| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Red Seal by Natalie Sumner Lincoln: of cigarettes.
Turning from the desk Kent walked over to the table which he knew
was Philip Rochester's property; he recalled having once seen Jimmie
place some papers there by mistake; having done so once, the mistake
might have occurred again. Taking out his partner's bunch of keys,
he soon found one that fitted and opened the drawers. He had half
completed his task, without finding any clew to the missing
securities, when he was interrupted by the sound of the opening of
the front door, and had but time to slam the drawers shut and pocket
the keys when the night clerk of the hotel stepped inside the
apartment and, closely followed by a sandy-haired man, walked into
 The Red Seal |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson: not be lost; for do we not know, in Flaubert's dread confession,
that 'prose is never done'? What a medium to work in, for a man
tired, perplexed among different aims and subjects, and spurred by
the immediate need of 'siller'! However, it's mine for what it's
worth; and it's one of yours, the devil take it; and you know, as
well as Flaubert, and as well as me, that it is NEVER DONE; in
other words, it is a torment of the pit, usually neglected by the
bards who (lucky beggars!) approached the Styx in measure. I speak
bitterly at the moment, having just detected in myself the last
fatal symptom, three blank verses in succession - and I believe,
God help me, a hemistich at the tail of them; hence I have deposed
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: whose handmaid I will always be.
"You alone understood, did you not? the tie that binds me to him. Tell
me that you feel a sincere and disinterested regard for my Paolo--"
"I gladly accept your praises," Andrea interrupted; "but go no
further; do not compel me to contradict you. I love you, Marianna, as
we love in the beautiful country where we both were born, I love you
with all my soul and with all my strength; but before offering you
that love, I will be worthy of yours. I will make a last attempt to
give back to you the man you have loved so long and will love forever.
Till success or defeat is certain, accept without any shame the modest
ease I can give you both. We will go to-morrow and choose a place
 Gambara |