The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from McTeague by Frank Norris: breakfasted in their room, Trina cooking the very meagre
meal on an oil stove. Immediately after breakfast Trina sat
down to her work of whittling the Noah's ark animals, and
McTeague took himself off to walk down town. He had by the
greatest good luck secured a position with a manufacturer of
surgical instruments, where his manual dexterity in the
making of excavators, pluggers, and other dental
contrivances stood him in fairly good stead. He lunched at
a sailor's boarding-house near the water front, and in the
afternoon worked till six. He was home at six-thirty, and
he and Trina had supper together in the "ladies' dining
McTeague |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: almost in the presence of the princess. M. de Wardes speaks
ill of M. d'Artagnan, with whom he is not even acquainted."
"What, monsieur," said De Wardes, setting his teeth hard
together, and resting the point of his sword on the toe of
his boot, "do you assert that I do not know M. d'Artagnan?"
"Certainly not; you do not know him," replied Raoul, coldly,
"and you are even not aware where he is to he found."
"Not know where he is?"
"Such must be the case, since you fix your quarrel with him
upon strangers, instead of seeking M. d'Artagnan where he is
to be found." De Wardes turned pale. "Well, monsieur,"
Ten Years Later |