| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Madame Firmiani by Honore de Balzac: semi-illness, the gentle sufferings of which are often pleasing? If
the reader is of those who sometimes think upon the dear ones they
have lost, if he is alone, if the day is waning or the night has come,
let him read on; otherwise, he should lay aside this book at once. If
he has never buried a good old relative, infirm and poor, he will not
understand these pages, which to some will seem redolent of musk, to
others as colorless and virtuous as those of Florian. In short, the
reader must have known the luxury of tears, must have felt the silent
pangs of a passing memory, the vision of a dear yet far-off Shade,--
memories which bring regret for all that earth has swallowed up, with
smiles for vanished joys.
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: Empress Dowager in the palace, the other being Prince Ching's
fourth daughter. She is a niece by marriage of the Empress
Dowager, though she really was never married. The nephew of the
Empress Dowager, to whom she was engaged, though she had never
seen him, died before they were married. After his death, but
before his funeral, she dressed herself as a widow, and in a
chair covered with white sackcloth went to his home, where she
performed the ceremonies proper for a widow, which entitled her
to take her position as his wife. Such an act is regarded as very
meritorious in the eyes of the Chinese, and no women are more
highly honoured than those who have given themselves in this way
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Wyoming by William MacLeod Raine: his surroundings. The man appeared the picture of helplessness,
all the lusty power and vigor stricken out of him; but his
indomitable spirit still triumphed over the physical collapse,
for as the foreman looked a faint smile touched the ashen lips.
It seemed to say: "Still in the ring, old man."
CHAPTER 8. IN THE LAZY D HOSPITAL
Helen's first swift glance showed that the wounded man was
Bannister. She turned in crisp command to her foreman.
"Have him taken to my room and put to bed there. We have no time
to prepare another. And send one of the boys on your best horse
for a doctor."
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