Introduction
In 1913, Aubrey Herbert MP reluctantly agreed to take a message from Ismail Qemali to his rival as leader of Albania, Essad Pasha Toptani. Herbert’s company on the long journey to Durrës included a priest with a fondness for verses; a musician who played air-violin; a murderer; a diplomat who was a bit of a comedian; and a ‘shepherd-king.’
I WAS told of one experience of this shepherd-king such as is unusual in the lives of employers — his workmen had once struck for lower wages. This is the story.
He was a mathematician, and by abstruse calculations he had come to the conclusion that there was excellent water hidden in the depths of an unpromising mountain; water he badly required to cultivate land that was otherwise barren.
So the mountain was tunnelled to a considerable depth, and a number of men were employed without result, until it became obvious that the shepherd-king would be ruined if operations were much longer continued. It was then that the workmen, for love of him, struck for lower wages, which he gave them.
His labour in the end was crowned with success; water gushed from the mountain; the prolific earth bore corn, and all shared in his happiness and prosperity.
Archive
Word Games
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 Barren. Employ. Workman.
2 Bore. Give. Number.
3 Experience. Lower. Much.
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.)
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Share. 2. Strike. 3. Earth. 4. Depth. 5. Low. 6. Life. 7. End. 8. Operation. 9. Result.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Hide. 2. Man. 3. Bore. 4. Live. 5. Bear. 6. Long.
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.
tm (8+1)
atom. item. tame. team. teem. time. tom. tome.
tum.
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