| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from An Historical Mystery by Honore de Balzac: the Police and Terror the seat of his apricot breeches, opened the two
sides of the box as if it had been a book, and slid three letters and
two locks of hair upon the card-table. He was about to smile at
Corentin when he perceived that the locks were of two shades of gray.
Corentin released Mademoiselle de Cinq-Cygne's hands and went up to
the table to read the letter from which the hair had fallen.
Laurence rose, moved to the table beside the spies, and said:--"Read
it aloud; that shall be your punishment."
As the two men continued to read to themselves, she herself read out
the following words:--
Dear Laurence,--My husband and I have heard of your noble conduct
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: "Helena, my child, art thou come at last? What has befallen thee?"
He would evidently have said more, but the sight of Prince Boris
caused him to pause, while a quick shade of suspicion and alarm
passed over his face. The Prince stepped forward, instantly
relieved of his unaccustomed timidity, and rapidly described the
accident. The old nurse Katinka, had meanwhile assisted the lovely
Helena into the house.
The old man turned to follow, shivering in the night-air. Suddenly
recollecting himself, he begged the Prince to enter and take some
refreshments, but with the air and tone of a man who hopes that his
invitation will not be accepted. If such was really his hope, he
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Golden Threshold by Sarojini Naidu: that I am alive to-day!" And she tells me that she is drinking
in the beauty like wine, "wine, golden and scented, and shining,
fit for the gods; and the gods have drunk it, the dead gods of
Etruria, two thousand years ago. Did I say dead? No, for the
gods are immortal, and one might still find them loitering in
some solitary dell on the grey hillsides of Fiesole. Have I seen
them? Yes, looking with dreaming eyes, I have found them sitting
under the olives, in their grave, strong, antique
beauty--Etruscan gods!"
In Italy she watches the faces of the monks, and at one moment
longs to attain to their peace by renunciation, longs for
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