| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: could muse pleasantly on the disposal of its hours. She was
familiar enough with the habits of Bellomont to know that she was
likely to have a free field till luncheon. She had seen the
Wetheralls, the Trenor girls and Lady Cressida packed safely into
the omnibus; Judy Trenor was sure to be having her hair
shampooed; Carry Fisher had doubtless carried off her host for a
drive; Ned Silverton was probably smoking the cigarette of young
despair in his bedroom; and Kate Corby was certain to be playing
tennis with Jack Stepney and Miss Van Osburgh. Of the ladies,
this left only Mrs. Dorset unaccounted for, and Mrs. Dorset never
came down till luncheon: her doctors, she averred, had forbidden
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: feeble light was burning in the porter's lodge, about forty
paces distant from the house, as Baptistin had said. Monte
Cristo leaned against a tree, and with that scrutinizing
glance which was so rarely deceived, looked up and down the
avenue, examined the passers-by, and carefully looked down
the neighboring streets, to see that no one was concealed.
Ten minutes passed thus, and he was convinced that no one
was watching him. He hastened to the side-door with Ali,
entered hurriedly, and by the servants' staircase, of which
he had the key, gained his bedroom without opening or
disarranging a single curtain, without even the porter
The Count of Monte Cristo |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: also was aware of the presence of a child in the house. In his
long talks by the evening fires of the settlement he used to tell
his intimate friends of Almayer's strange doings. His master had
turned sorcerer in his old age. Ali said that often when Tuan
Putih had retired for the night he could hear him talking to
something in his room. Ali thought that it was a spirit in the
shape of a child. He knew his master spoke to a child from
certain expressions and words his master used. His master spoke
in Malay a little, but mostly in English, which he, Ali, could
understand. Master spoke to the child at times tenderly, then he
would weep over it, laugh at it, scold it, beg of it to go away;
Almayer's Folly |
