Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Henry Alken, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
After its prime minister signed the Maratha Confederacy over to the East India Company, the member states rose up in a body.
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By Lorne Kidd Smith (1880-1966), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
A ‘slight and delicate’ Canadian woman defied twenty miles of rugged terrain in sweltering heat to warn of an impending attack by American invaders.
By an anonymous artist, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
While on tour in Austria, Irish tenor Michael Kelly was introduced to Mozart, and discovered a man of many talents and much kindness.
© Paul Sidwell, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Man had proved spiritually unprepared for the discovery of coal, said Robert Bruère, and was poised to squander the next energy revolution too.
© Ernst Sandau (1880–1918), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sir Bernard Pares warned that after the Great War, Western powers must not assume Germany’s role as supercilious bully.
© Richard Symonds, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Thomas Telford told the parish council of St Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury that their leaky roof was the last thing they should worry about.