| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from St. Ives by Robert Louis Stevenson: man,' I repeated thoughtfully. 'Yes, I believe I understand, and
shall make haste to put myself EN REGLE.' I stood up, and laid my
segar down. 'Mr. Gilchrist,' said I, with a bow, 'in answer to
your very natural observations, I beg to offer myself as a suitor
for your sister's hand. I am a man of title, of which we think
lightly in France, but of ancient lineage, which is everywhere
prized. I can display thirty-two quarterings without a blot. My
expectations are certainly above the average: I believe my uncle's
income averages about thirty thousand pounds, though I admit I was
not careful to inform myself. Put it anywhere between fifteen and
fifty thousand; it is certainly not less.'
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Marriage Contract by Honore de Balzac: defender and adviser, make him your slave. However occupied, he
will always find time to be devoted to you. I have placed the
liquidation of my affairs and the payment of the debts in his
hands. If he should advance some sum of which he should later feel
in need I rely on you to pay it back. Remember, however, that I do
not leave you to de Marsay, but TO YOURSELF; I do not seek to
impose him upon you.
Alas! I have but an hour more to stay beside you; I cannot spend
that hour in writing business--I count your breaths; I try to
guess your thoughts in the slight motions of your sleep. I would I
could infuse my blood into your veins that you might be a part of
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: could possibly be employed by an experienced man of the world who has
a wide knowledge of his fellows. Nothing which could be effected by
pleasantness of demeanour, by moving oratory, by clouds of flattery,
and by the occasional insertion of a coin into a palm did he leave
undone; with the result that he was retired with less ignominy than
was his companion, and escaped actual trial on a criminal charge. Yet
he issued stripped of all his capital, stripped of his imported
effects, stripped of everything. That is to say, all that remained to
him consisted of ten thousand roubles which he had stored against a
rainy day, two dozen linen shirts, a small britchka of the type used
by bachelors, and two serving-men named Selifan and Petrushka. Yes,
Dead Souls |
