Introduction
After moving to Ravenna in 1819, poet Lord Byron bought a black horse which had a tendency to trip and throw his rider, as Byron discovered only the second time he rode him. Byron demanded his money back, and as he cheerfully confessed to Edward Trelawny, things started to get a little ugly.
“THE black horse I bought of a captain of the Pope’s guard at Ravenna, warranted. I sent for the captain and demanded my money paid. He refused; I waxed wroth. He blustered, and said he was descended from a noble Roman family, was commander of a troop of his Holiness the Pope’s Guard.
“‘Then I’ll give you satisfaction.’ I opened a chest in the hall, and told him to choose his arms. I took a Spanish rapier; he had his sword. I drew my toledo, an heirloom, and went towards him. He faltered and retreated, and as I neared him, he exclaimed, ‘I don’t fight in the dark, and we are forbidden duelling.’ As I lifted my arm to strike he decamped in haste.”
“Should you not, [interposed Trelawny,] as a Carbonaro,* have (as Iago has it) removed him by yerking him under the ribs?* At Ravenna they say manslaughter is not considered a heinous offence.”
“It used not to be so, but it is now. I am a respecter of the law. When I want to punish a man, I let an attorney loose at him.”*
Abridged
The Carbonari were members of various loosely interconnected secret societies in Italy from the turn of the Nineteenth century. They became particularly active after the fall of Napoleon in 1815, which appeared to offer hope for a liberal, unified and sovereign Italy. However, a revolution in 1820 was crushed by the ‘Holy Alliance’ of Russia, Austria and Prussia, alarmed at the spread of such popular liberalism.
‘Yerk’ is a verb meaning ‘strike a blow’, now rare. Trelawny’s reference is to ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare, where Iago says:
Though in the trade of war I have slain men,
Yet do I hold it very stuff o’ the conscience
To do no contrived murder: I lack iniquity
Sometimes to do me service: nine or ten times
I had thought to have yerk’d him here under the ribs.
Byron kept the horse. “He is now reserved” he told Trelawny impishly “for my particular friends.”
Précis
Lord Byron bought a black horse from one of the Papal Guard in Ravenna. The horse proved unsatisfactory, so Byron demanded a refund. The seller refused, so Byron challenged him to a duel and frightened him off. Edward Trelawny wondered that he did not get in a blow, but Byron said that when he was serious he summoned his lawyer. (60 / 60 words)
Lord Byron bought a black horse from one of the Papal Guard in Ravenna. The horse proved unsatisfactory, so Byron demanded a refund. The seller refused, so Byron challenged him to a duel and frightened him off. Edward Trelawny wondered that he did not get in a blow, but Byron said that when he was serious he summoned his lawyer.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, besides, despite, if, must, unless, whereas, who.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Demand. Satisfaction. Strike.
2 Attorney. Buy. Pay.
3 Duel. Forbid. Offence.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding -less.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
crgs (5+1)
cargoes. cargos. corgis. courageous. crags.
acreages.
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