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

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85

© Friedrich Böhringer, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Unfair Competition by Anonymous

Mousetraps are proof of human ingenuity, but also human ingratitude — so Tom does something about it.

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86

By an unknown photographer, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Invictus by W. E. Henley

A memorable poem about triumph over adversity.

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87

© Katie Thebeau, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0 generic.

Tree of Life by Edith Louise Marsh

Jacques Cartier made history and made friends along the St Lawrence, but then threw all that goodwill away.

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88

© Tapas Kumar Halder, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Dilemma by Francis William Bain

Francis Bain’s alternative Adam and Eve story left its own question unanswered.

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89

© Dunstan, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Departure of Bede by Cuthbert, Abbot of Wearmouth and Jarrow

Bede died as he had lived, freely sharing all he had, and singing praises to God.

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90

By William Home Lizars (1788–1859), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The New Broom by Sir Walter Scott

Cracking down on benefit claimants and migrant workers didn’t make Godfrey Bertram as popular as he expected.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 29 NS

May 16 OS

The Last Commandment : Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf imagines the farewell between Jesus and his Apostles, forty days after his resurrection.
The Fall of Constantinople : Hospitality and sympathy, but no help - the Byzantine Emperor learns a bitter lesson about western diplomacy.
The Royal Oak : In 1680, Samuel Pepys sat down with Charles II to record how, many years before, a bold double-bluff saved the King from Cromwell’s men.
Lost and Found : What would you in these difficult situations?
They Might Not Need Me : Read these lines of verse out aloud.
The Turn : Ben Jonson tells us how we should measure a life well lived.
Music Video : Julius Benedict, Piano Concerto in E flat: II. Andante,
The Character of George Washington : Thomas Jefferson recalls the virtues (and a few faults) of the first US President.
Amen to That : John Bright declared it was time stop fighting wars around the world for ‘British interests’.
Arena : Use these nouns in sentences of at least ten words in length.
Q & A :
Deep Harmony : In the midst of the US Civil War, a simple melody briefly brought the warring factions together.
Thirty Minutes : Describe half an hour in one of these places.
And is there Care in Heaven? : Sir Guyon lies in an enchanted swoon, but he is not without help.
Pirate : For each of these words, suggest others that seem to go with it, and use them to bring a scene to life.
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