AUTHOR OF "POOR BOYS WHO BECAME FAMOUS," "GIRLS WHO BECAME FAMOUS," "STORIES FROM LIFE," "FAMOUS AMERICAN AUTHORS," "FAMOUS AMERICAN STATESMEN," "SOCIAL STUDIES IN?ENGLAND," "FROM HEART AND NATURE,"?"FAMOUS MEN OF SCIENCE," ETC. "Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. Death stands at your elbow. Be good for something while you live, and it is in your power." —Marcus Aurelius. "Every line, every road, every gable, every tower, has some story of the past present in it. Every tocsin that sounds is a chronicle; every bridge that unites the two banks of the river, unites also the crowds of the living with the heroism of the dead."The beauty of the past goes with you at every step in Florence. Buy eggs in the market, and you buy them where Donatello bought those which fell down in a broken heap before the wonder of the crucifix. Pause in a narrow by-street in a crowd, and it shall be that Borgo Allegri, which the people so baptized for love of the old painter and the new-born art. Stray into a great dark church at evening time, where peasants tell their beads in the vast marble silence, and you are where the whole city flocked, weeping, at midnight, to look their last upon the dead face of their Michael Angelo. Buy a knot of March anemones or April arum lilies, and you may bear them with you through the same city ward in which the child Ghirlandaio once played amidst the gold and silver garlands that his father fashioned for the young heads of the Renaissance. Ask for a shoemaker, and you shall find the cobbler sitting with his board in the same old twisting, shadowy street-way where the old man Toscanelli drew his charts that served a fair-haired sailor of Genoa, called Columbus." Florence, Shelley's "Smokeless City," was the ardently loved home of Michael Angelo. He was born March 6, 1475, or, according to some authorities, 1474, the Florentines reckoning time from the incarnation of Christ, instead of his birth. Lodovico Buonarotti, the father of Michael Angelo, had been appointed governor of Caprese and Chiusi, and had moved from Florence to the Castle of Caprese, where this boy, his second child, was born. The mother, Francesca, was, like her husband, of noble family, and but little more than half his age, being nineteen and he thirty-one. After two years they returned to Florence, leaving the child at Settignano, three miles from the city, on an estate of the Buonarottis'. He was intrusted to the care of a stone-mason's wife, as nurse. Living among the quarrymen and sculptors of this picturesque region, he began to draw as soon as he could use his hands. He took delight in the work of the masons, and they in turn loved the bright, active child. On the walls of the stone-mason's house he made charcoal sketches, which were doubtless praised by the foster-parents.

L'art pour tous was written in the year 1862 by Stéphane Mallarmé. This book is one of the most popular novels of Stéphane Mallarmé, and has been translated into several other languages around the world.This book is published by Booklassic which brings young readers closer to classic literature globally.

The much-loved Guardian columnist asks what it takes to make a husband, and looks to his own married life to provide the answer.* *Anything resembling advice should be taken at reader’s own risk. You’ll never get divorced if you never get married. Not even your granny minds if you live in sin anymore. And if you’re single you can choose curtains without somebody else butting in. So why bother with marriage? It can’t just be an easy way round having to buy your own deodorant. Guardian columnist Tim Dowling is a husband of some twenty years. His marriage is resounding proof that even the most impossible partnership can work out for the best. Some of the time. So while this book is called ‘How To be a Husband’, it’s not really a how-to guide at all. Nor is it a compendium of petty remarks and brinkmanship – although it contains plenty of both. You may pick up a few DIY hints. You might learn that while marriage is founded on love, it endures through bloody hard work. Most likely it will make you whimper with the laughter of painful recognition. ‘How To be a Husband’ is a cautionary tale about throwing caution to the wind. It’s the strange romance of two people consenting to share a roll-on. It’s a new manifesto for marriage and an answer to why, even when we suck at it, we stick at it.

Needlefelting is fast becoming the most popular and easiest way to create cute and quirky characters and curiosities. In this book you can learn to make 30 adorable little animals. Needlefelting is the ideal craft for beginners, far easier and cheaper to learn than knitting or crochet. You can make almost anything by sculpting loose wool roving with one or two needles – the only limit is your imagination. This book includes a comprehensive introduction and guide to getting started, a breakdown of the basic needlefelting techniques and the equipment you will need. It also features a very cute photograph of each animal and an illustrated step-by-step guide. Learn to make the following little animals … Lion – Baby elephant – Sea lion – Penguin- Whale – Angel fish- Dolphin – Octopus- Snail – Bee – Hedgehog – Fox – Quail – Guinea pig – Puppy- Kitten- Rabbit – Robin – Sheep – Pig

A collection of remarkable and completely made-up correspondence from the great and the good across history. Many books have collated the exceptional letters and personal writing of the famous, offering a fascinating insight into well-known figures' personal lives and hidden desires. But what of the undistinguished epistles of the renowned? Can their less auspicious musings divulge clues to their hopes and ambitions? Probably not. But they can be quite funny. 'Letters of Not' assembles the fictional jotted dross that was never before considered worthy of collection. The Post-it notes, the shopping lists, the failed limericks and the birthday card sentiments of history's most celebrated sons and daughters.

An informative, fun and rather charming essay on the nature and history of one of life’s most desirable assets, Charm, by renowned culture and design critic, Stephen Bayley. Aiming to wound, a schoolmaster wrote on future design-guru Stephen Bayley’s last ever school report “Charm alone will not get him through”. Bayley took this to mean that an affable, genial, outgoing nature was not enough to ensure survival in a harsh world of statistical performance. But survive and flourish is exactly what Bayley did and now he aims to define Charm by looking at its origins and meanings throughout history and in the modern age.

This handy, practical and inspirational little book is perfect for the pocket or art bag. It shows watercolour painters of all levels how to loosen up their paintings and maintain spontaneity by painting simple watercolour studies in no more than 10 minutes.

Gain an insight into the English language via one of the UK’s richest dialects: Geordie. From George Stephenson to The Animals to Viz, the North East has long had a successful creative culture, developing alongside its industrial history. Newcastle in particular has successfully reinvented itself as a centre of the arts, while still maintaining its own regional identity. This book is the definitive guide to the most distinctive element of that identity: the Geordie dialect. This book is a must for anyone with even a passing interest in the language of the North East, and also provides a thorough examination of the general state of English, from the traditional wit and wisdom of the Geordie perspective.

The second of 6 eBook-only shorts from star of the Great British Sewing Bee and doyenne of the Women’s Institute, May Martin, including three gorgeous projects to try at home - Pencil Skirt, Bucket Bag and Shell Blouse - taken from May Martin’s Sewing Bible. May has been teaching sewing for over 40 years. Now she shares her tips and tricks for creating beautiful garments at home, perfect for beginner sewers. Beautifully styled and simple-to-follow, this authoritative sewing e-short, taken from May Martin’s Sewing Bible, offers three starter projects for those looking to create their own unique wardrobe.

The third of 6 eBook-only shorts from star of the Great British Sewing Bee and doyenne of the Women’s Institute, May Martin, including three adorable projects, across a range of difficulties – Hand Puppets, Jersey T-shirt and a Smocked Dress – taken from May Martin’s Sewing Bible. May has been teaching sewing for over 40 years. Now she shares three projects to try yourself across toys and clothes for children, perfect as thoughtful home-made gifts. Beautifully styled and simple-to-follow, this authoritative sewing e-short, taken from May Martin’s Sewing Bible, offers three starter projects for those looking to create beautiful kids’ clothes from scratch.

Anxious about the apostrophe? Confused by the comma? Stumped by the semicolon? Join Lynne Truss on a hilarious tour through the rules of punctuation that is sure to sort the dashes from the hyphens. We all had the basic rules of punctuation drilled into us at school, but punctuation pedants have good reason to suspect they never sank in. ‘Its Summer!’ screams a sign that sets our teeth on edge. ‘Pansy’s ready’, we learn to our considerable interest (‘Is she?’) as we browse among the bedding plants. It is not only the rules of punctuation that have come under attack but also a sense of why they matter. In this runaway bestseller, Lynne Truss takes the fight to emoticons and greengrocers’ apostrophes with a war cry of ‘Sticklers unite!’

The Collins Gem series is being relaunched in Spring 2004 and this new title features a new internal design and a strong new cover design. Packed full of tips for the aspiring watercolourist, its handy format makes it ideal for quick reference either in the studio or out in the field. Contents include: ? essential tips on all the basic watercolour techniques, plus helpful advice on sketching and drawing ? guidelines on painting skies, backgrounds, foregrounds, the main subject, trees, details and shadows ? clear and straightforward step-by-step instructions for painting a complete landscape in 7 easy stages ? tips on painting water in various forms and adding people to a painting