The selections throughout the book are arranged under six different classes and cover a wide range of thought and emotion. While many shades of feeling may be found in the same selection, it has been our aim to place each one under the division with which, as a whole, it is most closely allied.
We are grateful to the many authors and publishers who have courteously permitted us to use their publications. Instead of naming them in the preface we have chosen to make due acknowledgment in a footnote wherever their selections appear in the volume.
PAGE Arena Scene from "Quo Vadis?" The _Sienkiewicz._ 1
High Tide at Lincolnshire, The _Ingelow._ 47
Rider of the Black Horse, The _Lippard._ 98
When the Snow Sifts Through _Gillilan._ 137
Destruction of Sennacherib, The _Byron._ 147
Undue Lamentations over the Dead 165 On Applauding Preachers 167
I. War with America 171 II. Attempt to Subjugate America 173
I. Impeachment of Hastings 175 II. Conciliation with America 178 III. English Privileges in America 182
I. Bunker Hill Monument 185 II. Revolutionary Patriots 188 III. Character of Washington 191
Six Great Triumphs in the History of American Oratory 193
America's Relation to Missions _Angell._ 220
Death of Congressman Burnes _Ingalls._ 235
Death of Toussaint L'Ouverture _Phillips._ 239
Dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery, The _Lincoln._ 241
Man with the Muck-rake, The _Roosevelt._ 264
National Control of Corporations _Roosevelt._ 280
Permanency of Empire, The _Phillips._ 296
Responsibility of War, The _Channing._ 302
Sufferings and Destiny of the Pilgrims _Everett._ 312
Dooley on La Grippe Microbes _Dunne_. 337
Jean Valjean and the Good Bishop _Hugo_. 400
Beau Brummell, Act I, Scene I; Act II, Scene 3 _Jerrold_. 468
Bells, The, Act III, Scene I _Williams_. 437
Lady of Lyons, The, Act II, Scene I; Act III, Scene 2 _Lytton_. 441
Pygmalion and Galatea, Act I, Scene I; Act II, Scene I _Gilbert_. 493
Rip Van Winkle, Act I, Scene I; Act II, Scene I _Irving_. 449
Rivals, The, Act I, Scene 2; Act II, Scene I; Act III, Scene I; Act IV, Scene 2 _Sheridan_. 454
Set of Turquoise, The, Act I, Scene I; Act I, Scene 2 _Aldrich_. 478
She Stoops to Conquer, Act II, Scene I _Goldsmith_. 486
The Roman Empire in the first century presents the most revolting picture of mankind to be found in the pages of history. Society founded on superior force, on the most barbarous cruelty, on crime and mad profligacy, was corrupt beyond the power of words to describe. Rome ruled the world, but was also its ulcer, and the horrible monster, Nero, guilty of all hideous and revolting crimes, seems a fit monarch for such a people.