| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Straight Deal by Owen Wister: England. All ambassadors, save ours, wear on formal occasions a
distinguishing uniform, just as our army and navy officers do; it is
convenient, practical, and saves trouble. But we have declared it menial,
or despotic, or un-American, or something equally silly, and hence our
ambassadors must wear evening dress resembling closely the attire of
those who are handing the supper or answering the door-bell. An
Englishman saw Mr. Choate at some diplomatic function, standing about in
this evening costume, and said:
"Call me a cab."
"You are a cab," said Mr. Choate, obediently.
Thus did he make known to the Englishman that he was not a waiter.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: stopped.
"Oh, they have come, . . ." he said, letting his wife go; "my own
brother and his family. . . ."
Staggering and opening wide his red, drunken eyes, he said his
prayer before the image and went on:
"My brother and his family have come to the parental home . . .
from Moscow, I suppose. The great capital Moscow, to be sure, the
mother of cities. . . . Excuse me."
He sank down on the bench near the samovar and began drinking
tea, sipping it loudly from the saucer in the midst of general
silence. . . . He drank off a dozen cups, then reclined on the
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:
doubtful charm, imparting a hard, metallic lustre to the child's
character. She wanted -- what some people want throughout life
-- a grief that should deeply touch her, and thus humanise and
make her capable of sympathy. But there was time enough yet for
little Pearl.
"Come, my child!" said Hester, looking about her from the spot
where Pearl had stood still in the sunshine -- "we will sit down
The Scarlet Letter |
