About the end of the year 1639, a troop of horsemen arrived, towards midday, in a little village at the northern extremity of the province of Auvergne, from the direction of Paris. The country folk assembled at the noise, and found it to proceed from the provost of the mounted police and his men. The heat was excessive, the horses were bathed in sweat, the horsemen covered with dust, and the party seemed on its return from an important expedition. A man left the escort, and asked an old woman who was spinning at her door if there was not an inn in the place.

About the end of the reign of the Emperor Paul I—that is to say, towards the middle of the first year of the nineteenth century—just as four o'clock in the afternoon was sounding from the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, whose gilded vane overlooks the ramparts of the fortress, a crowd, composed of all sorts and conditions of people, began to gather in front of a house which belonged to General Count Tchermayloff, formerly military governor of a fair-sized town in the government of Pultava. The first spectators had been attracted by the preparations which they saw had been made in the middle of the courtyard for administering torture with the knout. One of the general's serfs, he who acted as barber, was to be the victim.

The speaker had just pushed his horse over the brow of a slope which he and his servant had for some time been mounting, through the steamy warmth of a foggy May morning. The thick haze which lay heavy in this region of marshy ground had hidden the surrounding country from them hitherto; but as they reached the summit of the gradual rise they had been ascending, the cloud wreaths suddenly drifted away, and the sun began to shine out upon the undulating plain stretched before their eyes; and lo, the plain was alive with squadrons of soldiers—infantry, cavalry, artillery—drawn up in battle array; and the note of the bugle rang through the air, whilst away in the distance, on the opposite side of the plain, there was a movement which told that already the battle had begun. A sullen roar from the guns boomed forth, and the whole plain shook with the reverberation. Great masses of smoke rolled along and slowly dispersed after each salvo; but it was upon the evolutions of the bodies of horsemen and footmen that the keen eyes of the youthful traveller were intently fixed. "Dicon," he cried, "this is in all sooth a battle; and where the battle rages, there will the great victor of Blenheim be. We have not chanced upon this route in vain. Men warned us of the perils of seeking passage through a country which has become the theatre of war; but fortune's star has befriended us thus far, and now, if I mistake me not, we stand within sight of the greatest warrior of the age. For greatly shall I be astonished if the Duke of Marlborough himself be not conducting the evolutions of yonder squadrons."The brilliant dark eyes of the young man lighted with a great glow of excitement and admiration. He shaded them with his hand, and intently followed the evolutions of the moving masses in the plain stretched before his eyes. He was looking upon the village of Tavières and the mound of Ottomond, and the waters of the Mehaign rolled below at his feet. The right wing of the French army rested here, as he quickly saw; but for the moment the main activity lay over in the distance beyond Ramillies and Offuz, in the direction of Anderkirk. Yet as the traveller stood intently gazing, he saw a movement in the line of the allied army on this nearer side, and he exclaimed aloud in his excitement,— "See, Dicon, see! That attack yonder is but a feint. The key of the position lies here beneath us at Tavières, with its Tomb of Ottomond. See yonder those regiments of marching soldiers creeping round beneath the shelter of that rising ground! They will fling themselves upon the enemy's right, whilst the French general is diverting his available forces to protect his left. Villeroi, my friend, you did not well to dispose your forces in concave lines. You lose time in passing from place to place; and with such a general as our English Duke pitted against you, you cannot afford to lose any point in the game. Ha! See that? The Dutch and English soldiers are charging down upon Tavières! Watch how they come on—a great resistless tide of well-drilled veterans. See how they sweep all before them! See how the French fly forth! Ha, Villeroi, what think you now? Yes, you see your error; fain would you hurry back your reserves from left to right. But the time has gone by. They are miles away, and here are the Allies carrying all before them! Hurrah for old England! hurrah for the great Duke! Dicon, have you stomach for the fight? Do you remember Barcelona and Mountjuich? If we were men enough to help there, why not here too?"

Great Astronomers: John Pond

L'Iliade

Pentru Sanda S?ntimbreanu a venit vremea rememor?rii, vremea c?nd amintirile caut? o alt? exprimare, respira?ia eternit??ii. A dorit s? semneze pactul cu literatura, ?i i-a reu?it, mai ales – prin repetarea unor elemente de via??, prin asem?narea caracterelor unor personaje, printr-o anume continuitate ?ntre unele povestiri, prin obsesia unor teme – cel autobiografic. Autoarea vrea prin aceste povestiri de via?? s? se ?mpace cu trecutul s?u, unul pe care nu l-a acceptat, nu l-a ?n?eles poate destul ?n momentul tr?irii. (Nicoleta Dabija)

The present ebook comprises the complete writings of William Shakespeare (37 plays, 160 sonnets, 5 poetry books). It comes with 150 original illustrations which are the engravings John Boydell commissioned for his Boydell Shakespeare Gallery.------------Contents:COMEDIES:The Comedy of ErrorsThe Taming of the ShrewThe Two Gentlemen of VeronaLove’s Labor’s LostA Midsummer Night’s DreamThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merry Wives of WindsorMuch Ado about NothingAs You Like ItTwelfth Night, or What You WillThe History of Troilus and CressidaAll’s Well That Ends WellMeasure for MeasureHISTORIES:The First Part of Henry the SixthThe Second Part of Henry the SixthThe Third Part of Henry the SixthThe Tragedy of Richard the ThirdThe Life and Death of King JohnThe Tragedy of King Richard the SecondThe First Part of Henry the FourthThe Second Part of Henry the FourthThe Life of Henry the FifthThe Famous History of the Life of King Henry the EighthTRAGEDIES:The Tragedy of Titus AndronicusThe Tragedy of Romeo and JulietThe Tragedy of Julius CaesarThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of VeniceThe Tragedy of King LearThe Tragedy of MacbethThe Tragedy of Antony and CleopatraThe Tragedy of CoriolanusThe Life of Timon of AthensROMANCES:Pericles, Prince of TyreCymbelineThe Winter’s TaleThe TempestThe Two Noble KinsmenPOEMS:Venus and AdonisThe Rape of LucreceSonnetsA Lover’s ComplaintThe Passionate PilgrimThe Phoenix and Turtle

La ora la care scriu aceste r?nduri, revista Contemporanul se apropie de aniversarea a 130 de ani de la fondare, si ne ?ntreb?m, cu to?ii, iar??i ?i iar??i, ce schimb?ri s-au produs ?n peisajul cultural, literar, social ?n ultimii 20 de ani? Ce viitor vor avea cultura, literatura rom?n? vie ?n contextul acestor schimb?ri? Cum ??i va reveni din criza actuala, mai grav?, mai dramatic? dec?t criza economic? propriu-zisa fiind, f?r? ?ndoiala, profunda criz? moral? de care este cuprins? societatea rom?neasc?? R?spunsurile formulate de participan?ii la anchet? – precum ?i celelalte articole, eseuri, reportaje etc. – cuprinse ?n acest supliment aniversar vizeaz? ?i aceste aspecte, greu de neglijat, din v?rtejul evenimentelor istorice, din acest dramatic prezent, rezist?nd, spre gloria na?iunii rom?ne, Excelen?a Sa, cultura, literatur? rom?n? vie. (Aura Christi)

Les Aventures de Todd Marvel, détective milliardaire

La limita extrem? este un roman de scandal nu numai literar, o capodoper? ?n care se lupt? cu prejudec??ile morale, sexuale, sociale. O carte scris? ?n bun? tradi?ie inaugurat? de D.H. Lawrence ?i Henri Miller. Mihail Ar??ba?ev, romancier, prozator rus, este contemporan cu Nabokov ?i al?i scriitori care se formeaz? ?i se lanseaz? ?la r?scrucea“ secolelor XIX ?i XX. Moare t?n?r. Sanin, capodopera d-sale ap?ruta ?n 1907, i-a adus autorului o celebritate scandaloas?. La ini?iativa Bisericii ortodoxe ruse, lui Ar??ba?ev i s-a intentat un proces, scriitorul fiind ?nvinuit de propagarea pornografiei. ?n consecin??, Sanin ?i alte scrieri ale lui Ar??ba?ev au fost interzise ?n patria autorului r?stimp de decenii.

Mai ales inteligena speculativ i iueala fixrii prioritilor n cmpul de idei au facut din Rzvan Voncu un critic de ntmpinare imposibil de ignorat n peisajul literar romnesc.“ (Eugen Negrici)O panoram literar a ultimului deceniu. Istorie literar, evenimente editoriale. Cri de excepie i autori de excepie. Istoria ultimului deceniu de literatur romn semnat de Rzvan Voncu ofer un peisaj exact, descris n cunotin de cauz.

LET us now go to Switzerland, and see its wonderful mountains, whose steep, rocky sides are covered with trees. We will climb up to the fields of snow, and then make our way down to the grassy valleys, with their countless streams and rivulets, impetuously rushing to lose themselves in the sea. The sunshine is hot in the narrow valley; the snow becomes firm and solid, and in the course of time it either descends as an avalanche, or creeps along as a glacier. ??THERE are two of these glaciers in the valleys below the Schreckhorn and the Wetterhorn, near the long village of Grindelwald. They are a remarka-ble sight, and therefore many travelers from all countries come in the summer to visit them: they come over the high mountains covered with snow, they traverse the deep valleys; and to do this they must climb, hour after hour, leaving the valley far beneath them, till they see it as if they were in an air-balloon. ??The clouds hang above them like thick mists over the mountains, and the sun's rays make their way through the openings between the clouds to where the brown houses lie spread, lighting up some chance spot with a vivid green. Below, the stream foams and blusters; but above it murmurs and ripples, and looks like a band of silver hanging down the side of the rock.??On either side of the path up the mountain lie wooden houses. Each house has its little plot of potatoes; and this they all require, for there are many children, and they all have good appetites. The children come out to meet every stranger, whether walking or riding, and ask him to buy their carved wooden ch?lets, made like the houses they live in. Be it fine or be it wet, the children try to sell their carvings.??About twenty years since you might have seen one little boy standing apart from the others, but evidently very desirous to dispose of his wares. He looked grave and sad, and held his little tray tightly with both hands as if he was afraid of losing it. This serious look and his small size caused him to be much noticed by travelers, who often called him and purchased many of his toys, though he did not know why he was so favored. His grandfather lived two miles off among the mountains, where he did his carving. He had a cabinet full of the things he had made. ??There were nut-crackers, knives and forks, boxes carved with leaves and chamois, and many toys for children; but little Rudy cared for nothing so much as for an old gun, hanging from a rafter in the ceiling, for his grandfather had told him it should be his own when he was big enough to know how to use it.

Half way up the side of a tall tree there was a round hole in the trunk. The hole was lined with soft, dried leaves, and bits of white, fluffy cotton, from the milkweed plant. And, if you looked very carefully at the hole, you might see, peering from it, a little head, like that of a very small kitten, and a pair of very bright eyes.??But it was not a kitten that looked from the little hole in the trunk of the tree. Kitties can climb trees, but they do not like to live in them. They would rather have a warm place behind the stove, with a nice saucer of milk.??Now if I tell you that the little creatures who lived in this hole-nest had big, fluffy tails, and that they could sit up on their hind legs, and eat nuts, I am sure you can guess what they were.??Squirrels! That’s it! In the nest, half way up the big tree in the woods, lived a family of gray squirrels, and I am going to tell you about them, or, rather, more particularly, about one of the little girl squirrels whose name was Slicko.

Inocentes o culpables

Coeur d'Acier - Les Habits Noirs - Tome II

Escritos varios

L'Avaleur de sabre - Les Habits Noirs - Tome VI

Die Liebe der Erika Ewald

Brennendes Geheimnis

Candido, ovvero l'ottimismo

Emily Climbs