823
A hen-pecked, ne’er-do-well farmer from New York took off into the Catskill Mountains, and fell in with some very odd company.
The story of Rip van Winkle was written in 1818 by Washington Irving, an American who was visiting England at the time. It tells of an obliging but ne’er-do-well farmer of Dutch descent living in colonial America, who falls asleep in the mountains one evening and consequently misses a rather important event.
Picture: By Robert Pine (1730-1788), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted November 3 2018
824
James Tod brought order to Udaipur after years of turmoil, but not everyone appreciated him.
James Tod (1782-1835) was appointed Political Agent in the western Rajput states in 1818, but retired in 1822 on health grounds, after falling out with his superiors. Over in Calcutta, Bishop Heber had heard rumours, but a visit to Udaipur in 1825 cleared it all up.
Picture: © Piyashi Ghosh, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted November 1 2018
825
Vijay Singh, Raja of Jodhpur, was left to fend for himself after his army deserted him.
The Kingdom of Marwar in Jodhpur (now in Rajasthan, northwest India) was noted for insubordination towards the fading Mughal Emperors, but in the 1750s it fell under the control of the Maratha to the south, paying a high price for their help in resolving a tangled dispute over the crown.
Picture: © Piyashi Ghosh, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted October 31 2018
826
Prussia’s invasion of Silesia in 1740 plunged Europe into turmoil, and a French invasion of England became a very real threat.
The War of the Austrian Succession began as part of the seemingly endless German quest to gobble up the continent’s smaller states. It would not have involved Britain had King George II not been also Elector of Hanover, and if France had not seen it as an opportunity to expand her empire at Britain’s expense.
Picture: By Samuel Scott (1702-1772), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted October 29 2018
827
William Cowper feels he has learnt more on one short walk than in many hours of study.
In Book VI of his groundbreaking poem ‘The Task’, William Cowper (‘cooper’) takes a lunchtime walk on a winter’s day. As he listens to the soft sounds of Nature, he reflects that for the thinking man time spent in the countryside is never wasted.
Picture: © Peter French, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted October 24 2018
828
Prince Agib hears the tale of a boy confined to an underground chamber for forty days, and dismisses it as superstition.
Prince Agib has toppled a vast brass statue of a horseman upon the Black Mountain, a labour for which he has been rewarded with the ship he needs to find his way home. Stopping off on a remote island, he sees a boy being led into an underground chamber, and when the coast is clear, Agib follows him in, eager to hear his story.
Picture: © Mostafameraji, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted October 18 2018