The Copybook

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

157

By Adolph Tidemand (1814–1876), Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Money to Burn Charles Dickens

Pip receives a visitor from among the criminal classes, but his condescending attempt to play the gentleman rebounds spectacularly.

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158

© Hari K Patibanda, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Tough Customer Anonymous

A little anecdote about a schoolmaster who wasn’t as much of a Wackford Squeers as he appeared to be.

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159

© ITookSomePhotos, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

Mary’s Lamb Sarah Josepha Hale

A much-loved children’s poem, even if most of us struggle to remember more than a few lines.

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160

By Edward Dayes (1763-1804), via the Yale Center for British Art and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Rochester Reverie Charles Dickens

Mr Pickwick has embarked on a tour of Kent, and this sunny morning finds him leaning over the parapet of Rochester Bridge, deep in reflection.

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161

By Michel Martin Drolling (1786-1851), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Selfishness of Mr Willoughby Jane Austen

Now that Mr Willoughby has been found, and found to be married, Elinor Dashwood has the disagreeable task of making sure that her sister feels it is all for the best.

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162

By Adrian Pingstone, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Educational Ideals Alexander Haddow

Like the ideal Christian, the ideal teacher is one who spreads joy in everything, great or small.

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