| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: "Not amiss!" said Bianchon; "one or the other must surely, by look or
gesture--"
"I know a newspaper editor," Lousteau went on, addressing Gatien,
"who, anxious to forefend a grievous fate, will take no stories but
such as tell the tale of lovers burned, hewn, pounded, or cut to
pieces; of wives boiled, fried, or baked; he takes them to his wife to
read, hoping that sheer fear will keep her faithful--satisfied with
that humble alternative, poor man! 'You see, my dear, to what the
smallest error may lead you!' says he, epitomizing Arnolfe's address
to Agnes."
"Madame de la Baudraye is quite guiltless; this youth sees double,"
The Muse of the Department |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: two will keep our secret, and I promise to bring him straight into the
drawing-room."
"When, uncle?"
"To-morrow."
"But, my dear uncle, I am not committed to anything?"
"Nothing whatever, and you may bombard him, set fire to him, and leave
him to founder like an old hulk if you choose. He won't be the first,
I fancy?"
"You ARE kind, uncle!"
As soon as the Count got home he put on his glasses, quietly took the
card out of his pocket, and read, "Maximilien Longueville, Rue de
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Bucky O'Connor by William MacLeod Raine: be right pleased to know that it is a train hold-up." He waved
his hand toward the door, and at the word, as if waiting for his
cue, a masked man appeared at the end of the passage with a
revolver in each hand.
CHAPTER 2. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
"Hands up!"
There was a ring of crisp menace in the sinister voice that was a
spur to obedience. The unanimous show of hands voted "Aye" with a
hasty precision that no amount of drill could have compassed.
It was a situation that might have made for laughter had there
been spectators to appreciate. But of whatever amusement was to
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