| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Soul of the Far East by Percival Lowell: In this untoward event the father has something more on his hands
than merely a houseful of daughters to dispose of. In addition to
securing sons-in-law, he must, unless he would have his ancestral
line become extinct, provide himself with a son. The simplest
procedure in such a case is to combine relationships in a single
individual, and the most self-evident person to select for the dual
capacity is the husband of the eldest daughter. This is the course
pursued. Some worthy young man is secured as spouse for the senior
sister; he is at the same time formally taken in as a son by the
family whose cognomen he assumes, and eventually becomes the head of
the house. Strange to say, this vista of gradually unfolding honors
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin: peaks which were always covered with snow and from which a number of
torrents descended in constant cataracts. One of these fell
westward over the face of a crag so high that when the sun had set
to everything else, and all below was darkness, his beams still
shone full upon this waterfall, so that it looked like a shower of
gold. It was therefore called by the people of the neighborhood the
Golden River. It was strange that none of these streams fell into
the valley itself. They all descended on the other side of the
mountains and wound away through broad plains and by populous
cities. But the clouds were drawn so constantly to the snowy hills,
and rested so softly in the circular hollow, that in time of drought
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Aspern Papers by Henry James: myself of Jeffrey Aspern's papers had rendered me capable I need
not shrink from confessing this last indiscretion. I think it was
the worst thing I did; yet there were extenuating circumstances.
I was deeply though doubtless not disinterestedly anxious for more
news of the old lady, and Miss Tita had accepted from me, as it were,
a rendezvous which it might have been a point of honor with me to keep.
It may be said that her leaving the place dark was a positive sign
that she released me, and to this I can only reply that I desired
not to be released.
The door of Miss Bordereau's room was open and I could see beyond it the
faintness of a taper. There was no sound--my footstep caused no one to stir.
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