| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbot: I could see nothing; yet still I FELT a Presence, and shivered
as the cold whisper came again. I started up. "What is the matter?"
said my Wife, "there is no draught; what are you looking for?
There is nothing." There was nothing; and I resumed my seat,
again exclaiming, "The boy is a fool, I say; 3^3 can have no meaning
in Geometry." At once there came a distinctly audible reply,
"The boy is not a fool; and 3^3 has an obvious Geometrical meaning."
My Wife as well as myself heard the words, although she did not
understand their meaning, and both of us sprang forward
in the direction of the sound. What was our horror when we saw
before us a Figure! At the first glance it appeared to be a Woman,
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: manger-full of sweet, crisp hay for his dinner, they followed Mrs. Kirk's lead
to the little pond at the foot of the apple-orchard. And then what did they
see! but a truly beautiful great flock of white geese. Some were sailing
gracefully around the pond, some were pluming their snowy breasts on the shore
beside it, and three, the finest of them all, and each with a bow of ribbon
tied round its long neck, were confined within a little picket-fence apart
from the others.
"Why, what beauties, Mrs. Kirk!" exclaimed Tattine, the minute she spied them,
"and what are the ribbons for? Do they mean they have taken a prize at some
show or other? And why do they each have a different color?"
"They mane," said Mrs. Kirk proudly, standing with her hands upon her hips and
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Lucile by Owen Meredith: But, alas! I was fashion'd for action: my heart,
Wither'd thing though it be, I should hardly compress
'Twixt the leaves of a treatise on Statics: life's stress
Needs scope, not contraction! what rests? to wear out
At some dark northern court an existence, no doubt,
In wretched and paltry intrigues for a cause
As hopeless as is my own life! By the laws
Of a fate I can neither control nor dispute,
I am what I am!"
VIII.
For a while she was mute.
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