Once railway engineer Thomas Brassey made a promise he kept it — even if he wasn’t aware that he’d made one.

Jack Curran’s career as a defender of victims of political prejudice got off to a stuttering start.

Statesmen promise to make the country a better place, but they never mention the one thing that would do some good.

Samuel Smiles warned that taking care of the pennies should not come before taking care of living.

‘Alpha of the Plough’ wished that he had been born with the gift of a winning smile.

Edmund Burke begged the clergy of England to give us all a break from the twenty-four-hour news cycle.