| | 85 | Author: | Spyri, Johanna | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Heidi  | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | FROM the old and pleasantly situated village of
Mayenfeld, a footpath winds through green
and shady meadows to the foot of the mountains,
which on this side look down from their stern
and lofty heights upon the valley below. The land
grows gradually wilder as the path ascends, and the
climber has not gone far before he begins to inhale
the fragrance of the short grass and sturdy mountain-plants, for the way is steep and leads directly up to
the summits above. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 88 | Author: | Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Roughing It | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | MY brother had just been appointed Secretary of Nevada
Territory—an office of such majesty that it concentrated in itself
the duties and dignities of Treasurer, Comptroller, Secretary of
State, and Acting Governor in the Governor's absence. A salary of
eighteen hundred dollars a year and the title of "Mr. Secretary,"
gave to the great position an air of wild and imposing grandeur. I
was young and ignorant, and I envied my brother. I coveted his
distinction and his financial splendor, but particularly and
especially the long, strange journey he was going to make, and the
curious new world he was going to explore. He was going to
travel! I never had been away from home, and that word "travel"
had a seductive charm for me. Pretty soon he would be hundreds
and hundreds of miles away on the great plains and deserts, and
among the mountains of the Far West, and would see buffaloes and
Indians, and prairie dogs, and antelopes, and have all kinds of
adventures, and may be get hanged or scalped, and have ever such
a fine time, and write home and tell us all about it, and be a hero.
And he would see the gold mines and the silver mines, and maybe
go about of an afternoon when his work was done, and pick up two
or three pailfuls of shining slugs, and nuggets of gold and silver on
the hillside. And by and by he would become very rich, and return
home by sea, and be able to talk as calmly about San Francisco and
the ocean, and "the isthmus" as if it was nothing of any
consequence to have seen those marvels face to face. What I
suffered in contemplating his happiness, pen cannot describe. And
so, when he offered me, in cold blood, the sublime position of
private secretary under him, it appeared to me that
the heavens and the earth passed away, and the firmament was
rolled together as a scroll! I had nothing more to desire. My
contentment was complete.
ENVIOUS CONTEMPLATIONS.
At the end of an hour or two I was ready for the journey. Not
much packing up was necessary, because we were going in the
overland stage from the Missouri frontier to Nevada, and
passengers were only allowed a small quantity of baggage apiece.
There was no Pacific railroad in those fine times of ten or twelve
years ago—not a single rail of it. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 94 | Author: | Williams, Henry Smith, 1863-1943 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | A History of Science: in Five Volumes. Volume IV: Modern Development of the Chemical and Biological Sciences | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | THE development of the science of chemistry from the "science" of
alchemy is a striking example of the complete revolution in the attitude
of observers in the field of science. As has been pointed out in a
preceding chapter, the alchemist, having a preconceived idea of how
things should be, made all his experiments to prove his preconceived
theory; while the chemist reverses this attitude of mind and bases his
conceptions on the results of his laboratory experiments. In short,
chemistry is what alchemy never could be, an inductive science. But this
transition from one point of view to an exactly opposite one was
necessarily a very slow process. Ideas that have held undisputed sway
over the minds of succeeding generations for hundreds of years cannot be
overthrown in a moment, unless the agent of such an overthrow be so
obvious that it cannot be challenged. The rudimentary chemistry that
overthrew alchemy had nothing so obvious and palpable. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 96 | Author: | Woolf, Virginia | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Night and Day | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | IT was a Sunday evening in October, and in common with
many other young ladies of her class, Katharine Hilbery
was pouring out tea. Perhaps a fifth part of her mind was
thus occupied, and the remaining parts leapt over the little
barrier of day which interposed between Monday morning
and this rather subdued moment, and played with the things
one does voluntarily and normally in the daylight. But
although she was silent, she was evidently mistress of a
situation which was familiar enough to her, and inclined to let it
take its way for the six hundredth time, perhaps, without
bringing into play any of her unoccupied faculties. A single
glance was enough to show that Mrs. Hilbery was so rich in
the gifts which make tea-parties of elderly distinguished
people successful, that she scarcely needed any help from her
daughter, provided that the tiresome business of teacups and
bread and butter was discharged for her. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 97 | Author: | Zerbe, J. S. | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Aeroplanes | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | THE "SCIENCE" OF AVIATION.—It may be
doubted whether there is such a thing as a "science
of aviation." Since Langley, on May 6,
1896, flew a motor-propelled tandem monoplane
for a minute and an half, without a pilot, and the
Wright Brothers in 1903 succeeded in flying a
bi-plane with a pilot aboard, the universal opinion
has been, that flying machines, to be successful,
must follow the structural form of birds, and
that shape has everything to do with flying. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 98 | Author: | Bitner Collection: Cressler, Alex | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Letter to Henry A. Bitner | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | UVA-LIB-Bitnerletters | Henry Bitner letters | Bitner collection | Letters written to Henry A. Bitner | | | | Description: | I have been somewhat dis- appointed in not seeing you
up here to see the men playing soldier, and now since
Gov. Curtin is expected here tomorrow, (Saturday) I
will feel sure that you are coming, and look for you, my but they do look pretty, Just
come and see. Three Regiments were in yesterday afternoon and make a long line of
people, who with their glittering bayonets under the rays of the shining sun,
accompanied by their Bands, or marshal
music, and the heavy and steady tramp of three thousand men, make all who stand and
look on, feel, that they are not soldiers, all this can but give a very faint idea
of the appearance of one hun- dred and fifty thousand human
beings marched into the field of battle by the warming and thrilling sound of almost countless drums and Oh! what, or who can describe
the feeling of that immense congregation of human souls when the sound of the booming
cannon first disturbs the quiet of that breast and paints death and destruction all
around. We may try to form some idea of the scene presented by a battlefield, both
while in the actual contest and after, but can never, in my opinion, realize the
horrors of such a sight until we ourselves behold it, and such; humanity forbids us from
wishing. May it never be seen in our land, but may the
Flag continue to wave over the land of the free and the home of
the brave. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 99 | Author: | Bitner Collection: Cressler, Alex | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Letter to Henry A. Bitner | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | UVA-LIB-Bitnerletters | Henry Bitner letters | Bitner collection | Letters written to Henry A. Bitner | | | | Description: | Yours of yesterday was received in due time and being fully digested I embrace
this privilege of writing to you again. I was sorry to hear of your
disappointment on Saturday last, and can only measure your feelings by imagining
what mine would have been under corresponding circumstances. Saturday was a
day of interest and satisfaction to me having never seen the like before, when I
cast my eyes along the line, which was formed along the one side of the street,
with arms presented and beheld the field of bayonets elevated above the heads of
thous- ands, and the Governor of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which is the Key-stone
of the Arch, moving steadily and silently along that line, with his penetrating
eye firmly fixed upon them, and his countenance remaining unmoved and
apparently speaking of the condition of the Country and the object for
which so many sons of labor had been called together, I was led to exclaim, "who
can tell what a day may bring forth." From a
person who came from Williamsport Md. yesterday we learned that two Regiments of Secessionists
had come there and by yesterday's Tribune, that the plan is to come on
through until they reach Philadelphia, in order to get
provisions, should they attempt to carry out that design, we will have a
bloody time here, and you may be sure the men here will give them a breakfast
job at any rate, and I hope Shippensburg and the Pines will, by the time they reach you, have their 10
O'clock peace ready for them and see that every man gets his portion due.
This is to much to trifle about, as it may be their design, however I am not yet
uneasy, but should they come it may be that I might never see you again let
come what will, I expect to be prepared for the worst that can happen to me. The citizens of
Chambrg.
are calm, and do not apprehend an attack from the rebels from the
South. I have not in my imagination marked out the plan by which the present
troubles may be settled, but find that the opinion of some is that war is
the only remedy. if such be true then the Northern boys
must go to the work, and what could be more cheering to the hearts of freeman
such as we are, than to see that the whole north will
move to the
work, as one mighty machine none of the
parts being wanting, but all complete, and all of which have been tried in
the days of '76, and found to be as true
a steel, and since the fall of Sumpter it has been greatly strengthened and now is the Greatest
Structure, and most
complet machine under the Canopy of Heaven, and when
it begins to move forward upon the foe, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific,-every part
reveling in grandeur and might, not being driven by steam, but the hearts
blood of million, and the smiles of Heaven, although moving slowly, its tread
will be the surer, and long before it reaches Cape Sable,
secession will be crushed out of existence, and like a
mighty cloud, it will rain Union sentiments on every farm and plantation south
of Mason's and Dixon's Line. Let us start the ball rolling, and
send seces sion to the place from whence it came,
you will now allow me to tell you a little anecdote, which I heard a few
days ago Mr.— A said "that it has often been his wonder what the D—l tempted people to sin for that their sin could not make
him any better," when Mr.— B
said, "Don't you know that he is a secessionist -that he was the first to
seceed from Heaven, and consequently the father of secession," —more truth
than joke — This is a day of sweet recolection to me, being the 21st day of
May. "Rather let my right hand forget her cunning and my tongue cleave to
the roof of my mouth," than for me to forget my hours of unalloyed peace three
years ago at old
Stony-Point,
Those were the happy hours of my life. And I
hope the Friend I there formed may be my friend for life — would to
God that all who participated in that season of refreshment might be able
to say — My labors there have not been in vain, I hope you will
let your mind run back to that era in your life and call to memory the hours
that you with me and many others spent there. Henry dear remember then. I am looking for you this week; dont forget to come. I have been interupted a great deal while writing this, so that you will find
some trouble in reading it. write soon I if it is not to much trouble, I sometimes
think that I am imposing on your time to ask you to write but I cant help it no person else will write and I am very glad
to hear from the pines. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 100 | Author: | Bitner Collection: Cressler, Alex | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Letter to Henry A. Bitner | | | | Published: | 1998 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | UVA-LIB-Bitnerletters | Henry Bitner letters | Bitner collection | Letters written to Henry A. Bitner | | | | Description: | Yours of the 22nd ult. was received in due time,
but not answered as soon as its demands required, but "better late than
never." "so here
goes." In my last I spoke of the sight presented in our streets, but since that
time things have changed considerably, and the scenes presented in our streets
on Friday and Saturday of last week were quite a different aspect reality be
stamped on every move. On Friday five companies of Cavalry, the heroes of Sumpter (except
Maj. Anderson), four Regs. of troops, accompanied by their bands and
followed by their baggage wagons, which make a peculiar rum- bling noise, this Brigade was six miles long (Capt. McMullens
Philadelphia Rangers were in the crowd.) You may and can
only imagine what the effect of such a
scene would be, the sight was the most sublime that I ever witnessed, the bands
of music with numerous fifes and drums,— the heavy tread of about forty wagons, all conspired to bewilder
the undrestanding and render vague all our
preconceived ideas of war. The movements of Saturday were not quite so imposing,
but for the cavalry it they would have been equally grand.
Sabbath approached finding our citizens in a state of uproar &
confusion, cars were running an screaming — men were
working wagons were moving through our streets from morning till night and
citizens were on a continual parade. truly such scenes, such sabbaths, and such times, were
never before ours to behold.
Uncle Stumbaugh will in my opinion leave very soon, but
when I do not know, but think, to night or tomorrow,
if you should happen to see any of our folks and it is not to much trouble, you
would oblige me by telling them, that if they want to see him that now is
the time,
Isadore has been confined to bed sick for several
days and doesn't seem to improve much, and I fear that he will not be able to go
along with his fellow soldiers. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
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