ALTHOUGH Rouen is now very far before all the other cities of Normandy in point of magnitude and importance, and though Rollo, in his conquest of the country, made it his principal headquarters and his main stronghold, it did not continue exclusively the residence of the dukes of Normandy in after years. The father of William the Conqueror was Robert, who be-came subsequently the duke, the sixth in the line. He resided, at the time when William was born, in a great castle at Falaise. Falaise, as will be seen upon the map, is west of Rouen, and it stands, like Rouen, at some distance from the sea. The castle was built upon a hill, at a little distance from the town. It has long since ceased to be habitable, but the ruins still remain, giving a picturesque but mournful beauty to the eminence which they crown. They are often visited by tra-velers, who go to see the place where the great hero and conqueror was born.??It was about 870 that Rollo was banished from Norway, and a few years after that, at most, that he landed in France. It was not, however, until 912 that he concluded his treaty of peace with Charles, so as to be fully invested with the title of Duke of Normandy. He was advanced in age at this time, and, after spending five years in settling the affairs of his realm, he resigned his dukedom into the hands of his son, that he might spend the remainder of his days in rest and peace. He died in 922, five years after his resignation.??He was only ten years old when his father was assassinated. He became involved in long and arduous wars with the King of France, which compelled him to call in the aid of more Northmen from the Baltic. His new allies, in the end, gave him as much trouble as the old enemy, with whom they came to help William contend; and he found it very hard to get them away. He wanted, at length, to make peace with the French king, and to have them leave his dominions; but they said, "That was not what they came for." Richard had a beautiful daughter, named Emma, who afterward became a very important political personage, as will be seen more fully in a subsequent chapter.?Richard died in 996, after reigning fifty-four years.

“Love thy God, and love Him only,And thy breast will ne’er be lonely.In that One Great Spirit meetAll things mighty, grave, and sweet.Vainly strives the soul to mingleWith a being of our kind;Vainly hearts with hearts are twined:For the deepest still is single.An impalpable resistanceHolds like natures still at distance.Mortal: love that Holy One,Or dwell for aye alone.”De Vere In no province of the vast Roman empire, as it existed in the middle of the third century, did Nature wear a richer or a more joyous garb than she displayed in Proconsular Africa, a territory of which Carthage was the metropolis, and Sicca might be considered the centre. The latter city, which was the seat of a Roman colony, lay upon a precipitous or steep bank, which led up along a chain of hills to a mountainous track in the direction of the north and east. In striking contrast with this wild and barren region was the view presented by the west and south, where for many miles stretched a smiling champaign, exuberantly wooded, and varied with a thousand hues, till it was terminated at length by the successive tiers of the Atlas, and the dim and fantastic forms of the Numidian mountains. The immediate neighbourhood of the city was occupied by gardens, vineyards, corn-fields, and meadows, crossed or encircled here by noble avenues of trees or the re-mains of primeval forests, there by the clustering groves which wealth and luxury had created. This spacious plain, though level when compared with the northern heights by which the city was backed, and the peaks and crags which skirted the southern and western horizon, was discovered, as light and shadow travelled with the sun, to be diversified with hill and dale, upland and hollow; while orange gardens, orchards, olive and palm plantations held their appropriate sites on the slopes or the bottoms. Through the mass of green, which extended still more thickly from the west round to the north, might be seen at intervals two solid causeways tracking their persevering course to the Mediterranean coast, the one to the ancient rival of Rome, the other to Hippo Regius in Numidia. Tourists might have complained of the absence of water from the scene; but the native peasant would have explained to them that the eye alone had reason to be discontented, and that the thick foliage and the uneven surface did but conceal what mother earth with no niggard bounty supplied. The Bagradas, issuing from the spurs of the Atlas, made up in depth what it wanted in breadth of bed, and ploughed the rich and yielding mould with its rapid stream, till, after passing Sicca in its way, it fell into the sea near Carthage. It was but the largest of a multitude of others, most of them tributaries to it, deepening as much as they increased it. While channels had been cut from the larger rills for the irrigation of the open land, brooks, which sprang up in the gravel which lay against the hills, had been artificially banked with cut stones or paved with pebbles; and where neither springs nor rivulets were to be found, wells had been dug, sometimes to the vast depth of as much as 200 fathoms, with such effect that the spurting column of water had in some instances drowned the zealous workmen who had been the first to reach it. And, while such were the resources of less favoured localities or seasons, profuse rains descended over the whole region for one half of the year, and the thick summer dews compensated by night for the daily tribute extorted by an African sun.

With more than 9 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading!In this third book in the new My Weirdest School series, the Brain Games are coming to Ella Mentry School! Miss Brown will help the kids do creative projects, like building a bridge out of toothpicks and designing a remote control car. But the kids are up against some tough competition. They will have to compete against the students of Dirk School to win the grand prize: a free trip to PizzaWorld!Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 8 million books sold, My Weird School really gets kids reading!In this first book in the hilarious new My Weirdest School series, part of the internationally bestselling My Weird School series, A.J.'s third-grade teacher, Mr. Granite, is retiring after a million hundred years. It turns out the new teacher, Mr. Cooper, is even weirder than Mr. Granite! One day he's Rat Man and he teaches about rodents. The next day he's Lava Man and he teaches about volcanoes. But what happens when a real superhero is neededWill Mr. Cooper protect the school from evil, or just embarrass it to death?Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

With more than 8 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading!In this second book in the new My Weirdest School series, the students of Ella Mentry School are about to get a wonderful gift—a million dollars! A.J. and the gang vote to create an in-school, state-of-the-art TV station so the morning announcements can be broadcast to all the classes. There's even enough money to hire Ms. Cuddy, a new digital media arts teacher who knows a thing or two about broadcasting. But soon Ms. Cuddy decides the ratings on the announcements are too low, and the show needs to "get more eyeballs." What could possibly go wrong?Perfect for reluctant readers and word lovers alike, Dan Gutman's hugely popular My Weird School series has something for everyone. Don't miss the hilarious adventures of A.J. and the gang.

A magas f?ben: Teljes gázzal

It’s the second adventure from the smelt-it, dealt-it, you-can-fasten-your-seat-belt-but-they-might-melt-it . . . fearless FART SQUAD! This laugh-out-loud chapter book series is perfect for Captain Underpants fans. With black-and-white illustrations throughout and port-a-potties full of bathroom humor, young readers will be giggling from start to finish.When Darren Stonkadopolis and the rest of the Fart Squad are bussed off to the Natural History Museum, Darren melts a petrified tar pit with a volcano-hot fart. And when he does, he lets out what the pit had been holding in—the deadliest farter in all history, the ferocious Fartasaurus Rex. Now it’s up to the Fart Squad to chow down, power up, and blast this prehistoric beast back to the Flatulent Age before the whole town becomes fossil fuel!“If you can smell what this dino had for lunch, you might be dinner!”—It’s a Gas with Smooth Flo on WCPU“Fart attacks are up 82 percent all over the city. Sneak fart attacks are up 90 percent.”—Good Morning, Buttzville“The business end of this dino means business!”—PassingtonPost.com

The Fairy Bell Sisters get in the Christmas spirit in this sixth book in Margaret McNamara’s delightful chapter-book series about Tinker Bell’s little sisters, perfect for kids ages 6 to10 who enjoy Disney Fairies, The Never Girls, and Rainbow Magic.There are only ten days left until Christmas, and the Fairy Bell Sisters couldn’t be more excited: this year, their big sister Tinker Bell is coming home to visit! Tink says she’s going to treat her sisters to the very best Christmas by bringing?presents and decorations from Neverland. Then she makes her sisters promise not to do anything to prepare for the holiday—they work hard enough already!But as Christmas draws nearer—and Tink still has not arrived—Clara, Rosy, Goldie, and Sylva find it harder and harder not to join in the Fairyland festivities.?And on top of everything else, baby Squeak has started acting rather strangely. . . . Will the season be ruinedOr will the Fairy Bell Sisters find enough faith in one another to make this the most magical Christmas ever?

Readers of Disney Fairies, The Never Girls, and Rainbow Magic will absolutely love the fifth book in the Fairy Bell Sisters series by Margaret McNamara, a delightful chapter-book series about Tinker Bell's little sisters for kids ages 6-10.Springtime means spring-cleaning for the fairies of Sheepskerry Island. It also means getting to search for treasure in the jumble pile—a giant collection of unwanted items outside Queen Mab's palace. When Sylva Bell and her best friend, Poppy Flower, find Queen Mab's old fairy dollhouse in the pile, they are overjoyed! But as the two friends play with it, they start to unlock its secrets and discover its special magic—a magic that has a history of putting friendships to the test.

Piping down the valleys wild,?Piping songs of pleasant glee,?On a cloud I saw a child,?And he laughing said to me:??"Pipe a song about a Lamb!"?So I piped with merry cheer.?"Piper, pipe that song again;"?So I piped: he wept to hear.??"Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;?Sing thy songs of happy cheer!"?So I sang the same again,?While he wept with joy to hear.??"Piper, sit thee down and write?In a book, that all may read."?So he vanish'd from my sight;?And I pluck'd a hollow reed,??And I made a rural pen,?And I stain'd the water clear,?And I wrote my happy songs?Every child may joy to hear. ?

The girl had been an orphan from childhood, and Rowland Trowbridge had been almost as a father to her. Avice loved him and watched over him as a daughter; at least, that had been the case until lately. A few weeks since, Mr. Trowbridge had succumbed to the rather florid charms of Mrs. Black, his housekeeper, and told Avice he would marry her in a month. Though greatly surprised and not greatly pleased, Avice had accepted the situation and treated the housekeeper with the same pleasant courtesy she had always shown her. The two “got along” as the phrase is, though their natures were not in many ways congenial. Avice remained at the window till she saw at last Leslie Hoyt’s tall form approaching. She ran to open the door herself. “Oh, Judge Hoyt,” she cried, “Uncle hasn’t come yet! There must be something wrong! What can we do” THE MARK OF CAINBY CAROLYN WELLS AUTHOR OF “A CHAIN OF EVIDENCE,” “THE GOLD BAG,” “THE WHITE ALLEY,” ETC.WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN COLOR BY GAYLE HOSKINS

Oliver Cromwell, the future Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, was born at Huntingdon on April 25, 1599, receiving his baptismal name from his uncle, Sir Oliver Cromwell of Hinchingbrooke, a mansion hard by the little town. It was at Huntingdon that the father of the infant, Robert Cromwell, had established himself, farming lands and perhaps also adding to his income by the profits of a brewhouse managed by his wife, Elizabeth—a descendant of a middle-class Norfolk family of Steward—originally Styward—which, whatever writers of authority may say, was not in any way connected with the Royal House of Scotland. "I was," said Cromwell in one of his later speeches, "by birth a gentleman, living neither in any considerable height nor yet in obscurity. I have been called to several employments in the nation, and—not to be overtedious—I did endeavour to discharge the duty of an honest man in those services to God and His people's interest, and to the Commonwealth." The open secret of Cromwell's public life is set forth in these words:—his aim being: first, to be himself an honest man; secondly, to serve God and the people of God; and thirdly, to fulfil his duty to the Commonwealth. In this order, and in no other, did his obligations to his fellow-creatures present themselves to his eyes. For the work before him it could not be otherwise than helpful that his position in life brought him into contact with all classes of society. What powers and capacities this infant—or indeed any other infant—may have derived from this or the other ancestor, is a mystery too deep for human knowledge; but at least it may be noted that the descent of the Cromwells from Sir Richard Williams, the nephew of Thomas Cromwell, the despotic Minister of Henry VIII., brought into the family a Welsh strain which may have shown itself in the fervid idealism lighting up the stern practical sense of the warrior and statesman.Of Oliver's father little is known; but his portrait testifies that he was a man of sober Puritanism, not much given to any form of spiritual enthusiasm—very unlike his elder brother, Sir Oliver, who had inherited not only the estate, but the splendid ways of his father, Sir Henry Cromwell—the Golden Knight—and who, after running through his property, was compelled to sell his land and to retire into a more obscure position. As the little Oliver grew up, he had before his eyes the types of the future Cavalier and Roundhead in his own family. So far as parental influence could decide the question, there could be no doubt on which side the young Oliver would take his stand. His education was carried on in the free school of the town, under Dr. Beard, the author of The Theatre of God's Judgments Displayed, in which a belief in the constant intervention of Providence in the punishment of offenders was set forth by numerous examples of the calamities of the wicked. Though Oliver afterwards learned to modify the crudeness of this teaching, the doctrine that success or failure was an indication of Divine favour or disfavour never left him, and he was able, in the days of his greatness, to point unhesitatingly to the results of Naseby and Worcester as evidence that God Himself approved of the victorious cause.

ONE of the best things to be said of the stories in this volume is that, although they are not biographical, they are about real persons who actually lived and performed their parts in the great drama of the world's history. Some of these persons were more famous than others, yet all have left enduring "footprints on the sands of time" and their names will not cease to be remembered. ??In each of the stories there is a basis of truth and an ethical lesson which cannot fail to have a wholesome influence; and each possesses elements of interest which, it is believed, will go far towards proving the fallibility of the doctrine that children find delight only in tales of the imaginative and unreal. The fact that there are a few more than fifty famous people mentioned in the volume may be credited to the author's wish to give good measure.??SAVING THE BIRDS?ONE day in spring four men were riding on horseback along a country road. These men were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to attend court.?There had been a rain, and the ground was very soft. Water was dripping from the trees, and the grass was wet.?The four lawyers rode along, one behind another; for the pathway was narrow, and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly, and talked and laughed and were very jolly.?As they were passing through a grove of small trees, they heard a great fluttering over their heads and a feeble chirping in the grass by the roadside.? "Stith! stith! stith!" came from the leafy branches above them.?"Cheep! cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.?"What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was Speed.?"Oh, it's only some old robins!" said the second lawyer, whose name was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest. They are too young to fly, and the mother bird is making a great fuss about it."?"What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third lawyer, whose name I forget.?"Oh, well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr. Hardin. "Why should we bother?"? "Yes, why should we?" said Mr. Speed.?The three men, as they passed, looked down and saw the little birds fluttering in the cold, wet grass. They saw the mother robin flying about, and crying to her mate.?Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they had forgotten about the birds.?But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and very gently took the little ones up in his big warm hands.

When George Washington was a boy there was no United States. The land was here, just as it is now, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific; but nearly all of it was wild and unknown.??Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Allegheny Mo-untains there were thirteen colonies, or great settlements. The most of the people who lived in these colonies were English people, or the children of English people; and so the King of England made their laws and appointed their governors.??The newest of the colonies was Georgia, which was settled the year after George Washington was born.?The oldest colony was Virginia, which had been settled one hundred and twenty-five years. It was also the richest colony, and more people were living in it than in any other.??There were only two or three towns in Virginia at that time, and they were quite small.?Most of the people lived on farms or on big plantations, where they raised whatever they needed to eat. They also raised tobacco, which they sent to England to be sold.??The farms, or plantations, were often far apart, with stretches of thick woods between them. Nearly every one was close to a river, or some other large body of water; for there are many rivers in Virginia..

The grandfather of Nell Trent wants to make sure his granddaughter is provided for when he dies. His memory of his daughter’s suffering and premature death gives him a fear of poverty. This obsession results in his financial and physical ruin. Nell and her grandfather flee and embark on a journey that has no destination. For Nell, all she wants is a peaceful existence with enough to subsist on.??They come across many interesting people in their travels and are often met with the kindness of strangers. Yet, underneath an animated and colorful world, they also encounter the bleak reality of the industrial age. From simple villages and fields of flowers, they cross into a dirty city full of mass unemployment and plague victims—where children die from starvation and are left on the curb.??The story isn’t just about Nell and her grandfather, but the people who are connected to them directly or indirectly. There is Richard Swiveller, a careless young man who is a friend of Nell’s plotting brother, who wants Swiveller to marry Nell for the fortune he thinks she has. Daniel Quilp, the malicious dwarf, has a vendetta against the grandfather—who was the one person who managed to fool him. There is honest Kit, who finds himself the victim of spite of people he never harmed. Kit desires to help Nell, whoM he worships as a personal angel that has always inspired the best in him. The mysterious Bevis Marks, who is a generous patron to some and an enemy to others, also has his own reasons for finding Nell and her grandfather.??Unique to this book, unlike Dickens other works, is a fairy tale quality to the story. It is certainly a book of contrasts: the purity of Nell compared to the sadistic depravity of Quilp, fresh air and scenic villages to the polluted, stone covered city, etc. Even people’s reactions to the book revealed a stark contrast. At first, Nell Trent was praised as the most perfect Dickens character. Later, she was ridiculed and criticized by many well-known people like Oscar Wilde. While characters in other Dickens books are moving towards a better future, Nell and her grandfather are fleeing their life—and their story is moving towards an ending.??The Old Curiosity Shop was inspired by a personal tragedy in Dickens life. Nell Trent is based on the seventeen year old sister-in-law of Dickens who lived with him and whom he was fond of. The girl collapsed and died suddenly after the family had come home from the theater, probably due to undiagnosed heart disease. The story is a time capsule—full of references of popular songs, literature, and scandals of the period. As to be expected of a Dickens novel, there is social commentary on the plight of the poor. The Old Curiosity Shop delves into the unknown world of freak shows and other traveling entertainers—showing a magical world, yet one with a dark underside to it.

Berci és az elt?nt osztálypénz

BUMM a gatyában

Betrayed can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 2 of 3. You can read Part 2 one week ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback. In the much-anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times bestseller Trapped, foster carer Rosie Lewis tells the heartbreaking true story of 13-year-old Zadie. When the young teenage girl runs away and is discovered hiding on the city streets by the police, it is clear that all is not as it should be. Taught to believe that Westerners should not be trusted, when Zadie is initially delivered into the experienced hands of foster carer Rosie she is polite and well-behaved, but understandably suspicious of the family around her. Through Rosie’s support and understanding, gradually Zadie begins to settle into her new surroundings, but loyalty to her relatives, and fear of bringing shame on those around her, prevents her from confessing the horrifying truth about her troubled past. When the shocking truth finally emerges, Rosie and her family can hardly believe that Zadie had managed to keep the shocking secrets to herself for so long.

City Kid can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 2 of 3. You can read Part 2 one week ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback. From the author of international bestsellers A Circle of Children and Lovey comes an inspiring true story of a gifted teacher’s determination to understand the ‘rotten’ city kid everyone has given up on. Sitting quiet and withdrawn at a battered school desk, Luke had the looks of a shy angel – and a past that special needs teacher Mary MacCracken could barely believe. Already Luke had been picked up 24 times by the police. He’d set over a dozen major fires, and had a staggering record of thefts. No adult could reach him, no teacher could control him, and no policeman could cow him. All this – and Luke was only seven and a half years old. Trying to help Luke was Mary MacCracken’s job – and a seemingly impossible challenge. This is the remarkable story of how the impossible came true.

The true story of 2 year-old Anna, abandoned by her natural parents, left alone in a neglected orphanage. Elaine and Ian had travelled half way round the world to adopt little Anna. She couldn’t have been more wanted, loved and cherished. So why was she now in foster care and living with me? It didn’t make sense. Until I learned what had happened. … Dressed only in nappies and ragged T-shirts the children were incarcerated in their cots. Their large eyes stared out blankly from emaciated faces. Some were obviously disabled, others not, but all were badly undernourished. Flies circled around the broken ceiling fans and buzzed against the grids covering the windows. The only toys were a few balls and a handful of building bricks, but no child played with them. The silence was deafening and unnatural. Not one of the thirty or so infants cried, let alone spoke.

The explosive sequel to #1 Sunday Times bestseller Bad Blood. Set 18 years later, Hidden Sin is the story of Joey, his girlfriend Paula and Rasta Mo, the man he is to discover is his dad. Joey Parker is a young man with big dreams. Almost eighteen, he’s desperate to escape the shackles of his window cleaning round, so when’s offered the chance to try out as a drummer in a local Blondie tribute band he jumps at the chance. But it isn’t just the music that moves him. It’s also the fact that Paula Foster is the lead singer. The daughter of his mum’s old mate, Josie, she was once a childhood friend. They’ve not seen each other in years, and their mutual attraction is immediate. Meanwhile, notorious local drug overlord, Rasta Mo, has recently returned to Bradford after a spell inside and years in Marbella. He is instantly enamored with the good-looking drummer he discovers is his son. He decides that his new club is in need of a house band – and so begins his attempts to woo him. This book charts a journey between two men into a future neither visualized. And, in Joey’s case, into a dangerous criminal world he’s never known. And, while his mother and step-father can only look on in horror as Joey potentially becomes the one thing she’s always dreaded – his father’s son. Joey is oblivious to who Mo is. The truth has always been hidden from him. All he cares about is that his and Paula’s dreams are all starting to come true. But will the cost of achieving them be too high to pay?