Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Alex Bassano, published 1885. Public domain.
Frances Colenso admired the gallantry of the men who defended the fort at Rorke’s Drift, and the restraint of the men who attacked it.
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© Len Williams, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.
There is plenty of work in the garden of England for everyone, whether he has a green thumb or not.
By Marcin Mlynczak. Public domain.
Frances Colenso warned that if the British did not learn to treat the Africans with respect, a higher Power would soon teach them some manners.
© Edward Prentis (1797-1854), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
During a severe sickness, John Donne, Dean of St Paul’s, asked of God three boons.
By Thomas Davidson (1842-1919). Public domain.
In time of crisis, so the legend goes, Sir Francis Drake will come to our aid again, as once he did against the Spanish Armada.
By Paul Sandby (?1730-1809). Public domain.
Ralph Waldo Emerson traced a common thread running throughout English literature.