Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:35

Excerpt #1, from From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan, by H. P. Blavatsky

…carvings. Before it stands the “lion column,” so-called from the four lions carved as large as nature, and seated back to back, at its base. Over the principal entrance, its sides covered with colossal male and female figures, is a huge arch, in front of which three gigantic elephants are sculptured in relief, with heads and trunks that project from the wall. The shape of the temple is oval. It is 128 feet long and forty-six feet wide. The central space is separated on each side from the aisles by forty-two pillars, which sustain the cupola-shaped ceiling. Further on is an altar, which divides the first dome from a second one which rises over a small chamber, formerly used by the ancient Aryan priests for an inner, secret altar. Two side passages leading towards it come to a sudden end, which suggests that, once upon a time, either doors or wall were there which exist no longer. Each of the forty-two pillars has a pedestal, an octagonal shaft, and a capital, described by Fergusson as “of the most exquisite workmanship, representing two kneeling elephants surmounted by a god and a goddess.” Fergusson further says that this temple, or chaitya, is older and better preserved than any other in India, and may be assigned to a period about 200 years B.C., because Prinsep, who has read the inscription on the Silastamba pillar, asserts that the lion pillar was the gift of Ajmitra Ukasa, son of Saha Ravisobhoti, and another inscription shows that…

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Excerpt #2, from Greenmantle, by John Buchan

…get enthusiastic about these stunts, but it was all soft soap. She has a trick in hand—that much I know, but I’m darned if I can put a name to it. I pray to God you boys have been cleverer.” His tone was quite melancholy, and I was mean enough to feel rather glad. He had been the professional with the best chance. It would be a good joke if the amateur succeeded where the expert failed. I looked at Sandy. He filled his pipe again, and pushed back his skin cap from his brows. What with his long dishevelled hair, his high-boned face, and stained eyebrows he had the appearance of some mad mullah. “I went straight to Smyrna,” he said. “It wasn’t difficult, for you see I had laid down a good many lines in former travels. I reached the town as a Greek money-lender from the Fayum, but I had friends there I could count on, and the same evening I was a Turkish gipsy, a member of the most famous fraternity in Western Asia. I had long been a member, and I’m blood-brother of the chief boss, so I stepped into the part ready made. But I found out that the Company of the Rosy Hours was not what I had known it in 1910. Then it had been all for the Young Turks and reform; now it hankered after the old regime and was the last hope of the Orthodox. It had no use for Enver and his friends, and it did not regard with pleasure the beaux yeux of the Teuton. It stood for Islam and the old ways, and might be described as a Conservative-Nationalist…

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Excerpt #3, from The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins

…to return to us the next day. They had called on Mr. Murthwaite, the Indian traveller, at his present residence, near the town. At Mr. Franklin’s request, he had kindly given them the benefit of his knowledge of the language, in dealing with those two, out of the three Indians, who knew nothing of English. The examination, conducted carefully, and at great length, had ended in nothing; not the shadow of a reason being discovered for suspecting the jugglers of having tampered with any of our servants. On reaching that conclusion, Mr. Franklin had sent his telegraphic message to London, and there the matter now rested till tomorrow came. So much for the history of the day that followed the birthday. Not a glimmer of light had broken in on us, so far. A day or two after, however, the darkness lifted a little. How, and with what result, you shall presently see. CHAPTER XII The Thursday night passed, and nothing happened. With the Friday morning came two pieces of news. Item the first: the baker’s man declared he had met Rosanna Spearman, on the previous afternoon, with a thick veil on, walking towards Frizinghall by the foot-path way over the moor. It seemed strange that anybody should be mistaken about Rosanna, whose shoulder marked her out…

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Excerpt #4, from Anticipations, by H. G. Wells

…English traffic is concerned, the statement is approximately correct. In the United States, however, there are several trains running now which average over considerable distances more than sixty miles an hour, stoppages included, nor is there much reason why this should not be considerably increased. What especially hampers the development of railways in England–as compared with other countries–is the fact that the rolling-stock templet is too small. Hence carriages in England have to be narrower and lower than carriages in the United States, although both run on the same standard gauge (4 feet 8½ inches). The result is that several things which you describe as not possible at present, such as to ‘write smoothly and easily at a steady table, read papers, have one’s hair cut, and dine in comfort,’ are not only feasible, but actually attained on some of the good American trains. For instance, on the present Empire State Express, running between New York and Buffalo, or on the present Pennsylvania, Limited, running between New York and Chicago, and on others. With the Pennsylvania, Limited, travel stenographers and typewriters, whose services are placed at the disposal of passengers free of charge. But the train on which there is the least vibration of any is probably the new Empire State Express, and on this it is certainly possible to write smoothly and easily at a steady table."…

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Excerpt #5, from The Boy Inventors’ Radio Telephone, by Richard Bonner

…"Wa’al, Smith was a curious feller, frum all accounts, and it was not till ‘49 when ther big gold rush came that he thought much more about those three buttes with the gold lying round loose as dirt on ’em. Then he got ther gold fever. He went to ’Frisco and gets up an expedition to find them three buttes. "They got down inter ther desert country all right and locates Smith Mountain. But the dern Indians they had with ’em as guides cleaned out the camp one fine night, and they had a hard time getting back to civilization alive. Well, that’s where Peg-leg Smith goes out of the story." “Wasn’t he ever heard of again?” asked Jack. “No, siree, not hide nor hair on him. Nobody never knows what became of him arter they got back to San Bernardino. Some says that he went back alone lookin’ fer the three buttes and was lost in the desert and that his bones is out thar some’eres to-day, an’ others says that he got so plum disgusted he went back home to St. Louis. But nobody rightly knows.”The next heard of ther three buttes was many years later when an Indian, who worked on Governor Downey’s ranch, not far from Smith Mountain, developed a habit of goin’ away fer a few days and then comin’ back with bits of black rock chock full of gold which he traded…

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Excerpt #6, from Latin for Beginners, by Benjamin L. D’Ooge

…pugnātum est Dēnique tamen mulieres terga vertērunt et fugā salūtem petiērunt. Multae autem captae sunt, in quō numerō erat ipsa Hippolytē. Herculēs postquam balteum accēpit, omnibus captīvīs lībertātem dedit. [Footnote 1: A fabled tribe of warlike women living in Asia Minor.] [Footnote 2: «omnīnō», etc., to have consisted entirely of women.] [Footnote 3: «Amāzonibus», §501.14.] [Illustration: HERCULES ET CERBERUS] THE DESCENT TO HADES AND THE DOG CER´BERUS Iamque ūnus modo ē duodecim labōribus relinquēbātur sed inter omnīs hic erat difficillimus. Iussus est enim canem Cerberum[4] ex Orcō in lūcem trahere. Ex Orcō autem nēmō anteā reverterat. Praetereā Cerberus erat mōnstrum maximē horribile et tria capita habēbat. Herculēs postquam imperia Eurystheī accēpit, statim profectus est et in Orcum dēscendit. Ibi vērō nōn sine summō periculō Cerberum manibus rapuit et ingentī cum labōre ex Orcō in lūcem et adurbem Eurystheī trāxit. Sic duodecim laborēs illī[5] intrā duodecim annōs cōnfectī sunt. Dēmum post longam vītam Herculēs ā deīs receptus est et Iuppiter fīliō suō dedit immortālitātem. [Footnote 4: The dog Cerberus guarded the gate of Orcus, the abode of the dead.] [Footnote 5: «illī», those famous.]…

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Excerpt #7, from The History of the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides

…by the inhabitants, there being a Syracusan party in the town, went on to the river Terias. Here they bivouacked, and the next day sailed in single file to Syracuse with all their ships except ten which they sent on in front to sail into the great harbour and see if there was any fleet launched, and to proclaim by herald from shipboard that the Athenians were come to restore the Leontines to their country, as being their allies and kinsmen, and that such of them, therefore, as were in Syracuse should leave it without fear and join their friends and benefactors the Athenians. After making this proclamation and reconnoitring the city and the harbours, and the features of the country which they would have to make their base of operations in the war, they sailed back to Catana. An assembly being held here, the inhabitants refused to receive the armament, but invited the generals to come in and say what they desired; and while Alcibiades was speaking and the citizens were intent on the assembly, the soldiers broke down an ill-walled-up postern gate without being observed, and getting inside the town, flocked into the marketplace. The Syracusan party in the town no sooner saw the army inside than they became frightened and withdrew, not being at all numerous; while the rest voted for an alliance with the Athenians and invited them to fetch the rest of their forces from Rhegium. After this…

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Excerpt #8, from The Book of the Dead, by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge

…“O Usekh-nemmit, comer forth from Anu, I have not committed sin.”O Fenti, comer forth from Khemenu, I have not robbed. “O Neha-hau, comer forth from Re-stau, I have not killed men.”O Neba, comer forth in retreating, I have not plundered the property of God. “O Set-qesu, comer forth from Hensu, I have not lied.”O Uammti, comer forth from Khebt, I have not defiled any man’s wife. “O Maa-anuf, comer forth from Per-Menu, I have not defiled myself.”O Tem-Sep, comer forth from Tetu, I have not cursed the king. “O Nefer-Tem, comer forth from Het-ka-Ptah, I have not acted deceitfully; I have not committed wickedness.”O Nekhen, comer forth from Heqat, I have not turned a deaf ear to the words of the Law (or Truth)." The names of most of the Forty-Two gods are not ancient, but were invented by the priests probably about the same time as the names in the Book of Him that is in the Tuat and the Book of Gates, i.e., between the XIIth and the XVIIIth dynasties. Their artificial character is shown by their meanings. Thus Usekh-nemmit means “He of the long strides”; Fenti means “He of the Nose”; Neha-hau means “Stinking-members”; Set-qesu means “Breaker of bones,” etc. The early Egyptologists called the second part of the CXXVth Chapter the…

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Excerpt #9, from Tales of the Samurai, by Asataro Miyamori

…So saying, Nobuyuki summoned a maid and in a low voice gave an order. Presently a bottle of saké and some cups were brought in. Then the fusuma between this and the next room was gently slid open and there appeared a beautiful young woman clad in a gay uchikaké or gown, who knelt with movements full of grace on the threshold. It was none other than Katsuno. “What is your pleasure, my lord?” said she bowing reverently first to Nobuyuki and then to Hachiya. “Ah, is it Katsuno? I want you to serve us with saké. Sit nearer to me, Hachiya; come, let us have some saké.” “Excuse me, my lord. Something tells me I am needed at home; besides it is getting late. With your kind permission, I will go home at once.” “No, no; not just yet, Hachiya. Though it is late no loved one is waiting for your return, I imagine. Ha, ha! Come, you cannot refuse. Katsuno, pour him out a cup of saké!” [Illustration: She filled Hachiya’s cup to the brim] Katsuno hesitated bashfully, but on Nobuyuki’s repeating his command, she took the bottle, and with a hand that trembled filled Hachiya’s cup to the brim. Their eyes met and both blushed consciously. “If you have drunk, let Katsuno have the cup,” said Nobuyuki. “I should return the cup to your lordship.”…

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Excerpt #10, from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy, by Bernard Shaw

…have left vacant above? THE STATUE. [shaking his head] I cannot conscientiously recommend anybody with whom I am on friendly terms to deliberately make himself dull and uncomfortable. THE DEVIL. Of course not; but are you sure HE would be uncomfortable? Of course you know best: you brought him here originally; and we had the greatest hopes of him. His sentiments were in the best taste of our best people. You remember how he sang? [He begins to sing in a nasal operatic baritone, tremulous from an eternity of misuse in the French manner]. Vivan le femmine! Viva il buon vino! THE STATUE. [taking up the tune an octave higher in his counter tenor] Sostegno a gloria D’umanita. THE DEVIL. Precisely. Well, he never sings for us now. DON JUAN. Do you complain of that? Hell is full of musical amateurs: music is the brandy of the damned. May not one lost soul be permitted to abstain? THE DEVIL. You dare blaspheme against the sublimest of the arts! DON JUAN. [with cold disgust] You talk like a hysterical woman fawning on a fiddler….

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Excerpt #11, from The Lock and Key Library: Classic Mystery and Detective Stories: Modern English

…“Never mind,” said Holmes, laughing, “it is my business to know things. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others overlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?” “I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege, whose husband you found so easily when the police and everyone had given him up for dead. Oh, Mr. Holmes, I wish you would do as much for me. I’m not rich, but still I have a hundred a year in my own right, besides the little that I make by the machine, and I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel.” “Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?” asked Sherlock Holmes, with his finger tips together, and his eyes to the ceiling. Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss Mary Sutherland. “Yes, I did bang out of the house,” she said, “for it made me angry to see the easy way in which Mr. Windibank–that is, my father–took it all. He would not go to the police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as he would do nothing, and kept on saying that there was no harm done, it made me mad, and I just on with my things and came right away to you.” “Your father?” said Holmes. “Your stepfather, surely, since the name is different.” "Yes, my stepfather. I call him father, though it sounds funny, too, for…

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Excerpt #12, from The Iliad, by Homer

…There reverend Nestor ranks his Pylian bands, And with inspiring eloquence commands; With strictest order sets his train in arms, The chiefs advises, and the soldiers warms. Alastor, Chromius, Haemon, round him wait, Bias the good, and Pelagon the great. The horse and chariots to the front assign’d, The foot (the strength of war) he ranged behind; The middle space suspected troops supply, Inclosed by both, nor left the power to fly; He gives command to “curb the fiery steed, Nor cause confusion, nor the ranks exceed: Before the rest let none too rashly ride; No strength nor skill, but just in time, be tried: The charge once made, no warrior turn the rein, But fight, or fall; a firm embodied train. He whom the fortune of the field shall cast From forth his chariot, mount the next in haste; Nor seek unpractised to direct the car, Content with javelins to provoke the war. Our great forefathers held this prudent course,…

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