Classic Books
Showing 31–60 of 4247 results
A Barren Title by T. W. Speight
John Fildew at this time was about fifty-two years of age, but looked somewhat older. Thirty years previously he had been accounted a very handsome man, and there were still sufficient traces of bygone good looks to make credible such a tradition. But the once clear-cut aquiline nose was now growing more coarse and bibulous-looking with every year, and the once shapely waist was putting on a degree of convexity that troubled its possessor far more than any other change that time had seen fit to afflict him with. As yet he was by no means bald, and his iron-gray hair, however thin it might be at the crown, was still plentiful at the sides and back, and being seldom operated upon by the tonsorial scissors, its long, straggling ends mingled with the tangled growth of his whiskers and lay on the collar of his coat behind. Grizzled, too, were whiskers, beard, and mustache, but all unkempt and apparently uncared for, growing as they listed, and only impatiently snipped at now and again by Mr. Fildew himself, when his mustache had grown so long as to be inconvenient at meal-times. His eyes were his best feature. They were dark, piercing, and deep-set, and were overhung by thick, bushy brows, which showed as yet no signs of age. Their ordinary expression was one of cold, quiet watchfulness, but they were occasionally lighted up by gleams of a grim, sardonic humor, accompanied by a half-contemptuous smile and at such times it was possible to understand how it happened that many not over-observant people came to regard him as a genial, good-hearted, easy-tempered fellow, when, in truth, there was scarcely one touch of real geniality in his composition.
A Brief History of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps by Sir Edward Hutton
This abridged history of the Regiment has been prepared by certain members of the History Committee, and edited by the Chairman.
The Chairman (Lieut.-General Sir Edward Hutton) is indebted to the following members of the Regimental History Committee:—Major-General Astley Terry, Major the Hon. C. Sackville-West, Captain Hereward Wake, and also to Colonel Horatio Mends for the contribution, wholly or in part, of Part I, Sec. 3; Part II, Secs. 4 and 5; Part III, Secs. 9 and 10; and Part III, Secs. 7 and 8 respectively.
The existing short history, written by Major-General Astley Terry and Colonel Mends and published with the Standing Orders of the Regiment, has been taken as a basis.
A Brief History of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers by T. C. (Theophilus Charles) Noble
To my brother Ironmongers, “root and branch,” I dedicate this “brief history” of our ancient Guild. Notwithstanding the innumerable facts printed in the following pages, the work must only be considered as an historical essay upon the tenth of the twelve “great” Livery Companies of the City of London.
A Capillary Crime, and Other Stories by Francis Davis Millet
NEAR the summit of the hill in the Quartier Montmartre, Paris, is a little street in which the grass grows between the paving-stones, as in the avenues of some dead old Italian city. Tall buildings border it for about one third its length, and the walls of tiny gardens, belonging to houses on adjacent streets, occupy the rest of its extent. It is a populous thoroughfare, but no wheels pass through it, for the very good reason that near the upper end it suddenly takes a short turn, and shoots up the hill at an incline too steep for a horse to climb.
A Captive of the Roman Eagles by Felix Dahn
Whoever has been at Friedrichshafen on beautiful Lake Constance, on a clear August day, and watched the sun setting in splendor behind the tops of the beeches of Manzell; whoever has seen the waves of the lake and the snow-capped peaks of the Alps from Sentis to the Allgau Mountains glow in the crimson light, while the notes of the Ave Maria float softly over forest, meadow, and water, will treasure the memory of the peaceful scene throughout his whole life.
A Cello For Bihar by Dr. Rakesh Chopra
The year was 1950. Khem Rao was just another child born in a remote farming village in Bihar. His life’s script was expected to be no different to anyone else born under the same circumstances. However, destiny had other plans.
This book charts the course of his extraordinary life and his prodigious music talent. This is a story of hardship. Of trial and tribulations. Of the hand of fate. Of hope and achievement. Of love and heartbreak.
His life exemplifies that it matters little from where you start, but where you finish.
A Child’s Guide to Pictures by Charles H. Caffin
But it is not this view of pictures that we are going to talk about in the present book. I shall have very little to say about the subjects of pictures—partly because you can find out for yourselves what subjects interest you; but mostly, because the subject of a picture has so very little to do with its beauty as a work of art. For it is this view of a picture, as being a work of art, that I shall try to keep before you.
A Christmas Carol in Prose; Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens
Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
A Code for the Government of Armies in the Field by Francis Lieber
A Code For the Government of Armies in the Field' was printed as manuscript for the Board appointed by the Secretary of War “To propose amendments or changes in the rules and articles of war, and a code of regulations for the government of armies in the field, as authorized by the Laws and Usages of War.” Francis Lieber, Member of the Board, is recognized as the author of this document, which was published in February, 1863.
A Collection of Beatrix Potter Stories by Beatrix Potter
ONCE upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were—
Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.
They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fir tree.
"NOW, my dears," said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, "you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor."
A Collection of Stories, Reviews and Essays by Willa Cather
"No, Antone, I have told thee many times, no, thou shalt not sell it until I am gone.”
“But I need money; what good is that old fiddle to thee? The very crows laugh at thee when thou art trying to play. Thy hand trembles so thou canst scarce hold the bow. Thou shalt go with me to the Blue to cut wood to-morrow. See to it thou art up early.”
A Colonial Reformer, Vol. III (of 3) by Rolf Boldrewood
"In the strange exceptional condition of nervous tension up to which that marvellous instrument, the human ‘harp of a thousand strings,’ is capable of being wound, under the pressure of dread and perplexity, there is a type of visitor whose face is always hailed with pleasure. This is a fact as unquestionable as the converse proposition. For the bien-venu under such delicate and peculiar circumstances, helpfulness, sympathy, and decision are indispensable. of no avail are weakly condolences or mild assenting pity. The power to dispense substantial aid may or may not be wanting. But the friend in need must have the moral power and clearness of mental vision which render decisiveness possible and just. His fiat, favourable or unfavourable, lets in the light, separates real danger from undefined terror, offers security for well-grounded hope, or persuades to the calmness of resignation." -an excerpt
A Commonplace Book of Thoughts, Memories, and Fancies. by Mrs. Jameson
Imust be allowed to say a few words in explanation of the contents of this little volume, which is truly what its name sets forth—a book of common-places, and nothing more. If I have never, in any work I have ventured to place before the public, aspired to teach, (being myself a learner in all things,) at least I have hitherto done my best to deserve the indulgence I have met with; and it would pain me if it could be supposed that such indulgence had rendered me presumptuous or careless.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
Since the "Boke of St. Albans" was written, into the heraldic portion of which the author managed to compress an unconscionable amount of rubbish, books and treatises on the subject of Armory have issued from the press in a constant succession. A few of them stand a head and shoulders above the remainder. The said remainder have already sunk into oblivion. Such a book as "Guillim" must of necessity rank in the forefront of any armorial bibliography; but any one seeking to judge the Armory of the present day by the standards and ethics adopted by that writer, would find himself making mistake after mistake, and led hopelessly astray. There can be very little doubt that the "Display of Heraldry" is an accurate representation of the laws of Armory which governed the use of Arms at the date the book was written; and it correctly puts forward the opinions which were then accepted concerning the past history of the science.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
First published in the year 1889, the present book 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' was written by famous American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer - Mark Twain. The story follows a Yankee engineer from Connecticut, who is accidentally transported back in time to the court of King Arthur, where he fools the inhabitants of that time into thinking that he is a magician, and soon uses his knowledge of modern technology to become a "magician" in earnest, stunning the English of the Early Middle Ages with such feats as demolitions, fireworks, and the shoring up of a holy well. He attempts to modernize the past, but in the end he is unable to prevent the death of Arthur and an interdict against him by the Catholic Church of the time, which grows fearful of his power.
A Constructive Parliamentarian by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has dedicated over sixty years of his life in service of the country. He served the country as member of Parliament for five decades and as Prime Minister of India for six years. He is an orator par excellence, whose speeches are listened with attention by friends and foes inside and outside Parliament. He used the Parliament as an educational forum as well as political weapon and enhanced the prestige of parliamentary institution. He did not mince words when criticism is due or warning necessary. But his criticism has not hurt his opponents. His sharp intellect and wit is almost tailor-made for parliamentary debate. Shri Vajpayee often rises above party politics and gives primacy to national interest over political consideration, and he always appreciated well taken Opposition point of view.
As a Prime Minister he also proved to be an achiever par excellence. He gave nuclear dimension to India’s military power without fear of sanctions but also established close friendly relations with President Clinton of the U.S. and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan. Even after the Kargil betrayal he extended the hand of friendship to General Musharaf and took steps to establish cordial relations with China and other neighbours in tune with his words “I can change history but not geography”. His domestic achievements were starting highway quadrangle with rural road connectivity, Chandrayan programme, linking rivers to solve irrigation and flood problems, cheap and speedy communi-cation system and establishing ‘Sagar Mala’ to connect 4000 kms. of coast-line. He made India a food grain exporter, a major out-sourcing country and enriched the country with over billion dollar foreign exchange reserves.
However his constructive role as a Parliamentarian is hidden in the documents of Parliament and is not so well-known. He introduced 22 Bills in all including 20 when in opposition of which nine were Constitutional Amendment Bills and 2 when he was the Foreign Minister of India. They show his painstaking exercise in strengthening the democratic foundation of our country, his deep concern for health and welfare of the people, faith in independence of judiciary, taming money power in elections and above all human touch towards weak and handicapped people. The fact that some Bills were accepted or rejected or could not come for discussion and lapsed because of dissolution of Parliament is of little significance.
A Critical Examination of Socialism by W. H. Mallock
The Civic Federation of New York, an influential body which aims, in various ways, at harmonising apparently divergent industrial interests in America, having decided on supplementing its other activities by a campaign of political and economic education, invited me, at the beginning of the year 1907, to initiate a scientific discussion of socialism in a series of lectures or speeches, to be delivered under the auspices of certain of the great Universities in the United States. This invitation I accepted, but, the project being a new one, some difficulty arose as to the manner in which it might best be carried out—whether the speeches or lectures should in each case be new, dealing with some fresh aspect of the subject, or whether they should be arranged in a single series to be repeated without substantial alteration in each of the cities visited by me.