| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Firm of Nucingen by Honore de Balzac: State makes nothing from it now; and for a tax paid with pleasure, it
has substituted a burdensome duty. Nor is the number of suicides
reduced, for the gambler never dies, though his victim does."
"I am not speaking now of foreign capital lost to France," continued
Couture, "nor of the Frankfort lotteries. The Convention passed a
decree of death against those who hawked foreign lottery-tickets, and
procureur-syndics used to traffic in them. So much for the sense of
our legislator and his driveling philanthropy. The encouragement given
to savings banks is a piece of crass political folly. Suppose that
things take a doubtful turn and people lose confidence, the Government
will find that they have instituted a queue for money, like the queues
|
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft: still closer, and winced as if in expectation of a blow.
'Ygnailh...
ygnaiih... thflthkh'ngha.... Yog-Sothoth ...' rang the hideous
croaking out of space. 'Y'bthnk... h'ehye - n'grkdl'lh...'
The
speaking impulse seemed to falter here, as if some frightful psychic
struggle were going on. Henry Wheeler strained his eye at the
telescope, but saw only the three grotesquely silhouetted human
figures on the peak, all moving their arms furiously in strange
gestures as their incantation drew near its culmination. From
what black wells of Acherontic fear or feeling, from what unplumbed
The Dunwich Horror |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: frost from its limbs. Before long the child opened his eyes and,
seeing where he was, smiled happily. Then Claus warmed milk and fed
it to the boy slowly, while the cat looked on with sober curiosity.
Finally the little one curled up in his friend's arms and sighed and
fell asleep, and Claus, filled with gladness that he had found the
wanderer, held him closely while he slumbered.
The wind, finding no more mischief to do, climbed the hill and swept
on toward the north. This gave the weary snowflakes time to settle
down to earth, and the Valley became still again.
The boy, having slept well in the arms of his friend, opened his eyes
and sat up. Then, as a child will, he looked around the room and saw
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
