As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go, Whilst some of their sad friends do say The breath goes now, and some say, No: So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ‘Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Moving of…

In “The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare says: “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.” He encourages us to live with laughter, for laughter and humor are the antidotes that lighten serious matters and bring daily joy. In his short story “How I Edited an Agricultural Paper,” Mark Twain encourages this cultivation of humor and…

As with any dark and difficult time period, be it a war or a natural disaster, poignant, daring, and almost unbelievable stories emerge. The story of Ellen and William Craft’s journey in late December 1848 to early 1849 encapsulates all three descriptions, as well as many more. Written by Ilyon Woo, “Master Slave Husband Wife,”…

The story of the Endurance is a real life epic. It is hard to imagine another story so engrossing and so impossible that also happens to be true. When Ernest Shackleton assembled 27 men to join him in his quest to cross Antarctica, he began a journey that would stand as a testament to mankind’s…

This week, we feature collected tales of the estimable sleuth Father Brown and a history of an overlooked but crucial Revolutionary War battle. History ‘Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle’ By Mark Edward Lender and Garry Wheeler Stone There are numerous battles in the Revolutionary War that can be…

Author Lisa See has a list of published titles to her credit, most recently “The Island of Sea Women” and “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.” Her historical novels are rich in poignant plots and captivating characters brought to life with a narrative style that often reads like poetry. Whether already a fan or discovering…

Japan’s Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack, believed that once his country started a fight with America, it could last no longer than 18 months. Six months after the Dec. 7, 1941 attack, the Japanese Imperial Navy was decimated at the Battle of Midway and could no longer take the offensive,…

The Infinite Always to me beloved was this lonely hillside And the hedgerow creeping over and always hiding The distances, the horizon’s furthest reaches. But as I sit and gaze, there is an endless Space still beyond, there is a more than mortal Silence spread out to the last depth of peace, Which in my…

One day as an Ass was walking in the pasture, he found some Grasshoppers chirping merrily in a grassy corner of the field. He listened with a great deal of admiration to the song of the Grasshoppers. It was such a joyful song that his pleasure-loving heart was filled with a wish to sing as…

Storytelling is powerful. Its history stretches back to the earliest days of humanity, and it’s an art form intertwined with the passing down of wisdom and understanding. Our love and need for stories is still alive today, although it may be more clearly seen in our habit of getting drawn into episode after episode of…