The Copybook

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

1393

© Derek Harper, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.

By the Toss of a Coin by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Master and his brother Henry must decide which of them goes to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie.

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1394

© Jakub-Hałun, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.

Two Gentlemen of Verona by Clay Lane

Parted from his beloved Julia, Proteus follows his friend Valentine to Milan, where he meets the bewitching Silvia.

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1395

© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Practice Makes Perfect by Jane Austen

Making friends is, like playing music, not just a matter of natural talent.

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1396

© Jim Barton, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Small Compass by Jeremy Bentham

The role of government in a nation’s prosperity is important but limited.

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1397

By James Tissot (1836-1902), from the Brooklyn Museum via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins from The Authorized Version

Five young women cared enough about a man’s wedding-day to make the smallest of sacrifices, and received the best of rewards.

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1398

© OneArmedMan, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

St George the Triumphant Martyr by Clay Lane

One of the Emperor Galerius’s most trusted generals openly defied him.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 26 NS

April 13 OS

Christ is Risen! : Felicia Skene recalls the Easter celebrations on one emotionally-charged night in Athens
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
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.
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