Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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499

Prav’, Britaniya!

Herbert Bury’s duties took him back to St Petersburg after the Russian revolution of 1917, but all he could think of was how it used to be.

500

Exit Lord Pudding

Piqued by the way French and German literati mocked the English, Charles Dickens urged his compatriots to be the better men.

501

On Falling in Love

Shortly after meeting Fanny Osbourne, Robert Louis Stevenson reflected on the different ways in which falling in love affects a man.

502

‘Tremblingly Obey!’

Following a historic embassy in 1792-93, Chien Lung, the Emperor of China, despatched a haughty letter rebuffing King George III’s offer of trade.

503

A Very Rapid Promotion

Aeneas Anderson, who accompanied Lord Macartney on Britain’s first embassy to China, shared a tale illustrating the Qianlong Emperor’s notion of fair play.

504

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

A Jewish man is left for dead by bandits, but help comes from a most unexpected quarter.