Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
From the Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums Collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Richard Cobden was not a little envious of the USA’s open and can-do society, but he did not covet her republicanism.
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© Hefin Owen, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
An ageing Heron finds himself a little too stiff to fish for himself, so he thinks of a way to get the fish to do it for him.
© Marathekedar93, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
A harassed mother Raven vows bloody revenge on a venomous Snake, but the wily old Jackal has a better idea.
By Stanley Howe, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA.
If Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli really wanted a better-educated public, he must tackle the high cost of living.
© kladcat, via Penn Libraries and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
By day Danaus had to watch his fifty unhappy daughters marry their fifty cruel cousins, but the wedding night was yet to come.
© Voshubert65, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Henry VI’s campaign to confirm himself as King of France looked to be in trouble after the Duke of Brittany switched sides.