| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Lesser Bourgeoisie by Honore de Balzac: Thuillier read twice over this sudden declaration of war, which was
far from leaving him calm and impassible; then, taking la Peyrade
aside, he said to him:--
"Read that; it is serious."
"Well?" said la Peyrade, after reading the article.
"Well? how well?" exclaimed Thuillier.
"I mean, what do you find so serious in that?"
"What do I find so serious?" repeated Thuillier. "I don't think
anything could be more insulting to me."
"You can't doubt," said la Peyrade, "that the virtuous Cerizet is at
the bottom of it; he has thrown this firecracker between your legs by
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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 Aspern Papers by Henry James: "That's a delightful idea about the Piazza," I said.
"When will you go--tonight, tomorrow?"
She had been disconcerted, as I have mentioned, but I had
already perceived and I was to observe again that when Miss Tita
was embarrassed she did not (as most women would have done)
turn away from you and try to escape, but came closer, as it were,
with a deprecating, clinging appeal to be spared, to be protected.
Her attitude was perpetually a sort of prayer for assistance,
for explanation; and yet no woman in the world could have been
less of a comedian. From the moment you were kind to her she
depended on you absolutely; her self-consciousness dropped from
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