Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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253

War is Such a Taxing Business

Sydney Smith warned ordinary Americans that encouraging the hawks in Washington would cost them more than blood.

254

St Nicholas and the Deadly Gift

The Bishop of Myra’s ceaseless toil to put an end to the worship of Artemis made him some dangerous enemies.

255

The Grandest of All Sepulchres

On the annual Remembrance Day of ancient Athens, Pericles rose to remind the people of the City that grief alone was not the best way to honour the fallen.

256

The Richmond Shilling

For centuries our coal industry was plagued by regulations and taxes, but a tax imposed in 1667 seemed to have nothing to do with coal at all.

257

‘Have a Care What You Do’

Lord George Gordon marched at the head of 50,000 protestors to the House of Commons, to demand that George III’s England did not become like Louis XVI’s France.

258

Christmas Under Cromwell

In 1657, Sir John Evelyn celebrated Christmas in a church for the first time in years. Unfortunately, someone told the authorities what he was doing.