| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: With a single glance the prince took in the extent of
country that lay before him, from Lens as far as Vimy. In a
moment the plan of the battle which on the following day was
to save France the second time from invasion was unrolled in
his mind. He took a pencil, tore a page from his tablets and
wrote:
My Dear Marshal, -- In an hour Lens will be in the enemy's
possession. Come and rejoin me; bring with you the whole
army. I shall be at Vendin to place it in position.
To-morrow we shall retake Lens and beat the enemy."
Then, turning toward Raoul: "Go, monsieur," he said; "ride
 Twenty Years After |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: French law for the sale of the property; nevertheless the Count gained
his point. The Countess was convinced that her husband was realizing
his fortune, and that somewhere or other there would be a little bunch
of notes representing the amount; they had been deposited with a
notary, or perhaps at the bank, or in some safe hiding-place.
Following out her train of thought, it was evident that M. de Restaud
must of necessity have some kind of document in his possession by
which any remaining property could be recovered and handed over to his
son.
"So she made up her mind to keep the strictest possible watch over the
sick-room. She ruled despotically in the house, and everything in it
 Gobseck |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen: "Ah," he said, "I was forgetting, I have got something
to show you." Austin unlocked the chest, drew out a thick quarto
volume, laid it on the table, and resumed the cigar he had put
down.
"Did you know Arthur Meyrick the painter, Villiers?"
"A little; I met him two or three times at the house of
a friend of mine. What has become of him? I haven't heard his
name mentioned for some time."
"He's dead."
"You don't say so! Quite young, wasn't he?"
"Yes; only thirty when he died."
 The Great God Pan |