Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Wolfgang Moroder, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.5.
Scotsman Samuel Greig so impressed his superiors at the Admiralty in London that he was sent as an adviser to the Russian Imperial Navy.
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© MSMRE, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
A guide loses his way on the edge of the merciless Egyptian desert, but Abba John is too kind-hearted to tell him.
© Mostafameraji, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
William Sleeman passes on an anecdote from one of the Persian classics, to show that truth should not be used for evil ends.
From the Utrecht University Library, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Charles Dickens explains how King Alfred the Great overcame the Great Heathen Army in 878, with the help of a little music.
© Steve Partridge, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Master-sweep Grimes meets a woman who knows more about him than he feels comfortable with.
© Giovanni, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
A weary King Odysseus dozes off on his voyage home to Ithaca, but his crew are wide awake, wondering what is in his bag.