THE DEVOTED FRIENDOne morning the old Water-rat put his head out of his hole. He hadbright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like along bit of black india-rubber. The little ducks were swimmingabout in the pond, looking just like a lot of yellow canaries, andtheir mother, who was pure white with real red legs, was trying toteach them how to stand on their heads in the water."You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on your...
The Ballad of the White Horseby G.K. ChestertonDEDICATIONOf great limbs gone to chaos,A great face turned to nightWhy bend above a shapeless shroudSeeking in such archaic cloudSight of strong lords and light?Where seven sunken EnglandsLie buried one by one,Why should one idle spade, I wonder,Shake up the dust of thanes like thunderTo smoke and choke the sun?In cloud of clay so cast to heavenWhat shape shall man discern?These lords may light the mystery...
The Pension Beaurepasby Henry JamesCHAPTER I.I was not richon the contrary; and I had been told the PensionBeaurepas was cheap. I had, moreover, been told that a boarding-house is a capital place for the study of human nature. I had afancy for a literary career, and a friend of mine had said to me, "Ifyou mean to write you ought to go and live in a boarding-house; thereis no other such place to pick up material." I had read something ofthis kind in a letter addressed by Stendhal to his siste
Erewhon Revisitedby Samuel ButlerErewhon Revisited Twenty Years Later Both by the OriginalDiscoverer of the Country and by his Son.I forget when, but not very long after I had published "Erewhon" in1872, it occurred to me to ask myself what course events in Erewhonwould probably take after Mr. Higgs, as I suppose I may now callhim, had made his escape in the balloon with Arowhena. Given apeople in the conditions supposed to exist in Erewhon, and giventhe apparently miraculous ascent of a remar
The Queen of Heartsby Wilkie CollinsLETTER OF DEDICATION.-TOEMILE FORGUES.-AT a time when French readers were altogether unaware of theexistence of any books of my writing, a critical examination ofmy novels appeared under your signature in the _Revue des DeuxMoudes_. I read that article, at the time of its appearance, withsincere pleasure and sincere gratitude to the writer, and I havehonestly done my best to profit by it ever since.At a later period, when arrangements were made for the...
Sword Blades and Poppy Seedby Amy LowellPrefaceNo one expects a man to make a chair without first learning how,but there is a popular impression that the poet is born, not made,and that his verses burst from his overflowing heart of themselves.As a matter of fact, the poet must learn his trade in the same manner,and with the same painstaking care, as the cabinet-maker.His heart may overflow with high thoughts and sparkling fancies,...
一走出会场的时候,伊豆豆对万丽说,你的好戏要开场了大学毕业的时候,康季平留校了,万丽被分配到市郊的一所中学当老师。同学都在背后说,是康季平出卖了万丽自己挤上去的。万丽有什么好出卖的,就是谈恋爱。那时候读大学跟现在不一样,谈恋爱是有的,但都是地下工作,被发现了也不能说出你的秘密。万丽确实是谈恋爱了,跟谁谈呢,就是跟康季平。这样说起来,康季平的人品太有问题了。万丽去责问康季平,她以为康季平会摆出一大堆的理由洗刷自己,并痛击那些流言蜚语。但出乎万丽意料的是,康季平并没有为自己辩护,因为有一个铁的事实摆在那里:最后毕竟是他留校了。万丽说,康季平,你不觉得可耻吗?康季平说,万丽,你不适合留在学校工作。万丽气得眼泪哗哗地淌下来,扭头就走。...
正对着空虚,我听到了声音。来自体内,来自这个空荡荡的地方。我摸住心脏。我是一个神经病,这不是我的自白,是我道听途说的结果。如果一个人相信你身边的所有,不轻易辩驳,那就是真的,无论错得如何虚假。也许我从出生开始,就停在了这个地方。因为我无法明确地记得和这里无关的地方。我的父母有可能是一对长年培养出感情的神经病,在医院后面的树林怀上我,或者是一个神经病和一个医生的结晶,又或者是两个医生的孩子。那有什么关系呢?出生离我这样的遥远,已经和我无关。生命从来就不是神圣,不过是一种冲动的附属品。我莫名其妙地成为了爱或非爱的累赘。生命的淡漠,是我致命的一个缺陷。永远不可能逾越这样的可能,去珍重关于自己的生命或是他人的。一个男人在书里说过,婴儿的生命是最高峰,最辉煌的时刻,作为第一声啼哭,就是对生存意志最崇高的表达,青春无例外地成为浪费,老年成为极端虚伪的赞美。我一直不懂,这种关...
Desperate Remediesby Thomas HardyCONTENTSPREFATORY NOTEI. THE EVENTS OF THIRTY YEARSII. THE EVENTS OF A FORTNIGHTIII. THE EVENTS OF EIGHT DAYSIV. THE EVENTS OF ONE DAYV. THE EVENTS OF ONE DAYVI. THE EVENTS OF TWELVE HOURSVII. THE EVENTS OF EIGHTEEN DAYSVIII. THE EVENTS OF EIGHTEEN DAYSIX. THE EVENTS OF TEN WEEKSX. THE EVENTS OF A DAY AND NIGHTXI. THE EVENTS OF FIVE DAYSXII. THE EVENTS OF TEN MONTHSXIII. THE EVENTS OF ONE DAY...