| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay: remarkable for their culture, wealth and influence.
Mr. Lincoln's name and words had filled so large a space in the
Eastern newspapers of late, that his listeners were very eager to
see. and hear this rising Western politician. The West, even at
that late day, was very imperfectly understood by the East. It
was looked upon as a land of bowie-knives and pistols, of
steamboat explosions, of mobs, of wild speculation and wilder
adventure. What, then, would be the type, the character, the
language of this speaker? How would he impress the great editor
Horace Greeley, who sat among the invited guests; David Dudley
Field, the great lawyer, who escorted him to the platform;
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Start in Life by Honore de Balzac: "Possibly. But you'll never be an ambassador," replied Georges. "When
people want to talk in public conveyances, they ought to be careful,
like me, to talk without saying anything."
"That's what speech is for," remarked Mistigris, by way of conclusion.
The count returned to his seat and the coucou rolled on amid the
deepest silence.
"Well, my friends," said the count, when they reached the Carreau
woods, "here we all are, as silent as if we were going to the
scaffold."
"'Silence gives content,'" muttered Mistigris.
"The weather is fine," said Georges.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Monster Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the man to what seemed must be a speedy and horrible death.
Sing Lee was astounded at the perfidy of the act.
To Bulan alone was due the entire credit of having rescued
Professor Maxon's daughter, and yet in the very
presence of his self-sacrificing loyalty and devotion
von Horn had deserted him without making the least
attempt to aid him. But the wrinkled old Chinaman
was made of different metal, and had started forward
to assist Bulan when a heavy hand suddenly fell upon his
shoulder. Looking around he saw the hideous face of
Number Ten snarling into his. The bloodshot eyes of
The Monster Men |
