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Excerpt: The Pigeon Pie by Charlotte M. Yonge.

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Excerpt: The Patagonia by Henry James.

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Excerpt: Chapter 1; Olive will come down in about ten minutes; she told me to tell you that. About ten; that is exactly like Olive. Neither five nor fifteen, and yet not ten exactly, but either nine or eleven. She didn?t tell me to say she was glad to see you, because she doesn?t know whether she is or not, and she wouldn?t for the world expose herself to telling a fib. She is very honest, is Olive Chancellor; she is full of rectitude. Nobody tells fibs in Boston; I don?t know what to make of them all. Well, I am very glad to see you, at any rate.? These words were spoken with much volubility by a fair, plump, smiling woman who entered a narrow drawing-room in which a visitor, kept waiting for a few moments, was already absorbed in a book. The gentleman had not even needed to sit down to become interested: apparently he had taken up the volume from a table as soon as he came in, and, standing there, after a single glance round the apartment, had lost himself in its pages. He threw it down at the approach of Mrs. Luna, laughed, shook hands with her, and said in answer to her last remark, ?You imply that you do tell fibs. Perhaps that...

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Table of Contents: Book First 3 -- Chapter 1, 3 -- Chapter 2, 8 -- Chapter 3, 12 -- Chapter 4, 20 -- Chapter 5, 26 -- Chapter 6, 30 -- Chapter 7, 38 -- Chapter 8, 45 -- Chapter 9, 51 -- Chapter 10, 55 -- Chapter 11, 62 -- Chapter 12, 69 -- Chapter 13, 77 -- Chapter 14, 83 -- Chapter 15, 89 -- Chapter 16, 96 -- Chapter 17, 106 -- Chapter 18, 114 -- Chapter 19, 124 -- Chapter 20, 131 -- Book Second 145 -- Chapter 21, 145 -- Chapter 22, 153 -- Chapter 23, 163 -- Chapter 24, 173...

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One of Dickens' Christmas stories, this was first published as part of the Christmas number of Household Words for 1854. The first chapter relates Dickens' visit to the ancient Richard Watts's Charity at Rochester. The second chapter is the touching story of Richard Doubledick, which Dickens supposedly told the travellers, and Dickens' journey home on Christmas morning provides the short concluding chapter. (Summary by Ruth Golding)...

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Fiction, Holiday

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Excerpt: The Prisoner of Chillon by Byron.

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Excerpt: Pierrette by Honore de Balzac, translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley.

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Excerpt: Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency by The Duke of Saint-Simon.

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Excerpt: The Second Part of Henry the Sixth with the Death of the Good Duke Humfrey; Actus Primus -- Scoena Prima -- Flourish of Trumpets: Then Hoboyes. Enter King, Duke Humfrey, Salisbury, Warwicke, and Beau-ford on the one side. The Queene, Suffolke, Yorke, Somerset, and Buckingham, on the other. Suffolke. As by your high Imperiall Majesty, I had in charge at my depart for France, As Procurator to your Excellence, To marry Princes Margaret for your Grace; So in the Famous Ancient City, Toures, In presence of the Kings of France, and Sicill, The Dukes of Orleance, Calaber, Britaigne, and Alanson, Seven Earles, twelve Barons, & twenty reverend Bishops I have perform?d my Taske, and was espous?d, And humbly now upon my bended knee, In sight of England, and her Lordly Peeres, Deliver up my Title in the Queene To your most gracious hands, that are the Substance Of that great Shadow I did represent: The happiest Gift, that ever Marquesse gave, The Fairest Queene, that ever King receiv?d. King. Suffolke arise. Welcome Queene Margaret, I can expresse no kinder signe of Love Then this kinde kisse: O Lord, that lends me life, Lend me a hear...

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Table of Contents: The second Part of Henry the Sixt, 1 -- Actus Primus. Scoena Prima., 1

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Excerpt: The ?Body Of The Nation? But the basin of the Mississippi is the body of the nation. All the other parts are but members, important in themselves, yet more important in their relations to this. Exclusive of the Lake basin and of 300,000 square miles in Texas and New Mexico, which in many aspects form a part of it, this basin contains about 1,250,000 square miles. In extent it is the second great valley of the world, being exceeded only by that of the Amazon. The valley of the frozen Obi approaches it in extent; that of La Plata comes next in space, and probably in habitable capacity, having about eight-ninths of its area; then comes that of the Yenisei, with about seven-ninths; the Lena, Amoor, Hoang-ho, Yang-tse-kiang, and Nile, fiveninths; the Ganges, less than one-half; the Indus, less than one-third; the Euphrates, one-fifth; the Rhine, one-fifteenth. It exceeds in extent the whole of Europe, exclusive of Russia, Norway, and Sweden....

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Excerpt: No one but myself know what I have suffered, nor what my books have gained, by your unsleeping watchfulness and admirable pertinacity.

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A collection of ten pieces, read by various readers, about the unreal edges of this world in legend and story; tales of love, death and beyond. If just one story prickles the hair on the back of your neck, or prickles your eyelids with the touch of tears, we will have succeeded....

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Horror/Ghost stories, Short stories

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Excerpt: Vanity Fair: Volume One (Chapters One through Twenty-five) by William Makepeace Thackeray.

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Excerpt: Chapter 1. Chirp the First. The kettle began it! Don?t tell me what Mrs. Peerybingle said. I know better. Mrs. Peerybingle may leave it on record to the end of time that she couldn?t say which of them began it; but, I say the kettle did. I ought to know, I hope! The kettle began it, full five minutes by the little waxy faced Dutch clock in the corner, before the Cricket uttered a chirp....

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Twice-Told Tales is a short story collection in two volumes by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The first was published in the spring of 1837, and the second in 1842. The stories had all been previously published in magazines and annuals, hence the name....

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Fiction, Short stories

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Excerpt: ?If you talk of Murphy and Francis Moore, gentlemen,? said the lamplighter who was in the chair, ?I mean to say that neither of ?em ever had any more to do with the stars than Tom Grig had.? ?And what had he to do with ?em?? asked the lamplighter who officiated as vice. ?Nothing at all,? replied the other; ?just exactly nothing at all.?...

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Excerpt: I once used to live in a little street which probably is not known to you--the Rue de Lesdiguieres. It is a turning out of the Rue Saint-Antoine, beginning just opposite a fountain near the Place de la Bastille, and ending in the Rue de la Cerisaie. Love of knowledge stranded me in a garret; my nights I spent in work, my days in reading at the Bibliotheque d?Orleans, close by. I lived frugally; I had accepted the conditions of the monastic life, necessary conditions for every worker, scarcely permitting myself a walk along the Boulevard. Bourdon when the weather was fine....

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Mistakes or faults that happen at the time of unfolding of the karma in the life of a human being are the results of mistakes made in the previous life. Now when he understands that it is wrong for these faults and mistakes to happen, then begins the time of turning back from those mistakes. Here, revered Dadashri explains the principle of pratikraman that since the time one understands one’s own mistake and repents for that, does pratikraman, his opinion changes. Karma are bound through opinion and one can become free from that opinion if one has attained samkit (right vision of the Self and the doer) and thus become free from karma. And when one does pratyakhyan, asks for the energy not to repeat the error, absolute humility arises for God, and he continues to receive the energies naturally. The kashayas verily makes one commit mistakes and create liabilities. But one should clear this right away by doing pratikraman of that. Pratikraman should be really shoot-onsight. ...

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What was the proportion of spices in the food? Then he can describe the saltiness, tartness or spiciness through the knowledge mediated by intellect. So, in fact, there are two divisions: the eater of the food and the knower. Physical body complex eats, the ego suffers (bhogavey) with only egoism that ‘I liked or disliked’ it. Now, as long as one is the doer-sufferer, he believes that ‘I am eating’ and ‘I am suffering’ for sure. When one attains Atmagnan (Self-realization) at that time, ‘I’ comes in to the state of the Self, then one realizes that ‘I am not the eater’ but I ‘the non-eater’, am only the ‘knower’ of this. One is not ‘the eater’ yet to believe oneself to be ‘the eater’ is considered unawareness (ajagruti) and to ‘see’ and ‘know’ that ‘the eater’ is separate, is considered awareness (jagruti). Therefore, revered Dadashri says that after Self-realization ‘the eater’ is eating and ‘the Self’ is only the ‘knower’. ...

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What does pratikraman mean? The mistake that has happened is wrong, I am not agreeing with it. Pratikraman is to change our opinion. Prakruti means our charitra moha (discharging illusory conduct) and it would harbor opinions but You want to become free from opinion. You (the awakened One in Akram Vignan) do not have desire to do this again. You have to do pratikraman to get rid of this aggression from your nature (swabhaav). If one does not do pratikraman then one’s nature will not change, it will remain as it is. That is why absolutely revered Dadashri points out to ‘see’ the pure (shuddha), settle the files with equanimity and solve any atikraman. ...

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The unwavering and well established goal for liberation exists in very rare seekers. Otherwise most forget the goal and get stuck in the sadhana—spiritual practice and sadhan—the instruments and the means of the practice. Gnani Purush Dadashri says that, ‘The one who has not become free from the instruments, has not attained the goal.’ However, we can say that he is involved in practicing some means for attaining moksha so he is moving towards the path of the goal. But the main thing is, one must know his precise goal then only the awareness will remain. ...