| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Captain Stormfield by Mark Twain: years I begun to get uneasy. Oh, it was pleasant enough, with a
good deal to find out, but then it was kind of lonesome, you know.
Besides, I wanted to get somewhere. I hadn't shipped with the idea
of cruising forever. First off, I liked the delay, because I
judged I was going to fetch up in pretty warm quarters when I got
through; but towards the last I begun to feel that I'd rather go to
- well, most any place, so as to finish up the uncertainty.
Well, one night - it was always night, except when I was rushing by
some star that was occupying the whole universe with its fire and
its glare - light enough then, of course, but I necessarily left it
behind in a minute or two and plunged into a solid week of darkness
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Virginian by Owen Wister: "What do yu' think?" said Scipio to me. "Will he take them to
Sunk Creek?"
"He evidently thinks he will," said I. "He says he will, and he
has the courage of his convictions."
"That ain't near enough courage to have!" Scipio exclaimed.
"There's times in life when a man has got to have courage WITHOUT
convictions--WITHOUT them--or he is no good. Now your friend is
that deep constitooted that you don't know and I don't know what
he's thinkin' about all this."
"If there's to be any gun-play," put in the excellent Shorty,
"I'll stand in with him."
The Virginian |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland by Olive Schreiner: not a beacon-light flaming across the earth? Ever a voice is behind my
shoulder, that whispers to me--'Why break your head against a stone wall?
Leave this work to the greater and larger men of your people; they who will
do it better than you can do it! Why break your heart when life could be
so fair to you?' But, oh my wife, the strong men are silent! and shall I
not speak, though I know my power is as nothing?'
"He laid his head upon his hands.
"And she said, 'I cannot understand you. When I come home and tell you
that this man drinks, or that that woman has got into trouble, you always
answer me, 'Wife, what business is it of ours if so be that we cannot help
them?' A little innocent gossip offends you; and you go to visit people
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