Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
South African settlers of Dutch descent could not escape the march of the British Empire.
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Shortly after Askold and Dir founded Kiev in 862, they launched a brazen but ill-fated assault on the capital of the Roman Empire.
© Michael E. Cumpston, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Sir Mulberry Hawk’s coarse conduct towards Kate Nickleby has awoken a spark of decency in Lord Frederick Verisopht.
© Tony Esopi, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Heracles shows his capacity for thinking outside the box, but spoils it by trying to be just a little bit too clever.
By Konstantin Korovin (1861-1939), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
In 1553, Richard Chancellor set out on a perilous voyage to Russia in order to bypass the Hanseatic League’s customs union.
© Гондарева Илга (Ilga Gondareva), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Hapless extremists try to wipe out a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary.