by Hawthorne A CHILDISH MIRACLE One afternoon of a cold winter's day, when the sun shone forth with chilly brightness, after a long storm, two children asked leave of their mother to run out and play ...

BY E. V. LUCAS. CHAPTER 1: THE AVORIES Once upon a time there was a nice family. Its name was Avory, and it lived in an old house in Chiswick, where the Thames is so sad on grey days and so gay on sun...

I. SCENE: One side of a sleeping-car on the Boston and Albany Road. The curtains are drawn before most of the berths; from the hooks and rods hang hats, bonnets, bags, bandboxes, umbrellas, and other ...

by Charles Dickens CHAPTER I--IN THE OLD CITY OF ROCHESTER Strictly speaking, there were only six Poor Travellers; but, being a Traveller myself, though an idle one, and being withal as poor as I hope...

BY HONORE DE BALZAC Translated By Katharine Prescott Wormeley DEDICATION To Theophile Gautier CHAPTER I THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTES After the disasters of the revolution of July, which destro...

BY H. G. WELLS CHAPTER THE FIRST THE CONSULTATION SECTION 1 The maid was a young woman of great natural calmness; she was accustomed to let in visitors who had this air of being annoyed and finding ...

EDITED BY THE REV. ALEXANDER DYCE THE PROLOGUE. The general welcomes Tamburlaine receiv'd, When he arrived last upon the<1> stage, Have made our poet pen his Second Part, Where Death cuts off the prog...

THE SCHOOLMISTRESS AT half-past eight they drove out of the town. The highroad was dry, a lovely April sun was shining warmly, but the snow was still lying in the ditches and in the woods. Winter, dar...

BY RICHARD HARDING DAVIS TO NED STONE I THE JAIL-BREAKERS For a long time it had been arranged they all should go to the Harvard and Yale game in Winthrop's car. It was perfectly well understood. Ev...

by Henry van Dyke A WRITER'S REQUEST OF HIS MASTER Let me never tag a moral to a story, nor tell a story without a meaning. Make me respect my material so much that I dare not slight my work. Help me ...