| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: stand it. It is a good instance to show that the Englishman's right to
privacy is larger than ours, and thus that his liberty is larger than
ours.
Before leaving this point, which to my thinking is the cause of many
frictions and misunderstandings between ourselves and the English, I
mustn't omit to give instances of divergence, where an Englishman will
speak of matters upon which we are silent, and is silent upon subjects of
which we will speak.
You may present a letter of introduction to an Englishman, and he wishes
to be civil, to help you to have a good time. It is quite possible he may
say something like this:
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: "Yes, he can," replied Dorothy; "he talks with his tail, and I know
everything he says. If you could wag your tail, Billina, you wouldn't
need words to talk with."
"Nonsense!" said Billina.
"It isn't nonsense at all. Just now Toto says he's sorry, and that
he'll try to love you for my sake. Don't you, Toto?"
"Bow-wow!" said Toto, wagging his tail again.
"But I've such wonderful news for you, Dorothy," cried the
yellow hen; "I've--"
"Wait a minute, dear," interrupted the little girl; "I've got to
introduce you all, first. That's manners, Billina. This," turning to
The Road to Oz |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Lady Susan by Jane Austen: expediency, though I am not quite determined on following it. I cannot
easily resolve on anything so serious as marriage; especially as I am not
at present in want of money, and might perhaps, till the old gentleman's
death, be very little benefited by the match. It is true that I am vain
enough to believe it within my reach. I have made him sensible of my power,
and can now enjoy the pleasure of triumphing over a mind prepared to
dislike me, and prejudiced against all my past actions. His sister, too,
is, I hope, convinced how little the ungenerous representations of anyone
to the disadvantage of another will avail when opposed by the immediate
influence of intellect and manner. I see plainly that she is uneasy at my
progress in the good opinion of her brother, and conclude that nothing will
Lady Susan |
