Clay Lane

The Copy Book

A Library of History and Literature in English

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1201

Well Out Of It

Anne Elliot is mortified to hear Frederick Wentworth’s opinion of her, but manages to find comfort in his words.

Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth meet again seven years after Anne rejected Frederick’s proposal of marriage, under pressure from a trusted friend. A chance remark by the Captain, repeated by Anne’s sister Mary, leads them both to convince themselves that love is dead – and that they are happier that way.

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Picture: © Celuici, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.. Source.

1202

Max Woosnam

Max fully deserves his reputation as England’s greatest all-round sportsman.

Maxwell (Max) Woosnam was born in Liverpool, but brought up in Aberhafesp, Mid Wales. His father, a senior clergyman in the Church of England, sent him to the prestigious school Winchester College, where young Max embarked on an extraordinary sporting career.

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Picture: © John Sutton, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.. Source.

1203

The Grand Embassy

A young Peter the Great of Russia toured Europe seeking help for his diplomatic, military and architectural plans.

Tsar Peter the Great’s attempt to bring Russia into the modern world of the West began with a ‘Grand Embassy’, touring the capitals of Europe to drum up support for his country, and acquire scientific and artistic knowledge. The tour included four hectic months in England.

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Picture: Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.

1204

Douglass in Britain

Frederick Douglass, the American runaway slave turned Abolitionist, spent some of his happiest days in Britain.

Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland, and became one of America’s leading Abolitionists. Gently forgiving but firm of purpose, Douglass was a champion not only of Abolition but of freedom everywhere, suspicious of communism, committed to national sovereignty and free markets. And in 1845, he instantly fell in love with the British.

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Picture: © Jeff Buck, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.

1205

Douglass’s Debt

British statesmen were among those who inspired the career of one of America’s greatest men, Frederick Douglass.

At thirteen, escaped slave Frederick Douglass bought a schoolbook, ‘The Columbian Orator’, for fifty cents. It nurtured gifts of understanding and eloquence that brought Douglass to prominence as America’s leading anti-slavery campaigner, and among his favourite passages were speeches by great British statesmen of his day.

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Picture: Photo from the National Parks Service (USA), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.

1206

Dr Wollaston

William Hyde Wollaston discovered new elements and helped Faraday to greatness, all from the top of a tea-tray.

A Royal Commission observed in 1819 that while metric measurements do have clear advantages, for many practical purposes imperial measurements are actually more convenient. One of the members of this remarkably sensible Commission was Dr William Wollaston (1766-1828), a man of unimpeachable scientific pedigree.

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Picture: © Jorge Royan, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.