| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Facino Cane by Honore de Balzac: hear it where it lies under the water; for the events which brought
about the fall of Venice befell in such a way that the secret of the
hoard must have perished with Bianca's brother, Vendramin, a doge to
whom I looked to make my peace with the Ten. I sent memorials to the
First Consul; I proposed an agreement with the Emperor of Austria;
every one sent me about my business for a lunatic. Come! we will go to
Venice; let us set out as beggars, we shall come back millionaires. We
will buy back some of my estates, and you shall be my heir! You shall
be Prince of Varese!"
My head was swimming. For me his confidences reached the proportions
of tragedy; at the sight of that white head of his and beyond it the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield: With her telephone ring-ringing, the thrum of her screw filling the air,
the big liner bore down on them, cutting sharp through the dark water so
that big white shavings curled to either side. Hammond and the harbour-
master kept in front of the rest. Hammond took off his hat; he raked the
decks--they were crammed with passengers; he waved his hat and bawled a
loud, strange "Hul-lo!" across the water; and then turned round and burst
out laughing and said something--nothing--to old Captain Johnson.
"Seen her?" asked the harbour-master.
"No, not yet. Steady--wait a bit!" And suddenly, between two great clumsy
idiots--"Get out of the way there!" he signed with his umbrella--he saw a
hand raised--a white glove shaking a handkerchief. Another moment, and--
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Flame and Shadow by Sara Teasdale: Steely stars and moon of brass,
How mockingly you watch me pass!
You know as well as I how soon
I shall be blind to stars and moon,
Deaf to the wind in the hemlock tree,
Dumb when the brown earth weighs on me.
With envious dark rage I bear,
Stars, your cold complacent stare;
Heart-broken in my hate look up,
Moon, at your clear immortal cup,
Changing to gold from dusky red --
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