| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Lady Susan by Jane Austen: credited; since no character, however upright, can escape the malevolence
of slander. If my sister, in the security of retirement, with as little
opportunity as inclination to do evil, could not avoid censure, we must not
rashly condemn those who, living in the world and surrounded with
temptations, should be accused of errors which they are known to have the
power of committing.
I blame myself severely for having so easily believed the slanderous
tales invented by Charles Smith to the prejudice of Lady Susan, as I am now
convinced how greatly they have traduced her. As to Mrs. Mainwaring's
jealousy it was totally his own invention, and his account of her attaching
Miss Mainwaring's lover was scarcely better founded. Sir James Martin had
Lady Susan |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Vicar of Tours by Honore de Balzac: dropped stitch resulted in destroying the whole fabric. Mademoiselle
Salomon remained to him. But, alas, in losing his old illusions the
poor priest dared not trust in any later friendship.
In the "citta dolente" of spinsterhood we often meet, especially in
France, with women whose lives are a sacrifice nobly and daily offered
to noble sentiments. Some remain proudly faithful to a heart which
death tore from them; martyrs of love, they learn the secrets of
womanhood only though their souls. Others obey some family pride
(which in our days, and to our shame, decreases steadily); these
devote themselves to the welfare of a brother, or to orphan nephews;
they are mothers while remaining virgins. Such old maids attain to the
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Summer by Edith Wharton: become little more than a vague legend, revived only at
lengthening intervals by a summons to Hepburn or
Nettleton; and he appeared to depend for his living
mainly on the scant produce of his farm, and on the
commissions received from the few insurance agencies
that he represented in the neighbourhood. At any rate,
he had been prompt in accepting Harney's offer to hire
the buggy at a dollar and a half a day; and his
satisfaction with the bargain had manifested itself,
unexpectedly enough, at the end of the first week, by
his tossing a ten-dollar bill into Charity's lap as she
|
