Table of Contents:
- The silence of the sea
- Permanence
- Walter Scott
- The under-dog
- On skulls
- Assault by post
- On the use of controversy
- William Tyndale
- Bunyan
- John Hawkins
- The unfortunate great
- On diarists
- Boswell
- Jane Austen
- Anno Domini
- On new years and new moons
- Fun for Clio
- The gap
- The test of time
- On the immediate past
- On portraits in history
- The despot and the arts
- On euphemism
- On boasting
- On speaking too soon
- On books
- About prophecy
- On fountains
- On town walls
- On advertisement
- On hats
- On statistics
- The wisdom of the white knight
- Landscapes
- About volcanoes
- The dead city
- The ogre
- On Latin
- On the future of English
- The English River
- On horsemen
- On port
- The great serpent
- On clocks and watches
- On proportion
- On fortitude
- On fame
- On innocence.