| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Edingburgh Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson: their Sculls, we laid the Jaws to them, and drew the
other Half of the Linen above them, and stufft the Coffin
with Shavings. Some prest hard to go thorow the chief
Parts of the City as was done at the Revolution; but this
we refused, considering that it looked airy and frothy,
to make such Show of them, and inconsistent with the
solid serious Observing of such an affecting, surprizing
unheard-of Dispensation: But took the ordinary Way of
other Burials from that Place, to wit, we went east the
Back of the Wall, and in at BRISTO-PORT, and down the Way
to the Head of the COWGATE, and turned up to the Church-
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Tono Bungay by H. G. Wells: blessed lecture that comes along next winter. You'd better look
out."...
And I remember her coming in late one evening with a note-book
in her hand.
"Where ya been, Susan?" said my uncle.
"Birkbeck--Physiology. I'm getting on." She sat down and took
off her gloves. "You're just glass to me," she sighed, and then
in a note of grave reproach: "You old PACKAGE! I had no idea!
The Things you've kept from me!"
Presently they were setting; up the house at Beckengham, and my
aunt intermitted her intellectual activities. The house at
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Massimilla Doni by Honore de Balzac: her cities.
"Unfortunately the greater number of her geniuses learn to understand
life so quickly that they lie sunk in poverty-stricken pleasure. As
for those who are willing to play the melancholy game for immortality,
they know how to get at your gold and to secure your praises. Ay, in
this land--pitied for its fallen state by traveled simpletons and
hypocritical poets, while its character is traduced by politicians--in
this land, which appears so languid, powerless, and ruinous, worn out
rather than old, there are puissant brains in every branch of life,
genius throwing out vigorous shoots as an old vine-stock throws out
canes productive of delicious fruit. This race of ancient rulers still
|