43

‘Thy Necessity is Yet Greater than Mine’

By Fulke Greville, Baron Brooke

Elizabethan courtier and soldier Sir Philip Sidney shows that a nobleman can also be a gentleman.

44

The Free-Wheeler

By Ethel Smyth

Composer Ethel Smyth buys a new-fangled ladies’ bicycle, and scandalises the neighbours.

45

A Leader by Example

By Samuel Smiles

George Stephenson won the admiration of French navvies by showing them how a Geordie works a shovel.

46

Diplomatic Immunity

By Sir James Melville

Sir James Melville eavesdrops on Queen Elizabeth I’s music practice, and incurs Her Majesty’s displeasure.

47

A Very Special Correspondent

By Samuel Smiles

Pauline de Meulan’s magazine Publiciste was close to going out of business when an anonymous contributor stepped in.

48

Dr Johnson and the Critic’s Ambush

By James Boswell

A literary man tries to trick Samuel Johnson into an honest opinion, which was neither necessary nor very rewarding.