| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: after leaving college, but trust that, by dabbling so early
with the dangerous and seductive business of authorship, he
will not bc tempted to become an author by profession. If so I
shall be very sorry for the little that I have had to do with
the matter, in encouraging these first beginnings.
I wish there were any likelihood of my soon seeing Primrose,
Periwinkle, Dandelion, Sweet Fern, Clover Plantain,
Huckleberry, Milkweed, Cowslip, Buttercup, Blue Eye, and Squash
Blossom again. But as I do not know when I shall re-visit
Tanglewood, and as Eustace Bright probably will not ask me to
edit a third "WonderBook," the public of little folks must not
Tanglewood Tales |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: impetuously from her hut, comes down the foot-bridge, makes a rush
for the Locust, wraps him up and operates on him according to rule.
Soon after, she hoists him, fastened by a line to her spinneret,
and drags him to her hiding-place, where a long banquet will be
held. So far, nothing new: things happen as usual.
I leave the Spider to mind her own affairs for some days, before I
interfere with her. I again propose to give her a Locust; but,
this time, I first cut the signalling-thread with a touch of the
scissors, without shaking any part of the edifice. The game is
then laid on the web. Complete success: the entangled insect
struggles, sets the net quivering; the Spider, on her side, does
The Life of the Spider |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: about the streets of the town built between the banks of the
Jordan and the spurs of the Wahsatch Range. They saw few
or no churches, but the prophet's mansion, the court-house,
and the arsenal, blue-brick houses with verandas and porches,
surrounded by gardens bordered with acacias, palms, and locusts.
A clay and pebble wall, built in 1853, surrounded the town;
and in the principal street were the market and several hotels
adorned with pavilions. The place did not seem thickly populated.
The streets were almost deserted, except in the vicinity of the temple,
which they only reached after having traversed several quarters
surrounded by palisades. There were many women, which was easily
Around the World in 80 Days |
