| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Miracle Mongers and Their Methods by Harry Houdini: considerable time, even in this awkward state.
His sufferings at first were very severe,
but he is now, when not in motion,
comparatively easy. The knife is 9 1/2 inches
long, 1 inch broad in the blade, round
pointed, and a handle of bone, and may
generally be distinctly felt by applying
the finger to the unfortunate man's belly;
but occasionally, however, from change of
its situation it is not perceptible. A brief
notice of the analogous case of John
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Recruit by Honore de Balzac: him, uneasy at his absence, could never see him enough, and loved only
through him and for him. To make men understand the strength of this
feeling, it suffices to add that the son was not only the sole child
of Madame de Dey, but also her last relation, the only being in the
world to whom the fears and hopes and joys of her life could be
naturally attached.
The late Comte de Dey was the last surviving scion of his family, and
she herself was the sole heiress of her own. Human interests and
projects combined, therefore, with the noblest deeds of the soul to
exalt in this mother's heart a sentiment that is always so strong in
the hearts of women. She had brought up this son with the utmost
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte: 'The greater his agony, I should think, the less your cause for
gratification.'
'Oh, nonsense!' cried the young lady, shaking herself with
vexation. 'You either can't understand me, or you won't. If I had
not confidence in your magnanimity, I should think you envied me.
But you will, perhaps, comprehend this cause of pleasure - which is
as great as any - namely, that I am delighted with myself for my
prudence, my self-command, my heartlessness, if you please. I was
not a bit taken by surprise, not a bit confused, or awkward, or
foolish; I just acted and spoke as I ought to have done, and was
completely my own mistress throughout. And here was a man,
Agnes Grey |
