| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Ursula by Honore de Balzac: dignified. The lovers were embarrassed. If it had not been for the
kindly good-humor of the abbe, whose gentle gayety enlivened the
dinner, the position of the doctor and his niece would have been
almost intolerable. At dessert, seeing Ursula turn pale, he said to
her:--
"If you don't feel well, dear child, we have only the street to
cross."
"What is the matter, my dear?" said the old lady to the girl.
"Madame," said the doctor severely, "her soul is chilled, accustomed
as she is to be met by smiles."
"A very bad education, monsieur," said Madame de Portenduere. "Is it
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac: perhaps have noted it as vulgar in that accomplished soul.
"Six months, full and perfect--a diamond of the purest water! That has
been my portion of love in this base world.
"One morning, attacked by the feverish stiffness which marks the
beginning of a cold, I wrote her a line to put off one of those secret
festivals which are buried under the roofs of Paris like pearls in the
sea. No sooner was the letter sent than remorse seized me: she will
not believe that I am ill! thought I. She was wont to affect jealousy
and suspiciousness.--When jealousy is genuine," said de Marsay,
interrupting himself, "it is the visible sign of an unique passion."
"Why?" asked the Princesse de Cadignan eagerly.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Land of Footprints by Stewart Edward White: blackness.
They stood in a long compact semicircular line thirty yards away,
quite still, evidently staring intently into the dusk to find out
what had alarmed them. At any moment they were likely to make
another rush; and if they did so in the direction they were
facing, they would most certainly run over us and trample us
down.
Remembering the dusk I thought it likely that the unexpected
vivid flash of the gun might turn them off before they got
started. Therefore I raised the big double Holland, aimed below
the line of heads, and was just about to pull trigger when my eye
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