| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini: her heart fluttering with dismay and perplexity. Heaven had not
equipped her with a spirit capable of dealing with a situation such as
this. Blake stood in makebelieve stolidity dissembling his infinite
chagrin and the stormy emotions warring within him, for some signs of
which Diana watched his countenance in vain.
"You shall not do it!" cried Richard suddenly. He came forward and
laid his hand on his sister's shoulder. His voice was almost gentle.
"Ruth, you shall not do this for me. You must not."
"By Heaven, no!" snapped Blake before she could reply. "You are right,
Richard. Mistress Westmacott must not be the scapegoat. She shall not
play the part of Iphigenia."
|
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 Unconscious Comedians by Honore de Balzac: gave way to a peal of laughter which he seemed to have been repressing
since he entered the lobby.
"What is it?" asked Leon de Lora.
"My dear friend, to prove the sincerity of the constitutional
government we are forced to tell the most frightful lies with
incredible self-possession. But as for me, I'm freakish; some days I
can lie like a prospectus; other days I can't be serious. This is one
of my hilarious days. Now, at this moment, the prime minister, being
summoned by the Opposition to make known a certain diplomatic secret,
is going through his paces in the tribune. Being an honest man who
never lies on his own account, he whispered to me as he mounted the
|