| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Chronicles of the Canongate by Walter Scott: Awe, for the last time, a sport in which he excelled, and to
find, at the same time, the means for making one social meal with
his mother on something better than their ordinary cheer. He was
as successful as usual, and soon killed a fine salmon. On his
return homeward an incident befell him, which he afterwards
related as ominous, though probably his heated imagination,
joined to the universal turn of his countrymen for the
marvellous, exaggerated into superstitious importance some very
ordinary and accidental circumstance.
In the path which he pursued homeward, he was surprised to
observe a person, who, like himself, was dressed and armed after
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: She lifted the lid, peeped in, then shut it down with a little scream and
sat biting her lips. The bridegroom wrenched the pot away from her and
drew forth a baby's bottle and two little cradles holding china dolls. As
he dandled these treasures before Theresa the hot room seemed to heave and
sway with laughter.
Frau Brechenmacher did not think it funny. She stared round at the
laughing faces, and suddenly they all seemed strange to her. She wanted to
go home and never come out again. She imagined that all these people were
laughing at her, more people than there were in the room even--all laughing
at her because they were so much stronger than she was.
...
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad: vestiges of experimental watchfulness in the round eyes, which had
been, no doubt, fastened on his back, and now met his glance for a
second before the intent character of their stare had the time to
change to a merely startled appearance.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police had really some qualifications
for his post. Suddenly his suspicion was awakened. It is but fair
to say that his suspicions of the police methods (unless the police
happened to be a semi-military body organised by himself) was not
difficult to arouse. If it ever slumbered from sheer weariness, it
was but lightly; and his appreciation of Chief Inspector Heat's
zeal and ability, moderate in itself, excluded all notion of moral
The Secret Agent |
