| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: But a faithful promise--the fidelity of promising! It
is a power little worth knowing, however, since it can
deceive and pain you. My mother's room is very commodious,
is it not? Large and cheerful-looking, and the
dressing-closets so well disposed! It always strikes me
as the most comfortable apartment in the house, and I
rather wonder that Eleanor should not take it for her own.
She sent you to look at it, I suppose?"
"No."
"It has been your own doing entirely?" Catherine said
nothing. After a short silence, during which he had closely
Northanger Abbey |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: will decay, and the existence of the books will terminate in a state
of white tinder.
Everything which diminishes the interest of a book is inimical
to its preservation, and in fact is its enemy. Therefore, a few
words upon the destruction of old bindings.
I remember purchasing many years ago at a suburban book stall,
a perfect copy of Moxon's Mechanic Exercises, now a scarce work.
The volumes were uncut, and had the original marble covers.
They looked so attractive in their old fashioned dress,
that I at once determined to preserve it. My binder soon
made for them a neat wooden box in the shape of a book,
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The War in the Air by H. G. Wells: pulled up this lever.
Rather stiff it was, but suddenly it came over--
The big curved wings on either side flapped disconcertingly,
flapped again' click, clock, click, clock, clitter-clock!
Stop! The thing was heading for the water; its wheel was in the
water. Bert groaned from his heart and struggled to restore the
lever to its first position. Click, clock, clitter-clock, he was
ising! The machine was lifting its dripping wheel out of the
eddies, and he was going up! There was no stopping now, no good
in stopping now. In another moment Bert, clutching and
convulsive and rigid, with staring eyes and a face pale as death,
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