| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: there was a shade of anxiety in her pride. It is very fine and
romantic to possess for your very own a finely tempered and trusty
sword-blade, but whether it is the best weapon to counter with the
common cudgel-play of Fate - that's another question.
She knew that she had the more substance of the two - you needn't
try any cheap jokes, I am not talking of their weights. She was
just a little anxious while he was away, and she had me who, being
a tried confidant, took the liberty to whisper frequently "The
sooner the better." But there was a peculiar vein of obstinacy in
Miss Freya, and her reason for delay was characteristic. "Not
before my twenty-first birthday; so that there shall be no mistake
 'Twixt Land & Sea |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: state of preservation than the outer wall.
Another narrow passage led through this wall, and at its
end Tarzan and his warriors found themselves in a broad avenue,
on the opposite side of which crumbling edifices of hewn granite
loomed dark and forbidding. Upon the crumbling debris along the
face of the buildings trees had grown, and vines wound in and
out of the hollow, staring windows; but the building directly
opposite them seemed less overgrown than the others, and in
a much better state of preservation. It was a massive pile,
surmounted by an enormous dome. At either side of its great
entrance stood rows of tall pillars, each capped by a huge,
 The Return of Tarzan |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy: old walls, whether I be there or no."
She then fastened up the doors, and they ascended the stairs together.
"Wait here, Mrs. Edlin," said Sue. "I'll go into my old room a moment
by myself."
Leaving the widow on the landing Sue turned to the chamber
which had been hers exclusively since her arrival at Marygreen,
and pushing to the door knelt down by the bed for a minute or two.
She then arose, and taking her night-gown from the pillow
undressed and came out to Mrs. Edlin. A man could be heard
snoring in the room opposite. She wished Mrs. Edlin good-night,
and the widow entered the room that Sue had just vacated.
 Jude the Obscure |