| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley: learning their Chris-cross-row; and gabble enough they made about
it.
Such a pleasant cottage it was, with a shiny clean stone floor, and
curious old prints on the walls, and an old black oak sideboard
full of bright pewter and brass dishes, and a cuckoo clock in the
corner, which began shouting as soon as Tom appeared: not that it
was frightened at Tom, but that it was just eleven o'clock.
All the children started at Tom's dirty black figure, - the girls
began to cry, and the boys began to laugh, and all pointed at him
rudely enough; but Tom was too tired to care for that.
"What art thou, and what dost want?" cried the old dame. "A
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: necessary, with Monsieur de Troisville.
It is useless to relate the activity with which Josette, Jacquelin,
Mariette, Moreau, and his agents went about their functions. It was
like the busyness of ants about their eggs. All that daily care had
already rendered neat and clean was again gone over and brushed and
rubbed and scrubbed. The china of ceremony saw the light; the damask
linen marked "A, B, C" was drawn from depths where it lay under a
triple guard of wrappings, still further defended by formidable lines
of pins. Above all, Mademoiselle Cormon sacrificed on the altar of her
hopes three bottles of the famous liqueurs of Madame Amphoux, the most
illustrious of all the distillers of the tropics,--a name very dear to
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin: round awhile and hearing nothing said, being very drowsy thro'
labor and want of rest the preceding night, I fell fast asleep,
and continued so till the meeting broke up, when one was kind
enough to rouse me. This was, therefore, the first house I was in,
or slept in, in Philadelphia.
Walking down again toward the river, and, looking in the faces
of people, I met a young Quaker man, whose countenance I lik'd, and,
accosting him, requested he would tell me where a stranger could
get lodging. We were then near the sign of the Three Mariners.
"Here," says he, "is one place that entertains strangers, but it
is not a reputable house; if thee wilt walk with me, I'll show thee
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin |
