| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Glaucus/The Wonders of the Shore by Charles Kingsley: Isles, or rather of a time when Britain and Ireland were part of
the continent, through water a mile, and two, and three miles deep,
into total darkness, and icy cold, and a pressure which, in the
open air, would crush any known living creature to a jelly; and be
certain that we shall find the ocean-floor teeming everywhere with
multitudinous life, some of it strangely like, some strangely
unlike, the creatures which we see along the shore.
Some strangely like. You may find, for instance, among the sea-
weed, here and there, a little black sea-spider, a Nymphon, who has
this peculiarity, that possessing no body at all to speak of, he
carries his needful stomach in long branches, packed inside his
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: from M. de Nueil. After his marriage she still continued to live
there, for some inscrutable woman's reason; any woman is at liberty to
assign the one which most appeals to her. Claire de Bourgogne lived in
such complete retirement that none of the servants, save Jacques and
her own woman, ever saw their mistress. She required absolute silence
all about her, and only left her room to go to the chapel on the
Valleroy estate, whither a neighboring priest came to say mass every
morning.
The Comte de Nueil sank a few days after his marriage into something
like conjugal apathy, which might be interpreted to mean happiness or
unhappiness equally easily.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Confidence by Henry James: "You have only five minutes." He immediately went back to his work,
and she made a vague attempt to take up her position. "You must tell me
if this will do," she added, in a moment.
"It will do beautifully," Longueville answered, in a happy tone,
looking at her and plying his brush. "It is immensely good of you
to take so much trouble."
For a moment she made no rejoinder, but presently she said--
"Of course if I pose at all I wish to pose well."
"You pose admirably," said Longueville.
After this she said nothing, and for several minutes he painted
rapidly and in silence. He felt a certain excitement,
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