Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
Photo by Jabez Hughes, from Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
At the Berlin Congress of Powers in 1878, the draft of the Prime Minister’s keynote speech had his anxious aides scuttling about like ants.
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Terje Sørgjerd, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
When the angels rebelled against their Maker, they demanded a kingdom of their own in a land without him — and he gave them what they wanted.
© Allan Warren, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
When Joseph Paxton, then just twenty-three, came to Chatsworth as Head Gardener he wasted no time getting settled in.
© Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
St Bede examines the connection between Passover and Easter, and shows how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ complete a pattern.
Attributed to George Morland (1763-1804), via Royal Museums Greenwich and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Harry Paulet was going about his unlawful business when he spotted a French fleet slip quietly out of Brest and into the Atlantic.
By Theodoor Smits (1635–1707), via the Residenzgalerie Salzburg and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sir Walter Raleigh was within his rights to experiment with the Native American habit of smoking tobacco, but he should have told his servants first.