Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:51

Excerpt #1, from The Prose Tales of Alexander Pushkin, by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

…silent; Hermann fell upon his knees. “If your heart has ever known the feeling of love,” said he, “if you remember its rapture, if you have ever smiled at the cry of your new-born child, if any human feeling has ever entered into your breast, I entreat you by the feelings of a wife, a lover, a mother, by all that is most sacred in life, not to reject my prayer. Reveal to me your secret. Of what use is it to you?… May be it is connected with some terrible sin, with the loss of eternal salvation, with some bargain with the devil…. Reflect,–you are old; you have not long to live–I am ready to take your sins upon my soul. Only reveal to me your secret. Remember that the happiness of a man is in your hands, that not only I, but my children, and grandchildren will bless your memory and reverence you as a saint….” The old Countess answered not a word. Hermann rose to his feet. “You old hag!” he exclaimed, grinding his teeth, “then I will make you answer!” With these words he drew a pistol from his pocket. At the sight of the pistol, the Countess for the second time exhibited strong emotion. She shook her head and raised her hands as if to protect herself from the shot … then she fell backwards and remained…

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Excerpt #2, from Argonaut stories, by Jerome Hart

…trimmed beard that fringed the cheeks, looked as natural as they could have done in the heyday of life. But just as inexplicable was the dress. It was composed of some light material such as is worn in hot climates, and had more in common with the ancient Greek chlamys, or the Arab burnous, than with any other type of dress that I recall. Such colors as it had were tasteful and resplendent, and had lost none of their original freshness. The feet were shod with sandals, and a gemmed ring still sparkled upon one of the fingers of the right hand. It was the face and figure of a handsome man of thirty, or thereabouts, and the whole posture was so indicative of repose as to indicate that, whoever he might be, he had met his end calmly and without pain. I turned mechanically toward Burnham and saw that he was watching my surprise and smiling. “Well, what do you think of my package,” he asked; “was it worth the trouble of bringing it here from the Arctic circle?” “I must congratulate you on your specimen,” I returned; “it will certainly be a great acquisition to our scientific men and antiquaries. But how are you going to preserve it? Won’t you find it rather a difficult matter to keep the ice in a state of congelation–and expensive, too, I should think?”…

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Excerpt #3, from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, by Charles Darwin

…then I can see no difficulty in natural selection preserving and continually accumulating variations of instinct to any extent that may be profitable. It is thus, as I believe, that all the most complex and wonderful instincts have originated. As modifications of corporeal structure arise from, and are increased by, use or habit, and are diminished or lost by disuse, so I do not doubt it has been with instincts. But I believe that the effects of habit are of quite subordinate importance to the effects of the natural selection of what may be called accidental variations of instincts;—that is of variations produced by the same unknown causes which produce slight deviations of bodily structure. No complex instinct can possibly be produced through natural selection, except by the slow and gradual accumulation of numerous, slight, yet profitable, variations. Hence, as in the case of corporeal structures, we ought to find in nature, not the actual transitional gradations by which each complex instinct has been acquired—for these could be found only in the lineal ancestors of each species—but we ought to find in the collateral lines of descent some evidence of such gradations; or we ought at least to be able to show that gradations of some kind are possible; and this we certainly can do. I have been surprised to find, making allowance for the instincts…

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Excerpt #4, from The Mark of Zorro, by Johnston McCulley

…hand and attack oppression! Live up to your noble names and your blue blood, señores! Drive the thieving politicians from the land! Protect the frailes whose work gave us these broad acres! Be men, not drunken fashion-plates!" “By the saints!” one cried, and sprang to his feet. “Back, or I fire! I have not come here to fight you in Don Alejandro’s house. I respect him too much for that. I have come to tell you these truths concerning yourselves.”Your families can make or break a governor! Band yourselves together in a good cause, caballeros, and make some use of your lives! You would do it, were you not afraid. You seek adventure? Here is adventure a plenty, fighting injustice." “By the saints, it would be a lark!” cried one in answer. “Look upon it as a lark if it pleases you, yet you would be doing some good. Would the politicians dare stand against you, scions of the most powerful families? Band yourselves together and give yourselves a name. Make yourselves feared the length and breadth of the land!” “It would be treason–” “It is not treason to down a tyrant, caballeros! Is it that you are afraid?” “By the saints–no!” they cried in chorus….

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Excerpt #5, from The Airship “Golden Hind”, by Percy F. Westerman

…cat: ‘Hind by Percy F. Westerman-39488-0.txt’: No such file or directory

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Excerpt #6, from Short Story Classics (American) Vol. 2, by William Patten

…directed. A strong position had been lost because the heroes who held it could not perform the impossible feat of forming successively two fresh fronts under a concentric fire of musketry. The inferior brain power had confessed the superiority of the stronger one. On the victorious side there was wild, clamorous, fierce exultation. The hurrying, shouting, firing soldiers, who noted their commander riding among them, swung their rifles or their tattered hats at him, and screamed “Hurrah!” No one thought of the Confederate dead underfoot, nor of the Union dead who dotted the slope behind. “What are you here for, Colonel?” shouted rough old Gildersleeve, one leg of his trousers dripping blood. “We can do it alone.” “It is a battle won,” laughed Fitz Hugh, almost worshiping the man whom he had come to slay. “It is a battle won, but not used,” answered Waldron. “We haven’t a gun yet, nor a flag. Where is the cavalry? Why isn’t Stilton here? He must have got afoul of the enemy’s horse, and been obliged to beat it off. Can anybody hear anything of Stilton?” “Let him go,” roared Old Crumps. “The infantry don’t want any help.” “Your regiment has suffered, Colonel,” answered Waldron, glancing at the scattered files of the Fourteenth. "Halt it and reorganize it, and let it fall in with the right of the First when Peck comes up. I shall…

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Excerpt #7, from Investigation of Communist Activities in Seattle, Wash., Area, Hearings, Part 1

…examined by a doctor here, and if the doctor here should rule that he can testify I would have no objection. I thought that I should protect Mr. Kerr. Mr. MOULDER. This is very vague. Mr. SYKES. That is correct. Mr. MOULDER. And very indefinite. We will take this under consideration. Counsel, will you call another witness? Mr. WHEELER. Mr. Harold Johnston. Mr. MOULDER. Hold up your right hand and be sworn, please. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony which you are about to give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. JOHNSTON. I do. TESTIMONY OF HAROLD JOHNSTON, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS COUNSEL, JAY C. SYKES Mr. WHEELER. Will the witness state his name, please? Mr. JOHNSTON. Harold Johnston. Mr. WHEELER. Are you represented by counsel? Will counsel identify himself for the record? Mr. SYKES. Jay G. Sykes, Seattle. Mr. WHEELER. When and where were you born, Mr. Johnston?…

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Excerpt #8, 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 #9, from Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka

…So, while the women were leant against the desk in the other room catching their breath, he sallied out, changed direction four times not knowing what he should save first before his attention was suddenly caught by the picture on the wall—which was already denuded of everything else that had been on it—of the lady dressed in copious fur. He hurried up onto the picture and pressed himself against its glass, it held him firmly and felt good on his hot belly. This picture at least, now totally covered by Gregor, would certainly be taken away by no-one. He turned his head to face the door into the living room so that he could watch the women when they came back. They had not allowed themselves a long rest and came back quite soon; Grete had put her arm around her mother and was nearly carrying her. “What shall we take now, then?”, said Grete and looked around. Her eyes met those of Gregor on the wall. Perhaps only because her mother was there, she remained calm, bent her face to her so that she would not look round and said, albeit hurriedly and with a tremor in her voice: “Come on, let’s go back in the living room for a while?” Gregor could see what Grete had in mind, she wanted to take her mother somewhere safe and then chase him down from the wall. Well, she could certainly try it! He sat unyielding on his picture. He would rather jump at Grete’s face….

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Excerpt #10, from The Art of Conversation: Twelve Golden Rules, by Josephine Turck Baker

…they undertake to tell. Why! Some persons can not make the simplest statement without exaggerating the facts. For instance, if one undertakes to give the price of a garment or of some furniture, the amount paid is always increased in the telling of the story; and so with the narration of trivial events–the speaker will enlarge his statements until he presents a distorted picture to the mental vision of the listener. The exaggeration of facts should certainly be avoided; and a person can overcome this tendency in himself, if, when he finds that he is making a misstatement, he will correct himself, and give a true version. For example, if he finds that he is fixing the cost of a possession at five dollars, when it should be four dollars and fifty cents, he can correct the error without even betraying his intention to falsify. By doing this, he gradually trains himself to adhere to facts; for, while the price of the article may be a matter of small consequence, it is a matter of far more importance that the person who has the habit shall correct his tendency to misstate facts. So again, when one is narrating an incident in one’s experience, the same strict adherence to the facts should be observed. In this way a person establishes a reputation for veracity. We all have friends in whose statements we place no reliance, simply because we know that they invariably exaggerate every fact that…

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Excerpt #11, from The Writing of the Short Story, by Lewis Worthington Smith

…embodied in Browning’s Poetry. (Read before the Browning Society of London in 1882.) III. Browning’s Obscurity. IV. Browning’s Verse. V. Arguments of the Poems. VI. Poems. (Under this head are thirty-three representative poems, the Arguments of which are given in the preceding section.) A Source Book of Greek History By FREDERICK MORROW FLING, Professor of Ancient History, University of Nebraska. Cloth. xiv + 370 pages. Illustrated. Introduction price, $1.00. This book serves several purposes. It (1) supplies illustrative material, drawn from the best Greek sources, that may be used to supplement the school narrative; (2) by means of searching questions, it furnishes opportunity for more intensive study of certain periods; (3) by supplying data upon the writer of source, and at times, more than one source upon the same topic, it makes possible the study of simple problems in the value of evidence; (4) extracts are of sufficient length so that the pupil may be given some idea of Greek literature, as far as that is possible through the use of translations; (5) the illustrations not only supplement the written sources on the life of the Greeks, but have been selected with a view to impressing upon the minds of students the great value of the artistic work of the Greeks….

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Excerpt #12, from The Collected Works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 10 (of 12), by William Hazlitt

…the abuse she has had to encounter from some of our Tory journals—abuse, of which we shall say no more at present, than that it is incomparably less humiliating to the object than to the author. Common justice seemed to require this observation from us—nor will it appear altogether out of place when we add, that we cannot but suspect that it is to a feeling connected with that subject that we are indebted for the work now before us. Salvator Rosa was, like his fair biographer, in hostility with the High-church and High-monarchy men of his day; and the enemy of the Holy Alliance, in the nineteenth century, must have followed with peculiar interest the fortunes of an artist who was so obnoxious to the suspicions of the Holy Office in the seventeenth. There are few works more engaging than those which reveal to us the private history of eminent individuals; the lives of painters seem to be even more interesting than those of almost any other class of men; and, among painters, there are few names of greater note, or that have a more powerful attraction, than that of Salvator Rosa. We are not sure, however, that Lady Morgan’s work is not, upon the whole, more calculated to dissolve than to rivet the spell which these circumstances might, at first, throw over the reader’s mind. The great charm of biography consists in the individuality of the details, the familiar tone of the incidents, the bringing us acquainted with the persons of men whom we…

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