| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Sons of the Soil by Honore de Balzac: especially the same efforts of officers and men upon the battle-
fields, may have contributed to produce this uniformity of
countenance. Michaud, who was dressed in dark blue cloth, still wore
the black satin stock and high boots of a soldier, which increased the
slight stiffness and rigidity of his bearing. The shoulders sloped,
the chest expanded, as though the man were still under arms. The red
ribbon of the Legion of honor was in his buttonhole. In short, to give
a last touch in one word about the moral qualities beneath this purely
physical presentment, it may be said that while the steward, from the
time he first entered upon his functions, never failed to call his
master "Monsieur le comte," Michaud never addressed him otherwise than
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Tattine by Ruth Ogden [Mrs. Charles W. Ide]: next thought was for Doctor, and she turned on him with a torrent of abuse,
that ought to have made the hair of that young M.D. stand on end. "Oh, you
cruel, CRUEL dog! whatever made you do such a thing as this? I never dreamt it
of you, never." At this Betsy's tail dropped between her legs, for she was a
coward at heart, but Doctor held his ground, his tail standing on end, as his
hair should have done, and his eyes all the while fairly devouring the little
rabbit. "And the worst of it," continued Tattine, "is that no matter how sorry
you may feel" (Betsy was the only one who showed any signs of sorrow, and she
was more scared than sorry), "no matter how sorry you may feel, that will not
mend things. You do not know where this baby lived, and who are its father and
mother, and like as not it is too young to live at all away from them and will
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Middlemarch by George Eliot: The fact is, I never loved any one well enough to put myself into
a noose for them. It IS a noose, you know. Temper, now.
There is temper. And a husband likes to be master."
"I know that I must expect trials, uncle. Marriage is a state
of higher duties. I never thought of it as mere personal ease,"
said poor Dorothea.
"Well, you are not fond of show, a great establishment, balls, dinners,
that kind of thing. I can see that Casaubon's ways might suit you
better than Chettam's. And you shall do as you like, my dear.
I would not hinder Casaubon; I said so at once; for there is no
knowing how anything may turn out. You have not the same tastes
Middlemarch |
