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The Heroes of Magersfontein

The Ontario High School Reader

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22795/22795-h/22795-h.htm#Page_221

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How grim and stern these men looked as they lay face upward to the sky, with great hands clutched in the last agony, and brows still knit with the stern lust of the strife in which they had fallen. The plaids, dear to every Highland clan, were represented there, and out of the distance came the sound of pipes. It was the General coming to join his men. There, right under the eyes of the enemy, moved with slow and solemn tread all that remained of the Highland Brigade. In front of them walked the chaplain, with bared head, dressed in his robes of office; then came the pipers with their pipes, sixteen in all, and behind them, with arms reversed, moved the Highlanders, dressed in all the regalia of their regiments, and in the midst the dead General, borne by four of his comrades.

Rupert Brooke

Niagara Falls

Modern Essays SELECTED BY CHRISTOPHER MORLEY

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38280/38280-h/38280-h.htm

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The manager of one of the great power-stations on the banks of the river above the Falls told me that the center of the riverbed at the Canadian Falls is deep and of a saucer shape. So, it may be possible to fill this up to a uniform depth, and divert a lot of water for the power-houses. And this, he said, would supply the need for more power, which will certainly soon arise, without taking away from the beauty of Niagara. This is a handsome concession of the utilitarians to ordinary sightseers. Yet, I doubt if we shall be satisfied. The real secret of the beauty and terror of the Falls is not their height or width, but the feeling of colossal power and of unintelligible disaster caused by the plunge of that vast body of water. If that were taken away, there would be little visible change, but the heart would be gone. The American Falls do not inspire this feeling in the same way as the Canadian. It is because they are less in volume, and because the water does not fall so much into one place. By comparison their beauty is almost delicate and fragile.

M. M. HATHAWAY

THE DOLL THAT FANNY FOUND

The Nursery, October 1881, Vol. XXX A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42159/42159-h/42159-h.htm#Page_306

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She picked berries for grandma to make pies. She drove the cows home from the pasture every night. She rode into the fields in the hay-cart, and came home on the big loads of hay. She fed the chickens, and played with the kittens. But at last there came a rainy day. Fanny heard the rain pattering on the window the first thing when she awoke in the morning. As soon as grandma opened the door to call her, she cried out: "O grandma! see how it rains! What shall I do today?" "You can stay in the house with me," said grandma; "I have not seen much of my little girl yet." "Well, you must tell me what to do," said Fanny. "You can go up in the garret and play. There is where your mother and aunt Sarah used to spend a good many rainy days," said grandma.

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Barrie at Bay - Which was Brown?

The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 1

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13635/13635-h/13635-h.htm

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As our reporter entered Sir James Barrie's hotel room by one door, the next door softly closed. "I was alone," writes our reporter. "I sprang into the corridor and had just time to see him fling himself down the elevator. Then I understood what he had meant when he said on the telephone that he would be ready for me at 10:30." I returned thoughtfully to the room, where I found myself no longer alone. Sir James Barrie's "man" was there; a stolid Londoner, name of Brown, who told me he was visiting America for the first time. "Sir James is very sorry, but has been called away," he assured me without moving a muscle. Then he added: "But this is the pipe," and he placed a pipe of the largest size on the table. "The pipe he smokes?" I asked. Brown is evidently a very truthful man, for he hesitated. "That is the interview pipe," he explained. "When we decided to come to America, Sir James said he would have to be interviewed, and that it would be wise to bring something with us for the interviewers to take notice of."

UNCLE SAM

THE BOY AND THE CAT

The Nursery, July 1881, Vol. XXX A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42156/42156-h/42156-h.htm#Page_220

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The cat does not budge an inch. But still she answers with a pitiful "Mew!" Cats cannot talk; but they can think. This cat looks in at the window and sees the boy. This is what she thinks. "That boy looks like a boy that I knew when I was a kitten. I was a pet then. Now I am a cat without any home. Nobody cares for me. I go from house to house; but nobody takes me in. I wonder if I can't make that little boy take pity on me. I will try. "Ah! he treats me like everybody else. He tells me to go away. Pretty soon he will say, 'Scat!' and throw water on me. No: he will not do that. He is so much like the little boy who used to pet me when I was a kitten, that I will not run away from him. I will beg to be let in." So the cat sat still and said, "Mew!"

F. R. Wegg-Prosser

Galileo and His Judges

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/62402/62402-h/62402-h.htm

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It was in 1613 that our philosopher published at Rome another work, entitled "L'Istoria e Dimostrazione Intorno alle Macchie Solari." It was, generally speaking, well received, though he drew a conclusion in favour of the Earth's rotation on its axis. The controversy, however, became still keener on the all-important point of the interpretation of Scripture. Now that we can look back on the events of that day with all judicious calmness, we may well blame Galileo for having let himself fall into so dangerous a snare; but there was some excuse for him, attacked as he was on this very ground of the supposed incompatibility of his hypothesis with the teaching of Scripture; and so he unfortunately committed a grave error of judgment in grappling himself with a religious difficulty which, if wise, he would have left entirely to theologians. It may be said that this is not what we should naturally expect.

Dorothy L. Sayers

Whose Body? A Lord Peter Wimsey Novel

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/58820/58820-h/58820-h.htm

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Sir Reuben Levy's cook, with her eye upon Mr. Bunter's gentlemanly and well-tailored appearance, hastened to produce what was necessary. Her visitor placed on the table a basket, containing a water-bottle, a silver-backed hairbrush, a pair of boots, a small roll of linoleum, and the "Letters of a Self-made Merchant to His Son," bound in polished morocco. He drew an umbrella from beneath his arm and added it to the collection. He then advanced a ponderous photographic machine and set it up in the neighborhood of the kitchen range; then, spreading a newspaper over the fair, scrubbed surface of the table, he began to roll up his sleeves and insinuate himself into a pair of surgical gloves. Sir Reuben Levy's valet, entering at the moment and finding him thus engaged, put aside the kitchen maid, who was staring from a front-row position, and inspected the apparatus critically. Mr. Bunter nodded brightly to him and uncorked a small bottle of grey powder.

Mele Joab

Akoro's banana business

African Storybook Level 4

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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Akoro is a young man married to Chichi. They live in Kanam village in Turkana County. Akoro has a banana garden which yields a good harvest. One morning before the sun got hot, Akoro set out with a crate of bananas on his head. He walked confidently to Kilindo market, only a kilometer away from his home. On the way, men and women of his age stared at him in surprise. Others even laughed out loud shouting, "Akoro is definitely bewitched. How can he do such a job? Men from our community do not sell bananas!" But Akoro never minded. He was a determined and hardworking man who was ready to do any job. As soon as Akoro reached the market, he arranged the bananas on a stand and stood beside them waiting for customers. He wondered, "Will anyone stop to buy my bananas?" Few minutes later, a woman dressed in a purple dress stopped next to Akoro's banana stand. "How much is a kilo of bananas?" the woman asked. "Fifty shillings, madam," Akoro replied respectfully. The woman said, "Please pack for me a kilo and a half." The woman continued, "You must reduce the price." Akoro answered, "No problem madam."

Rajiv Eipe

Dive!

https://freekidsbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/FKB-kids-stories-dive.pdf

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Corals are both plants and animals. Thousands of little algae live inside corals, and give them energy to grow. They have hard outer skeletons and grow into many different shapes. Plankton is the main source of food for many sea creatures. They are a mix of algae, bacteria, tiny animals, and the eggs and larvae of larger animals that float about with the ocean currents. Feather stars may look like plants, but they're really animals. They use their feather-like ‘arms' to catch and eat bits of floating plankton. Parrotfish have strong teeth that form a parrot-like beak, which they use to scrape algae off hard coral. Some species don't mind eating bits of coral as well, and they later poop out a fine sand that washes up on land to form beautiful white beaches. Clownfish and sea anemones live together and help each other. The clownfish help the anemones by cleaning their tentacles and luring other fish for the anemone to eat. The anemones, in turn, allow the clownfish to hide among their poisonous tentacles without stinging them. Cleaner wrasses are small fish that keep bigger fish clean by feeding on their parasites and dead skin.

simple wiki

Sumer

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer

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mid

CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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The Sumerians made their clothing by using the natural resources that were available to them. Clothing was made from wool or flax which Sumerians could raise and harvest. How thick or how coarse the clothing was related to the season in which it was worn. Heavier clothing was worn in the winter, lighter clothing in the summer. Men were bare-chested and wore skirt-like clothes that tied at the waist. Women usually wore dresses that covered them from their shoulders to their ankles. The right arm and shoulder were left uncovered. Men were either clean shaven or had long hair and beards. Women wore their hair long, but they usually braided it and wrapped it around their heads. When entertaining guests, women placed headdresses in their hair. Although both rich and poor Sumerians wore the same style of clothing, the richer Sumerians wore clothing that was made out of expensive and luxurious materials. Rich women and princesses also wore clothing that was colorful and bright.

Brothers Grimm translated by Edgar Taylor, Marian Edwardes

THE TRAVELLING MUSICIANS

Fairy Tales By The Brothers Grimm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2591/2591-h/2591-h.htm

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An honest farmer had once an ass that had been a faithful servant to him a great many years, but was now growing old and every day more and more unfit for work. His master therefore was tired of keeping him and began to think of putting an end to him; but the ass, who saw that some mischief was in the wind, took himself slyly off, and began his journey towards the great city, ‘For there,' thought he, ‘I may turn musician.' After he had travelled a little way, he spied a dog lying by the roadside and panting as if he were tired. ‘What makes you pant so, my friend?' said the ass. ‘Alas!' said the dog, ‘my master was going to knock me on the head, because I am old and weak, and can no longer make myself useful to him in hunting; so I ran away; but what can I do to earn my livelihood?' ‘Hark ye!' said the ass, ‘I am going to the great city to turn musician: suppose you go with me, and try what you can do in the same way?' The dog said he was willing, and they jogged on together.

Jean Decety & Jason M. Cowell

Our Brains are Wired for Morality: Evolution, Development, and Neuroscience

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2016.00003

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Natural observations of animals in the wild and research in laboratories show us that a number of "building blocks" of moral behavior can be found in animals. For instance, many animals exhibit behaviors that benefit other members of their species. Such prosocial behaviors (meaning behaviors that are good for others), like helping each other and caring for offspring, have been seen in rodents and primates. Rats will help other distressed rats that have been soaked with water, and it will also choose to help a cage mate that is in distress before obtaining a food reward. Chimpanzees will help each other and share with each other, but only when they benefit from the sharing, as long as the costs are minimal and the needs of the other chimpanzees are clear. Chimpanzees also collaborate and form alliances in fights or when hunting. Capuchin monkeys have even been shown to react in a negative way when they see other monkeys being treated unfairly.

Jean Lang

ARISTÆUS THE BEE-KEEPER

A Book of Myths

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22693/22693-h/22693-h.htm#Page_154

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Underneath the swift-flowing water of a deep river, the nymph who was the mother of Aristæus sat on her throne. Fishes darted round her white feet, and beside her sat her attendants, spinning the fine strong green cords that twine themselves round the throats of those who perish when their arms can no longer fight against the force of the rushing current. A nymph sang as she worked, an old, old song, that told one of the old, old tales of man's weakness and the power of the creatures of water, but above her song those who listened heard a man's voice, calling loudly and pitifully. The voice was that of Aristæus, calling aloud for his mother. Then his mother gave command, and the waters of the river rolled asunder and let Aristæus pass down far below to where the fountains of the great rivers lie. A mighty roar of many waters dinned in his ears as the rivers started on the race that was to bring them all at last to their restless haven, the Ocean.

Elizabeth Harrison

OLD JOHNNY APPLESEED

The Junior Classics, Volume 7

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6302

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Many years ago on the sparsely settled prairies of America there lived an old man who was known by the odd name of "Johnny Appleseed" His wife had died long ago and his children had grown up and scattered to the corners of the earth. He had not even a home that he could call his own, but wandered about from place to place, with only a few friends and little or no money. His face was wrinkled, his hair was thin and grey, and his shoulders stooped. His clothes were old and ragged and his hat was old and shabby. Yet inside of him was a heart that was brave and true, and he felt that even he, old and poor as he was, could be of use in the world, because he loved his fellow-men, and love always finds something to do.

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MACHINE FOR GRINDING LITHOGRAPHIC INKS AND COLORS

Scientific American Supplement, No. 388

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15417/15417-h/15417-h.htm

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The grinding of the inks and colors that are employed in lithographing is a long and delicate operation, which it has scarcely been possible up to the present time to perform satisfactorily otherwise than by hand, because of the perfect mixture that it is necessary to obtain in the materials employed. Per contra, this manual work, while it has the advantage of giving a very homogeneous product, offers the inconvenience of taking a long time and being costly. The Alauzet machine, shown in the accompanying cut, is designed to perform this work mechanically. The apparatus consists of a flat, cast iron, rectangular frame, resting upon a wooden base which forms a closet. In a longitudinal direction there is mounted on the machine a rectangular guide, along which travel two iron slides in the shape of a reversed U, which make part of two smaller carriers that are loaded with weights, and to which are fixed cast-steel mullers.

Thornton W. Burgess

The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21015/21015-h/21015-h.htm

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Peter tiptoed away very softly. All the time the Imp of Mischief was whispering to him that this was a splendid chance to play a joke on Jimmy. You know it is very easy to play a joke on any one who is asleep. Peter doesn't often have a chance to play a joke on Jimmy Skunk. It isn't a very safe thing to do, not if Jimmy is awake. No one knows that better than Peter. He sat down some distance from the barrel but where he could keep an eye on it. Then he went into a brown study, which is one way of saying that he thought very hard. He wanted to play a joke on Jimmy, but like most jokers he didn't want the joke to come back on himself. In fact, he felt that it would be a great deal better for him if Jimmy shouldn't know that he had anything to do with the joke.

ANTON TCHEKHOV Translated by CONSTANCE GARNETT

THE BLACK MONK

THE LADY WITH THE DOG AND OTHER STORIES

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13415/13415-h/13415-h.htm

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Pesotsky had an immense house with columns and lions, off which the stucco was peeling, and with a footman in swallow-tails at the entrance. The old park, laid out in the English style, gloomy and severe, stretched for almost three-quarters of a mile to the river, and there ended in a steep, precipitous clay bank, where pines grew with bare roots that looked like shaggy paws; the water shone below with an unfriendly gleam, and the peewits flew up with a plaintive cry, and there one always felt that one must sit down and write a ballad. But near the house itself, in the courtyard and orchard, which together with the nurseries covered ninety acres, it was all life and gaiety even in bad weather. Such marvellous roses, lilies, camellias; such tulips of all possible shades, from glistening white to sooty black—such a wealth of flowers, in fact, Kovrin had never seen anywhere as at Pesotsky's. It was only the beginning of spring, and the real glory of the flower-beds was still hidden away in the hot-houses.

Edward Sylvester Ellis

THE WRITING FOUND IN A BOTTLE

The Jungle Fugitives and Others

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16805/16805-h/16805-h.htm#link2H_4_0036

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We three reached the old poplar the next evening between ten and eleven o'clock. Arthur had escaped inquiry by slipping out of his bedroom window after bidding his parents good-night; and, inasmuch as the lantern which I carried was not lit until we arrived at the tree, we were confident of escaping attention. Still I watched sharply, and was greatly relieved to discover no persons abroad at that hour beside ourselves. Since the treasure was located but three feet below the surface, in sandy soil, I brought only one shovel, while the boys watched me, one holding the lantern, and both casting furtive glances around to guard against eavesdroppers. It would be useless to deny my excitement. My heart at times throbbed painfully, and more than once I was on the point of ceasing until I could regain mastery of myself.

Paul Eaton

MY DOG JACK

The Nursery, February 1877, Vol. XXI. No. 2 A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28130/28130-h/28130-h.htm#Page_37

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One day, when I was harnessing him, he spied a pig, and away he ran after it—cart and all. He broke one wheel of the cart, and came back panting and wagging his tail, as if he had done something good; but I scolded him well. Jack will sit on his hind-legs, and catch bits of bread or cake in his mouth when I throw them to him. One summer, we went to the seashore, and took him with us. He is a splendid swimmer; and when we took a stick, and threw it into the water, he would plunge through the waves, and bring it back in his mouth. Sometimes an old fisherman took me out sailing, and as there was not room in the boat for Jack, the good old dog would lie on the wharf and wait patiently till I came back. When he saw the boat coming in, he would jump up and bark in great delight; and one day he leaped into the water, and swam out to meet us.

Genie H. Rosenfeld

Invention and Discovery

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It No. 17

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15358/15358-h/15358-h.htm

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There has lately been patented in England a system for making buttons, combs, brush-handles, billiard balls, and such like articles out of milk. The bone buttons and articles of that kind, which we have been using up to the present time, have been made of refuse from the slaughter-houses. This new process will only require milk. Any one who knows anything about dairy work knows what loppered milk is. It is the thick soured milk that one finds under the butter cream. This loppered milk is made into cottage cheese, and many people, in making their cottage cheese, stand it for a moment on the fire to thicken. Woe to the dairy wife who lets it stay too long! It becomes like little knobs of rubber, that nothing will soften. When one tries to bite it one's teeth rebound. It is the toughest kind of material. Mr. Callander, the Englishman who invented the milk buttons, must have had an encounter with some of this cottage cheese, and his trouble in chewing it must have made him wonder whether it wasn't intended for something else instead of food.

Russkia Vedomosti, No. 217, Sept. 21, (Oct. 4,) 1914

Declaration of the Russian Industrial Interests

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18880/18880-h/18880-h.htm#Declaration_of_the_Russian_Industrial_Interests

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Then the causes of the war are summed up and the importance of the war for the industrial interests is outlined. The chief cause of the war is assigned to the irreconcilable economic conflict between the German and Russian interests created by commercial treaties favorable to Germany. Victorious Russia should dictate her own economic programme to the defeated enemy. Without such a result all sacrifices made will be in vain, and will fall as a heavy and unbearable burden upon the shattered economic organization of the country. The industrial interests desire a war to the finish, and they say: "Let the Government know how to cultivate in the future among the people the conviction that the war will be brought to an end, then the task of finding the means for carrying on the campaign will be greatly facilitated; for no sacrifice is too great for us for the overthrow of the economic yoke of Germany and for the conquest of economic independence. Nothing but strong will and determination are needed."

W. B. Parsons Jr.

LARGE BLUE PRINTS.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 421

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16353/16353-h/16353-h.htm#art07

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In some frames used at the School of Mines for making large blue prints a similar device has been in use for several years. Instead, however, of the heavy and cumbrous back used by Mr. Parsons, a light, somewhat flexible back of one-quarter inch pine is employed, covered with heavy Canton flannel and several thicknesses of newspaper. The pressure is applied by light pressure strips of ash somewhat thicker at the middle than at the ends, which give a fairly uniform pressure across the width of the frame sufficient to hold the back firmly against the glass at all points. This system has been used with success for frames twenty-seven by forty-two inches, about half as large as the one described by Mr. Parsons. A frame of this size can be easily handled without mechanical aids. Care should be taken to avoid too great thickness and too much spring in the pressure strips, or the plate glass may be broken by excessive pressure. The strips used are about five-eighths of an inch thick at the middle, and taper to about three-eighths of an inch at the ends.

J. Erskine Clarke? (Editor)

ROSIE

Chatterbox, 1906

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24324/24324-h/24324-h.htm#ROSIE

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Rosie, however, the youngest, was not in any way remarkable: 'Indeed, you would hardly think her one of us—she is so unlike the rest,' Alice would say, with a slighting glance at the little sister who never did anything particular; only worked and helped, and was at everybody's beck and call. Rosie was used to being made of small account, and did not mind it much. When a rich aunt of the Lees announced her intention of coming to pay them a visit, and then perhaps choosing one of the young people to be her companion during a long stay in London, it did not for a moment occur to the little girl that she could be the favoured one. She listened without jealousy to the chorus of brothers and sisters, planning what they should do in the event of being chosen.

Burt L. Standish

Frank Merriwell at Yale

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11115/11115-h/11115-h.htm

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Ditson had fawned around Browning a great deal since entering college, with the result that the king of the sophomores came to entertain a feeling of absolute disgust for the fellow. The very sight of Ditson made the "king" feel as if he would enjoy giving him a good "polishing off." But Bruce was no bully, although he was a leader of the sophomores. He had proved his ability to fight when it was necessary, but no one could say that he ever showed any inclination to do bodily harm to one who was weak and peaceable. During his freshman year Browning had originated any number of wild projects for sport, and he had always succeeded in carrying them through successfully. Thus it came about that he was called the "king," and his companions continued to call him that when he became a sophomore. But now there was a man in college who had fairly outwitted Browning on several occasions, and so it came about that the king was aroused against Frank Merriwell.

Frederic Austin Ogg

The Old Northwest A Chronicle of the Ohio Valley and Beyond, Volume 19 In The Chronicles Of America Series

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3014/3014-h/3014-h.htm#Chapter02

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Benjamin Franklin, who was in London in 1760 as agent of the Pennsylvania Assembly, gave the British ministers some wholesome advice on the terms of the peace that should be made with France. The St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes regions, he said, must be retained by England at all costs. Moreover, the Mississippi Valley must be taken, in order to provide for the growing populations of the seaboard colonies suitable lands in the interior, and so keep them engaged in agriculture. Otherwise these populations would turn to manufacturing, and the industries of the mother country would suffer. The treaty of peace, three years later, brought the settlement which Franklin suggested. The vast American back country, with its inviting rivers and lakes, its shaded hills, and its sunny prairies, became English territory. The English people had, however, only the vaguest notion of the extent, appearance, and resources of their new possession. Even the officials who drew the treaty were as ignorant of the country as of middle Africa.

simple wiki

Constellation

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation

Info

Science

start

CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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A constellation is a group of stars, usually in a recognizable shape or pattern. When watched together at the same time, the stars look like a picture. The word constellation comes from Latin: con-, meaning together and stella - meaning stars. Some examples of constellations are Ursa Major, Orion, and Andromeda. There are only 88 constellations discovered so far by astronomers. People used constellations to tell the difference in the colors. Constellations were also used to group stars. Different places in the world may have different constellations, but today astronomy has a fixed set of 88 constellations. This set is based on the Greek set and later some southern constellations were added, for example Antlia - the air pump. Most constellations have names that come from Greek mythology, like Orion or Andromeda. There are 12 constellations in the Zodiac. The Sun travels through the Zodiac once each year. There is also a thirteenth constellation Ophiuchus - the carrier of a serpent, which the Sun goes through. However, most people do not think that it is in the Zodiac.

wikipedia

Neolithic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic

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The identifying characteristic of Neolithic technology is the use of polished or ground stone tools, in contrast to the flaked stone tools used during the Paleolithic era. Neolithic people were skilled farmers, manufacturing a range of tools necessary for the tending, harvesting and processing of crops (such as sickle blades and grinding stones) and food production (e.g. pottery, bone implements). They were also skilled manufacturers of a range of other types of stone tools and ornaments, including projectile points, beads, and statuettes. But what allowed forest clearance on a large scale was the polished stone axe above all other tools. Together with the adze, fashioning wood for shelter, structures and canoes for example, this enabled them to exploit their newly won farmland. Neolithic peoples in the Levant, Anatolia, Syria, northern Mesopotamia and Central Asia were also accomplished builders, utilizing mud-brick to construct houses and villages. At Çatalhöyük, houses were plastered and painted with elaborate scenes of humans and animals. In Europe, long houses built from wattle and daub were constructed. Elaborate tombs were built for the dead. These tombs are particularly numerous in Ireland, where there are many thousand still in existence.

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THE BATTLE OF PICARDY: A Military Review

A Monthly Magazine of The New York Times, Volume 8 - No.2

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38750/38750-h/38750-h.htm#Page_197

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It was inevitable, in the retreat forced on the British from their static positions, that a large number of men and guns should have been captured by the enemy—during the first rush the Germans claimed 75,000 and 600 respectively. But the German casualties, owing to their massed formation, must, according to all accounts, be staggering, having probably already reached the Verdun maximum of 600,000. The attrition of their war material must also be enormous. And just as the entire armies of the Allies outnumber the enemy eight to five, it may be estimated that their material, actual and immediately available, is 30 per cent. greater. The most useful guide to the development of the plans of the enemy, their modification, transformation, and failure, either transitory or permanent, is physical geography. The initial impetus of the assault carried the Germans with "shock" and alternating forces beyond a hypothetical straight line of fifty miles extending from the Scarpe on the north to the junction of the Ailette and the Oise on the south. This was done without their moving their heavy guns, probably not even their mid-calibre guns, from their emplacements.

Nathaniel G. Pavlik Jessie Newville Jessie R. Maxwell

Why Alcohol Can Hurt Babies Before They Are Born

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00132

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Some chemicals can be really harmful to the body. This is especially true for babies before they are born, because many important parts of their bodies are still forming. Alcohol is a chemical found in some adult drinks that is harmful for babies. If a mother drinks alcohol when she is pregnant, the baby growing inside of her will also be exposed to the alcohol. This situation is called prenatal alcohol exposure. If a baby is exposed to alcohol before it is born, the alcohol can damage cells in the developing brain and prevent the brain's proper functioning. This can make it hard to go to school, to learn, and to play. Right now, scientists and doctors are working to figure out how to help these babies heal and how to let people know that alcohol can hurt developing babies.

Thomas Henry Huxley

A Liberal Education

The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19923/19923-h/19923-h.htm#xciii

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It is important to remember that, in strictness, there is no such thing as an uneducated man. Take an extreme case. Suppose that an adult man, in the full vigor of his faculties, could be suddenly placed in the world, as Adam is said to have been, and then left to do as he best might. How long would he be left uneducated? Not five minutes. Nature would begin to teach him, through the eye, the ear, the touch, the properties of objects. Pain and pleasure would be at his elbow telling him to do this and avoid that; and by slow degrees the man would receive an education, which, if narrow, would be thorough, real, and adequate to his circumstances, though there would be no extras and very few accomplishments. And if to this solitary man entered a second Adam, or, better still, an Eve, a new and greater world, that of social and moral phenomena, would be revealed.

William J. Bryan

United States Fair to All Disclaimer of Bias Against Germany and Austria

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 6

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20521/20521-h/20521-h.htm#United_States_Fair_to_All

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As to the censorship of mails, Germany, as well as Great Britain, has pursued this course in regard to private letters falling into their hands. The unquestioned right to adopt a measure of this sort makes objection to it inadvisable. It has been asserted that American mail on board of Dutch steamers has been repeatedly destroyed. No evidence to this effect has been filed with the Government, and therefore no representations have been made. Until such a case is presented in concrete form this Government would not be justified in presenting the matter to the offending belligerent. Complaints have come to the department that mail on board neutral steamers has been opened and detained, but there seem to be but few cases where the mail from neutral countries has not been finally delivered. When mail is sent to belligerent countries open and is of a neutral and private character it has not been tampered with so far as the department is advised.

simple wiki

Dark_matter

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter

Info

Science

end

CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

PG

Because dark matter does not seem to give off or reflect light, x-rays, or any other radiation, the instruments that are used to find normal matter (like hot gas, stars, planets, and us) can't find dark matter. It seems that dark matter is not made of the same thing as the matter we see every day on Earth. The only way we can tell if dark matter is there, is by how it affects things we can "see" by gravity. In 2006, a group of scientists claimed that they had found a way to find dark matter. Since dark matter is supposedly very different from normal matter, it is expected to act differently. The scientists observed two far-away galaxy clusters that had crashed into each other at high speed: normal matter would have been scattered nearby after the collision, while dark matter would not. By measuring gravity, they were able to detect what looked like two clouds of dark matter, with a cloud of normal matter (hot gas) in between them.

Florence M. Kingsley

The Star

CHRISTMAS STORIES AND LEGENDS

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17770/17770-h/17770-h.htm#Page_13

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All about this yard were little rooms and each traveler who came to the hotel rented one. The inn stood near the great stone wall of the city, so that as Ruth stood, one night, looking out of the tower window, she looked directly into the courtyard. It was truly a strange sight that met her eyes. So many people were coming to the inn, for the King had made a law that every man should come back to the city where his father used to live to be counted and to pay his taxes. Some of the people came on the backs of camels, with great rolls of bedding and their dishes for cooking upon the back of the beast. Some of them came on little donkeys, and on their backs too were the bedding and the dishes. Some of the people came walking—slowly; they were so tired.

Huckberry, Mahone Co., Ar. T.

THE HELODERMA HORRIDUM

Scientific American Supplement, No. 388

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15417/15417-h/15417-h.htm

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"At first the lizard was freely handled by those in charge at Regent's Park, and being a lizard, was regarded as harmless. It was certainly dull and inactive, a result probably due to its long voyage and to the want of food. Thanks, however, to the examination of Dr. Gunther, of the British Museum, and to actual experiment, we now know that Heloderma will require in future to be classed among the deadly enemies of other animals. Examining its mouth, Dr. Gunther found that its teeth formed a literal series of poison fangs. Each tooth, apparently, possesses a poison gland; and lizards, it may be added, are plentifully supplied with these organs as a rule. Experimenting upon the virulence of the poison, Heloderma was made to bite a frog and a guinea pig. The frog died in one minute, and the guinea-pig in three. The virus required to produce these effects must be of singularly acute and powerful nature. It is to be hoped that no case of human misadventure at the teeth of Heloderma may happen. There can be no question, judging from the analogy of serpent-bite, that the poison of the lizard would affect human."

FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

A CHRISTMAS TREE AND A WEDDING

White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36034/36034-h/36034-h.htm

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The children were all incredibly sweet, and resolutely refused to model themselves on the "grown-ups," regardless of all the admonitions of their governesses and mammas. They stripped the Christmas tree to the last sweetmeat in the twinkling of an eye, and had succeeded in breaking half the playthings before they knew what was destined for which. Particularly charming was a black-eyed, curly-headed boy, who kept trying to shoot me with his wooden gun. But my attention was still more attracted by his sister, a girl of eleven, quiet, dreamy, pale, with big, prominent, dreamy eyes, exquisite as a little Cupid. The children hurt her feelings in some way, and so she came away from them to the same empty parlour in which I was sitting, and played with her doll in the corner. The visitors respectfully pointed out her father, a wealthy contractor, and some one whispered that three hundred thousand roubles were already set aside for her dowry.

Rosie King

How Autism Freed Me to be Myself

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/how-autism-freed-me-to-be-myself

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One of the things I can do because I'm autistic — it's an ability rather than a disability — is I've got a very, very vivid imagination. Let me explain it to you a bit. It's like I'm walking in two worlds most of the time. There's the real world, the world that we all share, and there's the world in my mind, and the world in my mind is often so much more real than the real world. Like, it's very easy for me to let my mind loose because I don't try and fit myself into a tiny little box. That's one of the best things about being autistic. You don't have the urge to do that. You find what you want to do, you find a way to do it, and you get on with it. If I was trying to fit myself into a box, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have achieved half the things that I have now. There are problems, though. There are problems with being autistic, and there are problems with having too much imagination.

Daniel Defoe

ALONE ON A DESOLATE ISLAND

The Junior Classics, V5

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6328/pg6328-images.html

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It was in vain to sit still and wish for what was not to be had; and this extremity roused my application. We had several spare yards, and two or three large spars of wood, and a spare topmast or two in the ship; I resolved to fall to work with these, and I flung as many of them overboard as I could manage for their weight, tying every one with a rope, that they might not drive away. When this was done I went down the ship's side, and pulling them to me, I tied four of them together at both ends as well as I could, in the form of a raft, and laying two or three short pieces of plank upon them crossways, I found I could walk upon it very well, but that it was not able to bear any great weight, the pieces being too light. So I went to work, and with a carpenter's saw I cut a spare topmast into three lengths, and added them to my raft, with a great deal of labor and pains.

Aunt Jenny

CHESTNUT-GATHERING

The Nursery, October 1877, Vol. XXII. No. 4 A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28138/28138-h/28138-h.htm#Page_104

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We children were stationed far away from danger; and another man and Henry chopped and chopped, till it was almost ready to fall, when they stepped back, and, in less than a minute, there was such a whistling through the air, such a crashing, and breaking of branches, and then a loud thud! The tree was down. I felt quite breathless with excitement; and so did the others; for it was some minutes before we ran up to see how many nuts there were. Oh, such lots! all spread around, and beaten out of the prickly burrs, all ready for us. I cannot remember how many we gathered, but it was some bushels; and we could not take all that day: so we concluded to return the next afternoon after school. And what do you think? When we got there, not a nut was to be found! The little squirrels had been busy in our absence, and had taken away every one of them. Saucy squirrels! But we did not grudge them the nuts; for we had plenty.

simple wiki

Medes

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes

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The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. This area was known in Greek as Media or Medea They entered this region with the first wave of Iranian tribes, in the late second millennium BC (at the end of the Bronze Age). By the 6th century BC, the Medes were able to make their own empire. It stretched from southern shore of the Black Sea and Aran province (in modern Azerbaijan) to north and central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The Medes had many tributary states, including the Persians, who eventually took over the Median empire as part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The Medes are credited with the foundation of the first Iranian empire, the largest of its day until Cyrus the Great established a unified Iranian empire of the Medes and Persians, often referred to as the Achaemenid Empire.

simple wiki

Astronomy

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy

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Science

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Astronomy is a natural science. It is the study of everything outside the atmosphere of Earth. It studies celestial objects (such as stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and nebulae) and processes (such as supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, and cosmic microwave background radiation). This includes the physics, chemistry of those objects and processes. A related subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with studying the Universe as a whole, and the way the universe changed over time. The word astronomy comes from the Greek words astron which means star and nomos which means law. A person who studies astronomy is called an astronomer. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Ancient people used the positions of the stars to navigate, and to find when was the best time to plant crops. Astronomy is very similar to astrophysics. Since the 20th century there have been two main types of astronomy, observational and theoretical astronomy. Observational astronomy uses telescopes and cameras to observe or look at stars, galaxies and other astronomical objects. Theoretical astronomy uses maths and computer models to predict what should happen.

Anatole France

The Life of Joan of Arc

http://www.online-literature.com/anatole-france/joan-of-arc/

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This valley, two or three miles broad, stretches unbroken between low hills, softly undulating, crowned with oaks, maples, and birches. Although strewn with wild-flowers in the spring, it looks severe, grave, and sometimes even sad. The green grass imparts to it a monotony like that of stagnant water. Even on fine days one is conscious of a hard, cold climate. The sky seems more genial than the earth. It beams upon it with a tearful smile; it constitutes all the movement, the grace, the exquisite charm of this delicate tranquil landscape. Then when winter comes the sky merges with the earth in a kind of chaos. Fogs come down thick and clinging. The white light mists, which in summer veil the bottom of the valley, give place to thick clouds and dark moving mountains, but slowly scattered by a red, cold sun. Wanderers ranging the uplands in the early morning might dream with the mystics in their ecstasy that they are walking on clouds.

Mike Kubic

The American Electoral Process

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/the-american-electoral-process

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One glaring shortcoming of our existing system is the bewildering labyrinth of ways in which the individual states, the Democrats, and the Republicans, decide who to nominate for the White House. To get the party's nod as the presidential candidate, a Republican must win the support of 1,237 delegates to the nomination convention; a Democrat must win over 2,382 of these party stalwarts. The processes through which these delegates are selected attests to the rule-making creativity of each party and state. Republicans generally prefer to choose their delegates through conventions and state-run primaries. These venues can be open (i.e., anyone can vote) or closed (i.e., only party members vote), and bound (i.e., the delegates are pledged to vote for the winning candidate) or unbound (i.e., the delegates are free to choose whomever they want). The number of delegates the candidate can win depends on whether their apportioning is direct, proportional, or winner-take all. Democrats, in addition to primaries, also have caucuses, which are conducted by the party and (like the primaries) can be open, closed, semi-open, or semi-closed. The caucus rules trump the entire system.

Dr. Bernhard Dernburg

“THE CASE OF BELGIUM” “In the Light of Official Reports Found in the Secret Archives of the Belgian Government after the Occupation of Brussels” Remarks Introductory to the Secret Documents

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 6

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20521/20521-h/20521-h.htm#THE_CASE_OF_BELGIUM

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The Imperial Chancellor has declared that there was irrefutable proof that if Germany did not march through Belgium, her enemies would. This proof, as now being produced, is of the strongest character. So the Chancellor was right in appealing to the law of necessity, although he had no regret that it violated international law. This law of necessity has been recognized as paramount by nearly every prominent statesman, including Gladstone, and by all teachers of international law, even by the United States Supreme Court's decision, Vol. 130, Page 601, stating in regard to the treaty with China concerning Chinese immigration into the United States: "It will not be presumed that the legislative department of the Government will lightly pass laws which are in conflict with the treaties of the country, but that circumstances may arise which would not only justify the Government in disregarding their stipulations, but demand in the interests of the country that it should do so, there can be no question. Unexpected events may call for a change in the policy of the country."

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Foot Lathes

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 421

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16353/16353-h/16353-h.htm#art01

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We illustrate a foot lathe constructed by the Britannia Manufacturing Company, of Colchester, and specially designed for use on board ships. These lathes, says Engineering, are treble geared, in order that work which cannot usually be done without steam power may be accomplished by foot. For instance, they will turn a 24 inch wheel or plate, or take a half-inch cut off a 3 inch shaft, much heavier work than can ordinarily be done by such tools. They have 6 inch centers, gaps 7½ inches wide and 6½ inches deep, beds 4 feet 6 inches long by 8¾ inches on the face and 6 inches in depth, and weigh 14 cwt. There are three speeds on the cone pulley, 9 inches, 6 inches, and 4 inches in diameter and 1½ inches wide. The gear wheels are 9/16 inch pitch and 1½ inches wide on face. The steel leading screw is 1½ inches in diameter by ¼ inch pitch. Smaller sizes are made for torpedo boats and for places where space is limited.

Brothers Grimm translated by Edgar Taylor, Marian Edwardes

OLD SULTAN

Fairy Tales By The Brothers Grimm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2591/2591-h/2591-h.htm

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The wolf and the wild boar were first on the ground; and when they espied their enemies coming, and saw the cat's long tail standing straight in the air, they thought she was carrying a sword for Sultan to fight with; and every time she limped, they thought she was picking up a stone to throw at them; so they said they should not like this way of fighting, and the boar lay down behind a bush, and the wolf jumped up into a tree. Sultan and the cat soon came up, and looked about and wondered that no one was there. The boar, however, had not quite hidden himself, for his ears stuck out of the bush; and when he shook one of them a little, the cat, seeing something move, and thinking it was a mouse, sprang upon it, and bit and scratched it, so that the boar jumped up and grunted, and ran away, roaring out, ‘Look up in the tree, there sits the one who is to blame.'

Edward Hale

How to Do It

http://www.online-literature.com/edward-hale/how-to-do-it/

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I believe very thoroughly in courses of reading, because I believe in having one book lead to another. But, after the beginning, these courses for different persons will vary very much from each other. You all go out to a great picnic, and meet together in some pleasant place in the woods, and you put down the baskets there, and leave the pail with the ice in the shadiest place you can find, and cover it up with the blanket. Then you all set out in this great forest, which we call Literature. But it is only a few of the party, who choose to start hand in hand along a gravel-path there is, which leads straight to the Burgesses' well, and probably those few enjoy less and gain less from the day's excursion than any of the rest. The rest break up into different knots, and go some here and some there, as their occasion and their genius call them.

H. G. Wells

Little Wars; a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3691/3691-h/3691-h.htm

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Now that battle of Hook's Farm is, as I have explained, a simplification of the game, set out entirely to illustrate the method of playing; there is scarcely a battle that will not prove more elaborate (and eventful) than this little encounter. If a number of players and a sufficiently large room can be got, there is no reason why armies of many hundreds of soldiers should not fight over many square yards of model country. So long as each player has about a hundred men and three guns there is no need to lengthen the duration of a game on that account. But it is too laborious and confusing for a single player to handle more than that number of men. Moreover, on a big floor with an extensive country it is possible to begin moving with moves double or treble the length here specified, and to come down to moves of the ordinary lengths when the troops are within fifteen or twelve or ten feet of each other.

William Beverley Harison?

Invention and Discovery

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It No. 42

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15918/15918-h/15918-h.htm

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The bicycle-tape, and the mastic, and the dozen other devices for mending punctured tires are all very well in their way, but they are not absolutely reliable. A punctured tire is a wounded tire, and needs the aid of a bicycle doctor. All attempts at doing one's own surgery are likely to fail for the simple reason that we are not experts in the business, and do not always understand the extent of the damage. The leak-stopper is merely a bandage to be applied to the wound till help can be found. It consists of a strap of flexible material, provided at one end with a buckle and at the other with a pair of tongues. On the inside of the strap is some flexible air-tight material partly fastened to the strap, and so arranged that it will entirely cover the lips of the wound. The edges are covered with adhesive material, and are firmly pressed on either lip of the wound, drawing it together and covering it with air-tight material, so that no air can escape.

Edith's Papa

BILLY AND TOM

The Nursery, January 1877, Volume XXI, No. 1 A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28129/28129-h/28129-h.htm#Page_5

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Billy was the old family horse, kind, gentle, and loving. Anybody could catch him, or lead him, or drive him. He liked to be petted, and in return seemed to take pride in being kind to all in the family. Tom was a good horse too; but we had not owned him so long, and he did not care much to have any one pet him. Billy was a little lame; and though he worked everywhere on the farm, and in drawing loads on the road, yet he was generally excused from going with the carriage, except when it was necessary for some of us children to drive. One day my father went to the village with Tom, leaving Billy at home alone, in a field near the house. He missed his old friend Tom. They had worked together so much, that they had become great friends; and either one was very lonesome without the other.

Edric Vredenburg

THE WHITE CAT

My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15145/15145-h/15145-h.htm#page93

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Very seldom a day passed without his buying dogs, little dogs, big dogs, sporting dogs, spaniels, hounds, dogs of all sorts. When he found a beautiful one and then came across a still better, he let the first one go, for being alone—the Princes had declined to take any attendants—he could not take charge of thirty or forty thousand dogs. He travelled on, keeping to one road, until on a certain night, during a storm of thunder and rain, he lost his way, and after some wandering arrived at a most superb castle where nobody was to be seen but about a dozen hands all holding torches. Other hands pushed him forwards, and guided him through one apartment after another, all so rich in precious stones and beautiful paintings, that it was like enchantment. After passing through sixty rooms, the hands stopped him, and here the wet garments of the Prince were taken away, and he was clad in raiment of the most exquisite description. The hands then conducted him into a banqueting hall, where entered a little figure, not two feet high, covered with a long black crepe veil, followed by a great procession of cats.

George Edmundson

History of Holland

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14971/14971-h/14971-h.htm

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In the time of Charles the trade and industries of the Netherlands were in a highly prosperous state. The Burgundian provinces under the wise administrations of Margaret and Mary, and protected by the strong arm of the emperor from foreign attack, were at this period by far the richest state in Europe and the financial mainstay of the Habsburg power. Bruges, however, had now ceased to be the central market and exchange of Europe, owing to the silting up of the river Zwijn. It was no longer a port, and its place had been taken by Antwerp. At the close of the reign of Charles, Antwerp, with its magnificent harbour on the Scheldt, had become the "counting-house" of the nations, the greatest port and the wealthiest and most luxurious city in the world. Agents of the principal bankers and merchants of every country had their offices within its walls.

Victor Hugo

Les Misérables

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/135/135-h/135-h.htm

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Such was M. Myriel's budget. As for the chance episcopal perquisites, the fees for marriage bans, dispensations, private baptisms, sermons, benedictions, of churches or chapels, marriages, etc., the Bishop levied them on the wealthy with all the more asperity, since he bestowed them on the needy. After a time, offerings of money flowed in. Those who had and those who lacked knocked at M. Myriel's door,—the latter in search of the alms which the former came to deposit. In less than a year the Bishop had become the treasurer of all benevolence and the cashier of all those in distress. Considerable sums of money passed through his hands, but nothing could induce him to make any change whatever in his mode of life, or add anything superfluous to his bare necessities. Far from it. As there is always more wretchedness below than there is brotherhood above, all was given away, so to speak, before it was received. It was like water on dry soil; no matter how much money he received, he never had any. Then he stripped himself.

THE BROTHERS GRIMM

THE SHOEMAKER AND THE LITTLE ELVES

Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25359/25359-h/25359-h.htm#ELVES

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One evening—not long before Christmas—as he had cut out the usual quantity, he said to his wife before going to bed, "What say you to stopping up this night, to see who it is that helps us so kindly?" His wife was satisfied, and fastened up a light; and then they hid themselves in the corner of the room, where hung some clothes which concealed them. As soon as it was midnight in came two little manikins, who squatted down on the board; and, taking up the prepared work, set to with their little fingers, stitching and sewing, and hammering so swiftly and lightly, that the shoemaker could not take his eyes off them for astonishment. They did not cease until all was brought to an end, and the shoes stood ready on the table; and then they sprang quickly away.

Jennifer J. Freer & Laura Hobbs

DVM: The World’s Biggest Game of Hide-and-Seek

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00044

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Zooplankton are bite-sized, energy-rich snacks for many predators, such as fish, whales, and seabirds. These predators are fast and use their eyes to detect their food, which means that they are most effective at hunting during the day and in the sunlit surface water. However, the zooplankton's food source, tiny plants known as phytoplankton, are also only found in the surface water. So, the zooplankton face a dilemma: if they stay in the surface waters to feed, they risk being eaten. If they hide in the deep, they will be safer, but soon starve. This is what we call a tradeoff: each option (to feed or to hide) brings with it a gain, but also a cost. DVM is the zooplankton's clever solution to balance this tradeoff and have the best of both. Much like a game of hide-and-seek, the zooplankton remain in the deep, dark waters during daylight hours, out of sight of their predators. Under the cover of nightfall, they migrate upwards from the mesopelagic layer to the epipelagic layer, where they can graze in the relative safety of darkness at night.

Russkia Vedomosti, No. 222, Sept. 27, (Oct. 3,) 1914

Proposed Internal Loans of Russia

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18880/18880-h/18880-h.htm#Proposed_Internal_Loans_of_Russia

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Four different loans are contemplated. Persons desiring to invest their savings at a small but sure interest rate will be able to buy the certificates at a 5 per cent. loan. These certificates will have a face value of 100 rubles, and they will sell at $90. The interest rate will not be changed within the next fifteen or twenty years. Therefore, the actual interest rate will be 5.56 per cent. on the original investment. A 6 per cent. loan will cater to those investors who like to place their loans at shorter terms. The certificates of this loan will be sold at premiums. Five-year certificates will be sold at ninety-six for a hundred rubles face value, four-year certificates at ninety-seven, three-year certificates at ninety-eight, two-year certificates at ninety-nine, and one-year certificates at par. This loan will be free from the interest (coupon) tax, but not from the income and inheritance taxes. In case of success one billion worth of these certificates will be issued.

The Right Hon. Viscount Bryce

Alleged German Atrocities

The European War, Vol 2, No. 3

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15480/15480-h/15480-h.htm

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The labor involved in securing, in a comparatively short time, so large a number of statements from witnesses scattered all over the United Kingdom, made it necessary to employ a good many examiners. The depositions were in all cases taken down in this country by gentlemen of legal knowledge and experience, though, of course, they had no authority to administer an oath. They were instructed not to "lead" the witnesses or make any suggestions to them, and also to impress upon them the necessity for care and precision in giving their evidence. They were also directed to treat the evidence critically, and as far as possible satisfy themselves, by putting questions which arose out of the evidence, that the witnesses were speaking the truth. They were, in fact, to cross-examine them, so far as the testimony given provided materials for cross-examination. We have seen and conversed with many of these gentlemen, and have been greatly impressed by their ability and by what we have gathered as to the fairness of spirit which they brought to their task. We feel certain that the instructions given have been scrupulously observed.

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A Tree

Chambers Elementary Science Reader Book I

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18217/18217-h/18217-h.htm#A_TREE

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Harry found that the stump had roots that spread out all round for a long way. 'How thick and hard they are!' he said; 'come and feel this one!' 'It is not like the roots we saw on the ivy,' she said. 'Now look at the top of the stump. It is all marked in rings.' 'In the very middle there is a little light spot, and then come dark rings, and then more rings outside. Father once told me these rings showed how old the trees were. And do you see lines coming away from the middle?' 'The look like the rays of the sun, which I draw on my slate,' said Dora. 'What a rough coat this tree had! Come and feel the outside of the log.' 'That is the bark! I have heard father talk about bark.' Well, I shall call it the coat. It is the tree's overcoat to keep him warm and dry. But trees do not all seem to have rough coats. Look at that one!' and she ran over to a little birch, and pulled off some of its thin bark.

From The London Times, Oct. 30, 1914.

SASENO OCCUPIED

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 6

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20521/20521-h/20521-h.htm#Exit_Albania

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The Italian occupation of the rocky and desolate islet of Saseno which, from a strategic point of view, completely dominates the sea approaches to Avlona, is a logical consequence of the occupation of that town for the purpose of establishing a hospital and maintaining order. The islet itself was for some months in 1913 and 1914 a bone of contention between the Italians, who insisted on obtaining it for the Principality of Albania, and the Greeks, who were equally anxious to retain it in their own possession. With Saseno under the control of a foreign power, the possessor of Avlona could never make the town into a place of arms. Saseno, as one of the Ionian Islands, became a British protectorate in virtue of the Treaty of Paris of Nov. 5, 1815, but was given to Greece by the Treaty of London of March 29, 1864.

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An Industrial Revolution

Scientific American Supplement, Nos. 360

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8559/8559-h/8559-h.htm#25

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The most interesting change of which the Census gives account is the increase in the number of farms. The number has virtually doubled within twenty years. The population of the country has not increased in like proportion. A large part of the increase in number of farms has been due to the division of great estates. Nor has this occurred, as some may imagine, exclusively in the Southern States and the States to which immigration and migration have recently been directed. It is an important fact that the multiplication of farms has continued even in the older Northern States, though the change has not been as great in these as in States of the far West or the South. In New York there has been an increase of 25,000, or 11.5 percent, in the number of farms since 1870; in New Jersey the increase has been 12.2 percent, and in Pennsylvania 22.7 percent, though the increase in population, and doubtless in the number of persons engaged in farming, has been much smaller.

wikipedia

Gamma_camera

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_camera

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A gamma camera, also called a scintillation camera or Anger camera, is a device used to image gamma radiation emitting radioisotopes, a technique known as scintigraphy. The applications of scintigraphy include early drug development and nuclear medical imaging to view and analyse images of the human body or the distribution of medically injected, inhaled, or ingested radionuclides emitting gamma rays. A gamma camera consists of one or more flat crystal planes (or detectors) optically coupled to an array of photomultiplier tubes in an assembly known as a "head", mounted on a gantry. The gantry is connected to a computer system that both controls the operation of the camera and acquires and stores images. The construction of a gamma camera is sometimes known as a compartmental radiation construction. The system accumulates events, or counts, of gamma photons that are absorbed by the crystal in the camera. Usually a large flat crystal of sodium iodide with thallium doping in a light-sealed housing is used.

William H. Prescott

The Retreat of Cortes

Journeys Through Bookland Vol. 8

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24532/24532-h/24532-h.htm#THE_RETREAT_OF_CORTES

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There was some difference of opinion in respect to the hour of departure. The daytime, it was argued by some, would be preferable, since it would enable them to see the nature and extent of their danger, and to provide against it. Darkness would be much more likely to embarrass their own movements than those of the enemy, who were familiar with the ground. A thousand impediments would occur in the night, which might prevent them acting in concert, or obeying, or even ascertaining, the orders of the commander. But, on the other hand, it was urged that the night presented many obvious advantages in dealing with a foe who rarely carried his hostilities beyond the day. The late active operations of the Spaniards had thrown the Mexicans off their guard, and it was improbable they would anticipate so speedy a departure of their enemies. With celerity and caution, they might succeed, therefore, in making their escape from the town, possibly over the causeway, before their retreat should be discovered; and, could they once get beyond that pass of peril, they felt little apprehension for the rest.

Phebe A. Curtiss

UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

CHRISTMAS STORIES AND LEGENDS

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17770/17770-h/17770-h.htm#Page_13

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Just as the shadows were closing down around the hill, an interesting little group found its way up the winding path through the orchards, touched as they were by the sunset coloring, and into the gate of the city. The man, seemingly about fifty years of age, walked with slow and measured tread. He had a black beard, lightly sprinkled with gray, and he carried in his hand a staff, which served him in walking and also in persuading the donkey he was leading to move a little more rapidly. It was plain to see that the errand he had come on was an important one, both from the care with which he was dressed and from the anxious look which now and then spread over his face. Upon the donkey's back sat a woman, and your attention would have been directed to her at once if you could have been there. She was marvelously beautiful. She was very young—just at that interesting period between girlhood and womanhood, when the charm is so great.

Jean Lang

PYGMALION

A Book of Myths

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22693/22693-h/22693-h.htm#Page_11

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The shadows of evening were falling as he went into the room that he had made sacred to Galatea. On the purple-covered couch she lay, and as he entered it seemed as though she met his eyes with her own; almost it seemed that she smiled at him in welcome. He quickly went up to her and, kneeling by her side, he pressed his lips on those lips of chilly marble. So many times he had done it before, and always it was as though the icy lips that could never live sent their chill right through his heart, but now it surely seemed to him that the lips were cold no longer. He felt one of the little hands, and no more did it remain heavy and cold and stiff in his touch, but lay in his own hand, soft and living and warm. He softly laid his fingers on the marble hair, and lo, it was the soft and wavy burnished golden hair of his desire.

USHistory.org

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/rosa-parks-and-the-montgomery-bus-boycott

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At that time, a little-known minister named Martin Luther King Jr. had recently become a leader within the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. Born and educated in Atlanta, King studied the writings and practices of Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas Gandhi. Their teaching advocated civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to social injustice. A staunch devotee of nonviolence, King and his colleague Ralph Abernathy organized a boycott of Montgomery's buses. The demands they made were simple: Black passengers should be treated with courtesy. Seating should be allotted on a first-come-first-serve basis, with white passengers sitting from front to back and black passengers sitting from back to front. And African American drivers should drive routes that primarily serviced African Americans. On Monday, December 5, 1955 the boycott went into effect. Montgomery officials stopped at nothing in attempting to sabotage the boycott. King and Abernathy were arrested. Violence began during the action and continued after its conclusion. Four churches — as well as the homes of King and Abernathy — were bombed. But the boycott continued. King and Abernathy's organization, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), had hoped for a 50 percent support rate among African Americans.

wikipedia

Ultrasound

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasound

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Science

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Ultrasounds are sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is no different from 'normal' (audible) sound in its physical properties, except in that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies from person to person and is approximately 20 kilohertz (20,000 hertz) in healthy, young adults. Ultrasound devices operate with frequencies from 20 kHz up to several gigahertz. Ultrasound is used in many different fields. Ultrasonic devices are used to detect objects and measure distances. Ultrasound imaging or sonography is often used in medicine. In the nondestructive testing of products and structures, ultrasound is used to detect invisible flaws. Industrially, ultrasound is used for cleaning, mixing, and to accelerate chemical processes. Animals such as bats and porpoises use ultrasound for locating prey and obstacles. Scientist are also studying ultrasound using graphene diaphragms as a method of communication.

Jennifer Borgen

The Peace Corps Journey

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/the-peace-corps-journey

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The Peace Corps has three main goals. First, it provides help to poor and developing countries around the world. Second, Peace Corps volunteers, through their work and friendships, help explain American culture to people in other countries, from the types of music we enjoy to the foods we eat. Third, after Americans complete their Peace Corps service, they bring back with them many memories and share what they learned about the places where they lived. This sharing helps Americans learn about and better understand people from other cultures. In all, the Peace Corps is about spreading peace and building global friendships. Since the Peace Corps was created, more than 171,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 137 different countries. They have been teachers and mentors to thousands of children. They have helped farmers grow crops, worked with small businesses to sell their products, and shown parents how to keep their babies healthy. Recently, they have helped schools develop computer skills and educated communities about HIV/AIDS.

Dora Burnside

THE BUNCH OF GRAPES

The Nursery, September 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 3

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24940/24940-h/24940-h.htm#Page_71

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"I suppose they call him Beauty to make up for the bad word he gets from every one as being ugly," said Reka. "He is a good dog, nevertheless; and he knows that shawl belongs to his mistress.—Don't you, Beauty?" Here Beauty tore out from under the shawl, and began barking in a very intelligent manner. "Now I will tell you what we will do," said Reka. "Put on your shoes and stockings, Matty, and we will all go and call on Mrs. Merton, who is ill; and we'll take back her shawl, and give her this beautiful bunch of grapes." "Bow, wow, wow!" cried Beauty, jumping up, and trying to lick Reka's face. When the children left Mrs. Merton's, after they had presented the grapes, Henry Lane made this remark, "I'll tell you what it is, girls, to see that old lady so pleased by our attention gave me more pleasure than a big feast on grapes, ice-creams, and sponge-cake, with lemonade thrown in."

Brett M. Morris

TRAPPIST-1: A Dark Star With a Bright Future

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00056

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Most stars have planets orbiting them. These stars are called host stars, and exoplanets are what we call planets that orbit other stars, outside of our own solar system. If we view an exoplanet system from the correct angle, the exoplanets will appear to eclipse their host star as they move around the star on their orbits. If we measure the brightness of the star with excellent precision when it is eclipsing its star, we can observe a transit event, which is described in detail in this Frontiers for Young Minds article. During a transit, a planet blocks out some starlight, and astronomers on Earth see a dip in the total amount of starlight, which typically lasts for a few hours. TRAPPIST-1 is a very small, red star located 40 light years away, in the constellation Aquarius. In fact, TRAPPIST-1 is about as small as a star could be—if it were a bit smaller, it would not even be considered a star, because it would not be big enough to produce its own light by fusing hydrogen into helium in its core. TRAPPIST-1 is about as big as the planet Jupiter, but it weighs 80 times as much as Jupiter.

James Weldon Johnson

Excerpt from The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/excerpt-from-the-autobiography-of-an-ex-colored-man

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It was not, however, until the morning that we entered the harbor of Havre that I was able to shake off my gloom. Then the strange sights, the chatter in an unfamiliar tongue and the excitement of landing and passing the customs officials caused me to forget completely the events of a few days before. Indeed, I grew so light-hearted that when I caught my first sight of the train which was to take us to Paris, I enjoyed a hearty laugh. The toy-looking engine, the stuffy little compartment cars with tiny, old-fashioned wheels, struck me as being extremely funny. But before we reached Paris my respect for our train rose considerably. I found that the "tiny" engine made remarkably fast time, and that the old-fashioned wheels ran very smoothly. I even began to appreciate the "stuffy" cars for their privacy. As I watched the passing scenery from the car window it seemed too beautiful to be real. The bright-colored houses against the green background impressed me as the work of some idealistic painter.

simple wiki

Archaeology

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology

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Archaeology is the study of the past by looking for the remains and artifacts (historical things) left by the people who lived long ago. These remains can include old coins, tools, buildings, and inscriptions. Archaeologists, the people who study archaeology, use these remains to understand how people lived. Archaeologists think it is important to understand the past, because so many people use the past to know where they come from. When archaeologists do fieldwork, they look for remains, often by digging deep in the ground. When things are found, or even when nothing is found, the results of the fieldwork are taken back to the place where the archaeologist's base is, maybe a university or museum. They record everything they found by writing down on paper or entering the information into a computer, so that they can build a picture of everything that is found. As settlements (places where people lived in groups) change and grow, old buildings are often buried to make space for new buildings. Ancient Rome, for example, is now up to 40 feet (12 meters) below the present city. This is why archaeological fieldwork is expensive and why it takes a long time.

simple wiki

Network_card

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_card

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A Network interface card, NIC, or Network card is an electronic device that connects a computer to a computer network, usually a LAN. It is considered a piece of computer hardware. Today, most computers have network cards. Network cards enable a computer to exchange data with the network. To achieve the connection, network cards use a suitable protocol, for example CSMA/CD. Network cards usually implement the first two layers of the OSI model, that is the physical layer, and the data link layer. Today, most network cards use Ethernet. Other network types are ARCNET, introduced in 1977, LocalTalk or Token Ring. There are many network cards which are compatible to only respective software. Some network cards do not use a cable to connect to the network, but an antenna. Network cards commonly use a number of protocols called IEEE 802.11, popularly known as Wireless LAN or Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is another method of wireless communication, usually over a short distance.

Edward E. Hale

CHRISTMAS WAITS IN BOSTON

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32455/32455-h/32455-h.htm

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Lycidas and I tumbled in on the back seat, each with a child in his lap to keep us warm; I was flanked by Sam Perry, and he by John Rich, both of the mercurial age, and therefore good to do errands. Harry was in front somewhere flanked in likewise, and the twelve other children lay in miscellaneously between, like sardines when you have first opened the box. I had invited Lycidas, because, besides being my best friend, he is the best fellow in the world, and so deserves the best Christmas eve can give him. Under the full moon, on the snow still white, with sixteen children at the happiest, and with the blessed memories of the best the world has ever had, there can be nothing better than two or three such hours. "First, driver, out on Commonwealth Avenue. That will tone down the horses. Stop on the left after you have passed Fairfield Street." So we dashed up to the front of Haliburton's palace, where he was keeping his first Christmas tide. And the children, whom Harry had hushed down for a square or two, broke forth with good full voice under his strong lead in

Alexander B. Cook & Lucka Bibic

Macromolecules, Actually: From Plastics to DNA

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00126

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Although polymers may be as old as life itself, we have only known about them since the 1830s when scientists first described them. The first synthetic polymer, known as Bakelite, which was the first plastic, was made in 1907 by an easy and inexpensive reaction. Later, Bakelite helped engineers to manufacture many types of children's toys and kitchenware. But it was not until the 1920s when Herman Staudinger, a German scientist who worked on these synthetic polymers, coined the term macromolecule. Unfortunately, many scientists did not believe him about the existence of macromolecules because, at the time, a lot of chemists were reluctant to admit the existence of "giant organic molecules." Rather, they preferred the idea that many natural substances—such as cellulose, silk, and rubber—consisted of small units held together by exceptionally strong forces. After Staudinger announced the concept of macromolecules, one well-known chemist even said, "you might as well claim that somewhere in Africa one elephant was found who was 1,500 feet long and 300 feet high". Funnily enough, while the elephant did not exist, the polymer did, and the discovery of polymers revolutionized science.

MRS. G. I. HOPKINS

THE LITTLE SAILOR

The Nursery, October 1881, Vol. XXX A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42159/42159-h/42159-h.htm#Page_297

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We had a merry party, and our little boy was so full of play, that he dragged the boat-broom in the wake of the boat. Then he tried to stand on the forward-deck, and hold on by the mast. But the wind shifted a little, and the sail turned about so suddenly, that it came near pushing him into the water. So papa ordered him into the stern, where the ladies were, and gave him permission to take hold of the tiller, and help steer the boat. He helped turn her toward the jetty which the government is building to make the water deeper, so that large ships may sail safely into the harbor. Just as we made the turn, we saw another boat coming towards us. The tide was driving it swiftly along, and it bobbed up and down on the sparkling ripples. A little chap was standing on the bow, drying his wet bare legs in the sunshine. He seemed to be enjoying himself hugely, and paid no attention to our party.

wikipedia

Blockade

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade

Info

History

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A blockade is an effort to cut off supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade. It is also distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city. While most blockades historically took place at sea, blockade is still used on land to prevent someone coming into a certain area. A blockading power can seek to cut off all maritime transport from and to the blockaded country; although stopping all land transport to and from an area may also be considered a blockade. Blockades restrict the trading rights of neutrals, who must submit for inspection for contraband, which the blockading power may define narrowly or broadly, sometimes including food and medicine. In the 20th century air power has also been used to enhance the effectiveness of the blockade by halting air traffic within the blockaded airspace.