| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Bickerstaff-Partridge Papers by Jonathan Swift: The Accomplishment of the First of Mr Bickerstaff's Predictions;
being an account of the death of Mr Partridge, the
almanack-maker, upon the 29th instant.
In a letter to a person of honour
Written in the year 1708
My Lord,
In obedience to your Lordship's commands, as well as to satisfy
my own curiosity, I have for some days past enquired constantly
after Partridge the almanack-maker, of whom it was foretold in
Mr. Bickerstaff's predictions, publish'd about a month ago, that
he should die on the 29th instant about eleven at night of a
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Baby Mine by Margaret Mayo: officer and pressed him jealously to his breast. "I don't
understand," he said, gazing at the officer in stupefaction.
"Where was he?"
"You mean this one?" asked the officer, nodding toward the
unfortunate Jimmy. "I caught him slipping down your
fire-escape."
"I KNEW it," exclaimed Zoie in a rage, and she cast a vindictive
look at Jimmy for his awkwardness.
"Knew WHAT, dear?" asked Alfred, now thoroughly puzzled.
Zoie did not answer. Her powers of resource were fast waning.
Alfred turned again to the officer, then to Jimmy, who was still
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Jolly Corner by Henry James: been stirred. He retraced his steps, taking up his candle, burnt,
he observed, well-nigh to the socket, and marking again, lighten it
as he would, the distinctness of his footfall; after which, in a
moment, he knew himself at the other side of the house. He did
here what he had not yet done at these hours - he opened half a
casement, one of those in the front, and let in the air of the
night; a thing he would have taken at any time previous for a sharp
rupture of his spell. His spell was broken now, and it didn't
matter - broken by his concession and his surrender, which made it
idle henceforth that he should ever come back. The empty street -
its other life so marked even by great lamp-lit vacancy - was
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