| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: very humble in the presence of the greatest charm with which woman can
be invested. The triple aureole of beauty, nobleness, and misfortune
dazzled him; he stood in dreamy, almost open-mouthed admiration of the
Vicomtesse. But he found nothing to say to her.
Mme. de Beauseant, by no means displeased, no doubt, by his surprise,
held out her hand with a kindly but imperious gesture; then, summoning
a smile to her pale lips, as if obeying, even yet, the woman's impulse
to be gracious:
"I have heard from M. de Champignelles of a message which you have
kindly undertaken to deliver, monsieur," she said. "Can it be
from----"
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: "What! can you suppose that that misfortune, the result of a just
vengeance--"
"Ah! no, it is not the death of that man that lowered me in your eyes;
on the contrary. But I had been the wife of a buffoon, of a police-
spy, of a base man, ready to sell me to any one who would give him
money."
"As long as that situation lasted, I thought you deeply to be pitied;
but despised, never!"
"And," continued the Italian, more excitedly, "we had lived two years
under the same roof, you and I alone."
"Yes, and I found my comfort in it."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: the Russians could not be otherwise than delighted with the polished
surface that afforded them such excellent opportunity for enjoying
their favorite pastime of skating. A supply of skates, found hidden
away amongst the _Dobryna's_ stores, was speedily brought into use.
The Russians undertook the instruction of the Spaniards,
and at the end of a few days, during which the temperature
was only endurable through the absence of wind, there was not
a Gallian who could not skate tolerably well, while many of them
could describe figures involving the most complicated curves.
Nina and Pablo earned loud applause by their rapid proficiency;
Captain Servadac, an adept in athletics, almost outvied his instructor,
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