| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Ruling Passion by Henry van Dyke: at Dead Men's Point. It was terribly bad. The summer before, the
fishing had been almost a dead failure. In June a wild storm had
smashed all the salmon nets and swept most of them away. In July
they could find no caplin for bait for the cod-fishing, and in
August and September they could find no cod. The few bushels of
potatoes that some of the inhabitants had planted, rotted in the
ground. The people at the Point went into the winter short of money
and very short of food.
There were some supplies at the store, pork and flour and molasses,
and they could run through the year on credit and pay their debts
the following summer if the fish came back. But this resource also
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Two Poets by Honore de Balzac: that no one except Louise, M. de Bargeton, the Bishop, and some few
who wished to please the mistress of the house, spoke of him as M. de
Rubempre; for his formidable audience he was M. Chardon. Lucien's
courage sank under their inquisitive eyes. He could read his plebeian
name in the mere movements of their lips, and hear the anticipatory
criticisms made in the blunt, provincial fashion that too often
borders on rudeness. He had not expected this prolonged ordeal of pin-
pricks; it put him still more out of humor with himself. He grew
impatient to begin the reading, for then he could assume an attitude
which should put an end to his mental torments; but Jacques was giving
Mme. de Pimentel the history of his last day's sport; Adrien was
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Blix by Frank Norris:
Condy sat speechless. Suddenly he arose.
"Well, now, let's see," he began, speaking rapidly, his hands
twisting and untwisting till the knuckles cracked. "Now, let's
see. You leave it to me. I know Carter. He's going to be at a
stag dinner where I am invited to-morrow night, and I--I--"
"No, you won't, Condy," said Travis placidly. "You'll pay no
attention to it, and I'll tell you why. Suppose you should make a
scene with Mr. Carter--I don't know how men settle these things.
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