| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from La Grande Breteche by Honore de Balzac: Nevertheless, monsieur, you must be a man of education, and you should
know that the laws forbid, under heavy penalties, any trespass on
enclosed property. A hedge is the same as a wall. But, the state in
which the place is left may be an excuse for your curiosity. For my
part, I should be quite content to make you free to come and go in the
house; but being bound to respect the will of the testatrix, I have
the honor, monsieur, to beg that you will go into the garden no more.
I myself, monsieur, since the will was read, have never set foot in
the house, which, as I had the honor of informing you, is part of the
estate of the late Madame de Merret. We have done nothing there but
verify the number of doors and windows to assess the taxes I have to
La Grande Breteche |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Poor and Proud by Oliver Optic: invalid too violently, revealed herself to her sister. The fine
lady of Temple Street had a heart, a warm and true heart, and not
that day, nor that night, nor for a week, did she leave the sick
bed of the sufferer. There, in the midst of her sister's poverty,
she did a sister's offices.
It was three weeks before Mrs. Redburn was in a condition to be
moved to her sister's house; and then she was once more in the
midst of the luxury and splendor of her early life. One day, when
she had improved so much as to be able to bear the fatigue of a
long conversation, Mrs. Gordon, who had thus far declined to
discuss any exciting topics with the invalid proposed to have
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Child of Storm by H. Rider Haggard: Household Guards, to which the Kings Chaka, Dingaan and Panda all
belonged in turn. Most of the headmen had taken one side or the other,
and were away raising forces to fight for Cetewayo or Umbelazi, and even
the greater part of the women and children had gone to hide themselves
in the bush or among the mountains, since none knew what would happen,
or if the conquering army would not fall upon and destroy them.
A few councillors, however, remained with Panda, among whom was old
Maputa, the general, who had once brought me the "message of the pills."
Several times he visited me at night and told me the rumours that were
flying about. From these I gathered that some skirmishes had taken
place and the battle could not be long delayed; also that Umbelazi had
Child of Storm |
