| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: and sheep-skin. The weather, alas! was rainy, and, as they
approached the house, loud peals of laughter reached their ears.
The children were keeping a birthday with a few young friends.
The damp forbad all outdoor play, and, having been left too
much to their own devices, they had invaded the library.
It was just after the Battle of Balaclava, and the heroism of
the combatants on that hard-fought field was in everybody's mouth.
So the mischievous young imps divided themselves into two opposing camps--
Britons and Russians. The Russian division was just inside the door,
behind ramparts formed of old folios and quartos taken from
the bottom shelves and piled to the height of about four feet.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Lemorne Versus Huell by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard: "You expect Mr. Van Horn?"
"Oh, he must come; I can not be writing letters."
We had been in Newport two weeks when Mr. Van Horn, Aunt Eliza's
lawyer, came. He said that he would see Mr. Edward Uxbridge.
Between them they might delay a term, which he thought would be
best. "Would Miss Huell ever be ready for a compromise?" he
jestingly asked.
"Are you suspicious?" she inquired.
"No; but the Uxbridge chaps are clever."
He dined with us; and at four o'clock Aunt Eliza graciously asked
him to take a seat in the carriage with me, making some excuse for
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Arrow of Gold by Joseph Conrad: monster."
She received that true expression of my opinion as though I had
given her a sweet of a particularly delicious kind. She liked to
be abused. It pleased her to be called names. I did let her have
that satisfaction to her heart's content. At last I stopped
because I could do no more, unless I got out of bed to beat her. I
have a vague notion that she would have liked that, too, but I
didn't try. After I had stopped she waited a little before she
raised her downcast eyes.
"You are a dear, ignorant, flighty young gentleman," she said.
"Nobody can tell what a cross my sister is to me except the good
The Arrow of Gold |
