733
Jonah is sent to Nineveh to decry the wickedness of the city, but the prophet is more worried about his reputation than their cure.
In the synagogue, the Book of Jonah is read in its entirety on the Day of Atonement. It is a tale about repentance and forgiveness. It is a tale about the intrinsic value of all life, even that which seems worthless. But above all it is a tale about doing the God of Israel’s bidding whatever it may cost, because although he is infinitely merciful his arm is very long.
Picture: © Vmenkov, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted June 14 2019
734
Lakshmi and her sister Parvati enlisted the help of the British Resident, Colonel Munro, to steady the Kingdom of Travancore.
At the very moment Napoleon Bonaparte was trying to bring Continental bureaucracy to Britain, Queen Lakshmi brought British commonsense to Travancore (now the State of Kerala). She and her sister Parvati weeded out corruption, promoted education and healthcare, and gave stability to a realm troubled by invasion and bad government.
Picture: By Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted May 31 2019
735
American historian D. H. Montgomery saw Britain’s ‘isolation’ as the very thing that has made her people more cosmopolitan, and her government more liberal.
Much is said, not all of it complimentary, about Britain’s changeable weather and her isolation from Continental Europe. But American historian D. H. Montgomery believed that wind and wave had helped make Britain into a more stable, more diverse, more harmonious and more liberal country.
Picture: Photo by NASA/Joshua Stevens, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Attribution only.. Source.
Posted May 29 2019
736
Jaikie has just graduated from Cambridge, and Alison wants to know what he has gained from his experience.
John ‘Jaikie’ Galt has taken Alison Westwater to dinner at a palatial London hotel to celebrate his graduation from St Mark’s College, Cambridge. Alison wants to know what Jaikie has learnt at University, and it isn’t anything found on a modular ‘Outcomes’ statement.
Picture: © Andrew Dunn, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted May 27 2019
737
Kitty Beighton enters an archery contest where the prize is one very beautiful bracelet and one very ugly Commissioner.
Kitty Beighton has entered an archery contest in Shimla. First prize, officially, is a diamond bracelet. Unofficially, it is Commissioner Barr-Saggott. Mrs Beighton wants Kitty to win; young Cubbon of the Dragoons definitely doesn’t. But Kitty’s first shot has hit in the gold and unwisely, Barr-Saggott (already no oil painting) allows himself a smirk...
Picture: By John Leech (1817–1864), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted May 26 2019
738
American historian David Montgomery explains why Britain’s Empire Day really was a cause for celebration.
American historian D. H. Montgomery lays out the background to the establishment of Empire Day in 1904. He describes a global Empire which had discovered ever closer union not by more centralisation but by less, a Britain that was no longer a colonial power but the mother of a federation of independent states.
Picture: © Jason Zhang, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted May 25 2019