The Copybook

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

349

By Lovis Corinth (1858–1925), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Mrs Nickleby’s Cold Cure by Charles Dickens

Charmed by their attentions to her daughter Kate, Mrs Nickleby rewards Mr Pyke and Mr Pluck with a reminiscence about her favourite home remedy for colds.

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350

© Ryzhkov Sergey, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

‘Your Child Shall Be Healed’ by St Bede of Jarrow

When the plague once again visited Northumbria, Bishop Cuthbert of Lindisfarne left his island retreat and brought comfort and healing to the suffering.

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351

© Lorenza Liandru, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

A Quick Study by St Bede of Jarrow

After the monastery of St Paul in Jarrow was devasted by an epidemic, the Abbot had only a boy in his early teens to rely on.

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352

© Mildeep, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Firebird’s Nest attributed to Cynewulf

Like the legendary phoenix, the Christian must spend his life making a nest fit for his rebirth in fire.

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353

By Walker and Boutall (fl. 1887-1900), via the Wellcome Collection and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Away with Compulsion! by John Wesley

John Wesley called for a world in which no one was forced to go against his conscience or to serve against his will.

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354

By Émile Friant (1863–1932), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

No Danger in Discussion as printed in The Morning Chronicle

It should never be labelled ‘dangerous’ to subject Government policy to calm and honest criticism.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 25 NS

April 12 OS

The Life-Giving Spring : An obscure officer in the Roman Army gains a dizzying promotion after performing a simple act of kindness.
The Gallipoli Landings : By 1915, the Allies were struggling to break through Germany’s Western Front, and so began looking for another line of attack.
The Avengers : John Buchan was moved by the way the nations of the British Empire volunteered for service in the Great War.
A Tax on Companionship : William Windham MP was appalled at the idea of levying a tax on man’s best friend.
Christ is Risen! : Felicia Skene recalls the Easter celebrations on one emotionally-charged night in Athens
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
If I Had But Two Little Wings : Samuel Taylor Coleridge holds on to those precious moments when loneliness is a problem for tomorrow.
Red Eye : Reconstruct the speaker’s original words from these reports.
Responsible : Combine each group of ideas into a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Opposites : Suggest words that seem opposite in meaning to the words in this list.
Three of a Kind : For each of these things, think of three different varieties of it.
The Son of God Goes Forth to War : A hymn in praise of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
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