| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: "Was not your great-uncle in command of the Vengeur before 1789?"
"Yes."
"Then he would be acquainted with my grandfather, who commanded
the Warwick."
Maxime looked at Mme. de Restaud and shrugged his shoulders, as
who should say, "If he is going to discuss nautical matters with
that fellow, it is all over with us." Anastasie understood the
glance that M. de Trailles gave her. With a woman's admirable
tact, she began to smile and said:
"Come with me, Maxime; I have something to say to you. We will
leave you two gentlemen to sail in company on board the Warwick
Father Goriot |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: ideas in those days. Most of them were staring quietly at
the big tablelike end of the cylinder, which was still as
Ogilvy and Henderson had left it. I fancy the popular ex-
pectation of a heap of charred corpses was disappointed at
this inanimate bulk. Some went away while I was there, and
other people came. I clambered into the pit and fancied I
heard a faint movement under my feet. The top had certainly
ceased to rotate.
It was only when I got thus close to it that the strangeness
of this object was at all evident to me. At the first glance
it was really no more exciting than an overturned carriage
War of the Worlds |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart: It must have been much more in keeping with Louise's character,
as I knew it, to resent vigorously any unwelcome attentions from
Doctor Walker. It was the suitor whom I should have expected to
see in headlong flight, not the lady in the case.
The puzzle was no clearer at the end of the half-hour. I picked
up the morning papers, which were still full of the looting of
the Traders' Bank, the interest at fever height again, on account
of Paul Armstrong's death. The bank examiners were working on
the books, and said nothing for publication: John Bailey had been
released on bond. The body of Paul Armstrong would arrive Sunday
and would be buried from the Armstrong town house. There were
The Circular Staircase |
