Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Yellowst0ner, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
A French poodle won the heart of a fastidious English officer by covering him in mud.
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© Markus Trienke, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Twenty teams of dogs ran a life-or-death race against time over Alaska’s frozen trails to bring medicines to desperately sick children.
By John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
A cat moved home from Edinburgh to Glasgow and seemed to settle in nicely, but it turned out she was only biding her time.
© Sara Raymer, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The Russian Consul in New York issued a stern rebuke to those trying to break Britain’s ban on slave-trading by sailing under his nation’s colours.
Attributed to Reginald Grenville Eves (1876–1941), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Britain’s first qualified female doctor, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, had a message for the first women to study for London University’s degree in medicine.
© CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Only months after kidnapping the Duke of Ormond, Irish radical Thomas Blood was at it again, this time attempting to steal the Crown Jewels.