Two days subsequent to these occurrences—and some hours after his coupe loaded with his guns and traps had rumbled away to meet Holcomb, in time for the Adirondack express—Thayor laid a note in his butler's hands with special instructions not to place it among his lady's mail until she awoke. He could not have chosen a better messenger. While originally hailing from Ireland, and while retaining some of the characteristics of his race—his good humor being one of them—Blakeman yet possessed ...

It is the small boy who crawls under the circus tent who most keenly enjoys the show. He has watched while the big double-top canvas was being raised and staked taut, transforming the familiar pasture-lot into a magic realm, more alluring and seductive than the best fishing-hole in the town creek. Following the parade, a cavalcade of golden chariots, caparisoned horses and swaying elephants, the small boy has walked on air, buoyed by the thump and blare of the brass band. Weeks before he h...

It was in fat Madame Fontaine's little café at Bar la Rose, that Norman village by the sea, that I announced my decision. It being market-day the café was noisy with peasants, and the crooked street without jammed with carts. Monsieur Torin, the butcher, opposite me, leaned back heavily from his glass of applejack and roared. Monsieur Pompanet, the blacksmith, at my elbow, put down his cup of black coffee delicately in its clean saucer and opened his honest gray eyes wide in amazement. Sim...

Like a dry brook, its cobblestone bed zigzagging past quaint shops and cafés, the rue Vaugirard finds its way through the heart of the Latin Quarter. It is only one in a score of other busy little streets that intersect the Quartier Latin; but as I live on the rue Vaugirard, or rather just beside it, up an alley and in the corner of a picturesque old courtyard leading to the “Lavoir Gabriel,” a somewhat angelic name for a huge, barn-like structure reeking in suds and steam, and noisy with ...

It was in fat Madame Fontaine's little café at Bar la Rose, that Norman village by the sea, that I announced my decision. It being market-day the café was noisy with peasants, and the crooked street without jammed with carts. Monsieur Torin, the butcher, opposite me, leaned back heavily from his glass of applejack and roared.

Mary Jane Holmes' "The Cromptons" is a compelling exploration of familial dynamics, societal expectations, and the complexities of love during the 19th century. Set against a backdrop characterized by Victorian sensibilities, Holmes employs a rich, descriptive narrative style that delves deeply into the psychological motivations of her characters. The novel intricately weaves together themes of morality, social class, and the pursuit of happiness, reflecting the era'Äôs tensions between tr...

The letters of Lady Duff Gordon are an introduction to her in person. She wrote as she talked, and that is not always the note of private correspondence, the pen being such an official instrument. Readers growing familiar with her voice will soon have assurance that, addressing the public, she would not have blotted a passage or affected a tone for the applause of all Europe. Yet she could own to a liking for flattery, and say of the consequent vanity, that an insensibility to it is inhuma...

The story centers around the character of Cap'n Eli Warren, a retired sea captain who becomes the guardian of two young orphaned sisters, Ruth and Naomi Sherwood. Cap'n Warren takes the girls into his home and cares for them as if they were his own daughters.As the narrative unfolds, "Cap'n Warren's Wards" explores the challenges and joys of family life, as well as the dynamics between Cap'n Warren and the two sisters. The novel portrays the Cape Cod community and its unique culture, inclu...

"Droll Stories" is known for its ribald humor, wit, and satire. The tales are set in medieval and Renaissance France and feature a colorful cast of characters, including monks, nobles, knights, and peasants. Balzac uses these characters to lampoon various aspects of society, religion, and human folly.The stories in "Droll Stories" are often filled with irreverent and exaggerated humor, and they explore themes of lust, gluttony, deceit, and the absurdity of human behavior. Many of the tales...

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant; (5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a popular French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents. Guy De Maupassant wrote some of the most twisted and freaky short stories of his day. This is Volume 8 of 13, containing 19 of his best stories. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Enter the eerie and compelling world of "The Ghost: A Modern Fantasy" by Arnold Bennett. This gripping novel follows Carl Foster, a young architect, who encounters the mysterious and alluring Rosetta Rosa while attending an opera. Drawn into a whirlwind of dark secrets and supernatural occurrences, Carl faces a series of unsettling events that challenge his perceptions of reality. Bennett masterfully blends romance, suspense, and the supernatural in a tale that explores the thin veil betwe...

Account of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, first published in 1865. According to Wikipedia: "George Alfred Townsend (January 30, 1841 April 15, 1914), was a noted war correspondent during the American Civil War, and a later novelist. Townsend wrote under the pen name "Gath", which was derived by adding an "H" to his initials, and inspired by the biblical passage II Samuel 1:20, "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askalon"... He is considered to have been the younge...