| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Persuasion by Jane Austen: He had been engaged to Captain Harville's sister, and was now
mourning her loss. They had been a year or two waiting for fortune
and promotion. Fortune came, his prize-money as lieutenant being great;
promotion, too, came at last; but Fanny Harville did not live to know it.
She had died the preceding summer while he was at sea. Captain Wentworth
believed it impossible for man to be more attached to woman
than poor Benwick had been to Fanny Harville, or to be more deeply
afflicted under the dreadful change. He considered his disposition
as of the sort which must suffer heavily, uniting very strong feelings
with quiet, serious, and retiring manners, and a decided taste for reading,
and sedentary pursuits. To finish the interest of the story,
Persuasion |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain: so--and lift it along and strike downward. The Gaikowar showed us how
the thing was done when he gave it to Luigi, and before that
night was ended, Luigi had used the knife, and the Gaikowar was a man
short by reason of it. The sheath is magnificently ornamented with
gems of great value. You will find a sheath more worth looking at
than the knife itself, of course."
Tom said to himself:
"It's lucky I came here. I would have sold that knife for a song;
I supposed the jewels were glass."
"But go on; don't stop," said Wilson. "Our curiosity is up now,
to hear about the homicide. Tell us about that."
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: shuddered away through the smoke-hold... Never again was she seen.
THE STORY OF AOYAGI
In the era of Bummei [1469-1486] there was a young samurai called Tomotada
in the service of Hatakeyama Yoshimune, the Lord of Noto (1). Tomotada was
a native of Echizen (2); but at an early age he had been taken, as page,
into the palace of the daimyo of Noto, and had been educated, under the
supervision of that prince, for the profession of arms. As he grew up, he
proved himself both a good scholar and a good soldier, and continued to
enjoy the favor of his prince. Being gifted with an amiable character, a
winning address, and a very handsome person, he was admired and much liked
by his samurai-comrades.
Kwaidan |
