| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Cousin Pons by Honore de Balzac: those indicated as works of capital importance by M. Pons had
disappeared, and eight paintings of no special merit, and without
numbers, were there instead. . . . And finally, one was missing
altogether, a little panel-painting by Metzu, described in the
catalogue as a masterpiece."
"And was /I/ in charge of the pictures?" demanded La Cibot.
"No; but you were in a position of trust. You were M. Pons'
housekeeper, you looked after his affairs, and he has been robbed--"
"Robbed! Let me tell you this, sir: M. Schmucke sold the pictures, by
M. Pons' orders, to meet expenses."
"And to whom?"
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Faraday as a Discoverer by John Tyndall: myself, I do not as regards you. You are young, I am old....
But then our subjects are so glorious, that to work at them rejoices
and encourages the feeblest; delights and enchants the strongest.
'I have not yet seen anything from Magnus. Thoughts of him always
delight me. We shall look at his black sulphur together. I heard
from Schonbein the other day. He tells me that Liebig is full of
ozone, i.e., of allotropic oxygen.
'Good-bye for the present.
'Ever, my dear Tyndall,
'Yours truly,
'M. Faraday.'
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: to bear, but a solid arch spans over our heads. The great Architect
has built it of the best materials; and never could man have given it
so wide a stretch. What are the finest arches of bridges and the
arcades of cathedrals, compared with this far reaching vault, with a
radius of three leagues, beneath which a wide and tempest-tossed
ocean may flow at its ease?"
"Oh, I am not afraid that it will fall down upon my head. But now
what are your plans? Are you not thinking of returning to the surface
now?"
"Return! no, indeed! We will continue our journey, everything having
gone on well so far."
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
