| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Middlemarch by George Eliot: you Miss Brooke would be such a fine match. I knew there was a great
deal of nonsense in her--a flighty sort of Methodistical stuff.
But these things wear out of girls. However, I am taken by surprise
for once."
"What do you mean, Mrs. Cadwallader?" said Sir James. His fear lest
Miss Brooke should have run away to join the Moravian Brethren,
or some preposterous sect unknown to good society, was a little
allayed by the knowledge that Mrs. Cadwallader always made the worst
of things. "What has happened to Miss Brooke? Pray speak out."
"Very well. She is engaged to be married." Mrs. Cadwallader
paused a few moments, observing the deeply hurt expression in her
Middlemarch |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: 'What was it that frightened you?' said Joe.
A man whose person was unknown to her had followed her, she
answered; he began by begging, and went on to threats of robbery,
which he was on the point of carrying into execution, and would
have executed, but for Joe's timely aid. The hesitation and
confusion with which she said this, Joe attributed to the fright
she had sustained, and no suspicion of the truth occurred to him
for a moment.
'Stop when the words are on your lips.' A hundred times that
night, and very often afterwards, when the disclosure was rising
to her tongue, Dolly thought of that, and repressed it. A deeply
Barnaby Rudge |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg by Mark Twain: Halliday's voice rang out:
"That's the hall-marked truth, too! If the Chair is right, let the
house speak up and say it. Rise! Now, then--hip! hip! hip!--all
together!"
The house rose in mass, faced toward the old couple eagerly, filled
the air with a snow-storm of waving handkerchiefs, and delivered the
cheers with all its affectionate heart.
The Chair then continued:
"What I was going to say is this: We know your good heart, Mr.
Richards, but this is not a time for the exercise of charity toward
offenders. [Shouts of "Right! right!"] I see your generous purpose
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg |
