The Copybook

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

1453

© Alden Chadwick, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Silver Swan Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s attention was drawn off people-watching for a moment by an extraordinarily lifelike machine.

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1454

© João-Martinho, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Mathieu Martinel and the Drowning Soldier Clay Lane

A young French cavalry soldier took a tremendous risk to rescue a drowning man.

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1455

© Ji-Elle, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Mathieu Martinel and the Blazing Barracks Clay Lane

The soldier went quite deliberately into a burning room full of gunpowder and ammunition.

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1456

© João-Martinho, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Mathieu Martinel and the Fireworks Clay Lane

A firework display in Paris turned to tragedy in the narrow streets of the capital.

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1457

© Serena, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

The Cat Who Walks by Himself Clay Lane

The sly cat hatches a plan to get all the benefits of domestic life without any of the responsibilities.

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1458

© Alan Fleming, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Pig-and-Potato War Clay Lane

In 1859, peaceful co-existence on the Canadian border was severely tested by a marauding pig.

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