The Copybook

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

391

Paulus Hector Mair (1517-1579)

Robin Recruits a Merry Man by Anonymous

It was George-a-Green’s job to stop animals trampling the crops, and it nettled his pride in Wakefield’s broad acres to see some ramblers behaving no better.

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392

© 先従隗始, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain image.

Hideyoshi Changes His Mind by Joseph Longford

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Chancellor of the Realm and Imperial Regent of Japan, was inclined to encourage Christianity until he found out why European Powers were so keen on it.

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393

Anonymous, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Third Hand by Joseph Hirst Lupton

John Mansur, working in Islamic Syria, thought he could safely criticise the Roman Emperor for meddling in Christian worship. But he was wrong.

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394

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

Akbar Takes the Plunge by Samsam ud Daula Shah Nawaz Khan

Emperor Akbar’s court physician told his nobles that beneath the waters of a lake was a dry, cosy room, and dared them to find a way in.

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395

© Tim Green. 2.0.

The Better Man from Holinshed’s Chronicles

Two monks vying for the abbot’s chair at one of England’s prestigious monasteries each promised King William Rufus handsome rewards for his favour.

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396

Richard Caton Woodville, Jr. (1856–1927), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Pillars of Justice by Mirza Abu Taleb Khan

A witness appeared before a Calcutta court, only to find that judge and learned counsel were determined to discredit her.

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April 23 NS

April 10 OS

St George, Patron Saint of England : George served in the Roman army and lies buried in Israel, yet he makes an ideal patron for England.
The Day of Resurrection : An eighth-century hymn of the Greek Church, for Easter Day
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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