| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: Observing that Servadac was completely absorbed in his own thoughts,
Lieutenant Procope had leisure to contemplate some of the present
perplexing problems, and to ponder over the true astronomical position.
The last of the three mysterious documents had represented that Gallia,
in conformity with Kepler's second law, had traveled along her orbit during
the month of March twenty millions of leagues less than she had done
in the previous month; yet, in the same time, her distance from the sun
had nevertheless been increased by thirty-two millions of leagues.
She was now, therefore, in the center of the zone of telescopic
planets that revolve between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and had
captured for herself a satellite which, according to the document,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Cousin Betty by Honore de Balzac: their sad experience of the life the young pair are but just entering
on; and the lighter elements, present as carbonic-acid gas is in
champagne; and the envious girls, the women absorbed in wondering if
their dress is a success, the poor relations whose parsimonious "get-
up" contrasts with that of the officials in uniform; and the greedy
ones, thinking only of the supper; and the gamblers, thinking only of
cards.
There are some of every sort, rich and poor, envious and envied,
philosophers and dreamers, all grouped like the plants in a flower-bed
round the rare, choice blossom, the bride. A wedding-ball is an
epitome of the world.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: a dress somewhat more rustic and summerlike in style than the
garment she had first selected, and rustling downstairs,
sunshade in hand, with the disengaged air of a lady in quest of
exercise. The great hall was empty but for the knot of dogs by
the fire, who, taking in at a glance the outdoor aspect of Miss
Bart, were upon her at once with lavish offers of companionship.
She put aside the ramming paws which conveyed these offers, and
assuring the joyous volunteers that she might presently have a
use for their company, sauntered on through the empty
drawing-room to the library at the end of the house. The library
was almost the only surviving portion of the old manor-house of
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