| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: One even becomes reconciled to the cistern presently; this is a mighty cask,
painted green, and sometimes a couple of stories high, which is propped
against the house-corner on stilts. There is a mansion-and-brewery
suggestion about the combination which seems very incongruous at first.
But the people cannot have wells, and so they take rain-water. Neither
can they conveniently have cellars, or graves, the town being built upon
'made' ground; so they do without both, and few of the living complain,
and none of the others.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Chita: A Memory of Last Island by Lafcadio Hearn: And none of Feliu's boats had yet come in;--doubtless they had
been driven into some far-away bayous by the storm. The only
boat at the settlement, the Carmencita, had been almost wrecked
by running upon a snag three days before;--there was at least a
fortnight's work for the ship-carpenter of Dead Cypress Point.
And Feliu was sleeping as if nothing unusual had happened--the
heavy sleep of a sailor, heedless of commotions and voices. And
his men, Miguel and Mateo, were at the other end of the cheniere.
With a scream Carmen aroused Feliu. He raised himself upon his
elbow, rubbed his eyes, and asked her, with exasperating
calmness, "Que tienes? que tienes?" (What ails thee?)
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad: had been connected with the sea. Possibly in the
comprehensive capacity of a failure.
I should have thought his employment a very
easy one, but he used to affirm for some reason or
other that his job would be the death of him some
day. It was rather mysterious. Perhaps everything
naturally was too much trouble for him. He cer-
tainly seemed to hate having people in the house.
On entering it I thought he must be feeling
pleased. It was as still as a tomb. I could see no
one in the living rooms; and the verandah, too,
The Shadow Line |
