| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed by Edna Ferber: eyes. There was tragedy itself in that spare, homely
figure standing there in the garden, the wind twining her
skirts about her.
"You should but see the children peering over the
fence to see my flowers in the summer," she said. The
blue eyes wore a wistful, far-away look. "All the
children know my garden. It blooms from April to
October. There I have my sweet peas; and here my roses--
thousands of them! Some are as red as a drop of blood,
and some as white as a bridal wreath. When they are
blossoming it makes the heart ache, it is so beautiful."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: would go down to posterity under the name of Tulipa nigra
Boxtellensis or Boxtellea.
Mynheer Isaac had not yet quite decided which of these two
names he would give to the tulip, but, as both meant the
same thing, this was, after all, not the important point.
The point was to steal the tulip. But in order that Boxtel
might steal the tulip, it was necessary that Rosa should
leave her room.
Great therefore was his joy when he saw the usual evening
meetings of the lovers resumed.
He first of all took advantage of Rosa's absence to make
The Black Tulip |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Footnote to History by Robert Louis Stevenson: outlandish penalties, in fact, transfers the sympathy to the
offender. Remember, besides, that the clan system, and that
imperfect idea of justice which is its worst feature, are still
lively in Samoa; that it is held the duty of a judge to favour
kinsmen, of a king to protect his vassals; and the difficulty of
getting a plantation thief first caught, then convicted, and last
of all punished, will appear.
During the early 'eighties, the Germans looked upon this system
with growing irritation. They might see their convict thrust in
gaol by the front door; they could never tell how soon he was
enfranchised by the back; and they need not be the least surprised
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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 Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic: "You forget," put in Mrs. Ware,--"those trustees are
coming at eleven."
"So they are!" assented the young minister, with something
like a sigh. He cast another reluctant, lingering glance
at the sunlit elm boughs, and, turning, went indoors.
He loitered for an aimless minute in the kitchen,
where his wife, her sleeves rolled to the elbow,
now resumed the interrupted washing of the breakfast dishes--
perhaps with vague visions of that ever-receding time
to come when they might have a hired girl to do such work.
Then he wandered off into the room beyond, which served
The Damnation of Theron Ware |
