"The author of this little volume pretends to settle no disputes, aims at inaugurating no reforms. He has lightly touched on passing topics and jotted down, "to point a moral or adorn a tale," some of the more obvious foibles and inconsistencies of our American ways. If a stray bit of philosophy has here and there slipped in between the lines, it is mostly of the laughing "school," and used more in banter than in blame. This much abused "world" is a fairly agreeable place if you do not take it seriously. Meet it with a friendly face and it will smile gaily back at you, but do not ask of it what it cannot give, or attribute to its verdicts more importance than they deserve." 'Worldly Ways and Byways' is a collection of sketches by author Eliot Gregory.

"Only Robert Hymes could have produced such a vivid, fascinating portrait of a Taoist mountain, with its immortals, its clergy, and its devotees. Extensive translations of poetry, ghost stories, and canonical sources make it possible for the first time to glimpse the richness of life in a Taoist community in the distant past."—Valerie Hansen, author of The Open Empire: A History of China to 1600

"The Ways of Men" is an interesting work by American writer Eliot Gregory. He was an honest critic of the 19th century and a discerning observer of people who wrote numerous short stories and essays published in famous newspapers and magazines of the time.