The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

325

© Salvatore Capuano, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain image.

A Surfeit of Lampreys Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus

Augustus, the Roman Emperor, invited himself to dine at the luxury Naples villa of Publius Vedius Pollio, but a broken goblet thoroughly spoilt the evening.

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326

© Graham Robertson, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Rush to Judgment Samuel Smiles

As a young man, surveyor Thomas Telford was a red-hot political activist who yearned for revolution, but admittedly he had read just one book on the matter.

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327

© LenskiyS, wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

‘We are Free Men of Novgorod’ Clay Lane

The politicians of Novgorod, angry at Moscow’s interference, thought they would teach her a lesson by selling out to Poland.

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328

© Roger Butterfield, Geograph. Licence CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Brutus of Britain Clay Lane

Back in the days of the prophet Samuel, so the story goes, a grandson of Trojan hero Aeneas brought civilisation to the British Isles.

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329

© AleXXw, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: public domain.

When the Cat’s Away... Harrison Weir

A Victorian artist and avid bird-watcher banished cats from his country cottage, but soon wished he hadn’t.

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330

By Percy Carpenter (1820-1895), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

A Dereliction of Duty Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke tore into the directors of the East India Company, accusing them of doing less for the country than India’s mediaeval conquerors.

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