| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Marie by H. Rider Haggard: was exhausted, and stood before us, his tall form quivering, and his
thin, nervous face working like that of a person in convulsions. Then
Marie, who had dropped her head beneath this storm, lifted it, and I saw
that her deep eyes were all ablaze and that she was very white.
"You are my father," she said in a low voice, "and therefore I must
submit to whatever you choose to say to me. Moreover, I think it likely
that the evil which you call down will fall upon me, since Satan is
always at hand to fulfil his own wishes. But if so, my father, I am
sure that this evil will recoil upon your own head, not only here, but
hereafter. There justice will be done to both of us, perhaps before
very long, and also to your nephew, Hernan Pereira."
Marie |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac: flung to you by the hundred voices of the French press.
"Yes, as you tell me, I was old when I came to Besancon, and
Besancon has aged me more; but, like Sixtus V., I shall be young
again the day after my election. I shall enter on my true life, my
own sphere. Shall we not then stand in the same line? Count
Savaron de Savarus, Ambassador I know not where, may surely marry
a Princess Soderini, the widow of the Duc d'Argaiolo! Triumph
restores the youth of men who have been preserved by incessant
struggles. Oh, my Life! with what gladness did I fly from my
library to my private room, to tell your portrait of this progress
before writing to you! Yes, the votes I can command, those of the
Albert Savarus |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from A Distinguished Provincial at Paris by Honore de Balzac: Lucien and Lousteau. "I have read the work, it is very literary, and
so exactly the kind of thing we want, that I have sent it off as it is
to the printer. The agreement is drawn on the lines laid down, and
besides, we always make the same stipulations in all cases. The bills
fall due in six, nine, and twelve months respectively; you will meet
with no difficulty in discounting them, and we will refund you the
discount. We have reserved the right of giving a new title to the
book. We don't care for The Archer of Charles IX.; it doesn't tickle
the reader's curiosity sufficiently; there were several kings of that
name, you see, and there were so many archers in the Middle Ages. If
you had only called it the Soldier of Napoleon, now! But The Archer of
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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 Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister: driver.
"No," she said to John Mayrant, "certainly not."
I wondered at the needless severity with which she declined his offer to
accompany her and help her.
He stood by the wheel of the cart, looking up at her and protesting, and
I joined him.
"Thank you," she returned, "I need no one. You will both oblige me by
saying no more about it."
"John!" It was the slow, well-calculated utterance of Hortense Rieppe.
Did I hear in it the caressing note of love?
John turned.
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