| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: measurements, and cataloguing the colors by their scientific names;--as a
result, you get the bald fact of the sunset, but you don't see the sunset.
It would have been better to paint a picture of it.
The date 1542, standing by itself, means little or nothing to us;
but when one groups a few neighboring historical dates and facts
around it, he adds perspective and color, and then realizes that this
is one of the American dates which is quite respectable for age.
For instance, when the Mississippi was first seen by a white man, less than
a quarter of a century had elapsed since Francis I.'s defeat at Pavia;
the death of Raphael; the death of Bayard, SANS PEUR ET SANS REPROCHE;
the driving out of the Knights-Hospitallers from Rhodes by the Turks;
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Case of The Lamp That Went Out by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: spared the last sentence, the request that Mr. Thorne should get the
Viennese papers of these last days. Believe me, he has already read
these papers. Who could be more interested in what they have to tell
than he?"
The housekeeper had sat as if frozen to stone during Muller's long
speech. Her face was ashen and her eyes wild with horror. When the
detective ceased speaking, there was dead silence in the room for
some time. Finally Muller asked: "Is this what happened?" His voice
was cutting and the glance of his eyes keen and sharp.
Mrs. Bernauer trembled. Her head sank on her breast. Muller waited
a moment more and then he said quietly: "Then it is true."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Young Forester by Zane Grey: glad to see Hal that I forgot I was a prisoner. But Greaser's sullen face
and glittering eyes reminded me of it quickly enough. I read treachery in
his glance.
Bud rode into camp from the other direction, and he brought a bunch of
horses, two of which I recognized as Dick's. The lumbermen set about
getting breakfast, and Stockton helped me to what little I could eat and
drink. Now that I was caught he did not appear at all mean or harsh. I did
not shrink from him, and had the feeling that he meant well by me.
The horses were saddled and bridled, and Dick and I, still tied, were
bundled astride our mounts. The pack-ponies led the way, with Bill
following; I came next, Greaser rode behind me, and Dick was between Bud
The Young Forester |
