| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from An International Episode by Henry James: their garments were not very fresh, and they seemed to be rendering
some mysterious tribute to a magnificent young man with a waxed mustache,
and a shirtfront adorned with diamond buttons, who every now and
then dropped an absent glance over their multitudinous patience.
They were American citizens doing homage to a hotel clerk.
"I'm glad he didn't tell us to go there," said one of our Englishmen,
alluding to their friend on the steamer, who had told them so many things.
They walked up the Fifth Avenue, where, for instance, he had told
them that all the first families lived. But the first families
were out of town, and our young travelers had only the satisfaction
of seeing some of the second--or perhaps even the third--
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Memories and Portraits by Robert Louis Stevenson: unremarkable. One, indeed, whom I found plying his spade in the
red evening, high above Allan Water and in the shadow of Dunblane
Cathedral, told me of his acquaintance with the birds that still
attended on his labours; how some would even perch about him,
waiting for their prey; and in a true Sexton's Calendar, how the
species varied with the season of the year. But this was the very
poetry of the profession. The others whom I knew were somewhat
dry. A faint flavour of the gardener hung about them, but
sophisticated and dis-bloomed. They had engagements to keep, not
alone with the deliberate series of the seasons, but with man-
kind's clocks and hour-long measurement of time. And thus there
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Travels of Sir John Mandeville by Sir John Mandeville: his own proper sword he was slain. And after that, they were at
great discord, for to make a soldan; and finally they accorded to
Melechnasser, that Guytoga had put in prison at Mountroyal. And
this reigned long and governed so that his eldest son was chosen
after him, Melechmader, the which his brother let slay privily for
to have the lordship, and made him to be clept Melechmadabron, and
he soldan when I departed from those countries.
And wit ye well that the soldan may lead out of Egypt more than
20,000 men of arms, and out of Syria, and out of Turkey and out of
other countries that he holds, he may arrere more than 50,000. And
all those be at his wages, and they be always at him, without the
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