| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from An Inland Voyage by Robert Louis Stevenson: stood some way off upon the sward. I was glad of an opportunity to
divert public attention from myself, and return some of the
compliments I had received. So I admired it cordially both for
form and colour, telling them, and very truly, that it was as
beautiful as gold. They were not surprised. The things were
plainly the boast of the countryside. And the children expatiated
on the costliness of these amphorae, which sell sometimes as high
as thirty francs apiece; told me how they were carried on donkeys,
one on either side of the saddle, a brave caparison in themselves;
and how they were to be seen all over the district, and at the
larger farms in great number and of great size.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from My Aunt Margaret's Mirror by Walter Scott: any scene of action to those in this country whom it may concern.
During Marlborough's campaigns, the sufferings of the many who
had relations in, or along with, the army were greatly augmented
by the suspense in which they were detained for weeks after they
had heard of bloody battles, in which, in all probability, those
for whom their bosoms throbbed with anxiety had been personally
engaged. Amongst those who were most agonized by this state of
uncertainty was the--I had almost said deserted--wife of the gay
Sir Philip Forester. A single letter had informed her of his
arrival on the Continent; no others were received. One notice
occurred in the newspapers, in which Volunteer Sir Philip
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Within the Tides by Joseph Conrad: make a bow to Davidson's careless nod. His stumps were stuck
immovably in his pockets. Davidson understood now the reason.
"He went down to the ship. His wits were working actively, and he
was thoroughly angry. He smiled, he says (it must have been the
first grim smile of his life), at the thought of the seven-pound
weight lashed to the end of the Frenchman's stump. The ruffian had
taken that precaution in case of a quarrel that might arise over
the division of the spoil. A man with an unsuspected power to deal
killing blows could take his own part in a sudden scrimmage round a
heap of money, even against adversaries armed with revolvers,
especially if he himself started the row.
Within the Tides |
