| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: overcome an affront of a quarter of an hour. Come, do you
really think you have anything to say against me? Say it
then; if I am in fault I will avow the error."
The grave and harmonious tones of that beloved voice seemed
to have still its ancient influence, whilst that of Aramis,
which had become harsh and tuneless in his moments of
ill-humor, irritated him. He answered therefore:
"I think, monsieur le comte, that you had something to
communicate to me at your chateau of Bragelonne, and that
gentleman" -- he pointed to Aramis -- "had also something to
tell me when I was in his convent. At that time I was not
Twenty Years After |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Prince Otto by Robert Louis Stevenson: little stage, did I not immediately resign to you my box of toys,
this Grunewald? And when I found I was distasteful as a husband,
could any husband have been less intrusive? You will tell me that I
have no feelings, no preference, and thus no credit; that I go
before the wind; that all this was in my character. And indeed, one
thing is true, that it is easy, too easy, to leave things undone.
But Seraphina, I begin to learn it is not always wise. If I were
too old and too uncongenial for your husband, I should still have
remembered that I was the Prince of that country to which you came,
a visitor and a child. In that relation also there were duties, and
these duties I have not performed.'
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain: little story with this freak of nature for hero--or heroes--
a silly young miss for heroine, and two old ladies and two boys for
the minor parts. I lavishly elaborated these people and their
doings, of course. But the take kept spreading along and
spreading along, and other people got to intruding themselves and
taking up more and more room with their talk and their affairs.
Among them came a stranger named Pudd'nhead Wilson, and woman
named Roxana; and presently the doings of these two pushed up
into prominence a young fellow named Tom Driscoll, whose proper
place was away in the obscure background. Before the book was
half finished those three were taking things almost entirely into
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