Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Darren J. Prior, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
John Lynch, exiled to France by Cromwell’s men, lamented the way that Irish was being labelled as a language of sedition.
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© Liam Murphy, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Lionel of Clarence, Edward III’s younger son, went to Ireland as his Lieutenant in order to stop English expats becoming like the Irish.
By Eduard von Grützner (1846–1925), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
‘Alpha of the Plough’ wished that he had been born with the gift of a winning smile.
By George Bellows (1882-1925), via the National Gallery of Art (Washington DC) and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
William Cobbett was delighted with one young woman’s protest against Mr Pitt’s ingenious ways of raising money.
By the Metropolitan Museum of Art, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Thorold Rogers looks at how Governments have tried to make trade ‘fair’, and concludes that they would have been better ensuring it was free.
By Francis Holman (1729–1784), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Adam Smith contrasted the Government’s handling of the national economy with the way most families handled theirs.