| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Familiar Studies of Men and Books by Robert Louis Stevenson: It is far from my intention to tell over again a story that
has been so often told; but there are certainly some points
in the character of Burns that will bear to be brought out,
and some chapters in his life that demand a brief rehearsal.
The unity of the man's nature, for all its richness, has
fallen somewhat out of sight in the pressure of new
information and the apologetical ceremony of biographers.
Mr. Carlyle made an inimitable bust of the poet's head of
gold; may I not be forgiven if my business should have more
to do with the feet, which were of clay?
YOUTH.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Fantastic Fables by Ambrose Bierce: So saying he handed the other a check, which the District Attorney
carefully examined, and then pronounced it the most complete
absence of both proof and presumption that he had ever seen. He
said it would acquit the oldest man in the world.
A Harmless Visitor
AT a meeting of the Golden League of Mystery a Woman was
discovered, writing in a note-book. A member directed the
attention of the Superb High Chairman to her, and she was asked to
explain her presence there, and what she was doing.
"I came in for my own pleasure and instruction," she said, "and was
so struck by the wisdom of the speakers that I could not help
Fantastic Fables |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: Lincoln Island, probably situated between the thirty-fifth and fortieth
parallel, would be subject, in the Southern Hemisphere, to the same climate
as Sicily or Greece in the Northern Hemisphere. But as Greece and Sicily
have severe cold, producing snow and ice, so doubtless would Lincoln Island
in the severest part of the winter. and it was advisable to provide against
it.
In any case if cold did not yet threaten them, the rainy season would
begin, and on this lonely island, exposed to all the fury of the elements,
in mid-ocean, bad weather would be frequent, and probably terrible. The
question of a more comfortable dwelling than the Chimneys must therefore be
seriously considered and promptly resolved on.
The Mysterious Island |
