| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: intervention. She herself suffered from the exclusiveness of Madame
Marie-Gaston's love for you. No one can explain to him better than she
the absorbing conjugal life which drew its folds so closely around
you. And it seems to me that the magnanimity and comprehension which
she always showed to her "dear lost treasure," as she calls her, might
be conveyed by her to your friend.
You have plenty of time to think over this suggestion, for Madame de
l'Estorade is, just now, still suffering from a serious illness,
brought on by maternal terror. A week ago our little Nais came near
being crushed to death before her eyes; and without the courageous
assistance of a stranger who sprang to the horses' heads and stopped
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister: sensible person. I had, as I dropped into the nearest boat, a brisk sight
of the sailing-master, springing like a jack-in-the-box on the deserted
deck, with a roar of "Where's that haymaker?" His reference was to the
anchor watch. The temptation to procure good matches to light his pipe
had ended (I learned later) by proving too much for this responsible
sailor-man, and he had unfortunately chosen for going below just the
unexpected moment when it had entered the daring head of Hortense to
perform this extravagance. Of course, before I had pulled many strokes,
the deck of the Hermana was alive with many manifestations of life-saving
and they had most likely been in time. But I am not perfectly sure of
this; the current was strong, and a surprising distance seemed to
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: night, like cats.
'On the 28th of June, my Tarantula cast his skin. It was his last
moult and did not perceptibly alter either the colour of his attire
or the dimensions of his body. On the 14th of July, I had to leave
Valencia; and I stayed away until the 23rd. During this time, the
Tarantula fasted; I found him looking quite well on my return. On
the 20th of August, I again left for a nine days' absence, which my
prisoner bore without food and without detriment to his health. On
the 1st of October, I once more deserted the Tarantula, leaving him
without provisions. On the 21st, I was fifty miles from Valencia
and, as I intended to remain there, I sent a servant to fetch him.
The Life of the Spider |
