| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Confidence by Henry James: nor the superior music which formed the attraction of that celebrated spot;
but it had a modest animation of its own, in which the starlight
on the open sea took the place of clustered lamps, and the mighty
resonance of the waves performed the function of an orchestra.
Mrs. Vivian made her appearance with her daughter, and Bernard,
as he used to do at Baden, chose a corner to place some chairs for them.
The crowd was small, for most of the visitors had compressed
themselves into one of the rooms, where a shrill operetta was being
performed by a strolling troupe. Mrs. Vivian's visit was a short one;
she remained at the Casino less than half an hour. But Bernard had some
talk with Angela. He sat beside her--her mother was on the other side,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: been a source of that sort of anxiety almost from the very day of
his birth. The late licensed victualler's humiliation at having
such a very peculiar boy for a son manifested itself by a
propensity to brutal treatment; for he was a person of fine
sensibilities, and his sufferings as a man and a father were
perfectly genuine. Afterwards Stevie had to be kept from making
himself a nuisance to the single gentlemen lodgers, who are
themselves a queer lot, and are easily aggrieved. And there was
always the anxiety of his mere existence to face. Visions of a
workhouse infirmary for her child had haunted the old woman in the
basement breakfast-room of the decayed Belgravian house. "If you
The Secret Agent |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne: and he watched over you like a mother?"
"Yes, yes," said Nadia. "Brother, sister, mother -- he
has been all to me!"
"And defended you like a lion?"
"A lion indeed!" replied Nadia. "A lion, a hero!"
"My son, my son!" thought the old Siberian. "But
you said, however, that he bore a terrible insult at that
post-house in Ichim?"
"He did bear it," answered Nadia, looking down.
"He bore it! " murmured Marfa, shuddering.
"Mother, mother," cried Nadia, "do not blame him!
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