The Library of Choice Literature

1. 1The World Behind the Scenes by William Makepeace Thackeray
   illusionsocietytheatre
   essay
2. 6Abraham Lincoln by Shirley Brooks (in London "Punch")
   politicsmourningamerica
   elegy
3. 6Napoleon Le Petit by Victor Hugo
   politicstyrannysatire
   polemic
4. 10The Song of the Dying by Bartholomew Dowling ("Captain Dowling")
   mortalitysoldierydefiance
   poem
5. 11Rab and His Friends by John Brown, M.D.
   animalsloyaltydeathmedicine
   fiction
6. 17The Ballad of Bouillabaisse by William Makepeace Thackeray
   memorylossconviviality
   Read the text ▾poem
7. 18Oration on the Dedication of a Statue to Burns by George William Curtis
   burnspoetrycommemoration
   oration
8. 23The Prize Ode on the Centenary of Burns by Isa Craig Knox
   burnspoetrycommemoration
   ode
9. 24Speech on Duluth by J. Proctor Knott (Hon.)
   politicshumorcongressamerica
   satire
10. 27America by Samuel F. Smith
    patriotismamericaliberty
    hymn
11. 27The Funeral Oration of Pericles by Thucydides
    democracywarathensmortality
    oration
12. 31The Pope and the Beggar by Bulwer Lytton
    faithpovertyirony
    poem
13. 31London Society a Hundred Years Ago by George Otto Trevelyan
    historymannersengland
    essay
14. 36Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant
    mortalitynatureconsolation
    Read the text ▾poem
15. 37Perling Joan by John Gibson Lockhart
    scotlandlovetragedy
    fiction
16. 38Cleopatra by William Wetmore Story
    passionegyptpower
    dramatic monologue
17. 40A Battle Picture by Anonymous
    wardescription
    sketch
18. 41The Journey of a Day by Samuel Johnson
    mortalitylifewisdom
    allegory
19. 42Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning
    artregretmarriage
    dramatic monologue
20. 45The Storm and Shipwreck by Charles Dickens
    From "David Copperfield" — the wreck at Yarmouth.
    seadeathstorm
    fiction
21. 49From "In Memoriam" by Alfred Tennyson
    mourningfaithdoubtfriendship
    elegy
22. 49A Week at Batavia by Marquis de Beauvoir
    traveljavaempire
    Read the text ▾travel
23. 54The Wedding of Shon Maclean by Robert Buchanan
    scotlandrevelrymusic
    Read the text ▾ballad
24. 56A Discourse of Trees by Henry Ward Beecher
    naturetreesreflection
    essay
25. 59The Suicide Banker by A. M. Sullivan (M.P.)
    The fall of the banker John Sadleir.
    financeruinireland
    narrative
26. 62Carcassonne by Gustave Nadaud (translated; in Lippincott’s Magazine)
    longingregretthe unreached
    Read the text ▾poem
27. 62A Night of Terror by Paul Louis Courier
    fearsuspense
    narrative
28. 63Parallel between William Penn and John Locke by George Bancroft
    libertyhistorycomparison
    Read the text ▾essay
29. 64The Youth of Washington by George Bancroft
    washingtonamericabiography
    history
30. 65Childe Harold by Lord Byron
    wanderingromanticismsolitude
    poem
31. 66Mark Twain on the Weather by Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain)
    The New England Society after-dinner speech.
    humorweathernew england
    humor
32. 67The Vision of Mirza, Exhibiting a Picture of Human Life by Joseph Addison
    From "The Spectator."
    mortalitylifevision
    allegory
33. 69Will Waterproof's Lyrical Monologue by Alfred Tennyson
    convivialityreflectionwine
    poem
34. 71Positivism on an Island by W. H. Mallock
    From "The New Republic."
    philosophysatirereligion
    satire
35. 87The Wants of Man by John Quincy Adams
    desirehumorhuman nature
    poem
36. 89The Babies by Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain)
    The 1879 Grand Army of the Tennessee banquet toast.
    humorbabiestoast
    humor
37. 90Paraphrase from Seneca by Sir Matthew Hale
    stoicismmortalitycontentment
    poem
38. 91Budge's Version of the Flood by John Habberton
    From "Helen’s Babies."
    childhoodhumorscripture
    humor
39. 92The Laocoon by J. G. Holland
    artsufferingantiquity
    poem
40. 92The Treachery of Mettius and Its Punishment by Livy
    rometreacheryjustice
    history
41. 94The Closing Scene by Thomas Buchanan Read
    autumnwarmortality
    poem
42. 95The Last Days of the Emperor Otho by Tacitus
    romeempiredeath
    history
43. 96The Little Man All in Grey by Pierre-Jean de Béranger
    satiresongfrance
    poem
44. 97A Picture of Wild Nature on the Mississippi by F. A. de Chateaubriand
    naturewildernessamerica
    description
45. 97Winifreda by Anonymous
    loveconstancydomestic
    poem
46. 98On Old Age by Cicero
    From "Cato Major; or, On Old Age."
    agemortalitywisdom
    essay
47. 100The Bill of Mortality by William Cowper
    mortalitytimehumility
    poem
48. 100The Lost and Delicious Leisure of the Olden Time by George Eliot
    leisurehistoryreflection
    essay
49. 101The Dream by Sir William Davenant
    dreamlove
    poem
50. 102Life in "As You Like It" by Douglas Jerrold
    naturecontentmentshakespeare
    essay
51. 105A Bridal Song by Beaumont and Fletcher
    marriagecelebration
    song
52. 105Disproportion of Man by Blaise Pascal
    philosophyinfinityhumility
    essay
53. 107The Falcon by Boccaccio
    lovesacrificeitaly
    fiction
54. 109The King of Thule by Goethe
    lovefidelitydeath
    ballad
55. 109Three Sonnets by William Drummond
    lovetransience
    sonnet
56. 110The Story of Crazy Martha by Jacques Jasmin
    madnesslossrural life
    poem
57. 114The Complaint by Thomas Chatterton
    sorrowlament
    poem
58. 115The Imprisoned Huntsman by Sir Walter Scott
    captivityfreedomthe hunt
    poem
59. 115England and France by Theodore Hook
    nationsmannerscomparison
    essay
60. 120A Garden Reverie by Philip Bourke Marston
    gardenmemoryreverie
    poem
61. 121The Old Familiar Faces by Charles Lamb
    memorylossfriendship
    poem
62. 121Kabiik, an Eastern Tale by Alfred Crowquill
    the eastfablefortune
    fiction
63. 123Song — From the Spanish by John Gibson Lockhart
    lovespaintranslation
    song
64. 124The Lord's Marie by Allan Cunningham
    scotlandlovetragedy
    ballad
65. 124The Literary Life by Matthew Browne
    literaturevocationreflection
    essay
66. 129Loughrig Tarn by John Wilson ("Professor Wilson" / Christopher North)
    naturelake districtreverie
    essay
67. 130Buy a Broom? by Thomas Aird
    street lifepovertysong
    poem
68. 154A Retrospective Review by Thomas Hood
    childhoodmemoryloss
    poem
69. 155To Blossoms by Robert Herrick
    transienceflowersbeauty
    poem
70. 156The Enchanter Faustus and Queen Elizabeth by Blackwood's Magazine
    magichistoryfantasy
    fiction
71. 159To a Highland Girl by William Wordsworth
    youthscotlandnature
    poem
72. 160The Poet's Dream by Lord Lytton
    imaginationvisionpoetry
    poem
73. 161On the Moral Qualities of Milton by William Ellery Channing
    miltonvirtuegenius
    essay
74. 164Song from Faust by Goethe
    loveinnocencefate
    song
75. 165On Impudence and Modesty by David Hume
    mannerspsychologysociety
    essay
76. 165Stanzas by Anne Radcliffe
    melancholynature
    poem
77. 166Human Life by Samuel Rogers
    lifetimememory
    poem
78. 166The Gray Hair by Alaric A. Watts
    agememorymortality
    poem
79. 167Out with the Herring-Fishers by Hugh Miller
    sealaborscotland
    sketch
80. 170Haidee by Lord Byron
    From "Don Juan."
    lovethe aegeanromance
    poem
81. 174The Dean of Santiago by From the Spanish
    After Don Juan Manuel.
    ambitionmagicfable
    fiction
82. 176The Two Fountains by Thomas Moore
    loveallegory
    poem
83. 177Master and Man by Thomas Crofton Croker
    irelandfolklorehumor
    fiction
84. 179The Knitter by Sir John Bowring
    labordomesticpatience
    poem
85. 180To My Honoured Kinsman by John Dryden
    country lifepraiseindependence
    epistle
86. 182The Philosophy of Sorrow by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson
    griefphilosophyconsolation
    essay
87. 184The Comforter by Thomas Moore
    consolationfaithgrief
    poem
88. 185Peggy Nowlan by John Banim
    irelandlovehardship
    fiction
89. 192The Banks of Clyde by Andrew Park
    scotlandriverhome
    poem
90. 192The Spate, a Tale of the Clyde by Thomas Atkinson
    floodscotlandperil
    fiction
91. 197Evening by Alaric A. Watts
    eveningcalmnature
    poem
92. 198To J*** H***, Four Years Old by Leigh Hunt
    childhoodaffectioninnocence
    poem
93. 199A Dirge by George Croly (Rev.)
    deathmourning
    elegy
94. 199A Family Scene by Susan Edmondstone Ferrier
    familyscotlandmanners
    fiction
95. 202Baby May by W. C. Bennett
    infancytendernesshome
    poem
96. 203Baby's Shoes by W. C. Bennett
    infancygriefmemory
    poem
97. 203The Brigand of the Loire by Alexander Sutherland
    franceadventuredanger
    fiction
98. 211Fate by Ralph Waldo Emerson
    fatewillnature
    poem
99. 211The Romany Girl by Ralph Waldo Emerson
    freedomgypsynature
    poem
100. 212To a Sky-lark by James Hogg
     birdsjoynature
     poem
101. 212Scene from "The Tryal," a Comedy by Joanna Baillie
     comedycourtshipwit
     drama
102. 214Sonnet by Henry Kirke White
     mortalityhope
     sonnet
103. 215To the Moon by John Keats
     moonbeautynight
     poem
104. 215Servian Lyric by Sir John Bowring
     lovefolk songtranslation
     poem
105. 216Journal of a Lady of Fashion by Countess of Blessington
     societyfashionirony
     satire
106. 219Hymn — Before Sunrise in the Valley of Chamouni by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
     mountainsawethe divine
     hymn
107. 220The Friend of Humanity and the Knife-grinder by George Canning (Right Hon.)
     politicssatirepoverty
     satire
108. 220Vulgarity and Affectation by William Hazlitt
     mannerstastecriticism
     essay
109. 224The Jester Condemned to Death by Horace Smith
     witdeathirony
     poem
110. 224The Summer Morning by John Clare
     morningrural lifenature
     poem
111. 225The Horn-book? by K. A. Pratzel
     Author as printed in the index; attribution unconfirmed.
     childhoodlearningantiquity
     essay
112. 233Across the Sands of Dee by Charles Kingsley
     seadrowninggrief
     ballad
113. 234Laura's Bower by Leigh Hunt
     lovegardenbeauty
     poem
114. 234Extracts from the Correspondence of Cowper by William Cowper
     domestic lifewitfriendship
     letters
115. 240Cupid Taught by the Graces by Anonymous
     lovemyththe graces
     poem
116. 240A Choice by George Godfrey Cunningham
     lovepreferencewit
     poem
117. 240The Adopted Child by Felicia Hemans
     childhoodlosshome
     poem
118. 241My Namesake by Theodore Martin
     identityhumorreflection
     poem
119. 251Winstanley, a Ballad by Jean Ingelow
     sealighthousesacrifice
     ballad
120. 254The Counterparts by Anonymous
     doublesfatemystery
     fiction
121. 258Human Life by Bernard Barton
     lifefaithreflection
     poem
122. 258Polish Superstitions? by Mrs. Baillie
     Author as printed in the index; attribution unconfirmed.
     folklorepolandcustom
     essay
123. 259The Sick Child by John Struthers
     illnesschildhoodtenderness
     poem
124. 260Selling Flowers by Mrs. Henry Wood
     povertycity lifepathos
     fiction
125. 267Sonnet, To a Ladye by William Dunbar
     lovescotlandpraise
     sonnet
126. 267Sonnet, the Fear of Death by Sir Philip Sidney
     deathfaithcourage
     sonnet
127. 267Sonnet, Degeneracy of the World by Drummond of Hawthornden
     declinevirtuetime
     sonnet
128. 267Sonnet, To Mr. Lawrence by John Milton
     friendshipleisurevirtue
     sonnet
129. 267Sonnet, Worldliness by William Wordsworth
     "The world is too much with us."
     naturematerialismloss
     sonnet
130. 268Sonnet, On the Grasshopper and Cricket by John Keats
     natureseasonspoetry
     sonnet
131. 268Fact and Fiction by Thomas Doubleday
     truthimaginationliterature
     essay
132. 272Ballad of Cresentius by Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.)
     romemartyrdomtragedy
     ballad
133. 273The Graves of a Household by Felicia Hemans
     familydeathdispersal
     poem
134. 273The Screen, or "Not at Home" by Mrs. Opie
     mannershypocrisysociety
     fiction
135. 277The Seven Sisters by William Wordsworth
     sisterstragedynature
     ballad
136. 278The Mother's Heart by Caroline Norton
     motherhoodloveloss
     poem
137. 278My Babes in the Wood by Sarah Piatt
     childrenmemoryloss
     poem
138. 279Martha the Gipsy by Theodore Hook
     prophecyfatesuperstition
     fiction
139. 287Searching after God by Thomas Heywood
     faithseekingthe divine
     poem
140. 288Masaniello, the Fisherman of Naples by Anonymous
     revoltnaplesthe people
     history
141. 290On Revisiting the Scenes of My Infancy by John Leyden (Dr.)
     memorychildhoodhome
     poem
142. 291Mrs. Mellor's Diamonds by George Augustus Sala
     societyintriguejewels
     fiction
143. 298Home at Last by Tom Hood (the Younger)
     homereturnrest
     poem
144. 298Stanzas by Caroline Bowles Southey
     solitudenaturemelancholy
     poem
145. 299The Rustic Wreath by Mary Russell Mitford
     village lifenatureengland
     sketch
146. 302Wyoming by Thomas Campbell
     From "Gertrude of Wyoming."
     americafrontierelegy
     poem
147. 302Death of Gertrude by Thomas Campbell
     lovedeathwar
     poem
148. 303School Friendship by James Smith
     friendshipyouthmemory
     essay
149. 306The Ocean Grave by Mrs. John Hunter
     seadeathmourning
     poem
150. 307The Fall of the Leaf by Thomas Hood
     autumntransiencemortality
     poem
151. 309Fidelity by From the Spanish
     loyaltylovetranslation
     poem
152. 309Verses by Andrew Marvell
     reflectionvirtue
     poem
153. 310Madame Simple's Investment by Anonymous
     moneyfollyhumor
     fiction
154. 316Song — The Old Man by Henry Neele
     agememorytime
     song
155. 316The Red-nosed Lieutenant by William Maginn (Dr.)
     militaryhumorcharacter
     fiction
156. 319The Wall-flower by John Langhorne (Rev.)
     flowersconstancyruins
     poem
157. 320At the Shrine? by B. Orme
     Author as printed in the index; attribution unconfirmed.
     devotionfaithitaly
     poem
158. 323Peace and War by Percy Bysshe Shelley
     peacewarhumanity
     poem
159. 323Trifles by Hannah More
     mannersmoralitysmall things
     essay
160. 324Rouge-et-Noir by Horace Smith
     gamblingfortuneruin
     fiction
161. 329On the Instability of Youth by Lord Vaux
     youthchangeage
     poem
162. 330London by Lord Macaulay
     londoncityhistory
     history
163. 337Laura in Heaven by Petrarch
     lovelossthe beyond
     poem
164. 337An English Landscape by George Eliot
     landscapeenglandnature
     description
165. 338Juggling Jerry by George Meredith
     vagrancymortalitythe road
     dramatic monologue
166. 340The Dwarf and the Invisible Cap by George Godfrey Cunningham
     folkloremagicfable
     fiction
167. 341The Education of Bacchus by George Croly (Rev.)
     mythantiquitythe vine
     poem
168. 341May Morning at Ravenna by Leigh Hunt
     springitalyhistory
     essay
169. 342Medicine and Morals by Isaac D'Israeli
     medicinemoralityanecdote
     essay
170. 344From the Arabic by Anonymous
     the eastwisdomtranslation
     poem
171. 344The Scottish Sacramental Sabbath by James Hislop
     scotlandworshipthe covenant
     poem
172. 346Little Dominick by Maria Edgeworth
     childhoodirelandkindness
     fiction
173. 350Lament for her Husband by Mrs. Opie
     widowhoodgrieflove
     elegy
174. 351The Fags' Revolt by Thomas Hughes
     From "Tom Brown’s School Days."
     schoolboysrebellion
     fiction
175. 357The Vicar by Winthrop M. Praed
     villageclergycharacter
     poem
176. 358To a Beloved Daughter by Henry Alford
     fatherhoodloveblessing
     poem
177. 358My Plea by Alice Cary
     lovelongingtenderness
     poem
178. 359The White Boat by Émile Souvestre
     brittanysealove
     fiction
179. 370Song — "Gather ye Rose-buds" by Robert Herrick
     transienceyouthcarpe diem
     song
180. 370The Sleep by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
     deathrestfaith
     poem
181. 371Alfred the Truth-teller by Charlotte Mary Yonge
     englandkingshipvirtue
     history
182. 375The Forging of the Anchor by Samuel Ferguson
     laborthe seairon
     poem
183. 377English Literature by Francis Jeffrey
     literaturecriticismengland
     criticism
184. 380The Gondola Glides? by Thomas Kibble Hervey
     Author reading from the printed index; unconfirmed.
     veniceromancenight
     poem
185. 381Right at Last by Elizabeth Gaskell
     honestymarriagetrust
     fiction
186. 386The Exchange by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
     loveexchangehearts
     poem
187. 387Robin Hood at Sherwood Forest by Michael Drayton
     greenwoodenglandlegend
     poem
188. 388The Story of Marullo by Shirley Brooks
     italyintriguedrama
     fiction
189. 392Song of the Virgins of Israel by William Sotheby
     scripturelamentisrael
     poem
190. 393A Good Word for Winter by James Russell Lowell
     winterseasonsnature
     essay
191. 397The Soldier's Home by Robert Bloomfield
     soldieryhomereturn
     poem
192. 398The Great Storm of 1703? by Daniel Defoe
     Authorship of the account as carried by the index; unconfirmed.
     stormdisasterengland
     history

Provenance. Title-page library stamp: "Arthur C. Dawson, Assistant in Modern Languages, Swarthmore College, Penna."

Public domain. Published 1881; all selections predate 1929 — firmly in the US public domain.