| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Dunbar: there was no Mardi Gras and the people did not mind Lent. Now
and then there would be a present, a keepsake for Louisette, and
some money for maman. They would plan improvements for the
cottage, and Louisette began to do sewing and dainty crochet,
which she would hide with a blush if anyone hinted at a
trousseau.
It was March now, and Spring-time. The bayou began to sweep down
between its banks less sluggishly than before; it was rising, and
soon would spread over its tiny levees. The doors could be left
open now, though the trees were not yet green; but then down here
the trees do not swell and bud slowly and tease you for weeks
The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from An Episode Under the Terror by Honore de Balzac: to see them as he promised, to celebrate the sad anniversary of the
death of Louis XVI., he could not escape their friendship.
The night so impatiently awaited came at last. At midnight the old
wooden staircase echoed with the stranger's heavy footsteps. They had
made the best of their room for his coming; the altar was ready, and
this time the door stood open, and the two Sisters were out at the
stairhead, eager to light the way. Mademoiselle de Langeais even came
down a few steps, to meet their benefactor the sooner.
"Come," she said, with a quaver in the affectionate tones, "come in;
we are expecting you."
He raised his face, gave her a dark look, and made no answer. The
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from An Episode Under the Terror by Honore de Balzac: the old chest of drawers between the two chimneys, and covered its
quaint outlines over with a splendid altar cloth of green watered
silk.
The bare walls looked all the barer, because the one thing that hung
there was the great ivory and ebony crucifix, which of necessity
attracted the eyes. Four slender little altar candles, which the
Sisters had contrived to fasten into their places with sealing-wax,
gave a faint, pale light, almost absorbed by the walls; the rest of
the room lay well-nigh in the dark. But the dim brightness,
concentrated upon the holy things, looked like a ray from Heaven
shining down upon the unadorned shrine. The floor was reeking with
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