Some details that the text show that the excerpt was written in the past and not the present is, the story uses a lot of had and was which could be a huge clue that the text was written in the past sense its using past tense vocabulary. for example, in the excerpt it talks about how the children had a kind and merry housemaid. If it was present tense then the sentence would be, they have a kind and merry housemaid because it would mean that the house maid is with them right now and if it was future tense then it would be they will have a kind and merry housemaid because they don't have the maid yet and you would be using future tense words to indicate it hasn't happened yet. I hope this makes sense and helps.
Your write a topic sentence by associating it with the body of the paragraph or the main point of what you writing.
Answer:
that gent shows brav'ry and is willing to putteth his life at risketh
In The Red Badge of Courage, when Henry wakes up in camp the day after fighting, he first think he is in a Charnel place because the sleeping men around him look dead.
