| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Master Key by L. Frank Baum: land again. If I keep on as I am I shall be sure to reach land of
some sort, in time, and when I wish to return home I can set the indicator
to the northwest and that will take me directly back to Boston."
This was good reasoning, but the rash youth had no idea he was
speeding over the ocean, or that he was destined to arrive shortly at
the barbarous island of Brava, off the coast of Africa. Yet such was
the case; just as the sun sank over the edge of the waves he saw, to
his great relief, a large island directly in his path.
He dropped to a lower position in the air, and when he judged himself
to be over the center of the island he turned the indicator to zero
and stopped short.
The Master Key |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Chouans by Honore de Balzac: blue eye, keen with suspicion, studied alternately the gloomy face of
the commandant and that of Mademoiselle de Verneuil.
"A stripling like you to pretend to fool me! Come, produce your
papers, or--"
"La! la! citizen, I'm not such a babe as I look to be. Why should I
answer you? Who are you?"
"The commander of this department," answered Hulot.
"Oh, then, of course, the matter is serious; I am taken with arms in
my hand," and he held a glass full of Bordeaux to the soldier.
"I am not thirsty," said Hulot. "Come, your papers."
At that instant the rattle of arms and the tread of men was heard in
The Chouans |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: When they are all on their legs this will make an excellent
collection.
Has Davie never read GUY MANNERING, ROB ROY, or THE ANTIQUARY? All
of which are worth three WAVERLEYS. I think KENILWORTH better than
WAVERLEY; NIGEL, too; and QUENTIN DURWARD about as good. But it
shows a true piece of insight to prefer WAVERLEY, for it IS
different; and though not quite coherent, better worked in parts
than almost any other: surely more carefully. It is undeniable
that the love of the slap-dash and the shoddy grew upon Scott with
success. Perhaps it does on many of us, which may be the granite
on which D.'s opinion stands. However, I hold it, in Patrick
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