| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: inquiries as to each other's health. There is a short stop and
certain formalities before the guest will ascend the steps ahead
of the hostess. The same occurs again on entering the reception
hall, and taking the seat of honour. The luckless foreigner
sometimes makes the mistake of conceding to her guest's modesty
and allows her to take a lower seat, which is a grievous offense,
and she is only pardoned on the plea that she is an outside
barbarian, and does not understand the rules of polite society.
After she is seated tea is served, and servants bring in trays of
sweetmeats, fruit, nuts, dried melon seeds, candied fruits and
small cakes. One of these nuts is unique. It is an "English
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from In Darkest England and The Way Out by General William Booth: "one dozen," and was transferred with character marked "good" to the
Iron Duke in the China seas; soon got drinking, and was locked up and
imprisoned for riotous conduct in almost every port in the stations.
He broke ship, and deserted several times, and was a thorough specimen
of a bad British tar. He saw gaol in Signapore, Hong Kong, Yokohama,
Shanghai, Canton, and other places. In five years returned home, and,
after furlough, joined the Belle Isle in the Irish station. Whisky
here again got hold of him, and excess ruined his constitution.
On his leave he had married, and on his discharge joined his wife in
Birmingham. For some time he worked as sweeper in the market, but two
years ago deserted his wife and family, and came to London, settled
In Darkest England and The Way Out |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley: matters of that kind; but that is a child's fancy, my dear.
Nothing is to be depended on but the great hippopotamus test. If
you have a hippopotamus major in your brain, you are no ape, though
you had four hands, no feet, and were more apish than the apes of
all aperies. But if a hippopotamus major is ever discovered in one
single ape's brain, nothing will save your great-great-great-great-
great-great-great-great-great-great-great-greater-greatest-
grandmother from having been an ape too. No, my dear little man;
always remember that the one true, certain, final, and all-
important difference between you and an ape is, that you have a
hippopotamus major in your brain, and it has none; and that,
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