| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Exiles by Honore de Balzac: fields of light where the happy souls play, I was borne up by the love
of a woman, the wings of an angel; resting on her heart, I could taste
the ineffable pleasures whose touch is more perilous to us mortals
than are the torments of the worser world.
"As I achieved my pilgrimage through the dark regions below I had
mounted from torture to torture, from crime to crime, from punishment
to punishment, from awful silence to heartrending cries, till I
reached the uppermost circle of Hell. Already, from afar, I could see
the glory of Paradise shining at a vast distance; I was still in
darkness, but on the borders of day. I flew, upheld by my Guide, borne
along by a power akin to that which, during our dreams, wafts us to
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: with other badly conducting substances,
as a protection against fire. The
incombustible pieces of dress which he
uses for the body, arms, and legs, are
formed out of strong cloth, which has been
steeped in a solution of alum, while those
for the head, hands, and feet, are made
of cloth of asbestos or amianthus. The
head dress is a large cap which envelops
the whole head down to the neck, having
suitable perforations for the eyes, nose,
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories by Mark Twain: which stood upon a small eminence, surrounded by native growth--
some venerable in its appearance, others young and prosperous--
all seemed inviting, and seemed to be the very place for learning as
well as for genius to spend its research beneath its spreading shades.
He entered its classic walls in the usual mode of southern manners.
The artfulness of this man! None knows so well as he how to pique
the curiosity of the reader--and how to disappoint it. He raises
the hope, here, that he is going to tell all about how one enters
a classic wall in the usual mode of Southern manners; but does he?
No; he smiles in his sleeve, and turns aside to other matters.
The principal of the Institution begged him to be seated and listen
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