Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
A sophisticated City Mouse went to see his Country cousin, and pitied his simple fare.
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© Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
In Jim Baker’s considered opinion, the bluejay had a much better command of language than Mark Twain’s cats did.
From Royal MS 14 B VI, via the British Library and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
In 917, King Edward embarked on a swashbuckling tour of the midlands, and brought their towns under one crown for the first time in five hundred years.
By Andrey Rublev (?-?1430), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
In a lonely castle upon a remote island, Sir Lancelot’s wanderings brought him once more into the presence of the elusive cup of Christ’s blood.
By Henry R. Robinson, via the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
The tighter the US Government’s stranglehold on dissent grew, the harder Daniel Webster fought for freedom of speech.
By Daniel Turner (fl. 1802-1817), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
On his way to war-torn France, William Wordsworth passed through London and was overwhelmed by the quiet of the early morning.