| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Europeans by Henry James: it 's my want of character. Because I have a character--
I assure you I have; a small one, a little slip of a thing,
but still something tangible."
"Ought you not to tell Felix that it is Mr. Brand, father?"
Charlotte asked, with infinite mildness.
"It is not only Mr. Brand," Mr. Wentworth solemnly declared.
And he looked at his knee for a long time. "It is difficult
to explain," he said. He wished, evidently, to be very just.
"It rests on moral grounds, as Mr. Brand says.
It is the question whether it is the best thing for Gertrude."
"What is better--what is better, dear uncle?" Felix rejoined urgently,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer: It would be like him."
"I begin to suspect the most formidable creature in the known world
to be hidden here. I believe Fu-Manchu is somewhere inside Redmoat!"
Our conversation was interrupted at this point by Denby,
who came to report that he had examined the moat, the roadside,
and the bank of the stream, but found no footprints or clew
of any kind.
"No one left the grounds of Redmoat last night, I think," he said.
And his voice had awe in it.
That day dragged slowly on. A party of us scoured the neighborhood
for traces of strangers, examining every foot of the Roman ruin
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells: emancipated from instinct and the slaves of no fantastic Law,--
beings altogether different from the Beast Folk. Yet I shrink
from them, from their curious glances, their inquiries and assistance,
and long to be away from them and alone. For that reason I live near
the broad free downland, and can escape thither when this shadow
is over my soul; and very sweet is the empty downland then, under the
wind-swept sky.
When I lived in London the horror was well-nigh insupportable.
I could not get away from men: their voices came through windows;
locked doors were flimsy safeguards. I would go out into the streets
to fight with my delusion, and prowling women would mew after me;
The Island of Doctor Moreau |
