| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe: the want of all things: being without lodging, without money, without
friends, without means to get their bread, or without anyone to give it
them; for many of them were without what we call legal settlements,
and so could not claim of the parishes, and all the support they had
was by application to the magistrates for relief, which relief was (to
give the magistrates their due) carefully and cheerfully administered
as they found it necessary, and those that stayed behind never felt the
want and distress of that kind which they felt who went away in the
manner above noted.
Let any one who is acquainted with what multitudes of people get
their daily bread in this city by their labour, whether artificers or mere
A Journal of the Plague Year |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Study of a Woman by Honore de Balzac: afternoon of that day, her waiting-maid, Caroline, gave her a letter
which she read while Caroline was doing her hair (an imprudence which
many young women are thoughtless enough to commit).
"Dear angel of love," said the letter, "treasure of my life and
happiness--"
At these words the marquise was about to fling the letter in the fire;
but there came into her head a fancy--which all virtuous women will
readily understand--to see how a man who began a letter in that style
could possibly end it. When she had turned the fourth page and read
it, she let her arms drop like a person much fatigued.
"Caroline, go and ask who left this letter."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Danny's Own Story by Don Marquis: want to tell himself he only touched the rope, or
that HIS GUN missed.
"I know you, by God!" he shouted, flushing up
into a passion--and it brought blood into their
faces, too--"I know you right down to your roots,
better than you know yourselves."
He was losing hold of himself, and roaring like a
bull and flinging out taunts that made 'em squirm.
If he wanted the thing over quick, he was taking
jest the way to warm 'em up to it. But I don't
think he was figgering on anything then, or had any
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