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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: and he found no footing. The predicament was awkward for a man bathed
in sweat, tired, and perplexed, and in a position where his life was
at stake on even chances. He was about to risk it, when a trivial
incident stopped him; his hat fell off; happily, he listened for the
noise it must make in striking the ground, and he heard not a sound.
"The prisoner felt vaguely suspicious as to this state of affairs. He
began to wonder whether the Commandant had not laid a trap for him--
but if so, why? Torn by doubts, he almost resolved to postpone the
attempt till another night. At any rate, he would wait for the first
gleam of day, when it would still not be impossible to escape. His
great strength enabled him to climb up again to his window; still, he
The Muse of the Department |
