SIR,     I AM fully sensible of the greatness of that freedom, which I take with you on the present occasion ; a liberty which seemed to me scarcely allowable, when I reflected on that distinguished and dignified station in which you stand, and the almost general prejudice and prepossession, which is so prevalent in the world against those of my complexion...

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin INTRODUCTORY NOTE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN was born in Milk Street, Boston, on January 6, 1706. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler who married twice, and of his seventeen children Benjamin was the youngest son. His schooling ended at ten, and at twelve he was bound apprentice to his brother James, a printer, who published the "New England Courant...

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin INTRODUCTORY NOTE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN was born in Milk Street, Boston, on January 6, 1706. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler who married twice, and of his seventeen children Benjamin was the youngest son. His schooling ended at ten, and at twelve he was bound apprentice to his brother James, a printer, who published the "New England Courant...

"BOOTS AND SADDLES": OR LIFE IN DAKOTA WITH GENERAL CUSTER ELIZABETH B. CUSTER Dedicated TO MY HUSBAND THE ECHO OF WHOSE VOICE HAS BEEN MY INSPIRATION PREFACE. ONE of the motives that have actuated me in recalling these simple annals of our daily life, has been to give a glimpse to civilians of garrison and camp life-- about which they seem to have such a very imperfect knowledge...

A Biography of Edmund Spenser John W. Hales                E D M U N D S P E N S E R.    Ille velut fidis arcana sodalibus olim    Credebat libris; neque, si male cesserat, unquam    Decurrens alio, neque si bene; quo fit ut omnis    Votiva pateat veluti descripta tabella    Vita senis...

A Virginia Girl in the First Year of the War C. C. Harrison THE only association I have with my old home in Virginia that is not one of unmixed happiness relates to the time immediately succeeding the execution of John Brown at Harper’s Ferry...

Abraham Lincoln William M. Thayer   Preface The author of this volume wrote the first Life of Abraham Lincoln--The Pioneer Boy, and how he became President--which, after a very large sale, passed out of print in consequence of the destruction of the plates by fire. A Campaign Life of only thirty-two pages, relating chiefly to his public career, was issued at the West, after his nomination for the Presidency in 1860; but "The Pioneer Boy" was the first complete biography of the man...

Acres of Diamonds Russell H. Conwell   ACRES OF DIAMONDS BY RUSSELL H. CONWELL FOUNDER OF TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PHILADELPHIA HIS LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS BY ROBERT SHACKLETON With an Autobiographical Note AN APPRECIATION THOUGH Russell H...

Adventures and Letters of Richard Harding Davis Richard Harding Davis   EDITED BY CHARLES BELMONT DAVIS CHAPTER I. THE EARLY DAYS Richard Harding Davis was born in Philadelphia on April 18, 1864, but, so far as memory serves me, his life and mine began together several years later in the three-story brick house on South Twenty-first Street, to which we had just moved...

An Adventure With A Genius Alleyne Ireland   AN ADVENTURE WITH A GENIUS Recollections of JOSEPH PULITZER.DEDICATED BY KIND PERMISSION AND WITH SINCERE REGARD TO MRS. JOSEPH PULITZER PREFACE In the course of my wanderings about the labyrinth of life it has been my good fortune to find awaiting me around every corner some new adventure...