Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Oliver Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
A bird perched upon a church steeple casts a severe glance over the doings of men.
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© B. Leprêtre, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.5.
Walking with his ten-year-old daughter on the beach at Calais, Wordsworth considers the energy of God moving in all things.
From the National Library of Ireland, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sherlock Holmes turns to his brother for help when the case of a missing Greek proves unexpectedly troublesome.
From PikiWiki Israel collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
A mild-mannered clerk in the British Embassy’s passport office in Berlin, just before the outbreak of war in 1939, was not all he seemed to be.
© Lucas Migliorelli, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA UK 3.0.
Olaf hears that the ruler of Norway has lost the support of his noblemen, and sails away from England to claim his crown.
© Dr Raju Kasambe, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
A mouse’s delight at seeing his old enemy caught in a trap proves short-lived.