| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Tour Through Eastern Counties of England by Daniel Defoe: without any opposite shore, though it be no more than the mouth of
the Thames. This point called the Naze, and the north-east point
of Kent, near Margate, called the North Foreland, making what they
call the mouth of the river and the port of London, though it be
here above sixty miles over.
At Walton-under-the-Naze they find on the shore copperas-stone in
great quantities; and there are several large works called copperas
houses, where they make it with great expense.
On this promontory is a new mark erected by the Trinity House men,
and at the public expense, being a round brick tower, near eighty
feet high. The sea gains so much upon the land here by the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad: of my early days, and to this hour this sea, upon which the Romans
alone ruled without dispute, has kept for me the fascination of
youthful romance. The very first Christmas night I ever spent away
from land was employed in running before a Gulf of Lions gale,
which made the old ship groan in every timber as she skipped before
it over the short seas until we brought her to, battered and out of
breath, under the lee of Majorca, where the smooth water was torn
by fierce cat's-paws under a very stormy sky.
We - or, rather, they, for I had hardly had two glimpses of salt
water in my life till then - kept her standing off and on all that
day, while I listened for the first time with the curiosity of my
The Mirror of the Sea |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: were formed of sheep's bladder, not admitting too much light. The
sleeping accommodation consisted of dry litter, thrown into two
wooden frames painted red, and ornamented with Icelandic sentences. I
was hardly expecting so much comfort; the only discomfort proceeded
from the strong odour of dried fish, hung meat, and sour milk, of
which my nose made bitter complaints.
When we had laid aside our travelling wraps the voice of the host was
heard inviting us to the kitchen, the only room where a fire was
lighted even in the severest cold.
My uncle lost no time in obeying the friendly call, nor was I slack
in following.
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
