| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: tell him to go and leave me alone, and the caprice, however wounding
to him, would be obeyed without a murmur. His last breath was spent in
blessing me and in repeating that a single morning alone with me was
more precious to him than a lifetime spent with another woman, were
she even the Marie of his youth. My tears fall as I write the words.
This is the manner of my life now. I rise at midday and go to bed at
seven; I linger absurdly long over meals; I saunter about slowly,
standing motionless, an hour at a time, before a single plant; I gaze
into the leafy trees; I take a sober and serious interest in mere
nothings; I long for shade, silence, and night; in a word, I fight
through each hour as it comes, and take a gloomy pleasure in adding it
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: the state of the patient at first gave him satisfaction, his joy was
dashed by Marianna's beauty, for an easy life had restored its
brilliancy. He called now every evening to enjoy calm and serious
conversation, to which he contributed lucid and well considered
arguments controverting Gambara's singular theories. He took advantage
of the remarkable acumen of the composer's mind as to every point not
too directly bearing on his manias, to obtain his assent to principles
in various branches of art, and apply them subsequently to music. All
was well so long as the patient's brain was heated with the fumes of
wine; but as soon as he had recovered--or, rather, lost--his reason,
he was a monomaniac once more.
Gambara |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Spirit of the Border by Zane Grey: speak at least a word to Girty, but he denied my request."
"Where are the converts?"
"Imprisoned in the church, every one of them except Benny. Mr. Christy and I
hid the child in the meal sack and were thus able to get him here. We must
save him."
"Save him?" asked Nell, looking from Heckewelder to the trembling Indian boy.
"Nellie, the savages have driven all our Christians into the church, and shut
them up there, until Girty and his men shall give the word to complete their
fiendish design. The converts asked but one favor--an hour in which to pray.
It was granted. The savages intend to murder them all."
"Oh! Horrible! Monstrous!" cried Nell. "How can they be so inhuman?" She
The Spirit of the Border |
