| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Madame Firmiani by Honore de Balzac: known that I love you enough to pay all your good debts, the debts of
a gentleman. I'll play the traditional uncle now, and revenge myself!"
"Ah! uncle, I know your vengeance! but let me get rich by my own
industry. If you want to do me a real service, make me an allowance of
two or three thousand francs a year, till I see my way to an
enterprise for which I shall want capital. At this moment I am so
happy that all I desire is just the means of living. I give lessons so
that I may not live at the cost of ANY ONE. If you only knew the
happiness I had in making that restitution! I found the Bourgneufs,
after a good deal of trouble, living miserably and in need of
everything. The old father was a lottery agent; the two daughters kept
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi.
End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of THE GIFT OF THE MAGI.
The Gift of the Magi |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Pool in the Desert by Sara Jeanette Duncan: those old Moguls and people. I think I remember the dynasty.
Baber, wasn't he the first? And then Humayon, and after him Akbar,
and then Jehangir, and then Shah Jehan. But I've forgotten every
date but Akbar's.'
She smiled her smile of brilliant health and even spirits as she
made the damaging admission, and she was so good to look at, sitting
there simple and wholesome and fresh, peeling her banana with her
well-shaped fingers, that we swallowed the dynasty as it were whole,
and smiled back upon her. John, I may say, was extremely pleased
with Cecily; he said she was a very satisfactory human
accomplishment. One would have thought, positively, the way he
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