The Copybook

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

781

By Adolphe Roehn (1780–1867), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Retreat from Moscow Clay Lane

The fear that Russia might make an ally of Great Britain drove the would-be Emperor of Europe to extreme measures.

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782

By Heinrich Lossow (1843–1897), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

How to Impress the English Leopold Mozart

Leopold Mozart was eager to win the hearts of the English, and thought he knew just the way to do it.

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783

© Lisa Jarvis, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

A Stitch in Time Jean-Baptiste Say

French economist Jean-Baptiste Say recalls a time when an ounce of prevention might have saved many pounds of cure.

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784

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

Study the Heart Ignatius Sancho

Former slave Ignatius Sancho complained that Britain was denying to Africa the free trade and Christian principles she so badly needed.

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785

By John Trumbull (1756-1843), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The American Revolutionary War Clay Lane

In 1775, London’s high-handed exploitation of her colonies for tax revenue began to look like a very expensive mistake.

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786

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

Montagu’s Frolic William Henry Melmoth

John, Duke of Montagu, that irrepressible prankster, identified a sad-faced soldier in the Mall as the perfect mark.

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