Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
A persistent dream prompts a Norfolk tradesman to walk all the way to London in the hope of bettering his lot.
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From ‘College Addresses’ by Sir Hubert Parry (1920).
Sir Hubert Parry explained to students at the Royal College of Music that some mistakes are creative whereas others are destructive.
© LA(Photo) Angie Pearce / MOD, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Open Government Licence v1.0.
Richard Cobden despaired at British statesmen using the peerless Royal Navy merely to strangle trade in other countries.
© Gary Kramer / US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.
The leader of a wolf-pack makes some sheep an offer they’d better refuse.
© Androsch, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
An innovative English composer who did not live to fulfil his extraordinary promise.
From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Greek revolutionary Nikitarás gives his ungrateful men a sharp reminder of what really matters.