| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne: of the invading army, except the garrisons left in the prin-
cipal conquered towns, was concentrated under the command
of Feofar-Khan.
The passage of the Angara in front of Irkutsk having
been regarded by Ogareff as impracticable, a strong body of
troops crossed, several versts up the river, by means of
bridges formed with boats. The Grand Duke did not at-
tempt to oppose the enemy in their passage. He could only
impede, not prevent it, having no field-artillery at his dis-
posal, and he therefore remained in Irkutsk.
The Tartars now occupied the right bank of the river;
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Dracula by Bram Stoker: I slept till just before the dawn, and when I woke threw myself on my knees,
for I determined that if Death came he should find me ready.
At last I felt that subtle change in the air, and knew that the morning
had come. Then came the welcome cockcrow, and I felt that I was safe.
With a glad heart, I opened the door and ran down the hall.
I had seen that the door was unlocked, and now escape was before me.
With hands that trembled with eagerness, I unhooked the chains and threw
back the massive bolts.
But the door would not move. Despair seized me. I pulled
and pulled at the door, and shook it till, massive as it was,
it rattled in its casement. I could see the bolt shot.
Dracula |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: more honor while displaying their rascality of mind. So it may be said
that in the mornings, while breakfasting, the chevalier usually amused
himself as much as the saints in heaven.
Suzanne was one of his favorites, a clever, ambitious girl, made of
the stuff of a Sophie Arnold, and handsome withal, as the handsomest
courtesan invited by Titian to pose on black velvet for a model of
Venus; although her face, fine about the eyes and forehead,
degenerated, lower down, into commonness of outline. Hers was a Norman
beauty, fresh, high-colored, redundant, the flesh of Rubens covering
the muscles of the Farnese Hercules, and not the slender articulations
of the Venus de' Medici, Apollo's graceful consort.
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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 The Elixir of Life by Honore de Balzac: with an angel of peace and beauty. Don Juan had been the sole
fruit of this late and short-lived love. For fifteen years the
widower had mourned the loss of his beloved Juana; and to this
sorrow of age, his son and his numerous household had attributed
the strange habits that he had contracted. He had shut himself up
in the least comfortable wing of his palace, and very seldom left
his apartments; even Don Juan himself must first ask permission
before seeing his father. If this hermit, unbound by vows, came
or went in his palace or in the streets of Ferrara, he walked as
if he were in a dream, wholly engrossed, like a man at strife
with a memory, or a wrestler with some thought.
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