| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: most certainly have a chance of marrying a fortune, better than this
alliance, which will be poor in happiness if rich in goods."
"It is very clear," said his father, "that you were not brought up
under the old /regime/. Does a man of our rank ever allow his wife to
be in his way?"
"But, my dear father, in these days marriage is--"
"Bless me!" cried the Count, interrupting his son, "then what my old
/emigre/ friends tell me is true, I suppose. The Revolution has left
us habits devoid of pleasure, and has infected all the young men with
vulgar principles. You, like my Jacobin brother-in-law, will harangue
me, I suppose, on the Nation, Public Morals, and Disinterestedness!--
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: "Eh! but the occasion is worthy of it. Listen to me. I have
a very good recommendation to tender you."
"I am all attention, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
"You will go and inform your father of my departure."
"Your departure?"
"Pardieu! You will tell him that I am gone into England; and
that I am living in my little country-house."
"In England, you! -- And the king's orders?"
"You get more and more silly: do you imagine that I am going
to the Louvre, to place myself at the disposal of that
little crowned wolf-cub?"
Ten Years Later |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: my home in Maybury. But I found it difficult to get to work
upon my abstract investigations.
In the afternoon the appearance of the common had altered
very much. The early editions of the evening papers had
startled London with enormous headlines:
"A MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM MARS."
"REMARKABLE STORY FROM WOKING,"
and so forth. In addition, Ogilvy's wire to the Astronomical
Exchange had roused every observatory in the three kingdoms.
There were half a dozen flies or more from the Woking
station standing in the road by the sand pits, a basket-
War of the Worlds |
