Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© mags, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
When Saint-Mars arrived to take over as warden of the Bastille in 1698, staff at Paris’s most famous prison had eyes only for his prisoner.
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Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848–1926)
The interminable squabbling among the Slavic peoples around the southeast Baltic prompted their leaders to drastic action.
By Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Trapped in Crete with his son Icarus, the craftsman and inventor Daedalus realises a bold and desperate plan to get away.
By Hans Holbein the Younger (?1497-1543), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus urged Fausto Andrelini not to miss out on England’s enchanting contribution to good manners.
By Peter Monamy (1681–1749), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
There are solid reasons why countries with lower taxes and less regulation tend to be more prosperous.
By Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Riding through Sussex, William Cobbett comes across a large family relaxing together in front of their charming cottage.