| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Snow Image by Nathaniel Hawthorne: sunshine, like those humbler ones which Mr. Gathergold, in his
young play-days, before his fingers were gifted with the touch of
transmutation, had been accustomed to build of snow. It had a
richly ornamented portico, supported by tall pillars, beneath
which was a lofty door, studded with silver knobs, and made of a
kind of variegated wood that had been brought from beyond the
sea. The windows, from the floor to the ceiling of each stately
apartment, were composed, respectively, of but one enormous pane
of glass, so transparently pure that it was said to be a finer
medium than even the vacant atmosphere. Hardly anybody had been
permitted to see the interior of this palace; but it was
The Snow Image |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Vendetta by Honore de Balzac: Mademoiselle Roguin and her companions were inflicting on Mademoiselle
Thirion and her group had, therefore, the fatal effect of driving the
young ULTRAS to search for the cause of the silence so obstinately
maintained by Ginevra di Piombo. The beautiful Italian became the
centre of all glances, and she was henceforth watched by friends and
foes alike.
It is very difficult to hide even a slight emotion or sentiment from
fifteen inquisitive and unoccupied young girls, whose wits and
mischief ask for nothing better than secrets to guess, schemes to
create or baffle, and who know how to find too many interpretations
for each gesture, glance, and word, to fail in discovering the right
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Cousin Pons by Honore de Balzac: lost; for as for Schmucke, the poor invalid looked upon him as a
second Pons. La Cibot's prodigious art consisted in expressing Pons'
own ideas, and this she did quite unconsciously.
"Ah! here comes the doctor!" she exclaimed, as the bell rang, and away
she went, knowing very well that Remonencq had come with the Jew.
"Make no noise, gentlemen," said she, "he must not know anything. He
is all on the fidget when his precious treasures are concerned."
"A walk round will be enough," said the Hebrew, armed with a
magnifying-glass and a lorgnette.
The greater part of Pons' collection was installed in a great old-
fashioned salon such as French architects used to build for the old
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