| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: robe ornamentation, and the newspaper news at home and
abroad--for the Chinese have ten or a dozen newspapers in Peking,
among which is the first woman's daily in the world--the hostess
invites her guest to see her garden. They pass through a gateway
into a court in which are great trees, shrubbery, fish-ponds
spanned by marble bridges, covered walks, beautiful rockeries,
wisteria vines laden with long clusters of blossoms,
summer-houses, miniature mountains, and flowers of all kinds--a
dream of beauty and loveliness. After returning to the house
another cup of tea is served, and the guest rises to leave. But
before doing so her servants bring in a bundle of clothing, and
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: conveniences; and I had dropped a good design, which I had once
bent my thoughts upon, and that was to try if I could not make some
of my barley into malt, and then try to brew myself some beer.
This was really a whimsical thought, and I reproved myself often
for the simplicity of it: for I presently saw there would be the
want of several things necessary to the making my beer that it
would be impossible for me to supply; as, first, casks to preserve
it in, which was a thing that, as I have observed already, I could
never compass: no, though I spent not only many days, but weeks,
nay months, in attempting it, but to no purpose. In the next
place, I had no hops to make it keep, no yeast to made it work, no
Robinson Crusoe |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini: love their King - and his portrait even better than himself,
especially when it is wrought in gold. But even in silver it is
respected. The sergeant was so overcome by the sight of that noble
visage - on a three-livre piece - that his anger vanished, and he
has gone his ways leaving us to depart in peace."
"Ah, true! He said we must decamp. About it, my lads! Come,
come... "
"But not until after breakfast," said Andre-Louis. "A half-hour
for breakfast was conceded us by that loyal fellow, so deeply was
he touched. True, he spoke of possible gardes-champetres. But he
knows as well as I do that they are not seriously to be feared, and
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