.... know, however, that the author was the grandson of a Haitian slave, or that Dumas's mulatto father rose rapidly through the ranks of the French Army to become a legendary general by the age of 31. His father died when Dumas was only four. General Dumas, having fallen out of favor with Napoleon, not being sympathetic with Bonaparte's imperial ambitions. Though the general died young, leaving his son without an inheritance, Dumas overcame poverty, the lack of formal education, and the constant wear and tear of 19th-century racism to become one of the world's most popular writers. Fortunately, considerin .....

.... time. However, history shows that this "isolation" period was not as reclusive as Hawthorne would have most believe. He socialized quite often in Salem, and used the free passage that was available on his uncle's stagecoach line to make summer excursions around New England; Hawthorne even went as far west as Detroit. Hawthorne published his first novel, Fanshaw: A Tale, at his own expense in 1828. However, he later recalled it and destroyed all the copies he could find. Then, in 1830, the Salem Gazette published his first story, "The Hollow of the Three Hills". .....

.... a new pair of spikes. They wore blisters on his feet and they hurt so badly that he just played in his stocking feet. Although he played only one game without the spikes, he was known as “” from then on (McGee 1). made his major league debut later that year, in 1908, with the Philadelphia Athletics. He only played there a short time before being transferred to the Cleveland Indians. Finally, in 1915 he was sold to Charles Comiskey and the Chicago White Sox. It was here that he played his last few years of professional baseball and his life would be fore .....

.... left her large brick house, and communicated even to her beloved sister through a door rarely left “slightly ajar.” This seclusion gave her a reputation for eccentricity to the local towns people, and perhaps increased her interest in death (Whicher 26). Dressing in white every day Dickinson was know in Amherst as, “the New England mystic,” by some. Her only contact to her few friends and correspondents was through a series of letters, seen as some critics to be equal not only in number to her poetic works, but in literary genius as well (Sewall 98) .....

.... prosecution of your design. Sir William Temple complains that Ireland is less known than any other country, as to its ancient state. The natives have had little leisure, and little encouragement for enquiry; and strangers, not knowing the language, have had no ability. "I have long wished that the Irish literature were cultivated.2 Ireland is known by tradition to have been once the seat of piety and learning; and surely it would be very acceptable to all those who are curious either in the original of nations, or the affinities of languages, to be further in .....

.... his portion of influence; but, like them, they differed, as star differeth from star in glory. But in the constellation of great men, which adorned that era, few shone with more brilliancy, or exercised a more powerful influence than .” (Fradin 98) People like to hear the story of for two reasons. First it is a story of the greatest hero in American history full of much triumph and fighting for the common good. Also they like to hear of how he was a failure in every sense before he found exactly what his life’s calling was. Perhaps it gives people som .....

.... was a very diligent student and quickly rose through the academic ranks. Meanwhile his father upon hearing of his son’s achievements had great hopes for him. Luther was preparing to be a lawyer to some prince or town after he received his degree in philosophy. But halfway through his training he decided to quit and take up life permanently in an Augustine monastery. Historians speculate on why such a successful young man would want to join the monastery. Historians believe a string of events led Luther to choose the path of the Church. Being superstitious, .....

.... Mozart wrote from some excellent libretti, yet the music is always the dominant element, giving the action inflections of meaning the words alone couldn’t reflect. Furthermore, until Mozart’s emergence, operatic characters where generalized and typical. Mozart was the first to put real people up on the stage, people who had real emotions that were inconsistent and whose personalities were evolutionary. In 1767, the Mozarts went to Vienna where Wolfgang was commissioned to compose his first opera, La finta semplice, K. 51. Intrigues created by envious comp .....