| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Options by O. Henry: the advance royalties.
"The American hero shucks his coat and throws it over the heads of the
bloodhounds, gives the mitrailleuse a slap with his mitt, says 'Yah!'
to the yataghan, and lands in Kid McCoy's best style on the count's
left eye. Of course, we have a neat little prize-fight right then and
there. The count--in order to make the go possible--seems to be an
expert at the art of self-defence, himself; and here we have the
Corbett-Sullivan fight done over into literature. The book ends with
the broker and the princess doing a John Cecil Clay cover under the
linden-trees on the Gorgonzola Walk. That winds up the love-story
plenty good enough. But I notice that the book dodges the final
Options |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Kenilworth by Walter Scott: approaches of which I was taught to beware--the hour, too, which
I was encouraged to hope for. A King was the word--but how?--the
crown matrimonial. All hopes of that are gone--let them go. The
rich Netherlands have demanded me for their leader, and, would
Elizabeth consent, would yield to me THEIR crown. And have I not
such a claim even in this kingdom? That of York, descending from
George of Clarence to the House of Huntingdon, which, this lady
failing, may have a fair chance--Huntingdon is of my house.--But
I will plunge no deeper in these high mysteries. Let me hold my
course in silence for a while, and in obscurity, like a
subterranean river; the time shall come that I will burst forth
Kenilworth |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Door in the Wall, et. al. by H. G. Wells: by--and of those he could see or tell nothing; and it was after the
failure of this attempt, and the ridicule they could not repress,
that he resorted to force. He thought of seizing a spade and
suddenly smiting one or two of them to earth, and so in fair combat
showing the advantage of eyes. He went so far with that resolution
as to seize his spade, and then he discovered a new thing about
himself, and that was that it was impossible for him to hit a blind
man in cold blood.
He hesitated, and found them all aware that he had snatched up
the spade. They stood all alert, with their heads on one side, and
bent ears towards him for what he would do next.
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