| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Taras Bulba and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: buried themselves deep in the earth at a distance, tearing the ground,
and throwing the black soil high in the air. At the sight of such lack
of skill the French engineer tore his hair, and undertook to lay the
cannons himself, heeding not the Cossack bullets which showered round
him.
Taras saw from afar that destruction menaced the whole Nezamaikovsky
and Steblikivsky kurens, and gave a ringing shout, "Get away from the
waggons instantly, and mount your horses!" But the Cossacks would not
have succeeded in effecting both these movements if Ostap had not
dashed into the middle of the foe and wrenched the linstocks from six
cannoneers. But he could not wrench them from the other four, for the
Taras Bulba and Other Tales |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Tapestried Chamber by Walter Scott: hardships and dangers he had lately sustained, undressed himself,
and prepared for a luxurious night's rest.
Here, contrary to the custom of this species of tale, we leave
the General in possession of his apartment until the next
morning.
The company assembled for breakfast at an early hour, but without
the appearance of General Browne, who seemed the guest that Lord
Woodville was desirous of honouring above all whom his
hospitality had assembled around him. He more than once
expressed surprise at the General's absence, and at length sent a
servant to make inquiry after him. The man brought back
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: the grace of a natural quality) there were none of those damnable
implications whereby a woman, in welcoming her friend's
betrothed, may keep him on pins and needles while she laps the
lady in complacency. So masterly a performance, indeed, hardly
needed the offset of Miss Gaynor's door-step words--"To be so
kind to me, how she must have liked you!"--though he caught
himself wishing it lay within the bounds of fitness to transmit
them, as a final tribute, to the one woman he knew who was
unfailingly certain to enjoy a good thing. It was perhaps the
one drawback to his new situation that it might develop good
things which it would be impossible to hand on to Margaret
|
