| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: complete. No, say what you will, her very death was the death of
a vile woman, of no religious feeling. God forgive me, but I
can't help hating the memory of her, when I look at my son's
misery!"
"But how is he now?"
"It was a blessing from Providence for us--this Servian war. I'm
old, and I donit understand the rights and wrongs of it, but it's
come as a providential blessing to him. Of course for me, as his
mother, it's terrible; and what's worse, they say, ce n'est pas
tres bien vu a Petersbourg. But it can't be helped! It was the
one thing that could rouse him. Yashvin--a friend of his--he had
Anna Karenina |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Two Brothers by Honore de Balzac: possession of all that was going on at Issoudun, started with
Mistigris for the chateau of the Comte de Serizy, to escape hearing
about the trial of the conspirators, which lasted for twenty days.
It is useless to record facts that may be found in contemporaneous
histories. Whether it were that he played a part previously agreed
upon, or that he was really an informer, Philippe was condemned to
five years' surveillance by the police department, and ordered to
leave Paris the same day for Autun, the town which the director-
general of police selected as the place of his exile for five years.
This punishment resembled the detention of prisoners on parole who
have a town for a prison. Learning that the Comte de Serizy, one of
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Under the Red Robe by Stanley Weyman: 'Yes,' I answered.
'His Eminence awaits you. Be good enough to follow me.'
I did so, in a deeper stupor than before. For how could the
Cardinal know that I was here? How could he have known when he
gave the order? But I had short time to think of these things,
or others. We passed through two rooms, in one of which some
secretaries were writing, we stopped at a third door. Over all
brooded a silence which could be felt. The usher knocked,
opened, and, with his finger on his lip, pushed aside a curtain
and signed to me to enter. I did so and found myself behind a
screen.
|
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 Mother by Owen Wister: "'My dear Ethel,' I replied, 'she will not. And only see how you are
making it all up out of your head. You have never seen her, but you speak
of her as a grey-haired grandmother.'"
"'She must be, Richard. You have told me that Mr. Beverly is a married
man and about forty-five. No doubt he has older sisters and brothers. But
if he has not, his mother can hardly be less than sixty-five, and he has
probably been married for several years. He might easily have a daughter
coming out, next winter, and a son at Harvard or Yale; and if their
grandmother's hair is not grey, that is quite as unnatural as her
speculating in monopolised eggs in this way at her age. She must be a
very unladylike person.'"
|
