Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© SMU Central University Libraries, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sir Bartle Frere, Governor of Bombay, shared his excitement at the way railways were making Indians more independent.
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© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
A persistent dream prompts a Norfolk tradesman to walk all the way to London in the hope of bettering his lot.
From ‘College Addresses’ by Sir Hubert Parry (1920).
Sir Hubert Parry explained to students at the Royal College of Music that some mistakes are creative whereas others are destructive.
© LA(Photo) Angie Pearce / MOD, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Open Government Licence v1.0.
Richard Cobden despaired at British statesmen using the peerless Royal Navy merely to strangle trade in other countries.
© Gary Kramer / US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
The leader of a wolf-pack makes some sheep an offer they’d better refuse.
© Androsch, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
An innovative English composer who did not live to fulfil his extraordinary promise.