| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs: he raised his finger and pointed.
"There is the king," he said.
Every eye turned in the direction he indicated. Exclama-
tions of surprise and incredulity burst from every lip. The
old chancellor looked from the man in the red hunting coat
to the still form of the man upon the floor in the blood-
spattered marriage garments of a king of Lutha. He let the
king's head gently down upon the carpet, and then he rose
to his feet and faced the man in the red hunting coat.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Before Barney could speak Lieutenant Butzow spoke.
The Mad King |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: that glacial politeness, that most insurmountable barrier
which separates the well-bred from the vulgar man.
He had entered Villefort's office expecting that the
magistrate would tremble at the sight of him; on the
contrary, he felt a cold shudder all over him when he saw
Villefort sitting there with his elbow on his desk, and his
head leaning on his hand. He stopped at the door; Villefort
gazed at him as if he had some difficulty in recognizing
him; then, after a brief interval, during which the honest
shipowner turned his hat in his hands, --
"M. Morrel, I believe?" said Villefort.
The Count of Monte Cristo |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Essays of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson: On my first engineering excursion, which lay up by Crouzials towards
Mount Mezenc and the borders of Ardeche, I began an improving
acquaintance with the foreman road-mender. He was in great glee at
having me with him, passed me off among his subalterns as the
supervising engineer, and insisted on what he called 'the gallantry'
of paying for my breakfast in a roadside wine-shop. On the whole, he
was a man of great weather-wisdom, some spirits, and a social temper.
But I am afraid he was superstitious. When he was nine years old, he
had seen one night a company of BOURGEOIS ET DAMES QUI FAISAIENT LA
MANEGE AVEC DES CHAISES, and concluded that he was in the presence of
a witches' Sabbath. I suppose, but venture with timidity on the
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