| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Art of Writing by Robert Louis Stevenson: at once, to complete the composition, to accentuate the
scheme of colour, to distinguish the planes of distance, and
to strike the note of the selected sentiment; nothing would
be allowed in such a story that did not, at the same time,
expedite the progress of the fable, build up the characters,
and strike home the moral or the philosophical design. But
this is unattainable. As a rule, so far from building the
fabric of our works exclusively with these, we are thrown
into a rapture if we think we can muster a dozen or a score
of them, to be the plums of our confection. And hence, in
order that the canvas may be filled or the story proceed from
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Fables by Robert Louis Stevenson: "And you chose him for your friend?" cried the justice. "My good
fellow, we have no use here for fools."
So the man was cast in the pit, and the friend laughed out aloud in
the dark and remained to be tried on other charges.
XI. - THE READER.
"I NEVER read such an impious book," said the reader, throwing it
on the floor.
"You need not hurt me," said the book; "you will only get less for
me second hand, and I did not write myself."
"That is true," said the reader. "My quarrel is with your author."
"Ah, well," said the book, "you need not buy his rant."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Island Nights' Entertainments by Robert Louis Stevenson: Sydney style. A fine show I made of it; and the third morning when
I had lit my pipe and stood in the door-way and looked in, and
turned and looked far up the mountain and saw the cocoanuts waving
and posted up the tons of copra, and over the village green and saw
the island dandies and reckoned up the yards of print they wanted
for their kilts and dresses, I felt as if I was in the right place
to make a fortune, and go home again and start a public-house.
There was I, sitting in that verandah, in as handsome a piece of
scenery as you could find, a splendid sun, and a fine fresh healthy
trade that stirred up a man's blood like sea-bathing; and the whole
thing was clean gone from me, and I was dreaming England, which is,
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