| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Mosses From An Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne: this subject he spoke with calm earnestness, as if he were
sending Reuben to the battle or the chase while he himself
remained secure at home, and not as if the human countenance that
was about to leave him were the last he would ever behold. But
his firmness was shaken before he concluded.
"Carry my blessing to Dorcas, and say that my last prayer shall
be for her and you. Bid her to have no hard thoughts because you
left me here," --Reuben's heart smote him,--"for that your life
would not have weighed with you if its sacrifice could have done
me good. She will marry you after she has mourned a little while
for her father; and Heaven grant you long and happy days, and may
Mosses From An Old Manse |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Pierrette by Honore de Balzac: "I have aborigines enough whom I am forced to receive; these two will
fairly kill me. With your permission, I shall deprive myself of their
society."
"You are mistress in your own house," replied he; "but that will make
enemies. The Rogrons will fling themselves into the opposition, which
hitherto has had no real strength in Provins. That Rogron is already
intimate with Baron Gouraud and the lawyer Vinet."
"Then," said Melanie, laughing, "they will do you some service. Where
there are no opponents, there is no triumph. A liberal conspiracy, an
illegal cabal, a struggle of any kind, will bring you into the
foreground."
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Red Seal by Natalie Sumner Lincoln: spilling some of its contents.
"What!" he exclaimed in complete astonishment, and regarded her
fixedly for a moment. His tolerant manner, which he frequently
assumed toward Barbara, grew stern. "Dr. Stone is my personal
friend, as well as our family physician -"
"And a cousin of Margaret Brewster," put in Barbara mildly.
"Well, what of it?" trenchantly, aware that he had colored at
mention of the widow's name. "Nothing," Barbara's eyes opened
innocently. "I only recalled the fact of his relationship as you
enumerated his virtues."
Colonel McIntyre transferred his regard from her to the butler.
The Red Seal |
