Quick Excerpts, from a Library of 492 Titles

Generated 2022-07-28 13:26:03

Excerpt #1, from Postal Riders and Raiders, by W. H. Gantz

…bankers? With them, in one year, the public has deposited $352,590,814 and their transactions in money orders, travelers’ checks, letters of credit and bills of exchange rival those of the most powerful banks. This business, unlike any other form of banking is under no governmental jurisdiction and goes untaxed. It is made possible only by using the machinery of the regular banks, although to these the express companies pay no revenue. In the money-order line, express companies compete with the postoffice and do about one-third as much business as the government. The American Express alone has handled nearly 17,000,000 money orders in one year. That the public has confidence in the safety of the express companies as banks admits of no doubt, and it has been credibly reported that in the panic of 1907 money was withdrawn from banks, which the people did not trust, and invested in express money orders. Transportation in a multitude of forms and branch banking do not comprise the sum total of express activities. The surplus funds of these huge institutions have grown large enough to require constant investment, and the express companies form a close second to the savings banks and insurance companies as the most dependable, regular and important class of investors in railroad…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #2, from Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted; Or, What’s in a Dream, by Gustavus Hindman Miller

…she will be able to defend her character in attacks made on her. Addition. To dream of pondering over addition, denotes that you will have a struggle to overcome difficult situations, which will soon prominently assume formidable shapes in your business transactions. To find some error in addition, shows that you will be able to overcome enemies by fortunately discerning their intention before they have executed their design. To add figures with a machine, foretells that you will have a powerful ally who will save you from much oppression. If you fail to read the figures, you will lose fortune by blind speculation. Adieu. To dream of bidding cheerful adieus to people, denotes that you will make pleasant visits and enjoy much social festivity; but if they are made in a sad or doleful strain, you will endure loss and bereaving sorrow. If you bid adieu to home and country, you will travel in the nature of an exile from fortune and love. To throw kisses of adieu to loved ones, or children, foretells that you will soon have a journey to make, but there will be no unpleasant accidents or happenings attending your trip….

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #3, from Crimes of Preachers in the United States and Canada, by M. E. Billings

…wife, and adultery. 1909. Duncan, Rev. D. B., Crawfordsville, Ind. Presbyterian. Cruel and inhuman treatment of wife; divorced. 1900. Duncan, Rev. Kenneth, San Francisco, Cal. Evangelist. Petty larceny; stole clothes; jailed. 1913. Duncan, Matthew and Luke, Knoxville, Tenn. Baptist. Assault. 1904. Dundonough, Rev. Jas., Eau Claire, Wis. Ran away with girl, forsaking flock. 1912. Dunn, Rev. William F., Evansville, Ind. Methodist. Immoral conduct; three months in jail. 1909. Dunnigan, Rev. A. P., Hempstead, L. I. Catholic. Alienated a wife’s affections. 1908. Dunworth, Rev. Wm., New London, Conn. Catholic. Suicide. 1900. Duperon, Rev. Fr., Worcester, Mass. Catholic. Deceiver and swindler. Dwello, Rev. P. N., Marshalltown, Ia. Methodist. Slander and libel. 1911. Dwindle, Dr. O. T., Peoria, Ill. Methodist. Misappropriated funds of the church. 1901. Dye, Rev. Geo. E., Willows, Cal. Baptist. Intimacy with widow; resigned….

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #4, from The Aztec Treasure

…could not help but show, his face and neck flushed red, and he declared that he had the toothache. And then, as a vent for his overwrought feelings–of all things in the world–he fell to cursing the Superintendent of the Old Colony Railroad: on the ground that but for this functionary, who most unjustifiably had discharged him, he never would have come to Mexico at all! For my own part, I was well convinced that Fray Antonio meant then to say good-bye to us; and for a long while, as I lay awake that night, my thoughts went backward over the time that we had been companions together, and so dwelt upon the faithfulness of his friendship, and upon his gallant bearing in all times of peril, and upon the pure and perfect holiness which characterized his every act and word. Into the future I dared not let my thoughts wander, for I could foresee no outcome to the purpose which he had planned so resolutely but a dreary sorrow that would rest heavily upon me through all the remainder of my days. And at last, worn out by my own grief, I fell into a troubled sleep. The faint gray light of early morning shone dimly in the room as Rayburn awakened me by shaking my arm; and the first words which he spoke to me were, “The Padre is not here!” As I roused myself fully, and sat up and looked into his face, I saw by the look that he gave me how fully he shared the dread that was in my…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #5, from Remarks, by Bill Nye

…the damned souls who had formerly stopped at this hotel, but who had been rescued at last, and had hilariously gone to perdition, only to come back at night and torment the poor guest by bragging over the superiority of hell as a refuge from the Wallula hotel. Now and then in the night I would almost yield to a wild impulse and catch those pantaloons off the hook, to rush out and go to Canada with them, and then I would softly go through the pockets and hang them back again. It was an awful night. When morning dawned at last, and I took the pillow out of my ear and looked in the delirious and soap-spattered mirror, I saw that my beautiful hair, which had been such a source of pride to me ten years ago, had disappeared in places. I paid my bill, called the attention of the landlord to the fact that I had not taken those pantaloons and ‘betrayed’ his trust, and then I went away. Flying Machines. A long and exhaustive examination of the history of flying machines enables me to give briefly some of the main points of a few, for the benefit of those who may be interested in this science. I give what I do in order to prepare the public to take advantage of the different methods, and be ready at once to fly as soon as the weather gets pleasant. A Frenchman invented a flying-machine, or dofunny, as we scientists would term it, in 1600 and something, whereby he could sail down from the…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #6, from A Tall Ship, by Bartimeus

…or saucer. The guest’s chief concern, however, appeared to be in finding a more secure resting-place for it than his knee, coupled with anxiety not to drop crumbs on the carpet. Betty, presiding behind the silver tea-tray, had adopted her most grown-up manner. Decidedly it was all Betty’s fault, therefore. The most confirmed humorist could hardly be expected to indulge in drolleries in the presence of a girl who stuck her nose in the air and put on enough side for six. It became increasingly obvious that the depressed jester must straightway be removed from this blighting influence or ever the cap and bells would jingle. No sooner was tea over, therefore, than Joe sprang to his feet. “I say, would you like to go for a walk?” Once outside, the flower of wit would expand without a doubt. The Indiarubber Man appeared nonplussed at the proposal. “I–it’s very kind of you—-” Then he turned to Betty. “Shall we all three go for a walk?” “Oh, it’s no use asking her to go for a proper walk,” interposed the alarmed Joe. “Her skirts are too narrow; she can’t keep step, or jump ditches, or anything.” Betty laughed. “Are you anxious to jump ditches, Mr. Standish? Because, if not, I think I might be able to keep up with you both.”…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #7, from On the Anzac trail: Being extracts from the diary of a New Zealand sapper, by Anzac

…said to be one of the largest in the world, occupies the centre of a prettily planted square; there is a fine, showy Casino, and whole streets of beautifully designed buildings. It is, in fact, a model little town resting incongruously enough on the arid desert, a bit of Monaco transplanted to the land of the Pharaohs. A close inspection, however, reveals the fact that a large part of the solid-looking architecture is a sham, most of the ornamental work being moulded in stucco. In this connection the natives will tell you that when the heavy rains put in an appearance (they only visit these parts about once in every three years or so) Heliopolis begins to moult—in plain words the outer crust of lime washes away, and the town bears the appearance of a fleshless skeleton. You can still see bits of Old Heliopolis—the Heliopolis of the Scriptures. In fact, the modern town is built partly on the site of the ancient city which the Virgin Mary passed through. Your guide will point out to you the Virgin’s Well and what purports to be the tree she rested under. You can swallow the latter assertion with a large mouthful of salt; the plant looks altogether too flourishing and full of life to have so many years on its head. The original Virgin’s Tree is, I believe, to be found close handy—an old dead stump that might be any age. In the Virgin’s Chapel adjoining you will find a number of…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #8, from The Chemistry of Plant Life, by Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

…successfully duplicated in vitro in the laboratory. Assuming, then, that formaldehyde is the first photosynthetic product in the process of the production of carbohydrates from water and carbon dioxide, the simple empirical equation for this transformation would be H_{2}O + CO_{2} = CH_{2}O + O_{2}. It is apparent, however, that the process is not so simple as this hypothetical reaction would indicate, as water and carbon dioxide can hardly be conceived to react together in any such simple way as this. Various theories as to the exact nature of the steps through which the chemical combinations proceed have been advanced. A discussion of the experimental evidence upon which these are based and of the conclusions which seem to be justified from these experimental studies is presented below. The only value which may be attached to the empirical equation just presented is that it does accurately represent the facts that a volume of oxygen, equal to that of the carbon dioxide consumed in the process, is liberated and that formaldehyde is the synthetical product of the reactions involved. It should be noted, in this connection, that formaldehyde is a powerful plant poison and that few, if any, plant tissues can withstand the toxic effect of this substance when it is present in any considerable concentration. Hence, it is necessary to this whole conception of the…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #9, from The Swedish Fairy Book, by Klara Stroebe, George Hood, and Frederick Herman Martens

…from his blunderbuss. And when he met the king, he threw the crow to the ground and cried: “There is my whole bag!” On the third day all went as before. Sheep-Peter hit everything at which he aimed; but the others scored no hits. Then Sheep-Peter promised them all he had bagged, if they would let him write what he chose on their necks. They agreed to the bargain, and he wrote on the neck of each: “A thief and a rascal.” Then all three went home, and again Peter had no more than a crow to show. At night all three of them slept together in one room. When they woke in the morning, the king came in to them, said good-morning, and asked how they were. But he was much surprised to see that Sheep-Peter was keeping them company. Then the youth said: “I was in the war, and slew all of the enemy!” “Ah!” said the king, “you did not do that, it was an angel from heaven; for you were sitting in the swamp.” Then Sheep-Peter drew out the king’s handkerchief, and then the king recognized him. Then the herdsman said: “I also delivered the princesses!” But the king would not believe that, and laughed at him. And then the youngest princess came along and told how it all had happened. And the youth took out the ribands of the other princesses, and the king had to believe that this, too, was true. Then, Peter continued:…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #10, from The Republic, by Plato

…greatly admired by this people because they had all things in common; and the short prayer which Jesus Christ taught men is used in their worship. It is a duty of the chief magistrates to pardon sins, and therefore the whole people make secret confession of them to the magistrates, and they to their chief, who is a sort of Rector Metaphysicus; and by this means he is well informed of all that is going on in the minds of men. After confession, absolution is granted to the citizens collectively, but no one is mentioned by name. There also exists among them a practice of perpetual prayer, performed by a succession of priests, who change every hour. Their religion is a worship of God in Trinity, that is of Wisdom, Love and Power, but without any distinction of persons. They behold in the sun the reflection of His glory; mere graven images they reject, refusing to fall under the ‘tyranny’ of idolatry. Many details are given about their customs of eating and drinking, about their mode of dressing, their employments, their wars. Campanella looks forward to a new mode of education, which is to be a study of nature, and not of Aristotle. He would not have his citizens waste their time in the consideration of what he calls ‘the dead signs of things.’ He remarks that he who knows one science only, does not really know that one any more than the rest, and insists strongly on the…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #11, from The Grand Inquisitor, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

…one bend of my finger, will rush to add fuel to Thy funeral pile… Wert Thou aware of this?’ he adds, speaking as if in solemn thought, and never for one instant taking his piercing glance off the meek Face before him.“….”I can hardly realize the situation described–what is all this, Ivan?" suddenly interrupted Alyosha, who had remained silently listening to his brother. “Is this an extravagant fancy, or some mistake of the old man, an impossible quid pro quo?” “Let it be the latter, if you like,” laughed Ivan, “since modern realism has so perverted your taste that you feel unable to realize anything from the world of fancy…. Let it be a quid pro quo, if you so choose it. Again, the Inquisitor is ninety years old, and he might have easily gone mad with his one idee fixe of power; or, it might have as well been a delirious vision, called forth by dying fancy, overheated by the auto-da-fe of the hundred heretics in that forenoon…. But what matters for the poem, whether it was a quid pro quo or an uncontrollable fancy? The question is, that the old man has to open his heart; that he must give out his thought at last; and that the hour has come when he does speak it out, and says loudly that which for ninety years he has kept secret within his own breast.”…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

Excerpt #12, from The Writing of the Short Story, by Lewis Worthington Smith

…the usual custom and that these people have an underlying sense of decorum. Sentence two has the same effect in their abstraction, and this is emphasized again in the “two graven images.” The third sentence is a mood “effect” of kind, since we recognize the conventionally sobered feeling without the “settled melancholy.” This is true again in sentence four, and in five we have a “fact as effect,” drawing the inference that they are a long-lived race in Drumtochty. From the yielding to an invitation so framed as to put aside the semblance of yielding to inclination, we get a knowledge of character which seems to us individual, but which is used by the author to indicate a local community characteristic. The author’s mood of amused observation is evident here, too, in his unbelieving acquiescence in Tammas’s point of view. In sentences eight and nine we come to know Jeems in a more individual way, through the mingling in him of moods of conventional solemnity and everyday discussion. This is repeated in sentence ten. In sentence twelve we draw an emotional inference concerning the degree of their feeling from the fact that “not a glass had been touched.” This is told in the explanatory way in thirteen with the addition of a suggestion of the author’s sympathetic understanding and appreciation. Knowing Drumsheigh’s reserve, from things that have gone before this in the story, we feel that only strong emotion could have called out…

More: Read or Listen on IA →

A production of Friendlyskies.net