| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: And she made a sign for Kitty to leave the room.
36 DREAM OF VENGEANCE
That evening Milady gave orders that when M. D'Artagnan came
as usual, he should be immediately admitted; but he did not
come.
The next day Kitty went to see the young man again, and
related to him all that had passed on the preceding evening.
D'Artagnan smiled; this jealous anger of Milady was his
revenge.
That evening Milady was still more impatient than on the
preceding evening. She renewed the order relative to the
The Three Musketeers |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Modeste Mignon by Honore de Balzac: bearers, captains of the guard, chamberlains as it were, who live in
the sunshine of their presence,--aides-de-camp entrusted with delicate
missions, allowing themselves to be compromised if necessary; workers
round the pedestal of the idol; not exactly his servants, nor yet his
equals; bold in his defence, first in the breach, covering all
retreats, busy with his business, and devoted to him just so long as
their illusions last, or until the moment when they have got all they
wanted. Some of these satellites perceive the ingratitude of their
great man; others feel that they are simply made tools of; many weary
of the life; very few remain contented with that sweet equality of
feeling and sentiment which is the only reward that should be looked
Modeste Mignon |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honore de Balzac: illumination of candles, a delicate perfume which was perceptible, a
certain disorder, in which the eye of a man accustomed to amorous
adventures could not but discern the madness which is common to all
the passions, revealed how cunningly the Marquise had interrogated the
guilty one. The white room, where the blood showed so well, betrayed a
long struggle. The prints of Paquita's hands were on the cushions.
Here she had clung to her life, here she had defended herself, here
she had been struck. Long strips of the tapestry had been torn down by
her bleeding hands, which, without a doubt, had struggled long.
Paquita must have tried to reach the window; her bare feet had left
their imprints on the edge of the divan, along which she must have
The Girl with the Golden Eyes |
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 Twelve Stories and a Dream by H. G. Wells: to some one carelessly that he had been in Fairyland and wanted to go
back, and when the thing spread and the simple badinage of the
countryside came into play, he threw up his situation abruptly, and
came to Bignor to get out of the fuss. But as to what had happened in
Fairyland none of these people knew. There the gathering in the Village
Room went to pieces like a pack at fault. One said this, and another
said that.
Their air in dealing with this marvel was ostensibly critical and
sceptical, but I could see a considerable amount of belief showing
through their guarded qualifications. I took a line of intelligent
interest, tinged with a reasonable doubt of the whole story.
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