| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Little Britain by Washington Irving: name of Wagstaff, and bearing for insignia a resplendent half-
moon, with a most seductive bunch of grapes. The old edifice
is covered with inscriptions to catch the eye of the thirsty
wayfarer, such as "Truman, Hanbury, and Co.'s Entire," "Wine,
Rum, and Brandy Vaults," "Old Tom, Rum and Compounds,
etc." This indeed has been a temple of Bacchus and Momus
from time immemorial. It ha always been in the family of the
Wagstaffs, so that its history is tolerably preserved by the
present landlord. It was much frequented by the gallants and
cavalieros of the reign of Elizabeth, and was looked into now
and then by the wits of Charles the Second's day. But what
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert: Balearians, his hair over his arm, inert. Spendius found a plant with
broad leaves filled abundantly with juice, and after declaring that it
was poisonous, so as to keep off the rest, he fed himself upon it.
They were too weak to knock down the flying crows with stones.
Sometimes when a gypaetus was perched on a corpse, and had been
mangling it for a long time, a man would set himself to crawl towards
it with a javelin between his teeth. He would support himself with one
hand, and after taking a good aim, throw his weapon. The white-
feathered creature, disturbed by the noise, would desist and look
about in tranquil fashion like a cormorant on a rock, and would then
again thrust in its hideous, yellow beak, while the man, in despair,
Salammbo |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: walking to and fro for some time with the hesitation of a lover who
fears to approach his mistress, however complying she may be, he ended
by crossing the threshold and asking if Maitre Francois Porbus were
within. At the affirmative answer of an old woman who was sweeping out
one of the lower rooms the young man slowly mounted the stairway,
stopping from time to time and hesitating, like a newly fledged
courier doubtful as to what sort of reception the king might grant
him.
When he reached the upper landing of the spiral ascent, he paused a
moment before laying hold of a grotesque knocker which ornamented the
door of the atelier where the famous painter of Henry IV.--neglected
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