| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: "Mrs. Almayer, you mean?"
"Yes, she lives in our Rajah's house. She will not die soon.
Such women live a long time," said Babalatchi, with a slight
tinge of regret in his voice. "She has dollars, and she has
buried them, but we know where. We had much trouble with those
people. We had to pay a fine and listen to threats from the
white men, and now we have to be careful." He sighed and
remained silent for a long while. Then with energy:
"There will be fighting. There is a breath of war on the
islands. Shall I live long enough to see? . . . Ah, Tuan!" he
went on, more quietly, "the old times were best. Even I have
Almayer's Folly |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Adventure by Jack London: but he liked the land. There was a valley of fifteen thousand
acres on Nuka-hiva, half inclosing a perfect anchorage, which he
fell in love with and bought for twelve hundred Chili dollars. But
the French taxation was outrageous (that was why the land was so
cheap), and, worst of all, we could obtain no labour. What kanakas
there were wouldn't work, and the officials seemed to sit up nights
thinking out new obstacles to put in our way.
"Six months was enough for Dad. The situation was hopeless.
'We'll go to the Solomons,' he said, 'and get a whiff of English
rule. And if there are no openings there we'll go on to the
Bismarck Archipelago. I'll wager the Admiraltys are not yet
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Margret Howth: A Story of To-day by Rebecca Harding Davis: "Barney will be jealous," he said, patting the bare ribs of the
old donkey, and glancing wistfully at his mistress.
"Give him his supper, surely," she said, taking the hint.
It was a real treat to see how Lois enjoyed her supper, sipping
and tasting the warm coffee, her face in a glow, like an epicure
over some rare Falernian. You would be sure, from just that
little thing, that no sparkle of warmth or pleasure in the world
slipped by her which she did not catch and enjoy and be thankful
for to the uttermost. You would think, perhaps, pitifully, that
not much pleasure or warmth would ever go down so low, within her
reach. Now that she stood on the ground, she scarcely came up to
Margret Howth: A Story of To-day |
