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From The New York Times Correspondent in Penang

The Emden at Penang Pen Picture by a Times Correspondent of the Havoc She Wrought

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 6

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

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For those who do not know, the City of Penang lies on the western coast of the Malay Peninsula, just below the Siamese border. It is the shipping point of the Federated Malay States, where 65 per cent. of the world's tin is produced, as well as a great amount of rubber and copra. With a population of 246,000, it is growing by leaps and bounds and gives every indication of soon becoming one of the largest ports in the Far East. The thing that makes this city a point of importance in the present war is the fact that it is the last port of call for ships going from China and Japan to Colombo and Europe. As a result, it has been made more or less of a naval base by the English Government. Large stores of Admiralty coal have been collected and all vessels have been commanded to stop here for orders before crossing the Bay of Bengal.

USHistory.org

The Roman Republic

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/the-roman-republic

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The history of the Roman Senate goes as far back as the history of Rome itself. It was first created as a 100-member advisory group for the Roman kings. Later kings expanded the group to 300 members. When the kings were expelled from Rome and the Republic was formed, the Senate became the most powerful governing body. Instead of advising the head of state, it elected the chief executives, called consuls. Senators were, for centuries, strictly from the patrician class. They practiced the skills of rhetoric and oratory to persuade other members of the ruling body. The Senate convened and passed laws in the curia, a large building on the grounds of the Roman Forum. Much later, Julius Caesar built a larger curia for an expanded Senate. By the 3rd century B.C., Rome had conquered vast territories, and the powerful senators sent armies, negotiated terms of treaties, and had total control over the financial matters of the Republic.

simple wiki

Renaissance

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

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History

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The city of Florence is really where the Renaissance began. In those days, Italy was not one single country. It was lots of little states, all governed in different ways and all fighting or making allies with each other all the time. Rome was politically powerful because Rome had the Pope, the person in control of the Roman Catholic Church. Because of his very great importance as a spiritual leader, most people and most cities did not want to argue with the Pope, whichever Pope he might be. Because a new pope was elected when the old one died, everyone who was rich and powerful was always hoping it might be a member of their family. It was always a good idea to have several young men in the family trained as priests, just in case. It was also a good idea to be good friends with other rich families. One way to do this was to have lots of daughters and get them to marry rich powerful men from different cities. This was the way that politics worked.

Free Kids Books

What is Love? Children's Biography of Helen Keller

https://freekidsbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/What_Is_Love-Helen_Keller-Biography_for_Children-FKB.pdf

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Helen Adams Keller was born on 27th June 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, United States. Her family lived on an estate called Ivy Greens, built by Helen's grandfather. Her father, Arthur Keller, spent many years as an editor for the Tuscumbia North Alabamian newspaper, and had served as a captain in the Army. Her mother, Kate Adams, was the daughter of a confederate general. Helen was born with the ability to see and hear. At 19 months old, she became ill, and this illness left Helen both deaf and blind. As she grew up, she found a way of communicating with the daughter of the family's cook; Martha Washington. They invented a kind of sign language and by the time Helen was 7 years old they had created more than 60 different signs for use in their personal communication. Around this time, Helen became very frustrated and diffcult to control. She had violent temper tantrums and would giggle uncontrollably when she was happy. Her family was worried about Helen and went in search of help. Unaware of how to deal with Helen's disabilities, the family had indulged , which at this point it was to her detriment.

Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Proud Little Grain of Wheat

Little Saint Elizabeth and Other Stories

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10466/pg10466-images.html

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There once was a little grain of wheat which was very proud indeed. The first thing it remembered was being very much crowded and jostled by a great many other grains of wheat, all living in the same sack in the granary. It was quite dark in the sack, and no one could move about, and so there was nothing to be done but to sit still and talk and think. The proud little grain of wheat talked a great deal, but did not think quite so much, while its next neighbour thought a great deal and only talked when it was asked questions it could answer. It used to say that when it thought a great deal it could remember things which it seemed to have heard a long time ago. "What is the use of our staying here so long doing nothing, and never being seen by anybody?" the proud little grain once asked.

Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

Do What You Can

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/do-what-you-can

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One day, as he stood looking up at the sky, two little raindrops saw him, and one said to the other: "Look at that farmer. I feel very sorry for him. He took such pains with his field of corn, and now it is drying up. I wish I might help him." "Yes," said the other, "but you are only a little raindrop. What can you do? You can't wet even one hill." "Well," said the first, "I know, to be sure, I cannot do much; but perhaps I can cheer the farmer a little, and I am going to do my best. I'll go to the field to show my good will, if I can't do anything more. Here I go!" The first raindrop had no sooner started for the field than the second one said: "Well, if you really insist upon going, I think I will go, too. Here I come!" And down went the raindrops. One came — pat — on the farmer's nose, and one fell on a thirsty stalk of corn. "Dear me," said the farmer, "what's that? A raindrop! Where did it come from? I do believe we shall have a shower."

Uncle Tiffy

PHANTOM

The Nursery, December 1877, Vol. XXII. No. 6 A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28140/28140-h/28140-h.htm#Page_186

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When he was only a few months old, he followed us all to church without our knowing it; nor did we see him, till, in the most solemn part of the service, we heard a patter, patter, patter, coming up the aisle, and there stood Phantom at the door of our pew. In his mouth was a long-handled feather duster, which he had found in some obscure corner of the building, and where it had been put (as it was supposed) carefully out of everybody's way. Phantom is very intelligent, and has learned a number of tricks. He can understand what is said to him better than any dog I ever knew; but he is best known among the children here for his love of music and singing. He has only learned one song yet; but he knows that as soon as he hears it. Wherever he may be,—up stairs, or down stairs, or out of doors,—if he hears that song, he will sit up, throw his head back, and you will hear his voice taking part in the music.

FRANK R. STOCKTON.

HUCKLEBERRY.

St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15331/15331-h/15331-h.htm

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More than a hundred and sixty-eight years ago, there lived a curious personage called "Old Riddler." His real name was unknown to the people in that part of the country where he dwelt; but this made no difference, for the name given to him was probably just as good as his own. Indeed, I am quite sure that it was better, for it meant something, and very few people have names that mean anything. He was called Old Riddler for two reasons. In the first place, he was an elderly man; secondly, he was the greatest fellow to ask riddles that you ever heard of. So, this name fitted him very well. Old Riddler had some very peculiar characteristics —among others, he was a gnome. Living underground for the greater part of his time, he had ample opportunities of working out curious and artful riddles, which he used to try on his fellow-gnomes; and if they liked them, he would go above-ground and propound his conundrums to the country people, who sometimes guessed them, but not often.

Journal of Gas Lighting

THE ECONOMICAL WASHING OF COAL GAS AND SMOKE

Scientific American Supplement, Nos. 315

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18345/18345-h/18345-h.htm#art21

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It is because of the success which attended M. Chevalet's treatment of factory smoke that he turned his attention to coal gas. The communication in which M. Chevalet's method is described deals first with chimney gases, in order to show the difficulties of the first class of work done by the author's process. Like coal gas, chimney gases contain in suspension solid particles, such as soot and ashes. Before washing these gases in a bath of sulphuric acid, in order to retain the ammonia, there were two problems to be solved. It was first of all necessary to cool the gases down to a point which should not exceed the boiling point of the acid employed in washing; and then to remove the solid particles which would otherwise foul the acid. In carrying out this mechanical purification it was impossible, for two reasons, to make use of apparatus of the kind used in gas works; the first obstacle was the presence of solid particles carried forward by the gaseous currents, and the other difficulty was the volume of gas to be dealt with.

wikipedia

Human–computer_interaction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human–computer_interaction

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Technology

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Human–computer interaction (commonly referred to as HCI) researches the design and use of computer technology, focused on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. Researchers in the field of HCI both observe the ways in which humans interact with computers and design technologies that let humans interact with computers in novel ways. As a field of research, human-computer interaction is situated at the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design, media studies, and several other fields of study. The term was popularized by Stuart K. Card, Allen Newell, and Thomas P. Moran in their seminal 1983 book, The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction, although the authors first used the term in 1980 and the first known use was in 1975. The term connotes that, unlike other tools with only limited uses (such as a hammer, useful for driving nails but not much else), a computer has many uses and this takes place as an open-ended dialog between the user and the computer. The notion of dialog likens human-computer interaction to human-to-human interaction, an analogy which is crucial to theoretical considerations in the field.

Logan Marshall

SINDBAD THE SAILOR

Favorite Fairy Tales

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20748/20748-h/20748-h.htm#sindbad

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During the voyage we touched at several islands, where we sold or exchanged our goods. We were one day becalmed near a small island. As its appearance was inviting, we determined to dine upon it. But while we were laughing and preparing for dinner, the island began to move, and at the same moment the people in the ship called out that we were on the back of a monstrous whale. Some jumped into the boat, and others swam to the ship; but before I could get off the animal dived into the sea, and I had only time to catch hold of a piece of wood that had been brought from the ship to serve as a table. Upon this piece of timber I was carried away by the current. The others reached the vessel, but a gale sprang up and the ship sailed without me. I floated during that and the next night, but the following morning was thrown on a small island.

Edmund Leamy

THE ENCHANTED CAVE

The Golden Spears And Other Fairy Tales

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22168/22168-h/22168-h.htm#h2H_4_0007

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At that moment the queen came out through the palace door, and the prince was so dazzled by her beauty, that only for the golden bracelet he wore upon his right arm, under the sleeve of his silken tunic, he might almost have forgotten the Princess Ailinn. This bracelet was made by the dwarfs who dwell in the heart of the Scandinavian Mountains, and was sent with other costly presents by the King of Scandinavia to the King of Erin, and he gave it to the princess, and it was the virtue of this bracelet, that whoever was wearing it could not forget the person who gave it to him, and it could never be loosened from the arm by any art or magic spell; but if the wearer, even for a single moment, liked anyone better than the person who gave it to him, that very moment the bracelet fell off from the arm and could never again be fastened on. And when the princess promised her hand in marriage to the Prince Cuglas, she closed the bracelet on his arm.

Leo Daly

Lynne's birthday surprise

African Storybook Level 4

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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Getting things ready for the party had been hard work. Lynne and Anton had to do most of it themselves as Oupa Karel was too old to climb up ladders. But Oupa Karel did what he could by blowing up the balloons. "Now we only have to bake the cake!" said Lynne. Oupa Karel sighed as he turned the pages of his recipe book. "I'm not going to be much help," he said, shaking his head. "I've never been good at cooking." "That's okay, Oupa," said Lynne with a smile. "Anton and I can do it. We just need to follow the recipe. How much of these ingredients should we use?" "We need 150 grams of flour," said Oupa Karel, running a finger down the list of ingredients. "Fifty grams of cocoa, 220 grams of sugar, 80 grams of butter, two eggs and half a cup of milk. That's 125 millilitres of milk." "Let's mix everything together in the big bowl," said Lynne. Anton took the wooden spoon and began to mix the ingredients together.

Rudyard Kipling

THE UNDERTAKERS

THE SECOND JUNGLE BOOK

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1937/1937-h/1937-h.htm

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A boatman turned where he sat on the gunwale, lifted up his hand, said something that was not a blessing, and the boats creaked on through the twilight. The broad Indian river, that looked more like a chain of little lakes than a stream, was as smooth as glass, reflecting the sandy-red sky in mid-channel, but splashed with patches of yellow and dusky purple near and under the low banks. Little creeks ran into the river in the wet season, but now their dry mouths hung clear above water-line. On the left shore, and almost under the railway bridge, stood a mud-and-brick and thatch-and-stick village, whose main street, full of cattle going back to their byres, ran straight to the river, and ended in a sort of rude brick pier-head, where people who wanted to wash could wade in step by step. That was the Ghaut of the village of Mugger-Ghaut.

Elke and René Leisink

Cat and Dog: Cat is yellow

African Storybook Level 3

https://www.africanstorybook.org/#

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Dog is in his house. Dog is sitting in his house. Then someone knocks on the door. Dog opens the door. Dog sees someone yellow! Dog asks, "Who are you?" It is Cat. Cat is yellow. Cat's head is yellow. Cat's hair is yellow. Cat's arms are yellow. Cat's hands are yellow. Cat's mouth is yellow. Cat's nose is yellow. Cat's ears are yellow. Cat's eyes are yellow. Dog asks, "Why are you yellow?" Cat says, "I do not know." Dog asks, "Where were you?" Cat says, "I was at the school." Dog asks, "Which school?" Cat says, "I was at the school in the village." Dog asks, "When were you at school?" Cat says, "I was at school this morning." Dog asks, "What were you doing at school?" Cat says, "I was sleeping." Dog asks, "You were sleeping at school?! Where were you sleeping?" Cat says, "I was sleeping behind the school."

wikipedia

Speech_recognition

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

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Speech recognition applications include voice user interfaces such as voice dialing (e.g. "call home"), call routing (e.g. "I would like to make a collect call"), domotic appliance control, search key words (e.g. find a podcast where particular words were spoken), simple data entry (e.g., entering a credit card number), preparation of structured documents (e.g. a radiology report), determining speaker characteristics, speech-to-text processing (e.g., word processors or emails), and aircraft (usually termed direct voice input). The term voice recognition or speaker identification refers to identifying the speaker, rather than what they are saying. Recognizing the speaker can simplify the task of translating speech in systems that have been trained on a specific person's voice or it can be used to authenticate or verify the identity of a speaker as part of a security process. From the technology perspective, speech recognition has a long history with several waves of major innovations. Most recently, the field has benefited from advances in deep learning and big data. The advances are evidenced not only by the surge of academic papers published in the field, but more importantly by the worldwide industry adoption of a variety of deep learning methods in designing and deploying speech recognition systems.

Oliver Optic

Four Young Explorers; Or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24252/24252-h/24252-h.htm

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Achang had given them a hint on board of the ship that mosquitoes were abundant in some localities in Borneo. The Guardian-Mother was provided with the material, and the ladies had made a dozen mosquito bars for the explorers. They were canopies, terminating in a point at the top, where they were suspended to the cross rods on which the canvas roof was supported. The netting was tucked in under the cushions of the divan, and the sleepers were perfectly protected. Captain Scott had carried out his plan in regard to the watches. The cook was exempted from all duty in working the little steamer; but each of the other seamen was required to keep a half-watch of two hours during the first night on board. Clinch was on watch at four in the morning. He called the engineer at this hour, and Felipe proceeded at once to get up steam. It was still dark, for the sun rises and sets at six o'clock on the equator.

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Njal's Saga

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/597/pg597-images.html

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At that time Harold Grayfell reigned in Norway; he was the son of Eric Bloodaxe, who was the son of Harold Fair-hair; his mother's name was Gunnhillda, a daughter of Auzur Toti, and they had their abode east, at the King's Crag. Now the news was spread, how a ship had come thither east into the Bay, and as soon as Gunnhillda heard of it, she asked what men from Iceland were abroad, and they told her Hrut was the man's name, Auzur's brother's son. Then Gunnhillda said, "I see plainly that he means to claim his heritage, but there is a man named Soti, who has laid his hands on it." After that she called her waiting-man, whose name was Augmund, and said, "I am going to send thee to the Bay to find out Auzur and Hrut, and tell them that I ask them both to spend this winter with me. Say, too, that I will be their friend, and if Hrut will carry out my counsel, I will see after his suit, and anything else he takes in hand, and I will speak a good word, too, for him to the king."

Laura E. Richards

Queen Hildegarde

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16473/16473-h/16473-h.htm

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Mr. Graham always spoke of his wife's dressing-room as "the citadel." It was absolutely impregnable, he said. In the open field of the drawing-room or the broken country of the dining-room it might be possible—he had never known such a thing to occur, but still it might be possible—for the commander-in-chief to sustain a defeat; but once intrenched behind the walls of the citadel, horse, foot, and dragoons might storm and charge upon her, but they could not gain an inch. Not an inch, sir! True it was that Mrs. Graham always felt strongest in this particular room. She laughed about it, but acknowledged the fact. Here, on the wall, hung a certain picture which was always an inspiration to her. Here, on the shelf above her desk, were the books of her heart, the few tried friends to whom she turned for help and counsel when things puzzled her.

Kate Douglas Wiggin

Children's Plays

Children's Rights and Others

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10335/pg10335-images.html

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How well I remember, years ago, the first time I ever joined in a kindergarten game. I was beckoned to the charming circle, and not only one, but a dozen openings were made for me, and immediately, though I was a stranger, a little hand on either side was put into mine, with such friendly, trusting pressure that I felt quite at home. Then we began to sing of the spring-time, and I found myself a green tree waving its branches in the wind. I was frightened and self-conscious, but I did it, and nobody seemed to notice me; then I was a flower opening its petals in the sunshine, and presently, a swallow gathering straws for nest-building; then, carried away by the spirit of the kindergartner and her children, I fluttered my clumsy apologies for wings, and forgetting self, flew about with all the others, as happy as a bird. Soon I found that I, the stranger, had been chosen for the "mother swallow." It was to me, the girl of eighteen, like mounting a throne and being crowned.

George W. Peck

Peck's Bad Boy Abroad

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25489/25489-h/25489-h.htm

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I take the first opportunity, since leaving New York, to write you, 'cause the boat, after three days out, has got settled down so it runs level, and I can write without wrapping my legs around the table legs, to hold me down. I have tried a dozen times to write, but the sea was so rough that part of the time the table was on top of me and part of the time I was on top, and I was so sick I seem to have lost my mind, over the rail, with the other things supposed to be inside of me. O, old man, you think you know what seasickness is, 'cause you told me once about crossing Lake Michigan on a peach boat, but lake sickness is easy compared with the ocean malady. I could enjoy common seasickness and think it was a picnic, but this salt water sickness takes the cake. I am sorry for dad, because he holds more than I do, and he is so slow about giving up meals that he has paid for, that it takes him longer to commune with nature, and he groans so, and swears some.

Bhargavi Ram; Randolph F. Helfrich

Waves of Perception

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00049

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Using math, brain waves can be described by their features. The frequency, or wavelength, shows how many times the wave repeats itself in a certain amount of time. The amplitude describes how "tall" the wave is, and the phase of the wave describes its position in the wave cycle at specific times (whether it is at the peak or the trough or somewhere in between). The waves are measured in microvolts (mV or 1/1,000,000 of a volt). A typical alpha wave is about 20–100 µV in size. The brain waves give scientists an idea of how excitable the millions of neurons are under each electrode. Previous experiments showed that certain types of brain waves are related to specific brain functions. For example, the act of seeing, called visual perception, is associated with a specific type of wave, called alpha wave.

Dr. Wilhelm von Bode

Dr. von Bode’s Polemic

The European War, Vol 2, No. 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22460/22460-h/22460-h.htm

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M. Bode should have been able to separate a little better two things which have nothing to do with each other: strategy and the history of art. He should have explained the conduct of the soldiers by the service which is required of them; he should have pointed out precisely the point of view of the archaeologist as incompatible with that of the warrior and he should have freed of responsibility those who, loving the picturesque old cities and the pure creations of artists, could not sympathize with those who destroy them. Far from this, he has invoked the merits of German science to justify the outrages of the soldiery and in his eyes the fact that German savants have added to the progress of archaeology suffices to prove that the German army is incapable of destroying works of art.

simple wiki

Cold_War

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

Info

History

mid

CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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In February 1917, Tsar (King) Nicholas II of the Russian Empire was overthrown because people were unhappy with their living conditions, especially during World War I. The new government in Russia was a democratic socialist government. Unfortunately, it was ineffective, and people were still unhappy. In November 1917, a communist group called the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin overthrew the new government. They were supported by groups of workers called Soviets. The Bolsheviks created a new communist government called the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (called simply Soviet Russia or the Russian SFSR). However, not everyone supported the communists. Many countries that had been a part of the Russian Empire had left, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, and Finland. The Russian Civil War began, with the Russian SFSR's "Red Army" fighting against the "White Army", the group of all Russians against the communists. The White Army was not very united or organized. The Allied Powers of World War I, such as the United States, United Kingdom, and France, invaded Russia to support the White Army.

simple wiki

Television

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

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A television (also TV, telly or tube) is a machine with a screen. Televisions receive broadcast signals and turn them into pictures and sound. The word "television" comes from the words tele (Greek for far away) and vision (sight). Sometimes a TV can look like a box. Older TVs had a large cathode ray tube in a large wooden frame and sat on the floor like furniture. Newer TVs are much lighter and flatter. A television can show pictures from many television networks. Computers and mobile devices also can be used for watching television programs. At first, all televisions used an antenna (or aerial). This would pick up television programmes from broadcasting stations. A TV station could be many miles or kilometers away, and still be received. TVs can also show movies from VCD and DVD players or VCRs. Cable TV and Satellite television can provide more programs at once than broadcast can. Video game consoles connect to most modern TVs. Some computers can also use a TV as a computer monitor.

Aunt Matilda

FEEDING THE DUCKS

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_100

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A mild summer day, and one, two, three, four children sitting on the ground by the pond, and feeding the ducks! But I think I hear the larger girl, who is standing up, say to the sitters, "Children, don't you know better than to sit there on the damp earth? You will every one of you catch a cold. Get up this instant." That is what the larger girl ought to say; for many children take bad colds by sitting on the grass. The other day, as I went through the Central Park in New York, I saw a maid in charge of three children, one of them an infant, and she was letting them lie at full-length on the grass. I told her she must not do so; but she said the weather was warm, and there was no danger. As I knew the parents of the children, I told her she must take the children up at once, and let them sit on the seats near by.

PERCY KEESE FITZHUGH

TOM SLADE AT TEMPLE CAMP

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19522/19522-h/19522-h.htm

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Rejected by a large majority—I mean, elected by a large majority." Roy Blakeley gathered up the ballots in his two hands, dropped them into the shoe box and pushed the box across the table to Mr. Ellsworth as if the matter were finally settled. "Honorable Roy Blakeley," he added, "didn't even carry his own patrol." This humiliating confession, offered in Roy's gayest manner, was true. The Silver Foxes had turned from their leader and, to a scout, voted for Tom Slade. It was hinted that Roy himself was responsible for this, but he was a good politician and would not talk. There was also a dark rumor that a certain young lady was mixed up in the matter and it is a fact that only the night before Roy and Mary Temple had been seen in earnest converse on the wide veranda at Grantley Square by Pee-wee Harris, who believed that a scout should be observant.

Jacobus J. van Franeker & René A. J. Janssen

Plastic Solar Cells: Understanding the Special Additive

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2015.00009

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Plastic solar cells can be printed on large rolls of flexible foil. Recently, 100 m-long solar panels were printed. Using these cheap solar panels, only around 1.5% of the energy in the sunlight is converted to electricity. This efficiency is still low compared to the expensive solar panels you can buy now, which can convert 15–20% of the sun's energy into electricity. But the future looks bright. In laboratories around the world, small plastic solar cells are already being made with much higher efficiencies, up to about 12%. One of the tricks to increase the efficiency is adding a special additive to the plastic ink before printing. This special additive was found by accident, but if we want to improve the efficiency of the plastic solar panels even further, we need to know why this special additive works. Understanding how plastic solar cells work is not easy. Many scientists have worked on this topic for years.

R.M. Ballantyne

"The Lively Poll; a Tale of the North Sea"

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23377/23377-h/23377-h.htm

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Thirty years before Granny Martin had stood at the same attic window, an elderly woman even then, looking out upon the raging sea, and muttering anxiously the same words, "He'll come soon now." But her husband never came. He was lost at sea. As years flew by, and time as well as grief weakened her mind, the old woman seemed to forget the flight of time, and spent the greater part of every day in the attic window, evidently on the look-out for someone who was to come "soon." When at last she was unable to walk alone, and had to be half carried to her seat in the attic window by her strong and loving daughter, the sadness seemed to pass away, and her cheery spirit revived under the impression, apparently, that the coming could not be delayed much longer. To every one Granny was condescendingly kind, especially to her grandchild Fred, of whom she was very fond.

simple wiki

Dormancy

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

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Science

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Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be closely associated with environmental conditions. Organisms can synchronize entry to a dormant phase with their environment through predictive or consequential means. Predictive dormancy occurs when an organism enters a dormant phase before the onset of adverse conditions. For example, day length and decreasing temperature are used by many plants as triggers to start dormancy before the onset of winter. Consequential dormancy occurs when organisms enter a dormant phase after adverse conditions arise. This is often found in areas with an unpredictable climate. Sudden changes in conditions may lead to a high mortality rate among animals relying on consequential dormancy. On the other hand, its use can be advantageous, as organisms remain active longer and are able to make greater use of available resources.

CommonLit Staff

About Treacher Collins Syndrome

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/about-treacher-collins-syndrome

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People with more severe cases of Treacher Collins syndrome may require several medical procedures and many surgeries. To begin, many individuals with Treacher Collins syndrome have trouble breathing or eating easily. These problems exist because there isn't enough space along the throat and jaw to create an adequate airway. When this happens, a tracheostomy may be necessary to create this airway. People with Treacher Collins syndrome also often receive cleft palate surgery around the age of one. Later, many patients also require bone grafts to help correct for missing cheek or orbital bones. Shortly after, patients often require ear reconstruction or an external device to make it easier to hear clearly. Other surgeries are also often required to correct eyelids, noses, or the soft tissue on the face. Most cases of Treacher Collins syndrome are caused because of mutations in the TCOF1 gene. This specific gene creates proteins, which play an important role in the early development of bones and other tissues in the face. When there is a mutation in the TCOF1 gene, it negatively impacts the production of ribosomal RNA (rRNA). This decrease in rRNA results in the destruction of certain cells that are involved in facial bones and tissues.

Guy de Maupassant Translated by ALBERT M. C. McMASTER, B.A. A. E. HENDERSON, B.A. MME. QUESADA and Others

THE MUSTACHE

Maupassant Original Short Stories

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3090/3090-h/3090-h.htm

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My Dear Lucy: I have no news. We live in the drawing-room, looking out at the rain. We cannot go out in this frightful weather, so we have theatricals. How stupid they are, my dear, these drawing entertainments in the repertory of real life! All is forced, coarse, heavy. The jokes are like cannon balls, smashing everything in their passage. No wit, nothing natural, no sprightliness, no elegance. These literary men, in truth, know nothing of society. They are perfectly ignorant of how people think and talk in our set. I do not mind if they despise our customs, our conventionalities, but I do not forgive them for not knowing them. When they want to be humorous they make puns that would do for a barrack; when they try to be jolly, they give us jokes that they must have picked up on the outer boulevard in those beer houses artists are supposed to frequent, where one has heard the same students' jokes for fifty years.

EVERETT WILSON

HOW POLLY HAD HER PICTURE TAKEN

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

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25359/25359-h/25359-h.htm#Page_319

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Polly had often had her picture taken, but it was always with her papa or her mamma, and she had never had her picture taken with her pets. So brother Ned had promised that on her birthday he would take her picture with all of her pets—if they would only keep still. This day was Polly's birthday, and, as the weather was fine, her brother had told her to follow him out to the orchard. Ned fastened his camera on its three sprawling legs, while Polly tried to gather her pets around her. But by this time Blackie, the cat, was chasing a squirrel (though he did not catch him), and Banty, the hen, was away off scratching for worms; and Gyp, the dog, was barking at a bossy calf down by the brook, for, of course, Polly's pets did not know it was her birthday and that they were to have their pictures taken with her.

Edward E. Hale

THE TWO PRINCES.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

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

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THERE was a King of Hungary whose name was Adelbert. When he lived at home, which was not often, it was in a castle of many towers and many halls and many stairways, in the city of Buda, by the side of the river Donau. He had four daughters, and only one son, who was to be the King after him, whose name was Ladislaus. But it was the custom of those times, as boys and girls grew up, to send them for their training to some distance from their home, even for many months at a time, to try a little experiment on them, and see how they fared; and so, at the time I tell you of, there was staying in the castle of Buda the Prince Bela, who was the son of the King of Bohemia; and he and the boy Ladislaus studied their lessons together, and flew their kites, and hunted for otters, and rode with the falconers together.

H. Irving Hancock

The Grammar School Boys in Summer Athletics

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12735/pg12735-images.html

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Poising himself on tip-toe, Dave awaited the coming of the ball. Wells, with a wicked grin, signaled for a ball that he felt sure would catch Dave napping. Earlier in the game it might have done so, but Ted's right "wing" was now drooping. Hi did his best, but Dave reached and clubbed the leather. In raced Greg, while Dick had a loafing time on his way to third. Dave reached first in plenty of time. Two men went out, leaving the nines tied. Dick fumed now at third. "I wish some one else than Henderson were going to bat," groaned Prescott inwardly. However, Spoff had the honor of his school desperately at heart. He did his best, watching with cool judgment and backed by an iron determination to make his mark. The third strike he hit. It was enough to bring Prescott in. Dick seemed to travel with the speed of a racing car, reaching the home plate just ahead of the ball.

simple wiki

Helium

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

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Helium is a chemical element. It has the chemical symbol He, atomic number 2 and atomic weight of about 4.002602. There are 9 isotopes of helium, only two of which are stable. These are 3He and 4He. 4He is by far the most common isotope. Helium is called a noble gas, because it does not regularly mix with other chemicals and form new compounds. It has the lowest boiling point of all the elements. It is the second most common element in the universe, after hydrogen, and has no color or smell. However, Helium has a blue-ish, neon color when being burnt with fire. Helium does not usually react with anything else. Astronomers discovered helium in 1868. They found that it was in the Sun before it was found on Earth. Because of where it was found, its name comes from the Greek word for Sun, helios. Helium is used to fill balloons and airships because it is lighter than air, and does not burn or react, meaning it is normally safe for using it in that way. It is also used in some kinds of light bulbs.

wikipedia

Velocity

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

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The velocity of an object is the rate of change of its position with respect to a frame of reference, and is a function of time. Velocity is equivalent to a specification of its speed and direction of motion (e.g. 60 km/h to the north). Velocity is an important concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of bodies. Velocity is a physical vector quantity; both magnitude and direction are needed to define it. The scalar absolute value (magnitude) of velocity is called "speed", being a coherent derived unit whose quantity is measured in the SI (metric) system as metres per second (m/s) or as the SI base unit of (m·s-1). For example, "5 metres per second" is a scalar (not a vector), whereas "5 metres per second east" is a vector. If there is a change in speed, direction, or both, then the object has a changing velocity and is said to be undergoing an acceleration.

Matthew Fontaine Maury

The Southern Sky

The Literary World Seventh Reader by Browne, Metcalf, and Withers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19721/19721-h/19721-h.htm

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Presently the stars begin to peep out, timidly at first, as if to see whether the elements here below had ceased their strife, and if the scene on earth be such as they, from bright spheres aloft, may shed their sweet influences upon. Sirius, or that blazing world Argus, may be the first watcher to send down a feeble ray; then follow another and another, all smiling meekly; but presently, in the short twilight of the latitude, the bright leaders of the starry host blaze forth in all their glory, and the sky is decked and spangled with superb brilliants. In the twinkling of an eye, and faster than the admiring gazer can tell, the stars seem to leap out from their hiding-places. By invisible hands, and in quick succession, the constellations are hung out; first of all, and with dazzling glory, in the azure depths of space appears the great Southern Cross. That shining symbol lends a holy grandeur to the scene, making it still more impressive.

Emi Furukawa, Patricia Bado, Gail Tripp, Paulo Mattos, and Jorge Moll

Focusing Is Hard! Brain Responses to Reward in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2017.00018

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Scientists haven't figured out exactly why some people struggle to focus or to stay still more than others. Many things, like the genes we got from our parents or the environment we grew up in, make us each unique and cause us to behave differently. While our brains are all built the same way, each person's brain works a little bit different. Some scientists think that the way chemical messages are sent in some parts of the brain makes it harder for some people to focus or wait, like children and adults with ADHD. They don't mean to bother their friends or make their teachers or parents mad by not focusing or waiting, but it is just so much harder for them. Scientists think that several parts of the brain may be associated with the symptoms of ADHD. Right in the center of the brain, there is a part called the striatum—say it like "strai-ay-tuhm." This part of the brain becomes more active in response to experiences that are fun, tasty, or new. The striatum is made up of many neurons—neurons are nerve cells with the special function of carrying messages throughout our brain and body.

Dr. Robert J. Lee

THE DISINFECTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE

Scientific American Supplement No. 417

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/9163/9163-h/9163-h.htm#21

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I have here in a test tube some water in which a small piece of meat was placed a few days ago. The test tube has been in rather a warm room, and the meat has begun to decompose. What has here taken place is the first step in this inquiry. This has been the question at which scientific men have been working, and from the study of which has come a valuable addition to surgical knowledge associated with the name of Professor Lister, and known as antiseptic. What happens to this meat, and what is going on in the water which surrounds it? How long will it be before all the smell of putrefaction has gone and the water is clear again? For it does in time become clear, and instead of the meat we find a fine powdery substance at the bottom of the test tube. It may take weeks before this process is completed, depending on the rate at which it goes on.

Lewis Carroll

QUEEN ALICE

Journeys Through Bookland V3.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5902/pg5902-images.html

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"Well, this IS grand!" said Alice. "I never expected I should be a queen so soon—and I'll tell you what it is, your majesty," she went on in a severe tone (she was always rather fond of scolding herself), "it'll never do for you to be lolling about on the grass like that! Queens have to be dignified, you know!" So she got up and walked about—rather stiffly just at first, as she was afraid that the crown might come off: but she comforted herself with the thought that there was nobody to see her; "and if I really am a queen," she said, as she sat down again, "I shall be able to manage it quite well in time." Everything was happening so oddly that she didn't feel a bit surprised at finding the Red Queen and the White Queen sitting close to her, one on each side: she would have liked very much to ask them how they came there, but she feared it would not be quite civil. However, there would be no harm, she thought, in asking if the game was over.

?

THE SEVENTH AND LAST VOYAGE

The Junior Classics, V5

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

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On my return home from my sixth voyage, I had entirely given up all thoughts of again going to sea; for, besides that my age now required rest, I was resolved no more to expose myself to such risks as I had encountered, so that I thought of nothing but to pass the rest of my days in tranquillity. One day, however, an officer of the caliph's inquired for me. "The caliph," said he, "has sent me to tell you that he must speak with you." I followed the officer to the palace, where, being presented to the caliph, I saluted him by prostrating myself at his feet. "Sindbad," said he to me, "I stand in need of your services; you must carry my answer and present to the King of Serendib." This command of the caliph was to me like a clap of thunder. "Commander of the Faithful," I replied, "I am ready to do whatever your majesty shall think fit to command; but I beseech you most humbly to consider what I have undergone. I have also made a vow never to leave Bagdad."

Kate Chopin

Désirée’s Baby

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https://www.commonlit.org/texts/desiree-s-baby

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The little one awoke in his arms and began to cry for "Dada." That was as much as she could do or say. Some people thought she might have strayed there of her own accord, for she was of the toddling age. The prevailing belief was that she had been purposely left by a party of Texans, whose canvas-covered wagon, late in the day, had crossed the ferry that Coton Mais kept, just below the plantation. In time Madame Valmonde abandoned every speculation but the one that Désirée had been sent to her by a beneficent Providence to be the child of her affection, seeing that she was without child of the flesh. For the girl grew to be beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere,—the idol of Valmonde. It was no wonder, when she stood one day against the stone pillar in whose shadow she had lain asleep, eighteen years before, that Armand Aubigny riding by and seeing her there, had fallen in love with her. That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if struck by a pistol shot.

Sophie May

Dotty Dimple at Play

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10320/pg10320-images.html

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Now this ship was an old wagon-body, and had never been in water deeper than a mud puddle. A dozen little girls climbed in with great bustle and confusion, pretending they were walking a plank and climbing up some steps. After they were fairly on board they waved their handkerchiefs for a good by to their friends on shore. Then Octavia fired peas out of a little popgun twice, and this was meant as a long farewell to the land. Now they were fairly out on the ocean, and began to rock back and forth, as if tossed by a heavy sea. "See how the waves rise!" said Emily, and threw up her hands with an undulating motion. "I can see them," she cried, an intent look coming into her closed eyes; "they are green, with white bubbles like soap suds. And the sun shines on them so! O, 'tis as beautiful as flowers!" "Booful as flowers!" echoed Flyaway, who was one of the passengers;

Sarah Scoles

What Do Radio Waves Tell Us about the Universe?

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2016.00002

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The first radio astronomer did not mean to be the first radio astronomer. In 1933, a man named Karl Jansky was working on a project for Bell Laboratories, a lab in New Jersey named after Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. Engineers there were developing the first phone system that worked across the Atlantic Ocean. When people first tried making phone calls on that system, they heard a hissing sound in the background at certain times of the day. Bell Labs thought that noise was bad for business, so they sent Karl Jansky to find out what was causing it. He soon noticed that the hiss began when the middle of our galaxy rose in the sky and ended when it set (everything in the sky rises and sets just like the Sun and Moon do). He figured out that radio waves coming from the center of the galaxy were messing up the phone connection and causing the hiss. He – and the phone – had detected radio waves from space. Jansky opened up a new, invisible universe.

Karla T. Moeller, Dale F. Denardo

The Gila Monster Egg Puzzle

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00017

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In places where the temperature changes across seasons, winter is the coldest part of the year. During winter, many animals greatly reduce their activity, often finding burrows or other retreats to stay in until spring. However, these retreats are not usually the same retreats in which they were born or hatched. One exception is turtles. Some adult turtles wait out the cold of winter under water in ponds or lakes that may freeze over. Overwintering under water can be a problem for young turtles, because it is hard for them to deal with the very low levels of oxygen (water is <1% oxygen, while air is ~21% oxygen). So, if overwintering underwater would not work, where can hatchlings safely spend the winter? In burrows, underground. But there is one more problem. Turtle embryos are not very resistant to freezing. If it gets too cold, embryos still within eggs could die, while hatchlings have a better chance of surviving. For the best chance of survival, some baby turtles hatch from their eggs (so they would not freeze) and wait in their nests (to get enough oxygen) until spring, when the weather warms and they emerge .

Laura Dent Crane

The Automobile Girls in the Berkshires

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25811/25811-h/25811-h.htm

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"Mollie Thurston, we are lost!" cried Barbara dramatically. The two sisters were in the depth of a New Jersey woods one afternoon in early September. "Well, what if we are!" laughed Mollie, leaning over to add a cluster of wild asters to her great bunch of golden rod. "We have two hours ahead of us. Surely such clever woodsmen as we are can find our way out of woods which are but a few miles from home. Suppose we should explore a real forest some day. Wouldn't it be too heavenly! Come on, lazy Barbara! We shall reach a clearing in a few moments." "You lack sympathy, Miss Mollie Thurston; that's your trouble." Barbara was laughing, yet she anxiously scanned the marshy ground as she picked her way along. "I wouldn't mind being lost in these woods a bit more than you do, if I were not so horribly afraid of snakes. Oh, my! this place looks full of 'em."

Alex Hubbe, Mark Hubbe

Current Climate Change and the Future of Life on the Planet

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00037

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Around 20,000 years ago, the last cooling phase ended, starting a warming period until around 8,000 years ago, during which Earth's average temperature rose between 5.6 and 8.5°F (3.1–4.7°C) . This means a change of around 0.06°F (0.03°C) every century. Between 8,000 years ago and the Industrial Revolution (around 200 years ago), temperatures were relatively constant. Since then, temperatures have been increasing again, and very quickly. By 2100, scientists believe that the mean temperature on the planet will have raised an additional 3.6–8.8°F (2.0–4.9°C) compared with the temperatures at the time of the Industrial Revolution . This means that the planet's temperature rise in the next century will be about 100 times faster than what happened during the last 20,000 years. While past changes in climate were the result of several factors, like the amount of energy coming from the sun and the concentration of different atmospheric gases, this time humans are mainly responsible. And that is why we call the current warming the anthropogenic (or human-induced) climate change.

wikipedia

Domain_name

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

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A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System (DNS). Any name registered in the DNS is a domain name. Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific naming and addressing purposes. In general, a domain name represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource, such as a personal computer used to access the Internet, a server computer hosting a web site, or the web site itself or any other service communicated via the Internet. In 2015, 294 million domain names had been registered. Domain names are organized in subordinate levels (subdomains) of the DNS root domain, which is nameless. The first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent domains com, info, net, edu, and org, and the country code top-level domains (ccTLDs).

wikipedia

Intellectual_property

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

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Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to designated owners by law. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are the protections granted to the creators of IP, and include trademarks, copyright, patents, industrial design rights, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets. Artistic works including music and literature, as well as discoveries, inventions, words, phrases, symbols, and designs can all be protected as intellectual property. While intellectual property law has evolved over centuries, it was not until the 19th century that the term intellectual property began to be used, and not until the late 20th century that it became commonplace in the majority of the world. The Statute of Monopolies (1624) and the British Statute of Anne (1710) are seen as the origins of patent law and copyright respectively, firmly establishing the concept of intellectual property.

By Washington Irving

THE ALHAMBRA

Title: Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 8.

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

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The transition was almost magical; it seemed as if we were at once transported into other times and another realm, and were treading the scenes of Arabian story. We found ourselves in a great court paved with white marble and decorated at each end with light Moorish peristyles. It is called the court of the Alberca. In the center was an immense basin, or fish-pool, a hundred and thirty feet in length by thirty in breadth, stocked with goldfish, and bordered by hedges of roses. At the upper end of this court rose the great tower of Comares. From the lower end, we passed through a Moorish archway into the renowned Court of Lions. There is no part of the edifice that gives us a more complete idea of its original beauty and magnificence than this; for none has suffered so little from the ravages of time. In the center stands the fountain famous in song and story. The alabaster basins still shed their diamond drops, and the twelve lions which support them cast forth their crystal streams as in the days of Boabdil.

wikipedia

Nucleic_acid

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

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Nucleic acids are biopolymers, or large biomolecules, essential for all known forms of life. Nucleic acids, which include DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), are made from monomers known as nucleotides. Each nucleotide has three components: a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. If the sugar is deoxyribose, the polymer is DNA. If the sugar is ribose, the polymer is RNA. When all three components are combined, they form a nucleic acid. Nucleotides are also known as phosphate nucleotides. Nucleic acids are among the most important biological macromolecules (others being amino acids-proteins, sugars-carbohydrates, and lipids-fats). They are found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information. In other words, information is conveyed through the nucleic acid sequence, or the order of nucleotides within a DNA or RNA molecule. Strings of nucleotides strung together in a specific sequence are the mechanism for storing and transmitting hereditary, or genetic information via protein synthesis.

Alice B. Emerson

Ruth Fielding Down East

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23116/23116-h/23116-h.htm

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She stepped out and looked on both sides. It was then she saw how threatening the aspect of the clouds on the other side of the river were. The sight drove from her thoughts for the moment the strange sound she had heard. She did not take pains to look beneath the summerhouse on the waterside. Instead, another sound assailed her ears. This time one that she could not mistake for anything but just what it was—the musical horn of Tom Cameron's automobile. Ruth turned swiftly to look up the road. A dark maroon car, long and low-hung like a racer, was coming along the road, leaving a funnel of dust behind it. There were two people in the car. The girl beside the driver—black-haired and petite—fluttered her handkerchief in greeting when she saw Ruth standing by the summerhouse. At once the latter ran across the yard, over the gentle rise, and down to the front gate of the Potter farmhouse. She ran splendidly with a free stride of untrammeled limbs, but she held one shoulder rather stiffly.

simple wiki

Atom

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

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An atom is the basic unit that makes up all matter. There are many different types of atoms, each with its own name, mass and size. These different types of atoms are called chemical elements. The chemical elements are organized on the periodic table. Examples of elements are hydrogen and gold. Atoms are very small, but the exact size changes depending on the element. Atoms range from 0.1 to 0.5 nanometers in width. One nanometer is around 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. This makes atoms impossible to see without special tools. Equations must be used to see the way they work and how they interact with other atoms. Atoms come together to make molecules or particles: for example, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom combine to make a water molecule, a form of a chemical reaction.

?

Industrial Art for Women - Carpet Design

Scientific American Supplement, Nos. 315

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18345/18345-h/18345-h.htm#art16

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The demand for good carpet designs far exceeds the supply, and American manufactures are sending to Europe, particularly England and France, for hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of designs yearly. If the same quality of designs could be made in this country the manufacturers would gladly patronize home talent. One carpet firm alone pays $100,000 a year for its designing department, and of this sum several thousands of dollars go to foreign markets. More technical knowledge is required for carpet designing than for any other industrial design. It is necessary to have a fair knowledge of the looms, runnings of color, and manner of weaving. Hitherto this knowledge has been very difficult, if not impossible, for women to obtain. But now there are a few places where competent instruction in this branch of industrial art is given. There are several kinds of work connected with this business that may be done at home by those who wish, and at very fair prices. The price of copying an ingrain design is from $3 to $6 per sheet. The price for an original design of the same size is from $10 to $20.

Anupama Prakash

Two Sides to a Wing: A Gene that Makes Butterfly Upper and Bottom Wing Patterns Different

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2018.00068

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What we wanted to understand by our experiments was how the different patterns on the two wing surfaces are created. But, before we go there, let us talk about how wings and their patterns develop in butterflies and what we currently know about this process. Butterflies, along with beetles, flies, moths, and wasps, fall into the category of holometabolous insects. This means that butterflies go through a complete metamorphosis, which is the transition from a larval, grub-like animal to an adult animal with wings, large slender legs, and big eyes. Butterflies have four different life stages during development. These are the embryonic stage (which takes place inside the egg), the larval (or caterpillar) stage, the pupal stage, and the adult stage. Eggs are laid on the leaves of specific plants and the caterpillars that hatch from the eggs eat these leaves until they enter the pupal stage. The pupal stage is when most of the larval body tissues are dissolved and re-formed to create the adult butterfly that finally emerges. The wings of butterflies are formed from a group of cells that are set aside during the embryonic stage, in the form of imaginal discs.

Harry Moore

The Liberty Boys Running the Blockade or, Getting Out of New York

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22902/22902-h/22902-h.htm

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Dick Slater and Bob Estabrook set off down Broadway and had nearly reached Bowling Green when Dick saw the man in the steeple-crowned hat approaching. He evidently took Dick for his friend at first, for he came forward quickly, and then suddenly stopped, looked at both boys, flushed, and, turning upon his heel, darted across Broadway and into Pearl street, where he disappeared. Dick was after him at once, but by the time he reached Pearl street, nothing was to be seen of the spy. The boys walked down to Whitehall wharf, where they could see over to Staten Island, where the British ships seemed to be getting ready to change their positions. The day was wearing on rapidly, and as they could not get any additional information at the wharf, they turned their faces toward the city and made their way at a good jog toward the Commons, where the camp was located. As they neared Thames street, above the church, Dick said in a low tone: "There is that spy going down the street. He has changed his disguise and I would not be surprised if he had taken off his beard.

?

HOUSE AT HEATON

Scientific American Supplement, No. 384

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8862/8862-h/8862-h.htm

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This house, which belongs to Mr J. N. D'Andrea, is built on the Basque principle, under one roof, with covered balconies on the south side, the northside being kept low to give the sun an opportunity of shining in winter on the house and greenhouse adjacent, as well as to assist in the more picturesque grouping of the two. On this side is placed, approached by porch and lobby, the hall with a fireplace of the "olden time," lavatory, etc., butler's pantry, w. c., staircase, larder, kitchen, scullery, stores, etc. On the south side are two sitting rooms, opening into a conservatory. There are six bedrooms, a dining-room, bath room, and housemaid's sink. The walls are built of colored wall stones known as "insides," and half-timbered brickwork covered with the Portland cement stucco, finished Panan, and painted a cream-color. All the interior woodwork is of selected pitch pine, the hall being boarded throughout. Colored lead light glass is introduced in the upper parts of the windows in every room, etc. The architect is Mr. W. A. Herbert Martin, of Bradford.

William Dean Howells

A Little Swiss Sojourn

http://www.online-literature.com/william-dean-howells/swiss-sojourn/

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The parties in Switzerland are fortunately not divided by questions of race or religion, but the pasteur owned that the Catholics were a difficult element, and had to be carefully managed. They include the whole population of the Italian cantons, and part of the French and German. In Geneva and other large towns the labor question troublesomely enters, and the radicals, like our Democrats, are sometimes the retrograde party. The pasteur spoke with smiling slight of the Père Hyacinthe and the Döllinger movements, and he confessed that the Protestants were cut up into too many sects to make progress among the Catholic populations. The Catholics often keep their children out of the public schools, as they do with us, but these have to undergo the State examinations, to which all the children, whether taught at home or in private schools, must submit. He deplored the want of moral instruction in the public schools, but he laughed at the attempts in France to instil non-religious moral principles: when I afterwards saw this done in the Florentine ragged schools I could not feel that he was altogether right.

Aesop

The Fox and the Stork

Junior Classics Vol. 1

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At one time the Fox and the Stork were on visiting terms and seemed very good friends. So the Fox invited the Stork to dinner, and for a joke put nothing before her but some soup in a very shallow dish. This the Fox could easily lap up, but the Stork could only wet the end of her long bill in it, and left the meal as hungry as when she began. "I am sorry," said the Fox, "the soup is not to your liking." "Pray do not apologize," said the Stork. "I hope you will return this visit, and come and dine with me soon." So a day was appointed when the Fox should visit the Stork; but when they were seated at table all that was for their dinner was contained in a very long-necked jar with a narrow mouth, in which the Fox could not insert his snout, so all he could manage to do was to lick the outside of the jar. "I will not apologize for the dinner," said the Stork: "One bad turn deserves another."

ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS

THE BOYHOOD OF LINCOLN

THE ELSON READERS BOOK FIVE

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The future president of the United States was eight years old when he spent the winter with his father, mother, and sister in the "half-faced camp" on Little Pigeon Creek. It was indeed rough living in the Lincoln home on Little Pigeon Creek. When he was "good and ready," the father, Thomas Lincoln, set about building a better shelter for his family than the forlorn "half-faced camp." The new building was not such a great improvement, but it was more like a house. It was a rough cabin of logs, without door, window, or floor. But it seemed so much better than the shanty in which they had been living that Abraham felt quite princely. His life was lonely enough in that wilderness; but, before many months, he had company. His Uncle and Aunt Sparrow and his boy cousin, Dennis Hanks came from Kentucky to try their luck in Indiana. Abraham's father gave them the old "half-faced camp" as a home, and so the Lincolns had near neighbors.

On Dec. 18, 1914, the new Russian Minister to Servia, Prince Troubetzkoï, presented his credentials to the Servian Crown Prince Alexander, whom he addressed as follows

RUSSIAN CONGRATULATIONS

The European War, Vol. 1 - No. 6

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Illustrious Sir: I have the honor to hand to your Royal Highness the letter by which his Majesty the Emperor of Russia has deigned to accredit me by his Majesty the King of Serbia. My august master has charged me to express to you the vivid sympathy and the sincere admiration which his Majesty feels for the valiant people of Serbia, her heroic army, and her venerable chief. Allow me to express to your Highness the joy that I feel in fulfilling the imperial commission today when your army has covered itself with immortal glory and has written in Serbian history the most beautiful page that a people may desire. Separated by a long distance, but, attracted by the heart of her elder sister, Serbia may say that in this terrible struggle against an enemy, numerically stronger but morally weaker, she is not alone and will not be forsaken. I pray that this conviction may double the unflinching courage of the Serbians and lead them always to new victories.

E. Nesbit

THE TEMPEST

The Junior Classics, V5

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The boat was cast on an island, and Prospero and his little one landed in safety. Now this island was enchanted, and for years had lain under the spell of a fell witch, Sycorax, who had imprisoned in the trunks of trees all the good spirits she found there. She died shortly before Prospero was cast on those shores, but the spirits, of whom Ariel was the chief, still remained in their prisons. Prospero was a great magician, for he had devoted himself almost entirely to the study of magic during the years in which he allowed his brother to manage the affairs of Milan. By his art he set free the imprisoned spirits, yet kept them obedient to his will, and they were more truly his subjects than his people in Milan had been. For he treated them kindly as long as they did his bidding, and he exercised his power over them wisely and well. One creature alone he found it necessary to treat with harshness: this was Caliban, the son of the wicked old witch, a hideous, deformed monster, horrible to look on, and vicious and brutal in all his habits.

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Improved Double Boiler

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 433

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/9076/9076-h/9076-h.htm#6

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The annular space between the two vessels is filled with water to the same level as the solution in the receiver, and the latter is provided with suitable pipes or coils, in which steam is caused to circulate for the purpose of raising the solution of the desired temperature, and effecting the digesting process. At the same time any steam generated collects in the upper part of the boiler, and maintains an equal pressure within the whole apparatus. The arrangement is shown clearly. Within the boiler is placed the receiver, of pottery, lead, or other material, leaving an annular space between it and the boiler; this space is filled with water. The receiver is furnished with a series of pipes, in which steam or hot water circulates, to heat the charge to the desired temperature. These pipes may be arranged either in coils or vertically. The latter are provided with inner return pipes, so that any condensed water accumulating at the bottom may be forced up the inner pipes by the steam pressure and escape at the top.

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The Building Stone Supply

Scientific American Supplement, Nos. 360

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Granite is a rock particularly abundant in New England, though also found in lesser quantities elsewhere in this country. The first granite quarries that were extensively developed were those at Quincy, Mass., and work began at that point early in the present century. The fame of the stone became widespread, and it was sent to distant markets--even to New Orleans. The old Merchants' Exchange in New York (afterward used as a custom house) the Astor House in that city, and the Custom House in New Orleans, all nearly or quite fifty years old, were constructed of Quincy granite, as were many other fine buildings along the Atlantic coast. In later years, not only isolated public edifices, but also whole blocks of stores, have been constructed of this material. It was from the Quincy quarries that the first railroad in this country was built; this was a horse-railroad, three miles long, extending to Neponset River, built in 1827. Other points in Massachusetts have been famed for their excellent granite. After Maine was set off as a distinct State, Fox Island acquired repute for its granite, and built up an extensive traffic therein.

Yei Theodora Ozaki

MY LORD BAG OF RICE

Japanese Fairy Tales

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Hidesato felt very sorry for the Dragon King on hearing his story, and readily promised to do what he could to help him. The warrior asked where the centipede lived, so that he might attack the creature at once. The Dragon King replied that its home was on the mountain Mikami, but that as it came every night at a certain hour to the palace of the lake, it would be better to wait till then. So Hidesato was conducted to the palace of the Dragon King, under the bridge. Strange to say, as he followed his host downwards the waters parted to let them pass, and his clothes did not even feel damp as he passed through the flood. Never had Hidesato seen anything so beautiful as this palace built of white marble beneath the lake. He had often heard of the Sea King's palace at the bottom of the sea, where all the servants and retainers were salt-water fishes, but here was a magnificent building in the heart of Lake Biwa. The dainty goldfishes, red carp, and silvery trout, waited upon the Dragon King and his guest.

ANNA LIVINGSTON

"HOME IN SIGHT."

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

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The voyage had been a long one, and, though they were not all sea-sick, all were heartily sick of the sea,—all except two little children, a girl and a boy, whose faces were always bright and merry. "What is there to be seen, captain?" said the children's mother, after trying in vain to make out any thing except sea and sky. "Don't you know?" said the old man. "Let me point it out then to this little sailor." So, taking little Willie in his arms while the vessel leaned before the breeze, he pointed with his forefinger, and said, "Do you see that dark-blue cloud right on the edge of the water, just where it meets the sky?" "Yes, I see it," said the bright-eyed youngster. "Well, do you know what it is, my lad? It isn't a cloud at all. That's land. Now do you know what land it is?" "No, sir," said Willie. "Then I'll tell you. It is old Cape Cod.—We are in sight of home, ladies and gentlemen," said the captain addressing his passengers. "We shall make Boston Light to-night, if this wind holds good."

Edgar Allan Poe.

A VOYAGE TO THE MOON

The Literary World Seventh Reader

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After a long and arduous devotion to the study of physics and astronomy, I, Hans Pfaal of Rotterdam, at length determined to construct a balloon of my own along original lines and to try a flight in it. Accordingly, I had made an enormous bag out of cambric muslin, varnished with caoutchouc for protection against the weather. I procured all the instruments needed for a prolonged ascent and finally prepared for the inflation of the balloon. Herein lay my secret, my invention, the thing in which my balloon differed from all the balloons that had gone before. Out of a peculiar metallic substance and a very common acid I was able to manufacture a gas of a density about 37.4 less than that of hydrogen, and thus by far the lightest substance ever known. It would serve to carry the balloon to heights greater than had been attained before, for hydrogen is the gas usually used.

A. B. C.

PHILIP'S NEW WHIP

The Nursery, September 1877, Vol. XXII, No. 3 A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers

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Now, what is all this noise about? The hens cackle and run about. The pig squeals. Over the fence flies the old gander, and after him flies the goose. Now, what can be the matter? I will tell you. It all comes from this: our little Philip has had a present of a new whip; and the first thing he does with it is to see how his friends in the barn-yard like it. He does not like to try it on the horse or on the cow; for the horse can kick, and the cow can hook with her horns. So, like a little coward, he frightens the hens, and the poor geese, and the pig, shut up in his pen. I do not think it right. We ought to protect the weak, and not try to scare or hurt them.

Emma Leslie

A Sailor's Lass

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The children wondered that nothing worse than hard words fell to their share, and were somewhat relieved that the next question referred to Bob, and not to their doings. "You say he ain't come home?" said Coomber. "I ain't seen him since he went with you to Fellness. Ain't you just come from there?" said his wife, timidly. "Of course I have, but Bob ought to have been back an hour or so ago, for I had something to do in the village. Come to the boat, and I'll tell you all about it," he added, in a less severe tone; for the thought of the child he had rescued softened him a little, and he led the way out of the washing-shed. The storm had abated now, and the boat no longer rocked and swayed, so that the children waded back through the mud without fear, while their father talked of the little girl he had left with Dame Peters at Fellness.

WILLIAM H. RIDEING.

SECRETS OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE.

St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5

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Near the southern extremity of the western coast of Ireland, there is a little harbor called Valentia, as you will see by referring to a map. It faces the Atlantic Ocean, and the nearest point on the opposite shore is a sheltered bay prettily named Heart's Content, in Newfoundland. The waters between are the stormiest in the world, wrathy with hurricanes and cyclones, and seldom smooth even in the calm months of midsummer. The distance across is nearly two thousand miles, and the depth gradually increases to a maximum of three miles. Between these two points of land—Valentia in Ireland and Heart's Content in Newfoundland—a magical rope is laid, binding America to Europe with a firm bond, and enabling people in London to send instantaneous messages to those in New York. It is the first successful Atlantic cable, and my piece was cut from it before it was laid.

simple wiki

Photovotaics

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

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A photovoltaic installation typically includes an array of solar panels, an inverter, rechargeable batteries (for use at night), a charge controller (a device that prevents the batteries from over-charging), two GFCI circuit breakers (one before the inverter and one after), and interconnection wiring. There is sometimes also a transformer after the inverter, which can power 240 volt heavy appliances such as a clothes dryer or oven. The transformer is often part of the inverter and can't be seen. Everything past the inverter (or transformer if there is one) is set up like a normal utility-fed installation (breaker panel, lights, outlets, switches, etc.). If there is no transformer, only 120 volt devices may be used. Installations without a transformer must be labelled as such on the breaker panel to alert future electricians that 240 volt appliances can not be installed. Some installations have direct current (DC) lighting and possibly DC appliances. The advantage of this is that for DC loads, the losses in the inverter are avoided. These installations will have a separate DC breaker panel connected before the inverter.

Martha Finley

Elsie's children

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A brisk five minutes' walk brought them to the shore of the lake, a tiny one, scarce a quarter of a mile in circumference, not very deep and the water so clear that the pebbly bottom could be distinctly seen; gold and silver fish, too, gliding hither and thither; while a pretty painted row-boat lying at the water's edge, rocked gently in the morning breeze. Eddie hailed the scene with a shout of delight; the little girls danced about gleefully, Vi clapping her hands and asking eagerly if they might get into the boat. Papa looked at his watch, "Yes, there will be time for a row; one trip around the lake. Step in, all of you, and I will take the oars." Vi was quite ready and Eddie gallantly handed her in, then turned and offered his hand to Elsie. She demurred. "But mamma! shouldn't we have mamma with us the first time?" and she looked up inquiringly into her father's face.

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PAPER MAKING "DOWN EAST."

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 363

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Gilbert Brothers erected a saw mill here three years ago. A year later, the Denison Paper Manufacturing Company, of Mechanic Falls, erected a big pulp mill, which, also, the town voted to exempt from taxation for ten years. The mills are valuable companions for each other. The pulp mill utilizes all the waste of the saw mill. A settlement was speedily built by the operatives. Gilbertville now boasts of a post-office, a store, several large boarding houses, a nice school house, and over 500 inhabitants. The pulp mill employs seventy men. It runs night and day. It manufactures monthly 350 cords of poplar and spruce into pulp. It consumes monthly 500 cords of wood for fuel, 45 casks of soda ash, valued at $45 per cask, nine car loads of lime, 24,000 pounds to the car. It produces 1,000,000 pounds of wet fiber, valued at about $17,000, monthly. The pay roll amounts to $3,500 per month.

Rudyard Kipling

HOW THE ALPHABET WAS MADE

JUST SO STORIES

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Many of the other pictures were much too beautiful to begin with, especially before lunch, but as they were drawn over and over again on birch-bark, they became plainer and easier, till at last even Tegumai said he could find no fault with them. They turned the hissy-snake the other way round for the Z-sound, to show it was hissing backwards in a soft and gentle way; and they just made a twiddle for E, because it came into the pictures so often; and they drew pictures of the sacred Beaver of the Tegumais for the B-sound; and because it was a nasty, nosy noise, they just drew noses for the N-sound, till they were tired; and they drew a picture of the big lake-pike's mouth for the greedy Ga-sound; and they drew the pike's mouth again with a spear behind it for the scratchy, hurty Ka-sound; and they drew pictures of a little bit of the winding Wagai river for the nice windy-windy Wa-sound; and so on and so forth and so following till they had done and drawn all the sound-pictures that they wanted, and there was the Alphabet, all complete.