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

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757

© By William Hemsley (?1817-1906), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Hue and Cry by Sir Thomas Smith

Sir Thomas Smith, one of Elizabeth I’s diplomats, explains how in her day criminals were brought to trial.

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758

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

Cuthbert and the White Rider by Clay Lane

The young Christian from ancient Northumbria was healed of a lame leg in a manner that reminded Bede of the archangel Rafael.

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759

By Tom Roberts (1856-1931), via the Royal Collection and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Crimson Thread by Sir Henry Parkes

In 1890, Sir Henry Parkes reminded Australians that they had a natural kinship and declared them ready to manage their own affairs.

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760

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

Mischievous Interference by The Council of New South Wales

In 1852 the Council of New South Wales sent a strongly-worded petition to London, demanding the right of self-government.

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761

Thomas Phillips, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Defective Democracy by John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham

Lord Durham warned Westminster that colonial Canada must be run by elected MPs, not career bureaucrats.

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762

Anonymous c. 1902, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Central People of the World by William Monypenny

Some wanted Britain on a path to being a thoroughly European nation, but William Monypenny wanted her at the world’s crossroads.

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 9 NS

April 26 OS

A Gallant Attempt for the Crown : Only months after kidnapping the Duke of Ormond, Irish radical Thomas Blood was at it again, this time attempting to steal the Crown Jewels.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Repeat Offender :
In Two Minds : Join these ideas together to a form a single sentence, in at least two different ways.
The First Traffic Lights : The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.
Good Companions : Explain what these wise classical authors are telling us.
The Rule of the Road : Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.
Blind Courage : George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.
Patience : Make a single sentence out of these three ideas.
The Angel Cried : A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.
She was a Phantom of Delight : Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.
Hardly : Tone down these bold assertions with ‘hardly’.
The Death of Julius Caesar : When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.
Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
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