| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn: torment of Tantalus... And, of course, no spirit-maidens will even deign to
visit so skeptical a person as myself.
I want to know, for example, the whole story of that Chinese maiden whom
the butterflies took to be a flower, and followed in multitude,-- so
fragrant and so fair was she. Also I should like to know something more
concerning the butterflies of the Emperor Genso, or Ming Hwang, who made
them choose his loves for him... He used to hold wine-parties in his
amazing garden; and ladies of exceeding beauty were in attendance; and
caged butterflies, se free among them, would fly to the fairest; and then,
upon that fairest the Imperial favor was bestowed. But after Genso Kotei
had seen Yokihi (whom the Chinese call Yang-Kwei-Fei), he would not suffer
Kwaidan |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: trying my music, was a failure. No one understood my score for the
/Martiri/. Set Beethoven before the Italians and they are out of their
depth. No one had patience enough to wait for the effect to be
produced by the different motives given out by each instrument, which
were all at last to combine in a grand /ensemble/.
"I had built some hopes on the success of the /Martiri/, for we
votaries of the blue divinity Hope always discount results. When a man
believes himself destined to do great things, it is hard not to fancy
them achieved; the bushel always has some cracks through which the
light shines.
"My wife's family lodged in the same house, and the hope of winning
Gambara |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Death of the Lion by Henry James: "Things that are TOO far over the fence, eh?" I was indeed a
godsend to Mr. Morrow. It was the psychological moment; it
determined the appearance of his note-book, which, however, he at
first kept slightly behind him, even as the dentist approaching his
victim keeps the horrible forceps. "Mr. Paraday holds with the
good old proprieties - I see!" And thinking of the thirty-seven
influential journals, I found myself, as I found poor Paraday,
helplessly assisting at the promulgation of this ineptitude.
"There's no point on which distinguished views are so acceptable as
on this question - raised perhaps more strikingly than ever by Guy
Walsingham - of the permissibility of the larger latitude. I've an
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