| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: have come to my senses, and know that the words which thou hast
ever spoken unto me are true, and that a thick cloud of sin and
wickedness did then cover us, so that we were unable to discern
the truth, and recognize the Creator of all. Nay, but we shut
our eyes, and would not behold the light which thou didst
enkindle more brightly for us. Much evil did we do unto thee,
and many of the Christians, alas! did we destroy; who,
strengthened by the power that aided them, finally triumphed over
our cruelty. But now we have removed that dense mist from our
eyes, and see some small ray of truth, and there cometh on us
repentance of our misdeeds. But a new cloud of despair would
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Virginibus Puerisque by Robert Louis Stevenson: the unconscious compression of the mouth, that befit and
signify an effort of the kind. The whole pose, the whole
expression, is absolutely direct and simple. You are ready to
take your oath to it that Colonel Lyon had no idea he was
sitting for his picture, and thought of nothing in the world
besides his own occupation of the moment.
Although the collection did not embrace, I understand,
nearly the whole of Raeburn's works, it was too large not to
contain some that were indifferent, whether as works of art or
as portraits. Certainly the standard was remarkably high, and
was wonderfully maintained, but there were one or two pictures
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: Nelson's dread of the authorities had rubbed off on the girl since
she had to live with it day after day. "I don't know. Papa's
afraid of being reduced to beggary, as he says, in his old days.
Look here, kid, you had better clear out to-morrow, first thing."
Jasper had hoped for another afternoon with Freya, an afternoon of
quiet felicity with the girl by his side and his eyes on his brig,
anticipating a blissful future. His silence was eloquent with
disappointment, and Freya understood it very well. She, too, was
disappointed. But it was her business to be sensible.
"We shan't have a moment to ourselves with that beetle creeping
round the house," she argued in a low, hurried voice. "So what's
'Twixt Land & Sea |
