| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Honore de Balzac: of bankruptcy himself.
Given these premises, it is easy to imagine the devices of Frontin,
the trickeries of Sganarelle, the lies of Mascarille, and the empty
bags of Scapin which such a system develops. There has never been a
failure which did not generate enough matter to fill the fourteen
volumes of "Clarissa Harlowe," if an author could be found to describe
them. A single example will suffice. The illustrious Gobseck,--ruler
of Palma, Gigonnet, Werbrust, Keller, Nucingen, and the like,--being
concerned in a failure where he attempted to roughly handle the
insolvent, who had managed to get the better of him, obtained notes
from his debtor for an amount which together with the declared
Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Wrecker by Stevenson & Osbourne: eyes, looked hard in the strange face, and spoke with a kind of
solemn vigour.
"Brown must go the same road," he said; "now or never." And
then paused, and his reason coming to him with more
clearness, spoke again: "What was I saying? Where am I?
Who are you?"
"I am the doctor of the Tempest," was the reply. "You are in
Lieutenant Sebright's berth, and you may dismiss all concern
from your mind. Your troubles are over, Mr. Carthew."
"Why do you call me that?" he asked. "Ah, I remember--
Sebright knew me! O!" and he groaned and shook. "Send
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Ruling Passion by Henry van Dyke: you should hear the story of the light and its keeper.
I
When the lighthouse was built, many years ago, the island had
another name. It was called the Isle of Birds. Thousands of sea-
fowl nested there. The handful of people who lived on the shore
robbed the nests and slaughtered the birds, with considerable
profit. It was perceived in advance that the building of the
lighthouse would interfere with this, and with other things. Hence
it was not altogether a popular improvement. Marcel Thibault, the
oldest inhabitant, was the leader of the opposition.
"That lighthouse!" said he, "what good will it be for us? We know
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