| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: character of the studies, or of the occupations, in which he
involved me, or led me the way. An excited and highly
distempered ideality threw a sulphureous lustre over all. His
long improvised dirges will ring for ever in my ears. Among
other things, I hold painfully in mind a certain singular
perversion and amplification of the wild air of the last waltz of
Von Weber. From the paintings over which his elaborate fancy
brooded, and which grew, touch by touch, into vagueness at which
I shuddered the more thrillingly, because I shuddered knowing not
why;--from these paintings (vivid as their images now are before
me) I would in vain endeavour to educe more than a small portion
The Fall of the House of Usher |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Works of Samuel Johnson by Samuel Johnson: The sun played upon the water, the birds warbled
in the groves, and the gales quivered among the
branches. He roved from walk to walk as chance
directed him, and sometimes listened to the songs,
sometimes mingled with the dancers, sometimes let
loose his imagination in flights of merriment; and
sometimes uttered grave reflections, and sententious
maxims, and feasted on the admiration with which
they were received.
Thus the day rolled on, without any accident of
vexation, or intrusion of melancholy thoughts. All
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Coxon Fund by Henry James: Mrs. Mulville had to remount the stream. "It was everything one
could wish."
Something in her tone made me laugh. "Do you mean she gave him--a
dole?"
"Well, since you ask me!"
"Right there on the spot?"
Again poor Adelaide faltered. "It was to me of course she gave
it."
I stared; somehow I couldn't see the scene. "Do you mean a sum of
money?"
"It was very handsome." Now at last she met my eyes, though I
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