511
Sir Henry Craik had heard such glowing reports of Agra’s Taj Mahal, that he was afraid it might prove to be an anticlimax.
In 1907, Sir Henry Craik MP went on a tour of India. That December, he made his way south from New Delhi to Agra, where he marvelled at the sixteenth-century fort and the Pearl Mosque of Shah Jahan (r. 1628-58) before following the River Yamuna for a mile or so towards Shah Jahan’s legendary monument to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Would it be all that report had made it?
Picture: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.. Source.
Posted February 3 2021
512
Politicians who demand that everyone in the country unite behind their vision of society are standing in the way of real progress.
In the 1680s, many feared that after Charles II died his brother James would take England and Scotland into a European league of Roman Catholic kingdoms, led by Louis XIV of France. Algernon Sidney could not see how countries and peoples so diverse could possibly require the same laws, or how anyone would think such hidebound uniformity could lead to progress.
Picture: By Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), via the Wellcome Collection and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted February 2 2021
513
Edward III enticed over-regulated Dutch textile workers across the Channel with the promise of English beef and English beauties.
In the days of Edward III (1327-1377), English wool was the finest in Europe; but as we knew no more what to do with our wool (wrote Thomas Fuller) than the sheep that wear it, we exported it raw to the Continent and imported the finished cloth at a high price. Lesser men might have imposed taxes, subsidies or price controls to balance the economy, but Edward had a much better idea: some healthy competition.
Picture: © Julian Paren, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted January 30 2021
514
Walter Hartright tried to help a distressed woman find her way into London, but the incident has left him with nagging doubts.
Walter Hartright has gone for a walk, daydreaming about his promised new job as drawing master to the Fairlie family in Limmeridge, Cumberland. His reverie was broken by a young woman in evident distress asking the way into London, whom he saw off in a cab; but her restless manner, her peculiar questions, and the astounding coincidence that she had once lived in Limmeridge, have all left him uneasy.
Picture: By an Anonymous artist (British School), via the National Trust and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted January 27 2021
515
After driving the man-eating ogre Grendel from Hrothgar’s hall, Beowulf must now deal with Grendel’s anguished and vengeful mother.
Beowulf has driven Grendel, the man-eating ogre, from Hrothgar’s hall and mortally wounded him. Thinking his mission complete, Beowulf took his leave of Hrothgar, only for the creature’s anguished mother to steal into the king’s hall and snatch his bosom friend in revenge. Now she has vanished beneath the waters of a mire, but Beowulf is not to be put off. Commending his soul to God, Beowulf leaps after her.
Picture: By Alexei Kondratievich Savrasov (1830–1897), via the Russian Museum and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted January 25 2021
516
The terrible monster Grendel, secure in the knowledge that no blade can bite him, bursts into Hrothgar’s hall expecting another meal of man-flesh.
The lordly Hall of Hrothgar, King of the Danes, has been plagued night after night by a grotesque creature named Grendel. Offspring of Cain through many wretched fathers, he dwelt in swamps, feeding off the flesh of men, and feared neither sword nor spear. But tonight, Beowulf and his Swedish warrior-band have answered Hrothgar’s call for aid; and lying on soft pelts and rugs, they wait in uneasy slumber.
Picture: By a follower of Francisco Goya, via the Museo del Prado and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted January 23 2021