| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Legend of Montrose by Walter Scott: that this produced upon the disturbed spirits of Allan, in his
gloomiest moods, beneficial effects, similar to those experienced
by the Jewish monarch of old; and so engaging is the temper of
Annot Lyle, so fascinating the innocence and gaiety of her
disposition, that she is considered and treated in the castle
rather as the sister of the proprietor, than as a dependent upon
his charity. Indeed, it is impossible for any one to see her
without being deeply interested by the ingenuity, liveliness, and
sweetness of her disposition."
"Take care, my lord," said Anderson, smiling; "there is danger in
such violent commendations. Allan M'Aulay, as your lordship
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Economist by Xenophon: train her to feel a kindly disposition towards us, by allowing her to
share our joys in the day of gladness, or, if aught unkind befell us,
by inviting her to sympathise in our sorrow. We sought to rouse in her
a zeal for our interests, an eagerness to promote the increase of our
estate, by making her intelligent of its affairs, and by giving her a
share in our successes. We instilled in her a sense of justice and
uprightness, by holding the just in higher honour than the unjust, and
by pointing out that the lives of the righteous are richer and less
servile than those of the unrighteous; and this was the position in
which she found herself installed in our household.[14]
[13] Or, "having taken an inventory of the several sets of things."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Red Inn by Honore de Balzac: mariners. The epaulets of several French officers were glittering
through the mist, and the clank of spurs and sabres echoed incessantly
from the brick floor. Some were playing cards, others argued, or held
their tongues and ate, drank, or walked about. One stout little woman,
wearing a black velvet cap, blue and silver stomacher, pincushion,
bunch of keys, silver buckles, braided hair,--all distinctive signs of
the mistress of a German inn (a costume which has been so often
depicted in colored prints that it is too common to describe here),--
well, this wife of the innkeeper kept the two friends alternately
patient and impatient with remarkable ability.
Little by little the noise decreased, the various travellers retired
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