The Copybook

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

Blog

Copybook

Think & Speak

Games

KJV Bible

97

By Max Liebermann (1847-1935), by Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

A Well-Tuned Heart by Izaak Walton

A road accident made parish priest George Herbert late for his musical evening, but he was not a bit sorry.

Read

98

© Ian Capper, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

On Having the Socks by Samuel Butler

In Erewhon, apologise by saying you have the socks and everyone will understand.

Read

99

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

Dog and Ducking by Edward Jesse

A much-provoked Newfoundland loses his patience.

Read

100

© DrPete (Pete Coleman), Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Cat and Cook by Ivan Andreyevich Krylov

A little fable about a cat, a chicken and some wasted words.

Read

101

By William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Traitorous Designs by King George III

In August, 1775, King George III responded to the news of rebellion in the American colonies.

Read

102

© Karl and Ali, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Then Hate Me When Thou Wilt by William Shakespeare

If he is going to drop him, the embattled poet would prefer his friend to get on with it.

Read

Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 9 NS

April 26 OS

A Gallant Attempt for the Crown : Only months after kidnapping the Duke of Ormond, Irish radical Thomas Blood was at it again, this time attempting to steal the Crown Jewels.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Repeat Offender :
In Two Minds : Join these ideas together to a form a single sentence, in at least two different ways.
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.
Latest

Clay Lane Home

Search

Blog

The Copybook

Think and Speak

Comfortable Words

Word Games

Featured Authors

Featured Subjects

Search The Copybook

About Clay Lane

Close Menu