| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: Condottiere of the brain, condemned, like Napoleon, to give battle
constantly, while knowing that a single defeat would prove the grave
of his fortunes, had met a dangerous adversary in his protectress. For
the first time in his turbulent life, he was playing a game with a
partner worthy of him. He saw a place as Minister in the conquest of
Madame d'Espard, so he was her tool till he could make her his--a
perilous beginning.
The Hotel d'Espard needed a large household, and the Marquise had a
great number of servants. The grand receptions were held in the
ground-floor rooms, but she lived on the first floor of the house. The
perfect order of a fine staircase splendidly decorated, and rooms
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Snow Image by Nathaniel Hawthorne: me, as I turn over these leaves! This scene came into my fancy as
I walked along a hilly road, on a starlight October evening; in
the pure and bracing air, I became all soul, and felt as if I
could climb the sky, and run a race along the Milky Way. Here is
another tale, in which I wrapt myself during a dark and dreary
night-ride in the month of March, till the rattling of the wheels
and the voices of my companions seemed like faint sounds of a
dream, and my visions a bright reality. That scribbled page
describes shadows which I summoned to my bedside at midnight:
they would not depart when I bade them; the gray dawn came, and
found me wide awake and feverish, the victim of my own
The Snow Image |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Case of the Registered Letter by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: over the handsome old pieces of furniture and the family portraits
on the wall. It was evidently the home of generations of well-to-do,
well-bred people, the narrow circle of whose life was made rich by
congenial duties and a comfortable feeling of their standing in the
community.
While he was studying one of the portraits more carefully, he became
aware that there was some one in the room. He turned and saw a tall
blond girl standing by the door. She had entered so softly that
even Muller's quick ear had not heard the opening of the door.
"Do you wish to speak to me?" she said, coming down into the room.
"I am Eleonora Roemer"
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