Ben Blair

by Will Lillibridge

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  Adventures of Captain Kettle. Cutcliffe Hyne.Adventures of Gerard. A. Conan Doyle.Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. A. Conan Doyle.Alton of Somasco. Harold Bindloss.Arms and the Woman. Harold MacGrath.Artemus Ward's Works (extra illustrated).At the Mercy of Tiberius. Augusta Evans Wilson.Battle Ground, The. Ellen Glasgow.Belle of Bowling Green, The. Amelia E. Barr.Ben Blair. Will Lillibridge.Bob, Son of Battle. Alfred Ollivant.Boss, The. Alfred Henry Lewis.Brass Bowl, The. Louis Joseph Vance.Brethren, The. H. Rider Haggard.By Snare of Love. Arthur W. Marchmont.By Wit of Woman. Arthur W. Marchmont.Cap'n Erie. Joseph C. Lincoln.Captain in the Ranks, A. George Cary Eggleston.Cardigan. Robert W. Chambers.Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine. Frank R. Stockton.Circle, The. Katherine Cecil Thurston (author of "The Masquerader,""The Gambler").Conquest of Canaan, The. Booth Tarkington.Courier of Fortune, A. Arthur W. Marchmont.Darrow Enigma, The. Melvin Severy.Deliverance, The. Ellen Glasgow.Exploits of Brigadier Gerard. A. Conan Doyle.Fighting Chance, The. Robert W. Chambers.For a Maiden Brave. Chauncey C. Hotchkiss.For Love or Crown. Arthur W. Marchmont.Fugitive Blacksmith, The. Charles D. Stewart.Heart's Highway, The. Mary E. Wilkins.Holladay Case, The. Burton Egbert Stevenson.Hurricane Island. H. B. Marriott-Watson.Indifference of Juliet, The. Grace S. Richmond.Infelice. Augusta Evans Wilson.In the Name of a Woman. Arthur W. Marchmont.Lady Betty Across the Water. C. N. and A. M. Williamson.Lane That Had No Turning, The. Gilbert Parker.Leavenworth Case, The. Anna Katharine Green.Lilac Sunbonnet, The. S. R. Crockett.Lin McLean. Owen Wister.Long Night, The. Stanley J. Weyman.Maid at Arms, The. Robert W. Chambers.Man from Red Keg, The. Eugene Thwing.Marathon Mystery, The. Burton Egbert Stevenson.Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. A. Conan Doyle.Millionaire Baby, The. Anna Katharine Green.Missourian, The. Eugene P. Lyle, Jr.My Friend the Chauffeur. C. N. and A. M. Williamson.My Lady of the North. Randall Parrish.Mystery of June 13th. Melvin L. Severy.Mystery Tales. Edgar Allen Poe.Nancy Stair. Elinor Macartney Lane.None But the Brave. Hamblen Sears.Order No. 11. Caroline Abbot Stanley.Pam. Bettina von Hutten.Pam Decides. Bettina von Hutten.Partners of the Tide. Joseph C. Lincoln.Phra the Phoenician. Edwin Lester Arnold.President, The. Alfred Henry Lewis.Princess Passes, The. C. N. and A. M. Williamson.Private War, The. Louis Joseph Vance.Prodigal Son, The. Hall Caine.Queen's Advocate, The. Arthur W. Marchmont.Quickening, The. Francis Lynde.Richard the Brazen. Cyrus Townsend Brady and Edward Peple.Rose of the World. Agnes and Egerton Castle.Sarita the Carlist. Arthur W. Marchmont.Seats of the Mighty, The. Gilbert Parker.Sir Nigel. A. Conan Doyle.Sir Richard Calmady. Lucas Malet.Speckled Bird. Augusta Evans Wilson.Spoilers, The. Rex Beach.Sunset Trail, The. Alfred Henry Lewis.Sword of the Old Frontier, A. Randall Parrish.Tales of Sherlock Holmes. A. Conan Doyle.That Printer of Udell's. Harold Bell Wright.Throwback, The. Alfred Henry Lewis.Trail of the Sword, The. Gilbert Parker.Two Vanrevels, The. Booth Tarkington.Up From Slavery. Booker T. Washington.Vashti. Augusta Evans Wilson.Viper of Milan, The (original edition). Marjorie Bowen.Voice of the People, The. Ellen Glasgow.Wheel of Life, The. Ellen Glasgow.When I Was Czar. Arthur W. Marchmont.When Wilderness Was King. Randall Parrish.Woman in Grey, A. Mrs. C. N. Williamson.Woman in the Alcove, The. Anna Katharine Green.

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  A. L. BURT CO., Publishers, 52-58 Duane St., New York City

  BURT'S SERIES of STANDARD FICTION.

  RICHELIEU. A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. By G.P.R.James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price,$1.00.

  In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, "Richelieu," and was recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft.

  In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great cardinal's life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while it was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost wave of prosperity. One of the most striking portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar's conspiracy; the method of conducting criminal cases, and the political trickery resorted to by royal favorites, affording a better insight into the state-craft of that day than can be had even by an exhaustive study of history. It is a powerful romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling and absorbing interest has never been excelled.

  A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE. A story of American Colonial Times. By ChaunceyC. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis.Price, $1.00.

  A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of Revolutionary scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. It causes the true American to flush with excitement, to devour chapter after chapter, until the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes with patriotism. The love story is a singularly charming idyl.

  THE TOWER OF LONDON. A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady JaneGrey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with fourillustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.

  This romance of the "Tower of London" depicts the Tower as palace, prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is the middle of the sixteenth century.

  The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane Grey, and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other notable characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the interest of the reader in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, extending considerably over a half a century.

  IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. A Romance of the American Revolution. ByChauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. WatsonDavis. Price, $1.00.

  Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery, and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the spirit of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described. His whole story is so absorbing that you will sit up far into the night to finish it. As a love romance it is charming.

  GARTHOWEN. A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth, 12mo.with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  "This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some strong points of Welsh character--the pride, the hasty temper, the quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a well-written story, interesting alike through its romance and its glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and clever picture of Welsh village life. The result is excellent."--Detroit Free Press.

  MIFANWY. The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allan Raine. Cloth, 12mo.with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  "This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care to read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the characters, it is apparent at once, are as true to life as though the author had known them all personally. Simple in all its situations, the story is worked up in that touching and quaint strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how often the lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and does not tax the imagination."--Boston Herald.

  DARNLEY. A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. ByG.P.R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis.Price, $1.00.

  As a historical romance "Darnley" is a book that can be taken up pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle charm which those who are strangers to the works of G.P.R. James have claimed was only to be imparted by Dumas.

  If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial attention, the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic "field of the cloth of gold" would entitle the story to the most favorable consideration of every reader.

  There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the aut
hor has taken care to imagine love passages only between those whom history has credited with having entertained the tender passion one for another, and he succeeds in making such lovers as all the world must love.

  WINDSOR CASTLE. A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII.,Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth.12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.

  "Windsor Castle" is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and Anne Boleyn. "Bluff King Hal," although a well-loved monarch, was none too good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and unwarrantable acts, none was more discreditable than his divorce from Catharine, and his marriage to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. The King's love was as brief as it was vehement. Jane Seymour, waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, and Anne Boleyn was forced to the block to make room for her successor. This romance is one of extreme interest to all readers.

  HORSESHOE ROBINSON. A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Carolina in1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as historical fiction, there are none which appeal to a larger number of Americans than Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it is the only story which depicts with fidelity to the facts the heroic efforts of the colonists in South Carolina to defend their homes against the brutal oppression of the British under such leaders as Cornwallis and Tarleton.

  The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the thread of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail concerning those times. The picture of the manifold sufferings of the people, is never over-drawn, but painted faithfully and honestly by one who spared neither time nor labor in his efforts to present in this charming love story all that price in blood and tears which the Carolinians paid as their share in the winning of the republic.

  Take it all in all, "Horseshoe Robinson" is a work which should be found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most entertaining story, but because of the wealth of valuable information concerning the colonists which it contains. That it has been brought out once more, well illustrated, is something which will give pleasure to thousands who have long desired an opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who have tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they might read it for the first time.

  THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND. A story of the Coast of Maine. By HarrietBeecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00.

  Written prior to 1862, the "Pearl of Orr's Island" is ever new; a book filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array themselves anew each time one reads them. One sees the "sea like an unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr's Island," and straightway comes "the heavy, hollow moan of the surf on the beach, like the wild angry howl of some savage animal."

  Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, which came into this world under the very shadow of the Death angel's wings, without having an intense desire to know how the premature bud blossomed? Again and again one lingers over the descriptions of the character of that baby boy Moses, who came through the tempest, amid the angry billows, pillowed on his dead mother's breast.

  There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that which Mrs. Stowe gives in "The Pearl of Orr's Island."

  BURT'S SERIES _of_ STANDARD FICTION.

  THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER. A Romance of the Early Settlers in the OhioValley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. WatsonDavis. Price, $1.00.

  A book rather out of the ordinary is this "Spirit of the Border." The main thread of the story has to do with the work of the Moravian missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader is given details of the frontier life of those hardy pioneers who broke the wilderness for the planting of this great nation. Chief among these, as a matter of course, is Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and at the same time the most admirable of all the brave men who spent their lives battling with the savage foe, that others might dwell in comparative security.

  Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian "Village of Peace" are given at some length, and with minute description. The efforts to Christianize the Indians are described as they never have been before, and the author has depicted the characters of the leaders of the several Indian tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to the student.

  By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense paintings of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken forests.

  It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, willingly braved every privation and danger that the westward progress of the star of empire might be the more certain and rapid. A love story, simple and tender, runs through the book.

  CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE. By Lieut. Henry A. Wise,U.S.N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. WatsonDavis. Price, $1.00.

  The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as can come through the medium of a printed page, for never has a story of the sea and those "who go down in ships" been written by one more familiar with the scenes depicted.

  The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, and which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is "Captain Brand," who, as the author states on his title page, was a "pirate of eminence in the West Indies." As a sea story pure and simple, "Captain Brand" has never been excelled, and as a story of piratical life, told without the usual embellishments of blood and thunder, it has no equal.

  NICK OF THE WOODS. A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. ByRobert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier life in Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel, long out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its realistic presentation of Indian and frontier life in the early days of settlement in the South, narrated in the tale with all the art of a practiced writer. A very charming love romance runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition of "Nick of the Woods" will be certain to make many new admirers for this enchanting story from Dr. Bird's clever and versatile pen.

  GUY FAWKES. A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. HarrisonAinsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank.Price, $1.00.

  The "Gunpowder Plot" was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King of England, was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient scheme of extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the Catholics. In their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful of bold spirits concluded to overthrow the government. Finally the plotters were arrested, and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners with royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through the entire romance.

  TICONDEROGA: A Story of Early Frontier Life in the Mohawk Valley. ByG.P.R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four page illustrations by J. WatsonDavis. Price, $1.00.

  The setting of the story is decidedly more picturesque than any ever evolved by Cooper: The frontier of New York State, where dwelt an English gentleman, driven from his native home by grief over the loss of his wife, with a son and daughter. Thither, brought by the exigencies of war, comes an English officer, who is readily recognized as that Lord Howe who met his death at Ticonder
oga. As a most natural sequence, even amid the hostile demonstrations of both French and Indians, Lord Howe and the young girl find time to make most deliciously sweet love, and the son of the recluse has already lost his heart to the daughter of a great sachem, a dusky maiden whose warrior-father has surrounded her with all the comforts of a civilized life.

  The character of Captain Brooks, who voluntarily decides to sacrifice his own life in order to save the son of the Englishman, is not among the least of the attractions of this story, which holds the attention of the reader even to the last page. The tribal laws and folk lore of the different tribes of Indians known as the "Five Nations," with which the story is interspersed, shows that the author gave no small amount of study to the work in question, and nowhere else is it shown more plainly than by the skilful manner in which he has interwoven with his plot the "blood" law, which demands a life for a life, whether it be that of the murderer or one of his race.

  A more charming story of mingled love and adventure has never been written than "Ticonderoga."

  ROB OF THE BOWL: A Story of the Early Days of Maryland. By John P.Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four page illustrations by J. Watson Davis.Price, $1.00.

  It was while he was a member of Congress from Maryland that the noted statesman wrote this story regarding the early history of his native State, and while some critics are inclined to consider "Horse Shoe Robinson" as the best of his works, it is certain that "Rob of the Bowl" stands at the head of the list as a literary production and an authentic exposition of the manners and customs during Lord Baltimore's rule. The greater portion of the action takes place in St. Mary's--the original capital of the State.

  As a series of pictures of early colonial life in Maryland, "Rob of the Bowl" has no equal, and the book, having been written by one who had exceptional facilities for gathering material concerning the individual members of the settlements in and about St. Mary's, is a most valuable addition to the history of the State.

  The story is full of splendid action, with a charming love story, and a plot that never loosens the grip of its interest to its last page.

  BY BERWEN BANKS. By Allen Raine.

  It is a tender and beautiful romance of the idyllic. A charming picture of life in a Welsh seaside village. It is something of a prose-poem, true, tender and graceful.

  IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. A romance of the American Revolution. ByChauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. WatsonDavis. Price, $1.00.

  The story opens in the month of April, 1775, with the provincial troops hurrying to the defense of Lexington and Concord. Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery and true love that thrills from beginning to end with the spirit of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described. You lay the book aside with the feeling that you have seen a gloriously true picture of the Revolution. His whole story is so absorbing that you will sit up far into the night to finish it. As a love romance it is charming.

  POPULAR LITERATURE FOR THE MASSES, COMPRISING CHOICE SELECTIONS FROM THETREASURES OF THE WORLD'S KNOWLEDGE, ISSUED IN A SUBSTANTIAL ANDATTRACTIVE CLOTH BINDING, AT A POPULAR PRICE

  BURT'S HOME LIBRARY is a series which includes the standard works of theworld's best literature, bound in uniform cloth binding, gilt tops,embracing chiefly selections from writers of the most notable English,American and Foreign Fiction, together with many important works in thedomains of History, Biography, Philosophy, Travel, Poetry and theEssays.

  A glance at the following annexed list of titles and authors willendorse the claim that the publishers make for it--that it is the mostcomprehensive, choice, interesting, and by far the most carefullyselected series of standard authors for world-wide reading that has beenproduced by any publishing house in any country, and that at prices socheap, and in a style so substantial and pleasing, as to win for itmillions of readers and the approval and commendation, not only of thebook trade throughout the American continent, but of hundreds ofthousands of librarians, clergymen, educators and men of lettersinterested in the dissemination of instructive, entertaining andthoroughly wholesome reading matter for the masses.

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  Abbe Constantin. By Ludovic Halevy.Abbott. By Sir Walter Scott.Adam Bede. By George Eliot.Addison's Essays. Edited by John Richard Green.Aeneid of Virgil. Translated by John Connington.Aesop's Fables.Alexander, the Great, Life of. By John Williams.Alfred, the Great, Life of. By Thomas Hughes.Alhambra. By Washington Irving.Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass. By Lewis Carroll.Alice Lorraine. By R. D. Blackmore.All Sorts and Conditions of Men. By Walter Besant.Alton Locke. By Charles Kingsley.Amiel's Journal. Translated by Mrs. Humphrey Ward.Andersen's Fairy Tales.Anne of Geirstein. By Sir Walter Scott.Antiquary. By Sir Walter Scott.Arabian Nights' Entertainments.Ardath. By Marie Corelli.Arnold, Benedict, Life of. By George Canning Hill.Arnold's Poems. By Matthew Arnold.Around the World in the Yacht Sunbeam. By Mrs. Brassey.Arundel Motto. By Mary Cecil Hay.At the Back of the North Wind. By George Macdonald.Attic Philosopher. By Emile Souvestre.Auld Licht Idylls. By James M. Barrie.Aunt Diana. By Rosa N. Carey.Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. By O. W. Holmes.Averil. By Rosa N. Carey.Bacon's Essays. By Francis Bacon.Barbara Heathcote's Trial. By Rosa N. Carey.Barnaby Rudge. By Charles Dickens.Barrack Room Ballads. By Rudyard Kipling.Betrothed. By Sir Walter Scott.Beulah. By Augusta J. Evans.Black Beauty. By Anna Sewell.Black Dwarf. By Sir Walter Scott.Black Rock. By Ralph Connor.Black Tulip. By Alexandre Dumas.Bleak House. By Charles Dickens.Blithedale Romance. By Nathaniel Hawthorne.Bondman. By Hall Caine.Book of Golden Deeds. By Charlotte M. Yonge.Boone, Daniel, Life of. By Cecil B. Hartley.Bride of Lammermoor. By Sir Walter Scott.Bride of the Nile. By George Ebers.Browning's Poems. By Elizabeth Barrett Browning.Browning's Poems. (selections.) By Robert Browning.Bryant's Poems. (early.) By William Cullen Bryant.Burgomaster's Wife. By George Ebers.Burn's Poems. By Robert Burns.By Order of the King. By Victor Hugo.Byron's Poems. By Lord Byron.Caesar, Julius, Life of. By James Anthony Froude.Carson, Kit, Life of. By Charles Burdett.Cary's Poems. By Alice and Phoebe Cary.Cast Up by the Sea. By Sir Samuel Baker.Charlemagne (Charles the Great), Life of. By Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L.Charles Auchester. By E. Berger.Character. By Samuel Smiles.Charles O'Malley. By Charles Lever.Chesterfield's Letters. By Lord Chesterfield.Chevalier de Maison Rouge. By Alexandre Dumas.Chicot the Jester. By Alexandre Dumas.Children of the Abbey. By Regina Maria Roche.Child's History of England. By Charles Dickens.Christmas Stories. By Charles Dickens.Cloister and the Hearth. By Charles Reade.Coleridge's Poems. By Samuel Taylor Coleridge.Columbus, Christopher, Life of. By Washington Irving.Companions of Jehu. By Alexandre Dumas.Complete Angler. By Walton And Cotton.Conduct of Life. By Ralph Waldo Emerson.Confessions of an Opium Eater. By Thomas de Quincey.Conquest of Granada. By Washington Irving.Conscript. By Erckmann-Chatrian.Conspiracy of Pontiac. By Francis Parkman, Jr.Conspirators. By Alexandre Dumas.Consuelo. By George Sand.Cook's Voyages. By Captain James Cook.Corinne. By Madame de Stael.Countess de Charney. By Alexandre Dumas.Countess Gisela. By E. Marlitt.

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  Transcriber's notes:

  Punctuation normalized.

  The phrase "Box R" has been used where a literal cattle brand symbolof the letter R inside two sides of a box was used in the original text.Similarly, an R within a circle indicating a ranch has been rendered asthe "Circle R" ranch in this transcription.

  Page 113, "life" changed to "city" (The city was part of their life).

  Page 210, "clapsed" changed to "clasped" (girls hands were clasped).

  Page 341, "Sewall" changed to "Sewell" (Anna Sewell).