The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

385

By Henri Jannin (1816-?), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

International Intermeddling by John Bright

John Bright asked the people of Birmingham to spread the word that a great nation, like any good citizen and neighbour, does not meddle officiously in the affairs of others.

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386

© Romeneverfell, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Foolish Emperor by Theodoret of Cyrus

Emperor Julian cast off his Christian upbringing to gain the favour of Rome’s pagan gods, but in the heat of battle they deserted him.

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387

By Charles West Cope (1811–1890), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Truth By Statute? by John Milton

John Milton reminded Parliament that the Truth wasn’t what they and their fact-checkers in Stationers’ Hall made it.

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388

© T. L. Thompson, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Zenana Mission by Hannah Catherine Mullens

Hannah Mullens describes her battle to reach out to wealthy Indian ladies with nothing to do, nothing to think about and nowhere to go.

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389

By an anonymous artist, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Something Rotten in the State of Denmark from The Bee, or Literary Intelligencer

When Ambassador Molesworth criticised the government of Christian V, the Danish king cried ‘off with his head!’.

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390

© Vyacheslav Argenberg, WIkimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Phantom Rickshaw by Rudyard Kipling

Jack Pansay has just bought an engagement ring for the bewitching Kitty Mannering, yet to his annoyance it is the late Mrs Wessington he is thinking about.

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© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 24 NS

April 11 OS

Christ is Risen! : Felicia Skene recalls the Easter celebrations on one emotionally-charged night in Athens
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
If I Had But Two Little Wings : Samuel Taylor Coleridge holds on to those precious moments when loneliness is a problem for tomorrow.
Red Eye : Reconstruct the speaker’s original words from these reports.
Responsible : Combine each group of ideas into a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Opposites : Suggest words that seem opposite in meaning to the words in this list.
Three of a Kind : For each of these things, think of three different varieties of it.
The Son of God Goes Forth to War : A hymn in praise of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
Peace Plan : Report this brief exchange between Anna and M. Pierre and Tolstoy’s War and Peace
Metaphors : Choose one of these words and use it metaphorically, not literally.
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