The Copybook

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

91

© Konstantin hramov, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Greatest Mart Town of all Muscovy by Richard Hakluyt

Flemish merchants hoping to prosper in Russia’s commercial capital received a nasty shock.

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92

© jimmyweee, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

With Good Intent and Friendly Desire by Ivan IV of Russia

Ivan the Terrible offered free trade to English merchants throughout his dominions.

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93

© Krzysztof Golik, Wikimedia. Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Why We Study the Classics by Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling believed that a better appreciation of ancient Greece and Rome could help the English be less insular.

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94

By William Heath (1795-1840), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

An Englishman in Exile by William Cobbett

Faced with a choice between silence, dungeon or exile, William Cobbett chose exile — and then had to make sense of it.

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95

By Robert Scott Tait (?1816-1897), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Jenny Kissed Me by Leigh Hunt

Leigh Hunt looks back to a memorable event in a long life.

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96

© Michael Garlick, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Man Who Couldn’t Abide Greed by Geoffrey Chaucer

On a money-spinning pilgrimage to Canterbury, a Pardoner says the quiet part out loud.

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May 6 NS

April 23 OS

A Tale of a Garter : Following the Battle of Crécy in 1346, Edward III instituted an order of chivalry in honour of St George, inspired (some said) by something he picked up in the street.
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.
Smile : Choose adjectives of praise for these nouns, at about the 7/10 level.
The Making of Mark : St Mark wrote his Gospel as a summary of the preaching of St Peter.
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