As Beatrice’s wedding day approaches, murder finds a way to make her pressed for time.? Beatrice and Wyatt’s days are spent planning their cozy, chapel wedding. Both widowed, they mean to keep their wedding an intimate, family affair. But everyone in Dappled Hills still wants to celebrate the happy couple. Beatrice and Wyatt find themselves at dinners, picnics, and barbeques in their honor. When one of the festivities goes deadly wrong, Beatrice must try to unveil the killer before making her vows.

Cal, Letty, Tony, Opi, and Sasha were thrust together when they were kidnapped by the Molethian civilization and forced to become a fighter crew to battle against The Horde, the most vicious, predatory enemy in all the Milky Way galaxy. At first, only Letty could get along with the rest of them, and they basically hated each other. However, due largely to Letty’s efforts, they became not only the top fighting crew in the Shadow Warriors, but also a close family that love and support each other. Due to Opi’s amazing strategic thinking, Letty’s organizational skills, Sasha’s unparalleled ability as a weapons officer, Tony’s crack talent as a navigator, and Cal’s icy nerve as a battle leader, they have found a way to defeat two major Horde invasions. Opi, already becoming the chief strategist for an entire wing of the Molethian space forces, decides that an entirely new way of fighting Horde forces must be put in place. Her audacious plan is to search a central volume of the Milky Way through which the Horde always travels, discover the military bases they have no doubt established, and destroy them all. She is convinced that a huge base has been built by The Horde on the opposite side of the galaxy, very near The Horde’s own small galactic home, the Dwarf Spheroidal Sagittarius Galaxy. In the meantime, a third Horde invasion of about 40,000 ships nears Molethan’s home planet. Using Opi’s old strategies, Molethian forces manage to destroy it, but the new, highly capable Horde fighters make this victory far more difficult. In addition, Tony is reported missing and presumed lost. Grieving over Tony, whom she loved, Opi refuses to succumb to her grief, immediately commissioning the search for the other Horde home bases in the Milky Way. A search party finds the monstrous Horde base almost 70,000 lightyears across the galaxy. Molethan appeals to the other Alliance systems, and a major attack on the base is started, with Cal the attack leader. Things seem to be going well when suddenly, in the midst of the battle, a new enemy strikes, heavily damaging not only Shadow Warriors fighters but also many of the Alliance carriers. The fate of the battle hangs on a razor’s edge. Can the Alliance, led by Cal, Opi, and the rest of their team, manage to win over two opponents, or are they destined to be destroyed by the combined forces of two enemies?

When death is the perfect deception, betrayal must be the greatest gift. "Superbly written fantasy novel!" - Goodreads review In a secret world of giants, Wisps, War Crows, and ancient magic, Nicolas Bennett discovers he is the heir to the throne of a fantastical Kingdom. Nicolas is prophesied to become one of the greatest of all Dragon Nightfalls—but only if he can kill the recently awakened Overlord Dragon, Arnyek Tolvaj. Known as the Shadow Thief, Arnyek Tolvaj is the doom of Telluric Grand and a looming threat to Relic, the City with Seven Gates. Joined by three new friends, Nicolas sets out on a dangerous journey, determined to accomplish the impossible. And when he finally comes face to face with the Shadow Thief, Nicolas truly understands the private agony of what it means to be a savior. About the Author Steven L. Lovett is a long-time student of T.H. White, a sentimentalist of C.S. Lewis, and an unabashed fan of J.R.R. Tolkien. (He says he, too, will have "made it" as a novelist when everyone begins referring to him as S.L. Lovett.) A professor by day and a writer by night (or by weekends or any other free time), Steven lives with his wife, their daughter, and their family dogs on a quiet, wooded street in a small town in eastern Kansas. Readers' reviews "I absolutely fell in love with Telluric Grand and all of its characters. This is so well written, I could feel the fog and smell the food." "You can see similarities to other fantasy series (I would call it kind of a mix between Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia), but it is definitely it's own world, with creatures unlike any I've ever read about. " "You can definitely see influences here from Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and even Harry Potter. So if you enjoy any of those books, this one will probably hold your attention as well."

Marcus Barber is a two-thousand-year old immortal, a former Roman Centurion who now works as a bounty hunter for supernatural creatures from the ancient world. When he’s not pounding the pavement as a private investigator for mortal clients, Marcus chases down missing mythological creatures for the Ancients. Now, in the heat of San Antonio, Marcus must search for Nemesis's missing Griffin while trying to rescue a melting Ice Pixie from an eccentric collector. His adventures put him on the trail of a cult that has kidnapped a Daughter of Frejya. All in a day’s work. While roaming the sprawling metroplex, Marcus is tasked with obtaining Chaac's lightning axe from the grasp of Tawhaki. Working under a tight deadline from the Ancients (who treat him as a pawn in their games), Marcus enlists a friend's help, but he has to hide the strange events and creatures. On top of the Ancients’ demands, Marcus is also hired by an assistant district attorney who wants him to track down a missing mistress…a woman with whom Marcus has his own turbulent past. By leveraging his stubbornness and his specialized skills, Marcus has to accomplish everything within 24 hours … or else the Ancients will have his immortal soul.

Mike Resnick is, according to Locus , the all-time leading award winner for short fiction, having won 5 Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards from around the world. This boxed set includes four novels and 41 of his best science fiction short stories Race through pages filled with the Dark Lady, the Moby Dick of space, robot basketball, tall tales, and galaxy-hopping assassins for the ride of your life. This boxed set includes six volumes— First Person Peculiar, Away Games, The Dark Lady, The Soul Eater, The Outpost, and Walpurgis III.

Inspirational Poetry. Touches The Places Words Rarely Reach Poetry: there are times in life when nothing else will do. At such times, you need a certain kind of poem, the kind of poems that are contained in Orna Ross's poetry pamphlet series. The kind of poems that tell the truth about life while providing consolation and inspiration. Here are some of the things that are being said about this short book of inspirational poems: - "Reaches into the corners of your soul and pulls out all that is beautiful." - "Masterfully crafted poetry". - "These poems' many beauties are at the service of elusive truths." - "A little book of very big poems." If you never read poetry, this little pamphlet is a great place to start. Without ever straying into superficiality, Orna Ross's poetry is compelling and accessible. If you are a poetry lover, then you're sure to appreciate these poems about love, poems about life. poems about loss, and faith, and redemption — all delivered in simple, yet achingly beautiful, words. Poetry this powerful and profound is rarely so simple and compelling, which is why inspirational quotes from these poems are turning up all over the Internet, people drawn to their wise and uplifting insights.

A NEW AND FACETIOUS INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH TONGUEBy Percival LeighEmbellished with upwards of forty-five Characteristic IllustrationsBy JOHN LEECH. Fashion requires, and like the rest of her sex, requires because she requires, that before a writer begins the business of his book, he should give an account to the world of his reasons for producing it; and therefore, to avoid singularity, we shall proceed with the statement of our own, excepting only a few private ones, which are neither here nor there. To advance the interests of mankind by promoting the cause of Education; to ameliorate the conversation of the masses; to cultivate Taste, and diffuse Refinement; these are the objects we have in view in submitting a Comic English Grammar to the patronage of a discerning Public. Few persons there are, whose ears are so extremely obtuse, as not to be frequently annoyed at the violations of Grammar by which they are so often assailed. It is really painful to be forced, in walking along the streets, to hear such phrases as, "That 'ere omnibus." "Where've you bin?" "Vot's the odds?" and the like. Very dreadful expressions are also used by cartmen and others in addressing their horses. What can possibly induce a human being to say "Gee woot!" "'Mather way!" or "Woa not to mention the atrocious "Kim aup!" of the barbarous butcher's boy. It is notorious that the above and greater enormities are perpetrated in spite of the number of Grammars already before the world. This fact sufficiently excuses the present addition to the stock; and as serious English Grammars have hitherto failed to effect the desired reformation, we are induced to attempt it by means of a Comic one. With regard to the moral tendency of our labors, we may be here permitted to remark, that they will tend, if successful, to the suppression of evil speaking ; and as the Spartans used to exhibit a tipsy slave to their children with a view to disgust them with drunkenness, and We will not allow a man to give an old woman a dose of rhubarb if he have not acquired at least half a dozen sciences; but we permit a quack to sell as much poison as he pleases. When one man runs away with another's wife, and, being on that account challenged to fight a duel, shoots the aggrieved party through the head, the latter is said to receive satisfaction. We never take a glass of wine at dinner without getting somebody else to do the same, as if we wanted encouragement; and then, before we venture to drink, we bow to each other across the table, preserving all the while a most wonderful gravity. This, however, it may be said, is the natural result of endeavoring to keep one another in countenance. The way in which we imitate foreign manners and customs is very amusing. Savages stick fish-bones through their noses; our fair countrywomen have hoops of metal poked through their ears. The Caribs flatten the forehead; the Chinese compress the foot; and we possess similar contrivances for reducing the figure of a young lady to a resemblance to an hour-glass or a devil-on-two-sticks. There being no other assignable motive for these and the like proceedings, it is reasonable to suppose that they are adopted, as schoolboys say, "for fun." We could go on, were it necessary, adducing facts to an almost unlimited extent; but we consider that enough has now been said in proof of the comic character of the national mind. And in conclusion, if any other than an English or American author can be produced, equal in point of wit, humor, and drollery, to Swift, Sterne, Dickens, or Paulding, we hereby engage to eat him; albeit we have no pretensions to the character of a "helluo librorum." "English Grammar," according to Lindley Murray, "is the art of speaking and writing the English language with propriety." The English language, written and spoken with propriety, is commonly called the King's English.

Mr. Hungerton, her father, really was the most tactless person upon earth,—a fluffy, feathery, untidy cockatoo of a man, perfectly good-natured, but absolutely centered upon his own silly self. If anything could have driven me from Gladys, it would have been the thought of such a father-in-law. I am convinced that he really believed in his heart that I came round to the Chestnuts three days a week for the pleasure of his company, and very especially to hear his views upon bimetallism, a subject upon which he was by way of being an authority. For an hour or more that evening I listened to his monotonous chirrup about bad money driving out good, the token value of silver, the depreciation of the rupee, and the true standards of exchange. "Suppose," he cried with feeble violence, "that all the debts in the world were called up simultaneously, and immediate payment insisted upon,—what under our present conditions would happen then?" I gave the self-evident answer that I should be a ruined man, upon which he jumped from his chair, reproved me for my habitual levity, which made it impossible for him to discuss any reasonable subject in my presence, and bounced off out of the room to dress for a Masonic meeting. At last I was alone with Gladys, and the moment of Fate had come! All that evening I had felt like the soldier who awaits the signal which will send him on a forlorn hope; hope of victory and fear of repulse alternating in his mind. She sat with that proud, delicate profile of hers outlined against the red curtain. How beautiful she was! And yet how aloof! We had been friends, quite good friends; but never could I get beyond the same comradeship which I might have established with one of my fellow-reporters upon the Gazette,—perfectly frank, perfectly kindly, and perfectly unsexual. My instincts are all against a woman being too frank and at her ease with me. It is no compliment to a man. Where the real sex feeling begins, timidity and distrust are its companions, heritage from old wicked days when love and violence went often hand in hand. The bent head, the averted eye, the faltering voice, the wincing figure—these, and not the unshrinking gaze and frank reply, are the true signals of passion. Even in my short life I had learned as much as that—or had inherited it in that race memory which we call instinct. Gladys was full of every womanly quality. Some judged her to be cold and hard; but such a thought was treason. That delicately bronzed skin, almost oriental in its coloring, that raven hair, the large liquid eyes, the full but exquisite lips,—all the stigmata of passion were there. But I was sadly conscious that up to now I had never found the secret of drawing it forth. However, come what might, I should have done with suspense and bring matters to a head to-night. She could but refuse me, and better be a repulsed lover than an accepted brother. So far my thoughts had carried me, and I was about to break the long and uneasy silence, when two critical, dark eyes looked round at me, and the proud head was shaken in smiling reproof. "I have a presentiment that you are going to propose, Ned. I do wish you wouldn't; for things are so much nicer as they are." I drew my chair a little nearer. "Now, how did you know that I was going to propose?" I asked in genuine wonder."Don't women always know? Do you suppose any woman in the world was ever taken unawares? But—oh, Ned, our friendship has been so good and so pleasant! What a pity to spoil it! Don't you feel how splendid it is that a young man and a young woman should be able to talk face to face as we have talked?" "I don't know, Gladys. You see, I can talk face to face with—with the station-master." I can't imagine how that official came into the matter; but in he trotted, and set us both laughing. "That does not satisfy me in the least. I want my arms round you, and your head on my breast, and—oh, Gladys, I want——"

The third novel, The Vicomte de Bragelonne (serialized October, 1847—January, 1850), has enjoyed a strange history in its English translation. It has been split into three, four, or five volumes at various points in its history. The five-volume edition generally does not give titles to the smaller portions, but the others do. In the three-volume edition, the novels are entitled The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask. For the purposes of this etext, I have chosen to split the novel as the four-volume edition does, with these titles: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Ten Years Later, Louise de la Valliere, and The Man in the Iron Mask. In the first three etexts: The Vicomte de Bragelonne (Etext 2609): It is the year 1660, and D'Artagnan, after thirty-five years of loyal service, has become disgusted with serving King Louis XIV while the real power resides with the Cardinal Mazarin, and has tendered his resignation. He embarks on his own project, that of restoring Charles II to the throne of England, and, with the help of Athos, succeeds, earning himself quite a fortune in the process. D'Artagnan returns to Paris to live the life of a rich citizen, and Athos, after negotiating the marriage of Philip, the king's brother, to Princess Henrietta of England, likewise retires to his own estate, La Fere. Meanwhile, Mazarin has finally died, and left Louis to assume the reigns of power, with the assistance of M. Colbert, formerly Mazarin's trusted clerk. Colbert has an intense hatred for M. Fouquet, the king's superintendent of finances, and has resolved to use any means necessary to bring about his fall. With the new rank of intendant bestowed on him by Louis, Colbert succeeds in having two of Fouquet's loyal friends tried and executed. He then brings to the king's attention that Fouquet is fortifying the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, and could possibly be planning to use it as a base for some military operation against the king. Louis calls D'Artagnan out of retirement and sends him to investigate the island, promising him a tremendous salary and his long-promised promotion to captain of the musketeers upon his return. At Belle-Isle, D'Artagnan discovers that the engineer of the fortifications is, in fact, Porthos, now the Baron du Vallon, and that's not all. The blueprints for the island, although in Porthos's handwriting, show evidence of another script that has been erased, that of Aramis. D'Artagnan later discovers that Aramis has become the bishop of Vannes, which is, coincidentally, a parish belonging to M. Fouquet. Suspecting that D'Artagnan has arrived on the king's behalf to investigate, Aramis tricks D'Artagnan into wandering around Vannes in search of Porthos, and sends Porthos on an heroic ride back to Paris to warn Fouquet of the danger. Fouquet rushes to the king, and gives him Belle-Isle as a present, thus allaying any suspicion, and at the same time humiliating Colbert, just minutes before the usher announces someone else seeking an audience with the king. Ten Years Later (Etext 2681): As 1661 approaches, Princess Henrietta of England arrives for her marriage, and throws the court of France into complete disorder. The jealousy of the Duke of Buckingham, who is in love with her, nearly occasions a war on the streets of Le Havre, thankfully prevented by Raoul's timely and tactful intervention. After the marriage, though, Monsieur Philip becomes horribly jealous of Buckingham, and has him exiled. Before leaving, however, the duke fights a duel with M. de Wardes at Calais. De Wardes is a malicious and spiteful man, the sworn enemy of D'Artagnan, and, by the same token, that of Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and Raoul as well. Both men are seriously wounded, and the duke is taken back to England to recover. Raoul's friend, the Comte de Guiche, is the next to succumb to Henrietta's charms, and Monsieur obtains his exile as well, though De Guiche soon effects a reconciliation.

Кра?на стр?мко летить у пр?рву: моторошна криза охоплю? вс? царини людського життя. Псевдовчен? наполегливо пропагують: мислення – це ?люз?я, пошук будь-якого сенсу – абсурд, ? зрештою уряд оголошу? моратор?й на розум. Талано- вит? п?дпри?мц? безсл?дно зникають, кидаючи сво? виробництво напризволяще або знищуючи його. Головн? геро? роману – Да?н? Та??арт ? Генк Р?арден – в?дчайдушно намагаються в?двернути катастрофу. Да?н? переконана, що в кра?н? з’явився та?м- ничий Руйн?вник, ц?ль якого – крах економ?ки ? тотальна деградац?я людей. Ж?нка не покида? над?? в?дтворити досконалий двигун, але перспективний молодий нау- ковець, який погодився допомогти ?й, в?дмовля?ться працювати на благо нев?глас?в. Да?н? не хоче в?дмовлятися в?д свого задуму, тож ?де на зустр?ч з? знев?реним до- сл?дником, а в дороз? знайомиться з волоцюгою. Свого часу в?н працював там, де й зародилося ?чисте зло?, яке зараз пожира? кра?ну… Друга частина роману м?стить блискуч? св?тоглядн? монологи, вкладен? в уста Франциско Д’Анкон?? та Генка Р?ардена.

In 1888 a client, Mary Morstan, comes with two puzzles for Holmes. The first is the disappearance of her father Captain Arthur Morstan in December 1878 and the second is that she has received 6 pearls in the mail from an anonymous benefactor once a year since 1882, since she answered an anonymous newspaper query inquiring for her. With the last pearl she has received a letter remarking that she has been a wronged woman and asks for meeting. Holmes takes the case and soon discovers that Major Sholto — Morstan's only friend who had denied seeing Morstan — had died in 1882 and that within a short span of time Mary began to receive the pearls, implying a connection. The only clue Mary can give Holmes is a map of a fortress with the names of Jonathan Small and three Sikhs, who are named Dost Akbar, Abdullah Khan, and Mahomet Singh. Holmes, Watson, and Mary meet Thaddeus Sholto, the son of the late Major Sholto and Capt Morstan's Army friend who has sent her the pearls. Thaddeus remarks that his father had a paranoid fear of one-legged men and confirms that Mary's father had seen the Major the night he died. That night, in a quarrel about an Agra Treasure, Morstan — who was in weak health — suffered a heart attack. Not wanting to bring attention to the object of the quarrel to public notice, Sholto disposed of the body and hid the treasure. However his own health became worse when he received a letter from India. Dying, he called his two sons and confessed to Morstan's death and was about to divulge the location of the treasure when he suddenly cried "Keep him out!". The puzzled sons glimpsed a face in the window but the only trace was a single footstep in the dirt. On their father's body is a note reading "The Sign of Four". Both brothers quarreled over whether a legacy should be left to Mary Morstan and Thaddeus left his brother Bartholomew, taking a chaplet and sending its pearls to Mary. The reason he sent the letter is that Bartholomew has found the treasure and possibly Thaddeus and Mary might confront him for a division of it. Bartholomew is found dead in his home from a poison dart and the treasure is missing. While the police wrongly take Thaddeus in as a suspect Holmes deduces that there are two persons involved in the murder: a one-legged man, Jonathan Small, as well as another "small" accomplice. He traces them to a boat landing where Small has hired a launch named the Aurora. With the help of his Baker Street Irregulars and his own disguise Holmes traces the launch. In a Police launch Holmes and Watson chase the Aurora and capture it but in the process end up killing the "small" companion after he attempts to kill Holmes with a poisoned dart shot from a blow-pipe. Small tries to escape but is captured. However the iron treasure box is empty; Small claims to have dumped the treasure over the side during the chase.

The book's protagonist is an English scientist and gentleman inventor living in Richmond, Surrey in Victorian England, and identified by a narrator simply as the Time Traveller. The narrator recounts the Traveller's lecture to his weekly dinner guests that time is simply a fourth dimension, and his demonstration of a tabletop model machine for travelling through it. He reveals that he has built a machine capable of carrying a person, and returns at dinner the following week to recount a remarkable tale, becoming the new narrator.In the new narrative, the Time Traveller tests his device with a journey that takes him to A.D. 802,701, where he meets the Eloi, a society of small, elegant, childlike adults. They live in small communities within large and futuristic yet slowly deteriorating buildings, doing no work and having a frugivorous diet. His efforts to communicate with them are hampered by their lack of curiosity or discipline, and he speculates that they are a peaceful communist society, the result of humanity conquering nature with technology, and subsequently evolving to adapt to an environment in which strength and intellect are no longer advantageous to survival. Returning to the site where he arrived, the Time Traveller is shocked to find his time machine missing, and eventually works out that it has been dragged by some unknown party into a nearby structure with heavy doors, locked from the inside, which resembles a Sphinx. Later in the dark, he is approached menacingly by the Morlocks, ape-like troglodytes who live in darkness underground and surface only at night. Within their dwellings he discovers the machinery and industry that makes the above-ground paradise possible. He alters his theory, speculating that the human race has evolved into two species: the leisured classes have become the ineffectual Eloi, and the downtrodden working classes have become the brutish light-fearing Morlocks. Deducing that the Morlocks have taken his time machine, he explores the Morlock tunnels, learning that they feed on the Eloi. His revised analysis is that their relationship is not one of lords and servants but of livestock and ranchers. The Time Traveller theorizes that intelligence is the result of and response to danger; with no real challenges facing the Eloi, they have lost the spirit, intelligence, and physical fitness of humanity at its peak. Meanwhile, he saves an Eloi named Weena from drowning as none of the other Eloi take any notice of her plight, and they develop an innocently affectionate relationship over the course of several days. He takes Weena with him on an expedition to a distant structure that turns out to be the remains of a museum, where he finds a fresh supply of matches and fashions a crude weapon against Morlocks, whom he fears he must fight to get back his machine. He plans to take Weena back to his own time. Because the long and tiring journey back to Weena's home is too much for them, they stop in the forest, and they are then overcome by Morlocks in the night, and Weena faints. The Traveller escapes only when a small fire he had left behind them to distract the Morlocks catches up to them as a forest fire; Weena is presumably lost in the fire, as are the Morlocks. The Morlocks use the time machine as bait to ensnare the Traveller, not understanding that he will use it to escape. He travels further ahead to roughly 30 million years from his own time. There he sees some of the last living things on a dying Earth, menacing reddish crab-like creatures slowly wandering the blood-red beaches chasing butterflies in a world covered in simple lichenous vegetation. He continues to make short jumps through time, seeing Earth's rotation gradually cease and the sun grow larger, redder, and dimmer, and the world falling silent and freezing as the last degenerate living things die out.

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) is a novel by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). The themes and settings of Through the Looking-Glass make it a kind of mirror image of Wonderland: the first book begins outdoors, in the warm month of May (4 May), uses frequent changes in size as a plot device, and draws on the imagery of playing cards; the second opens indoors on a snowy, wintry night exactly six months later, on 4 November (the day before Guy Fawkes Night), uses frequent changes in time and spatial directions as a plot device, and draws on the imagery of chess. In it, there are many mirror themes, including opposites, time running backwards, and so on. Short Summary: Alice is playing with a white kitten (whom she calls "Snowdrop") and a black kitten (whom she calls "Kitty")—the offspring of Dinah, Alice's cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland—when she ponders what the world is like on the other side of a mirror's reflection. Climbing up on the fireplace mantel, she pokes at the wall-hung mirror behind the fireplace and discovers, to her surprise, that she is able to step through it to an alternative world. In this reflected version of her own house, she finds a book with looking-glass poetry, "Jabberwocky", whose reversed printing she can read only by holding it up to the mirror. She also observes that the chess pieces have come to life, though they remain small enough for her to pick up. Upon leaving the house (where it had been a cold, snowy night), she enters a sunny spring garden where the flowers have the power of human speech; they perceive Alice as being a "flower that can move about." Elsewhere in the garden, Alice meets the Red Queen, who is now human-sized, and who impresses Alice with her ability to run at breathtaking speeds. This is a reference to the chess rule that queens are able to move any number of vacant squares at once, in any direction, which makes them the most "agile" of pieces. The Red Queen reveals to Alice that the entire countryside is laid out in squares, like a gigantic chessboard, and offers to make Alice a queen if she can move all the way to the eighth rank/row in a chess match. This is a reference to the chess rule of Promotion. Alice is placed in the second rank as one of the White Queen's pawns, and begins her journey across the chessboard by boarding a train that literally jumps over the third row and directly into the fourth rank, thus acting on the rule that pawns can advance two spaces on their first move.

In “True Ghost Stories,” Mr. Carrington presents a number of startling cases of this character; but they are not the ordinary “ghost stories”—based on pure fiction, and having no foundation in reality. Here we have a well-arranged collection of incidents, all thoroughly investigated and vouched for, and the testimony obtained first-hand and corroborated by others. The chapter on “Haunted Houses” is particularly striking. The first chapter deals with the interesting question, “What is a Ghost?” and attempts to answer this question in the light of the latest scientific theories which have been advanced to explain these supernatural happenings and visitants. It is a book of absorbing interest, and cannot fail to grip and hold the attention of every reader—no matter whether he be a student of these questions, or one merely in search of hair-raising anecdotes and stories. He will find them here a-plenty! The following little book endeavors to bring together a number of “ghost stories” of the more startling and dramatic type,—but stories, nevertheless, which seem to be well authenticated; and which have been obtained, in most instances, at first hand, from the original witnesses; and often contain corroborative testimony from others who also experienced the ghostly phenomena. Some of these incidents, indeed, rise to the dignity of scientific evidence; others are less well authenticated cases,—but interesting for all that. These have been grouped in various Chapters, according to their evidential value. Chapters II. and III. contain well-evidenced cases, some of which have been taken from the Proceedings and Journals of the Society for Psychical Research (S. P. R.), or from Phantasms of the Living, or from other scientific books, in which narratives of this character receive serious consideration. Chapter V., on the contrary, contains a number of incidents which,—striking and dramatic as they are,—cannot be included in the two earlier Chapters, as presenting real evidence of Ghosts; but are published rather as startling and interesting ghost stories. Chapter IV., devoted to “Haunted Houses,” contains brief accounts of the most famous Haunted Houses, and of the phenomena which have been witnessed within them. Appendix A gives a list of a few of the important “Historical Ghosts,” Appendix B describes the “Phantom Armies” lately seen by the Allied troops in France—while Appendix C lists a number of books of Ghost Stories which the interested reader may care to peruse. A short Glossary, at the beginning of the book, explains the meaning of certain terms used,—which are not, perhaps, ordinarily met with in books of this character. In the Introductory Chapter, I have endeavored to explain, very briefly, the nature and character of Ghosts; what they are; and the various scientific theories which have been brought forward, of late years, to explain Ghosts. I hope that this may prove of interest to the reader; in case it does not do so, he is invited to “skip” directly to Chapter II., which begins our account of “True Ghost Stories.” I wish to express my thanks in this place to the Council of the English S. P. R. for special permission to quote and to summarize several striking cases here reproduced; also to Miss Estelle Stead, for permission to utilize several cases previously printed at length in Mr. Wm. T. Stead’s collections of Ghost Stories. H. C. [Author]

本书是针对初级日语学习者，特别是《新版中日交流标准日本语 初级（第二版）》的学习者编写而成的词汇与语法书。书中以《标日初级》上下册的单词为素材，将内容划分为48课，方便读者同步学习，有针对性地进行一课一练。书中的“重点单词”会给出例句及拓展内容，帮助读者深入学习、有效助记。另外，每课的课后小测验与N4N5词汇模拟题相结合，方便读者随学随练，巩固提高。书中包含《标日初级》上下两册出现的231个语法知识点，并按接续、含义、词类划分为三章，有助于读者理清初级语法的脉络。本书语法讲解清晰细致，帮助读者深层次理解、掌握语法知识点。另外，本书配有章节巩固习题与N4、N5语法模拟题，并附有详细的中文解析，方便读者巩固提高。

Implement machine learning and deep learning methodologies to build smart, cognitive AI projects using Python Key Features * A go-to guide to help you master AI algorithms and concepts * 8 real-world projects tackling different challenges in healthcare, e-commerce, and surveillance * Use TensorFlow, Keras, and other Python libraries to implement smart AI applications Book Description This book will be a perfect companion if you want to build insightful projects from leading AI domains using Python. The book covers detailed implementation of projects from all the core disciplines of AI. We start by covering the basics of how to create smart systems using machine learning and deep learning techniques. You will assimilate various neural network architectures such as CNN, RNN, LSTM, to solve critical new world challenges. You will learn to train a model to detect diabetic retinopathy conditions in the human eye and create an intelligent system for performing a video-to-text translation. You will use the transfer learning technique in the healthcare domain and implement style transfer using GANs. Later you will learn to build AI-based recommendation systems, a mobile app for sentiment analysis and a powerful chatbot for carrying customer services. You will implement AI techniques in the cybersecurity domain to generate Captchas. Later you will train and build autonomous vehicles to self-drive using reinforcement learning. You will be using libraries from the Python ecosystem such as TensorFlow, Keras and more to bring the core aspects of machine learning, deep learning, and AI. By the end of this book, you will be skilled to build your own smart models for tackling any kind of AI problems without any hassle. What you will learn * Build an intelligent machine translation system using seq-2-seq neural translation machines * Create AI applications using GAN and deploy smart mobile apps using TensorFlow * Translate videos into text using CNN and RNN * Implement smart AI Chatbots, and integrate and extend them in several domains * Create smart reinforcement, learning-based applications using Q-Learning * Break and generate CAPTCHA using Deep Learning and Adversarial Learning Who this book is for This book is intended for data scientists, machine learning professionals, and deep learning practitioners who are ready to extend their knowledge and potential in AI. If you want to build real-life smart systems to play a crucial role in every complex domain, then this book is what you need. Knowledge of Python programming and a familiarity with basic machine learning and deep learning concepts are expected to help you get the most out of the book

Power up your network applications with Python programming Key Features * Master Python skills to develop powerful network applications * Grasp the fundamentals and functionalities of SDN * Design multi-threaded, event-driven architectures for echo and chat servers Book Description This Learning Path highlights major aspects of Python network programming such as writing simple networking clients, creating and deploying SDN and NFV systems, and extending your network with Mininet. You’ll also learn how to automate legacy and the latest network devices. As you progress through the chapters, you’ll use Python for DevOps and open source tools to test, secure, and analyze your network. Toward the end, you'll develop client-side applications, such as web API clients, email clients, SSH, and FTP, using socket programming. By the end of this Learning Path, you will have learned how to analyze a network's security vulnerabilities using advanced network packet capture and analysis techniques. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * Practical Network Automation by Abhishek Ratan * Mastering Python Networking by Eric Chou * Python Network Programming Cookbook, Second Edition by Pradeeban Kathiravelu, Dr. M. O. Faruque Sarker What you will learn * Create socket-based networks with asynchronous models * Develop client apps for web APIs, including S3 Amazon and Twitter * Talk to email and remote network servers with different protocols * Integrate Python with Cisco, Juniper, and Arista eAPI for automation * Use Telnet and SSH connections for remote system monitoring * Interact with websites via XML-RPC, SOAP, and REST APIs * Build networks with Ryu, OpenDaylight, Floodlight, ONOS, and POX * Configure virtual networks in different deployment environments Who this book is for If you are a Python developer or a system administrator who wants to start network programming, this Learning Path gets you a step closer to your goal. IT professionals and DevOps engineers who are new to managing network devices or those with minimal experience looking to expand their knowledge and skills in Python will also find this Learning Path useful. Although prior knowledge of networking is not required, some experience in Python programming will be helpful for a better understanding of the concepts in the Learning Path.

Perform advanced dashboard, visualization, and analytical techniques with Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep, and Tableau Server Key Features * Unique problem-solution approach to aid effective business decision-making * Create interactive dashboards and implement powerful business intelligence solutions * Includes best practices on using Tableau with modern cloud analytics services Book Description Tableau has been one of the most popular business intelligence solutions in recent times, thanks to its powerful and interactive data visualization capabilities. Tableau 2019.x Cookbook is full of useful recipes from industry experts, who will help you master Tableau skills and learn each aspect of Tableau's ecosystem. This book is enriched with features such as Tableau extracts, Tableau advanced calculations, geospatial analysis, and building dashboards. It will guide you with exciting data manipulation, storytelling, advanced filtering, expert visualization, and forecasting techniques using real-world examples. From basic functionalities of Tableau to complex deployment on Linux, you will cover it all. Moreover, you will learn advanced features of Tableau using R, Python, and various APIs. You will learn how to prepare data for analysis using the latest Tableau Prep. In the concluding chapters, you will learn how Tableau fits the modern world of analytics and works with modern data platforms such as Snowflake and Redshift. In addition, you will learn about the best practices of integrating Tableau with ETL using Matillion ETL. By the end of the book, you will be ready to tackle business intelligence challenges using Tableau's features. What you will learn * Understand the basic and advanced skills of Tableau Desktop * Implement best practices of visualization, dashboard, and storytelling * Learn advanced analytics with the use of build in statistics * Deploy the multi-node server on Linux and Windows * Use Tableau with big data sources such as Hadoop, Athena, and Spectrum * Cover Tableau built-in functions for forecasting using R packages * Combine, shape, and clean data for analysis using Tableau Prep * Extend Tableau’s functionalities with REST API and R/Python Who this book is for Tableau 2019.x Cookbook is for data analysts, data engineers, BI developers, and users who are looking for quick solutions to common and not-so-common problems faced while using Tableau products. Put each recipe into practice by bringing the latest offerings of Tableau 2019.x to solve real-world analytics and business intelligence challenges. Some understanding of BI concepts and Tableau is required.

Enhance your programming skills by learning the intricacies of object oriented programming in C# 8 Key Features * Understand the four pillars of OOP; encapsulation, inheritance, abstraction and polymorphism * Leverage the latest features of C# 8 including nullable reference types and Async Streams * Explore various design patterns, principles, and best practices in OOP Book Description Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm organized around objects rather than actions, and data rather than logic. With the latest release of C#, you can look forward to new additions that improve object-oriented programming. This book will get you up to speed with OOP in C# in an engaging and interactive way. The book starts off by introducing you to C# language essentials and explaining OOP concepts through simple programs. You will then go on to learn how to use classes, interfacesm and properties to write pure OOP code in your applications. You will broaden your understanding of OOP further as you delve into some of the advanced features of the language, such as using events, delegates, and generics. Next, you will learn the secrets of writing good code by following design patterns and design principles. You'll also understand problem statements with their solutions and learn how to work with databases with the help of ADO.NET. Further on, you'll discover a chapter dedicated to the Git version control system. As you approach the conclusion, you'll be able to work through OOP-specific interview questions and understand how to tackle them. By the end of this book, you will have a good understanding of OOP with C# and be able to take your skills to the next level. What you will learn * Master OOP paradigm fundamentals * Explore various types of exceptions * Utilize C# language constructs efficiently * Solve complex design problems by understanding OOP * Understand how to work with databases using ADO.NET * Understand the power of generics in C# * Get insights into the popular version control system, Git * Learn how to model and design your software Who this book is for This book is designed for people who are new to object-oriented programming. Basic C# skills are assumed, however, prior knowledge of OOP in any other language is not required.

A hands on approach to learning ReasonML from the perspective of a web developer. Key Features * Hands on learning by building a real world app shell that includes client-side routing and more. * Understand Reason’s ecosystem including BuckleScript and various npm workflows. * Learn how Reason differs from TypeScript and Flow, and how to use it to make refactoring less stressful. Book Description ReasonML, also known as Reason, is a new syntax and toolchain for OCaml that was created by Facebook and is meant to be approachable for web developers. Although OCaml has several resources, most of them are from the perspective of systems development. This book, alternatively, explores Reason from the perspective of web development. You'll learn how to use Reason to build safer, simpler React applications and why you would want to do so. Reason supports immutability by default, which works quite well in the context of React. In learning Reason, you will also learn about its ecosystem – BuckleScript, JavaScript interoperability, and various npm workflows. We learn by building a real-world app shell, including a client-side router with page transitions, that we can customize for any Reason project. You'll learn how to leverage OCaml's excellent type system to enforce guarantees about business logic, as well as preventing runtime type errors.You'll also see how the type system can help offload concerns that we once had to keep in our heads. We'll explore using CSS-in-Reason, how to use external JSON in Reason, and how to unit-test critical business logic. By the end of the book, you'll understand why Reason is exploding in popularity and will have a solid foundation on which to continue your journey with Reason. What you will learn * Learn why Reason is exploding in popularity and why it's the future of React * Become familiar with Reason's syntax and semantics * Learn about Reason's ecosystem: BuckleScript and JavaScript interoperability * Learn how to build React applications with Reason * Learn how to use Reason's type system as a tool to provide amazing guarantees * Gain a solid foundation on which to continue your journey Who this book is for The target audience of this book is web developers who are somewhat familiar with ReactJS and who want to learn why ReasonML is the future of ReactJS.

Test, fuzz, and break web applications and services using Burp Suite’s powerful capabilities Key Features * Master the skills to perform various types of security tests on your web applications * Get hands-on experience working with components like scanner, proxy, intruder and much more * Discover the best-way to penetrate and test web applications Book Description Burp suite is a set of graphic tools focused towards penetration testing of web applications. Burp suite is widely used for web penetration testing by many security professionals for performing different web-level security tasks. The book starts by setting up the environment to begin an application penetration test. You will be able to configure the client and apply target whitelisting. You will also learn to setup and configure Android and IOS devices to work with Burp Suite. The book will explain how various features of Burp Suite can be used to detect various vulnerabilities as part of an application penetration test. Once detection is completed and the vulnerability is confirmed, you will be able to exploit a detected vulnerability using Burp Suite. The book will also covers advanced concepts like writing extensions and macros for Burp suite. Finally, you will discover various steps that are taken to identify the target, discover weaknesses in the authentication mechanism, and finally break the authentication implementation to gain access to the administrative console of the application. By the end of this book, you will be able to effectively perform end-to-end penetration testing with Burp Suite. What you will learn * Set up Burp Suite and its configurations for an application penetration test * Proxy application traffic from browsers and mobile devices to the server * Discover and identify application security issues in various scenarios * Exploit discovered vulnerabilities to execute commands * Exploit discovered vulnerabilities to gain access to data in various datastores * Write your own Burp Suite plugin and explore the Infiltrator module * Write macros to automate tasks in Burp Suite Who this book is for If you are interested in learning how to test web applications and the web part of mobile applications using Burp, then this is the book for you. It is specifically designed to meet your needs if you have basic experience in using Burp and are now aiming to become a professional Burp user.