A Kentucky Cardinal A Story

James Lane Allen

Summary

All this New-year's Day of 1850 the sun shone cloudless but wrought no thaw. Even the landscapes of frost on the window-panes did not melt a flower, and the little trees still keep their silvery boughs arched high above the jeweled avenues. During the afternoon a lean hare limped twice across the lawn, and there was not a creature stirring to chase it. Now the night is bitter cold, with no sounds outside but the cracking of the porches as they freeze tighter. Even the north wind seems grown too numb to move. I had determined to convert its coarse, big noise into something sweet--as may often be done by a little art with the things of this life--and so stretched a horse-hair above the opening between the window sashes; but the soul of my harp has departed. I hear but the comfortable roar and snap of hickory logs, at long intervals a deeper breath from the dog stretched on his side at my feet, and the crickets under the hearth-stones. They have to thank me for that nook. One chill afternoon I came upon a whole company of them on the western slope of a woodland mound, so lethargic that I thumped them repeatedly before they could so much as get their senses. There was a branch near by, and the smell of mint in the air, so that had they been young Kentuckians one might have had a clew to the situation. With an ear for winter minstrelsy, I brought two home in a handkerchief, and assigned them an elegant suite of apartments under a loose brick.

Available since: 12/16/2020.

Other books that might interest you

Love and Friendship and Other...

Jane Austen

This book draws together some of Jane Austen's earliest literary efforts. It includes "Love & Freindship" and "Lesley Castle" both told through the medium of letters written by the characters. It also contains her wonderful "History of England" and a "Collection of Letters" and lastly a chapter containing "Scraps". In these offerings, we may see the beginnings of Miss Austen's literary style. We may also discern traces of characters that we encounter in her later works. G. K. Chesterton in his preface, for example, says of a passage in Love and Freindship; "... is there not the foreshadowing of another and more famous father; and do we not hear for a moment, in the rustic cottage by the Uske, the unmistakable voice of Mr. Bennet?" These works are certainly worth exploring for their own sakes and not simply as historical relics.

Show book

Drone Warfare - The Development...

Dave Sloggett

The Development of Unmanned Aerial Conflict will examine the development and use of aerial drones, a topical subject that has not been written on to date.An unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot on board. Its flight is either controlled autonomously by computers in the vehicle, or under the remote control of a navigator or pilot on the ground or in another vehicle.Blending history with current and recent operations, Dr Sloggett will set out to put the record straight. In some quarters of the press drones get a bad press and there has been much controversy over their deployment, some of which is not deserved.The book reveals the history of unmanned aircraft, their recent development and why they have emerged onto the scene. Why did the US, for example, really invest highly in drone technology? When did all that start? What barriers had to be overcome? What was there before drones arrived?The book also analyses their operations in Iraq in Gulf War Two and more recently Afghanistan. What roles did drones play? Where they successful? What new developments emerged during operations? Did they save lives? Further to this is a detailed look at case studies where they have been used trying to remove some of the incorrect reporting – putting the record straight based on evidence. How many have been shot down and where?The book then looks at strategic uses of drones at present: Iran is being monitored; they are already in action over parts of Africa; what are other countries doing – China, Iran? Turkey?The RAF's use of drones, their deployment and operations is considered along with important questions such as where this goes for the future. What are the issues? Will all air forces be drone based in the future? What other applications may arise in the civilian market?

Show book

Menno Moto - A Journey Across...

Cameron Dueck

Across Latin America, from the plains of Mexico to the jungles of Paraguay, live a cloistered Germanic people. For nearly a century, they have kept their doors and their minds closed, separating their communities from a secular world they view as sinful.The story of their search for religious and social independence began generations ago in Europe and led them, in the late 1800s, to Canada, where they enjoyed the freedoms they sought under the protection of a nascent government. Yet in the 1920s, when the country many still consider their motherland began to take shape as a nation and their separatism came under scrutiny, groups of Mennonites left for the promises of Latin America: unbroken land and new guarantees of freedom to create autonomous, ethnically pure colonies. There they live as if time stands still?an isolation with dark consequences.In this memoir of an eight-month, 45,000 kilometre motorcycle journey across the Americas, Mennonite writer Cameron Dueck searches for common ground within his cultural diaspora. From skirmishes with secular neighbours over water rights in Mexico, to a mass-rape scandal in Bolivia, to the Green Hell of Paraguay and the wheat fields of Argentina, Dueck follows his ancestors south, finding reasons to both love and loathe his culture?and, in the process, finding himself.

Show book

The Ice Cave - A Woman’s...

Lucy Jane Bledsoe

Gripping true adventure stories - from the Mojave to the Antarctic - reveal one woman's wild affair with the Earth 
For Lucy Jane Bledsoe, wilderness had always been a source of peace. But during one disastrous solo trip in the wintry High Sierra she came face to face with a crisis: the wilderness no longer felt like home. The Ice Cave recounts Bledsoe's wilderness journeys as she recovers her connection with the wild and discovers the meanings of fear and grace. 
These are Bledsoe's gripping tales of fending off wolves in Alaska, encountering UFOs in the Colorado Desert, and searching for mountain lions in Berkeley. Her memorable story "The Breath of Seals" takes readers to Antarctica, the wildest continent on earth, where she camped out with geologists, biologists, and astrophysicists. These fresh and deeply personal narratives remind us what it means to be simply one member of one species, trying to find food and shelter - and moments of grace - on our planet.

Show book

Blind Without Barriers

David Hume, Peter R Murray

Sent blind soon after birth David Hume stubbornly refused to live the limited life well-meaning elders and social norms expected. 'I do not wake in the morning and regret I'm blind. No, I wake and look to another win in a busy life.' To date, that encompasses years in a blind institute, two marriages, grieving for two outstanding wives, founding recruiting firms, devising marketing techniques, facing business collapse, sailing ocean races and through much of it, being the lead singer in popular bands. If you enjoy a short biography that inspires, saddens, cheers and sticks in your memory, then don't put aside Blind Without Barriers.

Show book

Tea for One - A Celebration of...

Alice Taylor

In Tea for One, Alice Taylor celebrates the little moments that bring us joy
After many busy years raising a family and running a business, Alice is now living alone – with all the challenges and pleasures that brings.
From improving her painting to perfecting her garden, exploring family histories and reclaiming her mother's art of tea-making, Alice celebrates the small acts that fill her days and make her happy.

Show book