Christmas
Once upon a time--fairy tales always begin with once upon a time--once upon a time there lived in a fine old castle on the Rhine a certain Baron von Schrochslofsleschshoffinger. You will not find it an easy name to pronounce; in fact, the baron never tried it himself but once,...
And the day after that, as Hilarion went forth to catch fish in the river, he met on the bank a lady, beautiful beyond compare, the which for all clothing wore only her own hair...
11. Chapter 11"Poor Melchior! Surely there never was a clearer case of a young gentleman's comfort destroyed solely by other people's perverse determination to be happy in their own way inste...
7. Chapter 7Now close by the old home of the Captain's wife there had lived a man, much older than herself, who yet had loved her with a devotion as great as that of the young Captain. She...
2. Chapter 2Now, my dear reader, don't imagine I'm going to indulge your impertinent curiosity with an elaborate description of the sacred details of a lady's sleeping apartment. _You're_ n...
4. Chapter 4Little by little Bernadou grows animated and moved by the occasion,--the white wine, the remembrances! With that child-like manner which the sick find in the depths of their fee...
9. Chapter 9Sigmund Wahnschaffe, too, had grown into early manhood and had adopted his father's calling. Strong arms were as useful in their way as a creative brain, and if Sigmund could ne...
5. Chapter 5When Sylvestre Ker was alone, he listened to the noise of the waves dashing upon the beach and the sighing of the wind among the great oaks,--two mournful sounds. And he looked...
3. Chapter 3"Ah," said mine host, as if preparing to swallow a savory morsel, "there's a bit of gossip; there's a story, indeed!" He puffed away for a minute in mute satisfaction, and then...
8. Chapter 8He was a tall, gaunt old man, and Robin stared at him for some minutes, wondering where he could have seen somebody very like him. At last he remembered. It was the old gentlema...
6. Chapter 6"Life springs from death, according to the divine word; death seizes the living, according to the pagan law of Rome; and it is nearly the same thing in the order of miserable te...
1. Chapter 1Once upon a time--fairy tales always begin with once upon a time--once upon a time there lived in a fine old castle on the Rhine a certain Baron von Schrochslofsleschshoffinger....
12. Chapter 12"No, no, no! Mrs. G., you _are_ an experienced cateress, that I confess. But there is a delicacy in the thing which two such meals a day would utterly destroy. You misunderstand...