| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: prisoner named Mathias, who in 1668, that is to say, five
years before, had committed a much less violent act of
rebellion than that of which Cornelius was guilty. He had
found his soup too hot, and thrown it at the head of the
chief turnkey, who in consequence of this ablution had been
put to the inconvenience of having his skin come off as he
wiped his face.
Mathias was taken within twelve hours from his cell, then
led to the jailer's lodge, where he was registered as
leaving Loewestein, then taken to the Esplanade, from which
there is a very fine prospect over a wide expanse of
The Black Tulip |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Damaged Goods by Upton Sinclair: conclusion that the doctor was right. He had noted his son-in-
law's patience and penitence, and had also made sure that in
spite of everything Henriette still loved him. The baby
apparently was doing well; and the Frenchman, with his strong
sense of family ties, felt it a serious matter to separate a
child permanently from its father. So in the end he cast the
weight of his influence in favor of a reconciliation, and
Henriette returned to her husband, upon terms which the doctor
laid down.
The doctor played in these negotiations the part which he had not
been allowed to play in the marriage. For the deputy was now
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy: they had gone astray and had met some drunken peasants. Their
hosts were surprised, explained where and why they had missed
their way, said who the tipsy people they had met were, and
told them how they ought to go.
'A little child could find the way to Molchanovka from here.
All you have to do is to take the right turning from the high
road. There's a bush you can see just there. But you didn't
even get that far!' said the neighbour.
'You'd better stay the night. The women will make up beds for
you,' said the old woman persuasively.
'You could go on in the morning and it would be pleasanter,'
Master and Man |
