| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister: which once smote the rock. It was a stream, indeed, which now broke forth
from her stony discretion. She began easily. "It is evident that you have
not seen Miss Rieppe by the manner in which you allude to her--although
of course, in comparison with my age, she is a young girl." I think that
this caused me to open my mouth.
"The disparity between her years and my nephew's is variously stated,"
continued the old lady. "But since John's engagement we have all of us
realized that love is truly blind."
I did not open my mouth any more; but my mind's mouth was wide open.
My hostess kept it so. "Since John Mayrant was fifteen he has had many
loves; and for myself, knowing him and believing in him as I do, I feel
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: Perhaps the man I heard talking in front of the bulletin board was one of
the "army of spies," as I like to infer from his absence of "come-back."
But perhaps he was merely an innocent American who at school had studied,
for instance, Eggleston's history; thoughtless--but by no means
harmless; for his school-taught "slant" against England, in the days we
were living through then, amounted to a "slant" for Germany. He would be
sorry if Germany beat France, but not if she beat England--when France
and England were joined in keeping the wolf not only from their door but
from ours! It matters not in the least that they were fighting our
battle, not because they wanted to, but because they couldn't help it:
they were fighting it just the same. That they were compelled doesn't
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: that justice was ultimately done; but, in a fever of frantic excitement,
he went on to implore that he might have the loan of a few sailors to carry
his ship to Algiers.
"I will pay you honestly; I will pay you _well_," he cried;
but his ingrained propensity for making a good bargain prompted
him to add, "provided you do not overcharge me."
Ben Zoof was about again to interpose some angry exclamation;
but Servadac checked him, and continued in Spanish: "Listen to me,
my friends. Something very strange has happened. A most wonderful
event has cut us off from Spain, from France, from Italy, from every
country of Europe. In fact, we have left the Old World entirely.
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