Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
By Samuel Scott (1702-1772), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Prussia’s invasion of Silesia in 1740 plunged Europe into turmoil, and a French invasion of England became a very real threat.
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© Peter French, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
William Cowper feels he has learnt more on one short walk than in many hours of study.
© Mostafameraji, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Prince Agib hears the tale of a boy confined to an underground chamber for forty days, and dismisses it as superstition.
© Wolfgang Moroder, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.5.
Scotsman Samuel Greig so impressed his superiors at the Admiralty in London that he was sent as an adviser to the Russian Imperial Navy.
© MSMRE, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.
A guide loses his way on the edge of the merciless Egyptian desert, but Abba John is too kind-hearted to tell him.
William Sleeman passes on an anecdote from one of the Persian classics, to show that truth should not be used for evil ends.