The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

289

Pierre Louis (‘Henri’) Grevedon (1776-1860), via the National Portrait Gallery and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: ? Public domain.

‘One of That Sort, Are You?’ James Hall Nasmyth

Henry Maudslay, the great engineer, had seen enough apprentices to last him a lifetime.

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290

John Neagle (1796–1865), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Ye’re Nae Smith! James Hall Nasmyth

A loyal Scotsman on the run from pro-English traitors disguised himself as a blacksmith’s apprentice, but soon gave himself away.

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291

By Georg Balthasar Probst (1732-1801) 1750

Byron Swims the Hellespont Thomas Medwin

Byron felt compelled to set the record straight after it was alleged that he had swum the Hellespont the easy way.

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292

Wandernder Weltreisender 3.0.

‘I Have No Quarrel With Any Man’ Elizabeth Wilson Grierson

Magnus, Earl of Orkney, disappointed King Magnus of Norway by refusing to get involved in somebody else’s war.

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293

© Samyan Bahga, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Goat and the Lion P. V. Ramaswami Raju

A herd of goats is threatened by a pride of lions, and it falls to one brave billy to face the danger alone.

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294

© Forza, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Glow Worm and the Jackdaw P. V. Ramaswami Raju

In this fable from India, a sly little insect teaches a jackdaw that all that glisters is not necessarily edible.

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