. And now, in an instant, the shadow was lifted. The outburst of rejoicing was not a triumph over the gallant Boers. But it was our own escape from humiliation, the knowledge that the blood of our sons had not been shed in vain, above all the conviction that the darkest hour had now passed and that the light of peace was dimly breaking far away–that was why London rang with joy bells that March morning, and why those bells echoed back from every town and hamlet, in tropical sun and in Arctic snow, over which the flag of Britain waved. CHAPTER 18. THE SIEGE AND RELIEF OF KIMBERLEY. It has already been narrated how, upon the arrival of the army corps from England, the greater part was drafted to Natal, while some went to the western side, and started under Lord Methuen upon the perilous enterprise of the relief of Kimberley. It has also been shown how, after three expensive victories, Lord Methuen’s force met with a paralysing reverse, and was compelled to remain inactive within twenty miles of the…

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Excerpt #8, from Robot nemesis, by E. E. Smith

…generators fairly smoked and that the refractory throats of their projectors glared radiantly violet and began slowly, stubbornly to volatilize–raved out in all their pyrotechnically incandescent might, striving prodigiously to crush by their sheer power the shielding screens of the vessel of the automatons. Nor was the vibratory offensive alone. Every gun, primary or auxiliary, that could be pointed at the Dresden was vomiting smoke- and flame-enshrouded steel as fast as automatic loaders could serve it, and under that continuous, appallingly silent concussion the giant frame of the flagship shuddered and trembled in every plate and member. And from every launching-tube there were streaming the deadliest missiles known to science; radio-dirigible torpedoes which, looping in vast circles to attain the highest possible measure of momentum, crashed against the Dresden’s meteorite deflectors in Herculean efforts to break them down; and, in failing to do so, exploded and filled all space with raging flame and with flying fragments of metal. Captain Malcolm was burning his stores of fuel and munitions at an appalling rate, careless alike of exhaustion of reserves and of service-life of equipment. All his generators were running at a shockingly ruinous overload, his every projector was being used so mercilessly that not even their powerful refrigerators, radiating the…

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Excerpt #9, from Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War, by Finley Peter Dunne

…or engagin’ in some other spoort iv childhood! Go wan with ye!" “But who are they, annyhow?” “I make it a rule in me life not to discuss anny woman’s charac-ter,” replied Mr. Dooley, sternly. “If Doc Nansen was off there skylarkin’ with Flora an’ Fauna, it’s his own business, an’ I make no inquiries. A lady’s a lady, be she iver so humble; an’, as Shakespeare says, cursed be th’ man that’d raise an ax to her, save in th’ way iv a joke. We’ll talk no scandal in this house, Hinnissy.” But, after his friend had gone, Mr. Dooley leaned over confidentially, and whispered to Mr. McKenna, “But who are Flora an’ Fauna, Jawn?” “I don’t know,” said Mr. McKenna. “It sounds mighty suspicious, annyhow,” said the philosopher. “I hope th’ doc’ll be able to square it with his wife.” ON A POPULIST CONVENTION. "Keep ye’er eye on th’ Pops, Jawn. They’re gr-reat people an’ a gr-reat pa-arty. What is their principles? Anny ol’ thing that th’ other pa-arties has rijected. Some iv thim is in favor iv coining money out iv baled hay an’ dhried apples at a ratio iv sixteen to wan, an’ some is in favor iv coinin’ on’y th’ apples. Thim are th’ inflationists. Others want th’ gover’mint to divide up the rivinues equally among all la-ads that’s too sthrong to wurruk. Th’ Pops is again th’ banks an’ again the…

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Excerpt #10, from The Radio Amateur’s Hand Book, by A. Frederick Collins

…whatever wave length you desire. It is shown at d, and costs about $5.00. See also Oscillation Transformer, page 63 [Chapter IV]. The High Tension Condenser.–High tension condensers, that is, condensers which will stand up under high potentials, or electric pressures, can be bought in units or sections. These condensers are made up of thin brass plates insulated with a special compound and pressed into a compact form. The capacitance [Footnote: This is the capacity of the condenser.] of one section is enough for a transmitting set using a spark coil that gives a 2 inch spark or less and two sections connected together should be used for coils giving from 2 to 4 inch sparks. It is shown at e. Connecting Up the Apparatus.–Your sending set should be mounted on a table, or a bench, where it need not be moved. Place the key in about the middle of the table and down in front, and the spark coil to the left and well to the back but so that the vibrator end will be to the right, as this will enable you to adjust it easily. Place the battery back of the spark coil and the tuning coil (oscillation transformer) to the right of the spark coil and back of the key, all of which is shown in the layout at A in Fig. 20. [Illustration: (A) Fig. 20.–Top View of Apparatus Layout for Sending Set No. 1.]…

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Excerpt #11, from Radioisotopes and Life Processes (Revised), by Baserga and Kisieleski

…Cell Structure [Illustration: Figure 2 Generalized diagram of a cell, showing the organelles, or “little organs”, of its internal structure. The organelles that are labeled are important for this booklet.] Cell membrane Cytoplasm Chromatin Mitochondrion Nucleolus Endoplasmic reticulum Nucleus Nuclear membrane The basic structure of a cell is shown in Figure 2. Each cell consists of a dense inner structure called the nucleus, which is surrounded by a less dense mass of cytoplasm. The nucleus is separated from the cytoplasm by a double envelope, called the nuclear membrane, which is peppered with perforations. The cytoplasm contains a network of membranes, which form the boundaries of countless canals and vesicles (or pouches), and is laden with small bodies called ribosomes. This membranous network is called the endoplasmic reticulum and is distinct from the mitochondria, which are membranous organelles (little organs)…

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Excerpt #12, from The Grand Babylon Hôtel, by Arnold Bennett

…interesting affair, or that it could make any excessive demands upon the brains of the manager; but he came to see that he had underrated the possibilities of an hotel. The business of the Grand Babylon was enormous. It took Racksole, with all his genius for organization, exactly half an hour to master the details of the hotel laundry-work. And the laundry-work was but one branch of activity amid scores, and not a very large one at that. The machinery of checking supplies, and of establishing a mean ratio between the raw stuff received in the kitchen and the number of meals served in the salle à manger and the private rooms, was very complicated and delicate. When Racksole had grasped it, he at once suggested some improvements, and this led to a long theoretical discussion, and the discussion led to digressions, and then Felix Babylon, in a moment of absent-mindedness, yawned. Racksole looked at the gilt clock on the high mantelpiece. ‘Great Scott!’ he said. ‘It’s three o’clock. Mr Babylon, accept my apologies for having kept you up to such an absurd hour.’ ‘I have not spent so pleasant an evening for many years. You have let me ride my hobby to my heart’s content. It is I who should apologize.’ Racksole rose. ‘I should like to ask you one question,’ said Babylon. ‘Have you ever had anything to do with hotels before?’…

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