| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Beauty and The Beast by Bayard Taylor: exception of a few merchants and tradesmen,) and the Archimandrite
Sergius owned their souls. But the shadow of the former stretched
also over other villages, far beyond the ring of the wooded
horizon. The number of his serfs was ten thousand, and his rule
over them was even less disputed than theirs over their domestic
animals.
The inhabitants of the place had noticed with dismay that the
slumber-flag had not been hoisted on the castle, although it was
half an hour after the usual time. So rare a circumstance
betokened sudden wrath or disaster, on the part of Prince
Alexis. Long experience had prepared the people for anything that
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Blue Flower by Henry van Dyke: rays of saffron and orange into a point of white radiance.
Tiny and infinitely remote, yet perfect in every part, it
pulsated in the enormous vault as if the three jewels in the
Magian's girdle had mingled and been transformed into a living
heart of light.
He bowed his head. He covered his brow with his hands.
"It is the sign," he said. "The King is coming, and I
will go to meet him."
II
All night long, Vasda, the swiftest of Artaban's horses, had
been waiting, saddled and bridled, in her stall, pawing the
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: cheat myself into a transitory peace. But busy, uninteresting,
joyous faces brought back despair to my heart. I saw an insurmountable
barrier placed between me and my fellow men; this barrier was sealed
with the blood of William and Justine, and to reflect on the events
connected with those names filled my soul with anguish.
But in Clerval I saw the image of my former self; he was
inquisitive and anxious to gain experience and instruction.
The difference of manners which he observed was to him an
inexhaustible source of instruction and amusement. He was also
pursuing an object he had long had in view. His design was to
visit India, in the belief that he had in his knowledge of its
 Frankenstein |