Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:24:24

Excerpt #1, from Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted; Or, What’s in a Dream, by Gustavus Hindman Miller

…claim your attention. Camels. To see this beast of burden, signifies that you will entertain great patience and fortitude in time of almost unbearable anguish and failures that will seemingly sweep every vestige of hope from you. To own a camel, is a sign that you will possess rich mining property. To see a herd of camels on the desert, denotes assistance when all human aid seems at a low ebb, and of sickness from which you will arise, contrary to all expectations. Camp. To dream of camping in the open air, you may expect a change in your affairs, also prepare to make a long and wearisome journey. To see a camping settlement, many of your companions will remove to new estates and your own prospects will appear gloomy. For a young woman to dream that she is in a camp, denotes that her lover will have trouble in getting her to name a day for their wedding, and that he will prove a kind husband. If in a military camp she will marry the first time she has a chance. A married woman after dreaming of being in a soldier’s camp…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #2, from Famous Modern Ghost Stories, by Dorothy Scarborough et al.

…a sense of disturbance in my immediate neighborhood. I sat up quickly and looked out. The trees were swaying violently to and fro as the gusts smote them, but our little bit of green canvas lay snugly safe in the hollow, for the wind passed over it without meeting enough resistance to make it vicious. The feeling of disquietude did not pass however, and I crawled quietly out of the tent to see if our belongings were safe. I moved carefully so as not to waken my companion. A curious excitement was on me. I was halfway out, kneeling on all fours, when my eye first took in that the tops of the bushes opposite, with their moving tracery of leaves, made shapes against the sky. I sat back on my haunches and stared. It was incredible, surely, but there, opposite and slightly above me, were shapes of some indeterminate sort among the willows, and as the branches swayed in the wind they seemed to group themselves about these shapes, forming a series of monstrous outlines that shifted rapidly beneath the moon. Close, about fifty feet in front of me, I saw these things. My first instinct was to waken my companion that he too might see them, but something made me hesitate–the sudden realization, probably, that I should not welcome corroboration; and meanwhile I crouched there staring in amazement with smarting eyes. I was wide awake. I remember saying to myself that I was not dreaming….

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #3, from The Art of War, by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi

…strength. 19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns. [As Ho Shih remarks: “War is not a thing to be trifled with.” Sun Tzŭ here reiterates the main lesson which this chapter is intended to enforce."] 20. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people’s fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril. Chapter III. ATTACK BY STRATAGEM 1. Sun Tzŭ said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to capture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them. [The equivalent to an army corps, according to Ssu-ma Fa, consisted nominally of 12500 men; according to Ts’ao Kung, the equivalent of a regiment contained 500 men, the equivalent to a detachment consists from any number between 100 and 500, and the equivalent of a company contains from 5 to 100 men. For the last two, however, Chang Yu gives the exact figures of 100 and 5 respectively.]…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #4, from Weather, Crops, and Markets. Vol. 2, No. 6, by Anonymous

…totaling more than 700 cars. Nearly 1,300 cars have already come from that State this season. Arkansas sent almost 600 cars to market during the week. Movement from Georgia decreased about 70%!,(MISSING) but the season is becoming very active in Illinois, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, as well as in the Middle Atlantic sections. Early varieties from eastern States sold in leading wholesale markets at $1.50‒$2 per bu. Tennessee Elbertas ranged as high as $3‒$3.25 in Cincinnati and Cleveland, but were $1 lower in Chicago because of the oversupplied market. PRICES OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. Jobbing Range. POTATOES, Virginia Eastern Shore Irish Cobblers, No. 1—Barrels. ─────────────┬────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬────────────── Market. │ Week’s │ │ │ carlot │ │ │ arrivals. │ This season. │One year ago. ─────────────┼────────────┼──────────────┬──────────────┼────────────── │ │ July 31. │ July 24. │ ─────────────┼────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼────────────── New York │ 447│ $1.50‒1.75│ $2.75‒3.00│ $4.25‒4.50 Boston │ 168│ 2.75‒3.00│ 3.75‒4.00│ 5.25‒5.50 Philadelphia │ 160│ 1.50‒1.75│ 2.50‒2.65│ 4.00‒4.50…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #5, from The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne

…over the whole world. —Now you see, brother Toby, he would say, looking up, “that christian names are not such indifferent things;”——had Luther here been called by any other name but Martin, he would have been damn’d to all eternity——Not that I look upon Martin, he would add, as a good name——far from it——’tis something better than a neutral, and but a little——yet little as it is you see it was of some service to him. My father knew the weakness of this prop to his hypothesis, as well as the best logician could shew him——yet so strange is the weakness of man at the same time, as it fell in his way, he could not for his life but make use of it; and it was certainly for this reason, that though there are many stories in Hafen Slawkenbergius’s Decades full as entertaining as this I am translating, yet there is not one amongst them which my father read over with half the delight——it flattered two of his strangest hypotheses together——his NAMES and his NOSES.——I will be bold to say, he might have read all the books in the Alexandrian Library, had not fate taken other care of them, and not have met with a book or passage in one, which hit two such nails as these upon the head at one stroke.] The two universities of Strasburg were hard tugging at this affair of Luther’s navigation. The Protestant doctors had demonstrated, that he…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #6, from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

…Wizard.” “So he is,” said the green man, “and he rules the Emerald City wisely and well. But to those who are not honest, or who approach him from curiosity, he is most terrible, and few have ever dared ask to see his face. I am the Guardian of the Gates, and since you demand to see the Great Oz I must take you to his Palace. But first you must put on the spectacles.” “Why?” asked Dorothy. “Because if you did not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of the Emerald City would blind you. Even those who live in the City must wear spectacles night and day. They are all locked on, for Oz so ordered it when the City was first built, and I have the only key that will unlock them.” He opened the big box, and Dorothy saw that it was filled with spectacles of every size and shape. All of them had green glasses in them. The Guardian of the Gates found a pair that would just fit Dorothy and put them over her eyes. There were two golden bands fastened to them that passed around the back of her head, where they were locked together by a little key that was at the end of a chain the Guardian of the Gates wore around his neck. When they were on, Dorothy could not take them off had she wished, but of course she did not wish…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #7, from A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer, by Thomas Wilhelm

…stores of all kinds. =Munkacs.= A market-town of East Hungary, 80 miles northeast from Debreczin. It was taken by the Imperialists in 1687, after a siege of three years. =Munsees=, or =Minsees=. A tribe of Indians of Algonkin stock, who were closely allied to the Delawares. Many of them became converts to Christianity. A few of them now reside on the reservation of the Stockbridge Indians in Wisconsin, and about 60 are settled in Kansas. =Münster.= A city of Germany, on the small river Aa, 77 miles northeast from Cologne. It is the capital of a government of the same name in Prussian Westphalia. It was seized by the French in 1806; part of the duchy of Berg, 1809; annexed to France, 1810; ceded to Prussia, 1815. It was the headquarters of the Anabaptists under John Leyden, who defended it against the bishop of Münster, 1534-35. Here was signed the treaty of Westphalia or Münster, October 24, 1648. =Münsterthal.= Two valleys of Switzerland, one in the canton Grisons, the other in Berne, where, in 1444, the battle of St. Jacob was fought between the French and Swiss, when the latter were nearly annihilated. =Muotta Valley.= A secluded valley of Switzerland, canton of Schwytz, traversed by the river Muotta, an affluent of Lake Lucerne. Here a sanguinary struggle took place in 1799, between the French under…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #8, from Why Men Fight: A method of abolishing the international duel, by Bertrand Russell

…was not to be won by an imperialist policy. But by our resistance we showed that we shared their standards. We, being in possession, became enamored of the status quo. The Germans were willing to make war to upset the status quo; we were willing to make war to prevent its being upset in Germany’s favor. So convinced were we of the sacredness of the status quo that we never realized how advantageous it was to us, or how, by insisting upon it, we shared the responsibility for the war. In a world where nations grow and decay, where forces change and populations become cramped, it is not possible or desirable to maintain the status quo for ever. If peace is to be preserved, nations must learn to accept unfavorable alterations of the map without feeling that they must first be defeated in war, or that in yielding they incur a humiliation. It is the insistence of legalists and friends of peace upon the maintenance of the status quo that has driven Germany into militarism. Germany had as good a right to an Empire as any other Great Power, but could only acquire an Empire through war. Love of peace has been too much associated with a static conception of international relations. In economic disputes we all know that whatever is vigorous in the wage-earning classes is opposed to “industrial peace,” because the existing distribution of wealth is felt to be unfair. Those who…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #9, from The Jest Book, by Mark Lemon

…to him? “How should I understand,” replied the narrator, “what he said? I am not skilled in any of the dead languages.” CMXCVI.–TAKING A HINT. THE Bishop preached: “My friends,” said he, “How sweet a thing is charity, The choicest gem in virtue’s casket!” “It is, indeed,” sighed miser B., “And instantly I’ll go and–ask it.” CMXCVII.–SWEARING THE PEACE. AN Irishman, swearing the peace against his three sons, thus concluded his affidavit: “And this deponent further saith, that the only one of his children who showed him any real filial affection was his youngest son Larry, for he never struck him when he was down!” CMXCVIII.–THE RULING PASSION. THE death of Mr. Holland, of Drury Lane Theatre, who was the son of a baker at Chiswick, had a very great effect upon the spirits of Foote, who had a very warm friendship for him. Being a legatee, as well as appointed by the will of the deceased one of his bearers, he attended the corpse to the family vault at Chiswick, and there very sincerely paid a plentiful tribute of tears to his memory. On his return to town, Harry Woodward asked him if he had not been paying the last compliment…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

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

…remembered about the little golden box that his father gave him. And he said to himself: “Well, well, I never was so near my death as I am now;” and then he felt in his pocket, and drew the little box out. And when he opened it, out there hopped three little red men, and asked Jack: “What is your will with us?” “Well,” said Jack, “I want a great lake and some of the largest man-of-war vessels in the world before this mansion, and one of the largest vessels to fire a royal salute, and the last round to break one of the legs of the bed where this young lady is sleeping.” “All right,” said the little men; “go to sleep.” Jack had hardly time to bring the words out of his mouth, to tell the little men what to do, but what it struck eight o’clock, when Bang, bang went one of the largest man-of-war vessels; and it made Jack jump out of bed to look through the window; and I can assure you it was a wonderful sight for him to see, after being so long with his father and mother living in a wood. By this time Jack dressed himself, and said his prayers, and came down laughing; for he was proud, he was, because the thing was done so well. The gentleman comes to him, and says to him: “Well, my young man, I must say that you are very clever indeed. Come and have some breakfast.” And the gentleman tells him, “Now there are two more things you have to do, and then you shall have my daughter in marriage.” Jack gets his…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #11, from Dave Dashaway, Air Champion; Or, Wizard Work in the Clouds, by Roy Rockwood

…other men at the show robbed an old farmer, and had to get out of the way. It was near Wayville that we stayed for a week, till things ‘blew over,’ as they called it. In fact, when you described that thicket and the gully, it came right back to me, as natural as life. It’s set me thinking, Hiram. I’ve got a theory, somehow, that the diamond thief got rid of his plunder after he left the Scout.” “Shouldn’t wonder,” remarked Hiram rather indifferently, “but we’ll talk about that some other time. My mind is full of nothing but Dave and the Ariel just now. I’ve decided what I’m going to do, and you are to help me do it, if you will.” “I’m glad, Hiram,” responded Bruce readily. “I’ll work my finger nails off to be of any use to you, or your partner.” “I know that, Bruce,” said Hiram, “and I know that I can trust you, which is a great relief to me now, when I’m in such trouble. Bring that bench out of the hangar, will you?” “What for, Hiram?” asked Bruce in some wonder. “I want to have a long talk with you, and I want to sit here in the open while we’re at it, so we can watch out that no one hears us.” Bruce brought out the bench, setting it near the Scout, and facing the grounds in such a way that they could see in three directions. Hiram’s face wore a serious, business-like look as he sat down beside…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #12, from Rilla of Ingleside, by L. M. Montgomery

…seaward of the lighthouse for dances. It was a delightful spot, roofed over with fir-boughs and hung with lanterns. Beyond was the sea in a radiance that glowed and shimmered, to the left the moonlit crests and hollows of the sand-dunes, to the right the rocky shore with its inky shadows and its crystalline coves. Rilla and her partner swung in among the dancers; she drew a long breath of delight; what witching music Ned Burr of the Upper Glen was coaxing from his fiddle–it was really like the magical pipes of the old tale which compelled all who heard them to dance. How cool and fresh the gulf breeze blew; how white and wonderful the moonlight was over everything! This was life–enchanting life. Rilla felt as if her feet and her soul both had wings. CHAPTER IV THE PIPER PIPES Rilla’s first party was a triumph–or so it seemed at first. She had so many partners that she had to split her dances. Her silver slippers seemed verily to dance of themselves and though they continued to pinch her toes and blister her heels that did not interfere with her enjoyment in the least. Ethel Reese gave her a bad ten minutes by beckoning her mysteriously out of the pavilion and whispering, with a Reese-like smirk, that her dress gaped behind and that there was a stain on the flounce. Rilla rushed miserably to the room in the…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

A production of Friendlyskies.net