Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By William Hamilton (1751–1801), via the National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: ? Public domain.
John Wesley urged the medical profession (and his fellow clergy) to remember that drugs are not the answer to every sickness.
Read
© Roger Templeman, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
When farmhand and lay preacher George Loveless was convicted of conspiracy, both charge and sentence made the country gasp.
By John Morgan (1822–1885), via Buckinghamshire County Museum and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
In 1844, Daniel O’Connell was hauled before a Dublin court to answer charges of seditious conspiracy, and he didn’t stand a chance.
© Ronald Saunders, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
William Cowper told Lady Hesketh about a walk beside the river at Olney, and the affecting behaviour of his spaniel Beau.
By James Lonsdale (1777-1839), via the National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: ? Public domain.
Sir Philip Francis told the House of Commons that it must not let ministers manufacture crises as an excuse for grabbing more power.
By Daderot, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Scottish scholar and clergyman Gilbert Burnet sets before us a picture of a King who was something of a Solomon in his virtues and his vices.